Springfield

We just had a wonderful time visiting my parents in Springfield this weekend. The trip included some mad scrabble games, a little baby shopping, getting stuffed with amazing food, a tour of the city, visiting their church, and celebrating Bob's birthday. Oh, and of course Grant competing with other drivers on the way home :) It was SO good to see my parents. I only wish it would have lasted longer. Glad Aaron and Jen were able to go with us too!

30 Weeks

I had my 30 week appointment yesterday. My midwife said everything looks great and I'm measuring right where I need to be. Now I am on the 2 week plan meaning I will be going every 2 weeks until delivery instead of once a month. I'm happy about this, because I could hardly wait another 4 weeks to hear the heartbeat again-I absolutely love that part!

The produce item of the week is a regular head of cabbage. He weighs about 3 lbs and will be packing on the weight in the weeks ahead.

Holding Fast the Word of Life

I watched the sermon "Holding Fast the Word of Life" by John Piper a couple days ago and it has been plaguing my mind ever since. It is the perfect reminder for the new year to be in the word daily, and as Piper states in the message, it is not enough "to lick this lollipop once every few days." We must LIVE in it. That is my greatest desire for 2011 and to not let the world or things in my life this year choke it out. For me that includes marriage, a new baby, managing our home, friendships, hobbies I enjoy, and those goals I recently posted. You can watch a 2 minute excerpt below or the full sermon here......brace yourself......

I spent New Year's Eve with my sister-in-law, Jen. Our husbands had to work late, so we worked on the nursery during the day then went for some yummy food on the plaza at night. Although we nearly froze to death on the plaza, it was still such a fun night!

I typically don’t make New Year’s resolutions. But I do have some goals that are already established, so I will use those. They are technically just continuations of things I am already working on that I want to make more progress with in 2011:

1. Memorizing the gospel of Matthew. Right now I have chapters 1-7 down pretty well, just 21 more to go. I need to catch up with Grant, he’s almost done!

2. Reading more books off my classic book list. In 2010 I read: Jane Eyre, Don Quixote, Robinson Crusoe, Wuthering Heights, and currently War and Peace. My list for 2011: finish War and Peace, then read Anna Karenina, Great Expectations, and The Republic. And a couple not from the classic list: Unveiled at Last, and Husband Coached Childbirth (before March!) We’ll see how much time I have for leisurely reading after the baby comes.

3. Continue to sharpen my sewing, crocheting, knitting, and cooking/baking skills. Plus I have so many new things and techniques I want to learn in these areas.

4. Chip more away at the old debt snowball and be almost done by the end of the year. (Thank you, Mr. Ramsey).

5. I guess the whole “New Year's resolution” list wouldn’t be complete without something related to diet and exercise. Mine is to get back to my pre-pregnancy size once I have the baby. I’m not setting a time frame (summer would be nice), but in general that will be the goal. If I don’t get back to it exactly, I’m not going to fret. I’ve heard some things are just never quite the same :)

But if all these fail, that’s okay. I really want to deepen my relationship with Christ more than anything. If I do that, I will count 2011 a success.

Well friends and family, Happy New Year!

Week 29: Butternut Squash (weightwise, 2 1/2 lbs.)

A Name for Baby

Finally, a baby name decision has been made. Most of our family and friends know the first name will be Asher (But we are planning on spelling it Ashyr. This is my hubby's idea which he LOVES, so it's a done deal). It was so easy to pick the first name. We instantly agreed upon Ashyr long before we were expecting. But the middle name is a different story. Instead of searching through baby name websites any longer (which felt too overwhelming), we decided we needed a system to use to narrow it down. We came up with this: We will use simple Bible names for middle names when it's a boy, and simple names from nature when it's a girl (Dawn, Rose, etc). This will compliment the more unique first names we chose. Since this one is a boy, the Bible name we are going with is Jacob. I was listing off Bible names while Grant gave his opinion the other day. When I said Jacob we both paused, looked at each other, and immediately knew it was the one. Ashyr Jacob Yost...I can't wait to meet him. :)

Christmas Cracker Candy

This Christmas, Grant decided we should start some holiday food traditions that we can continue every year, and eventually with our children. I LOVED that part of Christmas growing up-associating certain foods with the holiday. So, I was more than happy to whip up some tasty treats even though it is just the two of us to enjoy them for now. Last night I was up late getting groceries (last minute of course) and cooking. I decided to use many of the yummy recipes my mom made for us growing up. So far, I have successfully made my first cheese ball, garlic oyster crackers, sausage and cheese balls, confetti dip, frosted sugar cookies, and chocolate toffee bars (aka Cracker Candy). I have never had the Cracker Candy before, but when I stumbled upon the recipe, it easily caught my eye-only 5 ingredints and no candy thermometer!

Ingredients:

Saltine crackers
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
12 oz chocolate chips
Pecans or Heath toffee chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line 9 x 13 casserole dish with saltines, salted side down.



3. In saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and stir in brown sugar. Bring to boil.

4. Quickly pour and smooth over crackers before it cools.

5. Bake for 10 minutes until bubbly or golden brown.

6. Remove from oven and pour chocolate chips on top. Let set 3 minutes, then smooth melted chocolate over the crackers.

7. Top with Heath chips or pecans.

8. Freeze or refrigerate for at least 2 hours

9. Break apart, serve, and try not to get addicted.

Two Down, One to Go!

I remember when we found out we were expecting back in June, that the 3rd trimester seemed ages away. But here it is, the home stretch! I gladly welcome it. The 2nd trimester was pretty nice (other than fatigue, aches, and pains). I have enjoyed feeling the baby kick a lot, no morning sickness, and a bump to sport without looking like a barn (yet).

So, what's with the Chinese cabbage? Apparently, that's how big the baby is at week 28! Each week I look up information about the week I am currently in. One website I use compares the baby's growth to a vegetable/fruit week by week. When I go to the store, I waddle my way over to the produce section for a visual. I just stare at it wondering how on earth that thing fits inside of me. I am a little concerned about week 39's picture-it's a mini watermelon! Thank you, Jen, for the tummy cream!

On Thanksgiving, my grandma gave me an antique cookie press and cutters. I used it for the first time yesterday to take cookies to a Christmas party. After 4 hours of working on them, I thought they deserved a picture. Nothing fancy, but they were SO good-I won't say how many I ate. Thanks Mom for the recipe :)