Ultrasound Pictures!

Profile picture, it's arm was up by it's head if you can tell.

Picture of it's face.

Yesterday I had my 20 week ultrasound. It was very fun and.... I stayed strong and I didn't find out what it is! I am very excited to have that surprise at the end this time! The baby was very funny. It's arms were up by it's head most of the time. At one point I saw it yawn. They think it's about 13 oz, which is a little on the big side. There goes my hope that I would have a smaller baby! It is a very cute baby of course :) Looks a lot like the pictures of Lane I have. So there's my update on this little baby. We had a great weekend. I will share some pictures of Reese's graduation soon.

Spring!

Spring is here. We had a beautiful day yesterday. The weather was so wonderful. Reese's family is down here so they really enjoyed the sunshine. I did a little spring decorating before they got down here. Here is a little of what I did in our dining room. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Greatly Missed

My sweet mom and her dad, Grandpa Ken. Eight years ago today we lost my mom. Five years ago today we lost Grandpa. Grandpa was an amazing Christian role model in my life and I am so thankful for the time I had with him. Our little Lane Kenneth is named after him. My mom had a very patient and loving father, I know she was blessed by him.

My mom was a beautiful mother of five, we all miss her so much. My sisters and I have experienced another kind of missing her now that we are mothers. I am sad for her that she was not able to enjoy that Grandma phase that every mother looks forward to. I am sad for our children that they don't know their Grandma Karen. One time a while ago Lane told me as we were driving down the road that he thinks Grandma Karen is making pancakes up in heaven for Jesus. I guess he knows her better than I thought :) Now that I am a mother, I can appreciate all our mom did for us and I realize how blessed we are to have had her as a mother.

I feel so blessed to know with out a doubt that my mom and my Grandpa are in heaven. As the years pass it becomes easier to see the blessings and those blessings and memories ease the sadness a little. I have such great memories of her and I loved reading my sister Michele's memories of her too. She was beautiful, funny, stylish and hip. What I most appreciate was the Christian mother that she was. Her actions and decisions she made spoke volumes to me. Her life was her testimony.

Mom, Matt, and Phillip in Moses Lake. We always had so much fun visiting at Vance and Michele's. It was always a good time, home videos, games, hanging out on the lake, making cards, great memories!

Mom at a Farmers Day Parade (?) I totally remember her and Matt getting up on that bike during the parade, it was hilarious. We always sat out in front of Grandpa Kens Jewelry store to watch all the parades.

Home Tour: Living Room

The Office area (excuse the cluttered bookshelf)
The Living Room area
I really like our living room. It is very cozy and I like the set up. The paint color is more brown than the pictures show, do I need a new camera or just take some lessons on how to use my current one? It seems like the colors are not the same. :) Anyway, there it is for those of you who were interested.

17 weeks

Well here it is. I finally got a picture of my belly! This past week I've "popped out" quite a bit. I had an appointment yesterday and everything is looking good. I've only gained a couple pounds (I'm sure I'll make up for that soon). I am also measuring just like a week behind which was a huge surprise to me because with Lane I always measured a week ahead. Maybe this one will be a little smaller??

Home Tour: Kitchen & Dining

Like my title? It makes it sound all fancy doesn't it... So here is the finished product. The paint color is called Shale Gray (Behr) and is darker in person. The pictures make it look very powder blue. I wasn't sure about the color, if I didn't have to paint over it when we move I would have gone a little darker, but it's grown on me. I really like the dark brown curtains with it and then I made a little curtain for the window over the kitchen sink. I love that window! It's amazing the little things you can appreciate when living in military housing. I planted some flowers outside of it and I just bought an adorable hummingbird feeder to hang on the tree outside the window. I also planted some herbs in pots on the window sill. So all in all I am very happy with the way the space turned out. Reese and I both feel like this house feels more like home. Now, onto the living room next. Just need to find the energy to clean it so I can take pictures...

Some Recipes

Whiskey Crab Soup (Also called East Coast Tomato Soup)

I've had this recipe for quite a few years. The Cliffhouse in Bellingham WA serves a soup similar to this which is why we call this Whiskey Crab Soup because that is the name of their soup. It is really yummy and rich and I usually just serve it with bread and it's a good meal.

3 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 1/2 cups half and half
2 cups tomato juice (I usually add more)
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp ground savory (you can omit)
dash of hot pepper sauce
2 cans (6 oz each) lump crabmeat, rinsed and drained (fresh crab would be even better!)

in a 2 qt saucepan saute the onion and garlic in butter until onion is tender. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper until bubbly. Gradually add the cream, tomato juice, worcestershire, savory and hot pepper sauce; bring to boil, stirring constantly. Add crab; heat through.



Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders Salad

This is a great light meal. I got it out of a Rachael Ray cookbook. It's one of our favorites.

Chicken:
Vegetable oil for frying
1 1/3 to 2 lbs chicken tenders
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 cup pecans, finely chopped in a food processor
1/2 tsp nutmeg
The zest of one orange

Dressing:
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 barbecue sauce
The juice of one naval orange
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salad:

Romaine lettuce (I buy the bagged kind)
6 radishes, thinly sliced
6 scallions, trimmed and chopped

Heat 1-2 inches oil over medium heat in a skillet

Season chicken tenders with salt and pepper. Set out 3 shallow dishes. Place flour in one, eggs beaten with water or milk in a second and in the third combine bread crumbs with ground pecans, nutmeg, and orange zest. Coat tenders in flour, then egg, then bread crumb mixture. Fry tenders 6-7 minutes and drain on paper towels.

For dressing, combine maple syrup, BBQ sauce and orange juice in a bowl. Whisk in oil and set aside.

Combine romaine, radishes, and scallions in a large salad bowl. Top with chicken tenders and drizzle with dressing.



Enjoy!!