A Joyful Mother of Children

1Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
2Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
3From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD's name is to be praised.
4The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,
6Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth
7He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
8That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.
9He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD. Psalm 113

I have fallen in love with this Psalm. Recently a dear friend walked by me and said "you are a joyful mother of children". I knew that it was scripture but wasn't entirely familiar with the chapter, so I looked it up. I love it. It is so full of praise, just as our lives should be. When I look at my life and what the Lord has given me I almost overflow. This chapter is so full of God, its all about Him and how amazing He is. Praise! I wonder how many times the Bible uses that word?

Strawberry Pie

Ok I am shirking my many duties of the day for a minute. Last night I made the most awesome Strawberry pie ever. Its so, so much better than the traditional strawberry glaze pie. Its also very easy. Tim was in the mood to take pictures of me too so I guess that was a good thing because I think these are the first pics I have of me pregnant this time. How I managed to go eight months without having my picture taken is beyond me. I actually contemplated not posting the recipe so that it would be mine all mine but then I decided to be nice.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Place a drip pan on lowest shelf to catch pie juices.
2. To Make Topping: In a medium bowl, mix until fluffy the 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup flour, butter, and nutmeg.
3. Place cleaned strawberries in a deep bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and cornstarch. Gently coat berries with this mixture; be careful not to crush berries.
4. Pour berries into prepared pie crust mounding them in the middle; mounding is necessary as the berries will sink as they bake. Cover berries with crumb topping and top crumbs with about 15 pea-sized blobs of butter. Wrap edges of pie crust with foil to prevent burning.
5. Bake pie in preheated oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and bake for an additional 40 minutes. When there are 10 minutes left of baking, sprinkle a little extra sugar over crumb topping and then finish baking.

This one is for Kryna

Potty Training

Last week I decided it was high time to start potty training James. He seemed to be ready so Mom brought over the potty chair that we three munchkins used and so it began. I am so proud of him, he started peeing in his big boy chair the very first day. It was pretty unpredictable for the first few days but now every time I take him he pees. He's even done #2 twice. I know, I know too much info but hey its big news here. He now sits on the big toilet because then he can see what is happening and flush the toilet himself. Apparently these are both big pluses. Today he told me twice that he needed to go. We have set a rewards system of three choc. chips for every time he goes potty in the big boy toilet more for # 2. Today he told me he needed to go then 5 min. later he wanted to go again so I set him up there again and he proceeded to squeeze out two drops and flush the toilet. He was very proud and ran to the kitchen for his choc. Hmmmm. It worked on me. :) Theres 9 weeks left till his sister's projected arrival, hopefully we will be pretty much done by then. If it keeps going this well I think we definitely will be.

"Aww Mom, Its embarrassing all these pictures."

Telling Daddy about what a big boy he is. This picture really brings fond memories of my little pink phone. (more on that later)

Fun In The Kitchen

Tim has a T-shirt that says "Fun in the kitchen with Betty Crocker". He got it because I love to cook and Betty Crocker was one of my nicknames at my first job (other than working for my parents) So today was fun in the kitchen with James. I have taken to pulling up a chair next to the counter and letting James stand on it and "help" whenever I am baking. He loves it. Unfortunately he shows little discretion when adding things to the batter. Also we are learning the concept that it is not a good idea to test the batter while the kitchen aid is mixing, no injuries yet. I even taught him the art of licking batter from utensils. At first he thought that they all needed to actually go into his mouth now he sticks his little tongue out and enjoys the doughy goodness. In the nursery at the church we attend on Sat. nights they have a Little Tykes kitchen set and apparently it is his favorite toy of all. They call him "miniature Rachael Ray" I'd hope for Martha Stewart but thats another subject entirely. Today we made Kryna's sugar cookies and I do recommend them.

So Here It Is

I've received lots of flack for not having posted recently, so here is a new one and the reasons I've not been around the web lately. I've been trying to spend more one on one time with James recently so we've been spending lots of time playing outdoors, going to the library, reading, and baking together. Also last weekend Tim took me to St. Louis for our 4th anniversary. Very fun. James has really gotten into reading lately, he's always enjoyed it but now he can't get enough. A few nights ago we were ready for bed and all of the nightly ritual had been preformed, at the end I asked "are you ready for night, night?" he said no and he turned around and pointed at his books and said "Read more book?". It didn't work out for him, but I did find it very amusing.
Here are a few pictures for our outdoor adventures.

Activities at the Cottage

James is growing so much its hard to keep up with him. He is now big enough that he can ride on the front of a shopping cart, standing on the frame holding onto the basket. He is very proud of this fact. Its so hard as a Mom to keep up with a child's growing and changing needs. You never know what has been changing and developing in that little mind. James is a very sensitive child and I think it would be easy to hurt him unknowingly, but with that said he also is very strong willed and would take every opportunity to have the world his way. With all that wrapped up in one little blond head with a toothy grin and sparkling eyes its not always easy to have all the answers.
Yesterday it snowed all day and finally started to accumulate in the evening. It was the perfect night to stay in and cuddle on the couch. I made a big pot of hot cocoa and left it on the stove so that we could enjoy it all evening. James was particularly thrilled about this development.
The transition from crib to toddler bed is going well, he's slept in it several nights now without incident. I started putting him in it only if he had already fallen asleep in the car, but a few nights ago I put him in it while he was still awake and he merely rolled over and hugged Lumpy. And so its been since then. For naps he is still in his crib really only because I haven't tried laying him down in the toddler bed.

James has recently learned the art of multi tasking. A while ago he graduated from a sippy cup to a sippy straw cup that consists of a leak proof cup with a built in straw. Now he is thrilled that he can drink hands free.Its safe to use something with wheels on as a step stool right?So there it is my random post for the day.

Spring Fever

Do you think God made spring so enticing because He knew that we needed a little push after a long sluggish winter? Every year when spring comes I get a burst of energy and start accomplishing all sorts of things that I've been to lazy or groggy to do all winter long. James is very excited about the promise of spring. Yesterday we enjoyed a particularly nice day I think the high temp was 65* and we got out and made the most of it. In the morning we went out and did a few errands, on the way home we stopped at the park and James played on the teeter-totter for his first time. In the afternoon we rescued his Little Tykes car from its winter hiding place and he spent a good deal of time honking the horn and climbing in and out of the door pronouncing "da done" each time only to hop back in for more honking fun. Today's weather is much the same as yesterday and as soon as he wakes from his nap we are planning on a walk. Now I just have to decide if he should ride in the little red wagon or his stroller. He'll enjoy the wagon more, but the stroller is much easier when maneuvering the many hills in our neighborhood. Hmm...I think since he's been cooped up for so long I will put on my big girl panties and take the wagon. Yes this is what must be done.