Wednesdays On the Homefront

Cooking: I have to be honest, I don't think I have cooked anything since last Wednesday. I need to bake some more bread though. Ben loves to have a slice of banana or zucchini bread in the mornings. I'm getting a little tired of those two flavors so I think I'm going to try and find some new recipes. Pinterest time!

   

Cleaning: It's a bad sign when you walk into your bathroom and you know the floor is dirty because you can smell it. The goal this week is to get that bathroom clean! I've struggled to keep up on housework since Eli was born, and it's getting to the point where some things desperately need to be done! Any suggestions for scheduling house cleaning to make it happen?

   

Creating: My friend Joy of The Simple Joy and I went to Panera last night and started brainstorming about projects we can do. We came up with some great ideas for our blogs, Etsy shops, Christmas gifts and wedding/birthday gifts. I am inspired! Our first plan is to spend an evening making cards for all the events of the year. We'll be doing that on a Monday in June, so look for a post about it.

   

Loving: The Next Food Network Star- Every summer I look forward to watching this show. I love the challenges each week, and it inspires me to get in the kitchen! Episodes are posted online every Thursday so you can keep up with it if you're like me and don't have cable. (Design Star and Project Runway are also starting this summer. Hooray!!)

   

Living: My birthday is this week! Ben, Eli and I are going to head out for a much-needed family vacation in the mountains this weekend. I am really looking forward to some time with my guys and enjoying the outdoors.

   

Learning: We have spent a lot of time with family over the past few weeks, and it's been really hard on  Eli (and Ben and I). He gets overwhelmed easily by groups of people. I realized that as his mama it is my job to do what's best for him, even when it makes other upset. I haven't stood up for him like he's needed and he has felt the effects. As strange as it might sound, I didn't process that he needs me most sometimes and I need to be there for him. Since realizing this, I feel a new type of courage coming up in me that I think will help me do what's best for him moving forward.

Leaving a Legacy

MomHeart.org has been featuring a series of posts on leaving a legacy over the past several weeks. Here's my thoughts on the topic for their Link Up.

This weekend, my grandparents are in town from Florida. My Grammy is one of the most wonderful women I have ever met and someone I hope to emulate. Her son, my dad, is an incredible man. Then there's me, and then Eli. That makes four generations, which is pretty amazing considering my Grammy is only 70.

I was talking with my aunt today about the legacy that has been passed down through my family. There have been generational strongholds and also some blessings passed down. There's also a whole lot of stubbornness. My aunt challenged me to take the good and leave the bad. Every family has their ups and downs, difficulties and heartbreaks, but something good can be learned and passed down to the next generation. I want to stand in the gap, blocking the generational sin and opening the door to generational blessing. As a mother, this is my battle to fight.

My aunt particularly challenged me about what I am speaking over my son. Are my words to him edifying and building him up, even at 8 weeks old? As she held him today, so spoke to his future; told him he would be a godly man who will live up to his name. She inspired me to begin passing on my godly heritage to him now. I can begin today-- it's not something I have to wait to do until he is older.

Tonight I sit here with tear stains on my face eating my non-dairy brownies right out of the pan and hoping that after a long day of fussiness Eli has gone to bed. (We discovered this week that Eli has a milk allergy and GER.) These days are hard. Really hard. I've been promised that it will get better, that I will sleep again. Yet even on these hard days I love my baby so much. I want to begin even today passing on a godly legacy to him.

Wednesdays On the Homefront

Cooking: We made hummus for dinner last night! So delicious. Check out my pin of the recipe we used.
   
Cleaning: Laundry week! We live in a second story apartment, and the laundry is in the basement. As you can imagine, trying to do laundry with a baby is a little difficult. I'm still figuring out a system, but my goal this week is to get the laundry done so at least I have next week off before I have to worry about it again.
   
Creating: I went the Joann Fabrics yesterday. I absolutely love that store. Eli does not-- he cries every time we go. I still had a grand time, though, and came home with some fabric for a new swaddle blanket and a bow tie/ suspenders combo for Eli. Look for pictures and tutorials soon!
   
Loving: Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. I can't believe I haven't picked up the book before! It is fantastic and pretty much challenging my socks off.
   
Living: Family comes in to town this week. My sister is graduating from high school, and my mom is hosting a baby shower for me. We'll be driving up to where my parents live and my grandparents and one of my aunts will be joining us. I'm super excited to see my Grammy and aunt!
   
Learning: Eli is working on putting his fist in his mouth this week. It's pretty adorable. He can't always get it in, so a lot of the time he's just opening his mouth wide and waving his arm in the air. Precious!

Hosting a Bridal Shower

As I posted a few weeks ago, my sister-in-law is getting married next month. My mother-in-law and I hosted her bridal shower on Saturday and had so much fun with it! I found Pinterest to be incredibly helpful for great ideas and resources. Here's a couple things I made for the shower:

Marriage Advice Cards
For a "game" I passed around these note cards and asked everyone to write down a piece of marriage advice for the bride. At protests from some single guests, I suggested relationship advice. Let's be honest, we all know enough about what not to do and what to do in a relationship to say something! We then went around the room and everyone shared their advice. It was so meaningful to hear what each woman had to say, and now the bride has a stack of cards to save and reference during her marriage.

Cheesecake Filled Strawberries
Friends, these were a huge hit! I took fresh strawberries, hollowed them out, and then piped in a mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. I then dipped them in chocolate (you could also add graham cracker crumbs if you wished). My only advice would be to try making a cream cheese mixture more similar to cheesecake, or even buying a premade cheesecake filling and using that. You can find an actual recipe for them here.

Cucumber Sandwiches
Always a classy food, these look elegant served on beautiful plates and are delicious pared with tea. Real Simple has an easy recipe for these. The only changes I made were using wheat bread and dried dill.

What do you love to do and serve at a bridal shower?

True Love

This video on marriage is so moving. True love is such a deep, moving thing to behold.

Click here to watch Ian and Larissa's story featured on John Piper's blog Desiring God.