Some Goaty Fun

Two weekends ago, we loaded the kids up and headed to a goat dairy in Anderson, SC for their "Kids meeting Kids" day. We'd never been before, so we weren't sure what to expect - but the kids had so much fun! (And I rather enjoyed the goat cheese and goat fudge samples... yummy!)

It was so much fun watching their faces light up at seeing the baby goats!

Checking out the baby goats...

"He's eating my finger!!! It tickles!!!"

Flowers for the rabbit...

If you're anywhere local to the Anderson, SC area, Split Creek Farm is doing their "Kids meeting Kids" day again on June 18.

Read of the day...

Though I'm suspecting most of you visit Ladies Against Feminism, I wanted to link to an excellent, beautiful, and oh-so-encouraging post that they put up this morning. If you haven't read it, please take the time to go read it - you will be so blessed!

Here's a little snippet... read it in its entirety (a must!!) here.

But what have buying groceries, changing diapers and peeling vegetables got to do with creativity? Aren’t those the very things that keep us from it? Isn’t it that kind of drudgery that keeps us in bondage? It’s insipid and confining, it’s what one conspicuous feminist called “a life of idiotic ritual, full of forebodings and failure.” To her I would answer ritual, yes. Idiotic, no, not to the Christian–for although we do the same things anybody else does, and we do them over and over in the same way, the ordinary transactions of everyday life are the very means of transfiguration. It is the common stuff of this world which, because of the Word’s having been “made flesh,” is shot through with meaning, with charity, with the glory of God.

But this is what we so easily forget. Men as well as women have listened to those quasi-rational claims, have failed to see the fatal fallacy, and have capitulated. Words like personhood, liberation, fulfillment and equality have had a convincing ring and we have not questioned their popular definitions or turned on them the searchlight of Scripture or even of our common sense. We have meekly agreed that the kitchen sink is an obstacle instead of an altar, and we have obediently carried on our shoulders the chips these reductionists have told us to carry.

This is what I mean by profanity. We have forgotten the mystery, the dimension of glory. It was Mary herself who showed it to us so plainly. By the offering up of her physical body to become the God-bearer, she transfigured for all mothers, for all time, the meaning of motherhood. She cradled, fed and bathed her baby–who was very God of very God–so that when we cradle, feed and bathe ours we may see beyond that simple task to the God who in love and humility “dwelt among us and we beheld his glory.”

Those who focus only on the drabness of the supermarket, or on the onions or the diapers themselves, haven’t an inkling of the mystery that is at stake here, the mystery revealed in the birth of that Baby and consummated on the Cross: my life for yours.

My prayer is that I embrace this reminder, and live it fully in each moment - not getting distracted by the seeming mundane drudgery, but focusing on and living out the mystery. My life for yours.

Find of the week - Girl's edition

Little heads up for mama's of girls... Children's Place is running a memorial day sale and has their girl (and baby girl) leggings marked down to $5. If you use the coupon code RETAILMENOT5C you'll get an extra 15% off, making them $4.25 each. Shipping's a flat $5.

We put these capri lace trim leggings under the girls skirts ALL the time, and I've loved the quality of the Children's Place leggings!

They've also got lots of other clothing essentials marked down to $4 and $5 as well, so ... have fun browsing around! *wink*

Find of the week - layering tank

I don't know about you ladies, but I have a difficult time finding tanks and tees to put under my shirts/dresses in order to make them wearable. When I DO come across a good one I buy one of each color I frequently use, since... it's going to be a while before I find more! :) My prerequisites are: modest neckline that's high enough and fitted enough to keep me covered up top, and a long hemline. (My daily life with littles just isn't conducive to worrying about what's showing while I'm living life!)

Yesterday, after my ultrasound appointment, I stopped into Target to get a couple of things. Isaac's mom was graciously watching the kids - and since it was just me... I did something I NEVER do: I browsed. *wink*

While walking through the ladies clothing section, what did my eyes light upon but ... a tank top that fits my requirements!

AND... it was on sale! Normally they're $9, but they're on sale this week for $7. Even though they have them in a myriad of gorgeous colors, I restrained myself and only got my basics... Black, White, Grey, and Dark Blue. I did size DOWN one size in order to make it more fitted for layering.

So, ladies... If you have the same issues that I have finding good layering pieces, then you just may want to consider getting yourself over to a Target.

They also carry the entire collection of them online.

Baby Update: It's a ...

We had our 20 week ultrasound this afternoon... halfway there!!

I never cease to be amazed when I see those images flash up on the ultrasound screen... God truly is an amazing designer!!

I'd been strongly suspecting that we were expecting a boy, due to similarities between this pregnancy and my pregnancy with William. I've always considered myself to be pretty intuitive when it comes to my body.... but today I got a little reminder that it's all in God's hands and that we rarely guess right... *wink*

Turns out that:

It's a girl!!

God apparently has entrusted us to bring a good bit of "pink" into this world... *grin*
Although I've had to give William a few little pep talks on how much he's going to love this little baby girl, we're all very excited to meet this new little girl in about 20 more weeks!!

A little family picture (& video) catch-up

Just a little glimpse of life over the past few weeks... And yes, it's basically just pictures. I've been holding off with grand plans of actually getting some writing done, but - life just isn't going to cooperate with that, so - pictures it is!

We were blessed to be able to meet up with our friends, Jeremy and Emily, and their adorable little ones for dinner after the funeral for Mr. Lee.  Emily's sweet mom was kind enough to snap this picture.
Thanks for sending it over, Emily!!

And just for a little fun viewing pleasure...
Little Miss Cuteness,
or "Bananabelle" as she is currently being dubbed by her sisters and brother.

Curing the Cravings

With pregnancy comes cravings.

'Nuff said, right? *wink*

However; since don't do dairy, try to avoid wheat, and have tried to cut sugar out of my diet.... I have to get creative sometimes! After Anna was born, my sweet tooth was satisfied with dark chocolate... And up until the past week, I've relied on it to come to my rescue in dire situations.

Newsflash though... I'm NOT one of those petite little pregnant women who gains 20 pounds while she's pregnant. In fact, during my pregnancy with Davina I gained 50 (yes, that's fifty) pounds! (I had NO nutritional knowledge. At All.) After Davina was born, I started learning more about nutrition, the importance of exercise, and have managed with subsequent pregnancies to reduce my weight gain - but I still always gain between 35-40 pounds. I've learned that for myself - I have to be cautious of hidden sugars while I'm pregnant. But I still have a sweet tooth!! And my beloved dark chocolate bars have sugar... What to do, what to do....

Enter my amazing sister, Heather, who came up with this recipe while I was pregnant with Anna. It's AMAZING. Seriously, truly yummy!

Coconut Fudge - Basic recipe

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup honey (adjust to your liking)

2-3 Tbsp peanut butter

3 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup cocoa powder

dash of celtic sea salt

Mix all of these ingredients together until smooth. At this point, you can either leave the fudge as is, or add in yumminess to your hearts desire.

This time around, I added:

shredded coconut (about 1/3 cup)

cocoa nibs (about 1/4 cup)

We've previously added slivered almonds, raisins, orange zest, dried cranberries, and a ton of other yummy add-ins.

When the fudge is to your liking, lay a sheet of plastic wrap in a glass container or small baking tin.

Spread mixture evenly, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until "hard".

This makes a soft fudge... and it is bound to put a smile on your face!

*Okay, so it's not exactly "curing" the cravings... but.... it's satisfying them in a healthy way - so I think that kind of counts?

Enjoy!