The One My Heart Loves

Today Tim and I are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary. He is taking the kids on a walk right now to give me some down time before I start my last-minute cleaning dash (our small group is coming over for dinner and a bonfire.) I decided to watch the video from our wedding while I had the house to myself. It's not professionally done; my grandpa recorded it with his video camera but I am so thankful we have a copy of it.
As I was watching it there were some things I found myself thinking:
*I wish I hadn't worn a veil. I spent most of the time flipping my head to the side in order to get the veil off my shoulder without using my hands. I look like I have some kind of tic.
*I wish I had remembered to hold my flowers lower. There was amazing detail on the waist of my dress and I covered it with my bouquet almost the entire time - in pictures, too!
*I wish I hadn't been so vain as to have a teeny-tiny wart removed from the bottom of the ball of my foot earlier in the week. I limped down the aisle and everywhere else that day because the pain still hadn't left three days later. I guess that's what happens when they freeze/burn an area of your body.
*I wish I had remembered to put the roses we gave to our parents during the ceremony in the fridge the night before. Instead I forgot about them and their heads hung off the stems lifeless.
*I wish I hadn't made goofy faces at friends and family while our pastor was talking. I looked like an idiot.
*I wish I hadn't seemed so nervous standing in front of all the people we love.

And then I started thinking...
*I am so glad we asked my old youth pastor to perform the ceremony. He made it so personal since he knew me well and had interacted with Tim on a few occasions during the course of our dating and being engaged.
*I loved our music choices: my sister-in-law, Deidra, who has the voice of an angel, sang "Ave Maria" while the bridal party was walking up the aisle. I walked to "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" in memory of my grandfather, my mom's dad, who had passed away a couple year's earlier. That was our first big family event since his passing and my family still was mourning him. During the lighting of the unity candle, Tim's brother (and Deidra's husband), Randy, played guitar and sang Caedmon's Call "Somewhere North" while his friend, John, played piano. The song is what Tim sang when he proposed and it's kind of what we think of as "our song."
*I loved my dress.
*I loved having the bridal party walk back out to Benny Goodman's "Sing Sing Sing."
*There are many other things I am glad we did but most of all...

I love who I was up there marrying - who I chose to spend my life with. There is not a morning I wake up and wish I had picked someone else. Sure, there are the rough moments in marriage where we don't feel like we love each other, but that's why I believe love is a choice. Feelings are unstable. Commitment should not be. I wish more people would take it seriously.
So, Tim, I love you. For better or worse. For richer or for poorer (and we've been about as poor as one can get.) In sickness and in health. Until we are parted by death.

"I found the one my heart loves." ~Song of Songs 3:4a

Honoring God?

This post will mostly be for those of you who coupon and I would love to know your opinion so please leave a comment!
Our friends, Dave and Holly, were visiting Saturday night and Holly and I were talking about Targets, coupons, grocery shopping and all that good stuff. She asked me at one point if I was allowed to use more than one Target coupon for a specific item and buy multiple in one transaction. I just realized that sounds kind of confusing so let me give an example:

Last week I had 5 coupons for $1 off Hershey Bliss.
Target has Bliss candy bars for $.99.
I got 5 Bliss candy bars for free in one transaction.

She told me her cashier wouldn't let her do something like this. Later that night after they had left, out of curiosity, I looked at my Target coupons and realize that they say "Limit one offer per transaction." Immediately I felt guilty because (a) I really should have looked at the fine print awhile ago - I just tend to do what the website posts tell me to do to get the most from my money and (b) I'm cheating!
Is it inconvenient to have 5 or 6 separate transactions in a busy store with frustrated non-couponers behind you? Heck, yes! But if we are supposed to be glorifying God in everything we do, is it wrong of us to sneak around the rules as long as the cashiers don't care? I would say, yes, it is.
I know we want to save money. Times are tough! Coupons are great - especially when paired with sales and good deals. We have been able to cut our grocery bill quite a bit due to these strategies. However, when websites are telling me to print a copy out of a store's coupon policies so that, on any given trip, if a cashier gives me a hard time about stacking a manufacturer and store coupon I can whip it out and prove her wrong...shouldn't I be following the same rules? I mean, it might be fine print, but it is written on the coupon and it's my responsibility to pay attention to that. If I want to be a living example to my kids in all things...then it means the small things, too.
I'm going to be more careful about the way I'm using my coupons from now on but I was wondering...have you guys been doing separate transactions? Have you noticed the fine print? What are your thoughts?

Tasty Treat Tuesday Returns

Because Daniella asked for this recipe and it really is a great one for both adults and kids, I'm posting the recipe for Strawberry Scones that I made for Ellie's birthday. For all you who don't like scones - my mother-in-law told me recently that she doesn't like them but she really liked these. They're not dry and crumbly like the usual.

Strawberry Scones

1 c. hulled and finely diced fresh strawberries (we used more than 1 c. and didn't finely dice, just chopped)
2 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar, plus a little for sprinkling
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
A lemon, for zest
6 Tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 c. plus 1 Tbsp. light cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, using a few spots of butter or cooking oil to stick it in place (we did not do thisl; I think we just sprayed the baking sheet lightly with non-stick spray.) Set the baking sheet aside.
2. Place diced (or chopped) strawberries on several sheets of paper towel to absorb their juice (did not do this either.) Meanwhile, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and nutmeg in a large bowl. Zest half of the lemon into the ingredients, taking care to remove just the outermost skin and not the white pith.
3. Cut in the butter with two butter knives or a pastry blender until the flour-coated pieces are the size of peas. Add the strawberries, tossing them gently with a fork to coat them.
4. Make a well in the mixture. Blend the 1/2 c. of light cream and the vanilla extract in a measuring cup and pour them into the well. Using as few strokes as possible, gently stir the dough until it forms a ball. Let the dough sit for 1 minute.
5. Clean and flour your hands and dust your work surface with flour. Place the dough on the floured surface and knead it gently three or four times. Transfer it to the large baking sheet and pat it into an 8-inch circle. Using a lightly oiled pizza cutter or serrated knife, cut the dough into 8 wedges, as you would a pizza. Use a small spatula or pie server to carefully separate the pieces, leaving at least an inch between them.
6. Brush the tops of the scones with the remaining tablespoon of light cream, then sprinkle the surfaces with sugar. Bake the scones until the outsides are crusty and starting to brown, about 18 minutes. let them cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then slide the parchment and the scones onto a wire rack to cool for another 20 minutes before serving.
*Taken from the June 2007 issue of Family Fun.*

Side note: You can easily make these up the day before an event and store them in an airtight container. They are still moist and delicious the following day (or even two.)

I ♥ Coupons!

...and I just discovered how to make hearts while writing text! I might have just upped my coolness a notch which I need since I'm a coupon nerd.

$1.51, people, $1.51. I do have to send in a $10 rebate to Swiffer before I can techinically claim it as being $1.51...but I'm cool with that and so is Tim. It was done in multiple transactions to make the most of the $5 Target gift cards given as a result of buying 2 packs of Swiffers. I still have over $2 left on one of the gift cards.

Sniff, sniff

This past week held an emotional moment for me...the series finale of Scrubs.
Tim and I jumped into the show a couple seasons in and we actually own the first three or four seasons on DVD. We have enjoyed Scrubs because it is just so funny most of the time. I think the earlier seasons were better - don't they all start off that way? Was it always clean? No - it's kind of hard to find that on TV now. That is one reason I'm kind of thankful it's done: it gives me one less thing to watch. We don't even own a TV but still find ourselves watching a few shows online. With Scrubs out now we're just down to Lost, House, and Fringe (which I read while Tim watches because it freaks me out most of the time and then I have nightmares.) Although I did see that Wipeout is starting again in a couple weeks and I know we'll be watching that, but it's just a summer show.
Anyways, so watching the last episode of Scrubs was much like watching the finale of Friends for me. It was a bit more intense because I was not actually aware until that morning that it was the series finale not season finale, although it seemed throughout the season that it was coming to it (The Janitor getting married, Ted finding a girlfriend, Dr. Cox and his wife learning to be more open with their emotions with each other, etc.) I am glad it ended the way it did - JD and Elliott together, you learn The Janitor's name (kind of), JD gets his affirmation and hug from Dr. Cox and Laverne made an appearance! If you don't watch Scrubs you have no idea what I'm talking about, but just know I'm very content right now. =)
This is the last few minutes of the finale...when I started to tear up. I just love this song by Peter Gabriel ("Book of Love") and I thought it was a perfect ending.

I also love that the janitor who tells JD "goodnight" is the series creator, what a creative way to end a long run.

Tough Question #2

Lacey brought up a question that I have to admit I hate thinking about:

On the flip side of this discussion (from yesterday - see below)...Is it okay to STOP having babies? Most people today, including many Christians, don't think twice about taking birth control or getting a vasectomy/tubal ligation. Essentially, we're talking about trusting God to provide the right number of kids for our families, right? Whether you're having fertility problems and are dying to conceive, or if you're very fertile and want to say enough is enough. (Like four kids in four years - HA!) I don't have a firm opinion about this, but I've been praying for God to give my husband a strong conviction about it.

Like I said, I hate thinking about this one because I'm scared of what the answer might be! For me, especially on mornings like yesterday, two is more than enough.
I have mentioned on here before that Tim and I don't use birth control pills for various reasons. However, we still take other steps of prevention (although I think the only way you can truly prevent is by absintence. I think some women have gotten pregnant while on all other forms of "contraceptives.") Tim does not want to have any more children. On days when my kids are being great and all is good in the house, I play with the idea of one more but it is always shot down. In my eyes, since we can't agree on it, it's not a go. We also have said we only want two biological children and down the road, if God opens the doors, we do want to add more to our family through adoption.
Our culture has changed so much that I think people from Biblical times and even "the old days" would be astounded to find us even having this discussion. Children were wanted to carry on the family line and the more the better.
Psalm 127:3-5
"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children are a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate."
About a month ago I read a book by the Duggar family. It was called something along the lines of 20 and Counting. They do not use any form of birth control. They believe that every child God gives them has a purpose and God is not going to give them more than they can handle.
Wow, Lacey, if I cracked open the can of worms, you managed to tear the top right off. I'm sure people will have all sorts of thoughts on this one.
My opinion is...I don't know. I'm not trying to avoid giving one; I just really haven't let myself think about or study it enough to come to a conclusion. I think Tim and I would have to hold many a long discussion on it as well.
I also just want to add this - there are probably people who read these questions and think "Well, who cares? It's not like these things determine whether or not we go to heaven so why waste time on them?" I do believe that the only way we are able to enter Heaven is through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
John 3:14-17 tell us: "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
Later in John 5:24, Jesus goes on to say, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."
And then in Acts 4:12: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (emphasis added to verses)
I then believe that once you are in a genuine relationship with Christ, you have a desire to grow and to live according to what the Bible says. This is why Bible Study is important and why it is important for us to be asking questions and be in discussion with each other. Does my opinion on birth control determine whether or not I get into Heaven? NO! But if I want to be growing in the Word, I need people to be pointing out things to me and challenging me to think outside of myself and within the Word of God. I hope that makes sense.
Tim and I have been talking about a lot of things lately, a lot of changes we feel in our lives, but I'll save that for another post as it doesn't involve birth control.
Maybe since April was a break month for me, we'll make May a Tough Question month. And the comment section is now...open.

Controversial Thought

I don't know why, but the other night as I was falling asleep I was struck with a thought.

I wonder how God feels about In-Vitro Fertilization and other fertility help methods.

I asked Tim, who was half asleep and only gave me a mumbled "I don't know. Ask me when I'm awake" answer. Then he perked up a bit and asked what brought that on. I told him I wasn't sure but I started thinking about Abraham and Sarah (who were Abram and Sarai at the time in Genesis 16.) Sarai had been unable to bear children and so she took matters into her own hands by having Abram sleep with her maidservant. This led to all sorts of issues. Later, Sarah ends up giving birth to Isaac in her early nineties (can you imagine! Although I guess people did live longer than we currently do, but still.)
In James 1:27 we are told, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (emphasis added)
If a woman is having a difficult time becoming pregnant in the traditional sense (intercourse) and God tells us to care for orphans, is IVF wrong? Why do we become so desperate for the things we want that we will take matters into our own hands and play God?
I don't want to offend anyone because I don't know what it is like to have trouble conceiving and I can't imagine that pain. I guess having watched our friends, Matt and Jeana, go through the adoption process and over the past year ease and transition into a family of three after bringing Emma home from China...I have seen firsthand that it is possible to love a child not from your own body as if they were. Matt and Jeana's love for Emma is no different than mine and Tim's love for Noah and Eleanor.
I am not here to say if it is right or wrong. Because I don't know for sure - I'm not God so I can't say what He thinks when it is not in the Bible. These were just more of those thoughts hanging out in my head that made me stop to think. I know they can open a whole can of worms that lead to all sorts of other questions as well, and if you have any, I would love to hear them. Our small group likes to debate and discuss these kind of tough questions and we're not always all on the same page with our beliefs on them either.
Thoughts?

Early Anniversary Celebration

Gotta love the windblown look! And I just realized Tim's eyes are closed! Oh well...

Tim and I will celebrate our 6th anniversary on May 24th. My parents wanted to watch the kids for us overnight so we could get away to celebrate and, after coordinating schedules, landed on this past weekend as the best time to do it. We arrived at my parents' house Friday night and Saturday morning at 8:30 Tim and I were on the road to Birch Run (can you tell we were anxious to get away - 8:30 is fairly early for us to be showered, fed and ready to go on a Saturday morning!)

I know that there are some women who do not like shopping with their husbands. I love it. Tim loves it, too. Well, we like it when we don't have our kids with us. I value his opinion because it's always honest and I want him to like the clothes I wear. I also like that he wants my opinion on what he picks out. So we shopped until we dropped (almost literally) at the Birch Run outlets and did we pick a great day to go! We had a list of things we were looking for and had set aside some tax refund money. I don't have many clothes. It sounds like an exaggeration, but it's not. There are clothes I keep around because "maybe I'll fit into them someday" but Tim is finally convincing me to cut them loose. After all, since having kids, the hips are a bit wider and there are some love handles that are refusing to leave despite my exercising. Even if I could put them on all the way, they probably wouldn't fit the same anymore. I'm also not used to buying clothes for myself. I look and admire all the time, but clothes for the kids always comes first. Tim had other ideas this weekend and I felt like a queen with my new tops, swimsuit and sunhat. I really wanted to find some more classic style tops, too, not trendy so that I can wear them for years to come (hopefully.) We found some pants, jeans, shorts and shirts for Tim, winter pajamas for the kids (for next year), sheets for our bed, bathrobes, and a pair of shoes for me. We tallied everything up last night and found out we had bought $880 worth of items for less than $300. Our favorite deals were:
*2 brown cozy bathrobes from Restoration Hardware - each retailed for $79 and we got them for 90% off - making them $7.90 each. We have been looking for bathrobes since our bathroom is downstairs and our bedroom is upstairs and you have to walk by windows to get from one to the other. I don't like getting dressed in the bathroom when it's all steamy and sticky so I have been running through the house in my towel while praying no one is walking by.
*Bedsheets from Pottery Barn - retail $119 and we got them for $34. They are the high thread count, which we've never been able to afford, and I can't wait to sleep on them tonight after they're washed.
*Banana Republic - We spent $60 and saved over $200. Tim got 2 sweaters and a long sleeve shirt and I got 3 tops.

We took a break halfway through and had lunch at a place called Exit Restaurant. It reminded us of a truck stop where the food is good and greasy and they serve breakfast stuff all day. Yum. I love placemats with word scrambles.

After Birch Run we headed over to Frankenmuth. We had dinner reservations at the Bavarian Inn for 6:00 so that we could have time to walk around and explore first but we were so exhausted from walking all morning and afternoon that we only made it to a few stores. We then stopped in to the restaurant and asked if we could just eat early which worked out great! It was a delicious meal and huge! We took our leftovers back to the hotel and put it in their fridge. On the way home yesterday we realized we forgot to get them back out and take them home. Bummer.
In the Edelweiss dining room at the Bavarian Inn. That Bavarian Inn is quite the experience!

We stayed at a hotel in Saginaw and it had an indoor pool and outdoor pool that were connected. The pool was also heated. Tim and I swam for a long time outside which was a lot of fun. I can't say I've done that in the beginning of May in Michigan before!

Yesterday (Sunday) we drove down to the Trader Joe's in Farmington. We have wanted to go a Trader Joe's since first hearing about it from Matt and Jeana, who lived in California for a time (they're all over out there.) Jeana describes it as "the poor man's organic store" and I have been intrigued. I have also enjoyed just about everything that we've tried that friends have served us from the store. We loaded up on groceries for the entire month! Lots of meats and snacks and the best part is that everything is natural or organic. No preservatives or any of that junk. Some prices were comparable to Meijer, some cheaper, some more expensive. I realized that it definitely costs more than just my average shopping trip to Target and Meijer where I can coupon my way through BUT it's much cheaper than shopping at Whole Foods Market or Harvest Health or buying even organic items at Meijer. So I guess it balances out depending on what you're looking for.

Whew, that's a long post. We had a fantastic time together and are so thankful for the opportunity to get away just the two of us. We haven't done that in over a year. We have had two different times away from the kids since Ellie was born, but one was a weekend that we spent with friends and the other was for a wedding and so we were surrounded by family and wedding stuff all weekend. This was great for us to do to reconnect and enjoy just each other.

And the Picture Posts Continue...

Finger "painting" with chocolate pudding...messy but at least they can eat it.

Noah loved this kind of art project.

Caught in the act. What is it about an empty dishwasher that

says "Hey, climb on up?"

Noah and my dad playing in the hotel pool
over Elile's party/Easter weekend.

Noah introducing Ellie to pool water. She wasn't

crazy about it at first but was enjoying it towards the end.

This little guy also goes by the name Noah (although we call him "Baby Noah"

around here) and is the firstborn of our friends, Justin and Carrie. He was born in

early April. Our friends, Josh and Sara, also had a baby boy just about a week

prior and named him Jacob. I love getting a baby fix from these guys!

When I get home from grocery shopping, Tim and I play a game where I make

him guess how much I spent, saved, and how much I paid for certain items. Because I went

during the day last week, I took pictures so that he could still appreciate couponing. This was from Target. Any guesses? I spent $10.30 and saved $28.69!

After our Target trip, the kids and I headed over to Meijer. Can I just first of all say that
my kids are awesome when they go grocery shopping with me. I have heard other moms
talk about how difficult it is for them to go with their kids so I am super thankful mine enjoy it!
OK, so last week at Meijer, you got 2 free movie tickets when you bought 10 Kelloggs items (including Sunshine and Keebler) so when I add in the savings of free movie tickets (which, for an evening show would cost a total of $17), I spent $21.51 and saved $32.46. My goal this year is to save more than spent on my trips. Some weeks are better than others.

I bought a sunhat over the weekend and found it crawling through the kitchen this morning.

Easter

We celebrated Easter with my parents this year. They came to church with us and afterwards we came home to have an Easter egg hunt for the kids (mostly Noah, although Tim was pretty giddy about hiding them) and then had the typical ham lunch. Our ham was gigantic because we didn't buy it until Saturday night so they were mostly picked over (but it was on an awesome sale!) and our freezer is still stocked with leftovers.

I spent a lot of time reflecting on Easter this year. I think it is interesting that so often, in our Christian culture even, we breeze right through Easter. Christmas is surrounded with carols, hymns, Christmas CDs, and steeped in tradition. Easter is the holiday that holds our beliefs where they are and we seem to acknowledge it more with a nod and a big lunch than anything else. If Christ hadn't died for us on that cross, we would still be following the traditions and sacrifices from the Old Testament. It is awesome to think about His love for us.

Eleanor loves getting dressed up. She looked beautiful...even after she found a black dry erase marker that she used on the front of her white dress.

Ellie enjoyed chewing on her bath toys that were in the Easter basket.

Noah loved finding Easter eggs as much as Tim enjoyed hiding them. The "shaky eggs" held M&Ms for him. The "quiet eggs" were empty and for Ellie's playing enjoyment. During his prayer before lunch he said, "Thank you for M&Ms in my eggs and for no M&Ms in Ellie's eggs." Ah, the honesty of a preschooler...

Ellie's first party and family visits

We celebrated Ellie's first birthday a week early because we thought family would have an easier time visiting since it was a holiday weekend. Tim's parents came the Wednesday night beforehand and stayed until Saturday afternoon. My parents came the Friday night before and stayed until Easter afternoon. My sister and her family came just for the day on Saturday. It was a fun time. I went with a more adult menu because since she was only turning one I could get away with it. I was so thankful for the help of my mom and mother-in-law with preparation and cleaning.

We enjoyed our time with Grandma Joycie and Papa Ross.

I took the breakfast pizza (covered with berries) and an unpictured (it was still in the oven) dish of lemon basil eggs over focaccia from an episode of Everday Italian that I saw at my parents' house a couple years ago. We had cupcakes instead of cake. There were strawberry scones that were delicious! They were a "kid friendly" recipe I found in a Family Fun magazine - they were very moist, unlike the typical scone. We also had fruit salad and yummy punch!Ellie loved her first taste of a sweet treat. Cupcakes are a hit! She enjoyed them so much...

...that she wanted Daddy's when she was done with her own!

I'm Back!

After a restful month off blogging, I'm back with the first of many posts. April felt like a long month and the first few days of May have already been event-filled so there are lots of pictures and stories to share. I'll break it up into separate blogs so they're easier to read, but first I just wanted to ask for prayer for my dad. He is a Chrysler employee and, while at their house Friday night, he got an automated/recorded phone call announcing his being laid off. After numerous calls to fellow employees, bosses and union leaders (he had been told that morning that they were going to be working through the bankruptcy process so there was a bit of confusion going on) he finally heard back. He doesn't work for a production plant - he works in the future vehicle process so they're already working on the 2011 prototypes and whatnot - but they can't buy the supplies they need while they're in bankruptcy. His boss and union guy are expecting to only be for a week or two...but we'll see. 23 years with a company just goes to show that nothing is ever stable.
Please keep him and my mom in prayer as they wait out this interesting time.