Happy Easter (A day early) !!

Yes Indeed! I know I am posting this a day early, but my Andrew leaves for a week long trip tomorrow (his FIRST trip! EH! I have so many mixed emotions about it-- mostly good emotions thought!) and I thought we could just celebrate a day early!

Thus, we are celebrating with a couple of new traditions and a little fun :)

Like the Easter eggs with verses and visuals (I didnt have time to search out all of the visuals but next year, I will fulfill that last part!). Each egg has a verse that leads up to the resurrection (where the last egg is left empty to symbolize He has RISEN!). I thought it was a great family tradition to start that my family did when I was younger. Next year, I might hide the eggs or just have them opened every evening at dinner time....So much potential!

 And I really had fun with making a meaningful centerpiece for our dinig table as well. I have enjoyed having the symbols of spring and life in the place Andrew I go most often-- the kitchen!!

 Here is my pretty Easter Lily! Yes, I paid WAY too much for it, and my husband is suffering from the pollen you can see is hanging from it, but I personally have enjoyed these beautiful flowers!!

 As always, we have Easter baskets! I made this one for Andrew (and Eli!):

 I found this cheap little chick at Walmart... and I couldnt resist!

 The booties were to remind him that we have a special treasure from God on the way. He said he was going to take them on the trip just to remind him to pray for our little girl while he was away. I am really glad he is!

 Love this card (thanks Dad and Mom!)-- it really reminded us each time we were at the sink what this week is all about.

 Here are the contents of the basket:

...Lots of chocolate eggs and yummy sweets....

 ...a pretty tissue flower...

 And a jar of Easter S'mores, just awaiting to be made!! MMM...

 Ok, so here is how you make your own (these make great gifst as well!) :


1. Crush 1 sleeve of graham crackers into crumbs & dump into the bottom of a canning jar.


2. Place your Peeps (or bunny-mallows since I hate Peeps!) in the jar – against the side.

3. In the center of the Peeps/Marshmellows place 1/3 cup of brown sugar. Then place 1 1/4 cup of M&Ms/Hersey chocolate eggs on top & you’re almost done!


4. Print off the sheet of how to make your Yummy Easter S'mores and include as a gift tag on your jar.

Like this:

Here is the gift label I designed you can print out and use for the baking instructions:

 I also had some spare time to make my hubbie a scrapbook card. He really enjoyed it!

(I hope I have time to do this again someday!!)

 Last, but not least, we celebrated with a Easter brunch!

Carrot cake muffins



 Eggs
 (that have Lecithin all over them from the cast iron skillet-- o brother. I will get this down someday!),
 an orange,
and yogurt with strawberries!!

Eli really enjoyed his treat as well:

 Yes, he LOVES his chick-a-dee!!

 Ok, tips for making these S'mores:


1. REALLY distribute your Mellows and chocolates. If not, you will just end up with a sugary mess instead of a marshmellow square!


2. Consider using foil or really greasing your pan down well to you can get the S'mores OFF the pan! (As you can tell from the snapshot, I could have used these tips. LIVE and LEARN!)

ANYWAYS, that is our Easter adventure thus far! Andrew has been packing for his trip during this time, but he is preparing our bikes for a ride later tonight after we get out of our movie (we are going to the Bear's Tooth for "The King's Speech"). The best part about this fun little gig is they serve dinner WITH the movie! It will be very interesting, but I am just excited to spend some time with my hubbie before he leaves.

Speaking of which, I have got to go help him! I will write more about the week and all God has been teaching me after he leaves, but until then, I will leave you with a note my husband's grandfather sent his family. I thought it was very thought provoking and encouraging (more tips/thoughts for our child training!). Enjoy and Happy Easter!

A few thoughts as I sat in front of the cross this early morning,

Are we really connected as a people, are we dedicated to serving each other as Christ has served us. Yesterday was Maundy Thursday and as we washed each other’s feet, I wondered why Jesus preformed this loving act on his disciples. What was his purpose, why was this done as he prepared himself for his impending suffering and death? He was scolded by Peter, who said to Jesus, “I will not allow you to wash my feet, but I shall wash yours.” Jesus admonished Peter and said “If you do not let me wash your feet, you cannot follow me.” Then Jesus washed all his disciple’s feet. He excluded no one, nor did he wash one’s foot better than the next.

I wonder if that offer would be made today in our competitive unconnected society, how it would be received? Would we scramble to see who could be first, or would we help the poor, the afflicted, and the less fortunate to the basin before we insisted that our feet be washed? Would we be concerned about how our feet looked before we dare show them to Jesus? Would we offer to wash someone’s feet to help handle the crowd?

We learn our competitiveness at an early age. When we were quite young and played organized team games, very little attention was paid to the less athletic players on our team, score was kept so we would know who won and how many times have you asked your children, after a game WHO WON? In school we competed for grades, attention from our teachers and professors, acceptance from our peers, being too fat, to skinny, having a hooked nose, wearing glasses to see, to short, to tall, ad-infinitum. Then we grow up and we compete in the market place for just the right job, or we are forced into a position of toil without an opportunity for growth. We must outwork the next guy if we want to get ahead, and forget the consequences to family, God, ourselves in the process. Can you imagine the corporate executive that would inform his board and stockholders that we shall forgo a profit this year because we have a few feet to wash that belong to our neighbors? Better yet, could you imagine a group of stockholders deciding to forgo a dividend this year because in doing so they can solve the hunger problem in East Africa. Would we complain that their leaders will just steal the money? Could we skip the new car this year and help the less fortunate realize just one of their dreams?

I think this is what Jesus is calling us to do. We must have a new awareness of each other and our needs. We must be willing to be available to one another, to build each other up, to sharpen each other so we may serve as He intend us to serve. This life is not a competition; we cannot earn Christ’s love. He already loves us in ways we cannot understand. His love is perfect, He extols us to love him with our whole heart, mind, and soul, and our neighbor as ourselves. Let us greet Him on Easter Sunday as He rises with a new determination to serve. Let us pick up the towel and the basin.

Bob



How will your pet respond to a crying baby??

Have you ever wondered how your pet will react to the new little baby you will bring home??

I have. Never really worried about it, but I have always wondered how Eli is going to react to tiny socks and screaming babies (we have already witnessed how he reacted to the toys after he got a hold of Alyssa's-- the little girl I used to babysit--stuffed unicorn and little plastic toys... lets just say, torn to pieces!). Thus, I decided to try something one of the girls from my pregnancy class suggested: let Eli hear a screaming newborn baby!

And without further delay, here is a hilarious clip of Eli in reaction to a YouTube video of a crying baby:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sqWMmfs8Xo

As you might have guessed, I am not wondering anymore. Nor am I worried. Just merely entertained!

I have more to write about... but since this post took so long, it might have to wait a couple of days.

Until then, happy Friday!

The Latest: Hikes, Cars and Yummy Salmon!!!

Well good morning world (in Alaska world that is)!

Yes, I changed my blog’s look once again (as much as I loved the last one, it was just SLIGHTLY too colorful for us—but since we ARE having a girl, I left some girlie touches!)

Oh, this is a brag post for Andrew as well: Our latest salmon! MMM!!! 

This one was a deliciously made cedar plank salmon (for the recipe, go to food network and look up cedar plank salmon). This was his pride and joy, and the best part was we got to share it over a meal with friends! So much fun—great conversation and good food: does it get any better than that??

Onwards!

The week has begun, but before I start on what I have this week thus far, I wanted to share some weekend goodies with you: our latest hike!

After church on Sunday, we drove to a place called Aleyska. It’s a popular area for those who just want to get away from Anchorage once in a while and enjoy skiing, good food and ritzy hotel (it kind of reminds me of Townsend TN a bit with all the bike riding trails we found there and the amazing scenic beauty that surrounded us—except instead of TN rednecks, you have AK hippies. But I’m not complaining: at least hippies make good coffee! Haha!)


Our plan was to hike a trail that would lead us to a hand tram (a little basket you get in and pull yourself over to the other side in; very neat!). So after exploring the resort a bit, we got directions to the trail and headed out. The trail was VERY icy and almost dangerous (thus, take the advice of the hiking books and go at the recommended times in the summer months! This was crazy!), but we were absolutely determined to get to that hand tram!

 The hand tram!!

Well, three miles later we got to it… and someone had severed the rope!!! Punks L

We were so disappointed. At least we brought a little cheer me up in the form of pretzel M&Ms! (Thanks mom and dad! We have cleaned them off—they were DELICIOUS!!). Afterwards, we hiked back with the goal to hike it again soon…. Once the ice melts away that is! 

We also changed our tires out for the summer months (I guess it’s a law here to have them off by May 1^st). I had brought Eli for a walk, but when I got back, I ended up helping Andrew with the last tire a bit. So I put him in the car, haha!

Hello up there Eli!! (Let’s just say he was ready to be lowered off of those jacks and get out of the car once we were done! What a funny pup).

Andrew and I have also been super convicted lately of the way we do life. It’s not like we do anything bad or our lifestyle is sinful, but you start to think about how you do life a little more when you have a little one on the way. You want to raise them right and do what is best for them. You want to train and discipline them in the way of the Lord and see their lives blossom in the joy as God intended them to! Yet how do you do that when your own life is not consistent in the way you want to lead them? How do the blind lead the blind (Luke 6:39)? Thus, this week, I have been praying God open my eyes to the way we DO life and how certain things in our life (whether its diet, sweets, poorly managing time, being distracted, not intentional in our marriage, etc). The more I contemplate these train of thoughts, the more I will ask you what you think or what you would suggest to us soon-to-be parents, because we need ALL the advice we can get!

Well, time to take my other responsibility on a walk ;)

But today, I will be in a more cautious mode than I have on our last walks:

Be praying for us! HAHA!

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Therefore, no fear, only prayer and discernment. This is my new life afterall!!

Until next time….

IT'S A..........!!!!

Thank the Lord for spring time, new life and blooming!!

Speaking of new life and blooming, Andrew and I found out what the newest little Thornbury is going to be! And we used all of these cute little pastel colors to help with the surprise!!

NOW DON'T CHEAT!!!!

Follow the blog as we go for the surprise :)

We went outside to take the pictures, so yes, some of them are streaky. Bare with us.

Ok, before we begin, lets go through what Andrew and I predicted.

Since Andrew's family has such a high percentage of men born into the family (in fact, ALL of his family has bore boys while the women are all married in-- for almost 3 generations, I believe) and the baby's heart rate was so low, I predicted it was a boy. PLUS, I have gained quite a bit of weight with this little one because of my hunger spells so I guessed it was a boy FOR SURE.

Andrew, being the very discerning and wise man he is, waited it out and would not call what he thought the gender would be... until we reached the hospital this morning. Hesitantly, he cast in his vote and said it was going to be a girl since I was so sure it was a boy. HA! That's my husband for you. Always in favor of the odds!

So here we go....

Andrew and I have a mixture of blue and pink malt ball candies...

...All mixed up and awaiting to reveal the gender...

Could it be a boy??

Or is it a girl???

I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!

(And Andrew cant either!)

YES EVERYONE!!!

THE CYCLE HAS BEEN BROKEN!!

We are having a little girl!!!!!

YIPEEEEE!!!!

HE IS SO PUMPED!!!

We are both so excited about our little girl. She is very healthy looking according to the ultrasound tech. He said she had the best looking aorta he had seen in the time he had been at the hospital. She looks amazing and is so cute!

Her eyes were opened in this one!!

Such a cutie!! Cant wait to meet her!

Well, that's all for now! I hope you all are just as excited as I am! :)

PRAISE THE LORD!!!