Solomon Asher Horn

Thursday, April 15 God blessed our family with a new and precious addition. Solomon Asher Horn was born via c-section at 10:30 a.m. weighing in at 8 lbs. 15 oz. and measuring 21 inches in length.

The c-section went smoothly though there was some serious yanking going on to evict baby Solomon. Besides being a large fella (typical for our bambinos), Solomon was residing fairly high and required the efforts of several medical personnel to bring him out. Of course I wasn't feeling any pain due to the powerful spinal block administered but the pressure was crushing on my lungs and chest. Kind of like having the wind knocked out of you continually by a Chicago Bears' linebacker.

Solomon was obviously not happy about being evicted and let out a LOUD cry of displeasure. :) Conversely, I was VERY pleased and instantly burst into tears with joy at hearing his strong healthy lungs.

As is usual per our c-section experiences, the anesthesiologist was incredibly kind, knowledgeable, and chatty. I'm sure it's part of the anesthesiologist's job to keep the patient distracted from the fact that her major organs are being removed and both Matt and I very much appreciate the distraction. (He's not one to enjoy looking over the sheet to gaze in wonder at the surgical procedures. He tries his best NOT to see anything!) Our thoughtful anesthesiologist even took a picture of Solomon with her iphone and emailed it to my mom right after surgery.

Even though I often think of c-sections as routine, they are indeed medical marvels. It's just amazing to consider what happens during the procedure. And now that I'm two weeks out from my Solomon-induced c-section, I'm awed to see how quickly my body has healed and bounced back from such a major surgery.

We are inexpressibly thankful to God for His protection of me and Solomon during the surgery. I know that health is not to be taken for granted; we are exceedingly grateful to have three happy and healthy children!

If you've not already seen our cutie-patootie baby Solomon pictures on FB, below are some coo-worthy photos for you. Enjoy!

Freezer cooking MANIA

As the baby countdown gets lower and lower, I am feeling unusually prepared. Especially in the freezer cooking department!

Ever since receiving our new deep freeze, I've been dreaming, planning and cooking. It's as though my nesting hormones have been channeled into freezer cooking. And now my freezer is filled and ready. (So come ON baby and make your appearance already!)

Today I did a freezer inventory and printed out cooking instructions for whoever might be using my frozen goodies to feed me. :)

I'm slightly appalled at how much stinking food I've stocked. Let me tell you I'm very excited about NOT cooking for awhile.

To accomplish this huge stockpile of freezer goodness, I never did an official "Freezer Cooking Day" as I intended. Instead, I did the extra cooking a little bit at a time. For some recipes, I simply tripled or quadrupled an entree I was already planning to make for lunch or dinner. Over Matt's spring break, I devoted a few mornings to freezer cooking and prepping.

I'd been watching Money Saving Mom's blog as she chronicled her freezer cooking days. While she certainly is ambitious and supernaturally productive, her recipes don't always sound appealing to me. So, I started with Money Saving Mom, used some of my own tried-and-true faves, and then supplemented with some marthastewart.com searching to come up with a good mix of recipes for our family's eating habits.

Here's the final tally:

• Spinach pie (x 2)
• Butterhorns (x 3) (I did one part whole wheat flour to 3 parts all-purpose)
  
• Turkey/Beef Spinach Meatloaf
• Honey Curry Chicken Thighs
• Teriyaki Marinated Chicken Breasts
• Meatballs (added spinach)
  
• Falafel (I added additional spices)
  
• Whole Wheat Pancakes (I used whole wheat white flour instead of all-purpose)
  
• Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Waffles
• Turkey Cheese Burritos
• Japanese Tofu Hamburgers
• Mashed Potatoes
• Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Cooked Brown Rice (x 2)
  

Whew! Can't wait to start eating from the freezery goodness!

How many of you freezer cook to save your sanity come dinner time?

Relying on Dunkin' Donuts

Sleep is eluding me. For the past three consecutive nights I've been incredibly wakeful even though I'm completely exhausted and longing for rest.

Today and tomorrow are both necessarily busy days for us so there are no naps on the horizon for me. Sigh.

Driving around with the kiddos this morning to run some errands and visit a park, I found myself dizzy and in need of some serious caffeine. I'm afraid I've gone well beyond the recommended caffeine intake limit for pregnant women today.

When I'm a zombie like this, coffee and sugar are my mainstays. I ate through an entire nutella jar all by myself in a record-breaking 4 days. What do you run to when you need a pick-me-up?

God's Wonderful Surprise

In preparation for tomorrow's big celebration, check out this fabulous video based on the Jesus' Storybook Bible's rendition of Jesus' resurrection. It's a captivating and encouraging little video -- what power our God has!

God's Wonderful Surprise

Songs for Good Friday

These songs are rolling around in my brain today as I think about the immense love of Jesus for my wayward soul. Thank you, Jesus for being obedient to death, even the death of the cross.

The Power of the Cross




The Criminal on the Cross




How Deep




The Gospel Song


By His Wounds

Preparing for Easter

Easter is coming alive in our household this year!

We made an Easter mountain again this year following Noel Piper's instructions. The kiddos painted it, we found sticks and a tomb-closing rock in the yard, Chloe dug up some toy pirates to be the guarding soldiers and I fashioned disciples out of pipe cleaners. We've acted out the events of Easter week several times now and it's brought the story to life!

Tuesday evening we observed a very simple passover. Very simple. I'm talking wheat pita bread and cups of grape juice here. The kids ate while I read a short account of Jesus' celebration of the passover with his disciples in the upper room. Then Matt and Chloe used various blocks to build an upper room for our pipe cleaner people.

Though our homemade visual aids have been almost silly in their simplicity, I know through our kids' eyes the immense truths of Easter are becoming slightly more comprehensible. And these family traditions we're creating are not only enjoyable but invaluable as we plant seeds of faith and truth.

This year we added another element to our Easter preparations. We made an "I'm Sorry" box using Ann Voskamp's idea which she posted over at A Holy Experience. Each time one of us does something worthy of saying "I'm Sorry" we write it down on a slip of paper and insert it into the box.

I envisioned this exercise as a helpful one for Chloe. Most times she is truly a sweet sweet girl and we often praise her for her good behavior. I thought this box would be a much-needed reminder to Chloe of her short-comings and need for a Savior. But in the process, God showed ME my own faults. Pride, impatience, anger, and lack of compassion reared their heads as I wrote out my own "I'm Sorry" slips. As a mom, it's ridiculously easy to identify the mistakes in my children and to correct them forgetting that I'm just as faulty.

Of course the crowning lesson will come on Easter morning. That's when we toss the box full of our mistakes into the garbage can symbolizing Jesus' complete forgiveness and washing away of our sins. Hallelujah!

"I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins."
(Isaiah 43:25)

Since Chloe loves to sing with me (and I realize music is a stellar way to teach) we've been learning a hymn together for Easter. She and I sing it together most nights together before bed. The Power of the Cross, written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, is vivid with imagery in its telling of Jesus' death and implications.

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And what holiday would be complete without sugar cookies?

The princess girly-girl in me thrives on the extra-special pageantry involved in preparation for Easter Sunday morning at church. Unfortunately, we can't afford to go dress-shopping for a big foo-foo Easter dress. Instead I've taken to making Chloe a new dress each year for Easter.

And this year CLIVE gets a matching tie. We'll see how long he keeps it on . . .

And yes, I realize I'm a huge cheesy nerd for forcing my kids to wear matching outfits.

If you're still with me after that monstrously long post, answer me an Easter-y question. What family Easter traditions do you have and/or how do you make Easter meaningful?