Help!

These banana muffins are SO good that I am going to eat them all if you don't drop by....

When can you stop in?



The gal that is living with us for 2 weeks gave us this recipe. Better yet, she made them for me AND cleaned up the mess. SWEET! That's what I call easy cooking! We are enjoying the dozen yummy muffins.

2 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 bananas
1/2 c oil
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
4 T sour cream
cinnamon
vanilla
chocolate chunks

{with the last three ingredients ...you decide according to your taste. Enjoy}

350

Approx. 20 or 25 min

Big trucks, avocados & breakfast smoothies!

Clark LOVES to "drive" with Daddy!
Wayyyyy better than being in the BABY car seat

Today, was Clark's 9 month appointment.

I'm feeling a bit outnumbered today.

As the Doctor looked at my son's .81 percentile for weight I realized that Clark has officially joined his dad's weight club....hmmmm.

Now, both my men now have doctor's orders to eat more foods that will help put on weight.

Allyn still refuses to eat breakfast (grrr), but is downing
2 larger protein fruit smoothies every morning. That's happy!

Clark's been loving making a mess on his highchair.

You can't beat avocado's for great nutrition and a GREAT beginners mess!



Of course, putting him out on the PATIO in an already STAINED onsie = stress free.

Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas

How Raising Children Shapes our Souls


"Once we realize that we are sinners, that the children God has given us are sinners, and that together, as a family, we are to grow toward God, then family life takes on an entirely new purpose and context. It becomes a sacred enterprise when we finally understand that God can baptize dirty diapers, toddlers' tantrums, and teenagers' silence in order to transform us into people who more closely resemble Jesus Christ." pg. 17



"Unless we are stone-cold spiritually - virtually spiritually corpses - the journey of caring for, raising, training and loving children will mark us indelibly and powerfully. We cannot be the same people we once were; we will be forever changed, eternally altered. Spiritually speaking, we need to raise children every bit as much as they need us to raise them." pg. 15

Abigail Leone Miller

My cousin had a baby girl last Friday. Welcome to our family Abigail Leone!

Melanie had told me last week that homemade Thank You notes would be helpful. Here are the various stacks that we made over the weekend. She requested purple and green. They are bundled up ready to be shipped.


Knowing how much Clark loves his Cotton Muslin blankets, we also worked on personalizing one for Baby Abigail with iron on letters and flowers....

The idea came from a gal at church...I like to copy creative people

Ready for Baby Abigail!

Small Group

I love our small group....babies...


.....Clark (8 mo)
....Mr. Mason (2 wks) we prayed and prayed for you. Thank you Jesus!
....Miss Claira (7 mo) and mommy come to small group while daddy serves in Iraq.
....Miss Dahlia (12 mo) and mommy are moving. * tear

This picture sadly does not include Miss Goss (10 mo) and Miss Izzy (2 mo)

:: priceless::

:: awe ::

:: beautiful ::

There is a time for sorrow and now we are in a season of rejoicing.

Last night, Caitlyn was beyond excited when she saw Amy carrying "the bag."
It's what the hospital gives you.
We've all envisioned and dreamed of what it would be like when
Chris and Amy would get to adopt.
This was one of those unexpected "Mason's a reality" moments.
As emotionally painful as those moments are when sitting in pain, they are emotionally exhilarating when it is time to rejoice.

Amy is finally a mom.

Thank you, Jesus.

Poison Control

Well, I made my first call to poison control. ANSWER: Ingested potting soil is an irritant and may cause your child to throw up. If he ingested the white balls, that's merely styrofoam. There is no need to be alarmed. Simply give him something to drink.

That was good news. Seeing my child's face covered in potting soil reminded me of one thing - i have a lot more training to do....slow deep breath!

In the mean time, I'm glad I had some of THIS on hand.

*Colic Calm contains some charcoal. Light bulb moment. Ahh yes! Charcoal is for poison.
As i waited to talk to a poison control specialist, I gave him a preventive dose - just in case. I figured whatever the answer was, a little charcoal wouldn't hurt him. So glad i have it on hand.


Also, i love my Numimed Dispenser. So easy to use when giving medicine. http://www.colicshop.com


Back to training my little man....