Pizza Night

In an effort to save money and cut our budget, we have stopped eating out. It wasn't as hard as we thought. We often would go out just out of exhaustion and laziness after work, etc. Well, one thing we have missed is ordering pizza so we decided to have homemade pizza night one night a week--usually Friday. Even though it is a little more work for us, we found we actually eat sooner this way and it is WAY better. A good friend of mine told me about a very unique pizza she had recently made. She started out being very skeptical of the idea but loved it! It was a roasted squash, with caramelized red onions, fontina cheese and pumpkin seeds pizza. Well, Ralph was skeptical too but we tried it Saturday night. It was fantastic! We halved and roasted the squash at 200 degrees while we were at the Gathering Saturday. It was perfect when we got home. We pureed that in the food processor and let it cool. We made our regular crust--the recipe we had called for a cornmeal crust, but we are rather fond of ours. :) I don't like red onions (or really onions in general) so we used regular onions and only a third of the recipe. We spread the squash on the pizza, added the onions, used mozzarella cheese (we didn't have fontina) and then scattered the toasted squash seeds on top. It was good! Even my skeptical husband enjoyed it! It was fun to have a gourmet pizza on a budget!

Thankfulness and Joy

I know this time of year everyone is focusing on thankfulness with Thanksgiving being just around the corner (or just passed if you live in Canada). I read something my sister wrote a few weeks back. I couldn't even tell you if she blogged it or mentioned something on Facebook. She casually mentioned singing the kid's song based on Psalm 118:24 when she has to wake the boys up early for something. It got me thinking about the days I get up early for work and I'm grumbly because it's 4:30 in the morning, I hurt, it's hard to move, etc. I started quoting this verse as soon as my alarm clock goes off (or when I remember). It's made a huge difference in how I start my day as far as my attitude goes. I am able to pray over my shift and coworkers and even my husband's day. I've noticed a difference in my patience and compassion level at work. How do you maintain your focus on Christ? What works for you?

40 weeks!

Well, we have reached the due date and no baby yet. Oh, well. :) Babies come when babies come. Here is a pic of me and our new crib. So cute (the crib)! We absolutely love it!

Operation Christmas Child

Every year Samaritan's Purse collects shoe boxes full of gifts for children around the world. These boxes are used to share the gospel with the children who receive them. Our pastor has challenged our Body to 2300 boxes. Normally, we aren't big on the numbers thing but that number represents 2300 children being able to hear the gospel. Well, our house church challenged ourselves to 3 boxes per family unit. We then had a box packing party yesterday. It was such a wonderful time of fellowship. We prayed over the boxes and were able to include our two children, one infant and one school age, in the process. Of course, there was food and music. The pic above was taken after we were done packing. How are you sharing the gospel during this holiday season?

Baby Shower Pics

Here are some pics from the baby shower. More on facebook if you're curious. This was the great table they set up for people to write us blessings in a little book that we can add pics of the shower too. So cute!











All the food was delicious!













Amie and Maranatha drove all the way from Indianapolis to be there! They are such terrific friends!











My wonderful neighbors!










I love it when my worlds mix! This is a friend from Apex visiting with a friend from work! So fun!











Previous and current house church friends! Such a blessing!

Nursery in Progress

Here is what we got accomplished this weekend. Ralph vacuumed and shampooed the carpet and moved the bed and tall bureau from his parent's house to ours (with his dad's help). We touched up the paint. I still need to finish my bluebird window panes--one is mostly done and I am highly pleased with it so far. My mom is finishing the bluebird baby quilt. All the furniture in the room came from Ralph's parents--it is all such a blessing! Where the bassinet is sitting is where the crib will be. Mom will provide that when she gets here after Nugget is born. Our families have been such a wonderful support system for this first child of ours! We're starting to look ready now! ;-p

Pray Backwards