Time to rock with baby gates (and i have a humorous husband)

Marit likes to climb stairs and Adam likes to comment on her adventures.

In honor of blueberry season

This is soooo yummy, especially with fresh blueberries (which are two pints/$5 right now) and homemade whipped cream. Vanilla ice cream is optional. It's also super easy. Enjoy!




Blueberry Cobbler 2 pints blueberries
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 cups heavy cream

Heat oven to 375° F. In a shallow 1 1/2-quart baking dish or a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate, toss the blueberries, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon flour.

In a medium bowl, combine the baking powder, salt, lemon zest, and the remaining flour and sugar.

Add the butter and blend with your fingers or 2 knives until coarse crumbs form. Add 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cream and mix until a shaggy dough forms.

Drop mounds of dough over the blueberry mixture. Bake until the berries are bubbling and the top is golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve with the remaining cream for drizzling, if desired.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Of late

Marit turned one this week, so we celebrated with sweet friends and cake. It was fun, though she was a little overwhelmed with her new toys and had a tummy ache from the cake.


In other news, I have collected a few more "do not say to pregnant women" comments:
-"are you knocked up again?"
-"So how are you? Fat and Sassy?"
-the other one is too crude to put up here, but lets just say it compared me to urologists and was said in front of more than a few people....

what can you do, but laugh?

Why we stopped the whole baby food thing.

This is gross and a bit lengthy...documents the joys of baby food. I know we should have been better about disciplining during these episodes, but she just made me laugh. I hope I can take future infractions more seriously...

Marit has imperfect hips

My sweet baby Marit was born with hip dysplasia, which means the socket did not form correctly and they easily are dislocated. She has worn a brace or harness for 18-24 hrs/day since she was 4 months old. Our kind orthopedic surgeon initially told us that we would need to treat her until she is 1 yr, which she will be Monday. Today we had her 1 yr appointment with him and another x-ray and our hopes were dashed. We thought at best she would be completely done with braces, at worst she would need surgery. We tried not to have our hopes raised too high because we did not want to be disappointed, but we were anyway. He said there was not much change from the last x-ray 3 months ago and that she would need to stay in the brace and even transition into a walking brace soon (which sounds terrible!). He could give us no time frame as to when he expected it to be over, which is super hard for us. We have been told that it could be worse and we know that, but we are just trying to cope with our current situation. She may have to have surgery yet and that will be another challenge. We are so tired of answering the questions of rude strangers about "what's wrong with her" or "what that thing is for" or "why she isn't walking yet." We are tired of saying "we don't know" when we are asked how much longer she will have to wear it. We are tired of dressing her in leggings (so she doesn't get blisters) underneath the plastic brace when it is 100 degrees outside. Please pray for our hearts to be content as we struggle with this news we received today. Here are some pictures to document this journey.

Things not to say to a pregnant woman

So, I'm 24 weeks pregnant with our second baby. Marit and Graham will be 15.5 months apart and we are absolutely thrilled. In the past few months, I have mentally noted things that I will not say to pregnant friends/strangers. Here we go:

-You're looking fluffy! (puffy is not usually an appreciated adjective either)
-Don't you know how that happens?
-You know, there are ways to prevent such things
-Girl, you look like you are going to pop!
-Pregnancy is not a disease
-Can't you suck your belly in?
-I hope your 2nd child isn't in a brace too (Marit has worn a brace for 8 months for her hip dysplasia and it has been really hard, but of course we would love another child with physical challenges just as much as one without)
-I mean, were you upset when you found out you were pregnant? I would be if I were you.
-It's going to be so hard to have two in diapers. You are going to have a really hard time. (thanks for the encouragement)
-Don't blow up too big

I'm not bitter or anything, just reminded of the human tendency to speak without a single thought to how what we say really sounds to the listener...

The picture was taken right before Marit was born...I promise I'm not that big yet...

Do my fellow mommies have anything to add?

Let me be faithful

I enjoy listening to Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church www.marshillchurch.org in Seattle and I was so encourgaged this week by a story he told of Billy Graham. Billy was known to remind his staff frequently that they could possibly enjoy more treasures in heaven than he because "God rewards faithfulness, not just fruitfulness." I love this idea, first of all, because it is true. Also, because I struggle (especially lately) as I know we all do, to be content with the mundane things of life. I absolutely love being a mother, but it's pretty boring sometimes. I could not love my daughter more deeply, but sometimes I long for her to tell me something that makes sense or to respond to my discipline, or just to see results from this parenting thing. I know this discontent rises from sin in my own heart and I see it in other areas of my life too. Work (I work part-time as a cancer nurse) has been challenging lately and sometimes I bring the stress home with me. I feel completely inadequate in my relationships with others when these seasons of discontent arise...my insecurities surface and I struggle not to criticize my awkwardness. I blame my sweet husband for my own failures. Basically, I realize that I can't hold it all together. I am not capable of being fruitful in every area of life all the time. And then I'm reminded to be faithful...even in small things and to allow Christ to continue His perfecting work in my heart so that He might be glorified in all of life. After all it's not about me and my performance, is it? This is an age-old lesson I know. I've learned it before and I will continue to relearn it, I'm sure. Even now, I'm not sure if I have sufficiently learned to rely on Him instead of myself this time. Sometimes these seasons of gloom seem to linger, but it comforts me that I know the truth and I know what to preach to myself as I muddle on. I hope I haven't discouraged you!

I'm a bad writer

Well, here we go....my attempt to process/record our chaotic life with a little therapeutic blogging. I'm not a good writer. I can't promise I'll have anything deep or profound to say very often. I just want to give this thing a try and see if it enhances life.