Joshua's baby dedication

Joshua was dedicated in our church today! That means that we, as his parents, promised to live our lives in a way that helps him to see the difference that Jesus makes to us, and that we'll consistently teach him about Jesus. It also means that our church family promised to help us as we walk this journey as parents, and as Joshua grows up.

Here is the letter I wrote for Joshua to read someday, when he's old enough to understand:

5/19/13, 5 months and two weeks

Dear Joshua,

This morning was your dedication to the Lord! We are so thankful for you, our son. We brought you to the 9:00am service at Grace Road Church in Rochester, where we’ve been attending for the past year. You always seem to love the music and the many faces we see each time. Your Grandma and Grandpa Burr and your Nana and Grandpa Landin were able to be there, and they were so excited to see you! 

You snuggled with Grandma Burr for much of the service, and you enjoyed hanging out with Grandpa Landin and Nana when you woke up. Pastor Kevin preached from Mark 12:35-44, and reminded us that following Jesus means to lay down our whole lives and to trust his leadership. You wore an adorable outfit that Nana Landin made for you, complete with a cute little hat. 

 

You were so well behaved, smiling and cooing as we arrived, falling asleep during the sermon (in Grandma Burr’s arms), and waking up happily, just in time for your dedication and the final songs. 

 

We sang “How Great Thou Art,” “All the Poor and Powerless,” “Oh, Our Lord,” (both by the group All Sons and Daughters) and “In Christ Alone.” (Getty & Townend) We had delicious cake after church, too! Your Daddy read this in church this morning as we dedicated you:

"Since we found out about you, we've prayed that God would make you a strong leader for his kingdom, like your biblical namesake. We pray that you'll always follow God's leading and trust Him completely. We love your frequent smiles and your boundless energy; may you use both to encourage and strengthen those in need. 

We hope that you'll see in us not just how much we love you, but that we love Jesus. We pray that as we teach and guide you that we will give you grace, just as we have been given boundless grace through Christ Jesus. May our words and actions clearly show you how to live for Him. 

We hope that our marriage displays love, faithfulness, forgiveness and integrity as we seek to honor God with our commitment to each other and to our family. "

We love you, baby Joshua!

little things: busy edition

bah. We've been so busy lately, and I really don't like it. All good things, but so busy.

Brad has had frisbee and hockey games on the same night. Small group is another evening. This weekend we have concerts on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Our weekends have been full of house repairs and remodels.

We've traveled soooo much.

I'm tired.

It's just hard to stay positive when I feel so drained, when babysitters aren't available, when I might have to back out of a commitment. It's hard to share a car, pinch pennies and decide what we don't need until pay day, and to wait. I'm trying to still my heart and listen for what God might want to teach me through this, for how he might strengthen me to face what it is that I must do. And for wisdom to do it well.

But, we have everything we need. Food, warmth, love, shelter. Family, friends, comfort, safety. A working car. Some money in the bank. Each other.

God is good, even in the middle of my stress. "Oh, for grace to trust Him more."

So, here are some little things.

1. Brad took us to the Rochester, NY Lilac Festival for part of my Mother's Day gift.

2. He also bought me a gorgeous orchid.
3. Our new house is slowly decluttering as I put boxes in the attic and unpack. I'm working on it slowly as the baby naps and I have the energy to unpack. I'm trying to be okay with the corners of chaos. I am thankful for our many possessions, though they are many.
4. I love the sunshine that streams in our windows!
5. My baby boy is almost able to sit up on his own, and is such a happy guy most of the time.
6. We will see both my parents and Brad's parents this weekend.
7. We have the opportunity to sing classical music together in a choir again, and it's so fun.
8. I got an encouraging email from a former choir student who is now studying music at a local university.
9. The previous owner of our house planted some perennials I love: bleeding heart flowers and hydrangeas, to name a couple!
10. It's nice enough to let laundry dry outside. Oh! And my laundry machines are in my very own basement. Hooray!

Well, I feel better now. What are you thankful for?

thrifting again!

Saturday morning was Joshua's first yard sale trip with his Mommy! We met up with Meg, who blogs over here. She invited us to check out the community-wide yard sale event just a few miles from our new home, and there were so many great things!

It was difficult to find parking, but we succeeded in finding a space for our big SUV. I set up the stroller, plopped Joshua in, put his sun hat on his head, and headed out!

The neighborhood was so beautiful, with nicely planned gardens, well-kept homes, and friendly people. There were so many great sales, too! I spent a whopping five dollars. Here's the breakdown:

Two dollars for...

...a belly band (for my next pregnancy... not anytime too soon!) in black. Similar ones retail for about $18, and you can see how it's used here. The one I borrowed from my friend, Sarah, allowed me to wear my non-maternity pants for all of my pregnancy. Yes, maternity pants were more comfortable at about 8 months and following, but I could still wear the non-maternity jeans, and it felt GREAT.

One dollar for...

...a gently used Nalgene On-The-Go bottle in a vivid lime green. Sanitized in my dishwasher, and bam! About $10 saved.

One dollar for...

...two, count 'em, two, Pyrex refrigerator dishes, like this blue one. That would have set me back about $10 each at an antique store. Now I have three blue and one aqua, and I'm only missing one lid. I also have two small dishes - one red, one pink - and two large yellow dishes. Yay!

One dollar for...

...an adorable nautical romper, a lot like this one, for my baby boy. He wore it that very day to a friend's first birthday party!

And that, my friends, is five dollars well-spent. A modest guess of how much I saved off of retail prices? About $60.

To add to the fun, I had been to one of my favorite thrift shops earlier in the week with my sweet baby. He enjoyed his nap in the Ergo carrier while I enjoyed some thrifting...that's a win-win situation. I found him a little fisherman's floppy sun hat (similar to this, for $20), a set of about 120 colored blocks, similar to these (about $20), and six children's picture books, including a Pat the Bunny ABC book, a Baby Einstein book, a Priddy book, a beautifully illustrated Max Lucado children's story, and a book of Bible stories. It just happened to be 25% off everything day, so the blocks came to $7.50, the books were just $4, and the hat was $4. Amount saved instead of purchasing brand new? About $80.

Oh! And just this past Monday, Stephanie and I took our boys to Once Upon a Child, where we found adorable little shoes and summer clothes for them. It's so easy to overspend there, and I did spend more than I meant to spend. Alas, it was all for good deals and for things my baby can use all summer. Hooray for thrifting! Hooray for friends! Hooray for sisters!

And thanks be to God for the many ways he has blessed us. We have so much more than we need, and I am grateful.

Citrus vinaigrette

I've been avoiding dairy products for almost two weeks now! So far, I can't say I've seen much improvement in baby Josh, but I have "cheated" for a slice of pizza and a spoonful of my mom's delicious chocolate buttercream. I bought almond milk last week, and I'm trying almond-coconut milk this week, I've tried rice cheese, and I'm mostly doing ok. I bought spinach salad to be sure I'm getting enough calcium, too. I do really miss yogurt and I'm wishing for ice cream, but it's ok. Mostly, I've been so surprised at how many prepared foods have milk or whey in them! I was shocked that my favorite crackers, salt & vinegar chips, and even spaghetti sauce have milk products in them.

Speaking of that spinach, though - I almost poured buttermilk ranch dressing all over it! I reached for the Italian instead, and realized I'd purchased the kind with Parmesan cheese in it - oops. So, what to do? Make dressing, of course! I did a quick search for easy vinaigrette recipes and settled on this one.

I gathered my ingredients, pleased that I actually had most of the in the house. I've been packing for our move this weekend, so many of our kitchen items are in boxes somewhere in the apartment.

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 lemon, zested (skipped this)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon honey (I couldn't get the jar open, so I used white sugar instead)
• 1/8 cup chopped fresh basil (I already packed the spices, so I left this out)
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

I guessed on measurements, because my measuring cups and spoons are packed. Surprisingly enough, it turned out deliciously!

I've been eating it on salads all week now. It's especially yummy with grilled chicken and dried berries. Hooray!

Now, back to packing boxes. Well, after I finish snuggling with baby Joshua as he naps :)

little things

Tonight, my little guy has gone to bed a few minutes early, so I have a bit of time to write! Here are some of the little things I count as blessings:

1. I'm thankful for the golden orange sun shining off the roofs of the buildings across the street as the sun sets over our city.
2. There are green buds on the trees outside our bathroom window, forsythia flowers spilling over the fence, and lots of robins playing in the (very large) puddle (pond) in the parking lot.
3. My husband was home with us all day as we enjoyed the Sunday service, a quiet lunch of leftovers, and some much-needed family down time.
4. Our new dining room is RED! And I've surprised the cool-colors, conservatively-decorating, introverted me by loving it. So excited.
5. We're moving on Saturday! And very little is packed. But with that, I realize that we have an abundance of possessions. We have much for which to be thankful. How often have I taken these things for granted? How much do I invest in these things that I should be giving to other, more important things? Taking stock of more than stuff as I pack things into boxes, taping and labeling like crazy.
6. I love the way that it stays lighter longer as the seasons lean toward warmer weather. Thanks to God for providing something lovely in every season.
7. I'm trying a dairy-free diet to help my son's digestive troubles go away...I hope they go away! I've discovered that almond milk is pretty delicious, as long as I'm not expecting it to taste like milk. And rice cheese flavored like cheddar is good. Next week, I'll try rice milk.

The cute reason for the temporary diet change

8.  I got to wear one of my favorite skirts today - the purple one with pockets. I felt cute and I feel great about beginning to get back to my previous size. Now, I need to regain muscle tone... how to fit in exercise?
9. Paper plates. This week, I am grateful for them.
10. My family: in-laws, parents, siblings. For good friends. For lots of prayer. God has blessed us in every way, and with more than we could have imagined.

What are you thanking Him for today?

the Liebster award

These are the rules for the Liebster Award:

~Thank the blogger who presented you with the Liebster Award, and link back to his or her blog.
~Answer the 11 questions from the nominator; list 11 random facts about yourself, and create 11 questions for your nominees.
~Present the Liebster Award to 11 bloggers, who have blogs with 200 followers or less, whom you feel deserve to be noticed. Leave a comment on the blogs letting the owners know they have been chosen. (No tag backs.)
~Upload the Liebster Award image to your blog.
~ Linnea's new rule: don't feel that you must participate. This is solely for fun. 

Thanks again to Sara at The Emet Mommy for nominating me for the award! It's sweet of you to like my little blog enough to promote it.

Now, normally, I'm a rule follower. I like neat little boxes and square corners. I like neat, clean, predictable. But I really don't like stuff like this. I do understand that it can drive traffic to one's blog, which is great, but I feel pigeonholed, like the friendship bread thing, or like chain letters, or those ridiculous "repost this or God doesn't love you" things on Facebook.  

So I'm gonna break the rules a bit, and allow y'all to do the same. (Did you see that? A Yankee girl using y'all. If that's not rule breaking...)

Here are the 11 questions I have to answer:

1. What's your favorite color?

   Blue. Almost any shade of blue, but I love the lighter ones best.

2. Do you think you are beautiful? Why or why not?

   Yes. Because beauty comes from the inside out, and I'm continually relying on God to change me for the better. Besides, my husband thinks I am, so it must be true! ;o)

3. Are you evening gown or jeans and T-shirt?

  Both? I love dressing up, but I wear nicer casual clothes almost every day.

4. Who is your personal hero?
 My mommy. She's a great friend, and has given so much to take care of me.

5. What's on your ipod these days?
I don't actually know where my iPod is, but I've been listening to some choral music on YouTube in preparation for a concert! Rachmaninoff, Culloton, Whitacre...

6. What's your favorite thing to cook?
Spaghetti. Quick, easy, and delicious.

7. Why do you blog?
I love that there's a way for me to spill all my thoughts on a "page" without having to run my mouth at my hubby when he first gets home - haha! It means that I can share what's on my mind without being the-annoying-one-who-doesn't-stop-talking. And I can delete things I didn't mean to say. It also helps me to visually focus on the positive things in my life and helps me to gain perspective! Besides, I like the community.

8. What is your favorite time of day?
Morning, with sun streaming in. 

9. Coffee or tea?
Tea, please. No sugar or cream, unless it's a chai latte. 

10. When you get to Heaven what do you hope to hear God say?
"Well done, daughter."

11. Will Ferrell love him or hate him?

 Indifferent.

Here are 11 random facts about me:

1.I'm cutting out dairy to see if it helps my son feel better. He has been a very fussy baby since day one, and I'm hoping this helps!
2. I love ice cream, (especially Turkey Hill's Extreme Cookies and Cream) therefore, the previous is difficult.
3. I play the piano.
4. I prefer impressionist art, but appreciate almost all fine art.
5. There are only three colors of nail polish in my current collection, and I haven't used them since my baby was born!
6. I wish I could figure out how to fit in running and Pilates in each day.
7. I'm looking for more cloth diapers to add to my collection of 12.
8. I've been to all but 10 of the United States. Most of those I haven't visited are on the West Coast.
9. My first kitten was orange.
10. I had an orange-themed birthday party when I turned 15.
11. I have some silver hairs, and  I'm not even 30 yet. I've decided not to dye them, either.
12. I hate feeling like I must write on my blog. This is purely for fun and positivity.

Here are the 11 questions for the bloggers I nominated:

1. Do you prefer being indoors or outdoors/ Why?

2. Do you have any siblings? Do you feel that it affects who you are now?

3. What do you do for exercise?

4. If you could be anywhere in the world for 24 hours, where would you go and what would you do?

5. What or who inspires you?

6. What comes to mind when you think of the word "honor"?

7. Do you have a favorite breakfast cereal? What is it? (For the record, I have two faves: Cheerios, General Mills brand only, and Cracklin' Oat Bran.)

8. Mac or PC? Why?

9. Pen, pencil, or crayons?

10. Tell me about your pet(s). Or, if you don't have one, tell me about a "pet" idea or project of yours.

11. What keeps you from taking the steps to become what you've dreamed?

Here are the (eight) blogs I nominated:

 Loving Life with the Landins

Chasin' Cakes 

(Not As) Big Bob 

Back and Better Than Ever
Weekly Scripture Reflections
Floral & Fudge
Jim & Suzy in Ecuador
Crispin Chronicles

a mini celebration of spring

We've had our first warm Western New York spring day! And I do really mean warm - it was in the 60's and sunny, which is cause for celebration.

What is this warm weather you speak of? All I know is snow!

So, I just couldn't resist dressing the little guy in something cute and summery, and was so excited that this cute little outfit that I made fits him already!

I could get used to warm weather...

Isn't he adorable? Wearing Daddy's shirts already. :o)