Breaking New Ground

Thankful on a Thursday

2012-01-26T13:37:00.000-08:00

Wow, Thursday just keeps sneaking up on me. Since working twice as many hours the weeks have just been flying by! I was afraid when I first took on the additional role at work/church that I'd feel guilty about leaving my boys for about 10 hours a week. While I do miss them, I'm so much more productive when they're with grandma or mima that when we're together again I don't have as many other

little lambs

2012-01-24T11:20:00.000-08:00

A friend of ours has over a dozen teensie lambs that need extra care because the sheep aren't caring for them. Liz invited us over for a "field trip" so Malakai could see them up close and even feed them. I was just as excited to see the little ones as Malakai, they are too precious. He was hesitant at first, but warmed up quickly. Liz let him go in the pen with the smaller lambs and try to feed

Thankful on a Thursday

2012-01-19T21:28:00.000-08:00

I've missed my thankful posts the last couple of weeks, but as you can probably tell I haven't really been updating around here as much as I usually do. It started with the holidays and then just compounded after that. Just before Christmas I took on an additional role at my job/church, which means most of my "free time" is taken up by work and household chores. The boys haven't been napping

Malakai 2.5

2012-01-16T14:00:00.000-08:00

Today Malakai is exactly 2 and a half! It's amazing what a difference 6 months has made. He looks so much different, so much older to me already. He has learned a ton over that time as well and his personality develops more and more everyday. Malakai is hilarious, always making others laugh, especially his parents. He says and does some of the most random things. However, at the same time he

dairy-free peanut butter ice cream

2012-01-13T20:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted recipes around here. Lately I've been trying new ones left and right. About a week ago Ben started a temporary diet, by his doctor's orders. For a month he's to have no dairy, eggs, wheat, tomatoes, or chocolate. I've been doing a lot of research and we've learned that wheat, milk, and eggs are in just about everything! Soy sauce- wheat. Ranch dressing- milk

updated: about us

2012-01-11T21:38:00.000-08:00

I recently realized that my "about us" page hadn't been updated for almost a year. I made a few changes and of course added information about Desmond.

Desmond: 3 months

2012-01-10T16:23:00.000-08:00

As Ben put it, Desmond is a quarter of a year old today. After that statement I told him to never talk to me again. It really put it into perspective for me how soon my baby's first year will come to an end. It's exhilarating and heartbreaking all at the same time. I love having a baby and a toddler, even in the moments that are difficult. In the last 3 months I have experienced some of the most

taking more photos

2012-01-05T16:56:00.000-08:00

Ironically, there are no photos in this post. I just wanted to let you all know that I've started another blog for project 365- a challenge to take and share a photo every day for a year (although I realize that it's a leap year so there are 366 days). I tried to add it as a tab here at Breaking New Ground, but unfortunately blogger doesn't work that way. So I started a new page with a photo

Christmas Recap

2012-01-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of Christmas gatherings over the holiday weekend, in fact we still have one left that got pushed back because of my having the stomach flu. I've been really bad about updating with all the busyness and I don't want to overlook sharing about Desmond's first Christmas! On the 24th we spent the entire day at my in-laws, except nap time. The morning was pretty casual and then after nap

the ups + downs of 30

2011-12-30T10:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know I've only been 30 for a day, but my birthday was full of ups + downs. When Ben had asked me if I had a good birthday it was actually hard to answer him. I'll start with the "downs" so that we can end this post on a positive note. downs: still recovering from the stomach flu. I had a hard time figuring out what to eat to get my energy back because my stomach still feels so

Thankful on a Thursday: today I turn...

2011-12-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

and I'm thankful for... 951. so many wonderful things that happened to me in my twenties. 952. Desmond's belly laughs. 953. generous and thoughtful gifts. 954. Ben taking care of me and the boys while I was very sick. 955. Christmas gatherings. 956. the boys not getting the stomach flu, better me than any of them! 957. a church that I love, flaws and all. 958. games

out sick

2011-12-28T13:53:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas has come and gone, although we do have one more family gathering. Sadly, I came down with the stomach flu the night of the 26th. Yesterday through facebook and text messages I found out that 8 other family members have it too. Today is better and I'm recovering slowly, trying to rest my dehydrated self and replenish everything I lost yesterday. Now we're just praying that Ben

Thankful on a Thursday: hustle + bustle

2011-12-22T23:02:00.000-08:00

I feel like I've been procrastinating, but really I just have two little ones that need all my attention. This means that 3 days before Christmas we are frantically trying to get the kids to sleep so we can wrap presents and bake goodies in preparation for upcoming celebrations. Whew, the days have gone by way too fast! Still I have so much to be thankful for... 941. a very unexpected +

swamped

2011-12-19T14:18:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be updating less frequently for the better part of the next two weeks. We've been busy but it's getting even crazier the closer we get to Christmas. We will have 5 different family Christmas gatherings starting Saturday, I'll be celebrating (?) my 30th birthday, and we'll be ringing in the new year at a wedding. This week I'll be crafting all the gifts I have to finish up, then we

Thankful on a Thursday

2011-12-15T15:32:00.000-08:00

This week I'm thankful for... 931. that Kai still falls asleep in the car and stays out for transition to bed, most of the time. 932. that Desmond has finally learned that his car seat isn't the worst place to be. 933. for a job where I can bring my children if need be. 934. for free babysitting courtesy of the grandparents so I don't have to bring them to work or even shopping all the time.

another year, another...job.

2011-12-14T15:05:00.000-08:00

Last year, around this same time, I took on my current position at our church as the Nursery Director. I coordinate volunteers and make sure everything runs smoothly on Sunday mornings in the nursery and two's classrooms. This job was perfect for several reasons, but number one was because it allowed me to work from home most of the time. This year I've been asked to add on the preschool age

Desmond: 2 months

2011-12-12T14:40:00.001-08:00

{santa baby} Desmond turned two months over the weekend. It's pretty unbelievable how fast his newborn stage went. We literally just got back from his well-check and first ever immunizations. My big boy is off the charts for weight at just under 15lbs! In just 9 weeks he has more than doubled his birth weight! He's 23 1/4 inches (65th %) and his head is 16 1/4 inches round (77%). Needless

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2011-12-11T21:45:00.003-08:00

A week ago we went on an adventure to find the perfect Christmas tree. Since then things have been a bit busy, so not only have I not had time to share the photos, but it took us almost another week to get the tree decorated. Now it's decorated and oh-so festive, here's how we got to that point... I had wanted to go to a Christmas Tree farm instead of a lot this year. I also wanted to find a

Thankful on a Thursday: holiday mess

2011-12-08T15:07:00.001-08:00

Our house is currently a rather gigantic mess. We got halfway through decorating the tree last night before Malakai was more interested in playing with the computer (I consider this a success) so the decor boxes are still out until Ben and I can get to putting the ornaments on the tree. Time to ourselves is so scarce these days, I think it'll be a while before it's finished. Also, due to having

Christmas is coming!

2011-12-07T15:14:00.001-08:00

I can't believe Christmas is just over 2 weeks away. I need to get on the shopping, making and baking quick! What's worse is that with the sickies hitting us again we haven't even decorated yet. Our tree has been up and without decor since Saturday. I'm hoping we can remedy that this evening and get some cute photos for our annual Christmas card in the process. However, nothing has been going as

In Hindsight

2011-12-05T21:46:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of months, and even more so in the last couple weeks, Malakai has been quite unruly. Many have been the victims of his screeching, crying, kicking, and hitting. I've often felt powerless and unsure of what to do; not only to squash the unsavory behavior but to meet his needs as well. For the past few days he's been tugging at his ear and Sunday night at 2am he woke

8 weeks: sleep

2011-12-05T13:14:00.001-08:00

Last night was a rough one, but not with Desmond. Kai woke up at 2am and was screaming at the top of his lungs. All he wanted was for Ben to hold him and walk around the room. He didn't want to lay down, he didn't want me to hold him, he wanted one thing and he was going to scream until it happened. Unfortunately, we could tell he wasn't feeling well so we wanted to soothe him. The hard part was

Thankful on a Thursday: December

2011-12-01T09:14:00.001-08:00

I'm sure December is a busy month for just about everyone because of the holidays. Here is what our month looks like: *starting work again this week *Christmas shopping *Christmas tree family outing *church leadership meeting *Children's ministry Christmas Party *church staff Christmas lunch *Ben's work Christmas Party *Church Play/helping coordinate childcare *Desmond's 2 month check-up *

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-29T12:02:00.001-08:00

Well Thanksgiving was Desmond's first big family Holiday (Halloween doesn't count, especially because we did NOTHING). Since we live in the same area as both sets of the boys' grandparents and much of my extended family, we have had two Thanksgiving gatherings in the same day since we got married. I thought it was exhausting before having children, I was dead wrong. We arrived at Thanksgiving

7 weeks: another comparison

2011-11-28T14:23:00.001-08:00

Little Desmond is being compared a lot these days. Some people have a strong opinion about who he looks like and others ask us what we think. Compared to Malakai, Des looks much more like his mama (and her side of the family). However he has a lot of Ben's features and resembles Malakai in some ways at this same stage. Here's a side-by-side of one of my baby photos with a recent one of him...