Through the Glass Dimly

I have not blogged in a long time. That's what everyone with a blog says when they write a blog after taking a long departure from the blogosphere. So what have I been doing? Learning how to be a mommy. Ellie turned 4 months old last week, and was baptized yesterday!!! I feel sooo blessed to be called her mother, and she thrills my soul. Trying to jump start my photography business. Being on maternity leave is really giving me the opportunity to figure out what I really want in life, and that is to be a mommy/wife, create, write, and cook. I remember falling in love with photography long ago, and I am rediscovering my old love. There is so much to start a business its a bit overwhelming, but I pray the Lord directs each of my steps on this attempt and that I don't get so busy that I become a bad mommy. In my attempt to jumpstart my business and to figure out what I really want, I attended this online seminar the other day about being in years 1-3 of a new photography busi...

Ellie had what we thought were a couple of seizures yesterday afternoon. They scared her and us, so we headed to the hospital where she had one more "episode". Anyhow, the ER doctor told us that it sounded like a perfect description of seizures, and sent the pediatrician on duty to talk to us. The pediatrician said that only one of the three episode sounded like a possible seizure, so he ordered us to stay 48 hours for observation, and an EEG. I'm not really sure how I feel about their differences in opinion... but I am grateful that tests are getting done. Nothing happened after we were admitted, except a lot of terrible sleep. They weren't going to let Josh stay with me, but they did in the end, as he asked if he could sleep in the rocking chair. I was so grateful that he was here. I was really a nervous wreck, and was not looking forward to finding out what I would be like when he left. This morning she had her EEG. She did great. They p...

I love soup! It’s such an easy thing to make and have homemade-fresh-on-hand. Once upon a time I would make a big pot of soup once a week, and it would serve as lunch for my little two-person family throughout the week, or for a quick supper on a busy night with added homemade biscuits.  I have always heard of Butternut Squash Soup, and have wanted to attempt it. Today seemed like the right day, as I had a bit of extra energy (energy which is gradually leaving me completely as I am now 36 weeks pregnant), a butternut squash, some alone time while Josh was doing yard work for a woman at my parents church, and a need to eat something wholesome for lunch. I absolutely LOVED this soup. So I thought I'd share the recipe with you. It has such a rich creamy texture with a warm fall spicy sweetness. Let me know if you try out the recipe! Butternut Squash Soup Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter (you can substitute a cholesterol free substitute if you prefer) 1 small onion, ch...

I'm pretty sure this song will forever remind me of this pregnancy. I listened to it so much when I was first pregnant, driving to work and feeling oh so nauseous. I heard it again last Sunday morning, on the way to church, and it meant so much more to me then. Since Josh isn't legally able to work right now, and I was put on modified bed rest just a few days previous to said Sunday morning, I was struggling in my spirit. I don't want to complain about how bad I have it. I am blessed. However humbling it may be, it is pure grace that we are able to live at my sweet and generous parents home right now. I could just as easily be out on the street this very moment, but I am blessed with a roof over my head, and food to eat, though I will not say that it is easy to live like this. Wondering how we will pay bills, and whether we will have what we need for Ellie when she arrives. Needless to say, this is not the position that I had dreamed of when I thought of ...

When I was a kid, Friday nights were reserved for only fun dinners, and family night. We'd start with something like tacos (which have always been my favorite), and brown cows (a brown cow is A&W root beer with just a shot of milk in it: kind of tastes like a melted float! Soooo good), and then we'd watch TGIF complete with the best shows like Perfect Strangers, Full House, Family Matters, etc. Friday nights were always so much fun growing up. When I was in college Friday nights became date night, and mine and Josh's favorite place to go out for a date night was Carino's Italian Grill (where I later worked for 2 years doing things from hostessing to waiting tables to being a salad/dessert chef). Because what is more romantic than Italian food? When I first got married I had the same mentality: Friday Equals Fun Time. And so I've always tried to make something fun for dinner. Tonight was no different. I thought I'd share the recipes with you (which I...

One of my favourite things to cook is soup. Saturday used to be my soup making day. I would make a big pot of some delicious piping soup that would serve as one dinner in the week, and several lunches. Soup is just such a well rounded food. It can be a nice light meal, or a hearty wintery dinner. In honour of fall inching its way closer to us, I've decided to post a recipe that I made for lunch today. Feel free to substitute any bean you fancy. I used white kidney beans because that is what I had, but black beans would be excellent as well. Lemonisious Bean Soup 3 Cans White Kidney Beans (feel free to try out other types) 1 Cup Water 1/2 Onion, finely diced 1 Rib Celery, with leaves, finely diced Freshly Ground Black Pepper (you can use regular ground black pepper, but freshly ground is nicer) 1 teaspoon celery seeds Juice of 1 lemon 1 lemon, sliced paper thin, for garnish Celery leaves, for garnish Method : Heat the oil in a medium sized pot over medium heat. Add...

Remember how when you were three years old it really made you feel like your daddy loved you when he let you climb up into his lap and just rest there? Or how you really knew your mommy loved you when she saw you watching her with awe whilst she put her makeup on, and she dabbed just a smidge on your cheeks? As children we saw that our parents loved us when we got a brand new pretty pink dress instead of a hand-me-down, or that brand new Safari Barbie Doll we wanted oh so much. But even then, as children, we did not think about how our parents loved us with everything they did, including the difficult things, like not allowing us to go to that school party that was on Sunday because it was better for us to go to church than to do cool fun things with our friends, or giving us the hand-me-down clothes so they could provide us with other good things like food to eat. I've been thinking about the love of God a lot for the past few weeks, and how sometimes its a comfortable kind of ...