Katie's Surprise Shower!

Having my beloved sister, Katie, here to visit was AWESOME. It was so hard to let her go home! But it makes me excited that I will see her again soon, and next time, I'll be able to hold little baby boy Walker in my arms! Meg had us all (my Mom, me, Katie, my nieces) over for a mini-surprise shower/tea; she is always so good at decorating and hosting! I captured a few photos, but it was just fun to celebrate with Katie and spoil her with a few things for the little one coming soon. Molly was VERY willing to help Aunt Katie open her presents....she was so cute (and helpful!) :) Moll and Annie also helped Meg bake all the goodies...cupcakes, rice krispy treats with peanut-butter and chocolate (YUM), cookies....all colored bright blue in honor of the little baby boy joining the family. :)

Can you see those adorable napkins? Meg found them - perfect for Katie...preggo with an umbrella for all that Seattle rain... we were so thrilled Katie got some sunny weather during her visit.

Meg, Katie, and Annie

Molly decided it was only natural to open gifts first!... she picked out the perfect pillow to give to her new cousin. The pillow has a big giraffe on it, just like her "baffy" lovies that she adores. It matches the "jungle" theme bedding and other registered items Katie has picked out for him.
Hmm...finally - time to eat! Yummy cupcakes await...Love the blue frosting in Molly's toothy smile...

Annie was hilarious. She dove face first into this cupcake! Hey - no shame in that! ;)

Aww, sweet Molly-Moo, who undeniably inherited her Daddy's blue eyes


Katie, Annie, and Mom chilling on the couch...hah- looks like Molly is sneaking another cupcake in the background

At the park - chilly and windy - but at least sunny! Looking at this picture, you would never know in a million years that Katie is 7 months pregnant! She amazes me!

Molly was giving the baby hugs and kisses goodbye...her tummy is so beautiful. This close up is probably my favorite - I just love it.

This is the closest I've gotten to holding that little boy in there...soon enough though! What a wonderful visit - thanks for coming, Katie!!! We love you!!

Best Cookies (that aren't from scratch)

This blog post comes with a myriad of confessions. (I know, right after divulging all my computer issues...apparently I have a lot to get off my chest?) Anyway, my recent discovery this week at the store has me in quite the pickle. I was at good ole' HT (Harris Teeter) shopping the weekly sales and discovered on the sale list: organic refrigerated cookie dough by "Immaculate Baking Company". I will preface this discovery with my proclamation to the world that I have NEVER bought premade cookie dough. Not judging those who have/do in any way, but it is just more my style to make anything and everything I can from scratch. I grew up doing it that way and continue to enjoy putting the ingredients together myself so I have control over what goes in there. Seeing the price ($2.14 for 24 cookies! I can't make a homemade batch myself for that price) combined with the quality of product (organic? yes please!), I could not resist my piqued curiosity. I bought them and baked up a couple just to taste...OH MI GOSH. Dearest family and friends! run to your nearest store - these are your local, dessert-in-a-pinch, perfect treat. Here is my problem with them: I cannot stop eating them. I had to throw the rest of the little buttheads in the freezer so they weren't in plain sight, begging me to bake a few more, each time I opened up the fridge! Be warned: they are impossible to resist! Until I get all the pictures uploaded, I had to share my latest adventures in the kitchen...always a new day in here. ;) Seriously, though, these are awesome.

Computer confession...

I keep running into the same problem, which ya'll are going to find pathetic. The reason my blog posts sometimes get so far and few between is...because...well...*gulp*...I don't exactly know how to load the pictures from our camera onto our computer. I know! Stop yelling at me!! Eric is ashamed - believe me, it's not for a lack of his desire to show me! Actually, come to think of it, I've probably been shown at least 4 times (on the conservative side)...it's just, well, there are so many cords and places to shove things in the computer, it gets so confusing! You don't understand, I've TRIED! I have this similar problem hooking up the computer to the tv to watch something online (since we don't have cable). I have asked Eric to do it and to show me how to do it so many times, that last time, I finally said to myself, "betsy! this is ridiculous - you need to just figure this out!!" so I did my best to plug the right cords in the right places....well, I hit play on the computer screen, but the tv screen remained blue....hmm...after a few more attempts, I conceded and called for my technology-gifted hunny. It is not an exaggeration to say that he 'busted up' and laughed out loud for a good minute at the contraption I had rigged. Before fixing my efforts, he actually went to get the camera b/c apparently it was worth a picture of. To clarify, it wasn't a mean laugh; more like if you saw a child attempt homemade lasagna (perhaps my analogy is a tiny stretch?) Anyway, it's a problem, b/c I have loads of delicious recipes, adorable pictures of Molly and Anne, as well as my recent ever-so-thrilling daily life to catch you up on! BUT they are locked on the camera. I will butter Eric up with some homemade cookies tonight, then drop the bomb that I need his help uploading... A-G-A-I-N. Guess I am pretty lucky that he is a teacher; patience is one of his gifts! ;)

Fireproof

Wow. Eric and I watched a very powerful movie last night in regards to marriage! It was emotionally draining and inspiring to watch this couple navigate through common pitfalls/difficulties in many marriages. Eric and I are amazed at how much we've learned about each other, true love, and marriage these past 3 1/2 - 4 years. I loved that the movie defines a fireproof marriage as, not one that will never encounter fire, but rather, one that will withstand the fire, when it does come. How blessed Eric and I are to have Christ as our Rock, when the fire comes in our own marriage!
I am going to look for "The Love Dare" book, I think it would be a great way to teach me how to be a better wife and how to love Eric even more deeply.

I recommend this movie to everyone I know, married or single!

As a side note, this movie blew my mind at the job of a firefighter and makes me respect and appreciate what they do every single day. What an honorable, selfless life to lead; giving equal honor to the spouses and families of firefighters, willingly sharing/sacrificing the lives of their loved ones, in order to save others'. Wow.

Kitties' Chore!

Hah! I am such a nerd! BUT last night, it hit me what the cats' chore can be!! Killing and eating every spider in our house! All bugs for that matter! Last night, I asked Marzi what he was doing (yes, I talk to my cats, wanna make something of it?) and Eric replied on Marzell's behalf, 'just eating a bug...' and I was like, YES! that's it! That is their job! I think I will intentionally give them a treat each time I see them take care of any unwanted critters to encourage future behavior! (not that they need encouragement...since they are inside-only cats, one of them spotting a spider is like a lion with her prey...it's pretty entertaining actually)

So, it's official - all "members" of our household are part of the family chore list now! Oh how wild and crazy my daily life is... ;)

PS - Isn't it facinating to watch nature in action? Yes, even a cat's pounce on a spider is fun to me....not if it were a bird or a rabbit, though, then my emotions would be too torn...nature is so complicated.

Weekly Chores Incentives

So, Eric and I have recently been discussing how much we both love having a clean house and how relaxing it is to be able to take a load off in the evenings/weekends without feeling like there is cleaning/picking up/laundry, etc, calling our names! We excel in different areas of keeping things tidy - I will scrub pots and pans 'till the cows come home, but please don't ask me to scrub your toilet. Eric can de-clutter a room in record speed, but would rather endure the stench coming from the cats' litter box than actually replace it with fresh kitty litter. I'd say we actually do a pretty good job of meeting each other's cleaning weaknesses! That being said, we are trying a new plan beginning this week to ensure the completion of our designated/chosen chores each week. I am going to use a point system that if you DON'T do your chore that week, you get a point. It will work like golf scoring; points = bad. When you reach 10 points, you have to face the leisure activity to do together that winner gets to pick. Since we will have quite a few chores each, it would be easy to rack up points quickly if we get lazy. If we are both lazy, then we both have consequences! We have already begun brainstorming what we will pick for each other...so far we have come up with:

Betsy's consequence (chosen by Eric) = playing 1 hour of Halo (video games) with Eric (gag me!)

Eric's consequence (chosen by Betsy) = attending her favorite yoga class at the gym with her (I just know he will thank me later!...er, maybe...)

I sprang the idea to Eric last night as we lay in bed (gotta love pillow talk) and even though it was late (11:20 pm), and we both had to get up early for work (6:30 am), he got SO excited about it (loves anything that can be a game) that he wanted to get up and make the chart right then! I was like, 'how about we do it tomorrow? for the love of sleep, please?!?' His equally exhausted body conceeded and we fell asleep, each blissfully dreaming of the lovely activities/hobbies we would enjoy doing together.... I think it is safe to say that we will both stay pretty motivated! Not that we would ever enjoy "torturing" our loved one with our own interests, but it is an excuse to pick anything in the world as an activity together! I can get a baking buddy for the afternoon or an early morning breakfast date and he can get a napping companion (I hate naps, but he takes at least a couple per week) or enjoy another guitar playing in his Rock Band concerts. ;) All housework aside, it might actually be a good exercise for us to practice compromise and relationship building...

Also, I googled "chore charts" for ideas and I found a bunch of articles about how to make chores a part of a child's responsibility and how to do so without incentives. Apparently children should not need incentives to do chores, but rather, face consequences for not doing what should already be their responsibility...since I agree, I thought the same should apply to Eric and me as adults? I also think in this case for us, sometimes you just have to light a fire under your butt to get moving. The prospect of playing Halo sure does it for me and I can assure you, yoga is a worse enemy than kitty litter to Eric.

Anyway, I ended up using the ever-helpful Excel to format a chart - wish I could figure out on here how to upload it...maybe something Eric can help me with. I'm sure ya'll will be sitting on the edge of your chair waiting for it; nothing more exciting than an excel spreadsheet! So far, the list is up to 16 chores (some weekly, some daily)...does that sound like a lot to anyone else?

Sisters...sisters...there were never such devoted sisters...

Well - this post is a tribute to how amazing the relationship of a sister is! As I impatiently wait to visit Katie sometime soon, I smile and thank the Lord that Annie and Molly have each other and pray for them as they continue to grow closer throughout the years. It's been known to happen for some siblings to struggle through the teen years (b/c fighting and rebellion is what teens do best), but I hope and trust that either they will avoid that period in their relationship or come back together closer than ever. From about the time I was age 16, Katie and I re-kindled our treasured childhood friendship, and especially after my freshman year of college in Seattle - I was hooked for life! Each year our hearts are woven tighter. To me, Romans 12:15 sums up the support of a sister - "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." Throughout life, Katie and I will be dancing with each other during times of rejoicing and weeping on each other's shoulders during the periods of mourning.

My sweet nieces, Molly & Annie, have been given the same gift and it is such a joy to watch.

The two princesses: with one who is way too cool for school. Cinderella wore shades, right? ;)

I absolutely can't handle Anne's face in this next one: it is a hilarious action shot.

Annie found Nana's slippers to be awfully cozy with her Christmas pajamas...and Molly is surprisingly strong!!

After many giggles, they both tumbled to the floor into a sweet hug!

Dressed to face the cold together... Molly's new crocheted scarf by yours truly! Poor Annie-pie has to wait for her matching hat, because I made it too small the first attempt...she's just growing up faster than we can all keep up with!

Such sweet girls with a relationship I hope they treasure their whole lives. Clearly, they are off to a great start. ;)