Christmas with Ruthie

It was one for the books. Both Ian and I said many times how wonderful this Christmas was and how much we loved sharing it together and with Ruthie. She is truly the most precious bug-a-boo that ever God made.

Since she was born within a week of Christmas, she got to participate in the hospital's stocking tradition. They sent her home with a stocking she could get inside of and since she was our favorite Christmas gift by far, we took a picture of her under our tree in the stocking. I'll let you see for yourself how darling it is.


And since I have received a few comments about how mommy isn't in any of the photos, I am letting go of my vanity and posting this one. Maybe someday my face will return to a normal size. Sigh.
And here is the whole family at Christmas. We celebrated with Ian's family at his sister's Heather's place. It was so great. Everything was so festive and fun and Ruthie did great on her second outing ever (she had only been to the pediatrician before that).

We probably won't have another Christmas quite like this one and we treasured every minute of it. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your own families!

Our Cricket Has Arrived!

Ruth Nellie McCurry joined our family on December 19th at 11:38AM. She is amazing and we are so happy to have her home now. We got home from the hospital yesterday (Wed the 21st) and stand in awe at God's good gift to us.

Some day soon I'll give a fuller version of the birth story, but let's just say that after 11 days of being post due and 35 hours of laboring, this little lady made a very grand entrance.

She was 7 lbs, 4 ounces, as you can see in the photo below. And she is 19 inches long and all kinds of perfect.

The nurses really encouraged us to give her as much skin to skin contact as possible and in his new role as Daddy, Ian is loving that responsibility. Ruthie also really enjoys their cuddle time.
Here she is, in her first girl outfit. I know I'm beyond biased, but isn't that the cutest little rose bud of a girl that you've ever seen?

More to come, but the lady calls for a nursing. And my laptop battery is dying. =)

Day 10: Something's Happening

12:34 AM: Had a contraction, water just broke. Because of the Group B and the antibiotic our baby needs, that means...we're on our way to the hospital! Pray for a healthy baby to come soon!

Day 9: Are You Expecting Something?

Still no news. It's funny - neither Ian or I really expect anything to happen. We're basically just waiting until the next doctor's appointment. But Ian is off of work now and that helps a lot.

We just got back from the Sunukjian Family Christmas. It was supposed to be Friday the 23rd, but my family graciously decided to move it up, since us having any kind of Christmas celebration is looking dubious. We originally set it late so we would have more time to adjust to life with a newborn before taking it places. Ha!

Anyway, we had a lovely time of eating brunch together and exchanging gifts (thankfully, we draw names, so what could take 8 hours only takes about 1). I felt a little sad not to have a baby, since this is one of the get togethers that when we planned it, I "knew" I would have a baby. But as we are certainly learning, we are not in control.

And so we wait. Someday, we'll laugh about this and we'll tell this little son or daughter about their grand entrance and the huge build up that came before it. And they'll love it and it will be great.

Day 8: A Funny Story

So Ian was giving me a report a few days ago about his day and how school went and so on. And he said that his kids said when they saw him still in the classroom (I guess they were expecting the sub), "Your wife still hasn't had her baby? Well, is she walking?"

Gee, thanks Doogie Howser. I didn't know his freshman English kids were medical professionals, such experts on how to get labor going. Thank goodness they didn't ask about the other common household method for inducing labor (wink, wink).

And for the record, yes, I'm walking. But they lie. It doesn't do any good. I've been walking every day for the past nine and A HALF months and still no baby. But, at the advice of Ian's very knowledgeable students, I am about to put on my walking shoes this morning and give it another go.

Baby Watch Day 7: All Quiet on the Western Front

Now that I've started with the daily reports, I feel the need to continue, lest someone think by my not posting that I've gone into labor. So here we are now, 41 weeks pregnant, and hanging in there.

I just have to say how grateful I am to the mom, sisters, sister-in-laws and many friends who are doing more than their part to distract me during this time. Everyone is so supportive and sympathetic - thank you!

And now, I am off to Seal Beach, to go for a walk with Mary and her kids. Later today, we have our second post due appointment at the hospital, where they will again monitor the baby's heartbeat for 15 minutes and then do another ultrasound. If all looks good (which I suspect will be the case), they will again send us home. If not, they will keep us and schedule an inducement. We made this appointment in the afternoon so Ian could go to work and still be with me for whatever happens. The one car thing is tricky, but thankfully, all my entertainment has been willing to come to me and either hang out at my house or take me somewhere and then bring me back. I am so well loved. And it's nice knowing Ian can get home quickly if he needs to.

Hopefully one of these days I'll have something interesting to say!

Day 6

You know what's funny about what's happening right now (and by that, I mean by what's NOT happening right now)? I'll tell you. As each day passes, it seems to me less and less likely that I ever will go into labor.

Of course, the truth is, with each day that passes, I'm closer to having a baby than ever before and each day, I'm more likely to go into labor that day than any previous day. But rationale truth aside, it FEELS like it gets less and less likely, that I'm not actually going to go into labor and that I really will be pregnant forever. Ah, the cruel ironies of life, I suppose.

Day 5

You know the funny thing with due dates? They are such an inexact science. Did you know that only 4% of babies are actually born on their due date? So clearly, it should really be more of a range. They should tell you, "Sometime between November 25th and December 25th, you're going to have a baby." Doctors will caution you not to put too much stock in your due date. Okay, check. Got it. Truth be told, I really didn't expect to go into labor on the 8th.

But then riddle me this, Batman - if everyone agrees it's an inexact science, why do they watch you so closely the second you go past your due date? Ah, well, I guess it could be worse. Well, I know it could be worse, so hopefully my prayer of being a more patient waiter will be answered. Any day now. =)

And, if you're going to be sitting at home waiting for a baby, I must say - throw a fake log on the fire, turn your couch to face it, and get your husband to cuddle with you while eating peppermint ice cream. It's pretty great.

Maybe tomorrow there will be a baby!

My First Post Due Appointment

So, we're still cooking away over here. Hopefully babies aren't like microwave popcorn - you leave that in there for just a second or two too long and your whole house stinks for hours and the popcorn is totally inedible. But, the very nice nurse at Memorial assures me that is not the case and our baby cooking a little longer is no problem.

We had a great visit today to the hospital. Seriously, I'm not joking. Many of our appointments and experiences at Talbert, where I go for my regular visits, has been less than enjoyable. But today, the nurse was so friendly, answered all of our questions and when she did the ultra sound to check my fluid levels, she let us look at the baby for ten minutes. It was glorious! We hardly got the see the baby at all during our mid-way ultrasound so this was super fun. Ian took the day off work so he could go with me (and with the thought that if things weren't fine and they decided to keep me, he would already be there). So he also got to see the baby and it was great. I tell you what, this baby is cute. Oh dear, it's so soon for the totally nonobjective statements to start. But I can't help myself.

Everything is looking good - my fluids, the baby's heartbeat, movement, etc. Since the baby is doing fine, so they are going to continue to let us go, which we're glad for. We've heard being induced can be a doozy. Tomorrow I have my regular appointment with the doctor and then Thursday we go back to the hospital for another check up. If things still look good, they will send us home again. If not, they'll keep us and induce then. So each time we go, we pack up our bags, not sure if we'll be coming home again. I will say this - it's a great way to keep your house very clean. Each time I think, "We may not be coming back, so I better tidy this up or put that away." I'm sure my clean house is the reason the system is having me spend so much time with medical professionals.

The nurse today did say that the longest they let people go is 42 weeks - please pray we don't have to go 42 weeks and then be induced. 42 weeks would be Dec. 22 and then if I have a long labor, we might not have our baby until the 23rd, meaning we wouldn't leave the hospital until the 24th. YIKES! But, I'm getting ahead of myself. We could still go into labor today. Let's hope for that. In the meantime, pray that I will wait with courage and patience. I have been battling a lot of anxious thoughts about the health of the baby, so pray I trust the Lord and wait on his perfect timing.

Signing off,

Momma in Waiting and Baby A Stewing

Nursery: Part 3

Since the baby is not here and I have the time, I thought I would finish the nursery "series." So, I give to you...the completed nursery!

Here is a photo which shows the decals, which you've already seen, but it also shows how I mounted three board books on the wall. I think it turned out so cute! You can also see in here a portion of the valences we put up, which came with our bedding (which my co-workers so generously gave me at my work baby shower).

And here is a shot of said bedding, which we love. Not having seen it in person (because we registered for it via Amazon), we were pleasantly surprised to find that we loved it even more than we thought. It is so cute.

I know, I know, you're wondering about the blank space above the crib. That is for the baby's initial. We already bought the boy initial and girl initial, so we're all set! It's like one of those kits...all we need to do now is to add water. I mean have a baby.

Stay tuned for baby updates!

32 Years Old, 40 Weeks Pregnant

I think most of you know that I was due on my birthday. A very strange coincidence, but true none the less. So, in spite of our terrible picture taking-abilities, is a photo of me, now 32 years old and 40 weeks pregnant.

Obviously, Ian is with me and we're in our family room, by our tree (don't you just love Christmas?). This is just before Ian took me on a birthday date down to 2nd Street, where we ate at Open Sesame (YUM!), did a little shopping, got dessert at Frosted and then coffee at Starbucks. It was a wonderful date and I am so blessed to have such a great husband. He came home with bouquet of flowers, also. I know, too adorable. =)

The lovely date night was preceded by a delightful day full of the wonderful women and children in my family. I had a great walk with Mary and her kids, then met my mom and all my sisters and sister-in-laws for lunch, with their kids that weren't in school. And then Heather came over to wish me a happy birthday and due date day and we had a great time chatting before my date with Ian. I felt very loved and celebrated.

Now if only this kid would come and get his or her own birthday!

40 Weeks Today, No Baby

Well, today is the due date. Why do they give you a due date? Did you know that only 4% of babies are born on their due date? They should just stick to a range. I've told myself all along that I was going to be late and now it appears that is true, and it's okay, I can make it. But I tell you, the anxiety increases with each day. Let's get this show on the road!

I might be back later with a photo - depending on how huge my face looks today. =) Vanity strikes once again. Or I might carry on with my regular blogging. Aren't you just on the edge of your seat now.

Blog-A-Thon: Nursery Part 2

In my first nursery post, I showed you the drawer pulls and changing table/dresser. Life changing stuff, I know. Well, I'm back with a glimpse of the crib, bookcase, shelf and even some decals. If this doesn't blow your hair back, I don't know what will!

Feeling inspired (and taking pity on my husband who hates assembling IKEA furniture probably more than anything else in the world), I decided to put together our bookcase myself. Trying to avoid the cheapness of IKEA, we had looked on Craigslist and other places online a lot but just couldn't find what we were looking for. So we broke down and purchased "assemble furniture," aka low quality. But, I have to say, it looks pretty cute all put together!

So here is part of the assembly process. I'll spare you the gory details of how long it took me. Here you can see part of the bookcase up, the crib (with the awesome blanket my mom gave us at the family shower), as well as the SUPER CUTE rug that all our baby's aunts gave us (our baby has five aunts - what treasures!).

And here is a photo of the decals. Ian put those up, and quite happily I might add. I think he figured spending 20 minutes putting up decals was way better than two days worth of repainting. We both love how the decals turned out - so cute and whimsical!

And here is an ABC shelf my friend Tali gave us for our shower. On top are some ABC flash cards from my friend Amy and hanging from it is a darling little monkey from my friend Roe. See what I mean by amazing generosity? Oh, and below that is Ian's favorite gift so far, from his grandparents. It's our back pack - we can't wait until cricket is big enough for us to cart him or her around in that!

More to come on the nursery - the third and final installment. You're going to love it!

Blog-A-Thon: Family Baby Shower

Get ready for a blog-a-thon! I have been MIA for almost a month. Terrible! But I was very busy finishing up work and then there was Thanksgiving, and now I've been bustling around getting ready for our cricket's arrival. Enough excuses! Here comes more blog posts than you can handle.

First up, my Family Shower. What a WONDERFUL time of celebrating this amazing gift with the ladies in my family. Ian's mom and sister where there, of course, as well as aunts and cousins from my mom's side as well as my dad's. And my sisters and sister-in-laws were there, as they all helped to throw it, with our matriarch, Nellie. Every detail was so perfectly planned and the ABC theme carried through to the tiniest detail (thanks to Sarah and my mom). Ian actually commented that he didn't know there was that much ABC stuff out there, but don't count these ladies out when there is a party with a theme on the line!

One of the other fun things about this shower was that it was at my house. Don't worry, I didn't lift a finger. My mom came over the day before to clean everything and set everything up. I just got to enjoy showing our house and nursery to many of the ladies in my family that had never seen it before. And it certainly made putting the presents away easier!

Enough words - let me show you in photos how great it was. Below is a photo of our mantel, just one of the MANY places where ABCs appeared.

My mom and sisters used my dining room and family room for seating. Didn't the family room turn out so cute?

Here it is, with people this time! From left to right, that is my Fenska cousin Amy, a Fenska aunt, Aunt Susan, Ian's mom and Ian's sister, Heather.

Here I am (in all my swollen glory), with a mound of gifts around me. What generosity! I hope it takes our baby no time at all to realize what a wonderful support system he or she has been born into.

I thought this was a fun photo that Sheila took - Ian is holding a stuffed tiger that was originally his dad's (so it's almost 60 years old now) and I'm holding Super Monkey, my most loved stuffed animal from my own childhood. Both of these sit on the shelf in our nursery.

In addition to the food and gifts and lovely women who attended, my shower was also extra special because my mom gave a short devotional. Since I'm due on my own due birthday, my mom and I have gone through the exact same pregnancy stages and it's been a really fun connection. I am constantly reminded of what a good gift this baby is and how loving and excited my family is for me.

Thanks Mom, Sarah, Mary, Sheila and Gina for this lovely shower! I enjoyed every minute and felt so celebrated!

Baby Shower with Friends

I am so blessed. I hope that sentiment doesn't surprise anyone - if it does, I'm not doing a good enough job on this blog being grateful. God is so good and I have such wonderful friends and family around me, helping me celebrate this new little life that should be coming in the next month or so (one month from tomorrow is the due date!).

These ladies recently got together to throw me a friends' shower, and man, did they do it up! I felt so loved and celebrated. In the photo, from left to right, is Heather, Ian's sister, my prayer partner and long time friend; Amy, former roommate and also long time friend; me; Mary (sister, in case some truly random person is reading this blog); and Chanda, dear friend of about 5 years and new momma herself!
In addition to these wonderful ladies, there were these ladies.

And these ladies.

There are actually a few more that somehow didn't end up in either photo. But can you believe so many beautiful souls wanted to come and rejoice in our coming cricket? And such lovely, generous gifts. I can't say enough about what a great time I had and how loved I felt.

And here is me and Nellie. Never one to miss a grandchild celebration of any kind, my mother was there, with her boy outfit and girl outfit in tow. =) (You'd think from the blue we're both wearing that we knew we were having a boy - but just a coincidence.)

And of course, what is a shower without a spread? My friend Amy did an amazing job on the food. So creative, beautiful and tasty!

It was a lovely time. Thank you to all who attended and also read this blog. I love you all! Mwah!!

Stay tuned - this past weekend was my family shower, and it was equally as wonderful!

Homemade Applesauce

If you follow this blog, then you know we went apple picking a few weekends ago. Most of the apples we just ate plain but toward the end of the bag, some were about to go bad. So I decided to make applesauce. I had made it before, but never from apples we picked ourselves!

I also had a plum that was on its way out so I decided to throw that in. Usually, adding things or changing the recipe comes out okay, but I was a little worried from the chocolate pudding debacle of 2011. Still, I figured apples and plums should be good together.
After peeling and chopping everything, I put it all in the pot with a cinnamon stick, sugar, lemon juice (actually, I used lime juice from our new little lime tree because I didn't have lemon - gosh, I never really realized how much I alter recipes but apparently I do it all the time!) and water.

All you do is bring it to a boil, simmer it for 25 minutes, mash it up and put it in a jar. Easy, peasy. And I am happy to report that it turned out delicious!

With the weather supposedly cooling this week, we actually had our chimney inspected recently (our first time since buying the house) and while we do need some tiny repairs, it should be in working order soon. I can't wait to have fires in our living room!

More Fall Adventures

Last weekend, Ian and I continued our fall adventures by going to the pumpkin patch. We invited Heather, Rob & Rowan and Mary, Mike, Sam & Abbie to join us, because family makes things more fun, especially family that also doubles as friends!

For being in the middle of the city, it's actually a pretty cool "pumpkin patch." They have tons of variety on the ground, so it looks like they are growing, and then they had lots for sale in huge tubs. Aren't gourds so pretty?
They also have lots of rides and concessions at the patch. We all bought some tickets and shared them around; I got to go on the train with the kiddos - it was a little tight, but Rowan didn't seem to mind my big pregnant belly sitting next to him. They loved the train. I thought you got a very good deal (too good of deal, if you ask me) in the number of rotations around the track the train made. May need to rethink that ride in the future. =)

Then Heather and I took the kids in the petting zoo. Abbie showed no fear as she petted the goats. In fact, she was very fond of petting their mouths.

Here are all three of the kids, checking out the pig. So cute! (The kids, not the pig.)

We got in some adult fun too - against all Vegas odds, Ian was able to beat on the game booths and one a tiny stuffed dog. Or is it a bear? Those cheap carnival prizes are not quite quality-made. But he still got the satisfaction of winning!

I wish we had gotten a picture of all of us, but somehow the kids got all the attention. We are quite the bunch though - I'm due on Dec. 8th, Heather is due in early March and Mary is due early April. Our next little batch of kids will all be in the same grade! So fun!!

Hope you're enjoying your fall adventures and traditions!

Nursery, Part 1

Bit by bit, we are putting our nursery together. We had to move furniture out into our other room, and move furniture from that room into our bedroom, but we are making it work. I had a WONDERFUL shower last weekend (more on that later) and got several of our decorating items, so I've been having a great time working a little bit each day in there.

But I wanted to show you all the first project I did. I ordered some ABC draw pulls to go on the changing table/dresser we bought on Craig's list. I love how it turned out!

More to come, but I wanted to at least get this up!

Our Fall Experience

This past Saturday, Ian and I set out for an adventure. He lathered up on sun screen, I put on my tank top, we both donned our flip-flops. We were ready...for our fall experience! Not willing to let 90 degree weather keep us from experiencing fall, we set out for Oak Glen, to go apple picking and make a genuine (or rather, tourist-y) autumn memory.

We made the drive to Oak Glen, which has about four miles of apple and pumpkin orchards, plus restaurants and bakeries, featuring apple cider, apple turn over, apple pies, apple butter - you get the idea.

We arrived in the main area, which has a whole town of activities - gun shows to watch, a petting zoo, live music, several bakeries, vendor booths, hay rides, etc. We mostly just walked around there and grabbed a bite to eat. Here we are at the wishing well in one of the little make shift town areas.

Here is Ian, relaxing, in another one of the towns. Isn't it so cute and quaint?

After we had our fill, we left that little area and got down to the business of apple picking. Here is Ian, in the throws of action.

Most of the orchards had already been picked over, so it was sort of slim pickings. (Love the double use of pick in that sentence). But we still had a fun time and managed to come home with 8 good looking apples. I haven't decided on a plan for those. I was originally thinking apple pie, but we also bought one while we were up there, and I feel like by the time we're done eating our way through the monstrous pie we bought, I won't want to eat any more. Applesauce is now a strong contender.

On our way out, we walked by this pig:

The photo doesn't do its size justice. It was truly the biggest pig I've ever seen. Everyone who walked past made a comment about how fat it was. In fact, Ian and I did the same thing as we approached the pen area. But then we noticed it was a female pig and wondered if she might be pregnant. After that, I felt oddly protective of her and all the "fat" comments and even said to her, "If you are pregnant, I feel your pain." It didn't seem possible she could even get to a standing position, but I wished her the best of luck in what had to be her final days of pregnancy.

So that was a our trip. Very fun, full of great time together and new memories for us. We feel like we are really doing our best to live it up before our cricket comes, as per everyone's advice. Next weekend, we're going to the pumpkin patch with my sister and Ian's sister. Should be lots of fun (and hopefully cooler)!

Huntington Beach, Take 2

This past weekend, Ian and I got to go to Huntington Beach for another lovely stay. It's looking more and more like the family is going to sell the property, so we're really trying to get in a lot of stays before that happens.

We didn't have a 3-day weekend like we prefer to have, so the trip felt a little shorter, but we were still really glad we went.

Ian had to spend a lot of the day on Saturday grading, but I had a lovely time, reading, walking around Main Street, getting a pedicure. It was so fun.

On Saturday night, we tried to take a photo together. You can see the sequence of photos here and though they are all less than flattering of me, Ian says I can't delete them from our camera. He says they are our memories. =)

Easy for him to say - he looks the same (i.e. handsome) in all the photos. I look chubby, in varying degrees of being stoned. Ah, well, what can you do.

So here was our first attempt: Verdict? Terrible.

Second attempt:

Slightly better, but I still look a little stone.

Third attempt:

Good enough. By this point, we were laughing too hard to keep trying and it was pretty clear it just wasn't going to be good of me. So there you have it.

On Saturday night, before the picture debacle, we also had a picnic dinner on the stone area right by the pier. It was so nice!

Here is Ian, enjoying the picnic. It's a box pizza, grapes and some cauliflower. We were trying to be frugal, in our on-going attempt to save money and learn to live on less, with the arrival of our cricket less than 9 weeks away.

Verdict? Frozen pizza was great; grapes were good; cauliflower was disgusting. Raw cauliflower is just not that good, especially without Ranch dressing. So frugal or not, noble for eating our vegetables or not, I have to admit that half of the cauliflower got tossed.

We may try to squeeze in one more visit to Huntington but we'll see. We can of course go there with our cricket comes, before they sell, it would just be a different visit.

That's all for now. Have a lovely week everyone!

I Noticed a Strange Thing this Past Weekend

Ian was out of town this past weekend, visiting his friend Brandon in New York. I was therefore left on my own with more time to ponder the deeper things of life. And I noticed that for the first time (except the first few years of my life), my belly sticks out further than my chest. Very strange indeed.

Perhaps that has been case for a while and I just now noticed it, but it struck me as very notable now. When I look down, I can see my round baby stomach protruding much further than my "shelf" and it's got me all discombobulated! One of the many joys of pregnancy, I suppose.

I do feel like I am looking good and pregnant these days and that is very fun. Today marks Weak 31, or basically 7 months, so I'm starting to feel like we're nearing the home stretch. We can't wait to meet our little cricket!

Sound of Music Sing-a-Long

Yep, it's as awesome as it sounds. =) This past weekend, Mary and I went with a few of my former co-workers to the Hollywood Bowl to see the Sound of Music Sing-a-Long. It was so fun. People were very into it, with costumes and props for individual scenes. For example, when the Captain first meets Maria and introduces her to the kids, he has a whistle. Thousands of whistles made an appearance as soon as he started teaching her all the kids' signals. Very funny. And the Baroness got booed and hissed every time she came on screen - poor lady.

But taking the cake was Maria and the Captain's first kiss. Nearly everyone in the amphitheatre had poppers/streamers waiting for just that moment and it was so fun seeing and hearing them going off all throughout the venue. Truly like fireworks. Next year, we will be more prepared! These people had obviously been there before.

Anyway, here is a HORRIBLE photos of the Hollywood Bowl. I had never been there before - it's an amazing venue and the acoustics are incredible. I would like to go back and see something live there. (If only it weren't for the stacked parking - but, thanks to lots of good luck and a general willingness to drive through bushes, over grass and off the curb, Mary and I were able to get out without waiting for all the other cars around us). That's another story, though.
And here we are at Mary's house just before leaving. Our group went in costume and Mary and I didn't want to be party poopers, so we did our best. She is one of the kids in their traveling outfit just before they make a break for it. And me? Ten points for whoever can guess. (No guessing if I told you.)

It was such a fun night! I heart that movie. And my husband hearted not having to go. =)

This Zucchini Got Away From Us

Remember how in a previous post I mentioned how rapidly the vegetables are growing? Well, case and point. I looked at this zucchini on one day and on what felt like the next day, it was larger than a ruler. Crazy!
But not to worry - I put it to good use. I made two huge loaves of zucchini bread. Yum!

28 Weeks and Homemade Pudding

I'm 28 weeks, aka a little over 6 months, aka in my third trimester. All of a sudden it seems like Dec. 8th (or around there) is not that far away! I can't believe I'm in my final trimester. And I only have a little more than two months to go at work. Crazy!

We are getting very excited. In a few weeks, we're going to move furniture around (we just got a crib and changing table off Craig's list, thanks to my parents generosity!) and then after that we are going to register. I think both of these things will make it feel more real. But at least I'm good and showing now! Most people can tell I'm pregnant, so that's nice. =)

On a totally unrelated note (and not meriting its own post), I made homemade pudding last night. I got the recipe from the blog Frugal Girl, which I've mentioned here before. Her recipes are always so yummy. I had some buttermilk that I needed to use up, so I substituted one of the cups of milk with buttermilk and for the other cup used my rice milk, which I cook with all the time.

After letting it set for two hours, I was very excited about tasting it. Isn't it pretty? And how did it taste?


It was .... disgusting! Uneatable! Ian and I both threw the whole dish out. Terrible! Lesson learned - buttermilk is NOT good in pudding. I would like to try this recipe again, but next time, I'll follow it a bit more closely.

Life is Mysterious

This morning after I got up and checked my phone, I saw a text from a dear friend from 4:15AM, saying her baby was on its way and they were headed to the hospital. How exciting! I immediately set to praying for them, for a safe delivery, for a healthy baby, and I also praised God for this good gift he had brought into their lives and the baby they would meet today (barring a very long labor).

Then when I got to work, checked my email and saw one from another dear friend, newly pregnant, who started spotting last night and has cramps this morning. Of course, I am praying that the spotting will pass and the baby will stay put, but I can't help but marvel at the mystery of life. And I can't help but wonder what God's master plan is in all this.

But, for both friends, I trust and hope and pray.

A Few Musings

Last year at this time, we were still desperately wanting to get pregnant. It seemed like it was happening to everyone around us except for us. We'd already been trying for 6 months and didn't know that we had 6 more to go before that magic "pregnant" sign would appear on the stick. It was a hard time - at least, I think it was a hard time. That's what my journal indicates and even what this blog hinted at.

But the truth is, I can hardly remember it. Isn't that strange? Or is that God's mercy, that once the pain is past and answer has come, we can't remember the despair any more? During the year of trying to get pregnant, it felt so real, so raw, so present. But now I don't feel any of that; in fact, I can barely remember what it did feel like. When I look back now, it feels like less of a big deal, like we didn't even try that long, like it wasn't a disappointing process. I can hardly remember being sad each month, even though I know I was.

Why do you think that is? Is it, as I've proposed, God's mercy? Or is it part of being human, that we can only feel and hold onto the emotions we're experiencing now? So what does that mean about learning from past mistakes and being thankful for past blessings, like the Israelites were called to do? Is that categorically against our human nature? Or am I the only one who experiences this phenomenon?

Regardless, in this case, I'm thankful for the memory loss - or rather, the emotional memory loss. I know I felt sad, but I can't conjure up those feelings anymore. My emotions don't seem to remember them. And for that, I'm thankful. I can live in the blessing of this little life, which I feel inside me almost constantly, and not feel resentful that it didn't happen sooner, that it didn't happen on our time table, that it happened to other people faster, sooner, etc. I'm so thankful for our little cricket (less than three months to go!) and so thankful for my emotional memory amnesia.

Check This Out

Ian and I were driving home from my work one night last week and as we turned the corner to head toward our street, we saw this. It was coming from a busted fire hydrant - the whole sidewalk was torn up. It was shooting up like Old Faithful. In a matter of minutes, the whole intersection was flooded.

But not to worry; just after we turned right to head to our street, we saw two fire engines and three cops (must have been a slow day in Long Beach) and the next time we looked out our front door, the gusher was gone. But very exciting!

Vegetable Garden

In June, Heather and Ian planted a vegetable garden in our backyard. Being that this is my first experience with a veggie garden, I didn't know what to expect. But I certainly thought it would take a long time for us to start being able to eat out of the garden (given that we're still waiting for our first full crop of avocados since we trimmed the tree OVER A YEAR AGO when we bought the house). Anyway, back to a more productive topic (yes, pun intended!).

After it was planted, it did seem to take a few weeks for something to show, but now, WOW! Things are growing like crazy and I love it. Every few days I can't wait to head out to the garden to see what else has happened. I'm amazed at the process - a zucchini will be the size of a chapstick on Tuesday and then on Friday, it will be as big as a ruler. Incredible!

So, here are a few photos to show you how well everything is doing. Here are some yellow squash.
And the cherry tomatoes are so cute, and so delicious!

Can you see the bell pepper growing in the left hand side there? Beautiful!

Here are the squash and zucchini lined up on our counter, so you can see how nice and big they are. So far, I've made four loaves of zucchini bread and we've eaten squash for dinner several nights. If you've got a great recipe for squash or zucchini, let me know! Or if you would like some, we're more than happy to share. We're about to have five or six more of each to eat!

And here are the cherry tomatoes. Aren't they cute? I used these in a chicken salad last week and they were so yummy.

I've never considered myself a garden person, and the truth is, Ian does all the watering and weeding, but I do love to go out there and pick the ripe veggies!