Not a real foodie, but...

Ok, so I am not a real foodie, but I do love good food and to feed my family good food. Now that I am in my 14th week of pregnancy and my appetite has returned, I planned a big feast for dinner last night!  

Here is the menu:

Lou Malnati's Deep Dish Chicago Style Pizza

Cobb Salad

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Oh my word, it was amazing!  It all tasted good even after smelling and preparing it.  Totally, worth the time and effort.  Also, I got to use all my momma's and grandma's cast iron skillet that have been given to me.  Such a simple gift, but makes my heart happy.  Also, the pizzas were stuffed full of veggies (spinach, mushrooms, onions as toppings/ in the homemade sauce: onions, carrots & tomatoes).  This also makes my heart happy when we are getting all our veggies!  

Here are a few pics, Enjoy! 

A morning with Daddy!

Here is what Daddy and Ella did on a morning while letting Mommy sleep in!  She wanted all her bows in her hair; so Daddy put them in!  Note: Daddy's amazing photography skills and the homemade paper rose he made in Ella's hand! 

Love them both so much!  Oh the beautiful simple gifts in life!  This is one of them for sure.  Thank you Lord, you are so good to me! 

Our Fifth Wedding Anniversary outings...

We are so romantic.  Okay so maybe we aren't, but we do have fun!  For our fifth anniversary, the sun was shining, and we love to get outside on the beautiful days.  so, as a family, we headed out to a local park called Gibsons Pond with our canoe for a family outing.  It was Ella's first canoe ride, and it was a total success!  Here are a few pics from the day:

Swinging before our canoe ride and feeding the ducks some goldfish!

Very Friendly ducks!

Ella was scared at first but quickly calmed down and started to enjoy the "boat" as she called it!

Out on the open water!  Ella learned about some new animals and their sounds, ie: geese 'honk honk" & roosters "cock-a-doodle-doodle-do".  pronounced by Ella as doodle-do! 

Getting very adventourous on the swings!

We ended the day by going to see the Kings Speech finally!  This was our third attempt, and we finnally made it!  Also, we went out to dinner. Our dear friend Miss Linda Barnhill kept Ella for us for the evening! 

All dressed up for dinner, 13 weeks preggo....not the best picture of me, but it is the only one we have! 

Ella's 1st Haircut!

Ella's first haircut....a much harder day and experience for mom than it was for Ella.  I have been putting off her first haircut for months because I new it was another step away from baby days and into toddlerhood.  Honestly, if my friend Cindy had not called me to schedule her first haircut....Ella would still have her baby hair (some called it a Baby Mullet). So alas, we set out on Monday, March 7th to CIU for the big event!

The before: Ella was scared.  Notice the tears in the eyes.  So, Mom had to get her hair cut,too! 

Still not too sure...

Time to Relax and Enjoy Some Simplicity

Today is Ash Wednesday.  The marks the beginning of the Lenten season. It's a season of repentance, reflection, and fasting... a spring cleaning of sorts... ...a cleaning that purifies the clutter that has accumulated in our souls.   I grew up loving the season of Lent as a child in the Catholic Church.  I got away from the traditions and rituals for the past  few years since I became a member of a Protestant Church.  I realized last year....I miss the Lenten traditions I grew up partaking in!  

Therefore, this year I am going to be engaging more in the preparatory season of Lent. Fasting is one of  the spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith.  It is the practice of self-denial. I will be practicing self-denial by  not watching Television (all forms) & stalking on Facebook.  Two huge time wasters in my life!  I am looking forward to all the things I hope to embark on and accomplish with this extra time; as well as,the ability to declutter my brain from all the media.  I am going to be reading a couple of good books: One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp & The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity by Sally Clarkson.  Also, I want to organize areas of my life, like our office.  Additionally, I am training to run the Resurrection Run 5K the day before Easter.  

All in all, I think it is a great success so far.  It got me to start blogging again!  

As for a little life update, Ella is 19 1/2 months old.  She has her first cold.  Boo:(  However, this does make my very active little girl a bit slower and more snuggly. She is such a delight and joy.  She is talking up a storm.  She love to be outside playing and has recently started to sings songs.  Right now, her only song consists of singing the momma and daddy song while strumming Shea's guitar.  Side-note, she closes her eyes while singing.  It has got to be one of the cutest things we have even seen!

 I am 14wks pregnant with our second baby.  I am now ending the dreadful first trimester and beginning to feel like myself again. Thank you Lord!  My energy and appetite are returning slowly.  I am so much more aware of what is happening to my body this time.  I believe I am starting to feel little flutters all ready with this little one! 

I am still able to stay home full time with Ella!  Thank you Lord!  It has been such a joy and delight.  I have been privileged to be able to help out one or two days a week with the wonderful Neff family.  I get to help them with their homeschooling and make sure they eat lunch.  Ella benefits greatly from this situation; she has become their younger sibling....or so she thinks.  She loves and adores them!  She would move in with them.  

Shea is wrapping up his second full year of Youth Ministry!  He is great at what he does!  He challenges the students to live real authentic lives of faith and to make their faith their own.  I am so proud of him!