In the Kitchen

Yes. Lots of cooking does happen in our kitchen.  And I've actually tried a lot of new recipes lately which I should definitely blog about.. Pinterest is really an amazing recipe book.  Maybe next week....

Jake and I spend a lot of time in the kitchen together.  He enjoys climbing everywhere, including my leg.  Which can be adorable when he holds onto my pants for dear life and looks up at me with those big blue eyes, but can also be simultaneously problematic when I need to move.  He's a good little helper and I obviously occasionally grab my camera to snap some pics of him.  Here are a couple :)

Happy Thursday!

Yes that Gourmet meal I'm making is grilled cheese.  A Saturday favorite in the Cinadr home.

These smiles are getting squintier and squintier.  Who do you think that comes from?

He kept climbing closer and closer to the camera

Hellllo Jacob

Home Progress & Friend Visits

Friends, I can officially say we are done painting the entry.  Sure, there may be some small touch ups.. and we have to do the doors. But that wasn't apart of the original plan when we set out on our painting adventure so in my mind we are DONE.  And guess what that means?  Freedom to start decorating.  The much more fun part in my mind.  I'm so excited!  If you follow me on Pinterest you may have seen the thousands of pictures I have been posting about entryways.  I'm not sure if you saw our original house tour post, but we have quite the project ahead of us decorating our entryway space.  There is this awkward mantle that is making it difficult to put anything in the space.  Right now we bought a table from Hobby Lobby and I LOVE it.  But... we're not sure if it goes in the space.  I told Dan to let it sit there for a bit and maybe I'll get used to it.  So right now it's just sitting there and we're staring at it.  I'll keep you posted on the deep thoughts that emerge about our table later.

Our little helper :)

Fascinated by the washer washing our clothes

I'm only smiling because we are SO close to being done!

This past week my dear friend Cynthia came to visit as well from Liberty, IN!!  She is seriously one of the most encouraging women I know.  You probably all have one of these friends who while building you up, simultaneously puts you down.  Definitely not because of anything they have done, but because to your detriment, through their amazing ability to be an awesome friend, you are brought to the realization that you are not holding up your portion of the friendship.  I feel this often.. and with many friends.  God is so good to put MULTIPLE people in my life who do this.  Anyway, back to Cynthia.  She is the one who always writes a paragraph on your FB wall on your birthday telling you how wonderful you are.  Who is constantly telling you that you are a great friend (even though you haven't called her back in over a week!) and who always brings you gifts when she comes to visit.  Yes, she puts me to SHAME.  Oh, and any stylish clothes you see on Jake are from her- guaranteed.  Needless to say, it was awesome of her to drive out to the suburbs while she was visiting her friend Brooke in Chicago.  It was so nice to see her and Jake loved playing with her for the afternoon :)

I told you Jake liked her!

And in case any of you live somewhere where it doesn't snow- (I am officially jealous) here are some pictures of some of the single digit mornings we've been having.  On days like this I am extra thankful for my awesome husband and the work he does as I close the door behind him and he heads off into the frozen tundra to work.  And I'm thankful that for the first time ever our cars are in a garage :) 

In the Details

Transitioning from the work force to being a (mostly) stay at home mom has been (for the most part) a fairly smooth transition.  I was really excited to be at home with Jake and feel so thankful that I am able to.  I knew things would be different being a mom, but obviously until you are really in the thick of it do you know how different it will be.  One part that I've found myself struggling with is the fact that I am not held accountable to an actual boss.  Some may think this is a good thing- but really with Jake there is no "slacking off."  I can't spend hours disregarding my "work" and just searching the internet or talking with co workers.  Maybe when Jake is old enough to watch T.V. that would be a temptation (internet I guess- no co workers ;), but in this season of life it's not even a reality!



I didn't realize it, but I liked walking into my weekly meetings with my boss and reporting all I had gotten done that week.  I went through my list explaining the projects I was working on, what I was accomplishing, and what I still needed to do.  Now, there isn't anyone I report to.  I don't write down the amount of diapers I changed or dishes washed or hours I held Jake because he was fussy and didn't want to play by himself.  No one pats me on the back or cheers me on when I've spent what seems like half an hour struggling to get Jake dressed as he's squirming and crying and desperately trying to crawl away. 



And really.. if I was truly finding my identity in Christ everyday I wouldn't feel this desire to tell people what I'm doing.  I wouldn't need recognition from man for the work I do. This recent desire to want to tell people (anyone for that matter) what I've accomplished has revealed some heart issues going on. 

Reading in Exodus 25 God gives a looooong description of the tabernacle.  It's not just long but it is very precise and detailed.  God has a very specific way that he wants his tabernacle created.  There's a reason he didn't just say "Throw some straw together and there I will dwell."  He laid out a very particular set of rules of how to build His tabernacle.



In Matthew 25 God is inviting his people to enter heaven and praises them saying when he was hungry they fed him and when he was homeless they gave him a place to stay.  Confused they asked when they did this- not remembering actually interacting with the God of the universe on earth.  God clarified saying that when you clothed the least of these, you clothed me. 



God sees.  He takes notice of what we do.  He notices every diaper changed, meal cooked, floor swept, time we wake up early to be in the Word.  He sees.  God is a God of details.

This has been so comforting for me.  Although Jake (understandably) doesn't realize how I'm helping him, God does.  And he cares about the details.  He notices the little things I do and really in the end, that is what matters.  I don't need to keep a check list of what I'm doing during the day to rattle off to Dan or my girlfriends or my family because it's already been taken note of by the God of the universe.  That's way better anyway, right?  It's a great truth to be grasping :)

New year, New ideas

I had full intentions of posting this a week ago and somehow I feel that this post would have been more appropriate because it was technically still the the first half of January.  I feel like the New Year blog posts are way overdue.  In my defense I had an event this week which means every minute I'm not watching Jake I'm doing work.  Which unfortunately means no blogging time.  But I still liked these ideas I found so I figured I would share them with you :)

First off, I ordered a new calendar.  I realized that although our world is becoming more and more technology oriented, when you need to get a new phone- you lose everything in your calendar- including birthdays.  My sweet friend Kylie is SO forgiving as I thought her birthday was a MONTH after it really was.  This is what happens, friends, when you keep your birthdays stored on your phone calendar.  So, for the new year I bought some new paper calendars so I can write down birthdays and anniversaries and then next year this won't happen again :)



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I talked in a previous post about how I wanted to join something called the 5:00 club.  Obviously, as soon as I committed to it, Jake started waking up 3 times at night from (what we think) is teething.  However, I am still committed to trying to get up at a normal time to be in the Word.  For a while I gave myself grace having a newborn, but now that I'm going to have an 8 month old soon (eek!) I figured it is time to get started on getting back on a regular routine of waking up in the morning and not letting Jake be my alarm clock.  And this is a time when technology can be helpful and encouraging!

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So I now understand why they say it is difficult for moms to work out.  Especially in the winter. When you don't own a treadmill. and don't belong to a gym.  So, that means that my snacking needs to get better since I'm not going to be burning anything off.. I guess other than the running around trying to stop Jake from falling down the stairs since we're struggling with finding gates that fit our stairway.  So, I am *trying* to find healthier snacks and not grab cookies in the morning for breakfast.  Yes, I do that sometimes. More than I'd like to admit... if / when I find new healthy recipes I'll share.



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Dan and I have been talking about being more committed to date nights.  Obviously there are always going to be excuses - money, time, Jake, finding babysitters- but we really want to get better at doing date nights.  Even if it's just coffee for a couple hours.  I saw this cute idea about how to spice up your date night options and thought it would be fun if Dan and I did this.  Then we wouldn't sit there going "what do you want to do?" "I don't know ... what do you want to do?" over and over again.  Here's to being more committed to getting out of the house in 2013 :)

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Lastly, we talked in my Bible study about how it would be so helpful if we had a chalkboard that we used for verse memorization.  I think it would be SO helpful and who doesn't love how cute chalk boards are these days?  I made one a while back but it won't fit in our kitchen.. so my next goal is to make one that will easily hang in out kitchen. 

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7 months

{Don't have stats because his next appt is 8 months :)}



This month has been nuts.  We have dragged this poor boy all over the United States [literally] and he still loves us and gets excited to see us.  Jake just doesn't know any better.  And he's actually adjusted back to "normal" life here in Chicago pretty well.  This month has come with SO many big milestones.  It has been such a joy to watch him grow and discover new things about the world around him.  Here are some highlights:

• You learned how to crawl!  ... this happened the day we spent a total of 6 hours on a plane.  Thankfully, you were a rockstar and did great.  We had some minor crying moments (to be expected) but I think your little smile won you some brownie points with the people around us.  And did I mention we had an open seat?  Seriously, God is good.  I almost sang the Hallelujah chorus out loud when they closed the plane doors and that seat was empty next to us.
• With that being said- you made your first trip to California!  We saw the Golden Gate bridge, San Francisco, and your Uncle Doug's home town of Mountain View. So fun :)
• You climb on everything.  Your crib.  Our coffee table. Your jumper. {trying} to climb the stairs.  The toilet {don't worry.. I keep it clean ha- until we have those gates you will hang out with me in the bathroom while I get ready in the morning :)}
• Your favorite thing to do in the kitchen is grab onto my legs and pull yourself up and just hang out there while I cook.  So stinkin' cute. Until I have to move...
• You have a tooth!  And I am pretty sure you have another one coming.  You were a little behind the eight ball on this one, but that's ok :)  I'll hold off on dealing with teething as long as we can!
• You are babbling way more.  It sounds like you are constantly saying "ba ba ba ba"
• The second you wake up from your nap you are pulling yourself up and it's so cute to see your little head peering over the top of your crib when I come in your room. The problem comes when you panic because you've realized you can't get yourself down.  We're working on that :)
• I love it when you stare at your hand and move it around like you just realized that it's attached to your body.  Oh to see the world through the eyes of a child :) so precious.
• Your smile is getting bigger and squintier- you can thank your father for that one.
• You take "big boy baths" and sit up all by yourself.  We are just trying to teach you that we don't crawl in the bath tub...
• You eat meat now.. it's kind of gross but you like it so that's all that matters, right?
• Puffs.  These are a big deal.  You love puffs and can actually pick them up and put them in your mouth!  Oh the things that impress us as parents.
• You HATE it when ayone tries to wipe off your nose.  Those 2 weeks of a runny nose were brutal.
• This month has brought a new level of fussiness when getting your diaper changed or your clothes changed.  Trying to have you lay down for more than 5 seconds is almost impossible!  Constantly. on. the. move.
• Your favorite time of the day is hands down when dad comes home- you get SO excited!
• Your big belly laugh when dad tickles you is the best. 
• You still have about a 1,000 different facial expressions. We love every one.
• There is this look of panic that comes across your face when you - for a moment - lose your grip on the coffee table and wobble around for a second.  Then you re grip, look at me, and start to cry.  I love it that you are ok, but the fear that you could have potentially fallen is what scares you and makes you cry. So cute :)

Look at that look of determination..

Oh the joy you bring to our lives Jacob Lawrence :)  We thank God daily for you.

"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven." Matthew 18:10

A look back at 2012

Every year as the calendar rolls from December 31 to January 1st I feel a sense of newness.  A new year.  A new beginning.  Although I know that each day is a fresh start, the beginning of the year marks a time for me where I stop and evaluate where we've been the past year- how I've grown (and areas I haven't grown in) and really stop and thank God for who He is and everything He's doing in our life.  I'm reading the book One Thousand Gifts right now and the whole point of the book is thankfulness.  Don't you worry- I am going to be posting more about that later :)  Although we live in this messy world filled with shootings, disease, heartache, and sin, I have been convicted that I am still called to live with a heart of thankfulness.

This year we had MUCH to be thankful for:

We documented my growing belly

We welcomed our little boy :)

I completed my Masters in Christian Studies

We were apart of a viral video (.. not sure if I was necessarily thankful for this.. but it made for an interesting story :)

Traveled a lot

Bought our first home

Celebrated lots of wonderful couples getting married

And there is so much more.  This is one of the reasons why I LOVE keeping a blog.  I just spent like 45 minutes reading all of the posts from this past year :)

Here are some other great blog posts about the New Year and resolutions I have read recently:

A fresh start.

Real Motivation

I bought these to keep me organized this year

Thinking about joining this club....

Good insight into new years resolutions

Love the Plan  posted on this blog to help you evaluate yourself this upcoming year.

Yay for 2013.  Can't wait to see what's in store this upcoming year!

New beginnings

Recently I've been doing some thinking about what I want this space to look like.  Becoming a mom has obviously changed some things in my schedule and I've felt like I've just been uploading pictures on here, sharing small very small updates about our life, and then uploading more pictures on Facebook.  (Maybe that's why I've run out of photo space?!)  Anyway, I realized the other day I was wasting quite a bit of time posting basically the same pictures in two different places on the internet.  Really that is what Facebook is for (and other random updates) and I want this to be different than Facebook.  I know my original plans when I started this blog almost three years ago was to share what God is teaching me and to share other fun updates about our life.  Obviously, with our expanding family I may not have as much time to share as I would like, but as the New Year rolled around I started thinking through the different areas of my life and this blog is one of them.  I want to be intentional with the down time that I do have and sometimes updating this blog has felt like a burden rather than something I enjoy doing and that's not what I want it to be.

So, I've decided I don't want this blog to be only me posting pictures.  Yes, I will continue to post pictures.  However, I also want to refocus back on my original intent of starting this blog.  Here's what I've been thinking about:

1. Faith. Christianity is a huge part of my life.  Ever since my youth pastor, Heidi, in high school showed me that Christianity is about a relationship and not just something you do on Sundays, I've been forever changed.  God opened my eyes to see Him in a whole new way and I love sharing what He is teaching me.  I seriously am the happiest when I am sitting with a friend, hot cup of coffee in hand, sharing what God's teaching us, how He's changing us, and how we're being challenged in our faith.  That's why I love this space.  Because I can share what God's teaching me. 

2. My boys. Aka Dan and Jake :)  I live with them, so I'm bound to talk about them sometimes.  I will continue to post monthly updates on Jake (yes I know I am due to post the 7 month one!) and share how Dan and I are growing in our marriage.  I love looking back on the funny posts and the sappy ones because it reminds me how incredibly blessed I am.

3. Creativity. So I have a secret.  I am not a creative person. Ok, that's not really a secret for anyone.  But I really want to be.  I've realized having a little one around makes it difficult to do any DIY projects (or just paint trim in your entryway...) but there is something in me that still loves to *try* to take creative pictures, test out new recipes, turn our home into a comfortable, cute place to live, create new outfits, or even journaling.  I've realized that I've put creativity in a box and assumed that you're only really, truly creative if you get a degree in photography, interior design, or something artsy.  With my type A personality, those degrees were far from the list of talents the Lord gifted me with.  Mathematics was at the top- how boring does that sound?  But, I'm slowly realizing that being creative is different for each person and it means finding the beauty in everything and giving glory to God throughout it.  I don't want to begrudgingly decorate our home to impress other people, I want to carefully take time to make this place our own home and thank God during the process.  I don't want to take pictures so I can showcase my cool pictures but I want to take them because I find joy in picking up my camera and taking pictures of the beauty around me (yes even here in the northwest suburbs of Chicago).  And I want this space to be a place where I can share that. 

So those are my top 3 goals.  The list person in me has 5 other things I wanted to write, but 3 is enough.  I am sure it is more than enough :)  So, here's to a new year of intentional blogging.  It may be more sporadic than I would like, but when I do blog it will be because I'm excited to sit down and do it and not feel forced to post something.  So, thanks for reading this little blog and sharing in a small part of our life :) And if you have a blog- I love reading about your life, too :)