Happy Anniversary!

Happy 3rd Anniversary to us!  I honestly cannot say enough wonderful things about Dan!  He has always been so supportive, loving, and helpful, but those traits have shown themselves even more than usual lately!  He has been so amazing while I've been on bedrest.  Dan works extremely hard to provide for us, and then comes home and helps around the house.  I'm looking forward to many more years with this guy, and I have a feeling this coming one will be one of the best yet!  Love you, Dan!

Baby Update:  We went back to the doctor yesterday, and everything looks the same.  Dr. Heddleston would like to wait it out a little bit and see if we might be able to avoid a c-section.  We have to go back on Friday for another check-up.  Baby girl looks healthy and happy, so I guess we'll let her cook awhile longer!  Thanks for all the love and prayers!

Moss Christmas

We moved the Moss Christmas up one week, just in case our Little Miss decides to make her appearance this week!  Everyone had lots of fun, and it was fun celebrating in Dad & Mom's new house.  We decorated cookies, opened presents, played games, watched a movie, and of course, ate way too much junk food!  Thanks for the fun!!!

Cousins--Hayley & I refused to put our baby bumps in there :)  We'll have two more kiddos next year!!!

(Seth-5, Asher-almost 7, Macy-2 1/2, Merritt-almost 2)

 Christmas cookies!

Everyone had fun opening presents...

Nursery Pics and Update

Our baby girl's room is done, except for hanging a few pictures of her and her name...which we obviously can't/won't do right now.  So here is the labor of love that so many loved ones have helped with!

This is kind of a "before" picture.  This room has original hardwood floors.  We decided to cover it with carpet because there were holes from the old radiators and it made the room so cold.  The paint job is done in this picture, thanks to Dan's parents!

View from the doorway.  

The crib and quilt!  I made this baby quilt in 4-H during my junior year, thanks to lots of help from my Grandma Vermeer.  I guess you could say this was the "inspiration" for the room. :)  We decided to use pinks and yellows to match.  The backing of the quilt has pink gingham behind the flowers, so that's what we (okay--mostly my mom!) made the curtains out of.

Even though it's kind of hard to see, my mom helped me make the ruffled crib skirt.  It turned out super cute!  I also tried my hand at painting on canvas.  For the sign, I modified an idea I had found on Pinterest.  The letters are painted, but the bunting is made from fabric and jute (so it can be changed if we ever have a boy).  I really love this sign because it reminds me of my dad--I have fond memories of him singing to me at night.  "You are My Sunshine" and "Into My Heart" are the songs I heard often.  And he still calls me "Sunshine."  :)

This is just a broad view of the rest of the room (the closet is to the right of this picture).  Since my parents were moving, I was able to have a very old dresser that they didn't want to take with them.  Mom primed and painted it white for me, and Dan & his dad put the new knobs on it.  It turned out great and has a lot of storage--always a plus!  The bookshelf was moved from our office.  I might eventually paint it white if I get ambitious!  Dan loves that it's already filling up with stuffed animals; I love that it's starting to fill up with books!!!

We'll hang some pictures of the baby and her first initial on that wall.  I made her initial out of buttons, but I promised Dan I would keep that letter a secret until she's born.

Just another loving touch...Grandma Vermeer crocheted around this blanket for me.  I didn't take a picture of the diaper bag yet, but that was a day and a half labor of love by Grandma Vermeer, my mom, and I!

My new glider!  Having a furniture store does come in handy...  This style is tall enough for Dan & I to fall asleep in :)  It looks really gray in this picture, but it's brown tones.  And I found a place for another old 4-H project: my rag quilt.

Now all we need is a sweet baby girl to share the room with!  

And coming soon...

Dan and I had another appointment in Sioux Falls yesterday.  Since I still have a marginal placenta previa, Dr. Heddleston isn't sure whether we will try a regular delivery or have a c-section.  We know that she will be born in Sioux Falls.  The doctor also said to "plan on next week sometime."  It sounds like we could have a baby within a week and a half...before Christmas!  We're excited and nervous at the same time, as I'm sure most first-time parents usually are.  We'll go back next week Tuesday for another check-up, and we'll take our bags just in case we stay.  :)  However and whenever it happens, we covet your prayers for a safe delivery and a healthy baby.  We hope to avoid a stay in the NICU, but only God knows how her birth story will go.  Stay tuned!

It's beginning...

to look a lot like Christmas!
We got most of our indoor Christmas decor put up on Sunday.  I didn't put everything up, but both trees still are decorated.  Dan isn't completely done with the outside lights yet, but I think just having the roof and giant tree done would suffice this year :)

Our "traditional" tree: Dan & I both have a collection of ornaments from our whole lives that we put on here.  We have some made by our Grandmas, momentos from vacations, baby's 1st Christmas, personalized ones, and one from our first Christmas together.  We hope to start this tradition with our family, also.

This is my tree.  It's decorated with all different ornaments we used in one way or another at our wedding.  It's red, white, black and silver.

This is one of my favorite Christmas decorations!  My parents have given me a new piece to the Willow Tree set over the past few years.  It's almost complete! 

Dan made this nativity when he was in Vacation Bible School.  I have a set that's similar, but we just put this one up.

While I don't always love the hassle of putting decorations up for such a short time, I do love sitting in the dark with just the Christmas trees on. :)  It's a good thing we got it all set up, because it's also beginning to look like we might have a baby in 2-3 weeks!  Unfortunately, after my visit with the specialist today, I'm officially on "bedrest."  So I can pretty much relax, eat, and shower.  Ugh.  I have to go back every week to the specialist, but it remains to be seen whether I'll need a c-section or not.  God must think I haven't learned my lesson in patience, yet :)  Let's pray this leads to a healthy and happy baby girl!

Only once!

It will only be one time that I post a belly pic...so here we are at 34+ weeks.  Just a little ways to go!!!

And for a recipe that filled this belly last night...

Jonny M. Casserole
1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. sloppy joe seasoning mix
6 oz. tomato paste
1 1/4 c. water
2 c. elbow or shell macaroni
1 (1 lb.) can whole kernel corn, drained
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Brown meat; drain fat.  Add seasoning mix, tomato paste, and water.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, cook macaroni according to directions until just tender; drain.  Stir in meat mixture, corn, and cheese.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees until hot--about 45 minutes.  Makes 6-8 servings.
*This will fill a 9x13 pan or a large casserole.  I split mine into two 8x8 pans and froze one.

A time to be thankful...

This isn't the only time of year I'm thankful, but like everyone else, I always seem to be a little more aware of these blessings at Thanksgiving time.
So here are just a few things I'm grateful for this year (in no particular order):

-I'm thankful for God's grace and faithfulness: Without it, what would be the point?  I am also so thankful that He listens to and answers our prayers.  One prayer answered:
-I am SO thankful for making 34+ weeks in this pregnancy.  We had to rush to the hospital at 4 am this past Tuesday morning.  We had a scare with some bleeding and early contractions.  Thankfully that all stopped, and we were able to go home after a short, five hour stay.  We are extremely excited to meet our baby girl, but we would like to hold out for a few weeks yet.  We are already thankful for our little turkey, even all the jabs, kicks, and hiccups when Mommy is trying to sleep!
-I'm thankful for my wonderful husband!  He stayed so calm and collected during that ordeal and got us to the hospital in a timely fashion.  Dan has also been helping around the house--more than he already did.  Cleaning, folding laundry, and helping to get groceries are now added to his repertoire :)  He also has been so kind in giving nightly shoulder and back rubs.
-I'm thankful for our family: Our family is very supportive!  One of the most important ways they have supported us is through their constant prayers for us and the baby, but they do so much more!  They help clean, cook, cover at the store, get the nursery ready, and much more.
-I'm thankful for our friends: they make life so much more fun and enjoyable!
-I'm thankful for a warm home to call our own (even though Dan says it's cold in here--I can't tell with my own personal heater inside!)
A few more not-quite-so-significant things:
-I'm thankful for the lack of snow (so far...).
-I'm thankful for Dole fruit cups.  Many have been consumed in this pregnancy!
-I'm thankful for the teeny, tiny granules I can shake on my flower bed to prevent my neighbor's 12+ cats from using it as a litter box.
-I'm thankful for technology.  The TV, Pinterest, and Facebook have been great companions during my frequent bouts of insomnia!

Well, that's just a few for now.  I hope you take the time to think of all the blessings the Lord has given to you.  Let's try to thank Him more than once a year :)

Long Time...

Long time, no post!  A LOT has been going on around here...some days it feels like we're never home!  We are staying busy at work, working on our basement and the nursery, and I've been busy helping my mom work on the house they're building.
We've also had lots of "updates" in the baby department.  At the end of August, we found out we are having a GIRL!!!  Dan is having to get used to all things pink quickly!  We have a long ways to go in the nursery, but we're getting projects done.  We also have amazing family members who have been helping and letting us borrow some items...what a blessing!
Our due date is January 5, but it sounds like we're going to have a December baby.  I have complete posterior placenta previa, which basically means that the baby is laying on top of the placenta. With this condition, we will need to deliver via c-section, and I have to be a little more careful to avoid extra complications/preterm labor.  We saw a specialist in Sioux Falls a few weeks ago.  We're just crossing off each week as a milestone, and we'll go back in five weeks for another ultrasound and to discuss possible c-section dates.  We're at 27 weeks now, but we're hoping to make it all the way to 36 or 38.  We're just praying this little girl keeps cooking for a little while and is born healthy!
Anyway, I have a few different recipes as of late.  Here goes!

Chicken Broccoli Crescent

3 cups cooked, cubed chicken                10 oz. frozen, chopped broccoli

1 small onion                                           3 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 can cream of chicken soup                    2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

2 tubes crescent rolls                               Salt & pepper, to taste

Cook broccoli according to package directions; drain.  Cook onion until tender.  Combine.  Mix soup and cream cheese until thoroughly blended (I use a hand mixer on the cream cheese first).  Add broccoli mixture; add chicken.  Roll out one tube of the crescent rolls onto a greased 9x13 pan.  Pour filling mixture on top and spread.  Sprinkle cheese over filling.  Roll out other tube of crescent rolls on top.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, until crescent rolls are golden brown on top.  Cut into squares and serve.  Yield: 8-10 servings.

*Taken from: Melvin Centennial Cookbook

Pumpkin Bread
1 c. vegetable oil                          1 tsp. salt
1 c. water                                    1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 c. pumpkin (1 can)                    1 tsp. cinnamon
4 eggs                                          1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3 c. sugar                                     1/2 tsp. ground cloves
3 1/2 c. flour                                1/2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. baking soda

Mix and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.  Yield: 2 medium loaves.

*Taken from: ARC Cookbook          

A little bit of news...

Someone will be filling these "shoes" in January!  We are very excited and very blessed!

BBQ Favorites

During the summer, we get together with some friends from our Bible study group.  We kicked off our bi-monthly grill outs last week, and I made some favorite "summer" foods to share.

Grape Salad
4 lbs. grapes (2 large bags)
8 oz. soft cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 oz. chopped pecans

Wash grapes; pat dry and put in bowl.  Use a mixer to combine cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla until creamy.  Stir into grapes.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans (or instead, with Heath toffee bits!).  Mix before serving.  It can be refrigerated overnight.

Taco Salad

1 medium head lettuce, chopped             4 medium tomatoes

1 lb. hamburger                                      1 pkg. Doritos

8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese               1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 sm. can kidney beans (opt.)

DRESSING:

1 Tbsp. taco seasoning                           8 oz. thousand island dressing

1 Tbsp. taco sauce (I never use this)       1/3 c. sugar

Brown hamburger; add taco seasoning (reserving 1 tablespoon for dressing).  Layer ingredients in a large bowl: lettuce, cheese, meat, tomatoes, beans.  At serving time, toss salad with dressing and Doritos.

*Taken from ARC Cookbook

Caramel Bars
In a large bowl, combine:
     1 yellow or white cake mix (dry)
     1/3 c. oil
     2 eggs
Blend well with mixer.  Stir in 1-2 cups of chocolate chips and 1 cup white chocolate chips. (I just did the regular chocolate chips.)  Press half, or a little more, of this mixture into a greased 9x13 pan.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan (or microwave), melt:
     1/2 c. butter
     32 caramels (Kraft works the best)
     1 can sweetened condensed milk
Cook over medium/low heat until melted.
Pour caramel mixture over baked crust.  Top with remaining cake mix mixture (take small blobs and place evenly over caramel mixture).  Bake at 350 degrees for an additional 20 minutes.  Cool in fridge about 30  minutes so caramel gets solid before cutting.

Back to Reality

I almost always love to travel.  I loved going to Hawaii, but coming back to my own home is also very enjoyable.  I love having my own bed, closet, and bathroom nearby!  The bad part about coming home is waking up to the reality that I'm not on vacation anymore!  That means catching up on work stuff, laundry, cleaning, and cooking.  Here's two tried and true recipes I turned to since coming home!

Meatballs
1 lb. ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Onion (some)
1/4 tsp. sage
1/2 package crushed saltines
1/4 c. rice
1 egg

Mix everything together with hands, except the soup.  Form into small balls and place in greased 8x8 pan.  Mix soup and 1/2-3/4 can water and pour over the meatballs.  Bake about one hour at 350 degrees.

Chicken Cheese Casserole
5 slices bread, buttered & cubed
2 c. chicken, cooked & diced
3 beaten eggs
1 can cream of celery soup
1/3 c. milk
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Place bread in bottom of greased 9x13 pan.  Top with chicken.  Mix egg, soup, and milk.  Pour over chicken.  Top with cheese.  Bake 30-35 minutes at 325 degrees.

Hawaii Day 6 & 7

On Thursday we packed up our stuff and started heading south to the airport in Lihue.  We picked up a sub to eat on Ke'e Beach.  We ended up in very heavy traffic because of road work and merging traffic, so it was good that we had left extra time.  We caught our jumper flight back to Honolulu.  I'm so glad we didn't rent a car there, because there was so much traffic.  We checked into our hotel and walked five minutes to Waikiki Beach.  We didn't swim, but just walked along the beach.

On Saturday, we took a tour bus to Pearl Harbor.  We were going to go on our own, but we were glad we booked a tour.  The tour guide was in line for tickets at 5:30 am.  The park opens at 7, and all the ferry tickets were sold by 7:20 am!  But we had tickets for 11:15.  We first started with U.S.S. Bowfin submarine.  Dan really enjoyed the whole day, even though I wasn't too sure of what half of these pictures are...

 As were finishing up on the sub, it started to drizzle and cloud over.  By the time we went through a gift shop and had found a sandwich, it started to downpour!

 We were in line for our ferry by 11:00, but because of the rain and low visibility, the Navy stopped running the ferries out to the memorial.  I was praying so hard that the rain would stop and we would get to go to the memorial because I didn't want to spend the whole trip home next to Dan if we didn't get to!  Thankfully, the rain let up around 11:20.  The 11:00 group ahead of us forfeited their tickets because they were seeking shelter from the rain and weren't ready to go when the Navy resumed the ferry.  The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial was a very humbling experience.

The "rainbow" in the water is still oil leaking out of the sunken ship.

Over 900 men are entombed in the U.S.S. Memorial.

Since it was so cloudy, the remains were hard to see.

After we were done at the U.S.S. Arizona, we headed to the Battleship Missouri Memorial.  Again, Dan was super excited to be on a battleship, and he understood more of this than I did!

Statue of "Victory Kiss"

Place where Japan surrendered

Captain's Quarters

Dan didn't fit in the bunks too well!

On the way back to our hotel, the tour bus quickly rode through Punchbowl National Cemetery.

 We also swung by Iolani Palace, which was home to Hawaii's original royalty.

We flew home on Sunday, May 19, the same route as when we went there.  In Denver we had a two hour layover that turned into four hours because the crews got caught up with storms that were happening in the Midwest.  Because of the delay, we didn't get home until 5:00 am Monday morning.  We had a wonderful trip, but it's always nice to come back home!