Tonight

I get to enjoy some of my favorite things....

Eating at my favorite restaurant

Shopping at my favorite store

And seeing a movie

which happens to star my absolute favorite actress of all time (Rachel McAdams)

all this with one of my favorite people!

Merry Christmas 'o9

All of these pictures taken by my fabulous sister in law, Tara!

Also, I'm sorry if these pictures are spaced weirdly. I can't figure out why!

Two Years Ago

Two years ago from today started out like any other Monday. I got up early and left for my job where I worked as a nanny for two little boys. Mondays were a half day for me. I spent the morning playing with my little charges. After they went down for their nap I called my mom. I needed advice about something. We talked while I swept the floor. She mentioned my dad had stayed home from work that day, and they had spend a great morning together, just hanging out. She said that they were taking Drew and Bella to see Santa Clause that night at San Tan Mall.

I said I would meet them there for a little bit. It was our week to be with Ryan's family for family night but he didn't get off until 8 that evening so I figured I could do both.

Later that evening I headed to the mall. It was the first time I had driven there in the dark and I got lost. I almost turned around and went home. But after a quick phone call to my dad I found my way and was able to meet up with everyone. Matt, Becky, Dad, Mom, Jesse, Drew and Bella. We had fun in the short hour I was there. Drew and Bella stood in line to see Santa Clause, but got scared at the last second. The picture ended up being with Mom holding Drew and Bella on Santa's lap :)

The time was nearing for me to leave. I walk

ed with my family to the restaurant they were eating dinner at. Mom and I walked arm in arm. She caught me up on the latest news with Jesse and a girl that he liked. We giggled.

As we parted ways in the restaurant, I told them all bye and I loved them and I'd see them later. That was the last time I saw my mom alive.

Two hours later Ryan and I were at his parent's house playing cards when I got the call from Becky that Mom had passed out in the car on the way home from the mall. We raced to the hospital.

The next 4 days were painful and full of tears. We learned that Mom had had a heart attack and would not regain consciousness. We said our goodbyes to her on Thursday, December 20th.

I'm writing this post this morning through tears. I woke up and couldn't shake these vivid memories; the good, the bad. God was so good to allow our family such a special, memory making day with Mom before she died. But that doesn't make it easier. I miss her so much. The ache in my heart since she died hasn't gone away. I wish we had more time together. I wish I had gotten to know her better, not just as my mom, but as my friend. I wish she could be a grandmother to Owen and Austin. There are so many ways I miss her, but I know God is sovereign in His will and timing and Mom certainly is whe

re she always wanted to be. Heaven.

She was one of the godliest women I ever knew. She was a wonderful example of the Proverbs 31 woman. She sought the Lord daily. She loved to love others. I'm grateful I had the privilege of being her daughter for 20 years. Her legacy continues after her; often if I need advice and wonder what she would tell me I don't have to think for long; she would direct me back to scripture and what God's word says about living our lives. She left a major impact on my life. I miss her much, but I'm rejoicing in her memory today.

"The memory of the righteous is a blessing"

Proverbs 10:7

With Mom and Dad Halloween '07

Dose of Owen and a NAME!

My little man got his first bleeding battle wound the other day. He fell off one of his toys and hit his eyebrow on the coffee table. It was bleeding pretty bad for a few minutes. I did manage to stay calm. Poor little guy.

Ryan has been putting him in his Cardinals jersey on the weekend when ASU plays. Owen looks like such a big boy in this!

I've been doing alot of baking lately. Here are my version of Peanut Butter Blossoms

Owen likes to "help" me sweep the kitchen. Hopefully he's this helpful when his little brother arrives.

annnnnnd, last but not least, we have a name for our Baby Boy #2. It's

Austin

:]

Food and Teething

Tonight I made this great soup, inspired by my friend Chanelle. It was soooo good. My version included an onion, garlic, celery, zucchini, tomato sauce, chicken stock, a can of mixed veggies, some frozen peas, Italian seasoning and a bit of cream cheese. Yum. Even Owen loved it. I may make it every two weeks or so, just throw whatever veggies I have left over from the week in a pot, bake up some bread like I did today, and voila. A delicious (and healthy!) dinner is served.

I also stumbled upon a treasure today. I was making chocolate chip cookies, then realized I was out of vanilla extract. SO I used Toffee Nut syrup (the kind from Starbucks) and they turned out really good. They maybe had a hint of toffee, which I love, but the syrup did add that background sweetness like vanilla extract does. What's that saying, 'necessity is the mother of invention?'

On a side note, I'm pretty sure Owen's bottom molars are coming in. He has his top ones, which he got pretty much without me even noticing. But man, these bottom ones are really affecting him. I think he must be in more pain with these because he has been crabby. And clingy. And whiny. Or at least he has many more crabby moments that he usually does. He's still sweet as can be a good part of the time, but he has these moments where he just acts like he doesn't feel good. Hope these teeth come in soon so I can have my happy, charming boy back full time!

Baby #2 is a.....

We are thrilled to announce that our Baby # 2 is a BOY!!!

I am so happy to have a little brother for Owen, and the thought of sweet little boys running around makes my heart melt! I know our days will be filled with wrestling, balls and toy trucks - and I'll love every minute of it! Couldn't ask for more than two precious boys that look just like their daddy :)

Hopefully I can get the sonogram pictures up soon. The technician was able to get some great 3D pictures of my little guy's face. He is soo cute! And looks as healthy as can be. What more could I ask for?

Thanks for your prayers!

BIG day

Tomorrow is the big day... my ultrasound!!! Boy, or girl?!? Ryan and I are so excited to find out. For me, finding out the gender is the BEST part of being pregnant. It's also when I feel like the real bonding begins... calling the baby by name, getting to feel the kicks, I love it all.

Part of me is convinced I'm having a girl, but I thought Owen was a girl too, so my instinct is not reliable. I would love to have a girl, just so I know for sure that I get to have the the joy of the daughter relationship. However, a little brother for Owen would be tooooo cute. Plus, since they will only be 19 months apart, I'm sure they would be close. Of course I'm sure he'd be best buddies with a little sister too... as my mother in law says, you just can't lose either way!

SO anyway, our appointment is tomorrow at 1pm. Pray for a happy healthy baby! And I'll update my blog soon with our news!!

What We've Been Up To

Owen has been keeping my hands full. Here's a pic I snapped after he got into the coffee grounds in the trash can. Yuck.

Ruth gave me highlights with a box dye - they turned out better than I expected!

I've been lovin' being home with Owen. We have so much fun together. He's a major Mama's Boy! He still loves his Daddy tho. They have such a sweet bond.

Sweet boy. Look at those eyes! LoVe!!
Cruisin'

Poor thing has his first cold :( Low grade temperature, runny nose, little cough. I'm so sad for him. For the most part tho he seems like his happy self.

We stayed home from church today due to the temp. He pretty much camped out on the couch watching Elmo, drinking juice and snuggling with me :)

Thursday Thoughts

~ We had Taylor, our niece, over tonight. Owen absolutely adores her, and she him. She's so much fun. After she went down her and Uncle Ryan played chess. So fun to watch.

~ Coffee Bean had a great promo going on today; a free holiday drink between 4pm and 8pm. I took advantage of this and got myself a Blended Peppermint Mocha. Twice.

~ Scored some great deals while out shopping today. First of all, Tara told me about this second hand store for kids called Kids to Kids. It's right by where I work so I went to check it out, and took a box of kids clothing that I intended to sell at a garage sale. Lo and behold, they wanted to buy some of my items so I ended up getting a $20 credit to the store. I got Owen 2 pair of Converse (black and red), along with some grey Hurley jeans, a cute grey pinstriped Old Navy button down, and one other Hurley shirt. All for $20!

Then I headed to Kohl's. I had a $10 gift card that I received in the mail, along with a $5 email coupon. SO, I pretty much had $15 free dollars. I also got an additional 20% off for using my Kohl's card. Walked out of there with two sweaters for Owen and one for Bella with just $5 out of pocket. I LOVE a good deal! And I didn't even get to Old Navy - I have this great coupon just waiting to be used - works with their clearance items too!

~ Now waiting for The Office to download so I can kick back and relax. The weekend can't get here soon enough!

Things I'm Loving Lately

~ The Tim Hughes station playing on Pandora while I'm baking in the kitchen

~ Excitedly anticipating baby kicks

~ Buying cute things like these, even though I don't know if I'm having a girl :)

(leggings courtesy of Ruth!)

~ Crisp, cool night air

~ Busting out the boots and scarves

~Putting Toffee Nut syrup in my coffee and chocolate milk

I'm saving up for this baby:

~ Walks with my boys

~ The Twilight Farmers Market on Wednesdays

~ My church

Catchin' Up

It's been relatively uneventful around here lately. Owen is doing great, and is our constant entertainment. His one year appointment went well, he's 23 lbs (50-75%) and 31 inches (90%). He's just a blast to have around. So affectionate and charming. He's got me wrapped around his little finger for sure.

Pregnancy is going great. I'm getting my energy back, thank goodness. Felt like a zombie there for a while. I never really got sick or nauseous, at least not the throwing up kind. I'm fortunate, I know. We ahve an appointment for our "big" ultrasound on Monday, November 23rd. If you remember, I was a bit of a nervous wreck the day we found out Owen's gender. Hopefully history won't repeat itself.

In other news, I've been spending lots of time in the kitchen lately. Fall is just when I seem to hit my cooking stride. Some recipes have turned out, some haven't. I made this recipe for roasted chicken on Sunday (using this recipe for the rub) and it was amazing - the gravy was delish, especially paired with this recipe for mashed potatoes. Then I made this recipe last night, not so great. Go figure. All the bread I have been making in the bread machine has been really great. I love that thing! I just got a KitchenAid Mixer that belonged to my mom so I'm sure the baking recipes will be kicked up a notch as well. Side note: doesn't it seem like a ton of holiday recipes call for pumpkin of some sort? Am I the only one that doesn't like pumpkin? Or apple cider? Pie? Hmm.

Anyways, I just found my camara cord after searching for it for a few weeks. I can update with pics now! Owen's getting so big, so I have to capture some of his new tricks and such. And I guess it's time to start documenting the baby bump too!

Mothers

“O dear mothers, you have a very sacred trust reposed in you by God! He hath in effect said to you, ‘Take this child and nurse it for Me, and I will give thee thy wages.’ You are called to equip the future man of God, that he may be thoroughly furnished unto every good work. If God spares you, you may live to hear that pretty boy speak to thousands, and you will have the sweet reflection in your heart that the quiet teachings of the nursery led the man to love his God and serve Him. Those who think that a woman detained at home by her little family is doing nothing, think the reverse of what is true. Scarcely can the godly mother quit her home for a place of worship, but dream not that she is lost to the work of the church; far from it, she is doing the best possible service for her Lord. Mothers, the godly training of your offspring is your first and most pressing duty. Christian women, by teaching children the Holy Scriptures, are as much fulfilling their part for the Lord, as Moses in judging Israel, or Solomon in building the temple.”

-Spiritual Parenting by Charles Spurgeon

Little Brother

Last weekend I got to visit my little brother, Jesse! But this wasn't just any visit... Jesse signed up for the Navy last October and was sent out to boot camp in February of this year. When he graduated from bootcamp in April, Dad, Matt and I flew out to see his graduation at the base in Great Lakes, IL. And that's the last time we saw him! So it had been a long 8 month wait for a good weekend visit. Fortunately he'll be back for Christmas for a few months.

Anyway, we had fun catching up with him. His plane arrived late so the weekend was even more jam packed for him. Ryan, Owen and I got to hang out with his Saturday night. It was so great to have him around again!

Owen and Uncle Jesse

Big sis and little bro! 3 years apart. We've gone from fighting all the time to being good friends

Glad to have an excuse to see this little munchkin

Buddies

Manly bonding - wrestling with Drewby

And just for the heck of it some cute ones of O



We miss you J, can't wait to see you for Christmas! Keep up the good work in the Navy!

New Layout

Hey, for all you Google Reader people who don't actually see my site, take a look at it! I have a new layout! Also, there's a poll on the lefthand side asking what subjects you would like to see more of on my blog. Vote and let me know what you think!

..And if there was any misunderstanding regarding my favorite color being brown, I think I've taken care of that :p

Pregnancy Craving

My most recent pregnancy craving - sandwiches. Go figure. However, nothing satisfies my craving better than some Trader Joe's bread, turkey, havarti cheese, lettuce, dijon mustard and mayo. I've never been a huge sandwich person, but I am now. Weird, I know.

Homemade Bread, Anyone?

This breadmaker belonged to my mom. It holds many memories from when I used to live at home. I remember my mom and I in the kitchen in the afternoon- I always prepared the bread myself. I picked it up from my Dad's house this weekend. It's been about 4 years, but I'm eager to try it again. There's nothing like home made bread! I'm going to try it tonight when my in laws come over. I'm making Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. This bread should be fabulous as a side! Wish me luck!

Ahhhhh....

Nothin' like iced coffee in my favorite mug on a gorgeous Sunday morning

Starbucks

"Deanne" :P

Why is Owen so Happy?

Because he's gonna be a big brother!!!

Baby Jones #2 due April 24th

:D

Owen's First Birthday

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Haircut

Technically Owen has already had his first haircut but this was the first one at a kiddie cut place. He did great - Ry & I were so proud!

He got to watch Elmo, which he loves - it made the haircut pretty easy. He hardly moved!

He looks like such a big boy

After his haircut he got to have his very first sucker. Of course he LOVED it.

Then we went to Starbucks. He just sat on the table and happily sucked on his sucker. What a sticky mess. He had already gotten in in his hair!

love my boy