Third Trimester!

Today marks the first day of my third trimester! Yay!! What an answer to prayer. We are overwhelmed with thankfulness & joy!

Also last night I found out I passed my glucose test - which is another HUGE answer to prayer.. I really, really didn't want to take the 3 hour glucose test that involves fasting for over 12 hours and drinking even more sugar - just to see how your body handles it. Ugh! I can tell you one thing - it would of not ended well. You see as a child I fainted often because I have hypoglycemia. As an adult I've been able to control it through eating and knowing when I've had enough sugar.  Seriously I don't think ANY pregnant women should have to fast - that's just torture! I definitely applaud you ladies that have had to go through the 3 hour glucose test. I know it wasn't easy, but these are things we do for our children right? 

I keep thinking we have 'so much' time until Emma arrives and then other times - I feel overwhelmed at the amount of stuff we still have to do and prepare before she comes. I'm sure these feelings are normal. Last weekend we were able to get the spare bedroom/Emma's room rearranged. We also got her crib on a great sale and the generosity of Trevor's Mom. She wanted only the best for Emma :o) Trevor & his Dad put it together. 

Emma's room/side- a work in progress but we're getting there!

The other side - our desks and bookshelves - it kind of looks like cubicles.

We are completely finished with the room yet but it feels so nice to have things placed and beginning to organize everything. Our spare bedroom is pretty large so we were using it as our 'office'/spare room. We were able to rearrange it so we could have both Emma's room and our desks in there. We are so grateful for the space & two closets too!

Our baby shower that Trevor's Mom is throwing us with help of my Mom and other family members is in two weeks. I am really excited to celebrate the arrival of Emma and see everyone. I'm sure after the baby shower we will feel more settled in her room. 

Unfortunately I caught a cold from Trevor. He picked it up at work, but we really thought it was just allergies. Boy we're we wrong! So - I've been spending the last few days sneezing, blowing my nose, and sleeping. Not very much fun. Who gets a cold in June?! 

However there is WAY too much good news to get me down. Hopefully the cold passes in a few days so we can start doing more gardening and enjoying these beautiful summer days. 

So unless Emma arrives early (which she might but I'm expecting a late arrival) we will  Lord willing get to meet her in a little less than 3 months. Where has the time gone?! 

We defintely consider ourselves very blessed. 

Emma Grace

I realized a few days ago that we never really "announced" the name we picked for our sweet little girl, I just accidently slipped. It's been so fun to refer to her here at home as, Emma this & Emma that - that I did it without thinking. It seemed so natural to say already. 

That's not to say we weren't planning on announcing it, we were just maybe more formally - ha but these things happen, such is life! 

I did however want to shed some light on why & how we landed on this name. I've realized Emma is becoming a very popular name but we just love it. You see around 10 or 12 weeks of the pregnancy I had a dream (I've had the craziest dreams since being pregnant!!) that we had a little girl & we named her Emma Grace. When I woke up I was so in love but also filled with so much peace. I know that peace was from God. 

You see at this point in the game we weren't sure where this pregnancy was going to take us. We were trusting & hoping God would allow us to know this girl here on earth (we still are). We wanted his will & understandably we were scared & unsure. Being that we had two miscarriages prior. So I told Trevor about my dream & he loved the name. We hadn't talked about names too much before this or even mentioned Emma Grace. I didn't put much stock in my dream as far as gender because we didn't know yet. We just put the name on the list & waited. 

Then several weeks later we found out - little girl! We instantly knew Emma Grace would be her name. Emma means universal. Perhaps this little girl is going to have one of those sweet, love everyone personality (I hope so!). Grace is such a complex name as far as meanings go especially for us. It really fits. It reminds us of Gods grace - the undeserved salvation & mercy we receive as Christians by him dying on the cross for our sins. We also feel so much grace & mercy in our lives over the last year & even being pregnant with her. God's grace has covered our lives and this pregnancy. We want to show honor to that.

So there it be - Emma Grace. 

Pregnancy: Our Journey

Pregnancy: Our Journey

Announcing our pregnancy a several weeks ago was both exciting & terrifying. I know typically the word terrifying isn't associated with this sort of good news but I guess you would have to know our journey to understand. 

You see this last year has been a roller coaster of emotions. We've experienced not one but two miscarriages. So the idea of announcing our pregnancy was terrifying. It really made it real. Not that it already wasn't real with morning (errr all day) sickness, food aversions, back pain, hunger pains & all the other fun stuff associated with pregnancy. Yet it hit Trevor and I in a way we didn't expect it gave us joy & excitement. All our friends and family were happy & excited for us really encouraged our hearts. It's been difficult to be truely excited for this pregnacy in a lot of ways because naturally we were scared. 

The last four almost five months have been hard but everyday I was just thankful to be pregnant another day. I simply had to live day to day and nothing more. I couldn't think pass that. One foot in front of the other. It wasn't easy. 

God's love carried us; his grace & peace covered us. We are so thankful for the prayers of our friends and family and being able to now share and rejoice in God's faithfulness in those prayers is so rewarding. All glory goes to God. Because we know that "God gives and takes away but blessed be His name!" 

I'll be completely honest, the past year has been one of the most difficult things I have ever experienced. However I know I'm not alone. After I experienced my first miscarriage I began to research & realized how common miscarriages really are but it's not talked about very often. It should be. Maybe not right away but I think it's important to encourage other people & so we know that we aren't alone in our pain, loss & confusion. During miscarriags you feel so much hopelessness and on top of that to keep it a 'secret' & to feel as if you're alone sends some people over the edge. 

I'm so thankful for a loving, caring, senstive husband that although he was hurting too (which sometimes sends marriages on the rocks) he walked every step of this journey with me. Certainly not without it's ups and downs but with so much love. I'm also so thankful for friends & family who stood beside us as we grieved. 

Greif is such a funny thing. It doesn't make sense and you have no control over it. Something a family member told me was, "You have to go through it to get through it." She was so right - you can't pretend it didn't happen or just try to fake your way through it. You have to simply wade through the waters of pain and loss. It takes time sometimes lots of time & that's okay. Grief will find its way out one way or another.. either now or later (if not faced) in perhaps a sickness or mental illness. It's like a bottle of shaken soda it will bubble over. There isn't a deadline or a timeline for this sort of thing. I think one of the most important things we did was taking time before trying again. We tried not to make wanting children an idol or something we had to rush into in fact this pregnancy was unplanned but very welcomed! We simply surrendered the best we could to God and his plan. Knowing he had us in the palm of his hand. 

Ultimately though I am most thankful for God. Despite all the pain, questions & doubts which I may not have answers to in this lifetime I had peace. All I could do is simply hang on to him in the middle of the storm. He sustained me. 

Shane & Shane - Though You Slay Me

We stumbled upon this youtube clip a few weeks after our last miscarriage. It was our favorite song/sermon for months. We would often listen to it on repeat & cry. It touched us deeply - it helped our sad hearts start to beat again. It didn't give us answers but it gave us hope. It helped us peel away the layers of hurt and see past it - to begin to understand God works in the unseen. We needed to trust & obey him. It helped us grieve the loss of our children. 

So if you're going through miscarriage or have before please know you're not alone. Your emotions of anger, questioning, confusion & everything else is normal. Just know that God is in control and he loves you. In fact he is grieving with you. He never left our side. 

"Be still & know that I am God'

Finding out a few weeks ago that we are having a healthy, very active baby girl seems like a dream! Something we certainly hoped & prayed for. God doesn't always answer our prayers because he has another plan. I'm thankful for His plan, regardless of what it entails. All the glory goes to Him & I will continue to be thankful every single day I continue to carry this sweet, little girl. 

cold brew iced coffee soooo good!

Boy has life been busy lately.. working, hanging out with friends, seeing family, gardening, cooking & of course spending time with Trevor.

It's pretty much summer here in Pittsburgh. We are greeting ready to transplant our plants into their forever homes.. our new big garden. We are quite excited to experiment with a real garden at our new place. (oh yeah we moved to a bigger, better place for cheaper! yay!) I have a feeling we are going to have more produce than we know what to do with.. good thing we have family, friends, & co-workers that will gladly help us out.

I have eight kale plants & they are producing a ton of leaves. It's been a lot of fun gardening. Trevor is really into too.

Anyway the reason I decided to blog real quick was to post a iced coffee recipe. After experimenting with a ton of recipes & methods this is the best way I've found to do it.

Cold Brew Iced Coffee

1 1/2 cups coarsely ground coffee
2 cups  cold water
one french press or cheese cloth or cone filter
(this is the ratio you will want to follow if you'd like to make more or less coffee)

We use a french press it is the easiest and cleanest way we've found to do the ice coffee but you can also use cheesecloth or a cone filter.

The idea is to steep the coffee in cold water for 8 - 12 hours either in the fridge or on the counter, we do the latter. If you are using a french press make sure to stir the grounds around ensuring all the grounds are wet. When the coffee is done steeping push down the plunger & wa-la! You have iced coffee. It is a concentrate so you will need to use a 1:1 ratio. One part coffee & one part water or milk (if you like lattes) You can easily use water as your ratio & add cream, milk or sugar like you would with normal iced coffee.

Now if you don't have a french press never fear you can still make iced coffee... simply steep the grounds in a bowl with a cover using the same method as I described above. Then after 8 - 12 hours simply pour the mixture over cheesecloth or cone filter (this gets a little messy) into another bowl or pitcher.

It will keep for two weeks in the fridge. I usually store it in a glass pitcher or mason jar. It's so easy to make & we go through a lot of it. I simply put it together before we go to bed & by morning we have iced coffee. Which has been nice on these hot days


Any questions, let me know! happy brewing!!

chai tea & other ramblings...

Trevor & I (but mostly Trevor...) are watching stand up comedians on netflix.. I'm laughing because he's laughing. He loves stand up comics. I however think a few jokes are funny but I rarely laugh out loud. We are so different yet so alike. 

Like chai.. we both love chai! I like it spicy & he likes it sweet. figures.
For a few weeks now I've been wanting to try out this recipe...after all of our moving craziness passed & Trevors new job transition. I finally had some time to give it a try today.
What I love about this recipe is the ability to tweak it however you want.. you can make it sweet or spicy or tea-y. My first try turned out great! This recipe isn't an exact science just ratios that you can adjust as you want.

Chai ConcentrateYields: 1 batch of concentrate, approximately 4 cups
tweaked it from this recipe 

4 1/2 cups water

8 bags black tea – I used orange pekoe

2 bags cinnamon  cardmon tea (I used this instead of whole cardamom since I didn't have any)

2 cinnamon sticks

2 vanilla bean, split in half (or 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract added at the very end)

1/2 cup raw cane sugar (you can add more or less depending on how sweet you like your chai) you can also use other alternatives

6 pieces of candied ginger or you can use 3" pieces of fresh whatever you have available

10 whole cloves (I used ground)

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 whole star anise pods

1/2 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns

1 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 cup ginger juice from making candied ginger (which is what I used as ginger & in gingersnap cookies I made recently) 

1 tablespoon raw honey more or less depending on your sweet tooth

Prepare the teabags by removing any tags if there are any and tying them all together. Prepare the spices, vanilla bean and orange zest by laying them in your cheesecloth, I leave my cinnamon sticks out to make the little pouch of spices a bit more compact. Tie the cheesecloth pouch shut with a small piece of kitchen twine. If you leave the cinnamon sticks out, just tie them together with kitchen twine.

I skipped this cheesecloth & used the mesh strainer. 

*If you don’t wish to use cheesecloth, you will just add all of your spices directly to the pan when the time comes and strain them out after.

Add the water and sugar to a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil over a medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and put in the tea bags, cheesecloth pouch and cinnamon sticks. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat strain the concentrate through a sieve or just remove the tea bags, cheesecloth pouch and cinnamon sticks. At this point if you want a bit more sweetness you can add a tablespoon of honey, stir to dissolve. I don’t always do this, but it is a really nice touch. Additionally, if you didn’t use a whole vanilla bean, add your vanilla extract now. Stir to combine.

Allow the mixture to cool before pouring it into an airtight jar or container. This amount fits perfectly into a 1-quart mason jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

chicken squash stew & other foods..

Last week I made chicken squash stew soup my dear friend stevie made it & recommended it a few months ago. I had some squash to use up and since it's national soup month & all I felt like it was appropriate time to try this new recipe out. It was quite tasty. I didn't follow the recipe to the letter (do I ever?) We don't like olives so they were out immediately. I also decided to do a whole chicken in the crock pot I loosely followed this recipe. 

You don't have to do a whole chicken to make this soup, but I decided to because it offers the possiblity of more meals. After I made this soup I went on to make chicken stock, chicken egg rolls & intended to make chicken & bisquits as well but That didn't happen. next time! 

The soup/stew was very tasty & very filling. I have a rosemary plant leftover from the summer that is still kickin, I used that in the chicken I slow cooked. It gave the chicken broth & soup very good flavor, if you have access to any fresh herbs I highly recommend using them. 

In other news, I just made these today & won't know until tomorrow if like them, but they were easy to put together and look tasty. I have never tried chia seeds before so here goes nothing! From what I've read and heard they are fairly tasteless but offer lots of fiber & protein. I had all the ingredients on hand except the chia seeds which I picked up for a reasonable price at trader joes. 

I decided to try two flavors first (something I know I like in normal oatmeal seemed like a good start) blueberry maple & apples & cinnamon. I am going to take one to work tomorrow, hopefully I like it or I might be hungry ;) 

It seems like there is an easy ratio in this recipe for the base ingredients & leaves room for creative flavors. Frozen fruit or fresh seem to be suitable & I used regular yogurt instead of greek. I don't really care for the way greek yogurt tastes. I omitted the added sugar since I used regular yogurt (vanilla) which tends to have more sugar than greek. I'll let you know how it goes. 

cast of characters

the base ingredients are as follows from this wonderful & informative blog. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup milk (soy, regular milk, almond I am sure would work fine)
• 1/4 cup yogurt (which ever is your preference) 
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon spice (if you are using any) 
• 1 teaspoon sweetner if you choose to - honey, maple syrup seem like popular choices)
• 1/4 cup fruit - frozen or fresh 

Directions
In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, spice and sweetner of choice. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Remove lid, add fruit and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 - 4 days. Eat chilled.  

 finished product.

hello world.

Hello World.

It's a new year, I'm sure you've heard. Things are different but very much the same. Things are changing, but not quite yet. It's the waiting game.. & I am anticipating what God has next.. Praising him in the hallway.

 

Stay tune.. Tomorrow (or sometime soon..) I am going to try to blog about a few recipes I have tried lately.