Happy Valentine's Day!

May your day be filled with chocolate and flowers.

May your hearts be filled with love and joy.

May we all remember that "We love because [God] first loved us." I John 4:19

Hummus Cupcakes

My boys are on a health food kick.  Not because I necessarily planned to put them on a healthier diet, but because I made the shocking discovery that they love vegetables.  

I made this discovery in December when we had lunch at a friend's house.  She steamed some broccoli for the kids, and my boys acted like it was a delicacy from a 5 star restaurant.  It was pretty funny to watch my friends' kiddos tinker around with their broccoli while mine cleaned their plates.  Who knew that my husband could produce offspring that like vegetables?  (He's doesn't eat green things.)

After the discovery that my children actually like vegetables, I decided to stop buying sweet snacks and to start trying to feed my boys healthier snacks.  About the time I made this decision, we discovered that someone in our family has a sensitivity to dairy products--not just lactose, but all dairy!  So now our diets are being turned completely upside down.  And we're trying new things.

Today the boys had hummus cupcakes.

 

I actually copied this idea from a picture I found on the internet of a hummus relish tray at http://www.madebyleah.com.

What possessed me to try hummus snacks?  Well, I'm supposed to be helping create a hummus tray for an event at church in March.  To this point, my only experience with hummus happened about 5 years ago at a Lebanese restaurant during law school.  We attended a party in the Hukkah lounge when I was pregnant, and it's safe to say that hummus didn't settle well on my sensitive and pregnant stomach.  Since then, I've done a pretty good job avoiding hummus.  Until today.

When a friend and I were asked to prepare a hummus tray for a party, I started doing some research. And then I decided to copy the tray pictured above.  To make these "cupcakes," I peeled and sliced cucumbers to make the bases.  Then I swirled artichoke and spinach hummus on the cucumbers and topped them off with pieces of red bell pepper.  I obviously need to purchase a larger tip for my icing bag so that I can perfect my icing skills before my party, but I apparently perfected the flavor already, because my boys loved my cupcakes. 

Who knew vegetables could be so much fun?  (And yes, in addition to eating the cupcakes, he's eating slices of raw bell peppers!!!)

My Baby G

Baby G is finally 10 weeks old today!  My tiny baby girl has gained 6 lbs and 4 inches since she was born.  During the first few weeks after her birth I had to go buy size "newborn" clothes because she was so tiny.  And 2 months later, I'm putting those clothes in boxes as Baby G is already wearing 6-9 month clothes!  Apparently the rumors that little girls grow at a slower pace than baby boys was just a rumor.  Because my 99th percentile girl is keeping right up with her brothers.  

Although I should be sad that my baby is growing so quickly, I'm actually really excited that her personality is blossoming.  She smiles at her Mommy all the time.  She giggles.  And she coos at her brothers.  She even likes to pet our kitty cats.  When she's tired, I play IZ's Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World song and by the time the ukelele stops playing, she's always asleep.  And unlike her brothers, she's perfectly content when we go shopping as long as I push her in the stroller and keep her moving.  

I'm sure that my girl and I will have some interesting mother-daughter encounters as she grows older.  I know that I can't expect that it will always be flowers and cupcakes.  But for now, I'm enjoying every minute.

January's Book of the Month

I heard a discussion on talk radio last year about North Korea.  Pretty much all I knew about North Korea was that the country has an evil leader, the people are treated horribly, there is a demilitarized zone dividing North and South Korea, and North Korea keeps threatening nuclear war.  Other than that, North Korea has spent very little time on my radar.

But then I heard the discussion on the radio.  A very well respected radio host was discussing how difficult it would be to liberate the people of North Korea.  In his opinion, since the people are so brain washed, living in such horrid conditions, and seem to have no sense of right and wrong, he felt that bombing (nuclear) the entire country might be necessary as these people could not assimilate with the rest of the world.  Instead of having a new Korea like our current united Germany (no longer East and West), he said that liberating North Korea could be disastrous for South Korea.  At least that's what I interpreted the guy as saying.

Needless to say, this "plan" for North Korea was troubling to me.  And suddenly, I became curious about the country and its people.

Late last year, Dear Husband and I watched a Fox News special on North Korea.  During the special, they interviewed Mike Kim from Crossing Borders Ministry.  He is one of a very few number of Americans who have been allowed inside North Korea.  And he has written a fascinating book about North Korea, the people of North Korea, and the Christian church in China who is currently risking everything to reach out to Korean refugees.  After hearing Mr. Kim's interview, we immediately ordered his book.

Escaping North Korea is a graphic and honest depiction of North Korea and the people who live there.  It's mind-boggling to read the stories of refugees and martyrs in the book and to realize that these people are having these experiences in my lifetime.  It's also discouraging to see how a few changes in foreign policy from outside countries could topple the evil regime, yet these countries refuse to disrupt the status quo.  Mr. Kim's book is both educational  and inspiring as he shares his own personal testimony (he is a devout Christian) and stories of a rapidly growing Christian church within the borders of North Korea.  His book is a reminder that no one is hopeless.  God can work anywhere and He can change the ugliest lives and make them beautiful.

So to my friend on the radio, nuclear options might be necessary to topple the government.  But don't give up on the people of North Korea.  

If you would like to learn more about Mike Kim's ministry in North Korea, you can follow his weekly blog (see the Crossing Borders blog link in my blog list) or follow Crossing Borders on Facebook.  It's a wonderful ministry that is truly changing lives and sharing Jesus with others.  

My book of the month reviews are also available under my Book Review page above.

I Get Leggings

Baby G's newest Juicy sweater and leggings!

 

Last summer, a friend and I took our boys to a jump house full of inflatable contraptions.  The place was full of excited little boys and girls running around like little crazies.  While I was trying to find my two boys in the midst of toddler faces, I kept noticing that the little girls were all wearing these cute little dresses and shorts with leggings.  Somehow, every little girl seemed to be wearing leggings.  At the time, I couldn't figure out why every girl mom had this affinity for leggings.

A few months later, when I found out that I was having a girl, I started shopping for cute little girly clothes.  That's when I noticed that almost every outfit had leggings.  Every store had piles of leggings.  And it seems that every girl is expected to wear leggings.  At the time, it seemed odd.

But now, I get leggings...

When Baby G was a few weeks old, we attempted to dress her up in her frilly dresses in order to get some cute Christmas photos.  Unfortunately, none of her socks or tights fit.  Her skinny little legs just didn't fill out the tights.  I was at a loss, how am I supposed to dress my baby girl in a dress at wintertime if the smallest tights I can find on the market don't fit her?

The answer--leggings!  I know it seems weird, but leggings are a staple in most baby girls' wardrobes, because they're the only leg covering that fit tiny babies.  Plus in a world where diaper covers seem to only come in size "toddler," leggings cover up the diapers and make dresses modest.  This explains why every toddler girl on the planet wears leggings--so they cover up the undies!  

For a boy mom, this revelation was huge.  Leggings aren't just about fashion for most girl moms.  They're actually a necessity.

So the next time all you boy moms wish that you too could buy fun and frilly outfits.  Just know that there is a whole lot more stress to dressing a little girl.  Those frilly outfits only work if you have the right accessories.  Little girls can't just wear tennis shoes and jeans everyday.  Instead, they need the outfit, the matching hair bow (that topic deserves a blog post in itself!), the matching shoes, and the leggings.  What a new and stressful world I have entered!

The Good Week

It's amazing what can happen in a week!  It occurred to me that my last blog post was over a week ago and the status of all of the things that were heavy on my heart have completely changed.  I'm actually supposed to be getting ready for a gala this evening, but since the kids are out their grandma's house, I thought I should fill you in on our blessings this week.  (I wish we publicly shared our praises more often!)

First of all, we've had a lovely sun-filled week.  The streets in Texas are clear. And the weather has been warm enough to wear shorts.  It's been wonderful!  

Another praise this week was that my grandfather was discharged from the intensive care unit and is now doing rehab in a facility near my aunt's house.  Last week, I was online looking for plane tickets to Michigan in the event that Grandpa took a turn for the worse, and this week, I was shopping online for  clothes for him to wear in rehab.  What a wonderful reason to shop!  Although Grandpa definitely has some hurdles to overcome physically, at least we know that he's being taken care of and loved on by those around him.  

My other praise for the week is that my friend gave birth Wednesday to a 6+ lb baby girl!  Despite complications early in pregnancy (they couldn't find a heart beat during the first sonogram, but did find a mass) and despite concerns that the baby wasn't growing late in pregnancy, she is doing great.  This little girl is a huge answer to prayer.  We're very excited that Baby G's new best friend is here!

God has been good this week!  I just wanted to share the praises with you all!!!

He Walks With Me

I was stressed out yesterday morning.  I was running on a tight schedule; there was slushy wintery mix on the roads; I had a scheduled doctor's appointment for something that concerned me (turns out everything is fine); I had three hungry kids in the car who were not going to make it to Grandma's as scheduled because every car in my small town insisted on driving 5 miles per hour (no joke!); My car was in need of more gas; My blackberry was exploding with emails from work related to a potential conference call that I was supposed to have with an expert witness; As far as I knew, my grandfather was still unresponsive in a hospital in Michigan (that hasn't changed yet); And a dear friend texted me that the ultrasound of her 37 week baby was not reassuring and that her delivery date has been moved up.  

Just as I was starting to feel the weight of all this, the words of Matt Redman's song Never Once kept looping through my head. I was immediately comforted at the reminder that I haven't been asked to handle all this alone.  My faithful God is literally walking with me through this life.  What a joy to know and have a relationship with the one, true God! 

Standing on this mountaintop 

Looking just how far we've come 

Knowing that for every step 

You were with us 

Kneeling on this battle ground 

Seeing just how much You've done 

Knowing every victory 

Is Your power in us 

Scars and struggles on the way 

But with joy our hearts can say 

Yes, our hearts can say 

Never once did we ever walk alone 

Never once did You leave us on our own 

You are faithful, God, You are faithful 

Scars and struggles on the way 

But with joy our hearts can say 

Never once did we ever walk alone 

Carried by Your constant grace 

Held within Your perfect peace 

Never once, no, we never walk alone 

Every step we are breathing in Your grace 

Evermore we'll be breathing out Your praise 

You are faithful, God, You are faithful 

You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Geography 101

This weekend I discovered that I'm terrible at geography.  For years, I thought that Nicaragua was in Africa.  I thought Serbia was in the Middle East.  I thought Costa Rica was an island.  And I thought the Seychelles were in the Caribbean.  But not anymore.  I have found the most enjoyable way to learn geography: The Leap Tag Interactive World Map.

Okay, I actually purchased the world map for my four year old for Christmas.  Since he's obsessed with maps, I thought an interactive map would be fun.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize that you have to buy the Leap Tag learning pen in order to use the interactive map.  So after Christmas, we tracked down a Leap Tag pen and downloaded the software for the map.  And it has been a blast.

My son now has the ability to point to a country and have the map tell him the name of the country.  He can also point to children on the world map who will greet him in their country's language, tell him about life in their country, and talk about their country's food.  Plus, there's information and sound effects related to famous world landmarks, animals, and regional music.  It's a very educational "toy" for our little guy.

This weekend, Mommy and Daddy discovered the games, and we had lots of fun.  We found one game where the pen gives you names of countries and waits to see if you can correctly point to them on the map in a short time period.  Both Dear Husband and I were only able to find 6 correct countries on our first attempts.  (It is much harder than you'd think!)  I mean, who has ever heard of Bhutan or Tuvalu or Djibouti? 

Dear Husband and I decided that we really ought work on our world geography skills.  So when the kids went to bed the other night, we sat up and raced each other on the game board.  After about an hour, we were both able to correctly identify and locate dozens of countries.  Plus we were able to get 12 countries right during the race against the game clock.  And magically, we both know a lot more about Africa and the Pacific islands.  This map actually works!

So if you need to learn a little more about your world, or if you have a child and want to educate them on something useful that they obviously won't get in school, college, or graduate school, then go for the Leap Tap Interactive World Map.  It won't disappoint--unless you're my son and are aggravated because the map won't show you the location of California.  

It looks like our next toy will be the Interactive U.S. Map!

The Two Campaign

...Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15

About a month ago, our church started talking up our new Two Campaign.  I have to be honest, when they used the terminology "campaign," I immediately suspected that they were going to push some financial capital/commitment deal on us.  I have to confess, I inwardly groaned when I got my first email about this new, "exciting" campaign happening at church.

So we're about a week and a half into the Two Campaign, and I've been thoroughly convicted.  First, because I had a bad attitude about the campaign and wrongly assumed the worst about it.  And second, because it's made me re-evaluate my focus on evangelism (or lack thereof). 

Our Two Campaign is a challenge to all church members to pray for and reach out to 2 people during 2013.  Our goal is to share the Gospel with these people and/or to invite them to the two year anniversary of our church's re-launch on February 10.  Because the church has grown so quickly over the last 2 years, we're also starting up 2 services on that day.  (We're also supposed to wear and give away these ugly blue bracelets that say Two on them, but I don't see where we're called to do that in Scripture. I probably won't be wearing and handing out ugly jewelry--but that's a personal issue.)

To support this Two campaign, our pastor has been preaching on evangelism and has been questioning why we haven't been more active in sharing Jesus with others.  And it's a great question.  Why don't we openly share Jesus with others?  I mean, it's not politically correct, but neither is owning firearms and most Texans own those.  Are we afraid?  Do we not care?  Do we not understand who God is?

I really have no good excuses.  Growing up, my youth pastor made sure that the believers in my youth group not only knew how to share the Gospel, but he made us practice on each other.  Then he took us to our local outdoor shopping area and made us do it for real.  Thus, I know the Gospel and I know how to share it, but for some reason I haven't continued to regularly share the Gospel openly with other people.  I think I've gotten into the mindset that I can pray for and support others who have chosen mission work as their vocation.  Or I think that I can drop phrases about God and grace and hope people will pick up on it.  But I haven't been faithful about obeying the call to go and teach others myself!

Just as I was contemplating this yesterday, I happened to reach the chapter in my North Korea book about the Christians in North Korea (talk about a kick to my gut).  These people are currently and literally risking their lives to tell others about Jesus and to read the Bible.  And for the past year, I've just been going about my own business, moaning and groaning about pregnancy and life.  

I've definitely been challenged spiritually during these first 10 days of 2013.  Looks like I need to make some changes in my life and in my attitude towards others.  It's time to obey.

Look at the Camera--and Smile!

It's funny how people always ask why I don't have pictures of all my children together.  Let me just say that it's not for a lack of trying.  It's on a rare and glorious occasion that everyone cooperates at the same time.  My co-worker and I got a laugh the other day out of the "photo shoot" that we attempted before church on Christmas Eve.  It illustrates my point beautifully...

Sadly, this is just one of many attempted, unsuccessful photo shoots.  At least this time, the middle brother actually stuck around for the pictures!  Just guessing, but maybe this is why some smart person invented photo shop.

Oh, and isn't the faux fur coat adorable?  Thanks Grandma!