Craving & Baking

In an attempt to make my incessant cravings for junk food into something that vaguely resembles a productive activity, Timmy and I have been baking a bit. A few weeks ago he helped me make Halloween cookies. He was really excited about making colored icing, especially blue.

Last week's baked good of choice was carrot cake. Timmy loves carrot cake & a friend from China gave me her recipe for what I think is the best carrot cake ever. Strangely enough I think his favorite part is eating handfuls of the finely shredded carrots.

New Team Member

Team Nelson will be adding a new member sometime around May 1st! In Timmy's words, "There's a baby in mommy's tummy!" I don't think he completely understands what that means, but he's excited about the idea. He asks me the most random things like, "Does the baby like it when I play catch with her?" and "I will teach her how I go down the slide and play 'nect four (Connect Four)."

You may have noticed he said "her" in both cases above. Timmy is convinced that he will have a baby sister. He has named her Allie, after his grandma's dog. Apparently that is his favorite name. Have mercy on us if its a boy!

To answer all the questions, I'm feeling okay. No excruciating morning sickness, just tired, generally uncomfortable and hungry. All I want is junk food! Hopefully that part doesn't last the whole nine months!

Apples!

We took Timmy to Jonamac Orchards this weekend to go apple picking! He fell asleep on the way so Scott and I took ourselves on a driving tour of NIU, oh memories! He woke up when we stopped at the bookstore and had a really hard time understanding that the whole campus was our school.

Being afraid of the wind!

Apple picking was a success. Timmy told me yesterday that apples grow on trees and you have to wash them because they come from outside. The whole experience was a struggle for a few minutes while Timmy was afraid of the wind (just like Scott when he was a kid!). He got over it and had a great time.

Grandma Loe

My grandmother passed away a week ago. Her memorial service is the day after tomorrow. Here are some pictures of her beautiful life. Cheers to you Grandma Loe!

at my brother's wedding holding a cranky Timmy

Christmas 2009

my brother and Grandma Loe

on Timmy's first birthday

last fall while we were home with Tim's broken leg

Out of Town Appreciation

Scott has been traveling a lot this year. I think this is his 5th trip to Shanghai in 7 months. This kind of schedule causes sleepless nights for him, cranky mornings for me when he comes back and a toddler who thinks daddy works on an airplane!

One of the blessings, however, is that our time apart this year has made me appreciate our time together more than I ever could have imagined. It has made me take advantage of ways I can serve Scott while he's away - mainly, I've become much more diligent about bathing our marriage and him in prayer. We've both become more intentional about communication both while he's home and in China.

Today I'm so thankful for an amazing husband, and God's protection on our relationship. I'm so thankful for our circle of friends and family that look out for me and Timmy while Scott's away.

But I'm seriously looking forward to picking him up at the airport next week!

Progressive Dinner

So I forgot to take any pictures at our progressive dinner last night, but Scott's new iPhone 4 takes video. Here is a few second glimpse at the craziness that ensued after the second course of the meal...where there are boys there will be wrestling, or in this case, throwing of bodies.

The dinner was a family event with donations that will benefit Family Shelter Services of DuPage. Our house was the cheese fondue course (Queso Fiesta, 4 Cheese & Artichoke Fondue and Cheddar Beer Cheese Fondue) delicious. Erickson's had the main course and Brenda out did herself with a dessert spread like nothing I've seen before!

Tatoes For Breakfast

Some days I wake up at 5am to a little bug saying, "Mama, I'm awake!" as if its a beautiful miracle that there is a new day ahead. What a great reminder of the blessing that each day is. And as long as this announcement takes place after 5:30am, I am happy to hear it.

Other days I hear a number of different first words ranging from, "The sun is awake!" to "I want my yeyyow car!" Today however, was one I have never heard before. Timmy crawled into our bed at 5:15, fell back asleep until the magical hour of 7am and when he finally awoke, his first words were, "I want tatoes." hmmmm. I responded with, "You want mashed potatoes for breakfast?" Yep. That was the request.

I never thought I'd be the kind of mom that makes her kids whatever they want for meals, but we all compromise. Tim doesn't eat much for breakfast ever, and that usually leads to meltdowns before 10am. So on this day we joyfully ate mashed potatoes for breakfast. Past morning menu items have included hot dogs and carrot cake. Whatever works, I guess.