Beauty and the Mess

Monday, April 25, 2011

they're back...

STRAWBERRIES...and this is what i do with them:

strawberry dessert:
1 yellow jiffy cake mix
1 quart of strawberries
3 c. milk
8 oz. cream cheese--room temperature
2 small pkgs. of instant vanilla pudding
1 tub of cool whip

1. bake cake according to directions in a 9x13 pan. cool.
2. rinse and cut berries and spread them over cooled cake.
3. mix cream cheese with 1/2 cup of the milk until smooth. then, add remaining milk and pudding. beat for one minute.
4. spread mixture over fruit.
5. top with cool whip and refrigerate.

Friday, April 22, 2011

best of fridays...

found this on another blog...decided to copy it to mine...hope she won't mind...it's from a lutheran prayer book...lutheran prayer book??? gasp! no, i haven't converted. TRUTH has no religious boundaries...so what's true for those lutherans is true for this religious mutt. yep, that's my new "category"...not baptist, presbyterian, evangelical, etc. just a mutt believer that has no hope of heaven apart from the sacrifice of a perfect Lamb of God...

O Christ, Lamb of God, slain for the sin of the whole world, with penitent heart I come to Your cross, pleading for mercy and forgiveness. My sins—and they are many–have added to the burden of Your suffering and have nailed You to the accursed tree. For me You have tasted the agony of the utter darkness that I might not perish, but have everlasting life. Have mercy upon me.
O Christ, Lamb of God, embrace me with Your love, and forgive me all my sins. Your death brings healing to my soul, peace to my mind, cleansing to my heart. If You would mark iniquity, I could not come for my hands are unclean, my lips are sullied, and my heart is blackened by sin. But beholding You bleeding, despised, forsaken, dying, pierced, I come to be cleansed and forgiven.
O Christ, Lamb of God, grant that I may hate sin and wickedness more and more as I behold You in Your great agony. My grateful heart today finds hope in Your words, comfort in Your promises, and salvation in Your finished work on the cross, by which You have overcome sin, Satan, and death.
O Lord, have mercy. O Christ, have mercy. O Lord, hear my prayer.
Amen.

Friday, April 15, 2011

apparently...

blogspot does not recognize when you type actual paragraphs with spaces in between...sorry about the LONG run-on seeming paragraph below...

on the day she was born...

zoey's birth story...it's as perfect as she is... i started having regular contractions around 9:30 pm...the kind of contractions that you can kind of ignore...they're there, but not too bad...the kind of contractions i had been having for WEEKS...i went to bed--determined they would not trick me into thinking "THIS IS IT!" three hours later, i woke up having contractions that i could NOT ignore...but decided not to wake the house...i wasn't going to go back to sleep, but others might as well sleep through my misery--misery doesn't love company? when i'm miserable...no...i don't want company...leave me alone. i timed the contractions for about two hours...they were regular and felt like they were slowly building in intensity...my back HURT! i took a shower--so that i could shave my legs because i hadn't in a long time and didn't want to be embarrassed when i got to the hospital and my business was everybody's business, got dressed, woke matt and told him to go and sleep on the bed...(don't ask why he wasn't in the bed with me...it has something to do with a cranky pregnant woman and a loudly snoring man)...so that i could turn on the tv to take my mind off of the contractions. did you know that there's not much on tv at 3:00 am? there's not. at about 5:30 am, i woke matt and told him it was time...it was TIME. now. it's time to go to the hospital. i also had to call mom and dad because they were coming to take care of jackson...they were in town, but staying at a friend's house. so...wait for matt, wait for mom and dad...in the mean time--jackson wakes up and wants to be fed...wait, wait, wait. as we wait, my contractions hurt. HURT!!! i'm breathing like an idiot because i never took the class that teaches you how to breathe NOT like an idiot. FINALLY, matt is ready...mom and dad arrive...i practically run to the car...between contractions. the car ride...let's not talk about it...it was AWFUL! and i wasn't nice. we're at the hospital...we park where my doctor tells us...in a parking garage...there's even a spot RIGHT next to the entrance marked for maternity patients...how nice! we were told to go to the emergency room and someone would be called down to get us. a parking spot right next to the entrance? a ride up to the maternity floor? HOW NICE!!! what WASN'T nice was the three mile walk from the parking spot to the emergency room...seriously...it felt like THREE miles!!! everytime we would come to a corner that we couldn't see around, i would think, "just around this corner. i'm sure it's just around this corner." NOPE. matt started going ahead of me to see just how much farther it was...i would hear him laugh and know that...NOPE...it wasn't around THIS corner. and of course we're passing all these glass-walled offices with people in them gawking at the disturbed woman clutching a pillow, banging her head against the glass after every few steps... finally...emergency room...and that ride i was promised... upstairs, in my room...and then...a nurse is throwing a gown and plastic bag in my face telling me to change into the gown and put my clothes in the bag. and then...the spanish inquisition begins...same nurse asking all of the questions i answered on that handy-dandy pre-registration form i sent in MONTHS earlier. listen, hospital people, if you don't care to read the answers i gave on a form YOU said i should fill out to save time once i got to the hospital...why should i now REPEAT all of those answers...when i'm breathing like an idiot and DON'T REALLY FEEL LIKE TALKING?!! and really...does it matter when i had my wisdom teeth out and whether or not any of my relatives have high blood pressure??? 1998 and they all do. THEY ALL DO. i should stop right here and say that weeks prior to going into labor i made a decision...maybe out loud i was still waffling back and forth...do i want an epidural or should i try and go natural? in my heart--decision MADE...in my body--decision DEFINITELY made as soon as the contractions ramped up a bit...i wanted an epidural... (and epidural-lovin' ladies, let's just stop feeling bad about it...let's just stop judging ourselves. hello, my name is amy. AND I WANT AN EPIDURAL!!!) and i wanted it as soon as i stepped foot onto hospital property...it would have been nice if they had met me at the car with the epidural "stuff"...would have made the walk to the emergency room a bit tricky...okay, the epidural "stuff" and a wheelchair... anyway...spanish inquisition...questions answered...questions HAD to be answered BEFORE they would start the epidural...i'm checked at this point...5 centimeters. epidural...ahhhhhhhhhh!!! in LOVE with the epidural man...the epidural man i could not understand...he, too, was asking a million questions...and i'm understanding not a one..."huh?"..."what?" matt's laughing and translating what he's asking and i'm just hoping that we're collectively understanding what he's saying...cause epidural questions seem infinitely more important than family medical history questions. i want an epidural...AND i want to be able to walk after and for the rest of my life. anyway...epidural--check and double check!!! it is now 8:30 am...and the next few hours pass uneventfully...numb-ly...i'm checked occasionally...i can't sleep...but i'm comfortable. around 1:15 pm, i start to push...at 2:20, zoey isabelle pops out...face up. she had gobs and gobs of hair, ten fingers, ten toes...perfect. i held her for a few minutes and then she had to go to the nursery to be observed...because there was poo in the water...that's just the simplest--not the nicest--way to say it. mom and dad brought jackson to meet his little sister a few hours later...and he was so not impressed. not even sure that he looked at her. guess that's better than him looking at her and deciding to punch her in the face...which is kinda what i expected him to do. the first hours...she just stared at us and didn't make a sound...SO quiet, SO different, SO zoey!!! we spent the night at the hospital and would have left first thing in the morning, but we had to wait for the mandatory hearing screen and 24-hour pku. so, we didn't end up making it home until early evening. and now that i think about it, we should have stayed another night...but i hate hospitals and missed jackson...i just wanted our little family all in one place. zoey was here...she was here and she was happy. i kept waiting for her to be angry about being born...but she wasn't. she was here and she was happy. and that pretty much sums her up...happy, content...from day one. and she has the coolest birthdate: 12.11.10. zoey, you are the sweetest, cuddliest baby and i cannot get enough of you!!! thank you, God, again and again and again!!! i am so blessed!!!

Monday, April 04, 2011

just checkin'...

yep, it's still there...

longhorns and train tracks...

went to TX.

took jackson and zoey to TX.

a TEN+ hour car ride to TX.

with jackson and zoey.

with jackson and zoey alternately screaming/pitching fits.

loved seeing college friends.

but...

NEVER.

AGAIN.

posse 2012?

i'm flying.

alone.

heard that they drive longhorns down the main street of the fort worth stockyards...wanted to see it/thought it would be fun to take the little lovies to see it...envisioned a STAMPEDE...a SAFE stampede...of longhorns with cowboys...

there were longhorns.

ten.

ten longhorns.

there were cowboys.

three.

three cowboys.

the whole stampede took 60 seconds.

60 seconds.

jackson laughed and pointed.

zoey...i'm not even sure that the stroller was facing the street...and even if it was, i'm sure there were people standing in front of her...oh well...next time, zu-zu...

it was all worth it.

because we ate riscky's bbq after.

yum.

train tracks.

this boy's favorite.

happy to be where the people are...

the posse children minus 5 1/2...

nose scratches and chapped cheeks...

messed with my camera settings so i didn't get too many good ones...they were all over-exposed or blurry...wish i had a fancy-pants camera...maybe someday...

she's still a precious little angel-baby...with a nose scratch and indiana-chapped cheeks...

LOVE that quilt?!! me too!!!

just say no...

to a little crack...

just so darn cute...

those legs!!! give 'em a little squeeze and the most delicious baby, belly-laugh comes out of those chubby little cheeks!!!

daddy's brilliant idea...

boredom+sink full of water and bubbles=one happy little boy

testing the waters...

drinking the waters...

FULLY enjoying the waters...

things from home...

little red chairs...the PERFECT size for this little boy...

and my bookshelf...i think it needs a coat of green paint...

another generation of use...not exactly family heirlooms, but i'm glad to hand them down to my littles...

Friday, March 11, 2011

green river...

my babies are sick...so sick. jackson has a river of snot flowing freely down his face at all times, he's just about lost his voice (which sounds ADORABLE!!!), and he has a barking/croup-y cough that sounds absolutely miserable. BOO church nurseries!!!!!! and DOUBLE BOO to parents who don't just stay home with snotty, cough-y kids!!! zoey doesn't go to church nursery, but has caught "the crud" anyway. she was beside herself with "what has happened to me?!?" ALL NIGHT LONG...with a matching river of snot. and of course they're both too young to take over-the-counter cold medicine...rats! so, let's just not think about how sick and miserable they are...

jackson managed to change the settings on our tv and it seems these changes are permanent. matt and i both spent well over 30 minutes trying to get things back to normal--even made a phone call to the cable company--no luck. matt was irritated...i was impressed...what a smart boy!!!

jackson is obsessed with going "bye-bye"...he asks, first thing, EVERY morning, "bye-bye??? bye-bye???" he won't stop asking until we "bye-bye"...and even then, when we're out and about, he still asks "bye-bye???" and i have to tell him THIS is "bye-bye" we ARE "bye-bye".

jackson is a climber...i find him in zoey's bed, on top of the changing table, and he's quickly learning that he only needs a little boost to make it almost on top of the kitchen counters.

he loves to read, he loves to make lucy bark, he loves to collect sticks/rocks/mulch/leaves, and he loves to DANCE!!!

zoey is an awesome sleeper and always wakes up with a smile...a smile that melts my heart...she is SO HAPPY to see me in the morning and after naps...such a boost when parenting frustrations seem overwhelming.

zoey has learned to roll from her tummy to her back...which is making the sleeping a bit more difficult because she is a tummy sleeper...shhh, don't tell the pediatrician that she sleeps on her tummy. but still, awesome sleeper!!!

zoey talks all day long. ALL. DAY. LONG. it is the most precious sound of my day. and this girl GIGGLES!!! GIGGLES like she knows what's funny...great personality AND great sense of humor??? can't get any better than my zu-zu belly!!!

the sickies will pass...i will forget all about the miseries of this week...but i do not want to forget the sweetness/cuteness/preciousness of these two littles that i am so lucky to have living in my house!!!

even when they are miserable little pickles...even when they are overflowing with snot...they are mine...happy, happy me!!!

Friday, February 18, 2011

beautiful girl...

not that i love seeing her cry, but i LOVE this picture!!!

cause one is not enough...

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

interlude...

whilst waiting for the cookies to bake, jackson finally convinced mommy to let him get in the swing...he's been faithfully trying since i got it out for little zoey to use...she HATES the swing...so, why not...

and...lo AND behold...HE FELL ASLEEP...could not believe it. the boy who bounces in his bed for at least 25 minutes before falling asleep...asleep within 5 minutes of getting into the swing...unbelieveable!!!

being back in the swing must have taken him back to his baby days...when the swing was the only thing that soothed him...

baker man...

we made cookies this morning...oatmeal raisin.

yes, i let jackson "help"...yes, i know how a one-year-old "helps".

i HAD to...i HAD to get over the mess it would be...i HAD to let him help...it was therapy for me...a person who does not like mess, a person who likes to do things quickly.

when his hands began to find their way into the mixing bowl, i did not scold...he looked at me as if to ask, "is this okay? or am i going to be sent to the corner?" yeah, it's okay...your nutty, mess-free mommy is going to relax and let you have messy fun...

a grab...

and a taste...

and since she's not fussing...i'll try an ENTIRE RAW COOKIE...

i didn't let him eat the whole thing raw...i took it away...and YES...i put it back on the cookie sheet to bake...and YES...he did lick just about every other raw cookie before i was able to get them into the oven. no worries...you're NOT invited for milk and cookies...but the next time you are, it might be a question worth asking..."did jackson lick the cookies?".

enjoying the finished product...

week one...

no tv...have to admit...i am still a bit itchy to turn it on...but...

my house is REALLY clean...i mean, REALLY CLEAN. i'm not saying that i would eat off of the floors or anything...because it's snowy here and sloshy, messy feet are constantly tracking in the salty/slushy goodness from outside...but you can certainly eat off of the counters.
my house is organized...OR.GAN.IZED...the closets and drawers and cupboards...really, come and see...it's ridiculous...even for me.
jackson is no longer asking for the tv to be turned on in the morning...instead he asks for music...and i happily oblige. we host regular dance parties...you're all invited!
i've read four 300+ page books while the little ones are napping. shame on me for ever saying that i just don't have time to read anymore....hello, dummy, turn off the tv!!! i did...and it's the best thing i've done for myself.
i've indulged a crafting itch...while perusing blogs, i was inspired to try my hand at something i saw on http://megduerksen.typepad.com ...she had a crafting weekend with girlfriends she met through her blog...how fun is that?!! anyway, scroll through her posts...to pictures of that weekend...and look at the hoops...FUN!

i decided to do mine a bit differently...frames instead of hoops.

confesssion: i actually had a panic attack in the process...i gathered everything together...had it all sitting out in front of me...and had a panic attack that i would start being crafty...and i'd do it wrong...and it would be ugly...and i would hate it and throw it in the trash...and that would be a HUGE waste of money. silly, silly me. something that was supposed to be fun and creative...almost ruined by over-thinking it...silly.

so, i got over it and just started...and here's the result...

what i used:

fun, bright material

rick-rack

embroidery floss

the fabric that you use for cross-stitching

fabric glue

white frames i found at target for $3.99

all stuff you might have around the house...go find it...don't have a panic attack...get busy and have fun!

next crafty-craft: tissue paper pom-pom flowers...wanna make some to hang over zoey's crib.

no tv??? okay...TRUTH...we still watch some...about 1/8th of what we used to watch...it's off all day...we record what we want and are able to watch the shows we love in about half the time by fast-forwarding through the commercials...yay, DVRs!!!

so, correction to the beginning of this post..."some tv"...baby steps...

Sunday, February 06, 2011

hymn-singers, part 2...

one of grandma matchette's favorites:

DAY BY DAY

day by day and with each passing moment, strength i find to meet my trials here. trusting in my Father's wise bestowment, i've no cause for worry or for fear. He whose heart is kind beyond all measure gives to each day what He deems best, lovingly its part of pain and pleasure, mingling toil with peace and rest.

every day the Lord Himself is near me with a special mercy for each hour. all my cares He fain would bear and cheer me, He whose name is Counselor and Power. the protection of His child and treasure is a charge that on Himself He laid. "as your days, your strength shall be in measure," this the pledge to me He made.

help me then in every tribulation so to trust Your promises, o Lord, that i lose not faith's sweet consolation offered me within Your holy Word. help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting, ever to take, as from a Father's hand, one by one, the days, the moments fleeting, till i reach the Promised Land.

one of grandpa matchette's favorites:

I'D RATHER HAVE JESUS

i'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold; i'd rather be His than have riches untold; i'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands. i'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand than to be the king of a vast domain and be held in sin's dread sway. i'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.

i'd rather have Jesus than men's applause; i'd rather be faithful to His dear cause; i'd rather have Jesus than world-wide fame. i'd rather be true to His holy name than to be the king of a vast domain and be held in sin's dread sway. i'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.

He's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom; He's sweeter than honey from out of the comb; He's all that my hungering spirit needs. i'd rather have Jesus and let Him lead than to be the king of a vast domain and be held in sin's dread sway. i'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.

when i asked what their favorite hymns were, their first answers were identical to grandma and grandpa halsey's...VICTORY IN JESUS and FACE TO FACE...

LOVE THESE GRANDPARENTS!!!

Saturday, February 05, 2011

la-la...aka elmo...

covered in elmo stickers...jammin' to the "peanut butter and jelly" song...LOVE THIS BOY!!!

Friday, February 04, 2011

hymn-singers...

hymns...make me think about sunday nights at mc coy memorial baptist church...when we could call out a hymn number for the whole congregation to sing. as a little girl, i felt so "in charge"...i got to decide what we would sing. my favorites? heaven came down and wonderful grace of Jesus. last weekend, i bought a hymn book...because i'm forgetting the words...i start singing a hymn to jackson and zoey...and have to stop because i can't remember the next verse...sad. i LOVE a good worship song...but i miss hymns. SO. MUCH. (sidenote: i'd love to get my hands on an old, green mc coy memorial baptist church hymnal...because the new hymn books have WAY TOO many praise choruses and not enough of the old hymns.) hymns...make me think of my grandparents...because they haven't forgotten the words...and on those hymn sing sunday nights i was usually sitting with one set or the other singing my little heart out.

just a few years ago...one of the most precious memories of my life...singing hymns with grandma halsey and grandma and grandpa matchette...in g & g matchette's living room. they certainly didn't need hymn books to remember the words...

one of grandma halsey's favorites:

VICTORY IN JESUS

i heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory, how He gave His life on calvary to save a wretch like me. i heard about His groaning, of His precious blood's atoning. then i repented of my sins and won the victory.

i heard about His healing, of His cleansing power revealing, how He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see. and then i cried, "dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit," and somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory.

i heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory, and i heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea; about the angels singing, and the old redemption story; and some sweet day i'll sing up there the song of victory.

o victory in Jesus, my Savior forever! He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood. He loved me ere i knew Him, and all my love is due Him. He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.

one of grandpa halsey's favorites:

FACE TO FACE

face to face with Christ, my Savior, face to face--what will it be when with rapture i behold Him, Jesus Christ who died for me?

only faintly now i see Him, with the darkling veil between; but a blessed day is coming when His glory shall be seen.

what rejoicing in His presence, when are banished grief or pain; when the crooked ways are straightened and the dark things shall be plain.

face to face--o blissful moment! face to face--to see and know; face to face with my Redeemer, Jesus Christ who loves me so!

face to face i shall behold Him, far beyond the starry sky; face to face in all His glory, i shall see him by and by!

LOVE those hymns!!! MISS those grandparents!!!

must ask g & g matchette what their favorites are...i'll post those, too...

wanna a good read???

more like...wanna a disturbing/cringe-worthy/can't-put-it-down read???

very well-written, very thought-provoking, VERY good books!!!

finished all three within days.

so glad i didn't find them before all three were written and released...

they're meant for young adults, but i really enjoyed them...kinda violent...kinda graphic (descriptions of violence, not sex stuff)...with a love triangle thrown in for good measure.

i recommend...