Made Me Jump...Made Me Think.

I saw this video on Tangle last night and had to share it. I almost turned it off when it got to the preacher b/c I thought it might be just a sermon the rest of the way through (not that it would be a bad thing...that didn't sound right) ..but anyway..just watch it all the way through.

It'll make you think (and probably jump, too, just to warn you)..I know it did me.







I've become complacent in my preparations for His coming--I had to ask myself, "What am I doing to further His Kingdom?"

Mr. Bouncy Man

Okay, so you've seen "Mr. Smiley Man" already--
Well, today I'll introduce to you "Mr. Bouncy Man"
(For some reason I make up all these goofy nicknames for Ethan and call him by those more than I do his real name...I need to work on correcting that!)

I actually made up a song for Mr. Bouncy Man Ethan that I sing to him as he plays in his bouncer seat...he instantly starts smiling and kicking those chubby legs of his once I start the song. It's so cute!

Here's "Mr. Bouncy Man" in his bouncy seat...

Fry-Daddy Frenzy

I pulled out the Fry-Daddy last night to try out an onion ring recipe...

I had leftover batter so I decided to try to make a funnel cake like I saw Robert Irvine do the other night on Dinner: Impossible...here's the results:

Bob loved the onion rings! =)

I also made a dipping sauce like Outback's sauce for Bloomin' Onion...however, I didn't have any horseradish sauce so I used Thousand Island Dressing. Bob and I both really liked it!

Here is the link for the onion rings.
(If you look at the 1st review on the page by Christina B, it gives a no-mess way to make the rings)

Here's the recipe for the dipping sauce:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 2 tablespoons cream-style horseradish sauce
• 1/3 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, ketchup, horseradish, 1/3 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon oregano, a dash ground black pepper and cayenne pepper; mix well. Keep sauce covered in refrigerator until needed.

I'll need to work on the whole funnel cake thing..haha..it wasn't quite sweet enough. The batter needed sugar in it too rather than just having some sprinkled on top.
I had fun experimenting, though!

Happy Friday!

"Talking" to Mommy

I love how Ethan is really starting to coo, or "talk", as I like to put it =)
It's just the sweetest thing!

I took this video on my phone, so it's not the best quality (plus I hate hearing the sound of my voice on videos!) but I just had to share it!





Hope you're having a great Thursday!

A Lesson On the Run

One summer during high school, my family and I would get up really early and go walking/running at a nearby track. Even though I was athletic, I HATED having to get up so early and participate in physical activity...I had just finished a school year full of sports..I wanted a break!

One morning in particular I was feeling extremely sluggish and I was in a horrible mood...I wanted my comfy bed!

To make matters worse, I kept getting lapped by this really old man in short running shorts...

I think I threw myself a pity party during lap 4...it didn't help...I was still tired, and I was still getting lapped by the old guy with short shorts.

Toward the end of my pity party, I slowed down my pace and longingly looked across the track to another runner that was passing the point I needed to be at to finish my run. I remember saying out loud, "I wish I was where that person is right now!"

Then out of nowhere, the Holy Spirit brought a thought to my mind.

You see, I'd been struggling with my spiritual walk; I felt like I was a horrible person and was of no use to God. I had a bad habit (and sometimes still do) of wishing I had the faith of every other Christian around me. I constantly compared my walk with the walk of others and wished I could be where they were spiritually...I was too lazy to put in the work myself.

So what was it that I felt the Holy Spirit was trying to say to my sluggish soul (and body) that day? "Stop wishing you were somewhere else in your walk, or that you were another person altogether." I had to realize that all Christians are at different points in their walk, and that to grow in my own personal relationship with Christ, I had to walk the walk myself and not sit by and just wish I was closer to God, or wish I was crossing a particular line on the "track" of spiritual growth.

After that shocking realization of my own spiritual sluggishness, I decided to step it up and quickly found myself crossing the line that brought an end to my run for the day. I was exhausted physically, but spiritually I had been energized to get back on track and run the race set before me, looking only to Jesus this time as my Standard and not to others.

"...and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith..." Hebrews 12:1b-2a

Mr. Smiley Man

Here's our "Mr. Smiley Man"..almost 3 months old!

The Big 3-0

Recently, my big sis' celebrated her 30th birthday!!

It's funny how 30 seemed soo old when I was a little kid...now it seems so young!

We had a great time at my parents...Ethan hung out with "Aunt Kim" almost all night.
She helped him sit up on the couch...he took a few spills, but I'm sure he felt like a big boy sitting up like he did! =)


Here are some pics from that night:























































































































Ethan loves his Aunt Kim!