When Mommy Isn't Watching by: Nicole

This morning while I was reading Harry Potter (which I've been doing for 2 solid weeks) I noticed Ila was doing something particularly cute and I thought you would all like to hear about it.

She has a large tupperware container that brings her hours of fun. She sits in it, she scoots it around, she puts things in it, and takes things out of it...she loves it! Today, she was putting her stuffed animals in it. She kept piling them in there, one on top of the other, very gently. As she placed the last one on top (it was a leopard) she stopped and looked at it. Then

she started to softly pet it. Then she kissed her hand and blew on it (thats how she blows kisses) and smiled at the leopard. Then she ran away giggling.

It was a precious moment that I'm glad I witnessed! I would have loved to get a video or picture of the actual moment, but then it probably wouldn't have happened, since Ila loves smiling for the camera. But here are two cute pictures of our sweet girl anyway!

Maybe you can enjoy this too! by nicole

Is this yogurt? Is this cream cheese? What is this delicious stuff?! It's Yogurt Cheese!

We've really been enjoying yogurt cheese in our house lately. It's cheap, it's low fat, it's delicious and it's very versatile. You may be asking yourself "well, WHAT exactly is yogurt cheese?" It's plain yogurt, with the water drained out of it. You can make dips, spreads, pasta sauces, frosting and more out of it, and it's simple to make.

Step 1:

Buy some plain, low fat yogurt. We buy Nancy's at winco.

Buy some cheese cloth (but we've read that you can also use coffee filters or paper towels as well, but the cheese cloth is reusable)

Buy a sieve (if you don't have one).

Step 2:

Put 4 layers of cheese cloth in the sieve and place the sieve in a bowl (the sieve should have a hook on the opposite side of the handle so it does not hit the bottom of the bowl).

Step 3:

Pour yogurt on the cheesecloth/sieve.

Step 4:

Place in fridge over night (or for 8 hours or so) and let the water drain.

Now you have yogurt cheese!

What should you do with it?

There are lots of recipes on the internet for what to do with it, but I experiments with some the other day. I wanted something sweet (but not frosting) to put onto apple turnovers that I had made. So I stirred some maple syrup into the yogurt cheese and mixed it up. It was AWESOME, and would make a delicious bagel topping, or topping for other desserts as well.

Last night I mixed fresh basil, sea salt & pepper into about 1/2 a cup of it and added it to some hot pasta. Tossed in some spinach, grape tomatoes, shrimp and sauteed onions, and a splash of chicken broth and we had a spectacular dinner.

WE are thrilled with yogurt cheese, and happy to have an alternative to high fat cream cheese. Plus yogurt is full of probiotics, which is a plus for everyone!

ENJOY SOME YOGURT CHEESE TODAY!

3 blogs in one! Ila, Christmas and a new year! by Nicole

Perhaps its Ila's age and overall cuteness that has Trent and me "ohhhing" and "awwwwing" over almost everything little thing she does, but I think that is okay. Only when

we are young do we get praise for making good choices, learning and exploring. I'm so tickled with Ila's latest love, books!

Ila is constantly walking up to us with books. She hands them to us and sits herself down on our laps (or tries to climb up on them) ready for us to read. Since we have about 10 board books (which is all she is aloud to play with now, since we have suffered a few ripped books

already) it gets a little old reading the same thing over and over again. Trent likes to make up new stories that go along with the pictures and he uses all sorts of fun voices. Ila prefers him as a reading buddy, since my voices are not so exciting (even though i try!).

Dancing is also something we find ourselves doing at home, in the car, at church, and even in the grocery store. Ila likes to boogie! She will dance to about anything, but she really likes a good strong beat (although I did snag a video of Trent and Ila dancing to Enya the other

night).

Teething is pretty lame these days. We're going on week 3 it seems of molars and incisors trying to come in. When I feel her gums it almost seems like they all want to come in at the same time! Ila seems to be uncomfortable most of the time, but still happy, so that's nice.

We're also enjoying (and by enjoying I mean NOT enjoying!) Ila's new "game" called "I cry a lot when my parents put me to bed." This new "game" is hard for all of us. Trent and I are currently working out how to go about it, and I'm hoping we'll figure out what is best for our family soon! I'm very interested in how people handle bedtime fits, as it seems everyone does it differently, so if you would like to share what you do, leave it in a comment!

Christmas was great! We had such a wonderful time celebrating the birth of Christ with our families! We didn't get to see everyone we would have liked to, but we loved every moment with those we did see! Ila has practically a new wardrobe of cute winter clothes, and this is a blessing, as we were lacking in the long sleeved tops for her. There is also a pair of converse that are RAD that I'm looking forward to her growing into. She also is enjoying all her new toys!

Trent is now a potato crop manager, and is working hard and learning lots, as he and co-crop manager have a lot to figure out before planting! It's a new challenge, and one he was not expecting so soon, but a huge and exciting blessing!

We also started using the gym together at the farm. We both have been wanting to get into shape, so instead of sitting around wanting it we decided to go and get it. Our first workout was yesterday and I thought I would be miserably sore today but instead I'm sore in that way that makes me feel good. I actually feel my muscles, I still have some muscle! I'm working on dropping some jiggles and getting toned up, while Trent is just getting toned up. Trent helped me figure out a great routine for my upper body and cardio yesterday, and tomorrow its the lower body and cardio.

We are so happy here in our quiet little neck of the ranch. We've had some beautiful snow this week and are continually feeling God's blessings and love!

10 things in 2010 that were totally terrific by Nicole

Not in any particular order, here are 10 things that were totally awesome in 2010.

1. Ila starts walking

2. Having our own business (it was for a short but very sweet time)

3. Trent's job and Mercer Canyons, and watching my husband finally get to do what he wants to do...FARM!

4. Ila's first birthday

5. Living near (or with!) everyone in our immediate families for a time

6. Seeing my best friend and her husband finally get to adopt a baby!

7. Meeting up with college friends who are now married and have babies too!

8. Starting a "read the bible in a year" thing with Trent and sticking with it

9. Watching Ila fall in love with her daddy and being excited to see him and play with him when he gets home

10. Personal growth and relational growth

Before the holidays update! by Nicole

It was the flu and I think we're finally rid of it! Trent got it along with Ila, and that was not fun, but they both seem to be in much better spirits and Ila is going to enjoy a more normal diet today. The BRAT diet, although effective, is not all that exciting for more then 2 days.

Our sister in Boise sometimes blogs about the menu in their house for the week. It's alwa

ys fun to see the same meals on her menu as ours without us planning it! S

o far this week I've only made 1 meal off our menu since the sickies were not into eating my

delicious and flavorful planned meals. That throws off my fridge & pantry stocking entirely, and we have this silly trip to Winco for milk and maybe 5 other things, but we sure save money!

On the development side of things, Ila is doing great. She now prefers walking to crawling and can stand up without the assistance of household furniture. She has 8 teeth (that are really

cute) and weighs 22 pounds (well, before her latest sickness). We're working on expanding her vocabulary but her latest new vocal sound is "wwah wwah" which is her cat meow and her dog bark. It's really cute. Ila loves animals. The last few days we have watched Youtube videos and animals and she just LOVES them.

Trent is enjoying work and I'm enjoying my work as well. We've decided to save some moolah to purchase a very nice vacuum. We've gone through 3 in our marriage so far, and that only counts the time we've spent state-side. We had a nice vacuum in Korea, but that is not one of the 3 I'm counting. I guess they just don't make vacuums like they used too. It think it's the first time we've ever decided to save up for something so specific, which I find exciting!

I finally got around to ordering our wedding photos. Yes, almost 3 year have gone by with our wedding albums sitting empty. I'm excited to get them and start filling

those albums up!

We are heading to Idaho for Christmas and New Years and I am TOTALLY STOKED to spend the holidays with our families. The snow has pretty much melted here. It's in that ugly stage where there is snow in some places and not in others. I'm hoping for a white Christmas this year, so I hope it keeps snowing in Boise!

But the doctor said so! by Nicole

It's hard having a sick child. especially when they are too young to tell you what hurts, how it hurts and what you can do for them. Yesterday was a rough day but I walked away from it (covered in vomit and poop) thinking very positively of Trent and my team work, and making the best choice for the health of our daughter.

Ila's appetite has been somewhat small the last few days. Trent has noticed a lot of gagging while eating and drinking as well, and extra fake coughs from her. She has also had diarrhea off and on for the last week and a fever here and there. She also cut a tooth 4 days ago. Her diarrhea the last few days had been different from the days previous though. Yesterday morning, after breakfast we loaded up in the car and Ila threw up all over. It was nasty, but we got her out of her car seat, took her inside and changed her, and loaded her back up and went to church. Most parents are probably cringing right now, since we took our child to church and let her play in the nursery with all the other kids, while carrying this bug around with her. I will say though that we honestly did not think (at the time) she threw up because she was sick, we just thought she gaged on something or just had too much to eat.

During church, Ila's number flashed on the little box by the sanctuary. That meant that Ila needed my assistance. When I went into the nursery, she was standing on the changing table (with a 80+ year old woman holding her) crying and looking uncomfortable. They younger woman/mother of 6 was also in there looking frazzled. I went and grabbed Ila and they showed me that there was poo up her back. "Oh yuck!" I said. "Thank you for calling me in, I wouldn't wish this diaper change on anyone but my husband!" We all had a good laugh and I got Ila all cleaned up and changed. It was some nasty diarrhea, whitish in color.

The rest of the afternoon while shopping, Ila was acting fussy. She did not want to have anything to do with Daddy and was barely tolerating me. I fed her and she took a nap. Woke up from the nap and spewed all over herself & car seat. Okay, something is wrong with her. Trent and I discussed that we though there must be something in her throat causing her to gag. So we tried looking, and that caused her to throw up a lot more. So, off to the doctor we went. We had limited choices as it was 4pm on Sunday. We went into the waiting room and waited for an hour. Ila didn't really like that, and fussed for most of it.

The not so friendly, very shaky and ready for retirement aged nurse came and got us and did they whole nurse thing. My favorite par twas when she left the room she said, "The doctor will be in." Not, "the doctor will be in shortly." And good thing she didn't! We are estimating it was about another 20 minutes till the doctor came round. He did his thing and didn't find anything wrong with her. Then he said, "well, we'll get a urine sample to test for a kidney infection." Then walked out of the room.

the next 20 minutes Trent and I discussed how exactly they would go about getting a urine sample. I said "with a catheter" and Trent said, "we could just ring her diaper out!" Well, they couldn't ring out her diaper (and they probably wouldn't if they could), since she hadn't peed in a few hours, or kept anything down. Well, we expected the doctor to come in with a catheter, but the nurse and some other lady (probably another nurse) came in instead. We did not have any idea why they needed a urine sample, what signs she was showing that could lead the doctor to thinking she had a kidney infection etc. We were NOT about to let them give Ila a catheter without having a few things explained to us. We asked them what they were planning on doing, and why. Then I asked what the side effects/ risks were, "is there a chance of infection?" I asked. Unfriendly nurse rolls her eyes and snapped of course there is a chance of infection! There is anytime you insert something into the body!" I give her the look, and Trent says sternly but kindly "we're going to need to talk to the doctor again before you do that." They grumble and walk out.

Now I'm mad and ready to just leave. Trent, my awesome and wise husband suggests we talk to the doctor before leaving. We discuss together, while we wait, how we don't see a reason for the catheter and urine sample. Then we call Trent's mom, a nurse of 20+ years and she tells us why the doctor wants the sample, and discusses it with Trent etc. The doctor comes back in 15 minutes later) and we have a little chat. He says "well, it's most likely a flu. You can tell by how she is acting, they she is not in much pain and she doesn't have a fever. I can't tell 100% for certain without testing for other things that it is the flu, but I'm sure it probably is." We discussed signs to watch for in the next couple of days that would tell us if it's something more serious. We decided NOT to get a urine sample as it seemed quite unnecessary for something that is probably a flu. Other possibilities are a kidney infection, an obstruction (which is what Trent and I are thinking it is, if it's not the flu) or some sort of liver problem. The main concern at this point is dehydration, but she seems to be doing pretty well in that camp and the white stools. Don't google "white stools" because it is all doom and gloom. It is something to watch closely for sure, but it could also just be a symptom of the flu, according to the doctor.

As we made our 1 hour drive home I was so pleased that we didn't put Ila through something as traumatic and painful as a catheter for something that probably the flu. I was really pleased with the unity Trent and I had in making good choices for the health of our daughter. I was NOT pleased with the ease the doctor and staff had about getting a urine sample from Ila. I cannot believe that the doctor didn't have conversation #2 with us BEFORE sending in the catheter team. We could have saved all of us 30-45 minutes, and a whole lot of patience and warm fuzzy feelings. The only real good thing about the experience was when they told us they would not charge us for the visit. That was a total blessing from God, as we are 2 months away from our insurance with Trent's work starting up, therefore uninsured!

To sum up, we are thankful for doctors and their wisdom, but parents need to make wise and informed decisions about the health care their children are getting. We should not make medical decision just because "the doctor said so!" We are still a bit concerned about Ila, but she seems to be happily playing and drinking and eating. Please pray that it really is only the flu and that she is healthy again soon!

I forgot to tell you my favorite part about the whole thing. Since we live an hour outside of town I have to have super prepared and stocked diaper bag. By the time we got to the doctor, Ila was wearing her ONLY unsoiled piece of clothing (other then her diaper of course), a sweatshirt. She had no pants left so we wrapped her up in a blanket. It was kind of embarrassing.

Hearing Myself by Nicole

It seems I have more time to think out here. Maybe I'm thinking the same amount, but I certainly hear myself more nowadays. Lately I've been quite reflective and thinking about how our life has changed so much, and how it could be different.

I had a miscarriage several months ago. I've been thinking about it quit a bit lately, probably because if I hadn't had the miscarriage I would be about 8.5 months pregnant. It's strange to think that we would be welcoming a new member into our family in the next few weeks if I hadn't had the miscarriage.

It's interesting where my heart is at with the matter. I am not sad about it (now), and not glad. I guess what I am is aware that God really knows what is best for us. I'm not saying that God causes miscarriages or anything like that, but what I am saying is that God knew that having a newborn around this time was not right for our family. I can only imagine that I would be really stressed and worried about how I was going to manage 2 children while Trent is still adjusting to his new job. How would I cope with being in a new place, way out here in nowhere land, barely knowing anyone? I don't think it would have been very pretty.

It's not that I don't think I'm capable of dealing with all of those things, I'm sure I would do alright if it were the case, but I think it's better that it's not the case.

This isn't the most concise blog, its just me spitting out thoughts that needed to come out. We didn't tell the world about the miscarriage when it happened, because it seemed really personal, even borderline embarrassing. See, a lot of people are very open in sharing there thoughts on the "proper" spacing of kids. Trent and I had decided long before Ila was conceived that we wanted to have our kids close together in age, which we have now discovered is not as socially pleasing as kids spaced 2+ years apart. After we had Ila, we started hearing people warn us to make sure not to get pregnant too soon and all that jazz. The worst was after we found out I was pregnant and people kept saying things like"don't get pregnant too soon!" and "make sure you are being careful, you don't want to have your kids too close together!" Trent and I usually snickered in secret to one another, but I felt concerned that when we told people we were pregnant they would judge us, or think we were foolish. I am easily hurt by people saying negative things about something I'm excited about. For example: "I'm pregnant!" I would say. "Wow, so soon? You are really going to have your hands full." Maybe I'm a little over sensitive, but that kind of reaction would have hurt my feelings.

It was a breath of fresh air when I ran into one of my sisters at the Obstetricians office and our secret was outed to her. She was nothing but happy for us, and encouraged us that we would do great with kids 13 months apart! It was so nice to have someone say "good for you!"

I say the miscarriage was borderline embarrassing because I thought people would think that it happened because my body wasn't ready yet and that it was too soon after having Ila. I suppose I felt like people would have an "I told you so" remark going off in their head as they would tell me how sorry they were. I also felt like something was wrong with me for sure. I had a successful pregnancy with Ila, so why didn't this one take? It's taken some time for us to come to terms with the whole situation, and to understand it fully. I think I'm finally past the "something must be wrong with me" stage. We know that there was nothing wrong with me, making me unable to carry a baby, but that it was just not meant to be. I didn't understand why at the time, but now that I'm so close to the due date I understand that with complete confidence.

To wrap up I'll say that there are so many questions with early miscarriages that will not be answered this side of heaven. Sometimes that bothers me and other times I'm at peace with it. I am totally at peace with what happened though, and I am in awe that God knows us so intimately and knew that this time was not right for us to have another baby. I've also learned that telling people how to go about spacing their kids out is not my place. I don't know if I ever did that anyway, but if I did, I sure won't now!

Also, miscarriage is hard, scary and heartbreaking, but nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of. There is always a reason, but I don't need to know why in order to accept and heal. God knows, and He is in control, and that's good enough for me.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.