O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

We are so blessed to have friends and family rally around us as we wait on the baby we will be adopting!  We don't know who he or she is, yet, but we are ready for that sweet day!  A group of 35 women gathered together and paint with the proceeds going towards our adoption expenses!  It was a fun night together, and everyone's enthusiasm to be a part of this journey with us was so encouraging! I won't make the same mistake twice!  I am putting up this cute picture of Jennifer and me first! Everyone painted such beautiful pictures! Trying to be a little goofy!

If you read comments from my previous post , you will know that my sister Jennifer took all of the pictures during the weekend for me, and I didn't post a single one of her!  So....in honor of her..

My amazing husband has finished all of his work, and has graduated from seminary!  I am so proud of him! He has worked so hard over the last four years, and although you can't see the tears, it took all I had not to flood the church.  We began this adventure while I was pregnant with Magdalena, and so, all of this is wrapped up together in a huge chapter of our lives.  I know that God will make the next one amazing too, but it was an emotional time as we concluded this one.  It's always funny the reminders God sends us because the ceremony was based on Psalm 116 and death.  "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saint."  It was a beautiful ceremony that I truly believe glorified God in so many ways.  THE CEREMONY No pictures should have been taken during the ceremony, but thanks to  a cool sister we got this shot! The wives were acknowledged at the end of the ceremony.  Tears were falling.  I was so proud ...

With more living space we have enjoyed having friends over to eat and play games.  This past weekend I made two desserts that are delicious!  I definitely recommend them both!   The first was the Strawberry Pretzel Square recipe from Kraft foods.  Noah doesn't like berries, and this time of year that is about all I want to eat!  When friends come over, I use it as a reason to make something using any sort of berry.  The salty pretzels mixed with the sweetness makes it a perfect dessert for this warm weather!  The next recipe I made especially for my sister-in-law.  She enjoyed it the first time I made it, so with her in town, I knew I needed to make it again!  The Chocolate Mountain Bundt Cake is what you make when only something chocolate is considered a real dessert.  I change this recipe in two ways.  First, I only use a 1/2 cup of oil, and I replace the other have with 4 ounces of apple sauce.  This is a su...

On my first Mother's Day when I was pregnant with Magdalena, Noah bought me a corsage.  Not knowing the color of my dress, he actually bought me two to be sure that he matched.  Not knowing if it was the "in thing" he told me that I didn't have to worry with wearing it, but I did.  And I proudly wear one every Mother's Day because it is one of the sweetest things that he does for me. For anyone who has lost someone dear to their hearts, no holiday is the same without them.  Mother's Day isn't sad, but bittersweet for me.  I get to celebrate that I have given birth to two wonderful children, and although I have lost one, I still had the honor of being her mother.  For that, I am so thankful. Grieving has been a process for me, I never quite know when to expect my heart to skip a beat as it breaks.  The more I notice how Walt is growing into his own person, the more I wonder what Magdalena would have been like.  I passed a few girls around the ag...

Noah surprised me one morning with a download of the new Rascal Flatts c.d.  It's funny because he thought that I had said that I wanted it.  Although I like Rascal Flatts, I don't quite remember saying that....one of us is definitely having memory loss.  Our ages are catching up with us...ha!  The song changed left me all emotional as I listened to it on the way to work. There are so many mistakes that I have made and continue to make, and each time I am thankful for God's grace.

For those that know me well, I love to eat healthy.  For appropriate times, I do love a heap full of bad for you foods (especially fried pickles), but overall I lean more towards healthier choices.  I found a delicious recipe that I think is worth sharing.  It has tons of protein, and also has so many healthy things for you.  I sound like a spokesperson for this recipe, but I promise that I am not.  Noah even likes these on the go breakfast choices, excluding the berry options only because he doesn't like berries.  I hope that you try it, and let me know what you think!  Am I crazy or are these just that good?!  Also, I struggled getting my peanut butter to mix in the mixture, so if you figure out a way to do it, please, share!  My favorite is the blueberry one! And it is so cute in the little jars!

Walt had a surprise this morning!  We went to breakfast together at Chic-fil-a!  It was obvious that he loved it because he was still talking about it at the end of the day!  I love these small moments where it is just me and him. He is talking like crazy, and when I look at pictures of him as a baby I feel like it was yesterday.  Time is flying by way too fast that I just want to freeze little moments like these.  I love my little man. 

I am loving the age Walt is at right now!  After the March of Dimes walk, Walt and I snuggled up on the couch to eat a bowl of cereal together.  These moments melt my heart with happiness.

We knew that we had been officially approved for adoption, and that we were waiting, but there is nothing like seeing it in writing!  It was an incredible day to receive our letter of approval from Bethany Christian Services.  Now, we are officially waiting to be chosen!