Existential Insight

Anyone who's been to our house in Jackson may remember this collage frame that used to hang in our living room. You won't remember the photos in it, however, because for 4 years it sported the little paper photos that came in it. By the time we packed it up, I had even made up names for the characters - Great Aunt Myrtle, and so on. It was one of my husband's biggest pet peeves about our house, that I had never filled this collage with personal photographs, and to be honest, I have no idea why it took me so long to do so. Maybe someday I'll be able to afford that therapy - but I digress.

One of the projects Mom helped me take on while she was here was to fill this frame with our own photos - its now hanging in our stairwell, and, I must admit, it does look better than it used to with the pre-fab photos of the weird old lady sitting on a donkey (i'm not kidding - that was Great Aunt Myrtle).

Anyway, we're about to head out for a church hayride, so Will was walking up the stairs to get his stuff together (we've got to dig out our jackets and such since it's going to get into the 40's here tonight). A few minutes later, I heard Will comment from the stairwell, "You must have had some kind of existential insight when you put these pictures in here!"

Well, of course, dear! Existential insight is what I'm best known for! I knew immediately what he was commenting on though - the fact that in the bottom corners, I have us as children - me with a chocolate cake all to myself, and Will on a motorcycle... existential insight indeed.

Nesting?!?!

I had always thought of the "nesting instinct" as an instinct to clean obsessively getting ready for the baby ... could it be that my nesting instinct exhibits itself in cooking (and thereby making a huge mess)? If that's not what it was, then I have no earthly idea what got into me yesterday afternoon and evening!

It started out with Will wanting chicken pot pie, one of our favorite recipes that I hadn't made in quite some time, and me wanting to try a new recipe for homemade granola. Then, when I was out running errands, I stopped by the farmers market and picked up corn, squash, peaches, carrots, and etc.

So, when I got home, I had to "deal with my vegetables," as my mom would say. Things just snowballed from there, and by the time the cooking marathon was over, I had steamed zucchini, carrots, and a whole bunch of green beans, and made two batches of granola (one chocolate and one apricot/cranberry), "sugared nuts" (one of our favorite salad toppings), chicken salad, and chicken pot pie.

Sometime in the middle of the whole thing, the thought did occur to me, "What on earth am I doing?" But by then, I had about 4 things in process and couldn't stop! So, when we finally sat down to dinner, almost every mixing bowl, pot, pan, measuring utensil, and available surface in our kitchen was dirty! There was nothing to do but step back and laugh at myself and how preposterous the whole thing was ... then lay down on the couch and save the dishes to do today! :)

A Discipline of Thanksgiving (One Thousand Gifts)

Does anyone else ever feel like being thankful is an act of your will? It's not that, in general, I'm not grateful to God for countless things, but at certain times, because of my own sin, hormones, or whatever, it's hard to see the forest for the trees, as they say.

I've been feeling weepy today as I contemplate the upcoming holidays, our first to celebrate with our precious baby, but also our first to celebrate so far from our families. And travel takes time. And travel is expensive (sometimes shockingly so, as we discovered during our initial ticket search last night). And airplanes are especially nerve-racking for us because of so many germs and peanuts. And then, if I let myself, a whole snowball of negativity gets started in my head of everything that's wrong or hard or hurts in life.

The reality is, God has been unfailingly faithful (can you say that?) to us over this transition. As I look back, I can't begrudge Him anything - He has provided. And just because He hasn't always provided in the ways that I wanted Him to, doesn't mean He isn't there for me. A very wise woman at Bible study last week pointed out that, "Sometimes we don't know where God is, but He always knows where we are."

Back in the spring when it became apparent that this transition was on the horizon for us, my mom started a list of all the things that God would need to work out on our behalf - from Will's graduation to the moving process to finding a church here. I've been postponing fully celebrating that list because its not complete yet (our house is still on the market) - but who am I to tell God how to provide for me? He promises that when His children ask for bread, He will not give them a stone. (Matthew 7:7-11)

30. webcams
29. our townhouse - cute, cozy, and convenient
28. our church - full of sweet people who have lived out the love of Christ to us
27. a second car - a gracious gift
26. artwork and photographs to hang on my walls
25. an awesome grocery store close to our house
24. a good doctor here
23. a gorgeous park just 5 minutes from us
22. a job that my husband enjoys
21. GRACE!

So cute!

Sometimes I feel like I can relate to this poor puppy! I'll be glad to feel "normal sized" again :)

The Big Red Pot

Tonight, I got out my big red pot for the first time since moving to CNY. My mom gave me the big red pot for Christmas last year, and I've loved it ever since. It's perfect for making huge batches of soup/chili/spaghetti, and I'm partial to anything that comes in red anyway :) Plus, I figure anytime I can cook, I might as well cook extra to freeze or give away to someone. When I can freeze my leftovers, I feel a little bit like a pioneer woman - or a squirrel saving acorns for winter. When I can give some away, I feel I'm living out that grand Southern tradition that says whenever something is wrong, eating something yummy will definitely help!

Tonight, I made a double recipe of Sante Fe Soup and I'm planning to freeze lots of it for those soon coming days when I won't have time to make dinner.

I first discovered my need for a really big pot when making double recipes of spaghetti for some dear friends who had lots going on ... as referenced above, when life gets hard, good Southern girls feed someone something :) Anyway, you know you have too much spaghetti in your pot when you can't stir it without spilling sauce on your stove. Then everyone in our church started having babies and I was making more and more double recipes of soup/chili/spaghetti. And so, mom came across the genius big red pot.

It brings back lots of memories, but also makes me excited about days to come... feet of snow outside our little townhouse, cooking up a pot of something yummy, while watching our little guy nap and waiting for daddy to get home...

... until the pot boils over, little guy starts screaming, and daddy is late for dinner... just needed a little dose of reality there :)

Blessingway

Our new church has a wonderful tradition called a "Blessingway," a time for the women of the church to gather around a sister who is getting married or having a baby and shower her with Scripture and prayers. The ladies in our church were so sweet to give me a Blessingway this past Sunday in anticipation of Baby Trautman's arrival. It was a truly precious time, and my soul was refreshed through the reading of the Word and through their prayers for me, Will, and our little one. Here are just a few of the Scriptures that were shared:

"He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to his heart; He gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40:11

"I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ... And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment so that you can determine what really matters and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God." Phil. 1:6, 9-11

"The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:5b-7

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Cor. 9:8

No blogging - too busy talking!

This morning we put my mom on a plane back to TN - she deserves a round of applause (or a massage or something :) for braving the often-not-too-friendly skies to come visit us. And she's already made it home safely - despite a last minute gate change in Newark!

We got so much done while she was here (I was often forced to forego my afternoon nap :) We organized closets, organized baby stuff, washed baby clothes and bedding, finished decorating the nursery, walked at the park, went to the Farmers Market, and did all kinds of cooking - butternut squash soup, honey mustard dressing, and old family favorites, "Chicken Sauterne" and "Ranger cookies." (in all honesty, mom did most of the cooking :)

It was kind of surreal at first to see her sitting just across the living room from me - after 3 months of just talking to our families on the phone, it was so great to have her here - she got to see our grocery store, church, park, etc., even some friends houses and the hospital! We didn't do anything way too exciting - a lot of sitting, talking, and sipping coffee, which was exactly what my soul needed! Thank you God for Moms!

We are only 11 days from our due date - golly, how time flies! At my doctor's appt this morning, everything is still looking good and right on time - I'd even lost a pound! I had to do a double-take at the scales, and after being assured by both the doctor and nurse that losing a few pounds in the last few weeks is normal and fine, I allowed myself to have a little celebration in my head! After gaining __ pounds, what fun to see the numbers go down for the first time in 9 months! (no, I am not going to publish how much weight I've gained for all the world to see :)

Anyway, we are so excited for Baby Trautman to join us - and everything is ready for him, thanks to his Grandma's help ... the sheets are washed, the little tiny outfits organized, the diapers handy, and the hospital bag packed! So, whenever you're ready little buddy, we'll be glad to meet you!

Labor Day Weekend

Isn't it nice to have a break from routine with a holiday weekend every now and then? We were so looking forward to the chance to kick-back and little!

First, on Friday morning, it occurred to me that in just a few weeks, I'll have a newborn to take care of and so i'd better quit procrastinating the haircut I've been needing. So Friday afternoon, I braved a new salon and got a haircut, making this the 3rd time during this pregnancy I've gotten TWO INCHES cut off my hair! Must be all those vitamins ... anyway, though the cut isn't as great as my stylist in Jackson would have done it, its pretty good so I'm grateful!

Then Friday evening, Will and I took in one of the staples of CNY culture - the New York State Fair. It was a beautiful evening and we truly enjoyed it - we toured the livestock, arts and crafts, and so on, not to mention the man who almost convinced me to buy a $500 blender :) My two favorite displays were the butter sculpture and the sand sculpture. Though "regulars" seemed to think the butter sculpture was less than wonderful this year, I, who have never seen anything carved entirely out of butter (except those little florets you put on your roll at fancy restaurants) was impressed!We concluded the evening with a concert by Switchfoot and a funnel cake! yum!


Then on Monday, again trying to enjoy beautiful weather before the dreaded winter comes to stay with us for a while, we visited a nearby state park called Green Lakes. The water in these glacier lakes is uniquely green for some chemical/biological reason I won't try to explain here, but I don't think the color showed up in any of our pictures. It was a most enjoyable 3-mile walk though!
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend as well! And a big hello to everyone we missed at this year's Stack Family Labor Day Gathering!

Whole Grain Mexican Wedding Cookies

On this lovely Thursday evening, Will is acquainting himself with the 40 page manual (i'm not exaggerating) required to safely install and operate our carseat, and I'm baking cookies. Boy, I'm glad my husband is an engineer! :)

Ever since I started this blog, I've thought it would be fun to occasionally share new recipes that I've come across since I've been so enjoying cooking lately (now that I have time to do it!) It is only fitting that this is my first recipe to share since it has been a "pregnancy favorite." The original recipe can be found at 101cookbooks.com, a whole foods recipe website. I've modified the recipe a bit (hopefully for the better - I added chocolate chips! :).

These cookies became especially important to me after a visit to the doctor a month or so ago when they warned me to "be sure to watch that weight gain." Who in their right mind says that to a hormonal pregnant woman?! After obsessing about it for the rest of the day, I was reminded of my wise friend Ellen who often says, "Sensitivity to reproof is the surest sign of need of it." (originally from Fenelon's Let Go, I believe.)

So, I decided that yes, indeed, I had been eating too many ice cream sandwiches and I needed a healthier option to indulge that chocolate craving of mine. Here's the recipe - with whole wheat flour and only 1/2 cup sugar in the whole batch, its basically like eating a granola bar! :)

Whole Grain Mexican Wedding Cookies

1 cup pecans, pureed in food processor (I put them in my coffee grinder and run it till they are finely broken up, but some still in larger pieces)
1 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup oat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
powdered sugar for dusting (optional - yes, they still taste good w/out the powdered sugar on top!)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Beat the butter until it becomes creamy (the original recipe calls for mixing all the ingredients in a stand mixer, which I'm sure would be lovely, but since I have not been blessed with one of those beauties yet, I just use my regular old mixer). Add the sugars and mix till everything is creamy and lighter in color. Next, add vanilla and ground pecans. Slowly add the flours and salt, mixing till a stiff dough is formed. Finally, add a (generous) 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips.

Form dough into cookies, w/approx. 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie. Bake for 12 minutes (it takes more like 14 min. on my airbake cookie sheets) or until the bottoms of the cookies begin to brown slightly. Dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy! (Makes about 2 dozen cookies)

She's coming!!!

My mom is coming one week from today!!! yay!! I've missed her so much since we've moved so far away and I'm so excited! Talking on the phone (which we do a lot and for which I am incredibly grateful) still can't compare with seeing her face-to-face. Not to mention, she'll be able to help with last minute nursery prep and making lots of good food for us. :)

My mom is such a blessing to me and I just pray that I can be that same kind of blessing to our kids someday!

(pics are from the shower that the sweet ladies in her church gave for us right before we left TN)