Christmas 2011

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Grant only gets 10 vacation days a year, and usually by this point in the year he has used them all up. (I am a firm believer in using them since his do not accumulate year to year!) He took last Thursday and Friday off, which was nice because we were able to finish up some shopping, do some cleaning and of course pack for Christmas in Akron.

I spent Thursday and Friday planning some baking projects... I made homemade hot chocolate mix to give to some friends and family members and also homemade peppermint bark. Both were awesome :-) The hot chocolate mix said to use 1/3 cup but that was waaay too rich, so I changed the serving amount to 3 Tbsp, assuming that people know they should just add more if they want it to be richer. 

peppermint bark

hot cocoa mix

Friday, we had Grant's coworkers Tom and Sarah over for dinner. I am so thankful he has great people like them to keep him sane at his job. We had Baked Cream Cheese (a Clark family favorite) as an appetizer, followed by Pasta Carbonara, bread & salad for dinner. I also made mint brownies for dessert. I used 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract instead of the creme de methe... and instead of making the homemade brownies, I used a box... it was a good decision. They were délicieux! 

Saturday, we woke up bright and early and headed to Akron. I had brunch at First Watch with 9 others girls with whom I was in youth group when I was in high school. It was so good to see them and catch up. We hung out at my parents' house for awhile that afternoon and then got dressed for dinner at Ken Stewart's Lodge. It was fun to be back there because that is where we held our rehearsal dinner before our wedding in 2007. It was beautifully decorated for Christmas. We went to the Christmas Eve service at church and then hung out with some family friends until MIDNIGHT. Oh my goodness... I cannot stay up that late any more, especially if I continue not to sleep well each night. 

The Clark Family :-) We take a pic at church each year.  It's pretty much our only family picture of the year most years.

 We slept in til NINE on Christmas morning (well, laid in bed at least... I figured this might be the last time I get to do that with our little guy on the way) and then had brunch and opened presents. We are so blessed to have wonderful families, now with each sibling in our families having their own iPAD we can facetime all the time to stay in touch. Hopefully that will make our little man's grandparents feel more connected to him since they do not live here in Columbus. Christmas continued later that day with dinner at my Aunt & Uncle's, followed by a rousing game of the Harry Potter edition of Clue. Linds... we need to play next time we are together, seriously. 

Christmas morning brunch & presents in our pjs

Emmers in front of the tree

 Monday we celebrated with lunch with Grant's parents and then they headed to Florida for the winter. It was so sweet to have Christmas with them before they left... but we really missed having our family in Denver here in Ohio. After they left we spent a few hours hanging out with the Becks, who were in town for Christmas. Christina is one of my sweet sorority sisters and is 10 weeks behind me in her pregnancy... so fun :-)

Baby Girl Beck coming in May and Baby Boy Miller in February!

 Joyeux Noel!!

Menu Plan Monday 12/26

I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone.  It's so weird how quickly a year passes the older you get. Today is Grant's last vacation day, but I'm off until next Tuesday :-) 

Here's what we (ate) are eating this week: 

Sunday: Christmas in Akron!

Monday: Chicken, mac & cheese & broccoli 

Tuesday: "Grammy's meatballs" (see recipe below... Grant has wanted to make them for 4 years), mashed potatoes 

Wednesday: tacos, mexican rice, chips & salsa  

Thursday: leftover tacos  

Friday: crustless quiche lorraine & oven baked fries 

Saturday: New Year's Eve... as of now, it's just the two of us... I'm thinking we will at least have some cheese fondue. 

 Grant's Grammy's Meatball Recipe 

meatballs: 

1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup milk 

1/2 cup bread crumbs 

2 Tbsp shortening 

1 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp pepper 

sauce: 

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 

2 Tbsp vinegar

3 Tbsp sugar 

1 small can tomato sauce 

1/2 cup catsup (aka ketchup lol) 

1/4 cup chopped onion 

Mix all ingredients for sauce. Set aside. In another bowl, moisten bread crumbs with a little of the milk. Combine ground beef, remaining milk, salt & pepper and shape into balls. Brown meatballs on both sides in shortening. Pour sauce over meatballs and continue to cook slowly for 30 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Grant didn't want to mess too much with a childhood food memory, but he did add some garlic to the sauce.  We also decided it might be a good idea to double the sauce if you are one who likes a lot of sauce. 

A baby chang(es)ed everything...

It truly is weird, a few days before Christmas, being pregnant with a baby boy.  As my friend Emily explains, "I really found Christmas to be especially moving when I was pregnant with a boy like Mary was :) I cried thinking about her traveling on a donkey! haha and of course wondering about all my own baby would be, and I didn't even have a baby Savior in me like Mary!"  So true... I feel the same way. Emily, I hope you don't mind I quoted your comment :-) It really is crazy though, to think how different my situation is from Mary's.  I am married and we wanted this child.  It is "socially acceptable" for me to be pregnant.  

Mary on the other hand, was a teenager.  Not yet married.  A virgin.  Yet God chose her to make his appearance on this earth in human form.  Crazy.  But God knew what he was doing.  In fact, hundreds of years before Jesus' birth, the prophet Isaiah explained, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14  Immanuel means "God with us."  Which is exactly who Jesus was on this earth and is today.  

I took a pregnancy test (ok a lot of them) to find out I was pregnant... Mary, on the other hand, heard from angels.  "The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.'  Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.' You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus." Luke 1:28-32.  Favor with God- awesome.  But hearing from an angel you are going to get pregnant and the name for your child is already chosen- definitely a little freaky.  Mary of course, responds, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" Luke 1:15... Isaiah's prophesy is being fulfilled!  

Nevertheless, this was life changing for Mary... just as having a baby boy in a few months is going to be life-changing for Grant and I.  Except, as I explained before, our pregnancy is a source of excitement among our families and friends, whereas Mary's pregnancy was scandalous and reputation-changing. 

In his [great] book The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey states, "Nine months of awkward explanations, the lingering scent of scandal- it seems that God arranged the most humiliating circumstances possible for his entrance, as if to avoid any charge of favoritism.  I am impressed that when the Son of God became a human being he played by the rules, harsh rules: small towns do not treat kindly young boys who grow up with questionable paternity (p.32)."

Here's Faith Hill singing about how this baby boy changed Mary's life.. and ours... 

Poor Mary... but to think that through the physical and emotional pain she endured, our Savior was born.  God needed Mary to have that baby because he needed to come back to this earth he created and make things right again.  So Jesus came and because of his birth, death and resurrection, we have been forgiven for all of our sins, past, present and future and can look forward to eternal life with him in Heaven.  

^"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,  while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good" Titus 2:11-14. 

Here's a video of "Hallelujah (Light Has Come)," a great song by Barlow Girl and one of my favorites: 

Enjoy :-) So while Mary & I both experienced a Christmas season being pregnant with a baby boy, hers was entirely different from mine... but I am SO thankful & blessed for what she endured to bring Jesus to this earth.  I hope you have a VERY Merry Christmas and experience the joy & peace He offers this season! 

feeling blessed

My 3 hour (which is actually 4 hours) glucose tolerance test is over.  It was definitely a difficult morning, but it ended up going a lot better, thanks to the love & support from family & friends.  I know I should not be a baby when I'm about to give birth to a baby, but seriously, 4 blood draws in four hours? Not a good time.  Especially when you have to fast 12 hours beforehand and you are pregnant.  I did not sleep well last night, for the third night in a row, which is why I'm indulging right now with a cup of caffeinated chai tea :-).  I woke up this morning around 3:45 and laid in bed until 7am... I figured the more I moved, the hungrier I would feel... and today is my first day of Christmas Break (one perk of teaching), so it was a treat.  

Armed with books from Elyse & Melissa, two of my teaching friends, I walked into the doctor's office at 8:20 after Grant dropped me off.  They drew my blood at 8:30 (I had been fasting since 8:30 last night) and then had me drink another nasty drink... this one was BAD.  Twice as much sugar... it tasted like straight up orange cough medicine.  She warned me to drink it slowly as those who rush through it have had it come up just as quickly... awesome.  The little guy started moving like crazy and I went out to the parking garage to get some air.  I felt lightheaded, so I figured beating the crowds to do Christmas shopping was probably not a good idea.

I walked a bit and then sat down... and tried to read.  I actually did get through about half of The Help, but there are definitely some pages I do not remember reading. I had blood draws at 9:50, 10:50 and 11:50.  During that time, I felt nauseous and lightheaded and hot after pretty much each one, but by 30 min after the blood draw I was better.  My friend Emily from small group & her son Drew surprised me with a visit between the 2nd and the 3rd, and by 11:40, my friend Karen who lives in NC was there to take me to lunch right after, so the time went much faster than anticipated.  I really do not like needles or blood, so having friends give up part of their day meant SO much to me.  I am also feeling super loved by the text messages from family & friends who live far away :) I hope I am/can be the kind of friend who does these little things, because they truly mean so much... so a huge THANK YOU to all of you :-)

I won't know the results for a few more days... but I have been blessed with a good pregnancy thus far, so I will CHOOSE to be joyful & thankful even if I fail and have to follow a super strict diet for the rest of this pregnancy.  After all, this little man will be totally worth it. 

Menu Plan Monday 12/19

Wow... this weekend was SO busy for once, it was almost a relief when Sunday night rolled around. 

We took our all-day labor and childbirth class on Saturday... The highlights were the fact there was a Tim Hortons/Coldstone combo directly across the hall(ironic they put that by the pregnant women... we did not go there though), the massage I got from Grant (part of the class!), lunch from Panera (ok, we had to leave to get that) and well, ummm that's it.  Parts of it were super cheesy, parts of it were old news, but I feel like overall I do have a better understanding of what will happen.  I keep getting the question, "So do you feel more nervous or more comfortable about it now?" The answer... YES. To both.  It was great to see the setting in which our little guy will come into this world... it was great to hear about all of the options available... but still, this is all new territory to us, so I think I will continue to be nervous and hope I get to the point where I am so uncomfortable I am just ready for the baby to come out.  

The class did make me think more about what I want the experience to be like (and obviously so much of it can change)... I am not anti-pain meds, nor am I pro-pain meds... I'm right in the middle.  I don't want them unless I absolutely need them... but I also am not trying to prove anything, so if I get the epidural, so what.  In general, I don't take meds unless I have to, which is kind of the stance I'm taking on childbirth.  We shall see how long I last.  Again, this is all unknown.  I am innocently hoping for one of those labors that is so short you get to the hospital at the last second and you just have the baby right then and there.  If that doesn't work out (which most likely, it won't- I'm not that naive), I am hoping to get one of the suites with a bathtub and a nice view of umm Broad Street? Ha.  I hit the 30 week mark on Saturday... meaning I have somewhere between 7-12 weeks to go... crazy.  

Tomorrow is my last day of school before Christmas Break.  I had my students journal last week about what they were going to do over Christmas/Winter Break, allowing them to pick what they call it... and you know what? Most of them picked Christmas Break :-)  We have a student vs staff volleyball game and pep rally in the morning... followed by the rest of the day which will be chaotic.  My goal is survival.  I have a lot of work to do afterwards, so I'm hoping to get that done and head to jazzercise since starting tomorrow night, I'll have to fast for my glucose test Wednesday morning. 

I did ask my doctor about the ridiculous diet they gave me to do before the glucose tolerance test... and she said "If that's not what you normally eat, don't do it."  Good.  Because this is what I would have had to eat every day for three days before my test: 

8 servings of starches
4 servings of fruit
4 one-cup servings of milk or plain yogurt
2 servings of vegetables
1 can of regular pop
1 cup of ice cream
1 tbsp of sugar


Ridiculous.  I don't drink pop... nor do I eat ice cream that often... I don't like milk... and I eat snacks that are protein-based... like greek yogurt & nuts... So I am super thankful I am not doing this.  I'm still upset about failing the first test... but I'd rather know if I have gestational diabetes or not based on what I normally eat, which is what my doctor agreed with.  She also assured me that if I have it, it is simply an issue with the placenta, and not something I did wrong.  Hallelujah.  I ate pretty well and I exercise, so this has been a huge slap in the face.  I am not looking forward to having my blood drawn four times in four hours, so please pray for me if you think of me. 


Here's what we are eating this week: 
Sunday: whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, broccoli, garlic bread
Monday: chicken sandwiches, baked potato, green beans
Tuesday: Modenese Pork Chops, rice, peas
Wednesday: I don't know how I'll feel after the test, so I'm not going to plan everything. 
Thursday: date night with Grant
Friday: dinner with Tom & Sarah unless I strike out with the recipes they have been trying.  Btw... I should probably add a disclaimer that I don't like to follow recipes exactly... so sometimes what I make tastes/looks different. 
Saturday: CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER at Ken Stewart's Lodge.  We had our rehearsal dinner there 4 years ago and are super excited to go back!

Menu Plan Monday 12/12

Happy Monday everyone... Some weeks I feel like I am fine with the week at work ahead... but this week is totally one where I am counting down the days til the weekend already.  Not good.  At least a donation toward gifts for needy families in our district is permitting me to wear jeans until Christmas break! 

So the bad news is that I failed the glucose screening test by a few points... so now I have to do this three-hour (well, it's actually 4 hours) glucose tolerance test to see if I have gestational diabetes.  I will be on this high carb and sugar diet for three solid days before, then I will fast, and then they will draw my blood four times. I am trying to be positive about this but it is difficult.  A HUGE thanks to my friends out there who have had gestational diabetes and offered me much advice and support last week.  The nurse at school also offered to test my blood as often as I want, which was super nice of her.  We are literally SO busy this upcoming weekend Christmas events and an all-day childbirth class on Saturday that I don't even know if I will be able to go to the grocery store, so I spent a good chunk of time this past Saturday working on my menu for my diet.  I'll share it in another post.  It's ridiculous.   I'm 29 weeks along now... and as far as I know, baby boy is still doing well.  I go to the doctor again Thursday, and then next Wednesday, the 21st is my glucose tolerance test. 

 

Anyways, here's what we are eating this week: 

Sunday: Italian Sausage & Tortellini Soup (lunch... I didn't really follow a recipe but this one is similar.  I used spinach instead of kale and added carrots), Miller Family Christmas (dinner)

Monday: egg in a frame/toad in a hole, bacon, fruit

Tuesday: Chicken & spinach crepes, fruit

Wednesday: veggie burgers, noodles & green beans

Thursday: Honey Garlic Pork chops, pierogies & broccoli

Friday: frozen pizza

Saturday: Christmas party with some of my coworkers :-) 

for more menu planning ideas go to www.orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday 12/5

our growing family in front of our tree :)

I cannot believe it is December already... and that I'm now in my third trimester.  Time is flying. I am trying my best to think about Christmas and what it is really about NOW, since once it finally arrives, it seems it becomes all about the presents.  I'm loving this e-devotional that comes to my inbox every day... pretty much every day's has been something that really speaks to me at the moment.  Check it out... it's free :-) 

Here's what we are eating this week: 

Sunday: crock pot chicken tortilla soup (see below) & corn muffins... I change the recipe all the time but decided to try to remember it this week. 

Monday: pancakes, eggs & bacon

Tuesday: Sneaky Sloppy Joes, homemade mac & cheese(with less butter), peas

Wednesday: chicken wraps, au gratin potatoes, green beans

Thursday: cheese quesadillas, black bean quinoa

Friday: frozen pizza

Saturday: date night! (aka I was done menu planning... so I'm hoping we just go out!)

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

note: I LOVE soup b/c you really don't have to measure... just add the quantities of the vegetables you want.  I also LOVE cumin and cilantro, so I use a ton of it... and often add more as it's almost done.  Don't salt it until you taste it b/c sometimes the chicken broth is salty. 

 

1 onion, diced

1 can diced tomatoes 

1 can green chili peppers (or use the tomatoes w/ the chilies)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup of corn

1 can of black beans 

1 can of kidney beans

another other veggies (I've added celery, zucchini, carrots, etc..)

1/2 cup rice (I use brown, but it will increase the cook time) 

4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp dried cilantro (but use tons of fresh if you have it!)
1/4 or 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or leave out if you don't want it too spicy!)

3 chicken breasts or 6-7 chicken tenderloins

6 cups chicken broth

toppings: cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, fresh cilantro if you have it

Put all ingredients in crock pot. Cook on high about 3 hours or on low 5-6 or until rice is cooked.  Shred chicken.  Top with sour cream, cheese & tortilla chips.

go to www.orgjunkie.com for more menu planning ideas!