Life Lately

   Our little Oli Boli has a very fun new trick. She is starting to sit up on her own! Yay Olive! Daniel and I were trying to remember when Ava started doing this, but couldn't remember. There are a lot of milestones! Haha! I think Olive just wants to play with her sissy. And Ava LOVES that Oli is starting to sit up, she also loves to cheer Oli on when she does it. It's pretty funny to watch.

I mean, come on... Look at that cute chunky baby! I just want to squeeze her! I am so in love with Olive's joy. She is the happiest girl in the world. I just took her to the Doctor yesterday because she has been sick and seemed to be getting worse, and the Doctor told me she had a double ear infection! So sad! But even though she is sick, she still loves life. She is full of joy. 

   Ava is learning new things at the speed of light! I feel like I can't keep up with all the new things she is absorbing! She remembers things from months ago and brings them up in conversation. For instance, when we were down in San Diego last November my sister in law Jen gave Ava and her daughter Zoe a little princess lip gloss/make-up thing. And yesterday as I was getting ready for Church Ava wanted to wear some of my make-up, but I said she was too little. She looked up at me and said, " But I can wear my princess make-up at Zoe's house." Say what?!?!? It took me a minute to figure out what she was talking about since I had forgotten all about it. She is so smart. I love my little one. 

   I took this picture of Ava when we were enjoying a gorgeous spring-ish day in our back yard. It makes me swoon every time I see it. I can't believe how big she is! Tear..... Ok, Ok, enough sappy Mom stuff!  

   I have been itching to do some fun new stuff to our house, So i painted out dining room table. I like how it came out, but I still have more to do.

   We also painted our bedroom a Burgandy, red-sh, purple-ish color. Just one wall. We're going for a morrocan eclectic feel in our bedroom. I'll share pictures when it's all done. 

   We also started our garden. Daniel built me 2 of my 4 raised beds this weekend and I am going to start planting this week! 

So far I have, Scallions, Butterleaf lettuce, Spinach, Tomatoes, Strawberries, Carrots (from seeds), and Artichoke. When I get the other boxes I want to have Zucchini as well. I can't wait! We're planning a whole garden retreat area that I will show more in detail in the next post! But until then,

Grace & Peace

I love food.

   To say that I love food would be an understatement.. I am IN love with food. Food brings people together, makes you happy, is necessary for life, and it is so much fun to make new delicious things. Which is exactly what I did this morning. I was feeling super sluggish, so I wanted to pack a punch in my breakfast and here is what I came up with...

   Meet my delicious Spinach, Onion, Gouda, and egg white breakfast wrap. De-lish! It is so easy to whip up, here's what you need:

- 1/4 c. Egg Whites

- 1/4 c. Frozen Chopped Spinach

- 1/4 c. Chopped Onion

- Light gradeing of Gouda cheese

- Whole Wheat Tortilla

   I try to keep my freezer stocked with frozen veggies. I've heard that frozen veggies pack more nutrients because they are picked at their peak of freshness. So grab your frozen spinach and toss it in a pan with a few tablespoons of Olive Oil. Then add in your onions. Let the onions saute while the spinach softens and breaks apart. Once the spinach and Onion are done add in your egg whites. Salt and Pepper to taste. Warm your tortilla then put your egg mixture in it. Grate a small amount of the cheese right on top of the eggs and the cheese will melt. I add some Cholulah on top as well for a little kick. If you don't want the carbs from the tortilla slice some fresh tomatoes and put them on top of your eggs instead. Super tasty alternative. I love the cold tomatoes on top of the warm eggs. 

    Hope you enjoy!

Valentines Day - And Unfair Expectations

 
 Oh Valentines Day. How I love thee! It's another reason for presents, date nights, and chocolate. I think there should be a Valentines Day once a month! (wink, wink) Let me just say that this year was exceptional. And not because it was the biggest celebration with the most expensive gift. It was the one filled with the most love.
                        Feeling nauseous from the lovie dovie? Just wait... There's more!
   Daniel has been at a conference for his job for the past few days, and in planning for Valentines day a few weeks ago we decided to just move the celebration to this up coming Saturday. We also decided not to get each other anything because we want to spend all our extra money finishing our backyard. So when we woke up yesterday and my sweet Hubs handed me not one, but THREE cards I was pleasantly surprised. He had gotten a card for each of the girls to give me and one from Him. Cute head. After he left for the conference I was in the Valentine mood and I decided to have Ava make some Valentines Day decorations that we could put up and have until Saturday. So my darling Ava Zsofia spent the morning gluing hearts and coloring Valentines. While we were making our cards for Daniel I thought it would be fun to make a scavenger hunt for him to go on when he got home. But you can't go on a scavenger hunt unless there is treasure at the end, right? So we bought him a present. Oops, we broke the "no gift" rule. Oh well! We got him a gift certificate to a Luthier. (A luthier is someone who works on and repairs guitars) Daniel had his electric repaired by this same guy and loved how it turned out, and his Taylor needs some love! Then I realized you can't go on a scavenger hunt and not have a tasty dinner afterward. So I decided to make filet mignon with Bearnaise sauce and mushroom risotto. Yum! To my surprise Daniel came home early! Woo Woo! He loved his scavenger hunt, he loved his present, and he loved dinner! I kept telling him not to feel bad about not getting me anything because I broke the rules and got him something when we weren't going to. But he didn't seemed bummed about it at all, which kinda bummed me out. Reverse wife mind games! Even though I told him not to worry, I did want him to feel a little bad..... I'm so lame.
  Then Daniel said he had a little something for Ava, and he pulled out a box of chocolates from See's candies! "What?! That's my favorite! Where's mine!" I am such a loser face. He smiled and went and grabbed an even larger box and handed it to me. See, 3 years ago on Valentines Day Daniel got me a box of See's chocolates that he picked out. Every truffle was different and I loved it! Ever since then I continually reminded him about how awesome that was, In hopes that he would get me more! Well he did, because he loves me.

  As we were falling asleep last night I realized how super lame I was for being upset that Daniel didn't feel bad about not breaking the rules and getting me a present. When in actuality, he did..So lame. My poor husband! It is not fair for me to have expectations of Daniel that contradict what I tell him. "No, you finish that last piece of cake" when really, I want him to give it to me. Believe me, he is gonna eat that cake and not think twice! Because that's what I said, and he isn't a mind reader! This is like wife 101 here, you think I would have caught on sooner! I need to work on this nasty little habit and tell Daniel what I want and not expect him to read my mind. I am so blessed to have such an awesome husband who get me chocolates even when I didn't ask for them! Love ya dude!
    I hope you had a great Valentines day! How did you celebrate? Am I the only one who sets up emotional mind traps for her husband???

Grace & Peace
 

Weekend Madness

Look! I got a Two-fer!

   This weekend has been jam packed full of home improving fun! Tons of projects getting crossed off our list, Hallelujah! Today we ran down to Lowe's (my favorite store) and when we got out of the car, guns blazing, ready to tackle our giant list of things we needed.... We found two very cute sleeping daughters. I super love them. I thought I was going to explode with mommy love in that moment. If you look closely you can see Oli's hood over one eye, she is a tiny gangster. And what you can't see is Ava covered from Head to Pink booted toe in graham cracker crumbs. And let me just tell ya, I'm not exaggerating here people... She seriously dusted the top of her head with crumbs as if it were pixie dust and she was hoping to fly! I love that little weirdy. I told Daniel it was a two-fer, because both of them fell asleep at the same time (which never happens!). 

   It has been such an awesome weekend, and one of the best parts was at Church this morning. I love my Church, everything about it. And this morning as Daniel and I were leading worship I had this awesome God moment. You know, the kind where you break out into an ugly cry in front of your entire congregation trying to explain something God is showing you? Oh... You have no idea what I mean? Let me explain. While we were singing "Came to my Rescue" I had an image in my mind of a swimmer way out in the ocean who all of a sudden is terrified they may drown. The swimmer then looks on shore to see the life guard there, watching, ready at any moment to rescue. It seems obvious, doesn't it? But God blew me away. He wants to rescue me. When I am at my weakest and feel like I can't keep going, I can throw my hands up and He will run to me. And save me. Every time. Why? Because I am so awesome? Nope. It's because He desires relationship with me. And even in my long seasons of not pursuing relationship with Him, He waits for me. Ready, at any moment to rescue me and woo me back into relationship with Him. Insane. Seriously, blows my mind. So this morning, while on stage, I explain this to the congregation and i bust out my ugliest cry. But hey, the message I was trying to get across was more important then my composure, right? Definitely. So there ya have it. Just let that sink in. God is more then good. So incredible. 

Grace & Peace 

So Sweet

Can I just tell ya how sweet my life is? Mega, Ultra, Super sweet. Worlds greatest (and hottest) Husband, two insanely gorgeous daughters, a life giving Church, awesome extended family, Wonderful friends.... The list goes on and on. I can't even believe how great this is. Like, seriously great. Just look at what I mean -

The top picture is Olive discovering her Daddy's face, Bottom left is a sleeping Oli, bottom right is my Ava Zsofia showing off her sparkling clean teeth!)

Both of my girls are fighting a cold at the moment. So sad. I wish I could make them feel better! Ava hates blowing her nose and Olive hates it when I wipe her nose. Needless to say, there is a lot of yelling going on in our house. 

You can't see it in the picture (thankfully!) but they are both covered in snot. I love Olive's angry face! She is so much fun! 

In non sick related news, I am so antsy for Spring! I am ready to be outside! The girls and I have a serious case of Cabin Fever. We are making a very long list of all the projects we want to do outside once it warms up. Including a huge garden! I'm so excited! 

Lots of new things on the Horizon!

Grace & Peace