Baby Kate

My mini girlfriend, Baby Kate, came by earlier this month. She had grown so much - what a different three months makes! This is back in November...And now six months old...

Her green, blue, and purple outfit was totally my taste. No wonder we get along so well *smile. She is just getting cuter and cuter. Love it!

Multitude Monday

Counting my way to 1,000 blessings...

#191...cleaning out closets and reminiscing about the days of HS, college and lovely weddings. So many old shirts, notes, and bridesmaids dresses.

#192...seeing my first robin (Sinclair family tradition would mean that Tom now owes me an ice cream cone.)

#193...reconnecting with old friends on Facebook.

#194...the softness and freshness of clean skin.

#195...making crafts with girlfriends.

#196...those peaceful moments right before we fall asleep.

#197...new buds in the garden.

#198...healing and quick recovery for my mom.

#199...healing for Liz's staph infection.

#200...Palm Sunday readings with the hubby.

These are the hands that built the mountains,

the hands that calm the seas.

These are the hands that hold the heavens,

they are holding you and me.

These are hands that healed the leper,

pulled the lame up to their feet.

These are the arms that were nailed to a cross,

to break our chains and set us free.

- Phil Wickham, song "Safe"

Food, Crafts and Fellowship

Tana invited the girls from our small group over for a fabulous candlelit dinner, chocolate fondue and crafts last night. It was great to spend time with everyone outside of our Sunday setting. I do love me some girl time to talk about girl only stuff. Super fun. We already have ideas for our next craft night - baby bibs and burp rags. Watch out.

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My magnets are off to the right. I was having so much fun finding cute images in magazines that I didn't get around to making the two other craft options. And I may or may not have been standing next to the food for awhile...

Lots of pretty fabric to choose from.

Rebekah's rosettes.
Tana's bookmark.

Mmmm.
Group photo, of course. Front from left: Andrea, Rebekah, Tana, Rachel. Back from left: muah, Nora, Audra, Melissa.

Notice anyone famous in those pictures? Look closely............................

Yep! MOLLY HOLLY! She goes to our church. For realz.

It's quite the interesting story!

Thanks for having us all over, Tana. You are so sweet!

Happy Birthday, Brent

My oldest brother is almost 40! Well, 4 years from being 40 but still. Crazy! Brent has always been a role model for me. He has a quiet gentleness about him but can also be quite the goof. His boys adore him and he's a loving husband. When I lived in Ames, he and I rarely missed watching Survivor together on Thursday nights. I cherish the two separate occasions where I lived with him and his family and got to be around for when the boys were babies.
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See....a goof.

Would have been a great picture without my second head *smile.
Having big brothers is the best.
Happy birthday, Brent! You're gettin' up there but you're still young at heart.

We love you!

Multitude Monday

#181...Saturday morning coffee and breakfast with friends.

#182...Taking one spring cleaning project at a time.

#183...2 mile prayer runs.

#184...Caribbean music playing at Trader Joe's that - for 30 minutes - transports me.

#185...Naps in sunshine rays.

#186...Discovering a new love for fruit.

#187...Saturday evening shopping and dinner with girlfriends.

#188...The way Tom tries to get me to "lighten up."

#189...Breaking out the mountain bikes for our first leisure ride.

#190...Learning about God's will for my life through His word.

My command is this: love each other as I have loved you. John 15: 12

Make this.

Recently Rainbow Foods was having a buy a "bone-in ham, get three other things free" deal so Tom and I - not really know what we'd do with it - bought a 7 lb ham. We get home, remember we have wild rice and decide to try out my mother-in-law's wild rice and ham soup. After debating about whether to cook it in the oven for 3 hours or in the crock pot for 7, we opted for the crock pot and I have to say that we made a good choice. I would have been more than happy to eat it just as it was, but I needed food to feed the hungry man so we went ahead with making soup.

While I chopped carrots, Tom worked on the roux. It took more attention and stirring and sometimes I get side tracked.

After the roux came to a nice boil, we threw everything in.

Cooking wild rice takes awhile so I made it the day before. We threw in mushrooms even though the recipe didn't call for them. We also skipped the half & half for the healthier milk option and didn't notice a difference. It can get kind of thick, so we added another cup of broth as well.

Delicious! We doubled the recipe so we'd have leftovers and neither of us got sick of it. It fed us for over a week and Tom eats a LOT. Trust me. See....here he is eating again...We are slowly exiting soup season, but I'd recommend giving this one a whirl while it's still March. And even if you're not up for making the soup, try the ham in the crock pot. I never knew it was so easy!

Multitude Monday

#171...Watching our church grow. Our joint service today was beautiful.

#172...63 degrees in March. In Minnesota. Need I say more?!

#173...A hot shower after an evening run.

#174...Discovering my new favorite place, Sati Coffee.

#175...My Jim Brickman Pandora station, for moments like this.

#176...Saturday night movies with the hubby.

#177...Seeing families out enjoying the weather together.

#178...Indoor plants that grow like crazy with little attention.

#179..."Talking" to Weston on the phone.

#180...Moments of pure contentment and peace.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

10 Random Things I Did This Week

1. I made chocolate chip cookies from scratch. Semi-sweet chocolate chips are so much better than milk chocolate. FYI.

2. My sugar canister (made from metal and plastic) broke while I was moving it leaving a pound of sugar all over our floor and counter, thus prompting Tom to laugh and say, "you should blog about this."

3. I trimmed both of our hair. Hairs? Either way, we're both trimmed.

4. I voted for Katelyn Epperly on American Idol and have been wallowing in my sorrow since her departure on Thursday. Shocked. So sad for her.

5. I increased my weight on both the bench press (70 lbs) and barbell row (40 lbs). Tom says I need to work harder since I still don't break a sweat. Ohhhh, Tom - always pushing me to be my best *smile.

6. I researched Shetland Island bed and breakfasts and hotels for our June vacation. They're all booked! Uh oh.

7. I had one almost back-pain-free day! BIG progress.

8. I completed our taxes with the help of a kind friend/coworker who came over for support. Wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be...

9. We had dinner and played Bananagrams with Scott and Nikki. Jacob told us all about his trip to mallofamericur.

10. I took a three hour nap and didn't feel bad about it *smile.

Off to make dinner and watch District 9 b/c I'm a nice wife like that.

Happy Birthday, Leo Peo

Leo is four! It's pretty crazy that we've made it four years with the little guy...and that Tom hasn't kicked him out yet *smile. Man, that's a lot of pellets, cage cleaning, wood chips, weekly bags of romaine lettuce and lugging him around as we travel on vacations and home for holidays. They don't tell you about all of these things when you're in the pet store adoring the baby bunnies. And with good reason b/c if they did, I think maybe my realistic thinking would have kicked in (cost, longevity, work) and I would have passed on the idea of being a rabbit owner.

Oh, who am I kidding...he was so cute at 6 weeks, I don't think anyone could have talked me out of adopting him!
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Leo's first day home. Yep, his "home" was in the bathroom in our apartment in Des Moines. I had very generous roommates. My brother and Hayden meeting the little ball of black fur for the first time.
He was so tiny and fluffy! It still melts me...
And now four year later...all grown up.This picture captures something very rare - Tom interacting with Leo! (Notice he's still not actually touching him.) Leo crawled right up there on his own. Too cute. Every once in awhile, he'll sit like this for 15+ minutes.
I think it's b/c he loves me best.
I love his wild and crazy Lionhead mane.
Wow...four years. I was originally told they live 6-10 years, but I recently read about a 14 year old rabbit. (clearing throat) I really can't imagine, but if that's what we're blessed with then so be it.

Happy Birthday, Sara

Happy birthday to my sis-in-law, Sara! She officially joined our family in August 2008 and walked into some dangerous territory (not really) as the "step-mom" to two very lovable boys, but she has impressed us all with her perseverance and tenacity. Sara loves Noah and Hayden tremendously and would do anything for them. She has worked very hard to be a good mom and her labor shows in the boys. Both Noah and Hayden have really grown and developed. She has been a blessing to many!

Happy Birthday, Sara! Hope you have a wonderful day! We love you!