January 25, 2012

Daily Reminder

We had an amazing women's bible study group last night. It went for 2 1/2 hours and could easily have gone a lot longer :) ... It was past 9:30 by the time I got home but it was a night full of being refreshed, renewed, encouraged, and strengthened.

One of the ladies last night said a quote that has been around for a very long time, but I wrote it down in hopes to look at it every morning in hopes that it will give me strength for the day to be the woman God desires me to be. Instead of looking at a plain piece of paper, I took out my digital scrapbooking supplies and created this little beauty:


(I'm sorry, I don't know originally where I received these free kits, when I find out I will post a link!) 

I hope this is as much inspiration for you as it is for me :)

Have a great Wednesday...
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January 24, 2012

For Our Sweet Denisha

 picture found here

 "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up."
James 5:15

This post is dedicated to our niece Denisha. She is an amazing and talented young lady. We received a call yesterday and was informed that Denisha is in the hospital again for complications that no one can figure out. It has been weighing heavy on my heart to continually pray for this little girl of ours and I have been reaching out to family, friends, acquaintances, church members, and anyone else who I can get a hold of to pray for her. So here I am asking you. You who reads this blog-to pray for our little girl. The power of prayer is evident and is amazing and wondrous and powerful. The more people come together to pray for a single thing. The boldness, and loudness of the prayer will be heard by God.

I have been in constant prayer since we have found out about Denisha. I wanted to research even more prayers from scripture for her. To give her strength. For us. For the doctors. I wanted to share these verses that I found so that you may have another source of Gods word about sick children and strength.

These are some of the prayers that I have been constantly praying:

**Heavenly Father, watch with us over your child Denisha, and grant that she may be restored to that perfect health which it is yours alone to give. Relieve her pain, guard her from all danger, restore to her your gifts of gladness and strength, and raise her up to a life of service to you.  
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

**May God the Father bless you, God the Son heal you, God the Holy Spirit give you strength.  May God the holy and undivided Trinity guard your body. Amen
 
When you find yourself in constant prayer, it's sometimes hard to find the right words that you are trying to say. Don't worry. God knows the words in your heart. But, I did find these scripture of strength to help and I thought they would be good to share: 


Isaiah 41:10  fear not, for I am with you;  be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you,  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Matthew 17:20  He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Isaiah 40:28-31  Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God,   the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint,   and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary,and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;   they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary;   they shall walk and not faint.


Sweet Denisha, 

We are here for you sweetheart. We have every bit of faith that God will heal you. You are such a strong woman and we are so proud of everything you have accomplished. Please read these scriptures if you are in need of strength. Please know you are always in our thoughts and prayers. We love you to the moon and back and back again! 

Your Uncle Clint, Auntie Tory, Cousin Bria and Baby :)  

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January 23, 2012

Saturday Lunch

This Saturday we created a different lunch for Bria. It was actually quite good. So good in fact that Mom had some for lunch too!

I grabbed the camera because I feel that I have neglected to take pictures the past few months. But I did manage to grab some precious ones, and I'm oh so glad I did! When Bria see's the camera, she likes to pose.







Carrot, Apple & Raisin Delight

1/2 apple peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup sliced carrots
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup water
1 Tbs. olive oil

Saute carrots and oil in a sauce pan for five minutes. Add the apple chunks, raisins, and water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and let the little one - or you- enjoy! 


Aren't these the most amazing eyes you have ever seen!?


She started being goofy. She's such a character and loves to make people laugh!


It was time to stop. She wanted more and Mommy had to put down the camera!


Have a wonderful Monday!
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January 20, 2012

When at the babysitters...

I love the fact that our babysitter sends emails us little updates about how Bria is doing that day. Sometimes she even sends us pictures. It helps Mama and Daddy to see the little one doing cute things and hearing about how she ate or slept. It feels like I was there, kind of. Mary (Bria's babysitter) sent this picture and I just had to post it.


It must be a right of passage into toddler hood that is universal...




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January 16, 2012

What Do you Do in -40 degree Weather?

Since we came back from Christmas vacation, the weather has been ridiculously cold. I don't even know if I can describe it as just cold because it has been colder than that, if you could imagine! With the temperatures ranging from -40 to -20 (being the warmest) plus windchill, it has been so uncomfortable! It has been too cold for any of the snow machines to start, so we have been walking Bria to her babysitters everyday, which is rough and makes our morning even shorter than it already it, but at least she is comfy cozy underneath her 3 layers, 2 hats, 2 pairs of gloves, nice warm booties, plus a face mask and 2 blankets over her in her chariot stroller!

With it being chilly out we are getting a lot done around the house and with my craftiness! I have managed to keep the house clean, laundry done, beds made, floors swept and vacuumed. I even have time to play with B :) ... On top of that I have made 2 more crochet hats! I have to admit, I love crocheting a lot better than knitting for several reasons. 1) It's quicker, which means instant gratification! 2)It's easier on my hands because I'm working only 1 crochet hook instead of 2 knitting needles. 3)easier to follow crocheting patterns than knitting patterns!

Here are my creations with-of course-our beautiful model:

Toddler Hat with Pom-pom:

Bria loved it so much, she started dancing. No joke.

Just because she's beautiful!:

And here is my first adult hat, I am going to add flowers once I learn how to make 'em!: 

 Lookin' Good bright eyes!

This is going to be a long post...Again...Because I have another creation:

Amish White Bread


This is my go-to bread recipe from now on! I made two loaves on Saturday. It's now Monday night and we have 1/2 a loaf left!! Clint said that I need to make this every 3 days, and you know what? I think he's right!

Amish White Bread
adapted from allrecipes.com

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
5 cups bread flour**

1) In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
2) Mix salt and oil into the yeast mixture. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth (or plastic wrap) and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3)Punch down dough. Knead for a minute. Divide in half. Shape into loaves and place into two, well oiled 9X5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pan.
4) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
5) Once bread is done, cool in pan and then immediately turn bread upside down (it will be a little moist from the oil) to let dry.
6) ENJOY!

Luckily, the weather shows that it's warming up this week! It will be around -5 - 0 degrees!! The statement of the day is, "Man, it feels like a tropical heat wave!" ...Awwww... Life in rural Alaska!

We hope you are staying warm and cozy this winter :)

With love,
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January 10, 2012

My favorite things...

We are in Elim for a school inservice. And although it's not my ideal way to spend a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, there is always something to be happy about. Wanna know my reasons?

SuperWOman capes:


Uncontrollable Smiling:



Independence:



So, no matter your situation, there is always something to smile about!!

Happy Tuesday! I think I'm back on the blogging train :) See you soon!
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One Post....Catch All...

This has to be the longest time a blogger, or anyone has gone without posting their daughters first Christmas! Ugh. I tell you. Life gets away from me more often than not lately. With having a toddler, being pregnant, traveling, teaching. It gets difficult to keep up with this stuff. But, I am ready. Ready to tell a story through dozens and dozens of pictures. They are priceless.

It's always a bitter sweet time when it's back to reality. I truly love every single second I am back at home. Surrounded by my my family. Surrounded by the sweet memories of Ketchikan.

We had the most amazing Christmas Break. Ever. Holiday's are sweetened by the presence of our daughter. Everything seems just a little bit more fun and enjoyable.

We left White Mountain on the 17 of December and because we got stuck in Ketchikan due to high winds we came back on the 4th of January. A good long break from reality. A good long break from blogging. A good long break from facebook or any social networking site. I loved every second spending all my energy with my family.

Here are the photos to tell our story of Christmas break, because well,  I know everyone loves pictures more than words.... 

We were so thankful to have our family pictures taken by the lovely Stephanie Brissette of Stephanie Brissette Photography. And even though it was horrible nasty outside, she managed to take some amazing family portraits at the local Capes Fox Lodge in Ketchikan!

Here are some of my favorites:










Thank you Stephanie! For taking our pictures and allowing us to capture sweet, sweet memories :)

**Note to self: Must take family pictures with our Arkansas Family!! *** 

Here are some Christmas Pictures:







Grandma and all the Grandkids & Great-Grandkids!!



 It was very, merry and bright!!


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January 5, 2012

12 MONTHS!

Our dear Bria Eden is 1 year old today. It seems like just yesterday that I wrote this about our baby girl's birth. It's amazing how fast time goes by. I can honestly say that this has been the single best year of my life. She has grown into such a beautiful creature and I am excited to venture off into this new year with her. 

We are having a celebration on Friday with the Hansen family. It will consist of Bria's favorite food: Spaghetti, and cupcakes. Simple. Delicious. And all for Bria.


I wanted to do something special, so I created this banner in her honor. It is her monthly pictures (up to 11 months).





And in the essence of living in rural Alaska, I quickly printed out some other decorations for the food: These awesome Woodland creature printables. I found them Here. You can find the Woodland collection or others. I pinned the site for future holidays.



Here's our big girl opening her presents:







Bria Loves:
fake sneezing, waving and saying "hi" to everyone, giving Mommy and Daddy kisses, hug and pat her baby, dancing-even when there is no music, carrying her clothes all around the house.



Bria Doesn't Love:
when she signs more and we don't see it at first, Sierra barking at the door right next to her, losing her binkie at night. 

********

And her dessert for the evening: Pumpkin cakes (similar to pumpkin bread, just baked in cupcake pan). Bria actually preferred these over the cupcakes! This makes for a happy mommy that our daughter is on the "healthy" path. I just hope it lasts! 


Some of Bria's Firsts: 
11 months and 9 days:  signed "more"
11 months and 15 days:  gave a kiss
11 months and 18 days:  gave a hug
11 months and 19 days:  gives Daddy a kiss
11 months 23 days: fake sneezed (by the way, it's perhaps the single most adorable, yet belly-laughing events so far!)


Bria's Stats:


*19 1/2 Lbs.* *Really Long!*

Happy, Happy Birthday our Beautiful, Magnificant, Creation! 






(Check Bria out at 1 month2 months, 3 months, 4 months5 months6 months, 7 months, 8 months9 months, 10 months, 11 Months)



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