My Vitamix

So in my quest to eat healthier, (which actually we started a few years ago now) I was finding it hard to get in enough veggies. I don't love a lot of raw veggies but really wanted to eat them raw since every time you heat them up you are cooking out a lot of the important vitamins and minerals our bodies crave. So I heard about juicing and decided to give it a try. Problem was I didn't have a juicer. I didn't want to spend the money either until I knew it was something I was going to actually get a lot of use out of. So I wrote on my facebook status one day that I "would really like a juicer". Well go figure, someone had one sitting around they were not using anymore and gladly offered hers to me. I fell in love! But I soon realized that I wanted to upgrade. There are many different types of juicers and the one I had, produced a lot of waste. In other words I was throwing out the fiber which our bodies actually need. And this particular one was a bit older and had a lot of parts so it was hard to clean. So after a lot of research, we decided on the Vitamix. It was painfully expensive, but it's the cadillac of blenders and had a 7 year warranty. Best purchase I've ever made!






Really you can throw anything in it, every day is different depending on what is in season or what is in the fridge that day. Today for starters... ice and frozen strawberries (this thing emulsifies ice in seconds!)





Add carrots (which I love to do since I have never been able to eat raw carrots)





And a banana (it's a really great way to use up the old ripe ones, that no one wants to eat anymore)






Some celery (usually I add Spinach or Kale but we ran out on this day)





Sneaking in some wheat germ. I would like to start adding some flax seed too! I also often stock up on tofu when we are in Toronto and add a few ounces since I find it so hard to eat enough protein. I do have soy protein powder in the cupboard which I bought but for some reason haven't dared to add it yet.






If we need some extra sweetness we add some Stevia (a good all-natural alternative to sugar or chemical sweeteners)






All ready to go!






About 30-60 seconds later... Presto!







MMMMMMM!!!!!





Braedon and I enjoy one together every day. When I originally invested in this machine, I had visions of serving the whole family a nice smoothie daily. Not so! The only one I have been able to convince this is a great treat is Braedon. Sigh! We'll keep trying, who knows, maybe one day.....



PS- Titus has also made amazing soups in this thing. Just turn it on high for 5 minutes! Friction heat is used for making soups. . . it only gets hot enough to eat and I find that soup tastes much fresher this way. The flavours are richer and more full-bodied, and the soup does not have the same "cooked" taste as stove-top heating.


If I haven't sold you yet come on over and we'll enjoy some together! ;)

Jesse

It's been a while since I last posted, and I finally feel like I'm ready to start blogging again! I think I jut needed to put our big decision behind us and wait until it was final. And so...

After much thought and prayer it is now official. We will not be adding to our family again at this time. As most of you probably know, baby number four turned out to be baby number four and five. Twins. A little boy and a little girl. We both really wanted to adopt them, but mostly we both wanted to understand what God wanted. And in the end we didn't receive any affirmation at all, and really quite the opposite. We began to see and understand more and more that for who we are and where we are at, it would not be in anyone's best interest. The beautiful thing about it, is we came to the decision quite separately but around the same time, so we are both on the same page, which is such a blessing in itself. Please continue to pray with us though that God would put them with a wonderful family. Some times in my life, when I've had to let things go and "let God" I have taken them back and struggled with trusting Him. Not this time. He has completely protected my heart and I have let them go and trust God with all of my heart and just know confidently that he will take care of them and believe their story will be beautiful regardless of where they end up.


Now on to Jesse, my baby is 4!

Jesse Lee-"God's Gracious Gift" born May 9th 2006


God's Little Child

Oh, Little child, your life was planned.
Right from the start from the Father's hand,
He fashioned your frame in ways so grand,
And loves you in ways you don't understand.

And as you grow, may you always know
The Lord is there wherever you go.
We promise to love you thro' all your days and hours,
But never forget, His love is far greater than ours.

Our Father's Son, He freely gave
And all who believe, He surely will save.
Oh, little child, we're all adopted at so great a price,
But as God's little boy, you're adopted twice.


(the poem in his announcement card)



(the first time we met him)

Almost three years ago now, we went to meet our little boy. The cutest little thing I had ever seen in my life. I instantly fell in love. He has the most beautiful smile EVER. And he may be tiny but he has endless amounts of energy. He's a climber and can kick a soccer ball like none other. He's stubborn. He's affectionate. He's sweet. His attention span is short, but he can play all by himself for long periods of time.





-although he does prefer to play with his sister.




awww! If only they always loved each other this much!


It was so cute to watch him open his presents. He pulled his beloved Buzz Light Year out of the gift bag, his mouth wide open and yelled "BUZZ!" in astonishment. The neat thing was, he immediately handed it to Brooklyn and said, "here you can hold him!" Now obviously that is not how things always play out, but it is so sweet and precious when it does happen,

top 10 things Jesse loves

10. Candy
9. Church
8. School
7. Candy
6. Television
5. His new Bike
4.Braedon
3. Brooklyn
2. Anything remotely silly
1. Candy


We've been having a little problem with "candy" lately. He has discovered he loves it so much, he's been stealing it before any one else is up in the morning. He has no idea yet how to be sneaky about it and leaves the evidence all over the place. (One day all three of them were chewing away like mad and were quite surprised to realize they'd been busted with stealing a whole pack of gum out of my purse- they told daddy I gave it to them, and he fell for it!) We tried to put it up really high but forgot some so the next morning.... he did it again. I think we had 4 or 5 episodes in a row. If anyone has any good suggestions on how to deal with this let me know.




...And it finally happened for the little guy, after a year (or more) of trying everything, he is now pooping on the potty every time!! My solution? (Still grateful for the suggestion) You poop... you clean it! And let me tell you, that pretty much worked right away! He hated it! "eww this is gross!"
and I'd say "Yup, it is, isn't it? That's why I'm not doing it any more!" I know it sounds mean, but I was willing to try anything!




I just love the little guy so much, and wouldn't have wanted to spend Mother's Day any other way than to celebrate Jesse's 4th Birthday! Mommy and Daddy love you Jesse! You have blessed our lives more than you'll ever know!

Brooklyn Grace-"Water or Stream" born Nov.5 2007

We have waited so long
for this child of choice.
Bless us
with an abundance of your love
that we may be good parents,
that we may create a home of blessing,
that we may encourage this child
to the fulness of her potential,
Bless our child, O God.
Give her security in our family,
the joy of laughter in our home,
and the courage to face
the challenges ahead.
Let our child know the love
we feel so deeply for her,
and let this love be a strength
to confront the opportunities of life.
Amen
V.C. Anderson


(the poem in her announcement card)

Oh how we LOVE our Brooklyn! She's our handful. She was born with a mind of her own. She came to us already with an attitude and a strong personality at (almost) nine months of age. She cracks us up and makes us laugh all the time. She is so independent and yet at the same time she SO wants to be like her big brother and do everything he does. She has such a sweet side too. The other day I hit my head and as a goose egg was developing on my forehead and I was sitting on the floor recovering, she kept saying "Happened mom? happened?" and kept kissing my head over and over saying, "s'okay, s'okay mom!" I couldn't imagine my life without her. I keep reminding myself that a strong will, will be a good thing, probably even an asset as she gets older as she won't be a follower and will stick to her guns. In the meantime we keep praying for wisdom as to how to raise her, and harness that spirit without breaking her will. So often we find that if we are creative and find a way to let her think something is her idea she's all for it, otherwise forget it! She is in two weddings next year, and even to measure her for the dress was a night mare. So much so, I put it off for weeks. Then all of a sudden, I thought, "Hey! what if I pretend to measure Jesse first!" Sure enough, then she demanded I measure her too! Anyways I've warned both brides not to expect too much, she is just too unpredictable. Either way we'll just have fun with it.




It was so much fun to celebrate her on her birthday and to be reminded what a precious gift she is.




Brooklyn insisting on wearing my earplugs!

Her favorite song is "twinkle twinkle little star" and loves to do the actions and sing at the top of her lungs over and over and over again. She just can't get enough. "gain mom? gain?" I have to get it on video soon, before she moves on to something else.
"gain mom? gain?"






Believe it or not, this is her camera smile! What a clown!!



It takes us a lot longer to get down the stairs these days... if she sees you, she insists on kissing you between every spindle! Sometimes if I'm in a hurry I find myself distracting her so I can run down for a minute!


To the tune of "Oh how I love Jesus"
(I sing this to her at least once a day)

Oh how I love Brooklyn
Oh how I love Brooklyn
Oh how I love Brooklyn
She is God's gift to me!!!!!!

AMEN!

Braedon- "A broad HILL" ~ Born: October 28 2008

Psalm 121

I look up to the HILLS; does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

He won't let you stumble,
your guardian God won't fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israels'
Guardian will never doze or sleep.

God's your Guardian,
right at your side to protect you-
Shielding you from sunstroke,
sheltering you from moonstroke.

God guards you from every evil,
he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
he guards you now, he guards you always.

(We used this passage for his announcement card- this version is from 'The Message')





The cake shots of course







A life to celebrate!!

A one year old child is so many things
A tiny discoverer of butterfly wings,
A hugger of Teddies,
A sweet sleepyhead,
And someone to dream for in bright years ahead...







What joy this little treasure has already brought into our world. We love him SO much!! He is just so happy to be alive. My first real cuddler. My sweet sweet boy. I swear I kiss him 50 times a day, I can't help myself, his bright cheery cheeks just call out for it. Kiss me! Kiss me! Kiss me!! I couldn't imagine our family without him, He's my easy one, content as can be, a daddy's boy! Although so was Jesse at first, so that can change. We just discovered that although he doesn't often play shy, he doesn't like men with baseball caps, they make him cry! Eight months ago, we were finally able to bring him home and how exciting that day was after waiting for legal 'stuff' for four months. We were blessed to be able to meet him at three weeks already and spend a lot of time with him during that waiting time, thanks to some truly wonderful foster parents. This is very rare in the public foster system, so we've been able to see God's blessing and hand in things over and over again throughout his short life already.

Thank you God for Braedon! We love you special boy!










And thank you Uncle Jay and Aunt Linda, Owen, Zach, Noah and Logan for celebrating him with us!!!

Babysitting, Barney, Bedtime & Bookwork!

Psalm 118:24
This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!



I was sharing with a friend the other day how God has had to remind me time and time again throughout my life to "Slow down! Stop looking so far ahead into the future that you are unable to enjoy what I have for you TODAY! I made TODAY! It's a gift for you! I want to bless you TODAY! Don't miss out on it! Well, he's been reminding me again, "Don't worry about it, leave the future with me! Appreciate today!"

Some days it's hard to do that, but not today. Today was a good day! We had a fairly relaxing day actually. Titus did some 'pro bono' work and I did a little kid sitting today. (Just Noah and he is super easy, he's quiet and mostly stays under the radar.) Most of the morning these 2 got on quite well.


Cousins ~ Noah is just a few weeks older than Brook





Jesse was gone to school most of the morning...





and then Aunt Linda came back to pick up Noah and stayed for lunch.





Poor Logan, "A baby mom!!" *poke*, *prod* But apparently that's nothing compared to what he gets from Noah.




Noah, Zach and Jesse watching Barney



When everyone was up from naps this afternoon, the whole family headed to the gym. For me that means a good work out, a 20 minute down-time in the sauna and a nice hot shower. No one is banging on the door, running away with my towel, or pulling on the shower curtains.... quite heavenly actually!


Bedtime!


Reading to Billy




Braedon will be turning one next week, he's starting to take little steps already!



Brook showing me how she can climb out of her crib now, *sigh* so far she waits until I get there, but obviously I better start seriously thinking about putting up the toddler bed





Well tonight I get to do officework! (But I'm procastinating and adding a new post instead.) I don't normally like doing paperwork at night, usually I'm just too tired for my brain to function right. But Titus is leading a small group tonight at the church so I may as well do something that needs to get done anyways.



These are the receipts I've worked through so far... So to it I again I go!

A day in the life...

I figured I should add another post, maybe something a little lighter this time? Titus had to work today so it was just me and the kids again, we're getting used to it, when Daddy has work we don't see too much of him. (He always surfaces to cook meals though! :) There are many pros and cons to being self-employed but we sure love having him home, we see a lot more of him than we would if he was working for an advertising company. When we were first married he made the trek into Toronto every day, which meant he left at 7a.m. and wasn't home until after 7p.m. Now he's freelancing, which means we're very grateful for the work, especially in this slow economy. The upside is, in between jobs we get to spend a lot of time with him!



Braedon caught red-handed, now I know who's responsible for all the blow fishes on my windows!!! :P


I shouldn't actually say that we spent the day alone, we had some friends come to visit this afternoon. My friend Leah is pretty good with the camera and was willing to try to get a family pic for Christmas cards. I know it's early, but we had pictures taken of the kids earlier in the year, and it took 3 attempts (and by that I mean 3 different dates with 2 different professional photographers ) before we even had 1 usable picture of the 3 kids together!





Let's just say Leah is a patient woman!
There were MANY MANY more like these, but we did get a few good ones too! You'll see a good one when your Christmas card comes in December...


Anyways Jon and Leah stayed for dinner, along with Andrea and baby Joshua.
After dinner Titus went back to work and the rest of us played some games... love games...




Til next time then...