Christmas Morning

We tried really hard not to go overboard this Christmas, but in a few ways we just couldn't help ourselves. It was our first Christmas together as a family since Abby was born and last year she didn't grasp the concept of the holiday by any means. We got a full-sized tree, put lights up outside, and even decorated a gingerbread house!

This wonderful kit was sent to us by my good friend Barbara. This is as far as we ever got. I had big plans for landscaping that never came to fruition. Oh well. there is always next year!

This year Abby was in awe of the lights and trees, but mostly by the concept of presents. We didn't put any presents under the tree until Christmas morning and although Santa didn't give her any presents, we did tell her that he delivered all of the presents. We tried hard to remind her that this was all because of Jesus' birthday by reading Christmas story books of a Biblical nature and signing Christmas songs along the same lines throughout the month of December, but especially in the week leading up to Christmas. We made birthday cupcakes for Jesus and sang Him "Happy Birthday" on Christmas evening.

Our family traditions are pretty simple. We don't have any close family nearby and although we wish we could have spent the holidays with them, it can be nice to not be obligated to do a lot of running around. We had planned to make homemade pizza on Christmas Eve, but after waiting in line for nearly an hour for a free horse-drawn carriage ride before giving up we ended up going out to a late lunch and never got around to the pizza. On Christmas morning we had our wonderful neighbors and Abby's stand-in grandparents over for a huckleberry pancake breakfast. We stayed in our PJs all day and it was awesome. We ended up having our homemade pizza on Christmas, postponing our more traditional ham dinner another day.

Here are some pictures of Abby's favorite Christmas present - a second-hand desk hutch that Greg and I turned into a play kitchen...

Look at all those presents! Can you say "spoiled"? Thanks to Grandma & Grandpa Baker, Aunt Debi & Uncle Larry, Gram, Aunt April, and everyone else that sent cards, gifts, and warm wishes this year!

She knew exactly what to do with it and got right to work!

We'd hidden presents in the oven! We're so tricky!

Her best bud, Haylie, has been the only one over to play with it so far. She is four and a half and I'm very glad to see her enjoy it as much as she is. Hopefully this means that Abby won't be done with it next week!

We outfitted it with cheap pots, pans, and various utensils from the local Hospice Thrift Store. Grandma and Grandpa Baker supplied fruits, veggies, and a BBQ set. Abby was also given two homemade aprons, kitchen towels, pot holders, and a chef's from our sweet neighbors, her Great-Aunt Debi in Oregon, plus one that was made for her by Jenn.

At one point I was keeping track of much we spent on the renovation, but I smarted up and quit. It probably didn't end up costing any less than buying a plastic one when you factor in various tools and parts we needed to buy but will now have for future projects. I am very proud of our team work and am excited for all of the things we're planning for next Christmas.

I got the camera that all of these pictures were taken on and lot of odds and ends things that I'd been wanting for awhile. Aside from the camera, my biggest score was probably three sets of new jammies! Greg got lots of new power tools from his Mom and Dad and a pretty cool gift from me, not that I'm biased or anything. I put together twelve preplanned and prepaid dates, an idea I got from none other than Pinterest! He really liked it and had fun comparing the thickness of the various envelopes. For January we will be going snowshoeing, something we have been wanting to do since we moved here. I'll be sure to post each month's date as we come to them so that you can follow along on our adventure!

Greg's reaction to his gift from me. Pretty much priceless!

'Tis the Baking Season

As we were decorating our tree, we explained that it was for Baby Jesus' birthday, so now Abby thinks that Baby Jesus is actually IN our Christmas tree. When we turn on the lights she gasps and says "Look at Him!! Baby Jesus! Aww." (Have I mentioned lately that I love my camera?! Thanks again Love. You're too good to me!)

This year I have way more time than we have money, so all of our Christmas gifts are going to be homemade. Last week it dawned on me that the postal mail cut off for Christmas delivery is fast approaching. No biggie. Except that I have NOTHING done!! Not one single project is completed. I've always said that I work better under pressure and here I am proving it to be true yet again.

If you're expecting a Christmas package from me, I'd stop reading now. Unless of course you need a reason to stalk your mail carrier until it arrives! 

Friday and Saturday were spent working on crafty gifts for grandparents and some other pretty special people. I am so excited to share this project with you (my one faithful follower!), but you're just going to have to wait a few more weeks! The rest of my weekend was spent working up a baking plan and shopping for the coming week's meals and baking mayhem.

Today I was given the rare opportunity to sleep in. (Thanks Husband!) When I woke up I got straight to work - I baked bread for the second time this week, made coffee chocolate cake, Bailey's Irish Cream frosting, Orange-Almond-Cranberry Biscotti and Spritz/Press/Butter/Whatever You Want To Call Them Cookies. Then I made Slow Cooked Ratatuille with Polenta for dinner. After I cleaned up dinner and got Abby off to bed, I formed cake balls, which are now hanging out in the freezer waiting to be coated in chocolate tomorrow. I have also prepped for tomorrow's meals and measured dry ingredients for making Gingerbread Cookies and Peppermint Cocoa Kiss Cookies. Phew.

Oh my goodness I don't even think I can tell you how many times I have washed my mixer today! I am exhausted, but I absolutely must get a workout in tonight to make up for all of the finger-licking and taste testing I did today...and will do again tomorrow! For tonight, I will leave you with a few pictures and a promise for recipes to come!

Slow-Cooked Ratatouille and Polenta from America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. Hands down heartiest meatless meal I have ever made. I will definitely be adding this recipe to our regular rotation!

Orange-Cranberry-Almond Biscotti cooling and waiting for some white chocolate lovin'.

I love just plain ol' vanilla Spritz Cookies. It must be the simplicity and the less is more philosophy.  That and my cookie press was given to me by a very special person and I think of her so fondly every time I use it.

My Birthday Present to Myself

My 28th birthday is just over two months away (February 6th, if anyone cares to write it down) and I have decided what I am giving myself as a gift - my health. I don't consider myself to be unhealthy in weight or in lifestyle, but there is always room for improvement.

When I look back over the last ten years of my life I am astonished at how I have been on extreme opposite ends of the spectrum in so many areas of my life, but most notably in the health of my relationships, my physical, emotional and spiritual health. Interestingly enough, I can't pinpoint any one time in which I was on the extreme healthy or positive end of the spectrum in more than one or two of these areas at one time. It seems to take all of my being to excel in any one area and to attempt to tackle them all at one time would be incredibly trying. And yet to attain health and exude positive energy in all of these areas would be heavenly. So here I am.

I'm on this quest for a few reasons. One, because I think it would be awesome to be an all around healthy person. And two because I believe it's what God wants for me. He didn't design me to hold down a couch cushion or sit in front of a computer looking at all the great things everyone else in the world is doing. He has a purpose and a plan for me and I am certain that a part of that is for me to be as healthy as I can be.

Relationships 
I don't live anywhere near any relatives and although I do make efforts to call every so often, I'd like to write more, send more pictures, and be more invested in their daily lives in a way that Facebook doesn't allow.

I have always been blessed to have wonderful girl friends, but never more so than now. I have so many strong, intelligent, beautiful, and loving friends in my life that I don't feel that I give nearly as much to any of them as they give to me. In the next two months, I would like to make a point to find a way to reach out to each and every one of them to make sure that they know how special they are to me and how much I value them as women, wives, mothers, and as my friend.

My husband. Wow. I am amazed by him everyday and I am so grateful that God brought us together. We have such an amazing story and the parts of it that we will tell our children makes me so proud. He puts up with so much from me that I don't even know where to start. I spent the last year while he was in Iraq working on having a softer tongue and more of a servant's heart towards him, but it seemed as though the moment he stepped into "my" house and upset "my" routine all of that work went straight out the window. Everyday is a blessing and an opportunity to give him more, to love him more, and to encourage him more. I want to do more for him to show him how special he is to me.

My daughter is the light of my life. Some days I want dozens of children and others I am so in awe of my love for her that I am hesitant to share that with anyone else. I need to be more patient with her, give her more undivided attention, and engage in more active play with her.

My dog. I know this sounds silly, but I really do need to work on being a better caretaker to him. He needs walks, and Lord knows I do too. He needs affection and attention as much as any of us. I need to work on acknowledging him more than just when I am scolding him.

Physical Health
This is the area of my life that I have the hardest time finding a healthy middle ground in. The times in my life I have been at my physically fittest have tended to be the times that I am least healthy mentally, primarily because I use exercise as an escape. I guess there's some truth to being happy and fat, but I'd much rather be happy and healthy. I have about 15-20 pounds that I need to lose to put me back into a "healthy" weight and BMI range. I should lose two pounds a week putting me right at my goal weight on my birthday.

I will stop eating while I am cooking! I will keep a bowl of veggies on the counter for me to eat if I must.Learn to be okay with throwing away toddler scraps. This one is going to be hard for me because I hate to waste.

I am keeping a food diary and attempting to count calories. I started doing this yesterday and it's harder than you'd think when you make most everything from scratch. There are some really neat recipe analyzers online that I might eventually utilize for the things I make and eat most frequently, but for now I'm just estimating and paying closer attention to portion sizes. I am aiming for 1500 calories a day, which should put me on target to be at my goal weight by my birthday.

I will exercise regularly and in a realistic way. I will workout every other day using one of the 30-minute exercise videos I have. On the off days I will walk the dog when weather allows and make more of an effort to play games with Abby that require physical activity.

Emotional Health
Right now I am in a really good place emotionally. I can talk openly with most everyone in my life about my feelings. I do feel tired, but that's not really an emotion as much as it is a symptom of motherhood. I feel pretty level and when I do get a little off kilter it's nothing a glass of cheap red wine can't fix.

Spiritual Health
I am not plugged into a church. I don't read my Bible everyday. I don't pray as deeply as I'd like to. I don't give or serve as much as I feel called to. I feel like the Holy Spirit is saying "Go and Do" but my feet are cemented to the ground. I have felt a call to the mission field - to Mexico, to Romania, to Africa to anywhere that children need love. I want to go and do everything in my power to show them love and share with them the way my God loves me. I am lukewarm and I'm ignoring the Holy Spirit and it makes me sick.   

There is a lot about being an obedient wife and my husband being the spiritual leader that ties into all of this, but the truth is that I am responsible for my own soul. I will be the one looking at Almighty God on His throne someday and I will be the one who has to answer when He says, "my child, why did you not go when I told you to go?"

I know that if I get things right with God that everything else will fall into place. I don't have a plan for this area because it just doesn't feel right to have one. I am reading my Bible more, but I need to carve out a regular time and place for God and me to just chat.