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".

Renfest!

Last Saturday, we ventured to the Ohio Renaissance Festival to pretend we live in medieval times. It's such a cute little village and I enjoy going every year. This year I was able to dress up unlike last year when I was pregnant. Erik wore a tunic (and period sunglasses - really, they had sunglasses back then!) and chain mail, Jenna and Sarah wore medieval princess dresses, and I wore my blue lady dress which Erik thinks is smokin' hot!

We had excellent fun on the rides, Jenna on a pony ride, and watching the shows including full armored jousting. The food was great and although it was hot - we had a blast. We also captured pictures of our friends: Aaron and Michele, Jon and Michelle, Kristan, and Eric, Justin, and Lily Near. Lily is 4 days younger than Sarah!

In other news we are going camping this weekend to Amish country. I can't wait! Hopefully we will be filled with cheese and goodies when we come back.

I have recently had a hunger to study more about God and am reading Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver, The Organic God by Margaret Feinberg, Battlefield of the Mind (still) by Joyce Meyer, and 12 Reasons why we Overeat by Joyce Meyer. I know why I like to overeat: I like food. The end. That book should be short - really, what else is there?

While reading through fantasy literature sites, I stumbled upon a site listing the 5 greatest fantasy series. They included: Sword of Shannara (very good), Sword of Truth (great), Wheel of Time (excellent), Song of Ice and Fire (rockin'), and Thomas Covenant (huh???). I think I should give Thomas Covenant another shot.

Got 79 in Quiddler today. Terrible showing.

Beautiful Songs

Well the Buckeyes lost horribly this weekend even though the girls were cheering (as you can see Sarah crawling over Jenna). Jenna was also playing "naptime" with Daddy. You can see daddy here taking a nap with a cute pink blanket.

I like to make lists (who doesn't?). I need to update some of them, but one list I've never made is my list of favorite songs. Instead of making a list of favorite songs, I've grouped songs into what I like to listen to when in a certain mood. Also, while I like many different genres, my favorites are classic rock and Christian. Now one can make the argument that books, movies, restaurants, etc can also be grouped in this manner but that takes too much effort - and since I've never made a list of songs, here goes:

Favorite Classic Rock Songs
1. The Joker
2. Magic Carpet Ride

Favorite Christian Songs
1. Sometimes by Step
2. When God Ran

Favorite Praise and Worship Songs
1. Before the Throne
2. Arms of Love

Favorite Songs to Sing to Annoy my Husband
1. Pina Colada Song
2. Dancing Queen

Quiddler score = 88

Munch on Lunch

Since Jon is always posting his and Michelle's awesome bento lunches, I thought I'd post my lunch. This is my usual lunch: peanut butter honey toast with bananas on it and yummy yogurt which consists of yogurt topped with craisins and honey. For dessert I eat half a bar of dark chocolate every day - super yum! Then Sarah has a delicious jar of babyfood. Jenna's lunch is a little more unique. I gave her a container of yogurt and she requested a bowl of cheezits. So I gave her that too. She dumped the yogurt in the cheezits then asked for some mixed nuts. She dumped that in the concoction as well. She did eat the whole bowl. Yum?

My mom brought me some green beans from her garden. So I layered them in a casserole with some carmelized onions, cherry tomatoes, and fresh grated parmesan cheese. YUM! (that was an actual yum unlike Jenna's cheezit yogurt yum). Of course, I added a lot more cheese after it baked but it was very yummy.

The big game is tonight and we are all pumped. Go Bucks! I dressed the girls in their cute buckeye cheerleader outfits and Erik and I were all decked out too. I hope we win.

In other news:

1. I've finished this round of rewrites and sent my dissertation off again. I'm hoping I graduate before 2011 as that is when my courses will not count anymore (since it will have been 10 years).
2. I'm reading two books on evolution: "Biology through the Eyes of Faith" by Richard Wright PhD and "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Intelligent Design and Darwinism" by Jonathan Wells PhD. I've been studying evolution for quite some time and my entire research is based on evolutionarily similar proteins, so I want to study this subject so that I can explain my opinion using faith and science. I'll get back to you on it :). I plan on watching Expelled sometime soon too (whenever I get it from the library).
3. I got 67 on Quiddler today.
4. Erik and I have a dream to own a castle bed-and-breakfast one day. We have stayed at Ravenwood and enjoyed it and plan on staying at other castle bed-and-breakfast establishments over time (there aren't that many). However I think it would be incredibly fun to own a bed and breakfast (I love to make food for people and breakfast food is the best!) and Erik wants to live in a castle. Whether or not this dream will come true - who knows?
   
   
   
   

food, food, food!

For our anniversary yesterday we went to the cheesecake factory - yum. I've included a picture of the slice of cheesecake I got. It was heavenly. Jenna wanted to share but I didn't want to, which sparked a discussion about how princesses share and that mommy was not being a princess.

Lately we've been on a creme brulee kick. Erik bought a torch and we've been torching the creme brulee and enjoying its silky creaminess with the hard shell on top. First I scald cream and sugar and mix it with egg yolks and vanilla. Then cook it in a water bath (see photo). After chilling for a few hours, we take it out, sprinkle sugar on it then Erik lights the torch and carmelizes the sugar. It's a fun dessert.

In addition to my creme brulee desserts, I've been playing around with making homemade pasta. Wow - what a difference. I had never made homemade pasta before but everyone does it on iron chef. So much flavor!! It doesn't take that long to make but is so delicious. Since I had some extra heavy cream (from the creme brulee), I heated it with some fresh garlic, butter, and basil to make a cream sauce. Then cooked the fresh pasta (only needs to cook for 2 minutes) tossed it with the cream sauce, more basil, and cherry tomatos from our garden. Fantastic! The picture doesn't do it justice - I promise it was good.

I also had to include this adorable picture of Sarah in the sink. There is a similar picture of my sister Missy in the sink when she was about the same age. There's something about second borns and bathing in the sink :).

57 points on Quiddler today - I lost the Q. It was a terrible showing!!

I have found the one whom my soul loves

Butterflies were dancing in my stomach. I clutched the bouquet of roses and smiled at my father. Before me were the two double doors leading to the sanctuary of the church; the altar at which I would speak my vows of marriage before God. The Wedding March started to play and the doors opened. Every step I took down the aisle brought more faces into view - friends, family, and soon-to-be family. But at the end of the aisle stood my love.

"I have found the one whom my soul loves" ~ Song of Solomon 3:4

Each step drew me nearer to him. My love. My best friend. His embrace can fill me with warmth, peace, and comfort. At times just being near to him can run shivers down my spine. Holding each others hands we recited our vows with fervor and anticipation. The priest introduced us for the first time as a married couple - I stepped into my new role as Mrs. Cooper while walking back down the aisle.

Saturday will mark our 11 year anniversary. 11 years married to my love. 11 years of joy that has only gotten better with time. I love you Erik!

I love Sarahs!

This picture of bread is called Mexican bread. It is a standard egg yeast bread but with the addition of orange jucie, coffee, chocolate and cinnamon. I thought with too many flavors it would be overwhelming. The interesting thing about this bread was that they blended together so that you couldn't really pick them all out. I'm going to tweak it and see what I come up with.

Sarah is the smiliest baby I've ever seen. Here she is on her swing (the one in the pink). I've also included a picture of Jenna on the same swing 3 years ago (actually Jenna was 2months older in the shot). They both love swinging! And Sarah loves Scruff. Check out this youtube video.

I try to stay away from politics on this blog, but I'm very excited about Sarah Palin. Erik and I had been discussing possible choices and she is a brilliant choice (not one we were guessing)! A cool link.

Jenna is enjoying school but wishes there were more girls (only one other girl in class). I hope she likes it more.

In a cooking disaster, I made meringue cookies with espresso in them. They were totally flat and did not puff like normal meringue cookies do. I'll have to investigate and see why they did this. My normal experience with meringues is that they are easy and yummy.

No quiddler score today - apparently the site isn't working!!

School

I love school. Who doesn't? I've chosen a career in academia because I love school (and learning!) so much. Even so, I often dream back to the days as a glass design engineer and wish I could go back. But I digress... Jenna started preschool today. I hope she loves learning as much as I do. I've included a picture of her with her backpack on her first day at Newstart Early Learning Center Preschool. Such a big girl! This morning we all prayed about her first day at school and prayed she would make friends. Well, after school she told us that she only wanted Sarah as a friend and no other friends. Apparently she didn't want to make friends with the kids at school. I'm hoping she breaks out of her shell. She is shy and I have NO idea where that came from :) :).

Sarah turned 8 months on Saturday - the day of Susan's wedding. Here is a family picture at the wedding. We all had an excellent time, especially Jenna who discovered Shirley Temples (a drink made with sprite and grenadine topped with a maraschino cherry). Here's a picture of Sarah with the lamb. She was STANDING UP on Sunday. This girl is everywhere :).

In other news:

1. It is finals week for me and I have a stack of grading as thick as this new book Erik is reading.
2. I've finished the Traveler by John Twelve Hawks and loved it. It is a trilogy so I want to read the next part. Very good and thought provoking!
3. I used to think Mayonnaise was better than Miracle Whip but a friend said he liked Miracle Whip better. So I tried it again and was surprised at how awesome Miracle Whip is.
4. I got 73 points today on Quiddler with a max of 71 so only one 5 letter word - a very poor showing.