adam's wife's blog

I was given a copy of A Year With God by the publisher, Thomas Nelson.  I thought this book was fine.  I read other reviews, about it, that were pretty harsh - and some that were glowing.  I'm going to take middle ground on this one and give it three out of five stars.  I enjoyed each reading from this daily reader.  The focus is on the words of God - all Old Testament readings.  I found that a refreshing change from most Christian literature.  Also, it wasn't as "fluffy" as most daily readers.  I like that in a book. I found one factual error - but it was just the wrong name of a Bible character and a typo - the main points weren't heretical or anything.  On Amazon, other reviewers seemed to be looking for things about which to complain.  I think new and different perspectives on the Bible and God's words are interesting and I can learn from them.  I like the undated pages.  I'm a pretty sequential person, and I like that I c...

So here's a little blurb about a contest from Tyndale Press.  Here's some information about the contest - and how to enter to win.  You do not have to be on FaceBook to enter on their FaceBook page. Tyndale is highlighting three ministries, Wycliffe Bible Translators , Oasis International , and The Dream Center , (click on the link to learn more details about these ministries) and by voting for one of these ministries you’ll be entered to win one of many prizes.   To enter, visit the NLT Facebook page by clicking here . There are several levels of prizes you can win, here are the details:   With the Give the Word Bible Contest and Giveaway:     • Ministries win: Each time the NLT Facebook Page reaches a fan count milestone, votes will be tallied and the three ministries will receive cash donations from the New Living Translation and Tyndale House Publishers.     • Everyone wins: Everyone who enters on the Bible Co...

This is life for me most days.  Juggling both babies and trying to get the house cleaned.  I've had struggles with contentment lately.  Wishing away some of this lifestyle.  But today I really came to grips with some things.  God has given me so many blessings.  I have two, healthy and lovely babies.  I have a husband, who is not only incredibly handsome, but he's devoted to me and to his family.  I was feeling the warmth of fresh baby puke on my back and thinking about how unhappy I am and how rough my life is.  That was when I realized that I could have actual problems.  What If one of my kids was sick?  What if my husband stopped coming home at night?  What if my belongings went up in flames?  What if I truly had something to complain about?! I realized (again) that I have a pretty charmed life.  I'm going to try and work on my attitude a bit today.  

Sometimes they just play together like this.  Miles will be busy in the Pack N Play and Lily will ask to get in.  I think it is so cute when they are in there together.  I'm so thankful that they love each other so much.

Every morning - for as long as I will let her - Lily Ann piles on layer after layer of fine clothing.  Then she changes it.  She tries on different shoes, hats, jackets.  She even tries to squeeze into her baby brother's clothes.  She walks out in some of the most precious "get-ups" and it makes my day.  These are just a few of the pictures I have of some of her wardrobe picks.

Such a sweet moment.  My two babies are napping peacefully.  Believe it or not - this picture isn't even staged.  I was laying between them, trying to get Lily Ann to sleep and playing with Miles at the same time, when I noticed - they were both falling asleep at the same time.  It's as if they'd had a little meeting and decided, "let's give mom a breather this afternoon."  However it happened, I'm enjoying a the break.  I love these babies so very much - but it sure is nice to be able to take some time out and enjoy a little peace.  I haven't done much to keep this blog updated lately.  So now this can be erased from my mental "to do list".  Now I'd better pick up the house (again) before second shift.

This is another book review for the publisher, Thomas Nelson.  I read Your Money God's Way: Overcoming the 7 Money Myths that Keep Christians Broke by Amie Streater .  It was a pretty good book.  The author shares many stories of people in really tough financial situations and outlines solutions to their problems.  She writes with a lot of honesty and a bit of humor and grace.  It is difficult to read through a book about personal finance and not fall asleep - but this one was much more interesting than I had anticipated.  She promotes an 80-10-10 plan (giving 10 percent, saving 10 percent and living on 80 percent of your income).  She also endorses the Dave Ramsey philosophy of financial freedom.  I'm down with all of that.  This is a good book and I recommend it.

I just wanted to thank you if you've been clicking the amazon.com link on my blog to do your amazon shopping - or the kellyscloset.com link for your cloth diapering needs.  I don't know who it is that has been shopping through my website, but some of you are and I really appreciate it.  Even though it costs you nothing more, for each purchase you make, I earn 5-6% in advertising fees when you click on the link through my weblog.  With the holiday season approaching, I do hope you'll continue to remember to visit the weblog before you shop online. And, again, thank you SO MUCH for shopping - and for reading my weblog and voting in my mindless polls.   :) -amanda  

Here are some recent pictures of the whole family.  We have moved back to the desert - and we're all very happy and healthy.  As you may have noticed, I have little time to update this little weblog lately.  But I'm having a great time being a mom to these two, wonderful babies. Adam is working hard so that I can stay at home with these little blessings.  We are making some pretty big  sacrifices to afford this luxury - but it is really important to both of us.  I'm just thankful to have such a hardworking (and exceedingly handsome) husband and some amazing, lovable, chubby babies to cuddle. God is so good to us and we couldn't be much happier. 

A close friend of mine gave us a popsicle-making mold.  I made some healthy fudgesicles for Lily Ann.  She called them bicycles - chocolate bicycles .  And she loved them. Here's the recipe: 3/4 c. coconut milk 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 1-2 T agave nectar (to taste) Combine these ingredients in a saucepan, over low heat - just until mixed.  Then pour into popsicle molds and freeze.  What makes this recipe healthy? 1.  Coconut Milk - Contains medium-chain fatty acids that are easily metabolized and used by the body.  Also, the fat in coconut milk is over 50% lauric acid .  Lauric acid is the component found in human breast milk that protects infants from certain illnesses.  This nutritional benefit is unique to coconut milk and is not found in other foods. 2.  Cocoa - High in Iron. 3.  Cinnamon - Cinnamon is a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium.  Even in very small amounts...

This is another book review that I'm posting for the publisher, Thomas Nelson.  It is a review for a book called Let's Do Lunch , by Roger Troy Wilson.  He is a formerly obese man who devised his own plan to lose 230 pounds after trying countless other popular diet plans.  He not only successfully lost the weight, but he has kept it off for more than fifteen years.  Actually, he is the living proof that this plan works.  I was already sold on the program when I read his bio.  But I read the rest of the book to give it a fair nutritional analysis. It was a quick read - and I really like that.  The introduction was long, but enjoyable.  The diet plan was pretty good - overall.  Mr. Wilson is, obviously, not a nutritionist.  There are a few inconsistencies, overstatements and nutritional errors - but nothing too grievous.  Also, he is not a gourmet chef - if you don't mind cooking with some very mainstream convenience-typ...

Adam and I spent some time in Golden Gate Park - enjoying the botanical gardens.  We had young Miles with us - but he was sacked out on Daddy's chest the whole time.

Here are some pictures of our boy.  As you can see, he isn't missing any meals.  We are thankful for such a healthy - and lovely little boy. 

www.kneebouncers.com That's Lily Ann's favorite website.  I wanted to share this little picture of her playing on my computer - and recommend this website to all of my friends who have little ones.  It has a lot of free, fun, educational games geared toward toddlers. 

I just wanted to take a minute - in this season of Father's Day - to honor the father of my two kids.  He's a great dad.  And i mean it.  He loves being a "family man" - and i love that about him.  I'm so thankful to be partners in parenting with such a good guy.  Did I mention that he is incredibly good looking too?  That's quite a bonus :)

Seems like it was just yesterday that my Lily was a baby.  Now she's a little girl.  Truly I can't say that I feel like it has all gone too fast.  Thanks to my husband working so hard for our family, I've been able to stay at home to raise her.  I haven't missed much.  I feel so fortunate to have been around for all the amazing milestones.  I know I'll miss that little baby in some ways - but this little girl we have here is so much fun. 

Here are some pictures from Lily's birthday celebration.

Today is a great day!  Lily Ann is TWO today.  I remember the joy that filled my entire being the moment she was born.  And, now, I can't imagine life without her.  She is sunlight to a dark and dreary day.  She is a precious gift that God gave us.  We are so thankful and blessed to have such a lovely and sweet daughter. Happy Birthday Lily Ann!

I am reviewing this book for the publisher, Thomas Nelson.  The book is called Captivating , by John & Stasi Eldredge.  I really enjoyed reading this book.  It was written well and a quick-read.  The perspectives were fresh and interesting.  The book would be of interest to most women, but especially to those with rough backgrounds and/or painful upbringings.  I would recommend it to a friend.  I was inspired by the authors to unveil my heart to God and fully delve in to my relationship with Christ on a deeper level.

A friend of ours came by yesterday - with his new, fancy camera.  He took some great pictures of our boy.  Just thought I'd share them.

Lily Ann went to the beach with daddy this morning.  She's such an awesome big sister so far.  She needed a little special "one on one time" with her favorite guy (who also happens to be my favorite guy).   Also - here's another picture of our new baby.

Miles was born on Wednesday morning - 5/26  (6:01am).  7 lbs.10 oz.  20.5 inches long. Another happy hypnobirth.  Things went very well.  Lily Ann has been giddy since we brought him home.  She is so sweet with him and loves to kiss his little head and pat him.  He's just a little joy.  We are all getting settled and trying to figure out a new rhythm of life here.  So far, things are lovely. God has blessed us.

So we are all still waiting on Miles.  According to the cyclic dates, he is four days late.  But according to measurements, he would be right on time if he came today.  I'm not incredibly uncomfortable.  He's in a safe and warm place - I'm just anxious to hold our sweet baby in my arms.  And - admittedly - I'm anxious to be able to move around a little easier and get down on the floor to play with Lily Ann (and be able to get back up without the assistance of a fork lift).

May 20th, 2000. A day I'll never forget.  It was when Adam and I took vows, before God, that we would hang onto eachother through good times and bad.  That we'd love eachother, honor eachother and obey eachother.  That we would remain faithful to eachother in our thoughts, words and deeds.  That through sickness and in health we would not ever abandon the other.  And I promised to be my husband's girlfriend for the rest of my life. So far - we're making it.  We've had some really rough times.  And, just like any other marriage, ours has problems.  But I will say - in all honesty - I wouldn't want to be married to any other man.  The tough times and the problems are nothing in comparison to the good times and the joy that our marriage has brought to my life.  Adam is a blessing to me.  He's a fantastic husband.  He's a really good friend to me and an excellent life partner.  He loves his little girl and is a really good da...

We went to a birthday party, at the park, on Saturday. One of our friends took a picture of our little family as we came in.  From this angle, you can't clearly see how giant my midsection is - but it is quite large.  Adam's jacket (the only one that still fits) hides my hump pretty well too.  Miles should be here any day now.  Literally.  I would be surprised if he's not here within the week.  This morning, I walked about three miles - hoping.  Each day, I try to walk at least a mile or so.  But, so far, the walking has not encouraged any progress.  Maybe I should try skipping.  Does anyone have a pogo stick I could borrow?  Lily Ann is a little princess.  She's been talking about the baby boy in my tummy lately.  And the one in her tummy . . . and in Daddy's tummy.  Someone gave her a book about being a "big sister."  She loves it.  She wants to read it every day.  Right now she is napping with o...

At the risk of sounding totally cheesy - I'm going to share a really cool experience.  Over the last 15 years, I have done banking, mostly, with a "giant, monster mega-bank".  Keybank, to be specific.  I signed up with them in my early twenties and just kept all my accounts there.  When Adam and I married, I encouraged him to do the same so that we could merge accounts easier.  He did.  One thing that I learned to get used to was fees from the bank.  Fees for this, fees for that and so on.  It seemed they were just waiting for me to slip up a little, so that they could apply more fees.  However, the longer we had a relationship with this bank, the more trouble it was to just go to a different financial institution.  So, it seemed, we were stuck.  We referred to our bank as "the money pimps" and made jokes about it.  We were careful not to incur fees - but sometimes they got us anyway. It was in listening to The Clark Howard Sho...

I read an article, when Lily Ann was about six months old.  In it, there was a direct quote from a mother that said something like "having a second child is not double the work, it is more like quadruple . . ."  When I read that, I recall thinking, "I'm fine with just one child.  I'll never be able to handle four times this workload."  Adam and I had agreed that we had our hands full and probably just needed to focus on raising our one little girl.  Obviously, God had other plans for us.  Throughout the past few months, very well-meaning friends and some family members have been warning me that Lily Ann is going to have some adjusting to do when Miles is born.  There have been lots of questions from people like, "how do you think Lily will handle having another baby around?"; "do you think she knows what's about to happen?" and "are you ready for what two babies is going to do to your life?"  Many have passed on stories ...

Now it is true - Lily Ann is very well attached to her mother. She follows me around like a little shadow and gets very upset when we have to be apart. However, she absolutely loves it when she can have the attention of her handsome father. She knows the sound of his particular footsteps when he comes up the stairs. She says "daddy" and looks expectantly at the door when she hears his walk. She loves to pat him when he's sleeping. She likes to take walks with him and go to the beach with him. They have special dates at a nearby cafe' as well. One of our friends snapped this photo of Lily and Adam at church together last week. I think it is one of the sweetest pictures I've ever seen.

I guess I had better make her a set of dress-up clothes. I found Lily Ann with our dirty laundry strewn all over the bedroom. She was happily putting things on and dressing herself all up in mom and dad's clothing. She was wearing one of Adam's workshirts with the sleeve over her head. She looked pretty smashing.

It was so nice out today that Adam and Lily and I decided to pack a picnic dinner and eat at the beach. It was sunny and not too windy. What a nice time. The sun was shining just right to give us a good shadow picture of our (current) family of three. Only a few more weeks until our fourth arrives. Our midwife confirmed, last week, that he's head down and in the right position for his birthday. What you may not be able to see in the picture is that I'm just about as big as a house :). We've started to prepare for the birth with the same hypnosis we used for pain control with Lily Ann ( http://www.hypnobabies.com/ ). We have a really nice doula and a VERY natural labor friendly hospital directly across the street from our house. I'm optimistic that things will go well and that our new little munchkin will enjoy a peaceful entry into this big world. We are on the road to a new beginning . . . . a family of four.