Ellis at 4 months

I can't believe it! Ellis is 4 months old!  I promise it's true because she had her 4 month check up yesterday. Here's some little bits you might want to know about her right now. (They change and develop so, no too, quickly.)

• Her stats: 12 lbs 13 oz; 24.5 in. She's in the 50th percentile for both.
• She continues to be a good night sleepler. Sometimes a complete 12 hours. Sometimes she wakes up after 9 hours, eats, and goes back to sleep.
• She's not a good napper, unless she has fallen asleep in her carseat after a trip out somewhere. Then she'll sleep for hours. Otherwise, it's usually about 30 minutes in her crib. I can't complain though because I'd rather her be a good night sleeper if I had to pick.
• She has started reaching for and grabbing things. She doesn't really try to put them in her mouth though.
• She has started the beginning process of rolling over. She will turn her body to her side. I feel a little guilty that I don't give her a whole lot of floor time. I would love to spend all her waking moments playing with her on the floor, but...there's a house that needs at least a little attention.
• She has celebrated her first Halloween although she didn't get dressed up.
• She has celebrated her first Thanksgiving.
• She really wants to be able to sit up on her own. She tries to pull her head up when she's sitting in her rocker. She can hold herself for a few moments when she is on my lap.
• She's definately a mommy's girl. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts because I know the day will quickly come when her daddy will be the one, just like Parker.
• She loves to watch Parker. He makes her smile and laugh. I can't blame her. He makes me smile and laugh too.

Speaking of Parker, it's 4:30pm, and he is still napping. If I don't go wake him right now, going to bed will be a difficult process tonight. I'm probably too late already.

Thankful

On this Thanksgiving Eve, I wanted to take time out to list some things I am thankful for.  Notice I said some, if I listed everything this would be the blog that never ends.
1. First and foremost, I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him I would still be a slave to sin, but now I am free. I have a freedom beyond any ideals of the freedom of a nation like America. It's so much deeper.
2. I am thankful for God the Father. God is creator. He is so powerful that He spoke the world into existence. In His power, I find peace and rest.
3. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit. He is God living in me. I can't fathom the depth of what that means; that I have an omnipotent, omniscent, sovereign, holy (I could go on...) God who reigns in me molding me into the image of Christ.
I know that all three-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- are one but I wanted to make a distinction of the gratefulness that I have for each.
4. I am thankful that I am poor. I know that sounds odd, but I struggle with wanting financial security. The fact that we don't have a lot of money has allowed God to painfully strip away the idols that I had placed before Him. I am learning that my security lies in Him and Him alone. He is ALL I need.  Even if I died naked and starving living in a cardboard box that would still be true. The things of this world can no longer satisfy me the way that God does.
5. I am thankful that my life has not turned out the way I had planned. God in His infinate wisdom knew what was/is best for me.
6. I am thankful for my marriage. I love Paul so much and in so many ways. He is such an amazing man. God is strengthening our marriage as He is growing us individually and as a couple.
7. I am thankful for my children. I can use the plural form because we were blessed with our second child, Ellis, this year. Both of our children never cease to amaze me. I often watch them, and I am in awe at the blessing they are.
8. I am thankful for my family. I can't even begin to list all the reasons why. They have been so good to us and have sacrificed on our behalf.
9. I am thankful for the work that God is doing in my life. I had gotten to a place where I wasn't really growing in my relationship with Him, but now, that has changed. God is so amazing! I just want to know more and more of Him.
10. I am thankful for Bethany Westville Baptist. We certainly didn't expect to end up here, but we have been so blessed to be welcomed into such a loving church family.
11. I am thankful I am able to read. I can read God's Word which is transforming. I can read many books that although aren't Scripture are still used by God to challenge me and mold me more and more into the image of Christ.
12. I am thankful that I am nothing. I am helpless and hopeless apart from God. Anything I am, say, and do is only through Him. I like that I am nothing. It is such a relieve to realize who God is and who I am in comparison to Him.

How to Make Pumpkin Puree

I can't stand to be wasteful so I decided I was going to use the pumpkins we got at the pumpkin patch to make puree for different recipes. Here's how I did it with the assisstance of a 2 year old.

1. Select a pumpkin/s. The smaller pumpkins (usually called pie pumpkins) make a sweeter, darker puree although any pumpkin can be used. The bigger jack-o-lantern pumpkins are not as sweet and the texture can be grainy.

2. Cut open the pumpkin and scrape out the innerds (I think that is such a funny word..innerds..hehehe). Don't throw away the seeds!

3. Cut the pumpkin into fairly uniform sized chunks and place on a cookie sheet. Bake in the oven at 325 degrees for one hour or until fork tender.

4. While the pumpkin is baking, separate the seeds from the pulp.

5. Wash and dry the seeds to get them ready to toast. A recipe for toasted pumpkin seeds will follow.

6. After the pumpkin has cooled for 10-15 minutes, separate the flesh from the skin. I just used a butter knife but you can also use a spoon to scrape it off the skin.

7. Puree the pumpkin in a blender until smooth. Do not add water unless the puree is dry and not coming together smoothly.

Now you have a puree to use in a multitude of pumpkin recipes. I split my puree into one cups servings and froze. I will be trying some recipes and will post if I find some good ones.

"Please put your clothes on"

I think I say that 3,259 times in one day lately. Parker is going through the "I'd rather run around naked" stage of toddlerhood. Most of the time I can get him to at least put on a diaper or a pair of underware, but if he has to go potty, then off they go. I'm trying to teach him that we don't take our clothes off until we get to the bathroom, but so far it hasn't sunk in. Hopefully it will soon because it is becoming questionable if I should take him into public.
The other day we were at the library killing time before my hair appointment. I was feeding Ellis when all of a sudden I notice Parker start messing with his pants. I told him to stop, but he told me he had to go pee pee. I got him distracted long enough for me to put Ellis into her carseat so I could get his pants back where they belonged.
I'm hoping this stage is short lived. At least one benefit is it makes it easier to work on potty training.

If you leave Parker alone with office supplies...

he will transform into a sticker monster!

Parker loves stickers! For some reason when he gets a hold of them, they always go on his belly. I've seen him with more stickers on him than this, believe it or not.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

I can't take credit for this recipe. I found it on allrecipes.com. It is very yummy recipe for pumpkin seeds.

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/4 teaspoons seasoned salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Rinse the pumpkin seeds and pat dry. Place them in a bowl. Add the Worcestershire sauce, melted butter and seasoned salt; stir until evenly coated. Spread out in an even layer on a baking sheet.
3. Bake for about 1 hour in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until crisp, dry and golden brown.

Pumpkins (the round orange kind) and Pumpkins (the cute little kid kind)

In October, my sister, her mother-in-law, and I took the kids to McLeod Farms to the pumpkin patch. It was a nice, warm day, and there were some beautiful pumpkins to pick. It was a fun day on the farm.

Riding the hay ride out to the pumpkin patch.

Parker would have picked out every pumpkin if I let him. He had so much fun running through the rows of pumpkins. We finally settled on 2 pumpkins to take home with us.

Our harvest

Beautiful farm land. Those clouds looked fierce but they didn't rain on us.

It's not easy getting a 5 yr old, a 3 yr old, a two yr old, and a one yr old all sitting and looking at the camera.

My beautiful niece, Hannah, with her model pose.

I realize now that we matched, but that wasn't planned. I promise Ellis came with us, but she was sleeping soundly in the stroller. They say, "let sleeping babies lie," so I let her be.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I took the kids outside today to enjoy the beautiful weather. I was standing with my arms crossed looking out admiring the beautiful day while I was praying. All of a sudden I realized Parker was standing beside me with his arms crossed looking the same way I was. He is at the age where he immitates almost everything Paul and I do or say.  It is a priveledge that our child wants to be like us, but that comes with great responsibility.
I want nothing more than for my child to be like Christ, so that means I have to immitate Christ. I have to find joy in acting the way or saying things just like Jesus, in the same manner that Parker finds joy in copying me. In order to be like Christ, I have to know Christ in an intimate way. As parents, we are the greatest influence in our children's lives. So, I must do all I can to point them to Christ.

100 Posts!

I was about to create another post when I realized that I had 99 posts, so I thought I would create a special 100th post just to talk about having 100 posts. Yes, I realize this is silly, but it's my blog so I can do what I want.