A Fancy Shower

I had my second and final baby shower last weekend and it was so beautiful! I had a marvelous time, and was so incredibly blessed and showered with many useful baby gifts. The shower was decorated in the colors of the nursery - green, pink and orange. They had pink punch that everyone was drinking out of baby bottles (with a straw, not sucking through a nipple), delicious brunch food, and great decorations. So, here are some pics from the event.

The beautiful centerpieces, bottle with punch, and the tablecloths

were all in the colors.

Soon-to-be grandma (still working on what her name will be), and good

friend, Liz watching as I begin opening gifts.

A close-up of Micah and I's baby pictures which were hanging from

the food table's centerpiece.

Grandma "Suzu" (my mom), and I with some adorable baby hats

made by Gigi Graham.

The food table.

Look at the cute tablecloths! I have such great friends, and network of support from my church too that they would all come.

I was definitely standing by the food- it was so good! The centerpiece

decoration was a spray painted branch in orange, with baby picture of Micah and I, and baby accessories hanging from it, like bibs, spoons, teething rings, pacifiers...

It was such a fun morning, and an incredibly memorable event and welcome to the world for Daisy. Thanks to everyone who was able to come and for all the amazing and helpful gifts! This is one loved little girl that is about to be born.

Daisy's Coming Home Outfit

I finally picked it out. Micah and I went to Wal-Mart last night for a few random things and for the first time I let myself wander around the baby clothes. I saw the cutest little red and white dress so I couldn't resist (not to mention it was $3)! I decided this is what I am going to pack to bring to the hospital to bring Daisy home in- it is cotton, summery, girly, good for photos, has a bow and ruffles to make it a little fancy, and I would think comfortable. So, here it is:

Now, I am just looking forward to seeing Daisy in it!

"Asking Our Kids to be a mini Jesus"

In light of our impending start to parenthood, my husband sent this blog entry to me. It is a blog entry from Stuff Christians Like. You can read more funny, witty, interesting, entries here, but I have also copied this specific entry below:

A lady I work with once enlightened me, “You just wait until you have kids.” I’m not sure what she thought would magically happen the instant I became a father, but it didn’t (apparently). I know this because at the time she uttered her prophetic words to me, I already had two kids… precisely twice as many as she had.

My guess is she thought having kids would make me more wise, more mature, more patient… more something. She had an expectation about what parenthood would change about life. A lot of Christians do too. And it’s not insignificant:

We think the birth of our children will reveal to us the very face of God.

While you might not use those exact words, at some point, someone in your Christian circle of friends has said one of the following things to you:

“I really didn’t know God until I had kids.”

“When I became a father, I finally understood how hard it was for God to send Christ to the cross.”

“Being a mother—witnessing the miracle of life—radically changed my understanding of God’s love.”

There’s a million ways to express “Kids = Big Faith.” And if you’re single or childless, there has to be a part of you that thinks, “Fantastic! The missing link in my faith is having a kid. I have zero kids and zero prospects. I’ll just be over here with my small, incomplete faith. Awesome.”

Good news. It’s not true. Bad news? It also is. On some level, having a kid can show you God’s miraculous love. Some Bible verses support this notion that having a kid puts faith into a unique context. “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11) That verse makes more sense if you’re seeing it unfold in your own child’s life.

However, we also way over-amplify what we expect our children to do for our faith. I personally have (many times) essentially said to my children, “OK, dad had a really bad day at work. Tonight I need you to show me God’s perfect and true love. I know you’re only two, but Daddy needs you to reconnect him in his relationship with Yahweh. Is that cool with you? You’re drooling. I’ll accept that as an emphatic yes.”

Those nights typically also coincide with the times my kids try to break me down like little terrorists. Fits are thrown, fights erupt, demands are made. The most menial tasks incite battle cries: “I do myself, I do myself!” One would assume applying the toothpaste to your child’s toothbrush when they want to do it themselves is not a cry-worthy, scream-inducing offense, but you’d be gravely mistaken.

Does God show up in parenthood? I sure hope so. Are kids a walking, talking daily reminder of Jesus? Not always. And if you go into parenthood expecting that, you’ll be sorely disappointed… or at the bare minimum, covered with pink bubble gum-flavored princess toothpaste.

A Quick Punctuation Apology

So, in the last four posts, please ignore missing words, duplicate wording, or random and incorrect punctuation. That is all because I created those late at night, my computer was working slowly, was super tired...so, all that to say I did not proof read a SINGLE one until today and I noticed all the many errors. So, I realize it is terribly un-fancy, but please ignore those and just remember the frills that are on my heart for you and this blog.

Handmade Gifts

There were a few gifts from the shower that were hand-made, so I feel they deserve a special mention; especially since I dream of being crafty but just don't usually have the . My friend, co-worker's wife, and fellow blogger, Kristena Derrick is queen of home-made cuteness and she once again proved her royalty. She crocheted black booties, made a fabric daisy on a onesie, and sewed three adorable denim reversible bibs! Visit her blog to see all the creative things she creates by clicking here. But, here is a taste of her creations:



Not to be outdone, by any means, my mother-in-law had the genius creative idea of making "Daisy's First Little Black Dress." My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are both very fashion conscious which I love about them. Well, her creation was met with plenty of "oohs and ahhs" at this creation. She hand-made this out of black satin, and created matching black satin bloomers too. She purchased the pink shrug to go with it to break up the black in case it was too much black; but really, it was just so adorable and unbelievably thoughtful too. She has actually been thinking about turning this into a business, and I am already ready to order some for friends. So, if any of you are interested in getting a baby's first "little black dress" just let me know and I will be happy to arrange that for you! I have already decided that Daisy will wear this for Dane and Megan's wedding in September when we go to Europe.
Excuse the poor image quality, not sure how Micah takes such great pictures, mine always turn out a bit funny.

One more shower coming up! I will be sure to post pictures from that one too! Thanks to all my friends and family who have been so generous in their time, creativity and support for me and my growing family!

My First Baby Shower!

I had my very first baby shower this past weekend! It was sooo wonderful; our friends worked so hard to make it a beautiful and memorable event for us. We truly were so spoiled by everyone with the generous gifts too. We of course got lots of girly outfits because they are so hard to resist buying and we got a few of the items we really need too. I have one more shower later in June and then that's it! The rest is up to us!
Some of the decorations and desserts. They also had onesies for people to sign and write funny messages on. The cakes were from Ludgers; one said Daisy Barnard, and the others had her initials. Yummy!

Yes, this onesie says "ipood", not "ipod"! Too funny.

Mom and Dad to be! notice the big posters on my side on the garage? They used those for the invitations too. The colors were pink and black; even the black dog had a pink ribbon!
They had some beer to give a "man section" to the party, however, it was quickly girlified by the ribbon that was added that says, "it's a girl!"
Notice all the pink, white and chocolate colored desserts? Everything was in those colors! Really, it was beautiful!

32 weeks!

Well, I have made it to 32 weeks, and now only a little over 7 weeks left! I thought I would give you a quick snapshot of what me at 32 weeks looks like. Don't scream, well, actually feel free since most likely I am not next to you, just don't tell me you did.

Memorial Day Weekend Visitors!

During Memorial Day two of my best friends from Belhaven College came to visit me so they could see me while I am huge and pregnant; it really is quite the spectacle! I am 32 weeks pregnant, and due to back pain, I am pretty limited in how much I can do, so it was a mild weekend (especially considering the fun and crazy times we had together in college). It was a true testament to being at a new stage in life - the married with kids stage! We had a great time catching up, relaxing, eating good food, and looking at all sorts of adorable baby stuff! So, here are some pictures from the weekend.
This is a blurry picture of the steak dinner we made, with grilled asparagus, salad and wine. MMM, delicious!
This is Jerremy's reaction to the Renaissance Fair of Muskogee. Okay, not really, we didn't take them there, we just told them all about it.
This is to show you my largely protruding belly and how funny I look sometimes. We picked out two movies and watched both of them in one night! Traitor and Man From Snowy River- odd combination, I know.
The friends - Kendra, me and Aimee! Thanks for visiting girls! You're the best.
Another dinner at home in the back yard. We made fajitas with guacamole, green tomatilla salsa, grilled pineapple...Wow, so good. Maybe one of these days I will get around to posting recipes for all the yummy food we made! I know you want them.

My Belly After Eating

In case you have ever wondered what a pregnant belly looks like from the mother's perspective, here is a picture. I also wanted to show this because it seems I can't keep food off my belly when I eat. I have figured out that this is because I have to lean so far forward at an angle to get my face over a table or else rest my plate on my stomach in order to prevent crumbs from landing there. So, this is after eating a sandwich, and yes, we were in such a hurry that I ate in the car. At least I wasn't driving!

Nursery Inspiration

So, I saw these two ideas online throughout the past week +. I am considering these for the nursery somewhere, maybe?
For this one, I loved the paint on the walls! I am thinking of maybe using stenciling on an armoire instead of the wall though just for the sake of time, space, and the busy factor in the room.Since we decided on the name, Daisy Renee, these felt flowers would be so cute! I like the little light that beams out in the center too. Maybe above the changing table, but this might also be one of those projects that there is a good chance I won't quite get around to!


Micah and I visited his family this past weekend and made a trip to Ikea where we purchased a chandelier! He installed it last night and well, I LOVE IT! I will be posting a picture soon. It is so girly, and such a perfect centerpiece to what will be the nursery; although it does remind me how low our ceilings are. If you have read this blog for very long, you know I love chandeliers and this is the first one I have ever owned, I am sure it won't be my last though!

I also decided on painting one wall, so that project will probably be completed this weekend with the help of some fabulous college girlfriends who are coming to visit me! So, many more projects and pictures coming soon!

Lamb Burgers with feta Sauce and Cucumbers

So, the wonderful meal I made on the evening of my new embarrasing moment- Lamb burgers with feta sauce and cucumbers, it was also delicious! So, I thought I would recommend at least the dinner portion of that evening, if not the bonfire. I served this with a light summer strawberry/orange feta salad with poppyseed dressing.
1.5 lbs lamb
2 tspn. curry powder
3 scallions, thinly sliced
course salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 oz. feta cheese
2 tblspn plain yogurt
8 slices country bread, toasted if desired- yes I did desire
1 kirby cucumber, cut lengthwise into ribbons with a vegetable peeler

• In a medium bowl, combine lamb, curry powder, and 2 sliced scallions. Season generously with salt and pepper. Mix gently with a fork and form into 4 oval patties to fit on the bread, and about 1 in. thick.
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Season patties with salt and pepper. Cook until browned and just cooked through, 4-6 min. per side. (reduce heat if browning to quickly, or grill outside over fire)
• Meanwhile in a small bowl, mix feta, yogurt, and remaining scallions, mashing cheese gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper
• Spread for slices of bread with feta mixture, top with cucumbers, lamb patties, and remaining bread.

Picture taken with my phone, so not that great! Sorry!

A New Embarrasing Moment

I am not one of those people that has had the luxury of walking through life without embarrassing moments. Whether it is accidentally flipping my school uniform skirt over my head in drama class in high school, peeing the bed in college, or any other number of stories. Well, I have recently added a new one, and surprisingly, this one is not pregnancy related. I made lamb burgers with cucumber and feta sauce for dinner for Micah and I one night (I told you, I like lamb all the sudden!). It was a pretty evening, so I suggested that while I make dinner, Micah create a fire in the fire-pit in the backyard. We sat outside for a couple of hours, eating, talking, and enjoying a nice date night at home together.

The Fire Culprit

Then knowing what we had coming up that weekend we decided to go to Target and run a quick errand. So, here is where it gets embarrassing...
I mentioned to Micah that we probably smelled like smoke, but he brushed it off and said it wasn't too big a deal. So, at Target we are shopping and an employee was helping us when all the sudden she asked, "do you smell fire? I think something is burning." We shyly admitted she was just smelling us and that we had been at a bonfire. We quickly left the area, and then Micah went to try on a pair of jeans while I looked at maternity clothes. He called me on my phone to come look, so I quickly gave him the "nah, not that great", and started to walk away when I heard the four attendants at the dressing room start asking what was burning. They were so concerned they were checking their walkie-talkies for fire, asked if they thought someone was smoking in the dressing rooms...I quickly backed away and called Micah. Micah picked up the phone by responding, "I hear every word." I told him we were leaving, our smell was causing panic to break out at Target! I walked to get basil, and on my way happened to pass the hairspray aisle, and I will admit, I sprayed hairspray on my clothes to try and lessen the smell. I don't think it helped. We quit shopping at that point and quickly checked out with our few items. We couldn't stop laughing on our way out- I was mortified we smelled so bad that multiple employees were contemplating calling the fire department, but fortunately, no one did and the false alarm of a fire at target from two smelly customers was averted! I made us take all our clothes off in the laundry room before walking into our house when we got back, so fortunately, our home never smelled quite that bad!

Sweet Onions Stuffed with Lamb

In the past year I have discovered lamb. It is healthy (at least according to Jordan Rubin), and it has it's own unique flavor. I recently found a recipe for Sweet Onions Stuffed with Spiced Lamb and had to try it. It was really good when I first made it, but I wouldn't recommend for left-overs (could be pregnant taste talking there though too). So, here is how you make it, courtesy of Food and Wine Magazine with my adjustments:
2 cups chicken stock
3/4 c. dried apricots
2 tspn. finely grated lemon zest
6 medium sweet onions, 10 oz. each, unpeeled
4 tblspns butter
1 lb ground lamb
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
salt and pepper
6 tblspns finely chopped mint
6 tblspns finely chopped parsley
4 tblspns coarse dry bread crumbs
1/2 c. water

• Preheat oven to 400
• In a small sauce pan, combine chicken stock, apricots, and lemon zest and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until the apricots are plump and the liquid is reduced to a few tablespoons - about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut the top third off of each onion; reserve the tops. Using a melon baller (or a spoon like me), remove the center of each onion, leaving a two-layer shell. Coarsely chop the centers. Trim off the root ends and stand the onions upright in a medium baking dish.

Here is Micah helping me with this step (he is a big onion crier!)

• In a large skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Add the chopped onions and cook until soft, about 12 min. Add the lamb and cinnamon, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat until the lamb is cooked through and any liquid has been evaporated- about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the apricots and the chopped mint and parsley.
• Spoon the lamb filling into the onion shells, packing it tightly and mounding it over the onions. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, and dot with the remaining butter.
• Set the onion tops beside the stuffed onions and add the water to the dish. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for about 20 min. longer, until the onion shells are tender and the tops are golden.
• Let the onions rest for 10 min. then sprinkle with remaining mint and parsley. Transfer to plates and serve!

I made cous-cous as the side, and it was a perfect accompaniment, and the 5 min. it takes to make that, helped make up for this more labor intensive main dish. All in all, yummy and if I say so myself, quite fancy too.

Indian Dal and New Patio Furniture

I promised I would make the Indian feast posted on another blog, and I have made or eaten most of the dishes since, so I thought I would share the experience - it was delicious! We have also been looking for patio furniture so we can enjoy our backyard in the spring (although it has been raining constantly so far). So, as I made dinner, Micah set up our new patio set, poured some wine, lit a candle and set the table for us! The dinner was great, but the company and thoughtfulness of my husband was the best. The recipe for the yellow indian dal can be found here.

Nursery Update

So, I went to the manufacturer of the polka dot fabric I really liked, and while there I found a different fabric that I love! So, I am switching. Here is the new nursery fabric (yes, it is silk). It will only be used on the bed skirt and then as trim in other places, the solid fabrics you see with this will be used for bumper, curtains, etc. and that is made of cotton and polyester so it is more washable.


My parents also bought us an armoire over the weekend for the nursery. It is unlike any you have seen in that is has 4 colors on it and is a very whimsical shape. I have not 100% decided if I will leave it all colorful or if I will end up painting it to match the crib I have picked out. But, I am just happy that decisions have been made! That makes me feel a little better about only being 12 weeks away from my due date! I will post pics of the armoire soon.

I need some ideas on window treatments. Anyone have suggestions?