My how things have changed!!

I was looking through our video camera at all the videos I have of Emma! Oh the memories! :) She changes so much from month to month! I just wanted to post a couple oldies but goodies. The first one is one of her and her daddy when Emma was just about 3 months old. Lucy puts in an appearance as well. Oh, these three make my heart so happy!! :)



This one I just thought was cute it was Emma just starting to figure out the whole crawling thing :) I will do another post with more recent videos soon :)



ok I just added this from a few weeks ago. The little book Nana is holding is Emma's little photo album. She's kissing her new baby cousin's pic! When she gives kisses she says 'awww' lol, so that's why you hear us saying 'awww' the whole time :)

Oh my....

This is the first food item that has actually looked good to me in DAYS!! (I've been sick) Can't wait till my energy and appetite are totally back to try it. MMMMM :)

Bruschetta Chicken Bake
"A simple yet creative chicken meal mimics the popular Italian appetizer 'bruschetta' for a delicious entree reminiscent of romantic Italian evenings."



PREP TIME 20 Min
COOK TIME 30 Min
READY IN 50 Min


INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
1 teaspoon salt
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (6 ounce) box chicken-flavored dry bread stuffing mix
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
Toss the cubed chicken with the salt in a large bowl. Place the chicken in a layer into the bottom of the baking dish. Stir together tomatoes, water, garlic, and stuffing mix in a large bowl; set aside to soften. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the chicken, then sprinkle with the Italian seasoning. Spread the softened stuffing mixture on top.
Bake uncovered until the chicken cubes have turned white and are no longer pink in the center, about 30 minutes.

It's all because of facebook....

...that I don't update this like I should. It's starting to feel pointless cause I'm quite sure that about 2 people (Thanks Mel:)follow this blog. Me being one of them, lol. Almost all of my fellow bloggers have neglected theirs for several months...even years! :) Oh well. I'm not quitting yet, but I definitely update things over on facebook much more frequently.
We've had a wonderful summer. I thought I'd have days where I was bored to tears in my new role as stay-at-home mom, but it hasn't happened yet. There's always errands to run, chores to do, activities to do with Emma, and of course hanging out and having play dates with my wonderful church friends. I'm also using some of my newly acquired free time to get more involved at church. I'm co-directing Cubbies (the 3-4 year olds in the AWANA program) doing more in nursery, choir, and maybe helping with a kids outreach in public schools. Since I'm no longer teaching, I've felt almost like I'm useless because I don't have that opportunity every day to try to make a difference and share Christ with my students. So, I'm making use of this opportunity to still make a difference, just in a different type of way. Plus, being at home, training my daughter, and raising her and molding her, is and should be one of my main priorities right now.
One of the highlights of our summer (I talk like summer's gone even thought technically we still have over a month left) included our fourth of July trip to Branford. My mom, Emma and I drove up and joined Mikey's family for a fun filled few days. We boated, went tubing, 4 wheeling, and of course watched fireworks. Here are a few pics of that trip:





And lastly, here are some pics of Emma from this past Sunday. She's looking so much like a big girl!!

Have a little faith

This is a different entry, not the usual update on Emma or our boring lives, lol. Rather, this blog is something that will hopefully serve as a reminder for me later on. God has showed me so much lately...I'm blessed with a wonderful church and pastor and feel like I'm learning and growing constantly. One of the things I'm learning-again-is that my Savior will always take me of me. The verse running through my head these days is, "And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." I realize this is a big "DUH" especially for someone like me who has grown up in the church and heard it all my life, but it's a struggle. Time and again situations have come up in my life, mostly financial issues, where I panic and think that surely this time the situation is beyond God's control. And everytime He is faithful. Everytime our needs are met and situations resolved...usually in better ways than I would have hoped. This last crisis, me losing my teaching job, has been particularly difficult. It was hard to leave a job that I loved and looked forward to, not to mention the loss of income. I was so sure that this time nothing would work out, we'd have no money, lose our house, etc. Well, once again He provided in a better way than I could have planned. Close friends of ours called last week and asked if I would be willing to watch their daughter (who's the same age as Emma) while the mom is teaching. They are pulling her out of daycare just so that they can pay us that money instead. Now I will be able to continue being a stay-at-home mom and not have so much of a stress on our finances. I'm so grateful but also frustrated with myself wondering at what point I'll remember not to stress because God has it figured out anyway. I love that old hymn that says, "His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches over me." He has proved it over and over and over again. Through the great times in my life as well as the worst times, one theme continues to surface...
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.