Salty Caramels

Starbucks has influenced my new obsession with a salty caramel flavor from their salty caramel signature hot chocolate. I wanted to take the salty sweet flavor combination and make something different. I tried two types of baked goods and some caramels.

First I made a chocolate cookie crust and melted some caramels on top then sprinkled it with sea salt. The flavor was good but the chocolate layer was not chocolatey enough and did not work well with the chewy caramel layer (this is the last picture). To improve, I made a homemade brownie like layer then made homemade caramel sauce (using heavy cream obviously) and poured that on top. Finally I topped it with sea salt. These bars were much better however the caramel sauce was a little too liquidy. I'm still working on the bars. Finally, I put some of the homemade caramel into ice cube trays then dipped them in melted chocolate and sprinkled sea salt on them. These caramels were delicious.
Last night was also a success in that I got to the remote before Erik and thus was able to watch the Sound of Music rather than football. Yea! Erik ended up painting the bathroom rather than watching the Sound of Music.

I got 62 on Quiddler today even though I made the word "routing". That was a pretty awesome word!

There once was a blog...

A Limerick I wrote about Sarah:
There once was a young bumblebee
Who constantly slobbers on my knee
She trashed her cake
All toys she must break
But to my heart she holds the key

A Limerick I wrote about Jenna:
There once was a gentle lady bug
Who dances and sings on the rug
A princess who twirls
In dresses and pearls
And I love when she gives me a hug

Christmas was fantastic and put me in the Limerick mood. Check out all these pictures. The cake next to the "1" is a bumblebee since that's the nickname we've given Sarah. Merry Christmas!
52 on Quiddler and Erik got 62!

Sarah is 1!!!

Happy Birthday Sarah! I can't believe one year ago today Sarah Noelle was born. While Jenna and Sarah do have some similar features, you can see that they do look quite different (Jenna left, Sarah right). I dressed Sarah in the same dress Jenna wore for her first year picture.

To celebrate Sarah's birthday we went to Bob Evans for lunch. Sarah's nickname "Destroyer of Worlds" given to her by Daddy was absolutely true at Bob Evans. We have started to leave 30-40% tips due to the huge mess left at our table after dining out.

Erik has now started singing to Sarah songs like "you are my Sarah angel, you do not tap when attacking, 4/4 and flying, you are my Sarah Angel". As a previous Magic the Gathering player, this was cause to roll my eyes.

In other news:

1. I decided to take back the silk long underwear. I hope that was the right decision.
2. Erik and I played racquetball last night and I scored 3 points against him!!! Prior to last night I had only been able to score 1 point against him. I'm ready for the pros!
3. I got 92 on Quiddler today and got to make the word "nth". Fun stuff.
4. Can't wait for Christmas! For unto us a Child is born Isaiah 9:6
   
   
   

Gift Dilemma

Christmas is a time of giving and I've learned after 11 years of marriage that my husband likes giving, especially expensive gifts. So I'm wondering, do you tell your significant other if he/she bought you something that cost a lot of money that you don't really want? Do you take it back knowing that your significant other loves to give expensive gifts?

Many birthdays and Christmases Erik will buy the best item, when I ask for something. For example, I asked for a jewelry box last year and he bought a $170 Amish made jewelry box. It was awesome but I would have been perfectly happy with a $30 jewelry box from Meijer. My bread machine cost $200 but the $40 bread machine was fine with me. So this year I asked for long underwear assuming he would go to Meijer and buy the $13 pair of long underwear I saw. Not at all. Erik bought silk long underwear for $100.
Now I'm stuck. Do I tell him that I don't want $100 long underwear and risk hurting his feelings or do I graciously accept the gift from him. It is really nice. Erik likes to give nice gifts to me. I can ask this question because he doesn't read the blog *smile*.

In other news, for our church's Christmas party I made a trifle (Jenna is holding it). I colored whip cream red and green and thought it looked pretty. The layers are brownie, pudding, and whip cream. Yum.

Another picture I've uploaded is Sarah in the bathroom. This is the reason I need lasik. I went upstairs to put my contacts in and was probably gone for 90 seconds. When I got back down the bathroom looked like this. Sarah discovered that toilet paper is fun to play with and the books should be strewn all about. If I would have had lasik this never would have happened :).

I got 44 on Quiddler today and lost the Q and J. That was terrible!

Do you hear what I hear?

I posted my favorite list of Christmas songs then I heard this song "Do you hear what I hear?" and really like this song now. I've heard it before but forgot it when I made the original list. Of course, I don't know where it would fall in my original list but I think it is top 10 worthy.

Now I have a good segue (I think that's spelled right). Onto a topic in which no one hears the victims. My heart has been breaking lately. Over the past two months there have been many times where I'll just weep uncontrollably thinking about unborn babies who are being murdered. In fact tonight I have been crying for the past two hours. This song by Kenny Chesney and this video made me cry (although I cry at some commercials so that's not really saying much).

Sanctity of Life Sunday is Jan. 18 and Erik and I are buying this book "Why Pro-Life" for the entire congregation. It is very short and took me less than 2 hours to read yet it lays a good foundation for the pro-life viewpoint. I recommend this book to anyone although I'll probably have several extra copies so if you want one :) you can have one. Maybe it will be everyone's birthday, Christmas, anniversary, etc gift!

61 points on Quiddler today!

10 Songs of Christmas

In the spirit of Christmas, I've decided to make a list of my top 10 favorite Christmas songs. I probably should have made a top 12 list but the 12 days of Christmas didn't even make the cut so I didn't bother. My favorite Christmas Songs:

10. O Little Town of Bethlehem
9. Jingle Bells Don't be disturbed that the snowman loses his head in the beginning
8. Mary Did You Know?
7. Silent Night
6. The First Noel This video is pretty neat!
5. O Come All Ye Faithful I'm pumped we are seeing Transiberian Orchestra on Saturday!!
4. Joy to the World
3. O Holy Night Sorry about the Celine Dion thing
2. Hark the Harold Angels Sing

and my number one favorite Christmas song (that for some reason has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus - the real reason for Christmas!):
1. Let it Snow

In other news:

• Starting December 22 I will not be wearing my contacts until January 22 when I'm scheduled to get Lasik! Yea! I can't wait. It will be $3800 for a doctor to shine a laser bean into my eye and cut it all up but then I'll be able to see. All the time.
• Jenna and I made a gingerbread house again. We had a great time and I've included the picture. She always wants to eat the house while we're making it.
• Today I went to the Banana Leaf vegetarian Indian Restaurant with my friend Susan. It was pretty good but they didn't have naan. They also didn't have chicken curry, the only thing Erik actually likes at Indian restaurants. Even so, they provided bottomless cups of mango lassi - yum!
• 53 points on Quiddler today. I made the word "drove" but was stuck with "dqut". The only thing I could do was make the word "ut". Bummer.
  

Children and cats roasting by an open fire

On Friday, Jenna participated in her preschool Christmas play. I labeled her in the picture. It was several 3-4 year olds standing on the stage "singing" a Christmas song to the tune of the Wheels on the Bus. It was very cute. Jenna did well and we think she's ready for Broadway now.

Since we put the Christmas tree up the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we've been sitting in front of the fireplace drinking hot chocolate (or chocolate milk - Jenna, or juice - Sarah). It is somewhat peaceful sitting in front of the fire wrestling Sarah and Scruffles to keep them far enough away from the fire while Jenna jumps on top of us. Serenity.



Yesterday I made white chocolate cranberry cookies. These were the best recipe of white chocolate cranberry cookies I've made. I actually couldn't eat the dough because it smelled so strongly of alcohol. In the double batch I made there was a eighth of a cup of brandy. I didn't get drunk off the cookies but the flavor was great.

Jenna and Sarah are somewhat starting to play with each other. Possibly. It remains to be seen whether they will play as friends any time soon.

I've been playing Scramble on Facebook in the past week. It's digital boggle. What I don't understand is how Joel can get 218 points in 3 minutes. I've been playing for the past couple of days and my highest score is 112. He has doubled that. I have played Boggle against Joel and he has proven his great abilities but he won't divulge his secrets. Even thought I've asked (pestered) him repeatedly.

I only got 50 points on Quiddler today. For some reason it didn't think grep was a word. Hello - unix???

Baking for Christmas

Baking for Christmas is so much fun. Today I made mocha nut balls and cocoa mint crinkles (see picture). Usually I make 7 different treats for Christmas. This year I'm thinking of:

1. Mocha Nut Balls
2. Cocoa mint crinkles
3. M&M cookies
4. White chocolate cranberry cookies
5. Cut outs

After that I'm not sure what to make. I could always fall back on the usual chocolates - and those are easy and fun to make with Jenna.

Both girls are sick now. I've taken them to the doctor 3 times. This last time I finally got antibiotics for Jenna only. Erik and I both went to the doctor and got antibiotics right away. There must be some stigma about giving antibiotics to kids. Antibiotics = kills bad germs. I'm not understanding what the problem is. Erik found a site from the American Academy of Pediatrics mentioning when antibiotics should be given and it's basically never. Bummer. I understand all the risks, superbugs, blah, blah, blah. I want drugs for my girls to make them better!

I just finished the third Mistborn book: The Hero of Ages. It had a great ending that finished up the story nicely. Since Brandon Sanderson will be finishing the Wheel of Time series, it was nice to read this book which tied up all the loose ends of the Mistborn trilogy really well.

I'm also reading "the Lost Colony" which is the 5th Artemis Fowl book. I've enjoyed all the Artemis Fowl books as they are on par with Harry Potter - fun, easy reads. This book I'm listening to on audiobook and the reader is excellent! I listen on my mp3 player when I work out but if Erik is there he makes me talk to him so I can't listen to my book. Maybe I should get him his own mp3 player for Christmas....

86 on Quiddler today and got to make the word "woo" but "wooy" and "woa" are not words. I thought those were things you said to horses?

The Data-basses

Missy and I both got each other Simply Guitar for Christmas. This is a book and DVD that teaches you how to play the guitar. I've always wanted to learn guitar so this will give me a chance to learn.

What I'd really like to learn is to play the bass guitar. I'd love to be in a band called the data-basses. And we'd all play bass guitar. We'd have songs like
"Rollback baby" and
"You've got the primary key to my heart" and
"Select me from everyone" and
"You are the sequel for me" and
"Let us join together forever" and
"You are my one-to-one relationship" and
"I'll update your trigger"

Maybe I should quit my day job??

2x=20, x=?

In the spirit of Top Ten Lists, I've created a top ten list of my favorite equations (or identities) and a little blurb as to why this equation made the list. The list is also counting from 10 to 1 to build up suspense as to what my favorite equation is!! (note: ^ indicates raised to a power)

10. A=(pi)r^2. The area of a circle. I've always loved this equation because of the "pie are not square, they are round" math joke.

9. E=mc^2. Einstein's famous energy equation. It equates mass and energy and is the initials of my husband's name.

8. sin^2(theta) + cos^2(theta) = 1. This is a trigonometric function defining a unit circle. I've always thought it was fun to add sine and cosine. It just seems so wrong, so dirty somehow.

7. y'/y^n +P(x)/y^(n-1) = Q(x) Bernoulli's equation. This equation is a nonlinear differential equation that we used constantly in classes in undergrad. If I had no idea what to do on a problem, I would just write down Bernoulli's equation and a bunch of other stuff and usually got a lot of partial credit. Yea - I'm a great engineer!

6. x =(-b +/- sqrt(b^2 -4ac))/2a Quadratic formula. This is an old standby. Such a great way to solve quadratic equations. Who doesn't love this formula!

5. F=ma. Force = mass times acceleration. Just thinking about this equation makes me think of gravity and I just love gravity. This equation is really all you need to know about physics.

4. F(s) = (integral from 0 to infinity) e^(-st) f(t)dt Laplace Transform. This is another fun equation we used in school. It was really fun because we got to put s's in our differential equations wherever we wanted.

3. F(n) = F(n-1) + F(n-2) Fibonacci sequence. This sequence adds the previous two numbers in the sequence to obtain the current value. This sequence is interesting because the shape of the Nautilus shell follows this sequence as do some flowers. Math in nature - very cool!

2. a^2 + b^2 = c^2 Pythagorean theorem. This is such a great equation to solve for one of the sides of a triangle. One of my greatest math moments is when I realized that 3^2 +4^2 = 5^2. I'm not sure why this was such a math moment, but I remember thinking math was beautiful!

1. e^(i(pi)) = -1. This is actually an identity rather than an equation. However it has all sorts of fun math symbols in it! e is Euler's number, i is an imaginary number - pretty cool, and pi - also a cool number. Tons of irrational numbers together somehow equals negative one. It kind of makes no sense, but on some level it does.

So my faithful readers, are there any I forgot? Are there any you think should have been on here?

I also had to put Sarah's picture with the lamb. She's 11 months old now!!

Stacking the Candyland deck

Today we were playing a friendly game of Candyland when Jenna got upset because she hadn't drawn a red card. My opinion was, just wait and sometime you'll probably draw a red card. Jenna has Daddy wrapped around her finger so as he was shuffling he stacked the deck so she could get a red card. CHEATER!!! Of course she won the game. However cheaters never win! I think it is all a conspiracy against me so that I'll get the gingerbread man and have to go back to the beginning.

I'm not sure what Sarah's obsession with the dishwasher is and this video shows her dishwasher work at its finest. Erik also thinks he can throw her up in the air since she's the backup. He throws her pretty high and it's a little scary but she loves it as you can see.

I got 77 points in Quiddler today and made the words creole (5 point bonus) and dyking (I did NOT know that was a word - what does it even mean? do I want to know?) and noms. What an awesome quiddler day for me!

This blog post is a little lighter than the last couple even though I'm really excited about all the discussion! Maybe we'll have more exciting topics in the future. Although I do think Erik's stacking the candyland deck is worthy of discussion. How can we trust him in other games if he is willing to go to lengths to stack the candyland deck? I tell ya, I'm always back at the gingerbread man!

Another Perspective on Contraception

I'm so excited that I got 13 comments on my last post!! And that everyone is thinking about this topic. One of the professors at Devry has 6 children and I've copied his thoughts below. He puts his faith into action. I've known him for about 7 years and has never complained about having too many kids or them being too much work. To him, they are a blessing. He has the right attitude - one that I'm working on :).

So what can I say? I am a “cradle” catholic - born and raised in the catholic faith. With my children growing – my oldest now 14 – I need to address this issue with them. It’s for them that I am most concerned but right on the heels of that I must say God loves each and every child and what is happening in America and all over the world with abortion (and thus most forms of contraception) is the second greatest evil that world has ever known. The concentration camps held only a small fraction of the dead that have fallen to our practices since Roe V. Wade and the abortion numbers don’t even begin to estimate the number of chemically induced abortions due to abortive contraception methods. BTW Roe – who brought the case – is now one of leading prolife advocates in the US.

My personal experience and thoughts on birth control have indeed been tempered by the teachings of the church – doesn’t it sound better to say ‘family planning’??? Did God give us the intellect and tools to help us plan a family? Absolutely. Does he want us to do so without killing? Absolutely. This is not a social question or a health question. If you truly believe life begins at conception then anything we do that stands in the way of that life coming to fruition as God intended places our souls at risk, more so if we knowingly lead others along that path. Parents, health professionals, and public policy makers have great responsibility. Now, I am not saying everyone who uses contraception or has promoted abortive methods has sinned. Sin involves the intention as well as the action. One must know what they are doing is wrong for it to be a matter of sin.

My aunt Rose is the group that did not realize the contraception methods she was using were abortive. To this day they have not had children but they wanted them very badly. She was pregnant once and only after she lost the child did she come to find out the her birth control methods may have played a roll. Can God grant a child to a couple using birth control? Yes – unfortunately things do not always work out for those children conceived during the contraceptive use. She still blames herself but again at the time she did not know that what she was doing could harm the baby – she is one of the gentlest people I know which is why I think this still hurts for her today.

So what do/will I tell my children and what do Kathy I practice? I will (do) tell my children that the availability of pornography on the internet and the sexuality that they see on TV and elsewhere is dangerous. When one begins to only think of sex and not the person or relationship involved not to mention the potential for children then one has gone astray. Sex should not be selfish or casual and thought of as without consequence. Only in a real loving relationship can it truly be experienced for all that it is – which I would dare say – includes an openness to God and his plans. The true potential and meaning come to fruition only in marriage. Not “I think we are going to get married” but the true commitment it takes to raise a family.

So how does one plan a family? God knows that there are times when we would like to postpone a pregnancy but what he asks is an openness to his will too. He also knows that there are couples who desperately want a child or children. If a woman’s fertility can be tracked and ovulation predicted reliably then that’s really all you need. Men are typically always fertile so that part doesn’t matter too much. Abstain during fertile times and you can prevent pregnancy as reliably as any of the artificial birth control methods. Don’t abstain during fertile times and you are likely to conceive – some couples more than others :). Kathy & I use the sympto – thermal method to track her fertility. IF it is practiced as prescribed it has 99.7% rate of accomplishing your goal – either to conceive or prevent pregnancy. Now, I know, Kathy and I have 6 kids so you might be thinking – yeah right, but, we planned on a big family 4 – 5 children and we were trying for a sister for Becca. We did get a little lax and so Sam came along but it really wasn’t the method’s fault and do you know what? Sam is one of the greatest gifts God has given us. It would tear me apart not to have him in our life.

So… our computers all have net nanny on them, the natural family planning methods are now high tech – software can be found at www.ccli.org/software - and accepted by medical professional as 99.7% reliable, and when our temporary stay here on earth is done this is one question I hope I won’t have to worry about HIM asking.

What about contraceptives?

For the past three weeks I've gone to an abortion clinic to pray at 5:45am. They perform abortions at 6am at this clinic. A group of 5 of us stand there and pray for an hour as the women walk into the clinic. It's very hard to watch them walk in. Today a girl walked in with her latte and her attitude just seemed so casual to me - it makes me tear up.

Today I felt God impressing on me the phrase "what about contraceptives?"

I've taken this to God and discussed it with Erik and we will be taking a new direction in our lives. The pro-life movement has a very strong Catholic base which takes a stand against contraceptives. I read this very long article about it as well as some others which raise good points.

So my vast readership, what about contraceptives?

Goals

D&D buddies came to visit on Saturday and we all had a good time. I'm sporting my i (be rational) pi (get real) shirt which is totally funny! Aaron and Michele are next to me, and next to them is Matt. Although we always call Matt Bogg since that's his character's name. Jenna even called him Bogg - how cute! Jon is wearing his Thriller shirt and looking mighty svelte! And Michelle was wearing a cute bento shirt but you can't see it.


Jon has a list of 43 things he would like to do - I guess they are goals. My other friend Kimberly also has a list but hers is 101 things she would like to do in 1 year. And she tracks her progress on her blog. Her goals are measurable which I like but I don't want to keep track of 101 things for an entire year. I think I might spend all year keeping track of my goals! So to simplify things for myself yet still get on the goal bandwagon, I'm going to work on 25 goals for 100 days. I started yesterday, which means my goal time period will last until Feb. 15. I'm keeping track of this in Excel (obviously) so that I can easily calculate my progress.

Here are my goals:

1. Go to bed by 11pm (50 out of 100 days)
2. Read 2 fiction books
3. Read 1 nonfiction book
4. Read 1 journal paper
5. Lose 5 lbs
6. Exercise (30 out of 100 days - 30min)
7. Pray at abortion clinic on Fridays (12 times)
8. Go on 3 dates with husband
9. Go on 2 mommy dates with Jenna
10. Write in journal (80 out of 100 days)
11. Do Iron Chef
12. Try 3 new vegetables
13. Memorize 1 verse per week (15 verses)
14. Read to kids besides bedtime (45 out of 100 days)
15. Clean desk 3 times
16. Take Stats or Graphics design course
17. Have girls movie night
18. Learn something new about GIMP
19. Serve dinner at Faith Mission
20. Take a Pilates class
21. Try 10 new recipes
22. Level my EQ2 character 2 levels
23. Do 3 things for my secret sister (mommy group)
24. Paint master bathroom
25. Write conference/journal paper

So this is my list. I'll keep you updated on how I'm doing. I really wanted to add "Learn one song on the guitar" but Erik doesn't want me to play right now. Maybe I'll save that goal for later.
Had to post this cute picture of Jenna pushing Sarah in the laundry basket. They were actually playing!
Went to the doctor yesterday and found out I have pneumonia. Great! Let's hope no one else gets sick from me.
BTW, I got 78 on Quiddler and made the word floaty. I really didn't think it would let me do floaty but it did!

Commit to the Lord

While I'm bummed about the result of the election, I will support our new President and pray for him. The previous two elections resulted in bickering and hateful responses such as "selected not elected". The people have spoken - Obama is the President. We should support him, even if we do not agree with everything he does. We are bigger than the hateful complaining of the last two elections.

In other matters, I got 84 on Quiddler today and made the words: verse and giddy. I feel giddy after making those words!

I also discovered a new verse that I'm going to add to my list (someday when I update it) and I think I'll place it very high! Proverbs 16:3 "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Isn't that verse rockin'!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is election day - a tremendous privilege that we have the right to vote. Our country is founded on principles of freedom: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to peaceably assemble, and freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances (1st Amendment). However millions of babies have this freedom denied from them. These are the unborn.

Some Bible verses about the taking of innocent lives:
"Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the LORD your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed" Deut 19:10

"He sent them to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the LORD proclaimed by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely these things happened to Judah according to the LORD's command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, 4 including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was not willing to forgive." 2 Kings 24:2-4

"16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,hands that shed innocent blood, "
Proverbs 6:16-19

"therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you."
Ezekiel 35:6

These verses tell how God despises the shedding of innocent blood. Unborn babies are murdered every day under the banner of "choice". I can not stand before God one day saying "yes I voted for someone who supported legalized abortion - the murder of innocent lives". This has been on my heart since college when I was a member of Students for Life. We were small but managed to fill the Oval at OSU with crosses depicting the number of lives lost to abortion in a day. Sometimes I lay awake at night thinking of these babies and I tear up. This must end.

So I will be voting pro-life tomorrow.

Trick or Treat!

Jenna's preschool had a Halloween party today and she dressed up as a Tiger. However she would not roar since she was a nice tiger. While she was refusing to roar, another catlike creature (besides Scruffles) was stalking around the house. Check out this picture of Sarah standing in the dishwasher. She is so attracted to the dishwasher. It's like Scruffles and the can opener. As soon as I start unloading it, she rushes in to play with it. It's a dishwasher!!

Later tonight Jenna went out trick or treating and we all gorged ourselves on her candy. I dread the day when she no longer will share her candy with us :).

Tomorrow we are going to the Melting Pot (yum)! Amanda, Missy, and Megan will be down here and we'll be going out for a day of fun (shopping and melting pot!). We'll be going after my class on Saturday morning. I hope students will be excited to go to class Saturday morning :).

Got only 16 points on Quiddler today. Horrible!

Jenna-isms

Why is orange juice orange?


Why do I like cheese?


Why is healthy food healthy?



These are some questions for which I stumble with the answers or my answers are "because God made it that way".


Jenna has also said things like "there are too many boys, how can I choose just one?" after we discussed marriage.



The following is a prayer she and I were saying before bed: Mommy: "Lord please protect our family" Jenna: "from what" Mommy: "from bad things" Jenna: "like what" Mommy: "like sickness and robbers" Jenna: "and ghosts?" Mommy: "yes ghosts too".


My personal favorite is when I was tickling her the other day she said to me "Mommy can you stop being the tickle monster and start being Gina Cooper". As if I had ceased to be myself when tickling her. So cute!

Jenna also has two "chocolate chipper" my little ponies. Because of this we've had several discussions about how to tell them apart. This has led to her asking the question "how can we tell Miss Jessica (her preschool teacher - shown below) from Jessica unicorn (also shown below)." Well I've included both pictures and I'm sure you can't tell the difference. I mean, they're both named Jessica. I'll let you try and figure out who is who.

In other news:

1. I'm reading three new books that have come out: The Hero of Ages (third Mistborn book), Brisingr (third Eragon book), and the Longing (third Beverly Lewis - Courtship of Nellie Mae Fisher book).
2. I've put Thomas Covenant on hold.
3. Sarah is 10 months old (as of the 23rd) and I put her picture up with the white lamb.
4. Grades were due today at 3pm and I finished them at 2:30am last night. That was a rough night!
5. I went to lunch yesterday with two girlfriends, one I haven't seen in years!
6. I got 47 on Quiddler today and made the most awesome word ever: storing and got a 10 point bonus! Unfortunately I was left with a Q and a TH and thus lost lots of points.
7. Sunday I'll start another 3 day fast for the unborn. FOCA is scary!
8. I spent a few hours distributing right to life literature this weekend.
9. Time for bed!
   
   

Hot Cocoa

Mmmmm....hot cocoa. Nothing is better than hot cocoa on a cold day. Gooey marshmellows, yummy warm hot chocolate warming you up all the way to your fingers and toes. Starbucks has come out with new signature hot chocolates. I've tried both Salty Caramel and Hazelnut. Wow! These hot cocoas are the kind you can imagine drinking on a brisk day sitting by a fireplace. They are incredible. Erik and I went on a coffee date (it's not really a date since Jenna and Sarah are there) to Starbucks and got a salty caramel hot chocolate (for us) and a strawberry frappuccino (for Jenna). We also sampled the pumpkin cream cheese muffin - yum!! So I decided to make these muffins. I made pumpkin muffins and put a dollop of cream cheese mixture in each muffin (I didn't really have enough). You can see the muffin from the picture. The cream cheese mixture was 8oz cream cheese, 1/3 cup of powdered sugar and a little bit of vanilla. I didn't want it to be as sweet as cream cheese frosting but I did want to add a little sweetness. The combination was excellent! Then I threw some toasted pumpkin seeds on top. Yum Yum!


We have been on a painting frenzy lately. We've painted our hall bathroom and our spare bedroom. We're moving Jenna out of her room to the spare room since it is much warmer. Next we decided to paint our room a sky blue color. I can't wait! The dangerous issue with painting is tackling a scary project: the den. I've uploaded a picture of the den. It truly is scary. However, if we were to clean it out and paint it - I think it would brighten up the whole house. At least it would brighten up the den and Sarah wouldn't crawl around eating network cables (hopefully).

Of course I've added a picture of the girls wearing their buckeye cheerleader outfits. And I have to add this video of them "playing". Yes - this is actually what Jenna thinks of Sarah. Someday I'm *sure* they'll be friends (fingers crossed).

83 points on Quiddler today. I guess "famer" is not a word. Apparently there is no such verb as "to fame".

Some Great Days

These past two days of prayer and fasting have been so fantastic I just had to write about it. I came home from Devry tonight thinking that I should fast everyday. When I told Erik that he said that I would be dead soon and that he liked me.

While I was going to focus my prayers on our country and the unborn, God has been showing me so much and been surprisingly talkative. God has been doing so much with me.

1. I've been convicted to change, give, and press on.
2. I like to read fantasy. I picked up one of the previous series I had read and stopped (not Thomas Covenant) and was just reading along and half of the book finished. I was convicted to stop reading and take the book back to the library. It is a gruesome story but I've read some pretty bad stuff and it's never affected me before. I had to take it back though because I would be tempted to keep reading it. I did.
3. I've been convicted to give to those in need including people by the side of the road and I did it today (even though I had to turn the car around dangerously!).
4. I was talking with a few of my students tonight and one of the guys mentioned that he wasn't sure if Devry was the right place for him to go to school. He prayed before his first class and asked God to help him feel comfortable here. He said the admission process was smooth and that I was the first teacher he had (I don't remember him!). He said on the first day of class that I mentioned that I go to church and he knew he made the right decision. Wow. I almost cried when he said that.

Thank you God for this blessing!

David got hitched!

Congratulations David and Becca! On Thursday we flew to Vermont for David and Becca's wedding. They got married outside at Mt. Philo State Park in Burlington, VT. Wow! New England is beautiful in fall. I mean BEAUTIFUL! Flying over Burlington we couldn't take our eyes off of the landscape. This was the perfect place and time to get married. Scratch that, it was the second perfect place and time, the first was Canton, OH on Sept. 6, 1997.

I've included some family pictures as well as a picture of the view. We really couldn't capture the beauty of this place. It was a perfect day too.

In other news:

1. Jenna's preschool took a Block O picture with all the kids dressed in their buckeye attire. Jenna is part of the big O.
2. Tomorrow I start my 3 day fast for America and the unborn. We certainly need prayer here.
3. We are watching the season of firefly and love it!If I had a list of TV shows this one would be very high.
4. Apparently Diet Coke kills sperm. I'm really not surprised at this fact.
5. I got 52 on Quiddler today. I was left with CAAH and lost the C. Apparently you can't make a word out of CHAA or even CHA. I really thought CHA was a word!
   
   
   
   

Fall Fest

This was our last camping trip of the season and we went out with a bang! Literally, watch Erik playing with fire and nondairy creamer.

So no banging or burning with serious consequences occurred but we did have a good time. I can see why the fall festival at Alum Creek State Park was booked up so early (several months in advance!). There were lots of fun activities: we decorated pumpkins, went on a wagon ride, played on the swingset, toured the nature center and saw live turtles and stuffed coyotes, and the kids went trick-or-treating. Erik said it was the best trick-or-treating experience he's been on (not sure if that includes his childhood or Jenna's?).

We went with a big group and one friend who is a Michigan fan had his car vandalized by an OSU fan. You can see the damage in this picture as well as the culprit walking away (Duane - our vacation buddy).

All-in-all it was a blast. I've also included a picture of Sarah eating lentil soup. Yum. I love soup but Erik doesn't and now apparently Jenna doesn't since she wouldn't touch the lentil soup. Only Sarah and I ate it - bummer.

Speaking of eating, I ate so much on these past two camping trips that I should probably start working out again :). I guess it will cancel out since I'm starting a thre day fast next Sunday. I stopped pumping last Sunday, Sept. 28 so now I can do this fast that God has been pressing on my mind lately. I'll let you know how it goes!

I got 75 on Quiddler today which was horrible. I made the words "sweat" and "clear" which I thought were pretty awesome but the high score was 115!

Amish Country

We went camping last weekend to Amish country and had an excellent time! I knew the weekend would be good when I walked down the steps to see Sarah playing in the dirt of our plant. Just look at the mischevious grin on her face!

Our drive to Amish Country Campsites was memorable. I've included a picture of some of the hills (really, it just looks like a roller coaster - that's about how steep the hills were). Of course, Erik handled the drive with the camper beautifully!

On Friday we went to Heini's Cheese Chalet and spent $40 on cheese and other yummy treats. Now all the cheese is in the freezer along with everything else we buy (someday we'll eat this stuff, really). After that we went to Rolling Ridge Ranch. This was incredible! We were on a wagon while animals came right up to us and snacked on food we held out to them in flimsy plastic buckets. I say flimsy because these animals were BIG! Watch Erik trying to feed some elk! It's a short video but I promise they were crazy :). I snapped some pictures of the elk, the Masts (no they were not part of the animals we were feeding), and some big horned thing that I can't remember what it is - it's big though.

The rest of the camping trip was lots of fun too! I had my obligatory 2 smores a night and the girls spent one night at my parents house. I felt very rested after this trip. Such a fun time! I'm sad camping season will be coming to and end for us. We are taking the camper back in a week. Bummer!

Sarah is now 9 months old. How time flies! She is also 10% in weight at a whopping 17lbs. She's a tiny thing but that doesn't stop her from getting around. Here is a picture of her with the white lamb. She is getting so big!

Jenna has decided that she likes to perform (who switched this child at birth???). Here is Jenna's rendition of "Strong Tower" by Kutless. This is the actual song. I can't tell the difference can you?
Today was an awesome Quiddler day for me. I got 88 points and made the word "lazing".