Forrest Life

Purple Supper

2010-09-17T22:53:00.003-04:00

I love the way these purple potatoes look! They're quite tasty too. I dubbed this dish "Hannah Montana" because its the best of both worlds! We had mashed and scalloped potatoes in one! Paired with some pink salmon and bright green spinach pesto our meal was a color-lover's heaven.

HUGE Zucchini!!

2010-09-07T13:23:00.006-04:00

I received a HUGE zucchini from my farm delivery this past week and was amazed! So, here's what I did with it. Come on over for supper.

A zucchini lasagna:
Scrape out the seeds of a halved zucchini. Make some sauce with meat or whatever you like. I like to make my own with half an onion, yellow pepper, crushed tomatoes, diced fire roasted tomatoes, hamburger and some secret ingredients!!

The Secret ingredient...use it if you figure it out!

I've layered in the sauce, ricotta mixture and leafy baby spinach.

These zucchini are usually available at farmer's markets for .50! They are too hard to slice and cook like normal but can be used in breads and baked things as well as this recipe that I've cooked up.

Ricotta mixture: One tub of ricotta, one egg, dried basil, oregano and garlic salt.

Sorry I don't measure, use your best judgment!!!

A couple of tips, bake on about 350 for 30-40 mins until zucchini is tender. Also, if layering in spinach, pack it in really tight because it will shrink as it cooks. Let me know what version you make!

The size of Moses' body!!!

2010-08-31T11:14:00.001-04:00

Nature's bounty

2010-07-06T12:23:00.002-04:00

I received my first delivery of veggies and fruit from the Farm of Plenty! I was so excited! I got a beautiful head of red lettuce, a bright yellow squash, a round zucchini, a quart bag of sugar snap peas, a pint of the brightest red ripe strawberries, some big red potatoes with all the dirt still on them, and two big bunches of radishes! Hooray for fresh from the farm, local veggies. {Caution: not responsible for drool on your computer when looking at this photo}

Photography: Baby Chandler

2010-07-01T10:33:00.002-04:00

I had the chance to photograph this lovely new family. They have the sweetest baby girl, who on her debut photo shoot day was not a very happy girl. It may be due to the fact that we kept taking all her warm clothes off and poking and moving her around. Through it all she was a trooper and gave us some good ones! Congrats to the Flemming family!

Moses faces

2010-06-23T11:39:00.000-04:00

Moses Post

2010-06-21T14:56:00.004-04:00

I'm practicing my photography more and more. Which means I have more and more pictures to sort through. I feel like I'm growing though. These days I'm trying to use the manual setting and figure out how to use the histogram on my camera! I met with a photographer last week and she gave me some really great tips. So, I'm excited to see what I can do. Here are some shots of Moses playing with the ABC crayons.

Special Times

2010-06-17T13:48:00.002-04:00

Elie is growing up right before my eyes! When we moved here she was only about four months old. Now she's starting to walk and forming words and asking "what's that?" I can't believe it. She is hilarious and knows it, she is sweet and knows exactly what she wants most of the time. I love watching you grow baby girl!

This is our special handshake! Elie crosses her fingers and reaches them out to me and I meet them with mine. Then we say "oh!"

The faces.

2010-06-09T23:07:00.002-04:00

This is the face Elie makes when the light shines in her eyes to focus on her face. I LOVE IT!!!

A little kitchen work

2010-06-02T21:54:00.005-04:00

One of my favorite parts of being a creative person is cooking!! It indulges all of the senses. It enables me to put effort into something and have near immediate gratification and even validation as a person who loves to make things and make people happy. Here are a few new things we cooked up this week in our kitchen:

I think that Minnesotans love rhubarb because it is the first-fruit of a summer veggie garden. I put this together when I realized my strawberries were trying to go bad. They were rescued and a wonderful treat came about:

Cupcakes are always a welcome treat here! Moses and I whipped these up during Elie's morning nap. Moses loves to cook with me and help stir. He separates the cupcake papers while I put all the ingredients together and get out the mixer. Then we bake and enjoy with some cold milk!

{A wonderful topping as an alternative for cupcakes: mix equal parts cinnamon and cocoa powder, sprinkle on before baking.}

Family Day

2010-05-14T10:36:00.004-04:00

Mike's school year is done! He had the full day yesterday to revel in the feeling of having no school work to do. So, he decided we should go to the Walker Art Museum in Minneapolis. We love museums and our kids are amazing and love them too. Moses looked at the art and Elie slept. Moses and I entered an exhibit that was loud and visually stimulating and there were hammocks hanging on the walls. So, he and I swung and listened to Jimmi Hendrix. We wanted to nap, but there were other people around. Thank you Lord for this school year going well and thank you for providing for our every need!

For the love of...

2010-04-30T10:44:00.003-04:00

Like most mornings, I was feeding my children breakfast, all the while, I was restricting myself from using the bathroom. Like any good mother I was waiting until I could get them properly settled with enough food to satisfy them for a while (their needs first?). Ultimately a selfish gesture so that I could spend as much time in the bathroom as I wanted. But of course my waiting backfired. The kids were settled with cheerios and I bolted. Down the dark hall I went, turned left into the dark bathroom and... WHAM!!!! Another small gesture of my kind motherhood, shutting the door so that my 13 month old would not crawl in there and die of some disease or fall into the toilet. Needless to say I was embarrassed and hurting a little. But I made it to the toilet. So, you’re welcome children for your breakfast and all the small “sacrifices” made to make your life better. I love you.

No, we didn't have spaghetti for breakfast. But baby spaghetti pictures are the best!

The many faces of chocolate.

2010-04-26T17:43:00.003-04:00

I have been stocking up on 75% off easter candy. Well, mostly the dark chocolate cadbury mini eggs. They are like a treasure. When I found a pile of them in CUB Foods I was like, "jackpot!" These pictures of Moses explain the feelings perfectly.

Visit!!

2010-04-26T17:09:00.004-04:00

My mom and dad came for a visit! An entire week! It was so much fun to be with them and share our lives here. Its been so hard not having them around. Especially with Moses and Elie growing so fast. I feel like they're missing everything. Its ok though, we've been seeing each other in three month intervals since we moved. I just keep reminding myself that we will be going there in July. July. July.

Here we are on our amazingly wonderful trip to the Minnesota Zoo!

Elie is ONE!

2010-03-10T10:11:00.002-05:00

My beautiful baby girl has made it to one year. I'm so proud of her and am so excited to watch her grow even more this year. Her little personality is blossoming and growing and she's still so sweet.

so much love!

2009-11-02T17:18:00.001-05:00

autumn in MN

2009-11-02T17:06:00.002-05:00

We took a trip to an apple orchard a couple weeks ago and had a blast! There were so many fun things to do and the weather was perfectly fall.

Brief.

2009-10-23T15:07:00.000-04:00

We're still here in Minnesota. Moses turned two on September 26. I'll have to get some pictures together. Its a little difficult for me to get online now. But I'll get you in the loop one day!!

6 months!

2009-09-23T17:37:00.003-04:00

My Elie Grace is 6 month old! She is so amazing. She laughs and smiles all the time and is such a sweet little baby its hard to put her down all day long. Enjoy these photos...there's nothing cuter!

overdue update!!

2009-09-23T17:21:00.002-04:00

My mom came to visit us a little over a week ago and it was such a wonderful time. We got to go to the zoo, have a birthday for Moses, and just have some quality play time together. It was so refreshing to have someone familiar around and also some help during the day! Here are a few of our photos from Moses' birthday trip to the zoo:

sleeping beauty

2009-09-04T21:55:00.001-04:00

she's growing growing growing!

Girly girl!

2009-09-02T09:14:00.005-04:00

The inner girly girl in me has come out since I had a baby girl. I'm all about accessories and pink and cute things for Elie. My college roomate has always been this way and when we lived together definitely influenced me. She has introduced me to a website that makes the Cutest hair accessories for girls. A Christmas present for Elie maybe?
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6776534&ga_search_query=pinkandpigtails&ga_search_type=seller_usernames

2009-08-29T21:47:00.002-04:00

Moses is fully potty trained!! It was like magic. I put him through potty bootcamp and he decided he did not like being wet. So, now he uses the potty. He even sleeps with no diaper!! The first couple nights he woke up in the night saying, "mama, mama, potty, hurts, potty" so i took him, he went and he then went back to sleep. It was amazing. He's not so keen on public potties, but then who really is. But he's good at holding it, almost too good.
I'm so proud of him and he's just soo cute!

Silly time!

2009-08-25T10:53:00.004-04:00

We have been having a lot of serious time and stressful time. But just before bedtime is when the silliness comes out! We have baths and then its onto the bed for storytime and cuddling. Its my favorite time of the day when we all get to be together and love each other.

2009-08-16T21:22:00.001-04:00

I BAKED!!! I baked and it worked! I made this cake of blocks for Haven's first birthday and was so pleased at the way it came out.

2009-08-16T21:12:00.002-04:00

This is me on my birthday. Mike took me to my favorite pizza place in Minneapolis. We had such a fun date! We went to the sculpture garden (the cherry on the spoon) and walked around without our kids! I love birthdays and am so thankful for my life and all the people that make it wonderful!

2009-08-15T10:07:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of our amazing family!! We got to meet with one of my greatest friends/college roommate who lives in wisconsin. It was so much fun to see her and her family. She has two kids almost the exact ages of moses and Elie. Her husband took these pictures of us.

Sylas and Moses

Night-night

2009-07-31T21:52:00.001-04:00

Special Day

2009-07-29T16:29:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a special day. This is a photo of four generations! Yesterday was my grandma's birthday! I always feel so special when I talk to her or am with her. She is an amazing, hard-working woman and I love her. She is also my most faithful reader. So I want to say, Happy Birthday Bamma!!! I love you!!

scrunchy nose!

2009-07-22T22:29:00.002-04:00

So, Elie has this runny little nose and she keeps trying to clear it and making this face!! It is sooo funny. There is a picture of my mom holding me as a baby and I'm making this same exact face! I love it!

Joy and Shaun Maternity photos

2009-07-19T17:15:00.002-04:00

This is Joy and Shaun. I took their wedding and engagement pictures last year and now a baby!! I'm sad I won't be able to photograph their new baby. Congrats guys!!

Pictures!

2009-07-14T14:34:00.001-04:00

Here are a few pictures from our trip up to MN!!! Mike got a job today at an ice arena, Praise the Lord!!!

We Made It!

2009-07-08T11:02:00.002-04:00

Well, we made it here to MN a few days ago and everything went well. We stopped twice on the way up, making our trip three days of driving! Moses and Elie did so well driving. Elie slept almost the entire time and Moses played and slept and ate bags of chips! Our "basement home" is great, and we're enjoying living with our friends mike and keri. Moses Loves having five other brothers and sisters to play with. He keeps asking about grandma and paw paw and mi mi and papa and "Nonna" and jesse and jayden. Its cute. I'll post some pictures of our place soon, our computer won't connect right now so I'll have to do it when it starts working again.

LOVE!!

Follow us!!

2009-06-25T12:10:00.001-04:00

We are going to try to blog our way to MN!! So, all of you can feel like you're part of the ride...without entertaining Moses! Check back with us on July 2 as we leave at 4:30am on our way to the Good North!!

gElie!

2009-06-24T14:13:00.002-04:00

Here's my cute little Elie in her gdiaper! I've been using them for about a month now and really love them! Check them out at gdiapers.com

don't judge me!

2009-06-22T14:27:00.001-04:00

That tuna casserole I made almost two months ago, I wrote about it here is definitely still in my refrigerator. ? gross.

A New Layout!

2009-06-17T12:11:00.004-04:00

I finally figured out how to make my blog look AWESOME!!! I hope you like it, fans!
and here are some pictures to compliment it:

gDiapers

2009-06-15T14:32:00.004-04:00

If you haven't heard of gDiapers you HAVE to check them out here
I ordered a starter kit about three weeks ago and have been using them ever since. The diapers are cloth with a water-proof snap-in liner and flushable/compostable/non-landfilling inserts!! When I ordered my kit I knew that I couldn't afford the disposable liners all the time, so I also got some microfiber cloth inserts from happy heiny and they work flawlessly!

I'll post some pictures of my cute little "g baby" soon!!

I just can't get it done!

2009-06-04T14:17:00.002-04:00

I'm trying so hard to pack our house up. I just keep getting distracted by my life! Moses is a little needy right now, I think he's getting teeth. If they would just come on in and get it over with it would be a lot easier. But its taking forever! Elie is still the most amazing and happy baby I have ever met. She sleeps, eats, swings gets loved on by Moses and that's her day.
Anyway, distracted again, our apartment is full of boxes and junk is everywhere. I hate it! I keep praying for Jesus to lead me on what to keep and what to get rid of. He is showing me, its just taking a while.
So, back to packing for me!

"remeniscions"

2009-06-03T09:04:00.003-04:00

When I was in college I had a job where I rode into the city everyday with three or four friends. Some days we had story time and made up the word "remeniscions" we would talk about favorite memories of our times together. Sometimes it was ridiculous, but it was always fun!! Here are some for you

These are our engagement photos taken by my friend Jessica. Oh the days of being young and free (and thin)!!

Photo shoot!!

2009-05-29T09:36:00.003-04:00

Our Elie is almost three months old! Enjoy these, you'll see nothing cuter, at least until I post more!!

just some bragging

2009-05-14T13:04:00.003-04:00

Moses is amazing! He is so loving and caring and sensitive! We have so much fun during the day. His latest phrase is "where are you?" so whenever I leave the room or when he wakes up from his nap he says, "mama, where are you?" It is SO cute!! Today, he was such a big boy in the doctor's office! He colored on the paper and got weighed and measured and he even let the dr. and nurse pick him up without freaking out. He got a shot and cried, but he told the nurse thank you while hugging me...melt my heart! Ok enough bragging, moses is calling me from his room, "mama, where are you?"

Baby Elie Grace

2009-05-14T12:52:00.003-04:00

This is my sweet baby Elie Grace one month ago. I don't have recent pictures on my computer right now.

I haven't really felt connected to Elie since she was born. I love her and have so much compassion for her. But she is so independent and hardly ever cries, so I don't really feel needed. Until today, we had to go to the doctor for two month shots. (I always dread shots cause I always try to be so strong, but it never works.) The nurse was amazing and so quick! She had the first shot finished before I even knew she had started it. But Elie knew, my poor baby cried so hard and her face was so red! When she was done she let me pick her up and hold her and cuddle with her, she never does that with me!! I was so happy to finally feel needed from her. Then when we got home, Moses went to bed and I laid on my bed with my baby girl and we talked and laughed and connected with each other, then she fell asleep with so much content.

Thank you Jesus for two amazing babies that will one day love and serve you!

Photography

2009-05-07T07:05:00.003-04:00

This is Jody and Corell. They are engaged. I had so much fun photographing them, I think they are pros. Jody is in college and Corell works at a hospital and they are so in love, its cute. We walked around the little town about a mile from where I live and got some really great shots! Thanks Jody and Corell for being so great!

A true "mom"?

2009-04-30T11:11:00.002-04:00

I think I achieved one of the marks of motherhood yesterday. We have dinner every wednesday night at church and on the fifth wednesdays in the month we have a potluck. Now, when you're single and you go to a potluck its easy to just go and not bring anything. But when you bring your family, its looked down upon to just "show up." So, I made a casserole!! Not just any casserole, I made tuna noodle casserole! I don't even know who eats tuna noodle casserole. I got to church after everyone had already eaten, so now there is a half-casserole in my refrigerator. I'm proud of my accomplishment.
Tonight...chicken Parmesan, maybe a little more classy.

Welcome Eleanora Grace!!

2009-04-02T13:03:00.007-04:00

Eleanora Grace was born on March 9 at 5:23pm. She didn't want to come on her due date so we were induced at about 8am and within a few hours she was here!

We've been home now for three weeks and its going well. My mom came and helped a lot! Moses loves her and always wants to help. He loves to hold her, kiss her, hug her, and definitely rock her. His newest thing is singing...it melts my heart!

We are really enjoying being a family of four, learning and adjusting, life is good! God is better!

So Proud!

2009-02-12T10:33:00.002-05:00

Today, Moses went poo on the potty!!! It didn't even take 20 mins. He sat there for about 7 mins while I cleaned the bathroom and he drank some milk, then out it came!! I was so proud! He didn't tell me he had to go, I can usually tell. But I think he understands, with the help of a small amount of Lindt chocolate of course! So proud of you baby Moses!!

This picture is from about 2 months ago, he's a little bigger now

Life Life Life

2009-02-04T07:22:00.002-05:00

Our family has been praying for a long time about our direction and vision for our lives. We have been in a wonderful place of serving and living at peace with our families and learning so much about each other since we got married in 2006, had a baby in 2007, and are now due for another in about four weeks!!
A couple months ago Mike decided to take a step toward attending school. He had already found one that is perfect for what he would like to do in ministry and for a career. So, I told him he should wait until he was sure he wanted to go before he applied so we wouldn't waste the application fee. But when he went on the website they were waiving the application fee for fall students! God was already there waiting for us to take the steps. We decided to take this first step and wait on the Lord, not stirring up desires that were not from Him.
After a few weeks we found out he was accepted and they transferred almost every credit he has already earned at Southeastern! Now we were ready for step two. Where could we live? What jobs could Mike have to support us, and how can this work? Everyday we had to keep turning our gaze from the world back to Jesus, we know that He provides and have faith that He will. As we were looking for apartments, Mike called the school to ask a bunch of questions. He talked to the housing department and listen to what God did for us: As soon as he asked the guy about married housing, the guy said, "you called at just the right time!" They had just decided to have married housing and when Mike asked about kids he told him that we would just have to put in a request. They have two-bedroom, apartment style dorms that are right across the street from campus! God really does provide. So our faith is boosted and we are trusting that He is looking out for us.

Our next step is to have a baby. Then we'll focus on moving and taking care of trip details. God is excellent and His ways are totally different from ours, Praise Him!

Moses and Obama

2009-01-20T17:43:00.002-05:00

Moses was part of history today watching our new president be inaugurated.

A little spring

2009-01-15T07:30:00.003-05:00

In the middle of winter, I always long for spring. I found this picture of some tulips I grew a couple springs ago. Thank you Jesus for the hope of what is to come. Last night in youth group Mike taught about faith being the assurance of things hoped for. I love how God created bulbs to be planted in the winter and then when the ground gets warm enough the beautiful little green shoots start poking out of the ground. I'm also thankful for the waiting period. If there were no waiting there would be no hope and then there would be no excitement about anything!! So, thank you that tulips take all winter to bloom, and thank you for babies that take nine months to form! Thank you Jesus for the hope of your calling and that one day you're coming back!

Here it is!

2009-01-07T08:53:00.003-05:00

I'm going to try this blogging thing so that you can be a part of our lives wherever you are! So here goes...

We are still having Christmas, even though the decorations are down in our house we are having Christmas with Mike's mom on Friday! Long-live the spirit! It was so much fun to have Moses participate in present opening, decorating and cookie making. He loved every minute of it and even learned what a "tree" is ("gee" in Moses language). Happy New Year friends!!