Doggy Days

Cake for dinner. Mmmm. Why not be a like a kid sometimes? Will suggested it, and I agreed. I'm pretty sure we didn't hear Belle complaining either. :) We usually try to do somewhat of a well rounded dinner, but I thought it would be fun to try something a little crazy tonight.
So funny thing was, my late night snack was black beans. Sound a little backwards? I ate a whole can, too! When I have cravings, I love to look up why I am craving what I do to see what nutrients I'm lacking. I just think it is interesting. Well, I was reading an article about pregnancy cravings tonight, and it talked about magnesium. I was noticing that magnesium can help with cramps, and I've been having not fun cramps for a couple of weeks now. I said to Will, "Hey, I should have more magnesium to help with my cramping. I wonder what has magnesium in it." I started reading the list, and sure enough, black beans were on the list being high in magnesium. Isn't it funny how your body tries to take care of itself?
Today was a nice day. We took our dog, Katie, to play at the dog park where you can let them off the leash and play with other dogs.. She LOVES it there. I think Belle likes it just as much. She is in heaven with all these dogs running around playing with her. She throws balls for them (since Katie won't play fetch, she does it for all the other dogs) and runs and chases with them. There were a lot of dogs there today and a lot of friendly people. Will and I enjoyed ourselves, too, by chatting and getting to know other people. People are just so friendly and genuine here in Columbia. I love it. I will miss this town very much when we go. Here are some pics of us at the dog park.

 

 

Heading home

Flaming eyes

I can't take it! My pink eye is driving me insane. I am typically not someone who is sick very often, but since this pregnancy I am sick on and off frequently with something or another. And I am about done! I want to frolic like normal people do. Do normal people frolic? Well, I would if I didn't feel like crap most days.
Funny Belle moment:
Will - Belle, you need to roll up the window, we have the air conditioning on.
Belle - But I'm spyooting (shooting) bad guys and I need to window down to spyoot them.
Will - Well, this gun is a special gun. It shoots lasers instead of bullets so you can shoot right through the window.
Belle - But Dad, I'm not spyooting bullets, I'm spyooting bad guys.

That girl makes me laugh. We tried to explain to her that bullets are what come out of the gun, but she is insistent that bullets are a scary thing that you shoot at.

Summer Days

So here is another belly shot. I am 24 weeks now. 

Yesterday was such a nice summery day. We ate lots of popcycles. And later we met the missionaries at the park. They wanted to meet with our family, but we have such limited seating at our house, which was interesting the last time they came, that we invited them to the park. Will grilled some sausages, brats, and corn, and we ate watermelon. Yummy. That funny girl, Belle, decided she needed to go along with the missionaries every time they went to the bathroom to wash their hands or whatever, and she would wait outside for them so they didn't get lost. It was one of those nice feel good days.

Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven

I read this story as I was preparing my lesson for my Young Women's class. I wanted to share it because it touched me so much.

I remember the story of a Vietnamese family that fled Saigon in 1975 and ended up living in a small mobile home in Provo, Utah. A young man in the refugee family became the home teaching companion to a Brother Johnson who lived nearby with his large family. The boy related the following:

"One day Brother Johnson noticed that our family had no kitchen table. He appeared the next day with an odd-looking but very functional table that fit nicely against the trailer wall across from the kitchen sink and counters. I say odd-looking because two of the table legs matched the tabletop and two did not. Also, several small wooden pegs stuck out along one edge of the worn surface.

"Soon we used this unique table daily for food preparation and for eating some quick meals. We still ate our family meals while we sat on the floor . . . in true Vietnamese fashion.

"One evening I stood inside Brother Johnson's front door as I waited for him before a home teaching appointment. There in the nearby kitchen—I was surprised to see it—was a table practically identical to the one they had given to my family. The only difference was that where our table had pegs, the Johnsons' table had holes! I then realized that, seeing our need, this charitable man had cut his kitchen table in half and had built two new legs for each half.

"It was obvious that the Johnson family could not fit around this small piece of furniture—they probably didn't fit comfortably around it when it was whole. . . . 

"Throughout my life this kind act has been a powerful reminder of true giving" 

Elder Christofferson shared this in a conference talk. It is amazing to me when those who already have so little give so much.

My two pretty princesses :)

Sky

I was thinking last night how wonderful the sky is. How fortunate we are that we all get to enjoy the same sky no matter who we are and no matter what our circumstances be. It is one of the few things that as people we all get to enjoy the same way. Most things aren't that way. Even the land. Those who have more wealth tend to have nicer land. All the different places all around the world offer different kinds of food. But no matter the wealth, location, race, or beliefs we all can look up at the beauty of the sky. Someone in Japan can see the same vast expanse of stars that I see. In a mansion across the country, another woman can look in awe at a thunderstorm in the same way I can. In a tiny shack in Peru, someone else can fall asleep to the lull of a gentle rain in the same way I can. How blessed we are to have such wonders over our heads. So the next time you look up at the sky, remember that somewhere someone else is looking up in the same way and enjoying its splendor. And that there is a Father in Heaven who gave that sky to you to show His love for you in the same way He does for that other person on the other side of the world.

Candy Factory

At the Candy Factory

Opening the fake door at the factory

Belle and I went to the Chocolate/Candy Factory today. We went upstairs to watch them make the chocolates, and then each picked out a candy stick. After that I took Belle home since she was throwing a fit, and went out by myself. I treated myself to some jellybellies (favorite candy in the world - especially the pear ones) and went on a hunt for ideas for Belle and the new baby's fairy garden room. I am going to make them matching quilts, too. Here are the colors:

I think it would be fun to do bright colors

These flowers look small, but they're actually fairly large, and for some reason the purple one looks dark blue

And these butterflies are a good five inches big, too. I wanted to do it like a big garden, so Belle could feel small like a fairy in her room. What do you think?

Crutchy

So...super easy and yummy Alfredo Recipe:

 Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 cups milk
• 6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

I normally don't like cream cheese alfredos, but this one was really good. I did it with margarine and it worked out just fine. Also, the butter/cream cheese will be a little separated and chunky until you start adding milk. Very tasty. Will loved it, too. Happy cooking!!

 Prego shot - Belle wanted in. She even put on a matching shirt.

 As you can see in the photo, there are crutches beside us. Those are Will's. Will works at a treatment facility for troubled youth.They are the highest level of security. I couldn't handle that kind of work, but he loves it. He hates the thought of leaving there. Anyway, last week he had to restrain a boy. He took him down and landed weird on his knee twisting it. No broken bones, but we're still waiting for the MRI to be scheduled. Will works for the state, which is great, but everything takes about 52 hundred years with the state. So hopefully everything gets resolved soon. Fun to have him here, but I'm ready to have our normal life back, too. We're praying he doesn't have to have surgery or anything serious. If only his knee wasn't in crazy pain we could go play or camping while he has all this time off. But he's pretty hopped up on Vicodin. It can get kinda funny sometimes. He had an interview at his work today for a promotion while he was on Vicodin, and claims it went great. But who knows, with him being high, anything is probably great. :)

Laughter

Belle was telling me how she was mommy today. She wrapped up in my dress and said she had brown hair. Then, having a bad hacking cough, started coughing and said, "See, I am Mom, I am about to throw up." That funny girl makes me laugh everyday.

This weekend we were fortunate enough to have Elder Richard G. Scott come to our Stake Conference. He is my favorite apostle, so I felt very lucky to have him come. He told us it was important to wake up with a smile everyday. He proceeded to tell us the best way to wake up with a smile on our face was to go to bed at night with a hanger in your mouth. I love that man. I love how the General Authorities frequently make jokes reminding us that it is important to laugh. I think you should find something that makes you laugh everyday whether it be a joke you hear, a funny video clip, or just being silly with the ones you love. I once read somewhere that a couple who laughs together everyday can have a good marriage and are more likely to last. Life can get hard, but it's okay if you're still laughing. I am so grateful to have such a funny little girl who promotes laughter in my life daily.

Sneeze and wet

Well, yesterday was the first day I sneezed and wet myself. I don't just mean a little bit either. Luckily I was at home. Belle sure thought it was interesting. Mom pees her pants, too? She kept saying, "Let me see, Mom. I want to see your pants." Me, in my embarrassment kept avoiding her checking out my "accident".
Since we have found it this baby is a girl, we have had a struggle coming up with names. Please send ideas if you have any.