Okay, Spring is not here!! :)

Did my last post jinks us? Here in Indy we have been blessed with lots of snow! Almost 12 inches to be exact. Every winter I love to have at least one good snow and was wondering if we would get one this year. Well we for sure did! My thought is that if it is going to be cold and nasty I enjoy having the beautiful snow to look at (even though I still would much rather the spring).

With the snow Todd has been enjoying his 2nd day home from school with us. We have enjoyed being together as a family when otherwise Todd was going to be gone most of the days with school and basketball. So, the surprise time off has been great. Even though it has been fun they have to make up the days at the end of the year, so hopefully they will be back in session tomorrow. I think I will want him out and home for the summer as soon as possible since we will have a new baby then.

This is definitely the most snow Elias has seen and it was fun to take him out in it. He has been saying "snow" a lot these few days. While Todd was shoveling us out he made a path down the driveway for Elias. He loved running up and down it, taking the sled down it, and pushing his snow blower (aka lawnmower) across it. He enjoyed it all until he decided he wanted his gloves off and then did not last much longer because it was COLD! When we got inside he looked out the window as daddy finished and the snow plow cleared our street and cul-da-sac.

Also, there is nothing like being kept inside to watch a movie. Elias and daddy enjoyed watching most of the Lion King the other day. It was really cute as Elias laid down to watch it when he has never done before.

Spring is here!

okay, not really. But, today it was sunny and 40 degrees so we took advantage of it. That isn't really that nice out, but maybe it felt so wonderful because just a week ago it was -20 degrees? I am not a huge fan of cold weather and being stuck inside. January and February are always the hardest months for me as I get stir crazy to be outside. So, I was very thankful that God provided a much needed glimpse of nicer weather to lift my spirits to get through the rest of winter. I can't wait until spring actually arrives! It made my day and I long for more days like this (except maybe a little warmer please).

Elias must be like his mommy because he also loves to be outside! Here are a few pictures of him enjoying pushing the lawnmower up and down the driveway today. I must admit it was not the safest because he fell several times on the ice. OOPS! But, he didn't seem to mind as he was just thankful to be outside. On a side note he quickly realized to not go over the ice anymore. :)

I hope everyone is able to get a nice day too in the midst of our cold and snowy winter! :)



see those patches of ice...yeah...right before a wipeout....

I am learning to now come up the not icy side...

Buy Fresh, Buy Local

Do you know where your food is coming from? Most of you like me buy food from the grocery store and have no idea where it has come from and what it has gone through to get to you. I personally do not like this thought, so I like to buy fresh and local as much as possible. It is wonderful to know where your food is coming from. Of course you want to do your research and make sure the food is being treated properly. But, I highly encourage you start by picking one item that you will switch and buy local. Before you know it you will be eating many healthy local foods. I am lucky to have a few WONDERFUL farms that are only a few mintues away from my house where I get most of my items. Then the rest I get delivered to my house through a wonderful program. Check into it because you may have places close by and never knew it. If there isn't local places then I am sure there are many co-ops and delivery services where you can access local foods.

If you live in the Indy area here are some great places to buy local food. Click on the links to see about these places and services! One of Todd and I's favorite restuarnts is the Traders Point Creamery. A nice lunch or dinner with all organic local food from the farm! We love it so much that we already have reservations for Valentines Day! :)

Farm Fresh Delivery
Apple Family Farm
Tuttles Orchard
Traders Point Creamery

Here are some FAQ's about Buying Fresh and local.

So where does my food come from and why does it matter?

For many of us, the location of the farmer who grew our food remains a mystery due to the long distances our food must travel to reach us. It has been estimated that in the US the average item of food has traveled 1500 to 2500 miles to reach your dinner table (see the WorldWatch report Home Grown).

Except for those who eat only from their own vegetable gardens, it is virtually impossible to keep track of every aspect of their food. But if the average food item travels at least 1500 miles from unknown sources, how can you know anything about the way it was produced? How can you be sure that the food was processed safely? How can you know whether or not pesticides, GMOs, antibiotics, or growth hormones were used?

Why is buying local important?

You will know the seeds it grows from, the farmers who produce it, and the routes that carry it from the fields to our tables.

Local foods systems provide several advantages over conventional and global markets. Buying locally strengthens regional economies, supports family farms, provides delicious, "fresh-from-the-field" foods for consumers, preserves the local landscape, and can help foster a sense of community.

Buying local food strengthens your regional economy

Locally-produced food is often fresher than conventional products grown far away and shipped in trucks for several days.
You can give local farmers feedback on the quality and freshness of their produce.
Buying local food fosters community growth

Buying local lets you connect with your food producer concerning the safety and nutrition of your foods

Locally-grown foods can be high in nutrients, often reaching you within 24 hours of harvest, whereas produce shipped from out of state may be up to a week old and has often suffered from severe nutrient loss.
When you buy locally, you can ask whether the farmers use safe farming practices, what they spray on their crops, and what they feed to their animals.

Here is a list of items that I have chosen to buy local.

Farm Fresh Eggs-I buy my eggs from the Apple Family Farm where the chickens are grassfed, free range, and treated very well. I love these eggs and can hardly eat eggs from the store now.

Milk, Yoguart, and Cheese-I buy these items from Traders Point Creamery or the Apple Family Farm. I am also currently on the waiting list to get my milk from the the Apple Farm and I am so excited about! Both of these places carry dairy that is obviously local, but more importantly the cows are grassfed, no hormones, antibiotics, or pesticides used.

Jelly (no sugar-just natural jelly), raw honey, and popcorn.

Fruits and Veggies-I get most of my produce delivered to my house from farm fresh delivery or Tuttles Orchard. Farm Fresh Delivery is wonderful because they deliver organic and local produce right to your door!

My next switch is that I look forward adding all of my meats from these local places too.

Snack Recipies

My family LOVES snacks and I was having a hard time finding items at the store with whole ingredients and none of the icky additives (white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, salt, and soy, and items I cannot pronounce). I personally like to know what I am putting into my body. So I decided to start making my own snacks so that way I know the ingridents. Yes, it is more work then handing them a store bought snack, but I have loved even more not giving them processed food with icky ingredients. I will share more recipies later as I am always trying new ideas, but here are two of our favorites so far.

My son loves crackers so I decided to try making a graham cracker. These are a hit my with family and go very quickly. We also love commercial granola bars, but again wanted to know what was in them and that they were healthy. Note: You don't have to use organic ingreidents, but I choose to in most cases.

Graham Crackers
4 T or 1/2 stick of organic Butter (Sometimes I lessen this a little)
1 farm fresh egg
6 T Rapadura Sugar (unbleached and unrefined Evaporated cane juice)
2 T local raw honey (can be store bought)
2 T organic Molasses
1/2 t Baking Soda
2 t water
3/4 t sea salt
1 1/2 cups stone ground whole wheat graham flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour

Mix all of the liquid ingredients with the dry ingredients. You may not think it is mixed well as it may be a little lumpy, but it is fine. Then roll it all out to 1/8 inch. Then cut in shapes/squares. Put on ungreased cookie sheet and cook for 10-15 minutes. When you take them out they will be soft and you will think they aren't done, but they harden when cooling. Enjoy!


Granola Bars
2 cups of rolled oats (organic if can)
1/2 cup of dried fruit of choice (my son loves raisins)
1 t cinnamon
1/2 cup of organic raw almmond butter
1/3 cup of raw or store bought honey (can switch quantity with brown rice)
1/4 cup of brown rice syrup (can swith with honey)
1 tsp of alcohol free vanilla
organic cocoa powder

Combine dry and liquid ingredients seperate and then mix. Then pour the mix into a 8inch square and press firmly with spoon or hands to settle. Sprinkle cocoa powder on top. Place in freezer for 20 minutes or the fridge for an hour to harden. Then cut in bite size pieces of granola bar shapes.

Note: I mix and match this recipe by adding many other items. You can use peanut butter instead of almond butter and carob chocoalte chips. You can add add sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. You can also switch up the honey, rice syrup, or subsitiute agave nectar. Whatever bar you want to make just mix and match. I change it up frequently and we enjoy it. The only thing I have noticed is that if these are given regularly to my son it can constipate him. So, I usually only give it to him a few times a week for snack. Then it leaves more for my husband and I. :)

Christmas, friends, water fun, and working on new room....

I realized I haven't updated pictures lately, so here are some random thoughts and pictures from the last month.

-We had a great Christmas. Elias enjoyed his 2nd Christmas and is starting to understand it more. He has loved playing with his new toys everyone blessed him with. He also enjoyed being able to spend time with cousin Cole and some of his other extended family.

-Being stuck inside during the winter has made us come up with some creative activities to do. Since Elias loves water one of our activities is playing with it. He can spend a lot of time pouring it back in forth in bowls. A little messy at times, but he loves it!

-We had play group at our house last Friday and I was talking with the other mom's about how all the kids used to be in there own little worlds and never showed much interest in playing together. The last few times they have started playing really well together. It is wonderful to see them interacting, spending lots of time laughing, and of course running around crazy. I have loved seeing him make friends and enjoy being with them so much. We have many pictures still up from Christmas cards of his friends and Elias loves to go through and point to his friends and tell me there name. I didn't even have to teach him he just knows them. It is so cute!!

-A few weeks ago while Todd was on Christmas break Elias and Todd started working on Elias' new room. He got the trim and paint up and we bought a crib/toddler bed for Elias. It was just so fun to watch Elias copy everything Todd was doing. He is a good helper---most of the time... He loved measuring things on the wall, finding studs, and using his play tools to fix things in the room. We probably won't move him for awhile, but we are slowly moving his things in there and getting him excited for the move. I will post pictures later when it is all done.

What shall we name "Baby Gertrude"

With Elias we had known for a few years that would be our boy name so it was so easy to not have to try and choose a name. This time around we thought we had chosen a girl name we have liked for several years, but more recenlty others have caught our attention. Don't get me wrong we like "Baby Gertrude", but I think another name will be best when she is born. We have a few more months but we are definitely having a hard time narrowing it down. I am afraid it may come down to right when she is born and we see her. Hopefully not when they are 17 like the cartoon! After wrestling with it for a while we thought we would just go ahead and narrow it down since I wanted to buy a stocking half off at pottery barn after Christmas to match Elias'. So, that night I bought a stocking and I got the "supposed chosen" name engraved on it hoping that would make it be the final decision. Well, since then it has not stopped me from waivering and still wanting the other name as a high possiblity. So, with all of that said....please cast your vote to the right for your top choice. Even if a name wins that doesn't mean we will choose it, but it will be fun to see your opinions that could sway us. As far as the middle name it will be kept a secret as it will be the same no matter what her first name is.

We will announce the name when she is born !! :)

It's a New Year...

It is the time when people make or break New Years Resolutions. I am not huge on doing this, but one thing I always encourage myself to do is spend more time with God and in His word. I also like to look back and see how God has worked in the last year and am always excited to see what He will do in the next. I know that if I don't take time to reflect on how God is working in my life then I may miss many things He is wanting to show me, bless me, and allow for me to grow.

One thing I learned from the last year is that I need to let God be in the drivers seat. It is not always easy, but how can I do it any other way? I have learned that things fall apart when I try to guide and lead my own life. Yes, many times I have learned the hard way, so I think I better just give in this year and truly let Him. I must also mention that God has again blessed us richly and been so faithful to us in 08. I am so honored to be following and serving such an awesome God. With that said I am really excited for 2009 and what this new year is going to bring for our family. I was thinking the other day and realized it is definietly going to be a year of some big changes. Two of the biggest things will be having our 2nd child and my husband graduating with his PLP liscence and on the search for a possible new job. We are so excited to see where God takes us this year just alone with these 2 things...

I know God is already moving and providing a path for me to grow this year and I want to share a brief story. I recently surrendred an issue over to God that I have been dealing with. Even after doing this I was still struggling very badly with worry and doubt, so I did something I had never done before. I asked God to speak or show me something everyday to get me through it with peace, trust, and faith. I have never before felt the hand of God so close to me before. It has been amazing as litterally everyday He has revealed something I know is from Him to give me ultimate peace and trust! I have had to really focus on watching, but when it is revealed I know it is the "thing" for the day that He is speaking to me. It has given me such amazing peace and I am so thankful to not be in the bondage of worrying and anxiety over it anymore. I know God is with me and He is soverign through this situation.

I have asked several times why am I going through this difficult siuation? I believe the answer is simple. When we are in our valleys is when we are able to grow stronger and learn and come out on a higher mountain. I know this experience that has been so devesatating to me has also been such a growth opportunity to see God actively moving in my life. He helping me to conquer the sin of worry and anxiety. I am going to start a journal to keep track of the things He reveals to me each day. I am looking forward to going back and seeing all of the many things He has shown me. How could I worry and not trust with all of these promises He is personally giving me each day? I am excited to see what else He is going to teach me over the next year as I continue to strive to let Him be in the drivers seat.

I share this story to remind us all that we serve such an awesome and active God! I pray that each of us will be able to experience His prescence in a deeper way as we strive to grow closer to Him each day. The most important thing we can do for our family is lead them to our Father who will always welcome us with open arms.