Comment Trouble

Ok, so my mom informed me that she couldn't leave comments on my blog since my latest layout change...if any of you have had the same problem...I think I fixed it!

Baby Shower and Run

NO, NOT MINE! ;)

So a few ladies from church and I threw a surprise baby shower for a friend of ours at church this past Sunday. "Operation Baby Shower" was a success and she was completely surprised. They got lots of good gifts, which I was glad for because this is their first one, and I know what it's like to need everything! Here is a picture of the happy couple.

I was in charge of games, and so, of course, we played Baby Bingo...because what's a baby shower without it?? Then I found another game called the Candy Bar Game. I make a 2 column list with the left side consisting of pregnancy and baby related clues, and the right side had a bunch of candy bars. Then you had to match the candy that went with the clue. Here's a couple examples:

Postpartum Tummy = Jelly Belly

Dirty Diaper = Milk Duds

Epidurals = Life Savers

Then I bought a few of the types of candy included in the list and the people with the most correct answers won the candy. It was a cute game. If you want the full list, just ask.

I went for my 9 mile run on Sunday. It was probably the worst run I have ever had, but it was definitely a learning experience because of it. I, apparently, didn't eat an adequate meal before hand, and had hunger through the whole run that just kept getting worse. I only made it 6 miles. I felt like i big loser than I didn't complete it, but I am reminding myself that not every run will be a success. I just need to concentrate on succeeding the end run.

My parents are coming in town this weekend for the holiday. I am very excited to see them, and trying to get everything ready for that! Yay!

Revelation

So I went for a short run tonight while Greg stayed home with Hunter. I've had a lot on my mind with a few people that I've been trying to get to come to church and stuff, and I just wanted to get out and be able to pray like I did on Sunday.

Besides the heat, it was a nice run. I was able to talk with God about everything I've had on my mind, and I was, once again, thankful I'd thought to start praying like this during my runs. Then, something occurred to me...

Let me first say that when I first considered training for the half-marathon, I was extremely apprehensive about it and didn't know if I had what it takes to run, even if I didn't really know what "it" was. My final decision to actually do it was made during worship on a Sunday morning when I clearly felt the Lord telling me that I could do it and He would give me any and all the strength I needed to do so.

Since I've started to train, I really have gained an appreciation for running. It's become more than just training for a half-marathon. When I haven't been running for a while, like when I hurt my ankle, for example, I actually get to the point where I crave goint out for a run. It's crazy and I never thought I'd EVER feel that way. But I do, and I (most of the time) genuinely enjoy running now.

So, it occurred to me tonight that I think the Lord gave me this appreciation of running because in doing so, He gave me time to spend with Him. One thing I love about running is that there are NO distractions. I don't have a toddler at my legs, or a phone to my ear, or any of that. I just r-u-n. I'm so thankful He gave me this so that I really can have undivided time with Him.

And let's be honest, I don't think my husband minds giving me time to myself for prayer if I'm also getting skinny in the process! ;)

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

These are the best cookies EVER, and they aren't bad on the thighs either! They're only 65 calories a pop! (65 calories without the cookies rolled in extra sugar.) I actually made them all the time as regular cookies, and then when I started dieting, I calculated the calories, and was very impressed! The recipe as written only makes just over 2 dozen cookies...so keep that in mind. (I always double it!)

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
1/4 cup butter or margarine - melted
1 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar, plus extra for rolling
1/3 cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium bowl, slightly beat egg whites; stir in melted butter, water and vanilla.

In another bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir in egg mixture until well blended. The dough will be dry when you're mixing, but just keep mixing. It will all blend together.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls and roll in extra sugar. Place on cookie sheet (I use parchment paper on nonstick cookie sheets.)

Bake 10-11 minutes or until edges are set. **Keep a close eye on them because they are already brown cookies, so it's hard to tell if they are finished or not.

Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack (If you can wait that long!)

Enjoy! :)

Summer Fun

So, I had an I-can't-believe-what-you're-doing-but-I-need-to-take-a-picture-first-before-I-yell-at-you moment yesterday with my son. I believe it was the first one. As you can see in the picture, he got ahold of a green highlighter and went to town with it. Let me tell you, it was NOT fun cleaning out that belly button.

Aside from that though, we had a pretty fun day yesterday (and I'm sure if he could speak english, Hunter would tell you that coloring all over himself was fun, too.)

My friend Shannon invited us over to her aunt's house to go swimming. Hunter hasn't been in a pool this year yet, and I'm sure he doesn't remember last year. He enjoyed himself though. We don't have any floaty toys to hold him, so momma just held him the whole time and walked around in the pool. He loved splashing around though. He LOVES bathtime, so I was sure he would love the pool also. Sorry I don't have any pictures of the pool experience...no waterproof camera, and no photographer outside of the pool! After naptime, I decided to try the sprinkler I bought for him. It has been insanely hot already, so I thought a sprinkler would be a good idea to cool him off. I started the water really low so he could just see what it was all about. He was standing right next to it, and was fine, just staring at it, and telling mommy (in his own language) what was happening. So, I decided to turn the water up higher. He didn't like that part. I was spraying on his legs, and he was so shocked, he didn't even run away. He just stood there and cried until I moved him out of the water's stream. He was crying like it was mildly traumatic, but I must say I laughed. After I moved him, he didn't even want to walk anywhere, because the child still doesn't like the feel of grass, leaves, or concrete on his feet. I guess that shows me for not putting sandals on him beforehand. I want to try the sprinkler again to see if we can get an enjoyable experience, but I think I'll wait a while until he forgets about yesterday. I must say though, with all of our new experiences yesterday, he slept in 2 hours later than normal this morning! That's definitely seomthing I could get used to...so new experiences, here we come!

So every couple weeks or so, we've had a condo showing so our landlords can find new renters once we leave. I've spent all day today cleaning the house getting ready for it. It really is a pain getting ready for the showings, but I'll be honest that besides the showings, I have had no motivation to keep the house clean. I am getting to the "why does it matter, we're leaving soon" stage, so it's been really difficult to find the motivation. I have still been cleaning obviously, but the showings are keeping me on my toes and giving me a real motivation to get it done. So I guess I should be thankful for them, in a weird sort of way.

Thanks to Ellisa, I have a new layout for my blog. (Thanks, Ellisa!) I had no idea how all my friends spruced up their layouts until she helped me find my own. I, obviously, love the pink factor. Hope it's easy on the eyes to read!

Broadening My Horizons (Twice!)

So last night at work, we had our dishwasher walk out on us. Judging from how the first hour of my shift was going, I knew we were probably going to be slow, so I volunteered to wash dishes for the night. I figured, in addition to helping the manager and cooks out, I'd probably make more money that way anyway. So, for one night at Ruby Tuesday, I was the dishwasher. And ya know what? Despite all the cooks saying "good luck," it actually wasn't half bad! Our manager let me listen to my iPod while I worked, so I just went into my own little world, sang along with my music, and washed dishes. It was so nice to not have to appease anyone for a day. I had no one to make happy. I just did my job. It was a nice change. And I must also say that it was eye-opening as to how I should be treating the dishwasher. There are so many little things that I could do as a server that would help them out a ton, that I haven't necessarily done in the past. So I am thankful for the experience, because it was an opportunity to teach me how to be more considerate while I do my normal job.

Today was Father's Day. We had church as normal, and I wore this jean dress that was given to me that, when I pulled it out the first time, I never thought I'd fit into it. But I did fit in it and felt great (besides the fact that I couldn't breathe)! After church, we had originally talked about going to TGI Friday's and then out for ice cream afterwards. Now, to me, that would be a nice Mother's Day. But, after we got home from church, Greg decided he wanted to BBQ instead. I was a little disappointed because I selfishly had been looking forward to not having to cook, but the Lord gave me an attitude check (thank goodness!) and we had a nice barbequed lunch. Most of the rest of the day was spent relaxing. It was funny to me that that's how he wanted to spend his day, because I like to be out and about doing new things (or at least not the same ol' things,) but Gregory wanted to relax, so that's what we did. :) We did end up getting Brownie Batter Blizzards from DQ tonight though, in addition to the Chocolate Sugar Cookies I made him. YUM! So, if you ask Greg, I think it was a good day.

Since it is Sunday though, I did have to go running. Sunday's are my "Long Run" days. I had mentioned a while back that my ankle was bothering me and I was going to take it easy for a while, and I haven't mentioned anything since then. Well, I did take it easy, and haven't run more than a few miles in a couple weeks. Today though, I wanted to go for 8. The longest I'd gone in the past was 6, but I thought I'd push for 8, no matter how long it took me. Anyway, I set out at about 6:30 for my 8 mile run feeling very intimidated by the distance. The first 4 miles were tough trying to get back into running on the pavement, but from 4 on I felt great! When I'd hit that 4th mile, I actually started to pray and talk with God. It felt so wonderful to have time to myself to do that, I am disappointed I didn't think of doing it before today. I am so glad I left my iPod at home and was able to have that quiet time with Him. It was very refreshing and recharging and I think is a big reason I felt so good that second half. Another good thing to mention is that my ankle did not bother me at ALL. Praise the Lord that He healed it. I am so glad for that. On the other hand, my hip has been bothering me since I first ran 4 miles, but I'll take one healing at a time. :) Anyway, I ran my 8 miles in just under an hour and a half. It feels so awesome to think that I am more than half way done with a half marathon and over 75% done with my distance in training (I'll only go to 10 miles.) I don't think my mind can comprehend the fact that I ran that far today, because it hasn't caught up with my body's ability yet. My mind is still thinking of how far 8 miles was to me 4 months ago, yet today, it wasn't that difficult. So because I obtained it today, it's like my mind doesn't really think I actually went that far..if that makes any sense.

Anyway, I may have felt great after that long run, but now I'm exhausted and I think it's time for bed... :)

Another One

OK, I'm sorry y'all have to hear this, but if I talk to my husband anymore about it, I fear I might drive him insane.

Over the last week or so (since I took that video of Hunter I posted a while back) I have had an OVERWHELMING desire to have another baby. I want another one SO badly. I took that video, and watched it over and over, and couldn't believe at how big my baby is. He ISN'T a baby, and that's where my issue is. He's talking more and more everyday, he's in a toddler bed, he brushes his teeth, and for goodness sake, he's sitting next to me right now just coloring (never mind the fact that he's breaking the crayons in half...) Babies don't color! Babies don't help momma with the laundry, or insist on helping open the car door.

Ever since watching that video, I've done so much reminiscing through old stuff (and a lot started on accident.) Last week, I watched old videos of when he was a baby. While packing the other day, I discovered pictures I'd forgotten I had that someone had taken of him at our church in NC when he was just weeks old. And today, I was cleaning out my inbox (why did I still have emails from 2006?) and found emails with pictures from when I was pregnant and right after he was born. I MISS being pregnant; even if I was a whale. And don't get me wrong, I still love Hunter to pieces and soak up every minute as he is growing up and getting so big, but I think God programmed something in women to want more children when their's are at this age. He never intended us to have small families with only one or two children...at least I don't think so.

I keep telling Greg I want another one. He knows it. And just as it was before Hunter, he knows as soon as he gives me the okay, there's no turning back. I had a really hard day about it last week, and was crying all day. I didn't want him to see me because I thought he'd just get frustrated. He ended up discovering my tears though and we talked about it. I did get an "I'll think about it" out of him. He has 6 weeks to do so because I obviously don't want to get pregnant before the half-marathon. But as the last week has gone by, I keep thinking more and more that he just said that to appease me, and really has no intention of saying we can try again anytime soon.

I just honestly don't understand why he still wants to wait. Sometimes I wish he wasn't so responsible. Is that silly? I know we have more schooling in AZ, but I don't think money is the issue. It's not like Hunter has cost us that much (and Greg has admitted that too.) We've had to buy diapers, that's it. I nursed him and made my own baby food. And if diapers are the issue, I'll be old school like Liz and use cloth diapers if it means I could have another baby. I don't think Greg would ever admit it, (and maybe he doesn't even realize it) but I think the fact that I just got down to my goal weight makes him hesitant to have another one. Smart husbands would never say so, but they don't like that right-after-baby stage. I have every intention of continuing exercise during pregnancy and working off the baby weight afterwards, but I still don't think he wants to have to go through that stage again, now that I JUST reached my goal.

When we finally are finished with school and are "financially stable" (whatever that means) I'm sure we'll space our babies two years apart like many people do. But Hunter will be 2 years old in 4 months. I don't want him detached from the rest of his siblings because he's way older. So many people that I was pregnant at the same time with are either pregnant again, or already had another one! Why can't that be me? And just as Hunter's not getting any younger, neither are we! If we got pregnant in a few months, Greg would be 50 when they graduate High School. He has said himself he wants to be young enough to still play sports with the kids and stuff. Is he not thinking about that? How much longer does he want to wait? His constant answer of "later" doesn't really give me a real time line...

Hunter adores his daddy. He loves anything that's his. He walks around with daddy's watch on (at his elbow to keep it on) just to be like him. Doesn't he want more children to love?

Well, there it is - my side of the argument on why we should have another baby. Too bad you're not the one that needs convincing...

Wehrman Turkey Burgers

Ok, after a very frazzled hour of trying to figure out what to make for lunch one day before Greg got home from school, I threw some stuff together and came up with these awesome burgers. I was very proud of myself for creating my first signature recipe. :) (Ignore the hot dogs in the picture. Those are DEFINITELY store bought.)

I've made these with ground turkey and ground beef. I prefer turkey, but either is fine. Also, I don't measure anything. I just throw what looks good into the bowl (my mother-in-law would be proud.)

Ingredients:

*1 lb ground turkey or beef

*1-2 small onions, chopped (I do 2, because Greg doesn't believe in "too much onion")

*2-3 cloves garlic, minced

*1/2 packet dry "Good Seasons" Italian Dressing

*1/4 cup parmesan cheese

*Pepper

*Salt (or garlic salt if you don't want to mince fresh garlic)

*Drizzle of EVOO (Only if you're using beef! I've found that beef is harder to mix, especially with adding all the dry ingredients. The EVOO helps with the dry factor.)

Mix all ingredients and form into 3 - 4 patties. Grill or pan fry in EVOO. I eat the burger as a steak, with no bun because I think it has awesome flavor, but Greg eats it like a burger. The choice is yours! Calories using ground turkey and portioned to 4 patties is 228 per patty.

Left picture is pan frying turkey in EVOO, and right picture is formed patties made from beef.

The Unusual

So our Pastor has been preaching a series called "The Unusual." The series is about us stepping out of our comfort zone and doing something unusual for the Lord. He asked us to email him these unusual moments.
Well, I had mine tonight, and I wanted to share it with y'all too. :)
Here is the email...

It happened. My “unusual moment” happened. And it wasn’t in my timing as I wanted it to be. It was in God’s. Let me elaborate on the timing of it all…
I worked tonight, as I do every Monday. But because of someone requesting off, I was scheduled to close. I also had someone else closing with me, (we’ll call him “John”) who, despite all efforts to find someone to close for him, was stuck with me until 11pm. Now looking back, I see that God worked it out for the two of us to both close on the same night.

The beginning of the night was a normal Monday at work, until John asked me my opinion on Psychics. I could never have imagined the conversation that would spark off of that one question. For the next few hours, John and I talked about everything from the Bible, to institutionalize churches, to the virgin birth. He had so many questions that he wanted my opinion on. I think that my unwavering mind-set that everything in the Bible is true intrigued him, so he wanted to know more about what I thought of different things concerning Christianity. He was so inquisitive, and stumped me a few times with his questions. But it was amazing that distractions of work would come at the perfect time, such as the phone ringing, that would buy me time to think over my answers and try to decipher the right way of wording things. I felt the Lord giving me the words to say, even though now I can’t even recall what they were exactly.

We talked about so many subjects – too many to fit in one email. But I honestly believe that God made sure that both of us worked together tonight, and I trust that the Lord worked through me to tell my friend what he needed to hear. John’s not ready to accept Jesus’ gift yet. But I pray that I planted a seed and that he will continue to explore it all and try to find answers, because I know when he is sincere in doing so, God will honor that and meet him at the perfect time and the perfect place.

Now I know this “assignment” was to write to you about something unusual. I have, in the past, had conversations with friends concerning Christianity. But none of them were to this extent. When the conversation started about Psychics, and I brought up the Bible, I was initially worried about where the conversation might go and the criticism I would receive for how I answered the question. But I believe that the recent deepening of my faith I’ve had allowed me to stand up for what I know to be true, and to answer questions about it. I found myself recalling things you’ve said recently that I hadn’t even realized I remembered. Had I not been growing deeper in God, I may not have been as available and knowledgeable for the Spirit to speak to John with what he needed to hear.

The conversation ended with the understanding that I would bring The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobbel, for him to read. I pray that John can find answers in the book that will lead him on the path to have his own “Unusual Moments.”

The Weekend

So overall, I'd have to say that this was a pretty good weekend...no, it was really good.

Friday was normal. Nothing exciting happened. Greg went to school; I went to work.

Saturday, though, we went to see family for a birthday party. Our nieces Meegan and Raegan were turning 2 and 4. With us moving to AZ soon, we don't know the next time we will get to see many of them, so it was nice to get to visit yesterday. All of the Wehrman grandkids were there, so Greg's parents were in all their glory. There was nothing out of the ordinary that happened, it was just an enjoyable visit. I do have to share a couple pictures though. To the left is Camdyn, my pumpkin niece. I had to share a picture of her water fountain pigtails. And everytime Auntie Em went to take a picture, she would say, "Ooooooohhh."

Then, there's Amerie. The grandparents bought the girls a sandbox (and Liz bought the sand.) The kids, obviously, were playing in it, and Amerie comes inside and was SO full of sand in her hair (it was so bad she was actually leaving a sand-trail in the house walking everywhere), Auntie Ruth pulled out the vacuum cleaner and cleaned it up that way! Oh, the joys of toddlers!

Today was church, and relaxing as usual. Greg and I grilled Wehrman Turkey Burgers (I will post pics and a recipe as soon as I figure out how.) Then, because I am a crazy lady, I had to cut Greg's hair. I had told him a few weeks ago that I would cut it again (I did it a couple times while he was in the Marine Corps, and it's a huge money saver to just cut it myself.) Last time when I did it a couple weeks ago, I did a TERRIBLE job, and the poor man had to walk around with a bad hair day, EVERY DAY! So, I had to fix it today. Round two went way better, and I don't think it's half bad. We also cut Hunter's hair because the longer it gets, the more it just stands straight up off his head! It's amazing how much older a toddler looks with a fresh hair cut!

So, today we continue relaxing. My boys are on the couch munching on popcorn. Apparently, Hunter felt the need to do so with his sunglasses on. :)

I know I said it was a really good weekend. And I know nothing specific happened to make it that way. But sometimes I have weekends where my hubby and I are just in really good moods all weekend. This was one of those. It was the kind of weekend where I felt myself falling deeper in love with him.

I'm so thankful for weekends like this.

This and That

So here I sit at 11:40 pm (pretty much) wide awake thanks to my accidental 2 hour nap on the couch today. (Don't worry, Hunter was napping too.)

I have gotten some adorable pictures of Hunter the last couple days. I guess maybe knowing I have a blog to put them on motivates me to take more. Whatever the reason, I'm sure the grandparents don't mind. I don't remember if I mentioned before, but his new word is NO. It's so cute when he's saying it and not fighting me for something, yet so irritating when he is. But, his little voice is so sweet saying it. Our conversations all day went like this, "No," "Yes," "No," "Yes," "No," "Yes," "No." Over and over and over again. He likes that he has a new word.

He also loves to talk on the phone, even if what he's talking on isn't actually a telephone. Here, he's using his monitor, and it makes it look like he's on one of the old cord phones that you had to hold if you wanted to go somewhere while talking.

Tonight, I started to sing finger plays with him. He really liked The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and the child is so smart, I'm sure he'll be singing along in no time.

On a not-so-good note, I messed up my ankle this weekend, and then ran 5 miles on it yesterday. I thought I'd be ok, but apparently not. I think it's just something with my tendon, so I'm going to take it really easy this week, but I just really hope it heals. I bought an ace bandage today that I'm going to keep on it too. I don't care what is wrong with me come race day, I AM RUNNING THAT RACE IF IT KILLS ME. So really, it would be in my ankle's best interest to heal.

In other news, I know I already posted a pic of our new house in AZ, but we OFFICIALLY got accepted today to rent it. I am so excited I've already started packing and we still have 8 weeks to go! I just can't wait. I love my friends and church family here, but just as God did the necessary preparing of my heart when we left NC, He's doing so again. And I don't know that I even realized that until now. Of course there are people I am going to miss. There are people I still miss from NC. But God has other things for us elsewhere, and I'm excited to start the next chapter in our life. (Sorry to be so cliché!) And He knows, because I get so attached to friends, He has to prepare my heart so I'll be ok with leaving. And He is. I am very excited for the opportunity to live in AZ, even if only for a short while. I am blessed with the opportunity to live all over the US. I love living in different places, because when Greg and I finally settle down in the South, we know that's the best place for us, because we've lived in so many others!

Well, I am off to try to figure out how to import video on this thing. I took some adorable footage of Hunter performing most of his tricks tonight. I'll also leave you with a few more photos...

He's my stud muffin.

Day 1

Hello all.

I have contemplated creating a blog for a while now, and finally decided to do it. I know with Hunter changing so much and us living so far away from family (and moving farther!) it would be a good way to keep people updated.

So here we are, Day 1.

We are currently in the process of planning our move to Phoenix, AZ. We just decided on a house this past weekend, and are very excited to have that taken care of and we are moving on with the planning. If I can figure out how, I will post pictures of the new place.

Since I want to keep everyone updated with Hunter, let me start with his current state of development. :)

He is 19 months and is super sassy. He is learning new words all the time, and his latest is "NO!" He can high-five, pound-it, and his current favorite, shake hands. He loves "helping" mom with the laundry and dishes. He "counts" with momma even though every number sounds the same. He really is getting so big, so fast.

I am currently training for the Chicago Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon which is in August, and I'm sure I'll be posting a lot about that too. Currently, my ankle is bothering me so I'm down for the count for a couple days, but hopefully soon, I'll be able to run again.

I believe that's it for now... but, hello world!