Our Little Cutie

 While Chris was working at a friend's house Manny and I spent the day out on the front lawn getting a tan ;-) We've had gooooooorgeous weather the last two weeks, even getting up as high as the mid twenties. The photo second in from the left shows Manny sucking his bottom lip, a bad habit my sister Grace used to have. I used to tease her about the buck teeth that resulted...and now my chickens are coming home to roost! The last photo shows Manny accomplishing something he's been trying to do for weeks - he finally got the foot in! As Daddy says, "he's a laugh and a half!" Notice the cute bib? I made it! Actually I made five. More on that in a later post.

Disclaimer About The Vegetarian Cauliflower Soup

Ok now, I've already been laughed at for putting Chicken stock in vegan soup so I'm going to put y'all straight. If you use the powdered stock or cubes you can get brands that have no animal content - SO THERE! LOL! I know, I should've said something in the recipe. I only know this because as a vegetarian teenager I was able to use chicken stock as a flavouring. If you don't have vegetarian chicken stock I would suggest caramelising mushrooms and garlic, adding water and reducing as this makes a hearty stock too.

Just Something I Wanted To Share :-)

Today I wanted to share with you someone I found in my devotions, an unsung hero of the Bible. His name was Jospeh of Arimathaea. Do you know him? We all know what he did but I think few of us would be able to put a name to the act, because what he did at first doesn't seem like such a big deal.

"And after this Joesph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore and took the body of Jesus".

Joesph was a disciple, but a secret one because he was fearful of what the Jews might do to him. At the time of Jesus ministry I can imagine he would have been one of those men that we would have considered cowardly. Sure, he was a Christian, but a secret one. Then times got tough. Jesus was violently killed and where were the disciples that had once followed Him so openly? God had to use a "coward" to get Him down off of the cross. Joesph turned out to be the most open follower of Christ in that hour of trial. For that, the Lord has ensured that his name and brave deed will be remembered forever.

I prayed this morning and asked the Lord to show me a verse that would mean something to me and this was the first verse I read. Whoa! Talk about a smack between the eyes! How convicting! Am I going to be a Christian in the good times, wearing a pretty smile and being charming, and collapse out when things get rough? Or am I going to be like Joseph, out there worshipping and loving Jesus right when I'm most hurt, most scared, most fearful? He went before Pilate and "besought him" to take down the body. Chris says that he must have been a man of some standing to have sought and been granted an audience before Pilate. And Pilate trusted him with the body of the most well-known 'man' ever hung on a cross! It seems to me that a man like that would have had alot to lose. Imagine how it would have felt to have not only seen your beloved Messiah brutally whipped, nailed, speared - but to have taken that body down. To have held what appeared to be the lifeless body of Christ. To have carried the One who promised redemption for all mankind. To have washed His very blood from your hands. To wind linen over the broken flesh and see firsthand the cruely of those He forgave. To lay the Rose of Sharon in a sepulchre and to know that He had been your only hope. I think that this must have been one of the hardest things a man has ever done. And yet Joseph, the secret follower of Christ, was the one who did it. 

This verse also reminds me of how important it is not to judge our fellow brothers and sisters. God doesn't tend to use the ones who apparently have it all together. In the last two years I have seen and heard of marriages collapsing that I would never ever in a billion years have predicted. Some of those individuals have last names that are well-known in Christian circles, great preachers and missionaries. And yet I know couples that I wouldn't guess could last the distance who are still going strong. I know women who have lost their homes when their husband's made  unwise financial moves, women who have buried a baby, women who have lived with husbands who tried to stop them from serving the Lord, and yet they quietly, humbly, graciously continue to honour their husbands and their marriage. When it really came down to it and things got rough those ladies, like Joseph, had what it took to do the hard thing and just keep loving and serving God. I know missionaries who never won accolaides at college or at home, yet they have lost loved ones while they were in another country, and take their children to places where you can't get decent medical treatment no matter how much money you have. Yet when things get rough they too, like Joesph, just keep loving and serving God.

I want so much to be like Joseph. When I die I want this verse preached at my funeral (unless of course Jesus comes to take me home first... any time now Lord... lol). Of course, I don't want to live my life being a secret Christian, but I would like to be remembered as someone whose greatest hour was in an hour of need. Joseph gives me hope. It's not easy to be strong and I understand his quietness about being a disciple because boldness is something that I struggle with too. I don't tend to be the one who just comes out with what I believe in a room full of people (even amongst Christians). If the Lord can use a 'secret Christian' to take down our Lord's broken body from the Cross, He can surely make us bold during our darkest hour too.

A Recipe That Ticks All The Boxes

This Sunday we had an unexpected blessing. A friend who now lives about seven hours away up the coast popped in for lunch! Normally, a friend coming over would mean a BBQ steak or chicken salad - easy to whip up, pretty, and never fails to please. However, this friend is a vegetarian. And a vegan. That's no meat, no dairy, no eggs, no cheese. I love it when I get to have her for a meal because I'm forced to think outside the square. My husband has been known to order her a pizza - with no meat and no cheese. Most women, including myself, would never even think to put a meatless, cheeseless pizza in front of a guest, no matter how good a friend! So out came the thinking cap...

This recipe is vegetarian. Without the cheese it is also vegan. It's low in fat, takes only about twenty minutes start to finish and is the most delicious, most silky, most creamy soup I've ever made. I love it! The best part? Right now cauliflower is $1.98 a head in regular supermarkets. With the other ingredients included I think I fed three people for less than $1.30 a head. How's that?

Have a look at this nutrients list:

One cup of boiled cauliflower contains

Vitamin C: 91.5% RDI

Vitamin K: 13% RDI

Folate: 13% RDI

10% RDI for each of: Vitamin B6, tryptophan, omega 3, manganese, Vitamin B5.

5% RDI for each of: Vit B1, B2, B3

And only contains 28 calories.

How great is cauliflower!

Here is the recipe. Please try it. It sounds plain, but it's actually delicious. In fact, it's so good that our guest not only had seconds, but also thirds, and finally finished up eating the last of the soup straight out of the serving dish! Now that's what I call a successful recipe :-)

Silky Cauliflower Soup
Recipe from David Lieberman

1 head cauliflower
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

2 1/2 c low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove the leaves and thick core from the cauliflower, coarsely chop, and reserve.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the cauliflower and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is very soft and falling apart, about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and, using a hand held immersion blender, puree the soup, or puree in small batches in a blender and return it to the pot.

Add the Parmesan and stir until smooth. Or use 3 tbsp per bowl. Put the cheese in first, pour soup over, stir to bring out the cheese swirl.

Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve. 

Enjoy!

What a week!

Wow - what a week! If something could happen - it did. Anyway, thank you Lord! We made it through to the other side :-)

A couple of posts ago I mentioned that Manny was being a little fuss pot but I had managed to settle him. This past week it all started up again, the worst part being fussy feeds - and I mean really fussy. And this from my sweet baby who has been a perfect little feeder from day one! It got so bad that our goal for each feed was to sit for at least ten minutes. Not feed for ten minutes. We just had to sit through ten minutes and then I would let him up. He would arch his back and scream, alternated with sucking hungrily for a few seconds. By the end of the ten minutes he would settle enough that he would drink for about 3-4 minutes solid. I had to switch him from side to side constantly just to encourage him to drink. Our feeds had to be scheduled for every two hours (yup, day and night) to make sure he was getting enough food. At one point I was holding my son, trying to feed, and the thought occurred to me, "This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where we find out how serious I am about giving my baby breastmilk. There are mothers out there who have struggles like this right from the start and they push through. You're gonna have to just keep going girl!" If you are one of those mothers I take my hat off to you! You're incredible! Being the good mother that I am (sarcasm - you'll see why) I would make up for this loss of usual milk intake by giving him two-three meals of organic rice cereal each day, made up with my breastmilk as per Manny's dietician's instructions. (Yes, Manny has his own dietician).

At the same time as all this was going on I was battling with an outbreak of hives on his back. A friend said that it looked to her like a chemical reaction so out went our regular clothes wash and in came our new organic wash powder. It's so green friendly that you don't get a scoop with it "because" the box reads, "that would be wasteful of our limited resources and detrimental to the environment". It's made with coconut, sugar, lime, etc. I know, sounds like we're washing our clothes in fruit salad... anyway! For a day the rash seemed to settle down, but it flared up even worse two days later! Now the rash was on his torso, his back, and his legs! I was praying that the Lord would show me what was wrong and I don't even remember when I got the idea, but suddenly I found myself at my laptop punching in "rice cereal allergy". Ooooooohhh yup! Forums of mothers with the exact same hives, exact same fussy feeding, exact same irritability, exactly the same solution. I contacted our dietician and she recommended a course of action to determine the allergy, which we have completed, and sure enough our baby has beautiful clear skin again. He settles in to breastfeed perfectly, and judging by tonights dinner, he is much preferring solids without boring old rice cereal!

Which brings us to the exciting new world of solids! That is, if you can call pureed fruit solids, lol :-) Obviously he started out with rice cereal which is now GONE! He liked bananas, kinda. The one time I forgot to mix them with breastmilk he wouldn't eat a spoonful! Avo's would be great for him but he vomited them up. Today we tried peaches. Well! You can tell he's our son alright! Four tablespoons of Pureed-Peaches-Mixed-With-Mama's-Milk later... Now I just have to make sure I don't Daddy doesn't eat the rest of peaches that are tucked in the fridge.

I have had three special blessings that came with this new milestone:

• Manny's dietician. Caroline is a lovely lady and although busy has offered to keep in touch via email so I can ask her any questions. What a blessing! All I remember about feeding is that when I had to feed my brother (yup, it was my special duty as a teenager) it was extreeeeemely messy and all he ate was the jarred stuff from Heinz. (Why anyone raises their kids on jarred food I don't know. How much cheaper is it to mash a carrot?). It's been great to have her guidance and the reassurance that we're doing this right.
• We have a "Sister" who comes to our local pharmacy and meets with mums to give them advice, take baby measurements, etc. The same pharmacy has a nutiricianist who is also happy to stop for a chat. I've never understood the whole 'people need support' bit. That's why Google was invented, to give answers. But now I realise that nothing will ever beat a friendly woman who has trod your road before and can give good advice.
• You may laugh at this but I have a prayer list for things I need. When I realise that I am missing something I write it in my notebook and just wait for the Lord to provide in a miraculous way. I even do this with the small things because I know how God likes to show himself strong in my everyday life. Yesterday morning I wrote down that I need airtight containers especially for keeping Manny's food and breastmilk fresh. This afternoon the Lord reminded me of a big drawer that I have filled with goodies that I scored for free from a nursery that was closing down. I have had the airtight containers all along! I rummaged in the drawer, opened the packet (most of the stuff that I got from that nursery had never even been opened) and started using them. I love, love, love it when the Lord provides something that I have no idea I'll need. I just kept them because the packet was new and unused and maybe I could give them away sometime. Little did I realise that my Heavenly Father knew I was going to write that on my list and that I would need Him to provide. What a sweet, caring God I have!

Mummy is always right after all

I suppose every mother feels the same way when she gives birth. It's like the old saying "to become a mother is to have your heart forever go wandering outside your body". It's the truth. I look over at the crib now and I see my heart sleeping away, sucking on his fingers, the tiny Tigger toy never far from reach. The amazing part of all of this was that when Manny was born I never once second guessed myself or how I was doing something - for this same reason. I know what he wants, he's an extension of me. From day five he's had a toasty evening bubble bath, a massage with scented oil, been powdered and fed and snuggled and tucked into bed. Why you ask? Because that's how I would want to spend my evenings, that's why! He rarely wears hats, unless they are super cute with fluffy ears. Most of the time he wears hoodies. Why? Because I would want to wear fluffy ears and hoodies! When I am leaving him alone for a few minutes I simply tell him where I am going and when I'll be back and he rarely cries while I am gone. If I forget to tell him then I have a problem and he gets unsettled. I don't think he understands the words (of course!) but I think he understands the reassurring tone. When he cries I hold him close and whisperingly, I ask him what is wrong. And he tells me. He scrunches his little body or he tries to suckle my ears or he lets out his tired sob. I've never second guessed my ability to communicate with my baby, understand his cries and know what is best for him. Until this last fortnight.

This last fortnight I've received so much advice from so many places! I don't know what happened, it was like the flood gates opened and whooooosh - out it all came. And for the first time I began to doubt myself. Maybe that cry didn't mean what I thought, maybe I've been wrong all this time? He's such a strong boy, maybe he really does need to sleep less? Could it be that I'm actually freezing my baby by dressing him in only two layers? Sure I'm wearing only a teeshirt but still...

Needless to say, it hasn't been a rosy two weeks. He hasn't slept right. He hasn't been feeding normally. And he seemed fussy. I didn't realise what had happened until the other night I was washing dishes and it clicked! I felt all tossed and unsettled and confused and I thought to myself, "Where has this come from? Why do I suddenly feel like this?". The verse came to mind, "Be still and know that I am God." I was definitely not still. Well, well, well! I thought to myself. So that's what is wrong.

 I took a few deep breaths, closed my eyes, and asked the Lord to calm me. Manny cried. It was his I'd Like Someone To Talk To Cry (he's very social - doesn't get that trait from me ;-). Yes, I do believe that babies have different cries and if we are in tune to them we can pick up on what is wrong (at least, my baby does ;-). It was the first time in over a week I had recognised his cry, what joy! I was so happy.

I have an older friend who is a great example to me, especially while I am so far away from family and friends with babies. She has had five children of her own and certainly knows what's what with babies. But when she holds Manny and he begins to cry she says, quietly and assuringly, "Oh, you need your mummy. Your mummy will know what is wrong with you." Once he was crying and I truly wasn't sure why. She handed him to me and said, "You'll know. You'll always know. You are his mother." I raised my eyebrows at her confidence in me, but how I appreciated it!

We've been having trouble with Manny sleeping for the last week, as in, waking six times a night trouble. Last night I decided to stop listening to everyone else and go back to what I had been taught by a sweet midwife when Manny was less than a week old. Out went the rice cereal, out went the fancy new bedtime ideas. I just did what I have always done and what do you know - we had a great night.

I'm not always going to be right, and I'll definitely make alot of mistakes raising our children. All parents do. But a loving kind mother is never deliberately going to do something to hurt her baby - we're always looking for good ideas and helpful hints. Every Christian mummy has the leading of the Holy Spirit and her own instinct to guide her as to what is right, at this time, for this baby. So tonight I have a restored confidence in my ability to be a mum. It was scary being out on the tempestuous sea of self-doubt. If you are a mummy and you are doubting yourself - please don't! We can do it! We can raise a generation of happy, healthy, contended, confident Christians that will grow up loving the Lord.

And to close, a photo of the old confident me, two or three days after Manny was born. Baby in one hand, makeup in the other, getting all spruced up for vistors :-D

Mission Accomplished!

It's been an insane last few weeks with everything that's been going on. Even Chris looked at my calendar last Tuesday and said, "whoa, you got a lot happening". For Chris to think there's alot happening, there has to be ALOT happening!

So anyway, Item Number Favourite was decorating for the Ladies Seminar at Liberty Baptist. Funnily enough the theme came to me pretty quickly since I was onto a new craze (the distressed look) and had, unknowingly to me, already made what was to become the first of the "Spiritual Gift" signs for the tables. I love that I was given free reign - who doesn't love an empty canvas?

As you can see - I had alot of fun with this one!

The candles, birdcages and candle holders were purchased on midyear or closing down sales, the green picture frame with the meeting details was a second hand shop find, and all the signs were hand painted and distressed.

I have two favourite features, other than the obvious birdcages. The favours and the nests.

Since my last trimester with Handsome Little Darling I've managed to stay pretty on top of my game by doing things in advance, working out a schedule for things that need to be accomplished and working bit by bit. I know - WEIRD! Since when did I have a schedule?! Little Miss I Work Best Under Pressure has finally had to stop deliberately leaving things until the last minute. I sure miss the adrenaline ;-) I don't mind admitting that being responsible like this with a schedule has made me feel old. The secret to never aging is to never have a schedule. There. I said it. There is no magical water fountain.

So the day before the seminar I'm all happy-chappy (and slightly depressed) with the knowledge that everything is done except three signs need to be sanded and the boxes packed with birdcages. And then I start wondering why I don't have favours. I don't need favours. Never planned on them so no need to bother. But of course the night before I had been browsing wedding blogs (as you do during feeds) for inspiration and came across a couple of cool ideas that just needed to be combined, shook up, and given a little twist to be made perfect. Next thing you know I'm strapping Manny into his car seat and dragging him out to Spotlight. Less than 24 hours before showtime.

I absolutely adore these favours. It took a few hours of work as I used regular brown paper lunch bags and just refolded to suit my vision. The flowers are not paper. And that is the coolest part. The flowers design is on fabric. And not just any fabric. It's a fabric that I saw while in Rockhampton and fell head over heels with but couldn't justify buying (I wanted it for a skirt but decided that until I made a skirt with the fabric I had I couldn't buy more. I know, I know, what has happened to me?!). So I brought half a metre of this beautiful design and only used a quarter. The little cards were printed on some paper that I have been dragging around for over three years in a stationary collection, and was originally from Mrs Steers who brought the papers in America. All this time I have held to the faith that one day, one day the Lord would show me a use for them. And this was the day! The green went perfectly with the fabric and helped to tie in my second-hand picture frame, which as you can see was lined with the same flower fabric.

Inside the favour bags was a lady-sized caramel slice and a Dilmah Exceptional Berry Teabag. Just the thing a hardworking wife or mother needs for a treat!

The gorgeous nests were a gift from the Lord just as I was packing the car to leave. I had seen some nests during my midnight wedding-blogging, made from Spanish Moss, so in the morning I searched the yard for anything that might do. No spanish moss. I was disappointed but not altogether suprised so I just went on with preparations. However, as I was walking in the main house entrance (I normally use the side door) I noticed something long and beautiful hanging from the tree nearest the steps. Sure enough, Spanish Moss! Or at least, something resembling it enough that I was able to pluck it off the tree and whip up a nest in seconds. In goes the egg and suddenly you have something deliciously shabby-chic!

The driving motive behind making everything beautiful came from a lesson taught to me by a sweet, hardworking missionary lady (that would be YOU Miss Shari!). She taught me that when you do anything for a ladies meeting it should be done perfectly, because ladies spend so much of their time serving. They serve their husbands, their children, and their bosses constantly, so it is special to give them some nice time-out. I remembered that lesson over and over as I sat watching my little son and folding favour bag after favour bag. The reward came as I sat in for the luncheon and talked with people. One young mum approached me and started chatting away. Then she said, "I love coming out to ladies meetings like this. It's the only time my husband can watch the boys so I really savour it. The beautiful decorations and the sweet bags make it extra special, it's a real treat."

"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;" Romans 12:10. 

Another milestone!

I had a beautiful photo shoot with Manny one day, and the entire memory card corrupted. I was so upset! And I asked a very silly question, "Why in the world do small, miserable inconveniences happen and why does God allow them?" I reminded myself that if this were a perfect world it would be heaven, and I'd end up being the next Eve by eating the fruit anyway (because I'm just that stupid), so I sucked in my breath and decided to find a way to fix the card and take another photo shoot.


I propped Manny up and held onto his back with my right hand while attempting to use the camera with my left. Right in the middle of a photo I realized something! Manny had shuffled away from my hand and was sitting up by himself! I snapped this photo quickly and rejoiced to have it on record. I could just imagine the Lord smiling knowingly at me and saying, "Child, this is why I allowed you to have a corrupt camera card! I had something much sweeter in store for you!"


Again I am reminded of the Lord's goodness, His lovingkindness and His continuous patience. He truly knows the desires of my heart. Thank you Lord, for knowing what is best for me even when I don't understand.