Tents, Cars, and So Much More

This week has been super busy. We have  picked a bunch of strawberries, made a pie or two, visited all the grandparents, and spent the majority of our free time on planning for my sister's shower. Jared and I snuck in two dates, one for his birthday and one to buy new dresses for me! Thanks to my parents for watching the boys both times. 

We flew in airplanes. 

We drove cars around.  

We ate lunch in a tent. 

We played in the closet together with trains. Warren now crawls and Martin calls him into the closet or under the crib or table. 

We went to the grocery store. Martin put all the cans in my drying rack and then put them away again when he "drove home from the grocery store". 

We visited the crane truck again. 

And I bought four new dresses. There are only three in the picture. One is dry clean only so I didn't wash it. 

Also, I just love how light my kitchen is!! It makes me happy whenever I am in it. I love my house. 

Crane Truck Part Two

We went back to SU to walk around campus because it was such a pretty day and the crane was back!! What a fun surprise. It was gone when we went two weeks ago. 

We watched it from the parking lot on the grassy area next to the car. 

And while we ate ice cream and I nursed the baby at a picnic table. I have nursed this baby in so many public places. I can't even remember nursing Martin in public, but I know there were a few times. 

And from inside where I went to reset my faculty password in a computer lab. 

Having boys is SO much fun for my engineering side. We will probably build a crane next week from Tinkertoys. I built a trash truck with a movable arm today. I have to give it a few days until it gets old before disassembling it. 

Favorites for my Favorite!

These are my favorite cupcakes. Jared is my favorite husband. I made these for him to take into work. He has been requesting that I make his co-workers something. I found these responses amusing. 

Dee, our IT administrator says, “INCREDIBLE!”

Anne, our A/R woman says, “Tell your wife I love her!”

Mike, counter sales, says, “Does your wife do this for a living?” and “Why would you bring these things in here? You know I’m trying to lose weight?!”

Frank, the warranty guy, says, “Wow!”

A Few Things

I was thinking how glad I was that today was Wednesday because this week has seemed so long already, but then I remembered it is only Tuesday. Ha. 

The baby is eating real food now. Martin likes to help. Now that I am not nursing as often, I won't have as much time to read or blog. I am definitely not going to be making my four books a month goal anymore. I had a good run though. 

The baby also crawled across the living room rug today. I am not ready for that yet. 

I made two strawberry pies yesterday. :)

And it is Jared's birthday today! Happy birthday, dear Jared! You are great. I am glad I married you. 

Thanks, Anna for the great picture! 

Strawberry Pie

You should probably go make this strawberry pie!! It is my favorite pie. I could eat an entire pie myself, in a day. Ha ha.

Recipe

Magazine

Martha Stewart Living is one of the most boring magazines I have ever read. It is full of such useless recipes and art projects. I am glad I receive it for free. 

Stress Relief

Sometimes, when I feel overwhelmed and I have leftover whipping cream, I make whipped cream by hand. :) 

And my baby fell asleep in nursery during Bible study today with his "twin" (she is two days younger than him, but was due the week before - somehow that averages out to basically the same age). 

So sweet. 

So Neat!

One of my friends sent this to me on Facebook. How cool is this? I love numerical and word patterns like this. Thanks, Jeanne! 

Shelves Above the Windows

These aren't new. I asked Jared to put them up when I married him. So, we have had these almost six years. I don't think I have blogged about them. Whenever we do move, I plan to put these back up in our room and make more for the boys' room. 

There is a suspension curtain rod hanging between the shelf brackets. My Dad made the shelves and brackets for my old room at their house. My old rooms, at my parent's house, don't exist anymore. One is my sister's dance studio and the other is half my brother's room (they combined two bedrooms (my old room and a guest room) to make one giant bedroom for my brother).  Anyhow, I took the shelves with me when I married Jared. Thanks, Dad! 

Water Bill

The spelling, word usage, and bad punctuation annoy me every time we get a water bill. It is always the same note. 

10 Random Things

1. The boys took naps that overlapped by about 20 minutes today. Happy Mother's Day to me!!

2. Martin was able to open the cap for the Claritin and I had to call poison control for the first time today. Thankfully, he is doing well. 

3. My brother graduates as an officer in the coast guard tomorrow. I am so proud of him. So proud. We haven't seen him in 17 weeks. I can't wait to see him again. 

4. My sister is having a boy! That makes three grandsons for my parents. I know Martin and Warren will love him. I look forward to them all playing together at family holidays. 

5. My baby sister graduates from Air Force boot camp on Friday. I am also proud of her. I can't believe she is almost finished. 

6. I am making pork stuffed with apples, cranberries, ginger, and a few other things for dinner tonight. The grocery store didn't have dried apples last night so I made my own. 

7. I didn't have kitchen twine, so I cut some strips of muslin to tie the pork roast together. It seems to work. I will let you know once I cook it. If it is delicious, like I think it will be, I will post the recipe. 

8. I finished The Hobbit and I am now reading  The Tale of Two Cities. I love Charles Dickens. Jared is reading Little Dorrit, which he says is fabulous so that might be one of my next books. However, it is 862 pages. So... I don't know if I can get through it. 

9. Potty training is going well. Martin does this little happy dance every time he uses the potty. It is cute. Some days we have zero accidents, but most days we have one. But it is so much better than changing diapers. 

10. It is a bit too warm for me. I like the temperature in the 50-70 degree range. Boo summer. Although, Martin keeps seeing pictures of the beach and asking to go with his aunt and uncle. That will be fun. I am so glad he loves my siblings. What fun. 

Thy Mercy, My God

THY MERCY, MY GOD, IS THE THEME OF MY SONG

by John Stocker, 1776

Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,

The joy of my heart. and the boast of my tongue;

Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,

Hath won my affections, and bound my soul fast.

Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here;

Sin would reduce me to utter despair;

But, through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive,

And He that first made me still keeps me alive.

Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart,

Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart;

Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground,

And weep to the praise of the mercy I've found.

Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own,

And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son;

All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine

Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine.

I first heard this hymn, in college, at RUF, while singing it to the igrace tune. I have loved it ever since. Read over these words. Ponder them. They are so rich. 

Three related things

1. An interview about this song with Sandra McCracken, who wrote the new tune. 

http://shereadstruth.com/2015/01/28/hymns-ii-day-3/

2. A new hymn book/devotional for children. 

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/learn-truth-and-worship-god-with-new-student-hymnal

3. Please, go support the new igrace album on kickstarter. If they receive extra money, they can add more songs to the cd!! I am so excited to be a part of their next cd. 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1490944076/help-us-make-indelible-grace-7/rewards

Happy Ten Year Anniversary!!

Things have sure changed a lot in 10 years. Thanks for reading. Maybe my children will find my blog amusing some day.