gergandnique

A little story

2012-02-15T19:59:00.001-08:00

Wow, it's been a while! I hope this post finds all my readers well! I am doing something a little different this time, I shared a little story with my bible study and I thought it would be good to share it with you too! It was a speech so it might read a little strange but you will get the point!CBSGod has been teaching me a lot about His sovereignty lately. I am not sure why because I thought that I had learned that lesson but apparently not! :) Which is strange because my whole life has been Him proving to me that he is sovereign over all but especially and specifically me. For those of you who do not know me and my story let me set up a little background. I was born in CA, with both parents in the police force when I was about 10 they decided that they wanted a less crazy place to live and we moved to Laramie, WY. Now, to me that is sovereignty all by it self because what human plan would include WY? :) I spent the rest of my childhood in WY, moved to DE for bit, then to AZ and got married there. Then in 2007 we moved to CO w/o jobs and a plan really. We just felt God's pull on us to move to Denver. When we got here I found a temp job right away but for some reason it took Greg a few months to find a job. He found one and we found out we were pregnant about a month later. We were pretty excited about being pregnant because I had been told from previous health problems that I may not be able to have children. So it was such a blessing to be pregnant, both have jobs and in this great state that we loved.Then about 2 months later Greg was laid off. That makes sense right? Get pregnant, loose your job. We were so confused. Why would God do that? After we got over the shock we figured we needed to get some health insurance. My pride was saying that we didn't need to get on Medicaid. I didn't have a logical idea on how to get insurance but I DID NOT want to go on Medicaid. I had no real reason why besides my pride so we did. We went down and applied and obviously qualified. It took Greg another 2 months to find a job, which was very stressful and not a very fun time for us. We were just trying to figure out why God would move us here, have us be pregnant and then jobless. But thanks to God's grace and mercy we trusted in him (as much as we could) he filled in the gap.....and Greg found a job. He started as a temp and is still with the company as a full time employee.That should be the end of the story but God wasn't through showing us what he had for us or maybe we hadn't learned our lesson yet.Since Greg got the job we called the Medicaid office to let them know that we were employed and probably didn't qualify for the program any more. Their policy is that once a pregnant mom is on Medicaid they keep them on it until the baby is a year old. They want to make sure that babies get the care they need. So, we kept Medicaid and went through the pregnancy knowing that we wouldn't have to pay a dime for the pregnancy or the delivery. Which was good because after 24 hours of labor and an emergency c-section, then infection and a 5 day hospital stay for both us, we would have had a $13,000 hospital bill. Praise God that he made me swallow my pride and get Medicaid right?Again the story could be over there.... but apparently I did not learn my lesson about God's sovereignty. We noticed Little Ryan at about 6 weeks was developing a flat head. He would only sleep on the one side and it just kept getting flatter and flatter. We took him to the dr's they diagnosed him with torticoulous. Basically a crick in the neck. Now because we were still on Medicaid we got to take Ryan to a physical therapist at no cost to us. The therapist we had was amazing. Ryan went to her every week for a few months. As she got to know Ryan and see him develop she noticed that he wasn't hitting the typical milestones at the right time. He was delayed in sitting, rolling, walking, eating and most of all in his social skills. She sent us to a few specialists (that again were free to us) and I will save you all the details and drs we went to but the bottom line is that Ryan was diagnosed with Autism. Pause in the story here. God is sovereign right. I know that I trust in him. Find my hope in him. That is why He had Greg loose his job, move us to Denver, get me pregnant, made us swallow our pride and get Medicaid. We would not have had the diagnoses as soon as we did if we had not had Medicaid. The therapy and the early care we received really was instrumental in how well Ryan is doing now. So end of story! And we all lived happily ever after. Well, not so much. The sovereignty of God is evident in this story but that doesn't make this any easier. Even though all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together and we know now why God had Greg loose his job, dealing with a child with special needs is a pretty difficult task. BUT, I will say that this story has put my faith and trust more in God and less in myself. I struggle daily with why God is doing this or how come that but in then end I know that God is in control and his sovereignty is over all and encompasses everything in my life and Ryan's. I am not trying to say that my life has been all lollipops and gumdrops. I have struggled this past couple of years trying to align my will and my hopes and dreams with Gods'. It is such a difficult thing to know in your head that you shouldn't worry, be anxious or lack hope but your heart is telling you that it will never get better, it is too difficult and how in the world am I going to get through today, or even this hour. There have even been times where Ryan and I and now the little sister Hannah, have all cried together because of how overwhelming this has been.So have I lifted you up yet? Do you feel a little depressed? Well that wasn't my intention. I hope that this portion of my life shows you that God is in control, he is in the details and he knows what he is doing, even if we don't! By the way, God has big shoulders, he can handle our questions of his plan, our hurtful cries in the night when we feel so overwhelmed with life. He knows the heartache of living in this sin ladened world. I know that I have cried out to Him and been even angry with him. Thankfully in His awesome graceful, tender spirit He listens and comforts me.The lyrics to this song have really been an encouragement to me lately. I probably should share scripture in a bible study talk but these words have really been laid on my heart to share with you ladies. This song has really helped me get through those sobbing times of asking God, why...Blessings by Laura StoryWe pray for blessings, we pray for peaceComfort for family, protection while we sleepWe pray for healing, for prosperityWe pray for Your mighty hand to ease our sufferingAll the while You hear each spoken needYou love us way too much to give us lesser things'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops. What if Your healing comes through tears?What if a thousand sleepless nightsAre what it takes to know You're near?What if trials of this lifeAre Your mercies in disguise?We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hearWe cry in anger when we cannot feel You nearWe doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your loveAs if every promise from Your Word is not enoughAnd all the while You hear each desperate pleaAnd long that we'd have faith to believe'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindropsWhat if Your healing comes through tears?And what if a thousand sleepless nightsAre what it takes to know You're near?And what if trials of this lifeAre Your mercies in disguise?When friends betray us, when darkness seems to winWe know that pain reminds this heartThat this is not, this is not our homeIt's not our home'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindropsWhat if Your healing comes through tears?And what if a thousand sleepless nightsAre what it takes to know You're near?What if my greatest disappointmentsOr the aching of this lifeIs the revealing of a greater thirstThis world can't satisfy?And what if trials of this lifeThe rain, the storms, the hardest nightsAre Your mercies in disguise?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-12-14T20:59:00.001-08:00

My Big Boy!

2011-12-14T20:53:00.000-08:00

Cutie Girl

2011-12-14T20:49:00.000-08:00

Horizon Christmas Tea 2011

2011-12-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

Our church just had its first Ladies Christmas Tea. It was wonderful. We had such a good group of ladies to put the whole thing together. The men were great servers. It was just such a good night I had to share pictures!

2011-10-10T14:48:00.001-07:00

Cute Hats!

Sharing cars with brother.

Uh oh. Sister has Lightening and Mater. Ryan was not happy!

Trying to take pictures.

2011-10-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

People have asked me why I don't have more pictures of Ryan and Hannah together. Here is a little display of why.

First attempt. Hannah is falling over.

2nd attempt. Hannah was pushed over. (On accident)

Both up but not looking

And Hannah falling again!

Oh well. At least they are looking in the same direction! :)

Fairs

2011-10-10T14:27:00.000-07:00

We went to a number of fairs this year. I don't know why I like them so much, there is just something about them that make them fun. Here are some of my favorites from August. This is Anders, Ryan's friend. He is playing the "strombolli". He marched around the whole place playing it. Too cute!
Here is Ryan's sword. He wasn't quite sure of it at first but when he was shown what it was for he had a blast. He was laughing so hard! It was great!
Ryan and Greg watching the kids inside the balls in the water. He had no interest in doing it himself but loved watching the others.

Ryan making an airplane with legos. This booth was great!

This was the neatest display. There were so many legos!

Ryan's First Day of Preschool

2011-10-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

Here is the morning of Ryan's first day of school. He was so excited!

I definitely had a harder time than he did. He just marched right in!

Picking Ryan up. He did great and had a blast!

Cooking Class

2011-10-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

I had an idea to do a cooking class with kids. I wasn't quite sure how it would work but it turned out great. We made fruit pizza with a ton of fruit, cream cheese sauce, and little multi grain crusts. It was super fun to watch all of the kids make them. Some just ate the fruit and some made works of art. I unfortunately did not get any pictures of the finished product.... they ate them too fast! :)

Church Outreach

2011-09-11T20:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of a great outreach that our church was able to be a part of. It was a great experience to help those in our community with a bunch of other churches. Praise God that He gave us the ability to minister to our neighbors!

Melanie's Wedding

2011-09-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

Melanie's Wedding

2011-09-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

2011-09-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

So sweet!

2011-08-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I had great birthdays in July. We had such a great time with all of our friends. Here are just a few pictures of us celebrating with our friends. To see more picture go to here.

2011-08-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

We have a thumb sucker!

I have a picture of Ryan doing this same pose! I love it!

2011-08-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

Ryan with his new backpack. He looks so cute and ready for school. He will be starting next week. I can't believe it!

I think that buying these squirt guns are the best $1 that I have spent in a while! He loves them! He told me that he has 2 and I have 1 so I am going to get wet. Awesome!

Ryan playing at the table that Great-Grandma Rose and Pop bought him for his birthday. He ate every meal there for a few days. He loves it!

It is amazing what he finds to play with! He loves both of Hannah's playmats. I also love the crossed leg. So grown up and little all at the same time!

He told me he didn't get out of bed when I woke him up but then said "Oh, where did this drill in my hand come from!" Too funny!

I love this picture! It was too funny watching him push it all over the yard.

Horizon Christian Fellowship: Sunday Services Begin August 7th

2011-08-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

Horizon Christian Fellowship: Sunday Services Begin August 7th: "Horizon Christian Fellowship of Golden is excited to announce that Sunday Services will begin on August 7th! Our new church home is the Historic Foothills Chapel in downtown Golden"

Ryan's Birthday

2011-07-27T07:50:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of a cake I made

for Ryan's birthday. We are going to have a

birthday party in August for both of us

but I wanted to make a cake for his

actual birthday. I turned out pretty

well. He loved it!

2011-07-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

Recently I went to Arizona to visit my family. I had a lot of fun with them. We did a bunch of stuff for my sister Melanie's wedding and I played Bunco for the first time. It was a great trip, it just makes me miss my family more. My sister Michelle was sadly in New Mexico so I didn't get to see her :(

This trip was so much better than the trip

I took with Ryan at this age. My mom was

worried about it but I got off the plane smiling.

It was a great flight both ways!

4 generations shown here!

My parents have so many animals and all of

them loved Hannah! They couldn't get

enough of her. Kind of cute and annoying

all at the same time!

Melanie and her new husband Josh Ebert.

I finally got to meet him!

Josh, my brother, was great with Hannah.

It was like having a nanny. Thanks Josh!

2011-06-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to get a picture of Ryan and Hannah together for a while. It hasn't really worked because Ryan doesn't like to touch people! :) So, I tried again recently and worked, well sort of!

He looks happy but what is really happening is he is trying to push her off of him and yelling at me that he wants Hannah to go to bed! Oh well, at least I captured a brief moment of him holding her....

2011-06-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

Hannah has been trying out her smile. Isn't she cute?

Another cute outfit. She has way too many!

Bathtime

2011-06-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

These first 2 pictures are of Hannah's first bath. She loved it!

Do you like the strategically placed wash cloth and bubbles? :)

This is from a later bath but I just thought there should

be proof that she can sleep anywhere!

Lakeside with the Jacobsons

2011-06-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

The Jacobsons got us tickets to go to an amusement park here in Denver. It was so much fun! It was Ryan's first time getting on rides and we had a couple of disasters but he did so well! Here are some pictures of our fun.

2011-06-03T12:39:00.001-07:00

I know that you are all eagerly awaiting more pictures of little Hannah but unfortunately my camera's memory card reader stopped working and I need to get to the store for a new one. I have tons of pictures on the camera I just can't get them on the blog right now. So, instead of posting pictures, I thought I would post a question.... What do all of you stay at home mom's do to get out of the house by yourself? I am not really interested in selling anything, ie Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, etc. I am just trying to think of something that would be meaningful and get me out of the house for a couple hours a week. I love staying at home but I have come realize how much I covet adult conversations and interaction as of late. :) So, just thought I would ask and see what the other mom's in my life do!

Happy Easter

2011-05-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

Dying Easter Eggs with Grandma

Sister watching closely

Daddy helping with the stickers

Easter egg hunt! Ryan got out of the bath and came downstairs to an Easter egg hunt. He had so much fun, especially since there was candy in the eggs!

Hannah with her stash of eggs! :)

2011-05-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

Tried to get a picture of the 2 of them together and we couldn't quite convince Ryan to sit. So we we did what any other good parent would do. We bribed him with juice. :)

Hannah's first "bath." We are still working on a real one.

Ryan was sweet and trying to "play" with Hannah. He would pull the string and listen to the song and then do it all over again!

One of friends had a little girl about 3 months ahead of Hannah and we have been privileged to have all of her little one's clothes. This dress was just begging for a picture!

This one was just cute! :)

More of Hannah

2011-05-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Nana

Aunt Liz

Grandma

Baby Hannah

2011-04-09T17:40:00.001-07:00

She is here! Hannah was born 4-8-11 at 8:01 am. Here we are heading to the c-section

Here is the 3 of us. We are missing Ryan who is hanging out with Nana. More pictures of the 2 of them to come!

Hello World! Here is our little Hannah with her eyes open. A very rare occasion! Obviously we have a lot more pictures to post but I wanted to get something on the blog for everyone to see. More posts to come!

I Can't Believe It!

2011-04-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

I am caught up! I can't believe that I have posted the most recent pictures of my family on this blog. I have been so far behind for so long I thought it would never happen! Now that it has happened it is unbelievable! Oh well, in a few short weeks I will be behind again with a new little baby and Ryan to take cute pictures of. I guess you will just have to be patient with me. But until then, I hope you enjoy catching up on our lives and I can't wait to post pictures of our new little Hannah, whenever she decides to come! :)

Pregnant Pictures

2011-04-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

I am horrible at getting pictures done! It is a fault of mine I know. I have yet to have any pictures of Ryan taken by a professional studio, I just don't think about it. It is a good thing that I have very talented friends that want to help me! Here are a bunch of pictures my friend Amy took of Ryan and I. She did such a great job!

Easter Time

2011-04-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

Easter is so late this year that I have been ahead of the game with decorating. My mom found these window clings that Ryan had such a blast putting up. It took him a good 45 minutes to find just the right place for them, which usually was one on top of another!

Here is our Easter bunny house that we put together. It was a lot harder than I thought! I should have known that glue and a 2 year old would not be a good combination!

Finger Painting

2011-04-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

It has been pretty funny to watch Ryan change his finger painting ways. We went from having to wipe his hands off each time he touched the paint and paper, to putting his whole hand in it. It is so fun to watch him experience things and experiment with them!

Daddy and Son

2011-04-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

We finally found a reasonably priced dresser for Hannah and Greg of course, had to put it together. Ryan pulled out his tools and helped. It was the cutest thing to watch, Ryan "helping" dad put his baby sister's dresser together. Awwwww! :)

Jumpin Jordy's

2011-04-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

My friend was telling me how much her little one enjoyed jumpy places so I thought I would try it with Ryan. I wasn't really sure how he would do but he quickly dismissed those fears! We played (meaning Greg and Ryan) for 2 hours through dinner time! He had such a good time playing with Dad. They were both so exhausted afterwards but it was worth it!

Snow!

2011-04-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

I am not really good at remembering weather and what happened last year or even last week, but I feel like this winter has not been that bad for snow. These pictures were taken in February and this was the first time we took Ryan out in the snow. He had such a blast. He quickly figured out how to pick up snowballs and throw them at Hannah, with a little help from dad!

Staycation

2011-04-02T15:02:00.001-07:00

In December Greg's work generously gives him the week or so between Christmas and New Year's off. It is such a blessing to have that time to spend as a family. This year we decided that we would try and go on a vacation. With Hannah coming we thought it would be a good idea to spend couple time. I had no idea how expensive vacationing is! We thought we had saved a pretty good amount of money to maybe go somewhere that has a beach or a resort or something different but it was so expensive we decided that we could have just as much fun in Denver. (Ok maybe not just as much fun but we could have a vacation for an 1/8 of the cost and still have spent time together.)

My mom came into town and watched Ryan while Greg and I stayed at a hotel. She is awesome! We got so much done for Hannah's room. Curtains, car seat covers, nursing covers, you name it and she sewed it! It was great! Thanks Mom!
Ryan had such a fun time with Grandma too. It was great to see them building a relationship and memories together even though we are so far apart.
Greg and I spent the night downtown and on New Year's Eve we went to the Yard House for some late night appetizers. I will have to go back when I can enjoy what they are famous for. They had so many beers it was an impressive list!
Here is the view from our hotel room. We stayed at the Sheraton. It was wonderful!

Sadly neither one of us had been to any of the museums here in Denver. We decided this was a good time to see the Museum of Nature and Science. We had a blast! It was fun seeing all of the exhibits. I think our favorite was the Human body exhibit. I am excited to take Ryan there when he is able to enjoy/appreciate it.

We had such a great time just staying in our own city I would recommend it for those who need a break but can't afford the pricey resorts. Who needs the beach anyways? Ok, so I do too but this was the next best thing! :)

Christmas! Part 3

2011-02-18T15:57:00.000-08:00

Ryan really got the hang of opening up Christmas presents this year. He was pretty good about posing with all of the presents. Here are just a few of poses in no particular order.

Christmas! Part 2

2011-02-18T15:31:00.001-08:00

Making gingerbread houses is one of my favorite things to do for Christmas. I tried a new brand this year, NEVER AGAIN! After Greg and I got into an argument over the structure integrity of the house (yes, we argued over a gingerbread house). I decided I needed a new helper!
We almost got through the whole house, and then Ryan realized he could eat the candies we were putting on the house.
Here he is all excited with an impending sugar rush.
Here is the finished house. I think Ryan did a great job!

Christmas! Part 1

2011-02-18T15:23:00.001-08:00

Yes, I am that far behind! Christmas in February, who knew? I am going to post this in parts and hopefully get this done before February is over! :)

Ryan decorating the tree for the first time. He had such a great time with the lights and the ornaments. When we put the lights on he started rolling around on the ground laughing. It is so much fun to experience the holidays with a child. They bring so much joy to the little tasks that you always did for tradition and now the mean more because of their joy.

Putting on the angel.
The finished project!

Big Boy Bed

2010-12-12T20:31:00.000-08:00

After a few days, Ryan has been doing awesome in his new bed. He actually has to be discouraged from going to bed because he loves it so much. When it is 6:00 pm and he wants to go to bed, well its just a little too early. I think I can handle that problem! Anyways, he is doing great and loves his bed. I am happy that this transition has gone well. The next transition for him is a new baby sister.... We will see how that goes! :)

It's Time

2010-12-08T18:53:00.001-08:00

We moved Ryan to a big bed tonight. There were unexpected
tears and lots of happiness from Ryan.
My little one is growing up!

I am not quite sure he understood what was going on at this point.

He was just running around the room playing.Once we put the bed and bed tent up though it was a whole different story.

He was super excited!

He must have crawled in and out of the tent 10 times in a row laughing all the way!

This is him saying good night. Obviously no problems yet. Hopefully he stays in bed (so far so good) and is alright during the night and in to the morning. Another milestone achieved and I am sitting here trying to figure out where all of the time went. Everyone who has kids that have grown up talk about how "It was just yesterday..." I have always believed them but it means something different when it is happening in your own life. I hope that I can cherish all of these moments that I have with Ryan and the next little one so that I can say to some young mom in the future, "It was just yesterday...."

Ryan and Anders

2010-12-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of Anders and Ryan playing. They really have lots of fun together!

I think this scene repeats itself all day while they play. Anders with any sort of ball and Ryan with any sort of car or train! It is pretty funny to see how different they are!

Another difference. The above picture is Anders falling at the end of the song "Ring Around the Rosies". Below is Ryan "falling". Too cute!

Sarah (Anders') mom has a pass to the zoo that I have been able to take advantage of quite a lot this year. It has been great. Here are some snapshots of the latest trip.
This picture is them sitting inside of a sleigh with gifts in the back. I think they had more fun on that, than with some of the animals! :)

Ryan's First Stage Appearance

2010-12-07T12:32:00.000-08:00

I attend a Bible study during the week on Wednesday. They have a wonderful kids program that takes them through a lesson, crafts, songs and memory verses. It has been a great experience for both Ryan and I. During the year, the kids put on 2 performances. This year's fall performance was in November and Ryan got to take part in it. His little class had a couple of scripture verses put to song that they had learned. I wasn't quite sure how Ryan would do with this sort of thing but I thought we would try it.
Here is a picture of Ryan with all the other little ones holding a car (of course). This is right before the start of the program and unfortunately right before he saw Greg and I in the audience. He then proceeding to cry and I went and got him. He sat on our laps for the performance. Oh well. At least he got that far! :)

Thanksgiving

2010-12-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving with some really good friends in Sheridan, WY. The traveling was uneventful (which is a good thing in WY) and we made it there without any trouble. It was so good seeing Pat and K.T. and their little one Hannah. We were pampered the whole time we were there. I didn't clean a single dish, I offered by K.T. is such a gracious host I got to sit back and relax. It was a wonderful trip that ended too soon. Here are some pictures of the fun.

Little cutie Hannah. Ryan and Hannah played so well together. They were the best of pals!
Ryan looking out the window at the horse and deer in the neighbors yard.
Pat, K.T. and little Hannah the day we left. Cute family! By the way, Greg and I were there even though we have no pictures to back that up! :)

The next week Greg's brother Erick was in town so I decided to make Thanksgiving dinner. I have made all of the sides to a Thanksgiving dinner but I had yet to make a turkey. So I called my mom up and got the secrets to making a great turkey. She had tried a new recipe this year and has decided it is the best and will probably only cook a turkey that way in the future.

Here is the turkey before we put it in the oven. If you look closely the turkey is upside down. Apparently the turkey needed a good workout while being cooked because we flipped it 3 times during the cooking process.

Here is my trusty helper. With all of the moving of the turkey I needed all the help I could get!

This is supposed to be a picture of the finished product but I failed to capture that! At least you know it was well enjoyed by all since there is nothing left! :)

That is our Thanksgiving festivities for this year. As I finish off here I wanted to write a few of many reasons that we have to be thankful for this year.

- We have a Savior who was willing to die on the cross for us wretched sinners and give us the opportunity to go to heaven some day. What a sacrificial blessing!
-Greg, Ryan and I are a healthy and loving family
-We are having a healthy baby due in April
-Greg's job is going great. He loves his work and it supplies for our needs and some of our wants
-Our families are wonderful, caring and just all around great to us. We appreciate you!
-We have some of the best friends on earth and are blessed by all of our friendships

Just a quick thank you and there are so many more. I am excited to go into this Christmas season with a thankful heart!

Pumpkin Massacre!

2010-12-02T14:41:00.000-08:00

So you remember those cute little pumpkins that were in the wagon with Ryan. Well, I thought I would be festive and put them outside my house. I got a tall, big pumpkin for Greg, a fat, pregnant one for me, then 2 little ones for Ryan and the baby. I wake up one morning and look outside and the 2 little ones have been stolen. At first I didn't really know what to think. Do the neigborhood kids have nothing better to do than steal pumpkins? And the baby pumpkins at that! The next morning the other 2 pumpkins had huge gouges in them. I had no idea what to think about that... Then our friends Erich and Allie came over and were talking about our pumpkins and how the squirrels had gotten to them. Squirrels! Here is the damage to the daddy pumpkin. The mommy pumpkin didn't survive to be photographed...

Crazy huh? I have never seen anything like it! Needless to say I will not be as festive next year outside. I will leave my decorations inside to save them from the pumpkin eating squirrels!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-12-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

Last year Ryan and I were able to go to the pumpkin patch with a bunch of other moms and kids. This year only our friends Sarah, Anders and Cade were able to go. Here are some pictures to share...

At this particular Pumpkin Patch there was a maze made of hay bales that was pretty short and the little kids could go through it. It was pretty fun but I didn't really think Ryan would want to go in since it is enclosed but, leave it to him to prove me wrong! He loved it! He ran around that thing the whole time were there and would have kept going if I hadn't pulled him away! This is the best picture I got and it is kind of hard to see his face but he is smiling away! :)

Here is his friend Anders eating snack with Ryan. Ryan didn't really want to sit on the pumpkins and every picture we had was either of one or both not looking so this is the best we got!

Ryan and Anders in the wagon carrying our huge pumpkins home! Oh and just an FYI, that day happened to be the hottest day ever and trying to pull children in a wagon and push a little one in the stroller was ridiculous! Good thing for great friends like Sarah to endure, I mean enjoy, this one with us!

New Baby

2010-10-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

We are having a baby. I can't believe it! If you would have told me this 6 months ago I would have laughed and been pretty adamant that unless God changes my mind we will be a one child family. Well, God changed my mind. I am not saying that all the fears of trying to care for 2 little ones doesn't paralyze me still but at least I know that we are doing this with God's help (and I am going to need it!) Don't get me wrong, I love children and I love Ryan. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect child for God to bless me with. But two? That just seems like 200 fold more than one. I am not sure why, I mean plenty of people have multiple children and have lived to tell about it. For some strange reason that I can not explain how two children is just mind boggling to me. But, I can say that I am extremely excited to have this little one. I am excited to see how God chooses to equip me to be a parent to Ryan and baby #2. I can't wait to write a year from now and share all the blessings that God has given me in my little family.

Scared? Yes! But, I can't wait!

Cheyenne Frontier Days

2010-08-14T13:47:00.000-07:00

I am ashamed to say that I have never been to Cheyenne Frontier Days. It's embarrassing! I lived in Laramie for 10 years and I never went. So when Pat (Greg's Mom) said she would like to go I thought it would be fun to go. We didn't get any tickets to the shows or the rodeo but we got to see a lot of fun stuff, and Ryan had a blast on all of the rides.

A really nice security person let me and Pat come and see a little bit of the rodeo. That was fun!

Alan Jackson was the concert for the night that we were there.

I am not sure how they brought the stages in but

it wasn't by tractor! I thought it was neat to watch!

Ryan loves the carousel!

Just chillin' on the train ride.

I almost threw up on this ride! Ryan was having the

best of times and I was trying to hold it in! :)

The last day we were there we went to the Indian village.

Ryan was mesmerized by these sun catcher/wind chimes.

He stood there for about 15 minutes!

I would like to say that Ryan's favorite part was the rides considering they were expensive and he had fun. But nope! The bed in the hotel room was the most exciting for him! He would crawl around on it and build forts, have pillow fights and was just having a blast!

We had a great time going to Cheyenne Frontier Days, even though it was not a traditional rodeo trip. Hopefully we can catch a rodeo here in Denver where we actually go to the rodeo part of it! But it was wonderful to spend time with Pat and just have fun as a family!

Haircut for Ryan

2010-08-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me, you understand how hard it is for me to cut Ryan's hair. He HATES getting it cut, and I don't particularly like to cut it. But, I have been ripped off before by paying loads of money for the same end result: I pay them thinking they will do better, he freaks out and they end up doing the same thing I can do because he is so upset. This leads me to never cutting his hair. This summer has been really hot and I have been feeling bad for a while that I have left Ryan with his thick, long hair far longer than I should of; so I decided it was time for a buzz cut. My friend Sarah was gracious enough to cut his hair while I held him down. It wasn't pretty and I saved my picture times for when he wasn't so upset!

Ice Cream

2010-08-13T15:56:00.000-07:00

When I was little, my mom would always come up with some inventive way to do things a lot cheaper and we would have so much fun doing it. I hope to follow in her footsteps. One of the things that I remember doing was making ice cream in a coffee can. I remember us spending a lot of time rolling around the can until the ice cream was creamy and yummy. I thought it would be fun to do with this with Ryan and he seemed to have a lot of fun with it. Now, if I can just figure out a good ice cream recipe. The one I tried made it taste like vanilla pudding. I will post some more when I get a good one!

The finished product! YUM!

Ryan's Birthday

2010-08-13T15:36:00.001-07:00

Do you remember that post about Ryan's birthday being quiet and not to big of a deal? Well, Greg and I decided to have a party for him anyway, and as things go with us, there were lots of people there and it was a big deal. BUT, we had a blast. Ryan had fun playing at the park and playing in the water with his friends. Since it is supposed to be about Ryan and his birthday, we did a good job of him having fun and that's all the counts right?

Jordan and Ryan playing together

Anders

Ryan caught in the middle of Rachael and Sarah.

Anders, Sarah and Jeremy (kneeling).

Nana's awesome decorations!

The "Big Kids" playing H-O-R-S-E.
Going in for the layup!

Hector showing off some skills!

Ryan opening up his presents

Daddy playing with Ryan's presents.

Thank you to everyone that was able to come and make Ryan's day special.

We missed all of you that couldn't come and hope to see you all soon!

July 4th

2010-07-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

July 4th this year was a little different. Normally we would go to a BBQ of some sort and just hang out until the fireworks. We tried that last year and with Ryan and no nap and loud noises, well it just didn't work out for us. This year my sister was in town so we decided we would just be pretty low key and not really do too much. We did go to the Cherry Creek Art's festival which was really neat. All the artwork seemed to inspire my sister to go home and paint again. She is a fabulous painter. On our way back to the car we stopped and let Ryan play and took some pretty good pictures I thought I would share.

I love this outfit! Too cute!

Melanie with a sparkler trying not to get her hand burnt... fun times!

Suzanne's Bridal Shower

2010-07-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

My friend Suzanne is getting married this weekend and I have the pleasure of helping to plan her wedding so I was roped into going to her shower. :) Well, there was wonderful food and all of her friends are wonderful. I met up with a girl that I haven't seen since high school so it was good to catch up with her... and then the games.... I am just not sure that I like being on the other end of games. I love to plan them and make others do them but when it comes to me participating...... well I would rather not. Since I didn't really have a choice I thought I would post a picture that is pretty funny!

Here are 4 of Suzanne's friends. They were our "brides" and a team of 3 or 4 had about 5 minutes to make a wedding dress out of a roll of paper towels and a stack of napkins. Our group came in 2nd. Thank you, thank you! It was a lot of fun and it was good to see Suzanne showered with gifts and love and a little wedding charades!....

Congratulations Suzanne!

I am excited to be a part of you and Joel's life as you start it together as a married couple!

Ryan's Birthday

2010-07-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

Last year, Ryan's birthday was huge. We had a bbq and lots of people in a little apartment. This year we opted for something a little lower key and it was a lot of fun. Pat (Greg's mom, Nana) came over and we had cake and Ryan opened up his presents. He loved everything but especially the garage that Nana gave him!

This was Nana's gift... He loved it! He played with it all the way until dinner and then we had to pry him away from it! It has a little garage for the cars and different tracks... fun times!

This gift is going to be so much fun outside! It is a little sink that has a mixer and a working faucet to play with sand and make mud pies. We put it together today and will see how much fun it is later after Ryan's nap. Pictures to come.

Ryan is helping Greg unwrap our gift which was a race track. Another toy to assemble!

Here is Ryan's one and only bite of his birthday cake. He loved the train and ate a little cookie off the top and tried one bite and was "all done"! Oh well, maybe next year!

Here is my attempt at a train cake.... not sure that it turned out so great but it was yummy!

Here is Ryan putting up his feet (he did this all by himself) after a birthday walk with Nana.

Happy Birthday my little 2 year old. May this year be filled with blessings and fun times!

Jessica's Wedding

2010-07-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

My cousin Jessica was just married on July 3rd and here are some pictures of the fun. My camera was being stupid so there aren't any good ones of the ceremony but I got some others.

Greg and Ryan doing the chicken dance.

Makaya is quite the talker. She needed 2 phones to get her point across! :)

Cute Bride!

4 2nd cousins all together. This took a lot of patience to get but it is worth it!

Some of the Williams family plus little Pebble!

My sister Melanie was able to come! That was special to have her their to celebrate!

Melanie being just a little cutsie!

Our Plants

2010-06-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

I am pretty excited about my plants. I have always wanted to plant flowers and herbs and have tried on occasion only to fail dismally. This year is different! Now, the flowers I planted I took a little help from our friends in the orange aprons (Home Depot) and got them when they already bloomed. I am not sure I planted them as much as I just transferred them but there is still a small measure of joy looking at them everyday and knowing that I brought them home!
There are my lovely plants. They are even survivors of our hail storms that we have had! I am very proud.

I am more proud about my herbs. I love to cook and I love fresh herbs but my bank account doesn't necessarily like either. So since I have to cook something, I usually do not get herbs to go with the meal. :( Well, I thought I would try, again, to see if I can grow some herbs that I can have both! I tried one of the dollar store little pots and that got me nowhere. So then I tried seeds and regular pots again from my orange aproned friends and WALA! (I have no idea if that is the correct spelling!)
I have flat leaf parsley on the left, then chives and finally basil. Isn't it wonderful! I officially have grown something from a seed and not killed it! It is amazing!

This next picture is more amazing. You see with all of the trouble that I have had growing plants and herbs, Ryan has mastered it already, at the age of 1!

These probably look like weeds to you. They did to me! I have been picking these all around the corner of our rock yard for weeks. I was trying to figure out what they were! They just kept growing. Finally today as Ryan was doing one of his therapies outside I realized what they were. They are bean plants! Ryan plays with beans for textural therapies all the time outside and today I was watching him play and he was tucking the little beans in the rocks. Too cute! My little Ryan and the Beanstalk!

More Memories from AZ in no particular order!

2010-06-01T12:37:00.001-07:00

Greg and I hanging out at Michelle's house.

Michelle and her little ones... Lana and Ashton. Too cute!

I tried to get them to smile but Ashton was a little nervous around me...

Lana made up for it though! Just like her mom... a little ham!

Michelle stealing kisses from Ryan.

Ashton was so adorable with Lana's glasses on.
He posed and strutted his stuff!

Part of the family all together! I love seeing them!

Ryan was obsessed with these little animals. They danced
and sang for him and he just watched them for hours!

My friend, Michelle, and I hanging out at BW's. She flew all the way from

Oregon to see Mel graduate. We had a great time catching up with each other!

Josh and Greg at BW's. They totally should have done some karaoke!

The family, minus Michelle :( at Mel's graduation.

Ryan loved my parents porch. Josh had this roller coaster
when he was little and it is still making kids laugh!

Ashton wasn't too sure of me the whole trip!

Michelle's and my map of Arizona freeways in french fries at In and Out.
I am not sure how accurate it was but it suited our purpose!

We had the best time hanging out with family and friends. It was too short of a trip to see everyone but we will just have to go again.... when it isn't an oven out there! :)

My Sister's Graduation

2010-06-01T12:19:00.001-07:00

This is kind of a fuzzy picture but she has the best smile, I couldn't throw it out!

My other little sister Michelle.... I had so much fun with her!

My awesome mom!

Congratulations Melanie!

Here are some pictures I wanted to share of my sister's graduation. I can't believe that she is old enough to graduate! She is amazingly smart and I think is ready for the"real world". She has the best of plans and I am proud to call her my sister!

Good Friends and Good Eats!

2010-05-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our friends and us in Downtown Denver after an amazing dinner. We at Rodizio's which is a Brazilian Steakhouse. We were celebrating birthdays and friendship and loved every minute of it. I have known Joel and Badi since Jr High and I have felt like I have known Suzanne that long! They are great friends and we appreciate them a lot. We are thankful we could enjoy their company eating yummy food! Thanks to Nana for watch Ryan so we could have a great time!

Joel, Badi, and Greg

Monique and Greg

Joel, Suzanne, Badi and Greg

Suzanne and Monique

Thanks guys for a great night!

Fried Food

2010-05-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

I have been talking to a lot of different people in my life about fried food. Not just any fried food but mostly the odd stuff, like twinkies, oreos, snickers and the like. Very few people have believed me that there is such a thing. So, here is proof that some people do make this "exotic" :) food!

These pictures were taken at the Cinco De Mayo Festival in Denver. It is always fun to go to festivals and see different food and people. Here are some more pictures of us having fun!

Ryan's first carousel ride. He loved it and was sad when he had to get off! We had fun walking around and enjoying the sunshine. It was a good day!

Ryan's Letters

2010-05-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

I finally got Ryan's room (as far as decor) done! I am so excited about the letters I made. My friend, Sarah, and I made our children's names in these wooden, decoupaged letters. It was a little bit of a pain but I am so excited about the end result!

Ryan's Therapies

2010-05-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about Ryan's therapies a lot lately. Do we do too many therapies? Is it even worth it? For those of you who do not know, Ryan has been developmentally delayed in a lot of areas and has sensory issues. Developmentally he is catching up with children his age. He is finally walking and eating well (for the most part). His major delay is speech at this point. His speech therapist is amazing and she has been coming to our home for about 6 weeks now and he is showing amazing improvement. His other therapy is occupational therapy. She works on fine motor skills and sensory integration. For lack of better words, he just doesn't like to touch things! Food, sand, dirt, certain fabrics are all impacted by this. He is just a particular little boy... I wonder where he gets it from? :) Anyways, as I have been thinking about these therapies and him I came across some pictures of him doing "therapy". Take a look!

Here is he playing with water. This is to help with sensory
intergration as well the fine motor skill of rotating his wrist.

This is to help with him getting vestibular imput. He loves it so much!

This last one is working on sensory integration as well.
He is playing with vanilla pudding. We work on him
playing with it and licking it off his fingers. It is
amazing how hard this is for him and how most kids just do it!

After looking at these pictures I have realized that every one of these pictures was taken because he was having fun! Maybe not at first but after he realized that it could be fun he had a blast and I took a picture to remember that! So, even though our schedule is jam packed, and even though sometimes I would rather have a day off of therapy, ultimately he is having fun and it IS helping him! So, I guess I will sacrifice my time and energy for him.... he is worth it! :)

Applebees White Blondie Dessert

2010-05-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

Recently, we were hanging out with some friends and we were talking about desserts. I love them! I think that they are the reason you eat a meal... for the end when you can have something sweet! We were all discussing our favorite desserts and they said that they had been wanting to try the Blondie Dessert from Applebees. I thought why not? You can find pretty much anything on the internet these days so I looked it up and made this recipe...

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Applebees-White-Chocolate-Walnut-Blondie-30045

1 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup unsalted butter or margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Maple Butter Sauce

3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350º.
Sift flour, add baking powder, baking soda, and salt; sift again
Add chopped nuts; mix well and set aside.
Melt unsalted butter; add brown sugar and mix well.
Add egg and vanilla; blend well.
Add flour mixture, a little at a time, mixing well.
Stir in white chocolate chips.
Spread in a 9x9x2-inch pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or with slightly fudgy-looking crumbs.
Serve with vanilla ice cream and maple butter sauce ---To Make the Maple Unsalted butter Sauce---
Combine syrup and butter, cook over low heat until butter is melted.
Stir in brown sugar until dissolved.
Add walnuts, if desired.

Couple of things. First of all the sauce was all wrong. It tasted like pancake syrup... which we used the remainder for! Secondly, it lying about the portions. I used 4 oversized ramekins because the 9 x 9 pan would have made a paper thin torched brownie. But other than that the brownie itself was amazing! Just like Applebees! Now if I can just master that sauce! :)

Waffles (with extra protein)

2010-05-04T13:11:00.001-07:00

I have been told that I need to feed my child more protein, along with all of the other things that I am "supposed" to do for him, I was at a lost as to HOW to get more protein into Ryan. I met with a nutritionist and they advised that cottage cheese was pretty much just the protein sucked out of milk.. as wonderful as that sounds I new he would eat it! So, I found a way to put it into his waffles and I thought I would share it!

1/2 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cottage cheese
2 tbs of brown sugar

Sift flour and salt together, set aside.
Beat eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla together.
Add cottage cheese and beat until smooth.
Combine with flour and cook as usual in your waffle iron.

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Cottage-Cheese-Waffles-142961

They were wonderful and even my picky husband liked them!

Happy Easter

2010-04-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter at Horizon's! Great Sermon!

We tried to dye Easter Eggs... I am not sure that it was completely successful but it was fun!
Here is Ryan taking a break for a snack.

I can' t believe the mess we made!

Ryan's favorite part by far was putting the stickers on!

He also wanted to decorate all of the plastic eggs with stickers too!

I am still finding little Easter stickers everywhere!

This Easter was a special Easter for me. It was the first time I got to host and prepare the Easter meal. I loved doing it! I know that most are probably burnt out by hosting holiday meals but because I got to do it for the first time I was really excited! Everything turned out great... so I was told! :)

Easter and More!

2010-04-11T14:39:00.001-07:00

Ryan's first Professional Haircut!

Although I paid way too much for this hair cut I was happy with the way it came out!

He hated it at first but then warmed up to it with the trains and tv.

Definitely not going to go back to the same place but happy we finally got his hair cut!

Randomness

2010-03-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

He loves his movies... Elmo or Blue's Clues please!

Playing in the garage! Wow, does our car need a bath or what? :)

Pushing Elmo and Cookie Monster around... He loves his dump truck!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Looking for the planes. He can hear/see them before I do!

Wierdest Play Area

2010-03-29T14:28:00.000-07:00

In the Cherry Creek mall there was this play area that had all sorts of

breakfast foods. It was strange but Ryan had fun!

The waffle was his favorite!

Sliding down the banana!

There were bananas, strawberries and a bowl of shredded wheat too! Crazy but fun!

Ryan at the Children's Museum continued....

2010-03-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

The had the cutest little outfits and I had to take a picture!
There was a little Miss Piggy too!

Playing in the garden.

He carried around those ducks for probably an hour.

He loved them. Too bad it looks like he is strangling them! :)

Ryan at the Children's Museum

2010-03-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

Little Conductor

Of course he found the gears and stayed there forever!

Snowboarding for the First Time

2010-03-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Skiing/Snowboarding in Winter Park

Riding the lift for the first time!

On the little slopes!

Trying really hard!

Jake, Rita, Monique, and Greg.
We had so much fun with our DE friends!

Since Christmas Pictures!

2010-03-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our January....

Ryan swinging at the park. He loves the swing so much!

He is actually walking on the rocks... big step for him,
little step for all the other children! :)

Greg and Ryan "helping" me bake a cake.

Ryan looking pretty cool in his friend's sunglasses... they came off almost immediately!

Blogging

2010-03-29T08:05:00.001-07:00

I am not sure that I get this whole idea of blogging, twitter or facebook (besides the games!). I am horrible at it! I feel like there is never anything fun or interesting to say so I just don't do anything and wonder why I have have them to begin with! I have some friends that are amazing at it and come up with awesome things to write/talk about. I guess I am just not that interesting! Oh well, the blog has been a great way to share pictures with my family so I will just keep on sharing pictures and leave the actually blogging to others! :)

Amazing!

2010-02-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Chocolate Torte with Coffee Cream
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
5 large egg yolks
3 large eggs
1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur
6 large strawberries with stems

Directions

Preheat a convection oven to 375 degree F. If using a regular oven preheat to 400 degrees F.

Bring some water to a simmer in a medium pot over medium heat. Put 3/4 cup of the butter and 3/4 cup of the chocolate into a bowl that fits on top of the pot without the bottom of the bowl touching the water. Put the bowl onto the pot. When the butter and chocolate have melted, remove it from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and eggs over the simmering water to warm the eggs. Fold in the chocolate mixture, then fold in the cake flour.

Spray 6 (4-ounce) cake tins with nonstick cooking spray. Fill the tins to 1/2-inch from the top with the batter. Arrange the tins on a baking sheet and bake until they are set around the edges but are still liquid in the center, about 10 to 12 minutes. Check them after 10 minutes, don't overcook them or the center will not be liquid. Remove them from the oven and let them sit for 1 minute.

While the torte is baking, put the remaining 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup chocolate chips into a bowl, melt them as before, and keep it warm. Beat the heavy cream in a large bowl until it forms soft peaks. Quickly beat in the coffee liqueur and refrigerate until ready to use.

Brush a wide stripe of the melted chocolate across each serving plate. Arrange the caramelized strawberries above the stripe. Unmold each torte on top of the stripe on 1 side. Put a dollop of the whipped cream on the other side of the stripe. Top the whipped cream with the chopped nuts and a light dusting of cocoa powder. Garnish with mint sprigs and serve.

Christmas

2010-01-09T13:22:00.001-08:00

Here are some of the pictures that I took over

Christmas. I took over 350 so this is a very

small sample size!

This is Pop and Ryan playing with Ryan's new
laptop. He is having a lot more fun than the
picture would lead you to believe!

This is a picture that lets you know that miracles
can happen! This is the first Christmas that
the whole family has spent together since 1998.
It was so good to be with family, especially my dad!

Contrary to popular belief, these grandmas didn't plan
this Christmas picture! They just happened to wear green
and Ryan wore red. It worked out perfect!

More Yummy Recipes

2010-01-05T17:50:00.000-08:00

Apple Crisp from foodnetwork.com Emeril Lagasse

8 cups tart apples peeled and sliced
4 tbs of sugar
2 tbs of lemon juice

2/3 cup flour
2 cup uncooked oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup butter melted

Stir first 3 ingredients in a large glass oven safe pan. Mix rest of ingredients in a large bowl until good and crumbly. (I usually double this part because I love lots of crumbly topping, it's my favorite part!) Pour mixture over apples and bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes.

This next one was so incredibly yummy and really easy! It's definitely a keeper in my house....

Penne Pasta with Vodka Sauce from cooks.com

1/4 lb diced pancetta (this is an italian meat that is similar to bacon but not smoked. DO NOT SUBSTITUTE! This is kind of hard to find but worth it. It is at Safeway in the expensive deli department.)
1/4 c. butter
1/3 c vodka
1/2 c parm cheese
1 lb penne pasta cooked
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1 1/2 c tomato sauce

Melt butter in frying pan, when butter foams add diced pancetta. When pancetta browns slightly add vodka and burn off, usually 2-3 minutes. If you are unsure you can cook it longer. Then add tomato sauce and cream. Stir constantly for about 8 minutes. Sauce will be thin. Add penne pasta into mix and then add the parm cheese. Cook for an additional couple of minutes until desired consistency.

Enjoy these ones, they are great!

Awesome Sweet Potato Fries!

2009-11-22T21:55:00.000-08:00

Fries
2 Large sweet potatoes
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon ground Cumin

Sauce
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup hot sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 cup honey

Rub cut sweet potatoes in oil and sprinkle with sauce. Bake at 425 for 30 - 45 minutes.
Mix ingredients for sauce and serve.

Fall Pictures

2009-11-16T10:05:00.001-08:00

Here is Anders and Ryan at the Pumpkin Patch.

The hay was a little too much for Ryan but we got a good
picture in before he needed to get away!

Greg and Ryan playing in the snow. Ryan loves it!

I just love this jacket! Jeremy, one of Ryan's friends let us borrow it!

I just love making gingerbread houses so when

I saw this I thought I had to make it for sure!

It was fun and my friend Janna helped!

Ryan making Greg's birthday cake.
We had flour everywhere but it was fun!

Pumpkin Pie

2009-10-28T19:07:00.001-07:00

Here is a great recipe for the fall. Enjoy!

Crust:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter (1/2 stick), diced
1 large egg white
1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons ice water, plus more as needed
Vegetable cooking spray

Filling:

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated skim milk
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
Serving suggestion: Wedges of apples, oranges, and pears, and a few cranberries

Directions

To make the crust: In a food processor, pulse the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add the butter and pulse the mixture until it resembles cornmeal mixed with pea-sized bits of butter, about 10 times. Add the egg white, vinegar, and water, and pulse 1 or 2 times; don't let the dough form into a ball in the machine. (If the dough is very dry add a couple of teaspoons of cold water.) Remove the bowl from the machine, remove the blade, and bring the dough together by hand. Form the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Lightly spray a 9-inch pie pan with oil. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a thin disk, about 13 inches in diameter. Transfer the dough to the prepared pie pan and trim the edges, leaving about one inch hanging over the edge. Tuck the overhanging dough underneath itself to form an edge even with the rim. Flute the edge as desired. Freeze the crust for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake on the center rack until firm and just cooked, about 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Lift the foil to remove the beans, return to the oven, and bake until golden, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling. In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, evaporated milk, brown sugar, eggs, orange zest, and rum. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until thoroughly blended.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust and bake until the filling is just set but not cracked, about 1 hour. Cool on a rack, serve warm or at room temperature.

2009-10-10T17:53:00.001-07:00

Italian Fish and Veggie Pockets

2009-09-08T14:07:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis on Food Network. I am posting this not just for the recipe but for the concept. You can switch out every main ingredient in here. If you don't like Trout use Tilapia. If you don't sugar snap peas then use green beans. I also have used chicken stock instead of the wine. I basically just use the idea of it and change it up and it works every time!

Ingredients

1 lemon, zested
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1 1/2 pounds sugar snap peas, stemmed
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 orange bell pepper, sliced
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 teaspoons olive oil
4 (4-ounce) trout fillets, skinned (or other fish about 1/2-inch thick)
8 thin slices lemon
1/4 cup fresh chopped mint leaves

Directions

Special equipment: 4 large sheets of aluminum foil or parchment paper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl mix together the lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Lay out the 4 sheets of aluminum foil. Place 1/4 of the sugar snap peas, 1/4 of the yellow bell peppers, and 1/4 of the orange bell peppers on each sheet of foil. Over each pile of vegetables drizzle 2 tablespoons of white wine, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and gently toss.

Top each pile of seasoned vegetables with a piece of fish. Sprinkle the fish with some of the reserved lemon zest mixture. Top each fish with 2 slices of lemon.

Fold up the foil into an air-tight packet. Place the foil packets in the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. Sprinkle the fish with mint just before serving.

Chicken Teriyaki

2009-09-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I have enough friends who are interested in more recipes that I will try and post some new recipes that I have come across as well as some oldies but goodies!

Chicken Teriyaki Crock Pot Style
Start with any amount of chicken that you would like (it can be frozen). Place the chicken at the bottom of your crock pot. Add onion, peppers, snow peas, water chestnuts, (basically any stir fry veggies you have on hand... frozen works too). Then add equal parts soy sauce and brown sugar (its better to mix in a bowl on the side first). Season with ginger and minced garlic to taste. Cook on high for 3-4 hours and on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over rice and you are done!

Interesting Summer

2009-09-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

This summer has been a very interesting summer. From birthdays to jury duty to weddings I am not sure what was given to me to prepare for this craziness. Here is a list of just the few things that happened in our little family this summer.

Ryan's 1st Birthday
Monique's 28th Birthday
Monique had jury duty for 2 weeks
Visits from Grandma
Visits to Grandma
Visits to Aunts and Uncles
Visits to Brothers and Sisters
Visits to Nana
Visits to Pop
Erich and Lisa's Wedding (Greg's Brother and Sister-in-law)

It just seems like there wasn't a time to catch our breath. And here comes the fall which promises to be just as busy! Weddings, Trips, and more Birthdays! Oh well, I am enjoying the rich blessings that I have received from being involved in all that has been going on! Thanks to my family and friends who had kept me sane throughout this crazy time! As my one friend says... it is only for a season... right?!

Random Summer Pictures

2009-08-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

My family came to visit this summer and we had so
much fun! We visited my Aunt and Uncles house and they
helped with Ryan's Birthday Party. They are the best family!

Uncle Josh feeding Ryan. Ryan loved being around his Aunt and Uncle!

We got to go to Elitch's with my brother and

sister while they were visiting. It was so

much fun! It was the first time for them on

roller coasters and I think we got them hooked!

We have been trying to have Ryan do sign language since

he was about 6 months. This is him saying please for more

food. It was so awesome to see him do that! He is growing
up so much!

This is Ryan at his first camping trip... we left before the
night was over so I am not sure that qualifies but we are
going to say it does!

Camping with the Shannon Family

Ryan in his cute warm pj's that Patrick got him

Ryan's 1st 4th of July. We didn't do much that day.
We hung out at the park and then hung out at home
to listen to our neighbors shoot off fireworks. FUN FUN!

Ryan in the laundry basket... He crawled in!

Ryan's First Birthday!

2009-08-17T09:43:00.001-07:00

Ryan celebrated his first birthday on July 18th. His party was a
lot of fun in our little apartment... we made it work! Here is is with his
giraffe maracas. He LOVES that they make noise!

Ryan's friend Elijah

The 2 neighbor kids that stopped by and Jordan... not sure why they are under the table!?

Jesse

Jordan

Anders in the ball pit... he looks unhappy but he was having a blast!

Jeremy with his favorite toy!

Ryan playing with all of his new toys. Talk about spoiled!

Didn't really seem to like the cake at first but he got into it!

We had a dump truck cake that was made out of cupcakes. It turned out pretty good!

Family Pictures

2009-07-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a link of our first official family pictures... now I know that Ryan is a year now but hey we got them done now! If you would like a copy of any of the pictures just email me or comment here. Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9430711@N03/sets/72157621803021074/

Since the Last Time... In No Particular Order!

2009-06-03T09:43:00.001-07:00

We are not sure how he learned this but
he was doing it every time we brought out the camera.
We thought it was hysterical!

Ryan playing with his buddy, Jeremy.
They play so nice together!

Ryan in his first "fort" daddy made for him.
I am not sure who had more fun! :)

Our little man doing his "GQ" pose.
He does it a lot and we laugh every time!

I couldn't resist this photo op.
This was his breakfast of prunes and bananas.

His first motorcycle ride at the park!

Our Mr. Handsome ready for church in the outfit Amber and Hector bought him.

Bath Time Fun!

Visit with the Fam

2009-04-17T16:54:00.001-07:00

All of us at Texas Roadhouse, I love their bread!

Melanie

Josh, the cutest bro in the world (to me) ;)

Michelle

Mom

Cutie Lana just out of the bath

Ashton and Ryan getting to know each other!

Lana and Monique doing the downward dog yoga pose on wii fit. By the way Lana is amazing at 3 she got a 91% on the push and side plank.... I can't even beat it!

Since all we did when I was there was knit hats we thought we would show off one!

Awww the fam!

Too cute Ashton!

Easter

2009-04-17T16:40:00.001-07:00

We went to a sunrise service for Easter at the Zoo this year. Here is my friends little one Jordan and I trying to pet the duck... we definitely weren't trying to scare the duck cause that would be mean! :)
These pictures are way out of order and I can never figure out how to put them in order without deleting them so we will go to the end of they day for a second to show Ryan opening his Easter present from the Easter bunny (ie my friends Amber and Hector and Amber's parents.)

And we are back at the zoo.... This little one was so hard to photograph... I think I tried for about 20 min to get him to slow down and this is the best I got... I think I was also trying to stay inside because it was a little cold at 7 am at the zoo!

These are our friends that invited us to the zoo. Joel and Janna and their little one Jeremy is in the stroller that you can't see :(

And this is Amber, Hector and Jordan who we had Easter dinner with... Thank God for wonderful friends to share holidays with!

2009-04-17T16:13:00.001-07:00

This was too cute of a photo op to pass up!

First time in the big tub! He loved it but it was a little to slippery for him...
And those toys just didn't stay close enough! :)

This is Ryan's first bites of Mango... for those of you who know how hard it was to get him to eat... THIS IS AMAZING! Opening his mouth and everything.... Praise the Lord!

Daddy brushing Ryan's 6 teeth for the first time!

His first big boy jammies, YEAH!

I guess he isn't the only one!

2009-03-10T19:19:00.001-07:00

Recently my friend posted a picture with her son eating a coupon instead of playing with the toy. Here is Ryan eating the lid of the container that his toys came in. I just think it is funny that he has all of these colorful toys around him and he is chewing on the clear lid!

Swimming!

2009-03-10T19:08:00.001-07:00

Ryan's first time swimming! He had so much fun!

Ryan and Greg blowing so that Ryan can going under the water!

Down the slide for Daddy and Ryan...

he was scared the first time but it was ok the 2nd and 3rd time!

Ryan Eating

2009-03-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it took so long for him to take a bottle and now he is holding his own!

I feel like he doesn't know if it is ok to eat it! :)

This is me trying to get him to eat his food.... I am pretty sure that I never thought I would give my child food to play with but it was worth a shot... he still didn't eat any of it, the stuff on his face is from me trying to get him to eat it off his fingers. Oh, Well, I am sure that something else will work right?

First Quad Ride

2009-03-02T10:17:00.001-08:00

Little Freeman got an awesome present from his

grandparents and he was nice enough to let Ryan

have his first ride!

Here is Nate and Little Freeman

And here is the pro all by himself!

Little Nathan needed a little help!

Babies, Babies, Babies

2009-03-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

We went to UT and this is what we did!

2009-03-02T10:02:00.001-08:00

Tom playing Wii Fit... Soccer

Jeanne playing Wii Fit... Soccer

And then there is Jessica... too bad we didn't have a video camera! ;)

Rock Band at the the Prestwich's!

Here are some more

2009-03-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

We have recently stopped swaddling Ryan when he is sleeping.
Because he moves around a lot we needed to get a runner so he
wouldn't get his legs and arms stuck in the bars. He now thinks
of the runner has his own personal foot rest!

He loves his soccer ball! I am sure it has nothing to do with
his daddy giving it to him any chance he can get! :)

I just put him in his chair to watch Baby Einstein. This is how excited

he gets just seeing the little worm before the show even starts!

It's Been a While!

2009-02-25T08:17:00.001-08:00

These 2 are some pictures I have taken with my camera phone. I need to download the ones from my camera but these were cute so I thought I would post them.
This picture was taken on our way to UT to visit our friends. He is watching baby Einstein on the laptop but it was too bright so we had to make a tent. I guess you could say this is his very first tent! :)

2009-01-06T13:17:00.001-08:00

We went ice skating and there is Grandma holding Ryan.

John, Greg, Monique, Melanie and Josh smooshed up against the glass ice skating.

Aww the big sis and lil bro

Michelle, Ashton, Ryan and Monique hanging out at Mom's house.