Abigail is almost crawling - video

Abigail is getting closer and closer to crawling. Here is a cute little video of her attempts!! :-)

Quick pics

A few quick pictures

At the park by our house - one of Noah's favorite hang outs.


Daddy's girl.
Cutie pie

Sign language - cat

Here is a cute little video of Abigail signing CAT. Both of our babies first words were MILK, CAT, then EAT.

25 random things about Heather

I was "tagged" on facebook for writing 25 random things about myself and just posted this there. I normally don't do these types of things, but I enjoyed reading/learning about other people, so I figured I should put something up for those that wanted to know more about me... and figured I should post it here too. So, here are some random things about me!

1. I love listening to God and am working on doing it more consistently. It is amazing to me that He loves to communicate with us.

2. It would be much easier for me if this were 25 random things about your spouse / children... i.e., my husband is currently getting his PhD. in ancient history from UCLA. etc.

3. I climbed halfdome when I was in high school.

4. I drove a 4x4 Jeep Wrangler as my first vehicle... and I didn't get to get my driver's license on my birthday because when we went I had a brake light out, and my Dad wouldn't let 'his daughter' take her driver's test on an automatic transmission.

5. I love being my parents' daughter. I am an only child. The other day a friend shared with me that I was the only only child that he knew that he couldn't tell right away (because of being totally messed up in one way or the other)... maybe he will reconsider after reading this.

6. I peek at my children every night before I go to bed. I love being a mommy - I enjoy my kids so much.

7. We don't go to church... at least not a church building. We are the church, and we "do" simple church / home church.

8. We would love to have a lot of kids. As many as God blesses us with... we are leaving that up to Him.

9. I played Volleyball and soccer in highschool. They didn't have a girls soccer team, so I played on the guys team.

10. We plan on homeschooling our children and giving them a classical education.

11. I have a hard time making friends; I always think that someone wouldn't want to be my friend.

12. I love my Arbonne business and the freedom and options it has given our family. I enjoy helping other women with the same thing.

13. I am married to my best friend and wouldn't have it any other way. He is an amazing man of God, treats me like a princess, is a hard worker, a wonderful dad, AND he does most of the laundry and dishes. (I am working on changing that last one).

14. I have little patience for puzzles or online games. The other day Noah and I did a 25 piece puzzle and that was just about over my threshold. Our family does play a lot of board games.

15. Being real... I have clinical depression. I over analyze things to a fault and decisions can sometimes be very overwhelming for me. I have challenges with over eating... serious challenges.

16. We have 2 cats - Ninja and Mama.

17. When I first met my husband after going to a Bible study for the first time I went home and told my parents that it was a really neat group of people, but there wasn't anyone there that I would consider marrying. Glad God knows better than me.

18. I can recite Mel Gibson's pre-battle speech from Braveheart. I even have a trophy for best performance at a talent show.

19. I can't sing well - not well at all. I can, however, make a joyful noise.

20. Both of my babies were born via C-section, after 31 and 24 hours of labor.

21. My daughter had to be transported to Doctor's Hospital in Modesto after she was born, and we didn't get to bring her home for 13 days.

22. We really enjoy going to Carmel. My Grandma has a house over there, and we try to go every few months at least. Lot's of special memories.

23. I planned on having Abigail at home and did a good portion of the labor at home, in a birthing tub.

24. I call my children Pooka (as in pooka shell).

25a. I cut my kids' hair.

25b. I have lived in Hawaii.

25c. I believe a wooden spoon is very helpful in training your children properly.

25d. I have loose shoulder joints. I have dislocated my shoulders playing volleyball, surfing, rock climbing and sleeping (dangerous sport). I have since had 2 shoulder surgeries.

25e. I love ice cream. LOVE it.

Noah amazes me...

Noah continues to amaze me - what a gift from God! He is going to be three this month, on the 19th. He is such a good boy and such a joy. Often he will just out of the blue say "Mommy, I love you." He is talking and conversing so much. He loves to pretend, he loves to tell stories, and have stories told to him. After we took Daddy dinner tonight at Fresno State there was a big bar that was blocking off a field, and he asked if we could go in there. I told him it was closed and that was just a bar that could be opened for emergency vehicles to go through... so he asked to be told a story about that field and an emergency vehicle going through. So I told him one and then he told me one.

He loves to be read to also, and he can recite a lot of his books. Tonight when we were reading his Baby Bible, there is a prayer at the end of each one. I have him repeat it after me. One of tonight's stories was about Noah and the ark, so it said, "Thank you God for taking care of all of the animals and for taking care of me." I started with "Thank you God for taking..." and he said "Thank you God for taking us to heaven." So sweet.

When we were playing Geotrax this afternoon he threw the switch on the track to make one of the trains go the other way and he said: "Mommy, I diverted your train". Diverted? Seriously, you are not even 3! I didn't tell him that - I just told him that was a really big word and I was proud of him.

Later this afternoon he was sitting at the table having a snack and I was making dinner. He said: "Mommy, I have a question for you." I replied - yes? He asked "Do Koala bears eat pineapples?" This must have been a very pressing question for him... :-) Anyways, I told them that I didn't think so, that they mostly eat bamboo, but that we could do some research and find out for sure. So I guess we will be researching Koala bears tomorrow.

Thank you God for such a wonderful son.

Abigail is 9 months!

Abigail is 9 months old now! She is so much fun. She is still not crawling, and for that, I am actually very thankful. I know it will be soon - and I know once she takes off she won't want to stop! She is just about there, she can pivot around a bit and sometimes that gets her a foot or two, she can also go backwards a bit when on her tummy.

Just today when she woke up from her nap, and I went to go in and get her she was sitting up in her crib for the first time. I told Doug we needed to put her rail up, and sure enough, when he went to get her from her 2nd nap she was sitting up again. She figured it out!

She is also figuring out sign language. Her favorite word is CAT, and she really loves to sit and watch the kitties by the sliding glass door. She will also say Eat, and Mommy/Milk/I want you. (All the same sign for her).

Just wanted to give a quick update on Abigail, and I will try to get back on a blogging roll. :)

Crock Pot Clam Chowder

Wanted to share our *famous* clam chowder recipe. Doug is a big time clam chowder fan, and I finally found one that I like as well, and that is easy to make. It is really simple, and OH SO GOOD! Everyone asks me for the recipe. So here it is: clam chowder

I follow the recipe exactly, I just thicken it up right at the end with a little bit of corn starch.

Enjoy!

Heather

"Our" Carne Asada Taco Recipe

I have been asked by a number of people recently for our carne asada recipe... I thought it would be easiest to post it here.

Carne Asada Taco's

It is amazing!! Well, at least we think so. We don't make the salsa (we did once, wasn't worth the trouble), but the marinade is SO delicious. One of our young teenage guests told me (as he was having thirds) that this was the first time he had good taco's that weren't made by a Mexican. Just call me Maria. The marinade looks like a lot of ingredients, but most of it is spices, and they are all common ingredients which is nice.

The relish also gives it that really authentic flavor - so you have to make the relish! Unless of course you are morally opposed to eating onions.

Chicken Scampi

I made Chicken Scampi for the first time last night and it was Yum-Yum-Yummy! It was pretty simple too! I am always looking for good recipes and inspiration so I thought I would share it with you. (I have a few more recipes I will be posting soon that people have been asking for - but wanted to do this one before I forgot!)

Chicken Scampi

Enjoy! :-)

Fun at the cabin

We went up to Shaver for 5 days with our family - what fun! There was a lot of playing in the snow, sledding, playing all kinds of board games, air hokey, guitar hero, naps, yummy food etc. etc. A few pictures to get us started.