Hurricane Sandy Aftermath

We woke up this morning with the power still on. Praise the Lord! It is a blessing to not have to worry about our food spoiling or our house getting too cold (it's in the 40's today) or how we will heat up our food. We have some friends in VA that did lose their power. Apparently NY and NJ were hit pretty bad, and the hurricane is still going. It's still raining here, but no more "hurricane force winds". It's been raining continuously and overcast since Sunday. Some water got into our attic (we think) as we noticed a wet ring on the ceiling around the light fixture in the master bedroom, but nothing is dripping. Our master smells like fish, though! We are not sure why. One question we have is that if the hurricane came from the ocean, is the rain we are experiencing salt water/water from the ocean? If so, then I could understand why our room suddenly has a fishy smell. If you have any knowledge of this aspect of hurricanes, please don't hesitate to enlighten me in a comment below.

Frankenstorm

We are smack dab in the middle of experiencing our first hurricane! Hurricane Sandy, dubbed "Frankenstorm", moved her way from the Atlantic to the northeast starting last night/this morning. All metros and public transportation in the DC area was shut down today, and the hub's work was shut down today and tomorrow, too. Every time the lights flicker, I expect them to stay out, but so far they have come back on! We have never prepared so much for a storm in our lives. We are used to tornados in Oklahoma, where you duck and cover for maybe ten minutes and you are good to go! Hurricanes, we're learning, stick around for much longer than that - like, days. Here's a funny list of all the ways we tried to get ready for Frankenstorm if she does her worst and knocks out our power for days:

-loaded up on canned goods - meat, soups, beans
-bought 4 gallons of water
-aired up our air mattress and stored it (off the floor) in the basement, "just in case" a tree falls on the house
-put the pack-n-play in the basement
-put sheets and blankets in the basement
-baked bread, 20 tortillas, and 30 empanadas in the past 24 hours
-loaded up on the important food groups, like Cheese-its and M&Ms
-filled pots up with water
-filled 2 Brita filters with water in the fridge
-bought 4 flashlights (we had none)
-bought a ton of batteries
-bought a solar-powered rechargeable crank emergency weather radio, that doubles (or triples?) as an LED flashlight and cell phone charger (what?!)
-kept our phones plugged in all day, just so they are on 100% battery if the lights go out
-made grab bags of all our food in case we need to take it with us downstairs
-put batteries in the baby's sound machine so he can continue to sleep peacefully if the power goes out rendering the AC adapter useless
-did all of our laundry
-washed all of our cloth diapers this weekend and switched over to disposables, in case we can't do laundry for several days

I can't believe all the work and prep we've put into this! All that to say as well, that I'm thankful for our technology that can forecast crazy storms like this. I've never had so much warning for a storm. We are living normally so far but are trying to expect the unexpected, or maybe I should say, expect the expected?

My Gems

Can you believe this cutie brought so much drama into my life last year? Here is a picture snapped of him this evening before a much needed bath. That hair was just a bit too greasy. This post is a reflection on some things God used last year to get me through my first year of motherhood.

Over the course of last year, whenever I came across a precious gem, I'd tuck it away in a safe place. No, I'm no antique dealer, I don't go to estate sales, and I know almost nothing about real jewels. These gems were internet treasures - blog posts written by the souls of men and women that encouraged me to press on in the trials of being a new mom and the mom of a crazy sleeper, crazy nurser, and overall colicky baby. Each time I discovered a new one, it was as if I saw a glimmer of hope, like light reflecting off a facet of a jewel in a dark room. In conversation, I typically refer to those first nine months of motherhood, specifically, as "that time when I was in a cave". I had difficulty orienting myself, a hard time seeing the big picture, and I felt trapped in my new role.

I printed each blog post out and kept them in a binder that for awhile, I leafed through every day just to renew my soul's perspective that was often too inward-bent.

I must mention one other thing. My "gems" also include five women who encouraged me regularly over the phone, through text messages, or in email conversations during this time. Praise the LORD for technology. These women faithfully kept up with me, prayed for me, and encouraged me over electronic means when we couldn't be in each others' presence. I still had a hard time going grocery shopping at this point, much less being able to pop on over to a friends house for a heart to heart. Some of these women didn't even live in the same town. God was so kind to care for me through these women during this time of difficulty. I praise Him that He cares for His people oftentimes through His people. Consider 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

All this to say, I don't want to keep these blog posts to myself, if in any way they may encourage you also. It is just so comforting to know you are not alone in a situation. I think that is one of the most powerful reasons why these women and blog posts meant so much to me. I was reminded that I wasn't alone. I wasn't a crazy person (or, maybe I was, but I had good company). Other people struggled, too! Other mothers had had similar struggles. Someone understood. Though I felt like I was in a cave in isolation, I was reminded each time I talked with one of these women or each time I read a blog post that I wasn't actually in a cave alone.

Without further ado, here are links to posts I found so encouraging for one reason or another. May they be a light to you when all other lights seem to go out (why yes, that was a LOTR reference). May they reflect Christ's beauty to you as a jewel only sparkles when it reflects dazzling light.

Cast Your Home Cares

The Question God Always Answers

Jesus Takes the Insanity Out of Parenting

The Littleness of Motherhood

To the Mother With Only One Child

Motherhood is Application

The Preeminence of Jesus is for Everyday Life

Praying Past Preferred Outcomes

The Long View

How To Be The Perfect Mother

The Open Eyes of Faith

How Eternity Can Influence a Mother's Daily Tasks

When School Starts

Don't Carpe Diem

Walking, Swag Bucks Update and Fall Fun

Bram is finally walking! Watch the above video for proof. 

He also says "Hi!" in this video. His 3rd word behind Mama and Dada.

Swag Bucks Update:

 Wow! I promised an update on this new venture, and here it is. I have been using Swag Bucks to do internet searches (instead of Google) for a little over a week and I already won $5 in Amazon giftcards! I am also almost half way to winning another $5 Amazon giftcard. If you are interested in trying it out, sign up using this link. It can be as easy as just changing your homepage and adding the toolbar. You could start winning, too, without changing anything about your online habits. I also learned during the past week that if you already do shopping at Target.com, Walmart.com, the online Apple store, Kohls.com, or even Drugstore.com, you earn lots and lots of Swag Bucks just by doing your usual shopping. How cool is that? My sis earned over $5 in Amazon giftcards when she made a normal Target purchase online. How awesome! I'll keep you guys updated as I get farther into this. Join me if you want, and let me know how it's going for you! I've already learned lots of tips on how to earn if you are interested.

Fall Fun:

We are enjoying trees turning around here. Bram enjoys studying the fallen leaves and when we are outside he loves watching the wind blow leaves around our cul-de-sac. It's pretty cute. 

Here are some pics of my cutie taken this past week:

Do Swagbucks With Me!

Hi friends,

I'm taking the plunge. A few minutes ago I downloaded the Swagbucks toolbar and search engine for our home computer. Why would I use this search engine over Google, you may ask? To put it simply, by using this company's search engine and toolbar I can earn points, called "swagbucks" that over time accumulate and are able to redeem very useful things, like Amazon giftcards and Starbucks giftcards. Now, money has been tight in our household nearly our whole marriage. God is a gracious and faithful God, and my husband and I have seen His grace in always providing us these last 3 years with what we need. And we even have been able to afford good, wholesome food. And we have seen the generosity of so many who have helped us out this time or that time. God is good and generous, no complaining here, only praise! But I was just thinking earlier this week, "If I had some extra money this month, I'd buy this gift for so-and-so, or  this for so-and-so". With Christmas approaching, I decided to try out Swagbucks in the hopes I will be able to have a little more freedom for gift giving.

Why am I telling you all this? If you sign up for Swagbucks through my link, we will both earn points, or "swagbucks". What I'm getting at is - if you don't care what search engine you use, then join me in joining Swagbucks and it will help us both earn Amazon giftcards and other such practical things!

Have I convinced you yet? Sign up here! I will update on the blog if this turns out to work well. I'm thinking that the Lord may be answering my prayers for wanting to give more gifts by bringing Swagbucks back into my mind today.

In all it took me about 5 minutes to get both the Swagbucks toolbar and search engine set as my new defaults on my computer.

Thank you, dear readers, for considering my plea for your participation in my new endeavor!

Don't forget to sign up for Swagbucks here if you want to try it out with me!

Bram, Balls, Bread, Burritos

Update on our life via iPhone photos:

Bram has been changing so much the past few weeks. He's have a "burst of development" like he did around 9 months. He's not walking but doing so much more with fine motor control. In the pic above he is signing "more". He doesn't always do it in the right context, but we think he knows that it means something. Other things:

• Things to Roll: He figured out how to roll a ball a few weeks ago, and now he rolls everything with a curved side (balls, cups, water bottles, pull toys, cars). He crawls around and amuses himself by rolling something then chasing it.
• He discovered how to bounce his basketball, and knows that the other balls we have don't bounce.
• He can turn knobs
• He can push buttons (in a couple ways, haha)
• He puts things into other things when he used to just take things out: For instance, he will take a bite of food out of my palm, and put it back in, and take it out, and put it back in. See picture below of where he decided to nest his water cup.

• He doesn't scream bloody murder when I clean out his nose with the nasal aspirator. This is big, folks. I think he understands what I'm doing, and that he'd prefer a clean nose over a snotty one. He still disapproves of the whole affair, but it's not near the protest he used to put up.
• He's starting to figure out how to blow his nose (I'm trying to encourage this!).
• He is actively trying to use his utensils at every meal. Just one day last week he decided he needed to actually use his fork and spoon instead of just flail them around. He's not very good at it, but he's internally determined!

 This is (part of) our backyard right now. If I had painting skills I know I could put them to use this fall. It's so pretty here!

I've been enjoying these beauties ever since we had a couple over for dinner last week. What girl doesn't like being surprised with flowers after a long day of prepping for dinner guests? Thank you, Matthew and Alanna!

These ingredients changed my bread forever! See the proof below. Thank you, Beth, for your help and your recipe. 

We ran out of tortillas, so I asked my friend Emily for her recipe. It was straightforward and easy and required no purchasing of special ingredients. Just flour, oil, salt, baking powder, and water. As long as I can make time for it, I hope to make these from now on instead of buying them. Previously, I was intimidated at the thought of making tortillas for a couple funny reasons: 1) I thought you had to have lard and, 2) I thought if you didn't have a tortilla press it would be a lot of work with a rolling pin. Wrong. I did use a rolling pin, but it wasn't hard. And I didn't have to buy lard, I just used my regular ol' coconut oil. Glad I can move on with life now...and tortilla making! And burrito assembling!

My boy is so happy when he gets to play with Mama's car keys. He had rummaged in my purse this night and found them, so we let him play with them for a few minutes. This pic was taken when Dada was dangling the keys in front of his face. Can't believe how fun car keys are!