A piece of pie..

Well, I said that next up would be apple pie, so I did hold true to that.. I failed however on completing this one last week. My week went from a low rumble to a rip roaring river as far as craziness is concerned. We enjoyed having my mother in law here for the weekend, and then my Mom was here Tuesday-Friday. I did something crazy and decided it was time to knock out my Real Estate Broker Exams, so I signed up to do those on Wednesday. I had heard that they were hard, and I had spent the past 5 months studying to pass them - well, long story short, I DID PASS THEM. The national exam was a close call, but the state exam I passed with flying colors. What a relief - there are no words for the weight that was lifted from my shoulders when I saw the 'PASS' for my score. Then, as if that wasn't enough, my Mom and I painted Ev's room, finished painting Eli's room, and tackled the mess that was left from Eli's younger days - so may clothes all thrown into random boxes and bags. I will take notes from second time around with Ev and sort clothes as we grow out of them, not when I am preparing for the NEXT baby. Yes, I did say next... we do want more than two;)

Anyway, we spent the weekend doing some much more relaxing things like the Farmer's Market for peaches, I got a $8.50 pedicure (winning!), went to a little concert at a local park, AND then I got bit by a spider on my lip and went to the hospital to deal with that... But when all was said and done, it was a pretty great weekend with my two men. I'm starting to realize that we are down to the final weeks of it just being the three of us, and that is a little bitter sweet at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond thrilled to be having our sweet girl join us so soon, but as we go through each different stage of life, I struggle to leave behind the ones we were just in.. It feels like yesterday I was marrying Jason, then what seemed like a few days later we were bring home sweet Eli, and now we are preparing for Ev. Life is so full of adventures and I wouldn't have it any other way.

But with the new week came a much needed break from the grind stone, so Eli and I made an apple pie and had some friends over. "How To Make an Apple Pie" was one of my favorite books growing up. It is a story about a girl who decides to make an apple pie, so she heads to the market to grab a few ingredients.. Well, turns out the market is closed, so what better decision than to travel the world collecting her ingredients - Italy for wheat, Sri Lanka for cinnamon, Vermont for apples, etc etc... Maybe that book is what triggered my love for food and traveling (and the combination of them both? perfection!!). Eli may or may not have eaten a few handfuls of cinnamon and sugar covered apples, but he was by far the most fun to cook with. He insisted on dumping every cup and teaspoon of ingredients into the bowl.

Disclaimer: I haven't baked a pie in years... I'm not huge into baking actually... It is too time consuming and requires some major patience. I probably opened the oven 5 times to see if it was going to be ready early. So it didn't look like your grandmother's perfect apple pie, but let me tell you... it tasted AMAZING. And having some friends over for coffee and apple pie on a Monday morning sure didn't hurt at all either.

Check back next week for our next cooking adventure! Looks like it's time to head back to the library for our next book:)

Cooking - A Lost Art

I've been realizing more and more lately that cooking has become a lost art. Being able to cook a beautiful meal is something that less and less people know how to do. I get the impression it is because their mothers never took the time to teach them how to cook.

I love cooking.. ask anybody that knows me, and they will tell you that I LOVE to cook. This morning my husband asked me "Why is everything you cook so good?" That was such a huge compliment to me! Pretty much as nice of a compliment as him saying "You look beautiful today." So I got to thinking, how can I pass this knowledge and love for food/cooking on to our children? Well luckily I have been blessed with a son that loves to cook almost as much as I do - actually I think he loves the finished product more than cooking it right now, but every time I ask if he wants to help cook, he is very quick to pull the chair up and help throw ingredients in a bowl.

One thing I KNOW he loves are books... he begs us to read books to him all hours of the day. So I had the idea to combine MY love of cooking with HIS love of books. Today was our first day. There are so many books that talk about food or are written about a particular dish. So once a week I am planning on digging out a new book and making up a new recipe to goes along with the book and getting Eli to help me make it! We had so much fun doing this today.. we even made it to the library for the first time EVER and I got a library card:) SO here is how our morning went ----

We went to the library and picked out a new book called "Strega Nona." While there is not actually a recipe in this book, the book is written about Italy and a girl that lives in Italy and cooks yummy pasta in a magic pasta pot. So Eli and I cooked up some pasta, made our own sauce, and consumed firsts and seconds while reading our new book. It was perfection and I CAN NOT wait for next week!

Spaghetti Sauce

1/4 Yellow Onion

2 Roma Tomatoes

1 T. Olive Oil

3 Basil Leaves

A sprig of Oregano

1 Clove of Garlic

Simmer all ingredients in a pot for 10-15 minutes. 

Place in a blender and puree

Season with salt and pepper

**Optional - I added 1/4 c. shredded Parmesan and it was mmmm mmmm goood!

Pour over pasta and devour like Eli did

Check back next week for Apple Pie!!

Elijah - 17 Months

You guys, the sweetest boy on earth will be 17 months old on Easter Sunday. How? What? Where has the time gone? There have been SO many changes in the past few months I'm shocked. I mean I thought when he was popping out teeth and learning to crawl and walk, that he was changing fast... Little did I know, it just keeps happening. 

He is learning about 5 new words/phrases a day. "Outside!" "Dono(I don't know)" "Ee Ya (see ya)" "Grandma" "Papa" and SO many more are his current words of choice. 

My all time favorite thing that Eli is obsessed with right now is praying. Every time we sit down to eat, or get ready for bed, or even for NO REASON WHAT SO EVER.... He folds his hands until I start praying. As soon as I say "In Jesus name" he says..... "Eema (amen)" yeah my heart explodes on a very regular basis.

This boy is so special to us, there are no words for it. I never could have imagined that my life could so easily revolve around one sweet little boy. Which makes this whole fever thing just that much more challenging. But we push on and he continues to change constantly.

-Happy Birthday My Love-

Today marks 365 days that I have been holding our precious bundle of boy in my arms. Today I feel excited for what our future holds and a little tearful to think that 1 year has already flown bye! I feel as though he was born yesterday and we still have a whole lifetime before he turns ONE.. or maybe that’s just wishful thinking. I do realize the importance of living in every single second though. The first year is so full of firsts.. First smile, first laugh, first teeth, first time crawling, first steps, first word, first cold, first cough, first poopy diaper, first time peeing all over dad and the changing table (nope, didn’t avoid that first). I have no doubt this next year will hold many more firsts, and seconds, successes and fails. But as I said, living in the moment.

My Dad - Grandpa Comerford - holding his first grand baby<3

My Dearest Eli,

We have spent one year with you. It is hard for me to think that one year is already over and in the rearview mirror. God has taught me so much through you. First it’s crazy to me that he can use a little boy to teach so much to a few adults. I first learned what it was like to wake up 8 times throughout the night to change dirty diapers and nurse you until the still-dark-early morning hours. Most people think it is crazy that you could sleep so little and hold a crying baby for hours and still be so happy the next day (on 3 hours of sleep) and still love that baby so much. If it is crazy, then I may be the craziest of them all. When you finally started sleeping through the night there was a HUGE part of me that was scared – is he still breathing? Is he alive? But there was an even bigger part of me that was sad – because like I said, crazy as it sounds, I LOVED rocking in the chair looking at you and falling more in love with you at 2AM. It is a love that I think only a parent can understand, and I pray every person gets the chance to feel that feeling. When you started sleeping in your crib in your own room, well don’t even get me started on that because it basically broke your mama’s heart. At 3 ½ months I felt like my little boy was becoming an adult sleeping on his own “on the other side of the world from me.” Then you got teeth, that added 2 more years to your appearance, and you started crawling, that added 5 years to my appearance ;) Now here you are starting to walk, starting to talk, signing words (please, more, thank you), crawling on the fireplace, crawling out of the shopping cart, winking at people, changing by the second. Every day, every step, every second, I learn more about being YOUR mama. I’m not sure why exactly God chose me to be your mama, but I know he knew exactly the kind of son I needed - The kind that smiles at me in the morning and has me melting into a puddle of joy and tears , the kind that makes me bust up laughing just watching you eat eggs, the kind that teaches me patience (clearly God knew I needed to work on that and a little boy would be my perfect teacher), the kind of boy that teaches me to let go and put it in God’s hands every day. You are quite the little explorer and it scares me to death.. Why you think it is a good idea to stand up on the stairs, crawl out of shopping carts, sit on the fireplace, and eat rocks is beyond me, but I think I am a better person and more forgiving/ understanding because of it. There is a saying, Eli, that when you give birth to your child it is like your heart has been taken from you and is walking around outside of your body. That statement has never been more true. You laugh, I laugh. You cry, I cry. I have learned more about love than I could possibly write down - loving you, loving your daddy, loving God, loving other people. That is the beautiful thing about children they love you no matter what your flaws or beliefs look like, and you are not any different in that area. You are such a lover. Only a child can cruise through Costco winking and laughing at EVERY SINGLE person that walks bye.

Eli, you are such a special person in my life and everybody’s life. You always light up the room. I never thought a little baby could have such an effect on so many people, but you certainly have. I pray that this next year I can continue to learn more from you and about being the “perfect” mama for YOU. I love you Elijah Paul Frink. Happy Birthday my sweet sweet blessing.

Love, Your Mama

crazy-hectic-fun-exhausting days

Today I am realizing how quickly life is flying bye. 

As I wind down my college career, it feels like yesterday that I graduated from high school, loaded all my belongings into my car and headed to Nebraska with my boyfriend. However, as I sit here and look at my calendar, it has been 5 years.

As Jason and I search for a house to BUY, I can't help but remember back to my first time hunting for an apartment to move into with Brittany. Ready for all the excitement that Fort Collins and CSU held instore for us. While that also feels like it was only moments ago, it turns out it was actually 4 years ago. 

Here I am looking forward to this new adventure of owning a home, starting a business, growing as a mother and wife and I have to remember back to my last huge adventure and step into faith I took. 3 years ago, Jason and I packed our belongings into 2 suitecases and jumped on a plane to Australia to have our lives transformed. 

On the 14th of May we celebrate our wedding anniversary.. How has it already been 2 years since we flew to Hawaii, tied the knot, and began this incredible journey of being Husband and Wife? But then when I think of everything that we have been through since we got married it feels like I have been with this amazing man forever! Well, I guess it has been 7 1/2 years..<3

Now, sitting on my couch watching my precious sleeping baby I can't help but get a little teary-eyed thinking that I have been holding him in my arms for 6 months already! It feels like its been about 1 month. But I know that's not possible because of how much my baby  has changed since he was born. 

This little hunk of 6 month old cuteness is:

• 18 lbs
• 27.5 inches
• Sitting on his own
• Has 2 teeth
• Loves eating solids - butternut squash, bananas and teething wafers
• Can get his tummy off the ground, just hasn't quite figured out leg + arm movement = crawling
• Doesn't sleep through the night anymore (wait I said he is a baby, not a newborn right?)
• Flirts with every lady he comes across (Mommy's friends, ladies in the store, ladies at the Dr., ladies at church) Quite the charmer!
• Loves his daddy so so much.. (teary-eyed again)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   

Clearly, there are a lot of developments in all of our lives right now. Sometimes in the craziness it is hard to find time to spend with God, it is hard think clearly, and it is hard to find balance. This morning as I was feeling completely overwhelmed with what has to happen in the next 2 weeks so I can graduate, a song came on my pandora station. 

After all you are constant
After all you are only good
After all you are sovereign
Not for a moment will You forsake me
Not for a moment will You forsake me.

I am encouraged this morning by God's faithufulness, God's grace and God's goodness. He is constant in our joy, journeys, trials, and crazy-hectic-fun-exhausting lives.

3 months going on 1 year!

As I write this, Eli is napping in his crib, by himself for the first time ever. Maybe I'm behind the times, maybe I'm ahead.. I'm not really sure. But I felt like it was time to transition him to his crib and also start him on a daily napping schedule. To date Eli falls asleep when Eli wants to through out the day. In my arms, on the couch, in his beanbag, in the carseat, basically where ever is convenient and comfortable. There really isn't a problem with this other than that I get nothing done because I'm too busy staring at his precious little self <3 Seriously.. I can't get over how much I LOVE this baby! I also can't get over how quickly this little man of mine is growing up. Time has flown by and crawled at a snails pace all at the same time.

love these boys

New in the world of Mr. Eli this month:
>> Enjoys sitting in his bumbo
>> LOVES sucking his hands
>> Loves to blow bubbles
>> Has realized that his tongue is fun to play with
>> Has moved on into 6-9 month clothes (I'm pretty sure he never even wore half of his 3-6 month outfits)
>> Roles tummy to back all the time, and has done back to tummy once
>> He wants to chew on EVERYTHING... hands, clothes, toys, towels, pacifiers, etc
>> Attended is first college class/potluck
>> Loves to try to stand up when we are helping him
>> Is "talking" a ton, and on the verge of belly laughs!
>> Weighs 14 lbs 9.5 oz

It is amazing to see how quickly he changes and grows over night! I feel like every morning I wake up to a new baby. This whole being a Mom job, is by far my  favorite one, but it doesn't come without it's stressful moments, and overwhelming times. It is amazing how much stress our society puts on mothers these days. I was talking with friends about how you can't even leave your child in the car for 1 minute while you run to put a movie in Redbox otherwise child services or the police will be informed of your failure to "parent" properly.. We are constantly told that we are not doing something right whether it is the age we chose to move our babies from the bassinet to the crib or letting the baby sleep in the swing. I receive so much encouragement from other Mamas that are going through the same thing, and older people who I'm sure completely parented us wrong according to current standards (our parents made us sleep on our tummy or side? What were they thinking??). It is so important to not base how you are doing on society's standards. You don't have to eat organic vegetarian all the time to be healthy. You can actually go against the flow, and maybe your children will turn out fine just like all of us did. I think we focus on things that in the grand scheme are so minor, but forget to focus on what may have a huge affect in the future. How do we love our spouse, family or friends? How do we treat people when we disagree with them? Do we encourage or tear down people who are doing something "wrong"?

Sometimes I feel like I am SO different from everybody I go to school with, and it can feel exciting and strange at the same time.. I am one of 2 people married in a group of about 100 students I sit in class with. I am the ONLY one with a child,  and I have had people say "I would drop out of I was married and had a kid." However I am encouraged that Jesus didn't give up and quite because he was "different". He was the strange one because of what he said and did, how he loved people unconditionally, and trusted even when times were confusing and tough. Going to class and being a mom is HARD WORK! But trusting that God holds me, my future, and my family in his hands gives me strength and encouragement to keep pressing on.

Lemonade from lemons

The last 2 weeks have been one hit after another with our cars! We had the oil changed on our cars and an inspection done. Turns out Jason's car needs all sorts of things done with his brakes. We kind of had an idea, but I guess were trying to not think about it. We luckily were blessed by my parents with their car to drive while they are in Hawaii. We had no idea just how grateful we would be for that car! We parked Jason's car and were planning on driving the Expedition and Subaru for a while (untill we sell Jason's car). Wednesday night Jason was driving back from Greeley where he works and the subaru started smoking from the hood! After having to get it towed and getting it checked out, we found out that the radiator had cracked. $475 was the quote given to us by the repair shop to replace the radiator and hoses... WHAT?!?! I did a little research and found out a new radiator only cost $130... Really car repair shop?? $345 for an hour worth of labor? Crazy right? So we bought a tow strap, hooked the car up to the Expedition and hauled it across town in 15 degree temps on icy roads to a friends house. Luckily it was dark so we didn't see any of the nasty looks people were giving us as they passed our little rig going 15 mph :/ We made it safely and left the car to be dealt with the next day. On our drive back we passed a bunch of guys trying to push their truck out of the snow that had gotten plowed up around it. Considering that we had a big vehicle and a tow strap we decided to turn around and pull them out. 5 minutes later we were all on our way in our warm unstuck cars! The next day Jason and our friend opened up my car and did surgery on the radiator. Now we have 2 functioning cars again!
Feeling a little stressed with the big expense of having to fix my car, and driving across town on icy roads with a car in tow was immediately washed away after pulling the truck out of the snow. And a repair that was going to be $475 ended up costing way less thanks to the help of some great friends! Making lemonade out of lemons is very important to remember. We are constantly presented with situations that can put us in a funk, but looking for the positive side of it really helps big things seem quite a bit smaller. And it sure was fun playing Super Man/ Super Woman with my husband for a few minutes:)