Ten on Tuesday

1. We had an incredible wind storm last night. PRO: Justin no longer has to rake up all the leaves because they either blew away or formed themselves into neat little piles for him. CON: Our already ugly, sparse tree in the front yard lost a few more meager branches. A few more wind storms like this and only the trunk of the tree will remain – a situation which would actually simplify our dilemma of getting rid of that darn tree.

Come to think of it, maybe that’s a pro.

2. This morning I drove to work behind a Dodge Ram pickup whose bed held 8 grown pigs, all crammed in like sardines. Ahhh, such is life in Eastern Washington.

3. The lady driving beside me pointed out the pigs to her toddler riding in her back seat. I could already hear the question: “Mommy, where is he taking those pigs in his pickup?”

My guess? Piggie heaven.

4. Last night I finally finished Breaking Dawn (for you non-fans, thats book 4 of the Twilight series). One more item checked off the Age 30 Bucket List. WOOP WOOP!

5. Will you find me in line for tickets when they finally release Breaking Dawn in theaters? Probably not. I really enjoyed the series, but you couldn't pay me enough to see this movie in a theater packed full of vampire-crazed tweens.

6. The Disney Movie Trivia feature will not appear this week due to lack of participation - well, that and...I seem to have used up all of the good Disney movies from which people can actually identify quotes.

{Last week's answer: Beauty and the Beast)

7. My fall love this week is my new table runner. I have had this fabric for a few years and finally sewed this runner the other night. Too bad we will only enjoy it for about a week - then its Christmas decor time!

8. In case it is entirely too obvious that I haven't bragged about my kiddo yet in this post, please be advised that we are living with a teething monster this week.

Enough said.

9. Snow is in our forecast for the weekend and I can't wait! Kendry even got his first official snowsuit in the mail this week (hand-me-downs rock!). Curious as to why I don't have an adorable photo of my snow-ready kiddo in his snowsuit for this post? Please refer to #8 above.

The teething monster does not do adorable photos.

10. This Week's Blessing: spending a wonderfully romantic evening in Spokane with my hubby last weekend. Many thanks to Amanda and Jeremy for keeping Kendry overnight for us!

Ten on Tuesday

1. I am certain that the genious behind Daylight Savings Time never had a toddler with an internal clock waking him up at 6:30am (now 5:30am). Augh!

2. I have a serious love/hate relationship with clothes shopping. I love to shop for new clothes - what woman doesn't, right? But I hate selecting which clothes to buy because, more often than not, I have no idea how to wear the current trends. I'm afraid I am somewhat fashion challenged. I was at JCPenney this weekend and found a nice cardigan, but just as I was about to purchase it I envisioned my sister Angel telling me it looked like a "grandma's cardigan". I promptly returned it to its rack. Why oh why can't I live near one of my sisters, if not for this very purpose?!

3. And speaking of clothes......."jeggings"? Really?!

4. My fall love this week is my topiary.

I made this topiary with my sisters several years ago (2002?) when we were together at Jaimee's house in Kenai. We each made our own and when they were completed we noted how each one resembled our various personalities. When I get my topiary out each fall I remember that day with my sisters so fondly.

5. Who knew I could be so excited for a training potty to arrive in the mail this week? I can't wait for Kendry to see it. Its in the shape of a frog.

6. Disney Movie Trivia: "Ma chère mademoiselle. It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight. And now, we invite to relax, let us pull up a chair, as the dining room proudly presents... your dinner."

{Last week's answer: Dumbo}

7. Confession: I cheated and listened to some Christmas music today - but only because Amazon had a Veggie Tales Christmas Album as a free download and I just had to have it for Kendry.



8. P.S. to all you moms out there: if you haven't signed up for Amazon Mom you are missing out.

9. I am three movies into my Fall Film Festival, having already watched One True Thing, When Harry Met Sally, and Son-in-Law (which wasn't on my earlier list but had to be added since the movie takes place over Thanksgiving - and because I love Pauly Shore).

10. This Week's Blessing: Cheesecake, cheesecake and more cheesecake! Justin and I are relishing the leftovers of his birthday cheesecake; it is our nightly dessert ritual this week.

The (Now Infamous) Cheesecake

This weekend my in-laws came to visit and we held a 30th birthday dinner celebration for Justin. We made Crock-Pot Taco Soup for dinner, a delicious recipe Justin and I recently discovered and absolutely love. And for dessert: cheesecake!

I told you in my TOT post last week that Justin wanted a homemade cheesecake for his birthday. I also admitted that, as much as I ADORE baking, I had yet to make a cheesecake. Now I must clarify that statement: I had yet to successfully make a cheesecake. Justin reminded me after said TOT post that I actually made a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving a few years ago; however, since nobody really liked that cheesecake - and I'm pretty sure I burned the crust somehow - I do not include it on my baking resume.

Not wanting to spend my Saturday juggling a baking task and a busy toddler, I opted to make this cheesecake on Friday evening. But, chatty daughter-in-law that I am, I let myself get a little sidetracked in catching up with my in-laws, so the cheesecake didn't make it into the oven until 10pm. There was a sour cream topping that required an additional 20 minutes cooking time at a lower temp, and then I had to account for some cooling time. Long story short, I finally put the semi-cooled cheesecake in the fridge at 12:30am, long after everyone else had headed to bed. Lucky for me, I am halfway through Breaking Dawn right now, so Edward, Bella and Jacob helped to keep me awake for the sake of The Perfect Cheesecake.

And no, I'm not bragging when I call it that - the recipe I found is actually called The Perfect Cheesecake. Its from The Pioneer Woman, so I knew it had to be marvelous.

I would love to tell you that the first thing I thought of the next morning was how blessed I am to wake up to a happy toddler, but it wasn't. It was the cheesecake. I may have even hopped out of bed (a rare thing for a leisurely Saturday), excited to peek at my masterpiece. You see, the cake was still a little warm when I put it in the fridge the night before, but I couldn't keep my eyes open a second longer waiting for it to completely cool. Perfectionist that I am, I was worried that breaking this "completely cool then refrigerate" rule would result in a less-than-perfect dessert.

Justin and Kendry were in the kitchen when I walked in and went straight for the fridge. I audibly oohed and I aahed over it a bit. Then, seeing that it looked presentable even though I had put it in the fridge a wee bit early, I closed the fridge door and greeted my family good morning.

Exactly what happened next is still a bit puzzling to me. One second I was loving on my kiddo sitting adorably in his PJ's on the kitchen counter, and the next second I heard a crash from the fridge behind me. I turn to see my hubby barely holding up a shelf in the fridge, and my beautiful cheesecake lying facedown on the kitchen floor. I think I actually mumbled something like "No, you didn't", and then the tears came. Perhaps I was overtired, or simply overdue for a good cry, but I didn't even try to stop the tears. Within seconds I was blubbering like a child, asking "What were you doing?" and "Why didn't you ask for my help?" Maybe there is no use crying over spilled milk, but it is most certainly justified to sob over a mutilated dessert.

Between comforting his sobbing wife, re-attaching the fridge shelf and cleaning up the globs of cheesecake leaving a trail from the fridge to the overturned springform pan, my hubby finally admitted that he had wanted to take a peek at the cake himself. But apparently his maneuvering of the cake cover and the fridge shelf went a little haywire. Sniffling back my tears, I nearly laughed at the thought of my 30 year old husband sneaking into the fridge like a little boy, so excited to see his birthday cake. How could I possibly stay mad at him for that?

Finally, we flipped the springform over and realized that the damage wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed, especially since the rest of the cake was still intact in the pan. The only permanent scarring was where my hubby had attempted to catch the cake on its way down. So we did a little patching and then figured if we did a raspberry glaze on top the damage may not even be noticeable.

Now that I look at it again, the damage even resembles my hubby's handprint.

And the glaze worked like a charm:

I put up a few photos of my hubby for the birthday dinner. From left to right its Justin with his mom, Justin with his little brother Dru, and Justin at the pumpkin patch with Kendry a few weeks ago.

Gosh that cake looks pretty, doesn't it? And it tasted delicious!

Happy 30th Birthday, Justin!

Postponed

I have always loved the idea that whenever our friends and family wish to get updated on our life they can simply take a look at this blog and have a pretty good idea of recent happenings, complete with photos and video. That was, in fact, the sole purpose of creating this blog. I do not make a habit of using this blog as a journal in which to capture my daily thoughts - not that I find anything wrong with that, but that isn't why we created the blog. I do love journaling, but it often captures more personal information than I care to post on a blog for so many eyes to see. There are just many aspects of our life that we prefer to keep private, and thus off the blog.

However, if we as a family hide the struggles we are facing, are we really giving you an accurate picture of our life? Probably not. I think there are a lot of people today, Christians included, who are afraid to let others in on their personal struggles, for fear of appearing like they don't have it all together. A wife is afraid to admit her marriage is in turmoil. A husband is afraid to admit that he lost his job. A couple is afraid to admit their infertility diagnosis. Are we helping ourselves get through these struggles by not sharing them, or are we hindering ourselves? Because the truth is that none of us have it all together.

The Bible instructs us on the importance of lifting one another up in prayer and encouragement, and I think an important part of that is sharing with your friends and family what they can specifically be praying for on your behalf.

A few months ago we decided we were ready to pursue our second IVF cycle. We passed all the right medical tests and did all the right planning. Today is the day we were supposed to leave for Seattle to "make it all happen". Unfortunately, last Friday they discovered a cyst on one of my ovaries and our cycle was indefinitely postponed. I have a follow-up appointment in a few weeks to check on the cyst.

We trust in God's plan and timing, but that doesn't mean we aren't disappointed. Please be praying with us that God would remove this cyst and that we would be able to reschedule the IVF cycle in the near future. But mostly, please pray that we would be blessed with patience as we learn to wait on Him.

Thank you!

Ten on Tuesday

1. It has been somewhat of a discouraging week (the details of which I will share at a later date), but we know that God is still in control. In praying with my sister on Friday she mentioned a wonderful study she was doing on Habakkuk. Then today I found this scripture on another blog:

"But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day." Habakkuk 2:3

I think its time that I read Habakkuk again.

{**Yes, it certainly is! After publishing this blog post I did some online research on this passage and realized that my use of this scripture is out of context. In this passage God is referring to the upcoming destruction of Judah - obviously not really applicable to our current circumstance. So I apologize for my lack of knowledge on this book of the Bible. However, God goes on to say: "Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith." Here is a neat commentary I found on this passage: "Just as we do not always understand the reasons for suffering and violence in a particular situation, Habakkuk did not understand the reason for the righteous to suffer along with the wicked in God's punishment of Judah. God simply tells Habakkuk that the just live by their faith. It is our faith that keeps us going in times of suffering. And by our faith we are confident that God is with us and that He works all things together for good to those who love Him (Rom. 8:28)." We may not understand why we face certain trials in this life, but through faith we can know with certainty that God has a bigger plan. My mission this week is to read through Habakkuk; I will report back to you on it soon.**}

2. My hubby turns 30 this week. Happy birthday, babe! As I am three months older than him, I always love this time of year, when our ages match each other for the next 9 months. Whatever it takes to make me feel like I am not the older spouse in this marriage, right?

3. I tackled another household furnishing project this weekend: a fun chair to go with my new craft desk. In true "decorating with what you have cuz you don't have a whole lotta money" fashion, I dug out this old hand-me-down from a simple dining set we had in our early married days.

BEFORE:

Please don't ask about the visible upholstery stain because I have no idea what happened there, nor do I want to know.

AFTER:

What would the world be without spray paint?

4. I am sending out some blog love this week. These sites are really inspiring my home decor and new found furniture hobby:

Pure&Lovely
Perfectly Imperfect

The Frosted Gardner

5. Have I told you that my husband makes the world's best meatloaf?

Well, he does.

6. My fall love this week:

mums...

...and football.


7. Disney Movie Trivia: "Your ma ain't crazy. She's just broken-hearted. And it ain't nobody's fault you got them big ears...As a matter of fact, I think they're very decorative. You know, lots of people with big ears are famous!"
{Last week's answer: Toy Story 2}

8. You would think my kiddo has been reading Webster's Dictionary with how many new words he is learning these days.

9. Justin has requested a homemade cheesecake for his birthday dinner this weekend. I love to bake, and I love cheesecake, but I have never baked a cheesecake before. Wish me luck!


10. This Week's Blessing: Learning (once again) to trust God's plan and timing.