Merry Christmas

kk graduated!

Our niece Kayla graduated last night from Will C Wood High in Vacaville last night.

We're so proud of her!

bumper to bumper traffic

man's best friend

Our cats are more like dogs and they are super attached to the kids. Its amazing to me to see how they want the kids play with them. 

spring snow storm

A few weeks ago, we were having some crazy weather and it actually snowed here...it was so much fun! 

.gymnastics.

We signed Savannah up for 6 weeks of gymnastics this spring and it was a lot of fun.  This is the first activity we've had just for her, so it was fun watching her get excited about that.  She's so tiny compared to the other girls in the class, but I think she actually has quite the gymnast body, so this could definitely be her "thing".   It was cute...we've got to work on her coordination...very funny to watch!

motherhood

Every year when mother's day comes around I become so filled with emotion its at times hard for me to embrace it. 

I'm so thankful for my own mom that its unbelievable to me.  She's someone that I consider a true confidant, a best friend and honestly, someone I truly enjoy being around.  There's something about my mom that understands me at my core.  She's been there for me in the brightest of times and she's been there during some of my darkest times and in the midst of every time, she's been there without judgment but with guidance and advice (and many times, there to laugh with me and there to cry with me).  Its inexpressible the blessing she is to me in my life and to the life of my children as their grandma.  She's lovely and precious and beautiful inside and out. 

I'm also thankful for my mother-in-law.  She's a woman of incredible strength.  I look up to her in so many ways and consider her someone that I can go to if I need to bounce ideas off of and get advice. I genuinely enjoy her presence and love spending time just shooting the breeze.  She's also someone who constantly is thinking of others before herself (even at her own expense at times).  She's an example to  me on how to be hospitable and how to be a good host.  I enjoy her in so many ways.  She is an incredible grandma to my children and to my niece and nephews as well.  We are all so blessed to have her. 

And, when it comes to me thinking about my children and how God gave me these specific children, I'm overwhelmed with amazement and joy.  I don't feel worthy, at times, to be their mom but so thankful that I am.  I'm thankful for their personalities that are fully developing, for their expressions and sense of humor.  I'm thankful that they stretch me in every way possible.  They make me want to be a better person and they challenge me to look at myself and see areas that I need to change and improve upon.  They are lovely and I'm so thankful and humbled to be a mom.  As we sit here in all our morning of mother's day bad hair and puffy faces, I'm thankful for every minute I get to be a part of their lives.

.cooking and other news.

Here are some of my latest experiments with baking...

They are based on these recipes:

Doughnuts

Pretzels This is a vegan recipe...I did not make them vegan and they turned out well.

Also, I've delayed in revealing another blog that I've been working on but I think that things have been going well so far, I'm going to let whoever reads this blog know about it...

Its a blog that I've titled RunningTowardTheFinishLine and its about documenting my journey in fitness and keeping healthy.  Lately I've been just keeping my workout diary on there but in the near future, I'm going to be posting more healthy eating tips and recipes as well as workout ideas and products finds and reviews.  The blog is kind of hard for me to share in a way because this is a very personal area of my life (not sure why).  I think perhaps its because I'm afraid of judgment in this area of my life...but I think I'm at the point now where I'm confident and secure enough to share. Anyway, if you're at all interested, please feel free to check it out and let me know if there are any questions or ideas you want me to explore!   Here's the link to the blog:  http://runningtowardthefinishline.blogspot.com/

.baseball.

Elijah is playing baseball this year and its been a world of learning and adjustment for me as I'm realizing this is a little glimpse into my future in a changing roll in my motherhood.  I've been so used to the kids tagging along with me for the first several years and I'm realizing that with school and sports, etc., its more of me tagging along with them now.  Its interesting to process because as much as I love them being active and learning, its hard, especially in a life of full-time ministry (that has its own crazy unpredictable schedule) to figure it all out as far as importance, time management and sanity is concerned! :)

Either way, Elijah is having a blast and we're having a blast watch him on his team, the Muckdogs.  They are pitching now to them now, which has been interesting and Elijah does really well.  Of course, there's lots of practice with daddy and grandpas too! :)

Birthdays

This is incredibly late but the kids had their birthdays the end of February (Elijah turned 5!) and Savannah's was the beginning of March (she turned 3), so we had a joint bday party at the park.  It was a lot of fun and actually warm all during the party.  As soon as the party was over, the clouds rolled in and it got chilly but it was a lot of fun! :)

Microwave Cake

I've been reading a lot lately about microwave protein cakes that you can make on some of the blogs that I read (like this one)...I tried one yesterday that was OK, but I varied it a little today to try and it was delicious!  I've included the nutritional info and wow...does it satisfy my need for pastry/dessert!  Yum!

HW's Microwave Cake

1 T whole wheat flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 packet of Truvia (or stevia to your taste)
dribble of vanilla
pinch salt
cinnamon (desired amount to your taste)

(combine ingredients in a microwave save mug sprayed with a bit of cooking spray)
Add:
2 1/2 T unsweetened applesauce
4 T egg whites

(Combine and microwave for 2 minutes on high) invert on a plate or eat in the mug after allowing to cool for several minutes.

I added a wedge of trader joes dark chocolate which adds 35 cal and 2.25 grams of fat but makes the cake turn into a molten lava cake (it gets all melty and fabulous)! A squirt of whipped cream would be a great add too, but then the calories start adding up, so decide how you want to spend them! :)

Nutrition Facts User Entered Recipe
1 Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories		98.9
Total Fat		0.5 g
	Saturated Fat	0.1 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.0 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.0 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		56.0 mg
Potassium		90.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate		19.7 g
	Dietary Fiber	2.8 g
	Sugars	4.9 g
Protein		7.5 g

zoo

 The weather was so nice today and its my one day off during the week with just the kids, so I thought I would take them to the park.  Last July we decided to get a family membership to the Oakland Zoo, and I'm so glad we did.  The kids and I had a fabulous time.  The sun was out and there was hardly anybody at the zoo making for a very relaxing day.  :)