THURSDAY THINGS

1. This is my gorgeous and amazing next door neighbor who went to a cooking class with me Tuesday night. There is a professional chef in town until March working at the school, and he's giving 2 free classes a week. Yes. Free. Everything in Beauval is free. It's ridiculous. We made potato skins with a honey dill dip (I will definitely be making that dip on a regular basis and of course I'll share the recipe soon), mixed salad wrapped in a cucumber slice, strawberry-raspberry dressing, chicken, mashed potatoes, spinach and carrots, and butter tarts with whipped cream. All in one night. And then we ate it all. It was amazing.

2. I'm pretty sure I posted this video a really long time ago, but I am doing so again because it's still sooo good. This is a friend of ours (I'm pretty sure he's a friend of everyone's) who is superly amazingly talented and completely in love with Jesus. He also has an epic beard. I still can't get enough of his song: Why This Had To Be by Joe Zambon.

3. Um super cute list of 24 things we should be more grateful for. Definitely doesn't hurt to take a read and re-center our thoughts and priorities. Number 18 just gave me a mad Tim's craving. Why is the closest Tim's 3 hours away? Why??!! Maybe I should be thankful for that too... and refer back to number 1 on that list.

4. This article almost made me cry, and I don't think it was because of the crazy pregnancy hormones that are taking over my personality. This totally restored my hope in high school students. High five Unionville, Tenn.

5. This week I started my personal Harry Potter movie marathon. I'm going for one movie a week to make it last as long as possible. I'm even thinking of re-reading the books. I'm pretty sure I only remember everything that happened in the movies instead of the books and that saddens me. What kind of fan am I anyway? Don't judge me.

6. Tonight (Wednesday) I'm making chicken just like the chef taught us last night with broccoli and rice. We never have traditional meals like this so I'm pretty excited. Makes me think of dad's cooking back home! My house smells amazing with the spice rub I made. It's also a little smoky because I kind of over-seared them a little. Woops. It'll be fiiine.

7. Ok one more song. I have so many saved up to blog about but I didn't want to over-do it in one post. So two isn't bad at all. I warn you though, this song is really really hard to stop listening to. So your welcome and I'm sorry. I first heard it on an episode of How I Met Your Mother. Florence + The Machine, Shake It Out.

8. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Phil. 4:13

xox.

RECIPE: HOT GREEK PASTA

Today I bring you... hot-served Greek Pasta.

{ click post for more photos and the recipe }

Lately I've had huge cravings for Greek salad. Well... pretty much just feta cheese. But Greek salad makes it a little healthier with some veggies and whatever. I've been making a lot of salads and Greek wraps and such, but I was playing around with the idea of a hot-served Greek style pasta, and came up with this recipe! It is delicious, and I am definitely adding this to our list of regular meals.
I suggest serving it with some pita bread brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with minced garlic and parmesan cheese. Throw them in the oven at 200°F for ten minutes, and voila. A super duper delicious side dish.

Enjoy!

TUESDAY TUNES

The Lumineers: Full Liveset Session

Check it

19 WEEKS

UM. There are only 147 days to go. Woops.

Here we are with the second installment of weekly preggo pictures! I've now gained 10lbs since before baby, and it shows (in a good way)! Baby is doing well and I'm feeling lots of movement now. We're really looking forward to when daddy can feel the movement too! 

I can't believe I'm almost halfway through the pregnancy. 20 weeks marks the halfway point. It's wild! The weeks are just flying by. I am really looking forward to finding out my ultrasound date, hopefully very soon! It will be so wonderful to get to see our little one moving around in there.

This is my last week of looking after the 2 girls. Afterwards I'm just going back to the one. I'm honestly quite happy about it as the two of them are a handful!! Mark was away for basketball on Friday and Saturday and his Jr. team lost in the finals. They are hosting a tournament this weekend here in Beauval, so that should be a lot of fun! And I'm looking forward to seeing him in action as a coach!

We just booked a 3 night stay at the Delta Edmonton South for Valentines Day weekend. Mark has a few days off that week so we are taking advantage of that. I can hardly wait to sleep in that king sized bed! We'll go back to the Edmonton Mall, IKEA, walk around Old Strathcona, get lots of lattes... and just enjoy our time out of Beauval. Don't get me wrong, we love it here! But it's just really nice to have a break once an a while. We've been fortunate enough to hit up a bigger city center about once a month and we hope to continue doing so. That way we can actually go on dates outside our house! lol.

Hope you all have a wonderful week! 

xox

RECIPE: BROWNIE MIX

Never buy brownie mix again.

Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.

Not only does this homemade mix save you money, it's also delicious!!

Enjoy!

THURSDAY THINGS

1. Ugh blurry photos. These little energy bites are probably my favourite snack to make, and they take no time to make at all. They're just like little bites of peanut butter chocolate heaven. And, they're actually very healthy. So for a preggo woman, these are the ultimate snack. You can get the recipe here!

2. These { thursday things } blog posts are making me realize just how fast the weeks are flying by. It feels like I just wrote my last Thursday blog yesterday! And of course that means I'm really thinking about how fast this little baby is going to come. And quite honestly, I couldn't be happier about it. Mark and I can hardly wait to meet our little bundle of joy!

3. I started re-reading an amazing book that was given to me in 2010 called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. It's the kind of book that makes you want to highlight and quote every other sentence. It's really helping me re-focus on what is truly important in my life. Definitely recommend this one.

4. Mark and I have jumped back on the baby name train and let me tell you it is not easy! It is so hard to agree on a name that we both like. We have a few nice ones floating up in the air, but nothing concrete yet. I know that it will all come together eventually, but I just don't want to be that couple that decided in the delivery room!

5. Ok. How I Met Your Mother is a flipping great show. I hadn't watched it in a few years, but then it came on Netflix and I decided to get back into it. Not exactly the most wholesome show in the world... but if you can look past all that stuff and just appreciate the comedy and the message of friendship behind it, it is truly a great show. I can't stop watching it.

6. I am so excited about Hillsong United's new CD coming out in February! If you go to their website you can download the Scandal of Grace single. It's pretty great.

7. Have you seen this Oprah video??? It's just over 10 minutes long, but completely worth every second.

8. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you. Isaiah 26:3

TUESDAY TUNES

I'd be very surprised if you haven't discovered this lovely duo yet, but if not, your welcome. This song is perhaps one of the sadest songs I've ver heard, but it has been stuck in my head since the very first time I heard it. And no, that's not Johnny Depp.

The Civil Wars: Poison and Wine

Check it.

18 WEEKS

Here is the first of our weekly preggo pictures! I am so excited to see the transformation from now until the end. 

Things are going really well! I have another doctors appointment on Friday and we should be hearing when the ultrasound date is going to be very soon. I'll keep you updated!

INSTAWEEK

Take a peek into my week.
A quick compilation of instagram photos taken this week.

THURSDAY THINGS

1. Do these cupcakes look amazing, or what? I wanted to post this so that I won't forget to make them in the summer when strawberries are back in season. I suppose I could make them with thawed out frozen strawberries though... hmm. Maybe I will!

2. I love Value Village. While in Saskatoon this past weekend I picked up an electric hand mixer and a sweet glass jar for storing baking flour. Score. I also always take a look at the games section because you just never know what you may find there. Unfortunately this time around, nothing much. But I did buy some Yahtzee score cards from Walmart for like 6 bucks. Score... literally.

3. I also love Indigo (much more than Value Village). I spent so much time browsing on the weekend (while sipping 2 lattes a day... no lie). I got a sweet little pregnancy journal, my favorite lip chap EVER, and a recipe card box. OH! And most importantly, the Hobbit audio-book. Sooo excited to listen. I used to have the cassette tapes as a child, and I would listen to them to fall asleep. These CD's are the same edition so I am super stoked. 

4. 10 Best Netflix Picks for a Snowy Day. Excellent list. And if you haven't watched the Sherlock series yet (mom & dad... yes I bolded and italicized you.) you really really should. Right now. I believe it's first on this list for a reason... it's the BEST. (Hugo is also a super cute movie that you should also watch!).

5. This is simply amazing. Some kids made a live-action, shot for shot "Toy Story" remake. Like, the entire movie. I've only watched the first few minutes and a few other clips here and there, but like wow. I'm impressed. Made me think back to when my brother and I used to make home movies... and then immediately felt lame because this is just so much cooler than anything we ever did.

6. It's getting harder to touch my toes now. My tummy gets in the way.

7. Stay tuned for preggo pics next week! Mark and I are going to start snapping a photo each week. Yahoo!

8. Loving this song and video. Lifehouse ft. Natasha Bedingfield - Between the Raindrops. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

9. Seriously? These are amazing. Gotta try making them. I didn't even know they still sold pop rocks. Funnest candy ever. And my spell checker didn't even red-underline the word funnest. Awesome.

10. Here's yet another reason why I don't have Facebook. It's not that I don't want to keep in touch with friends... it's that it's scary. Although I do have everything else you could probably think of... whatevs. Interesting article though!

11. Hahaha. Subway has a lot of nerve. Just thought this was great. Had to share.

12. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Eph. 4:32

13. ATTENTION ALL MOM TO BE'S: Ok. This just in: funniest thing I've read in a long time. Enjoy. A letter to my pregnant childless self.

COFFEE CAT

(umm I lost the source... my bad)

Luckily my husband loves coffee too.

Unluckily though... my husband is allergic to cats. I pretty much have at least 3 dreams a week that we bought a kitten... or 2 or 3 kittens.

It's been a busy two days back from our trip to Saskatoon. I've taken on babysitting another little 4-year-old girl named Addy for 2 weeks and wow it's been fun, but a liiiitle crazy too. And I mean crazier than being a live-in nanny for two boys under the age of two while living in a 5th-wheel trailer. But that's another story.

In baby news, I'm 17 weeks now! I have felt baby do some sweet little flutters and they say that this and next week I should start feeling baby a lot more often. It'll be another month yet before the real kicking begins, and when Mark will be able to feel the movements from the outside. I am SO excited for that day! It will be so wonderful to experience those movements together. I definitely feel my tummy growing now. It's just starting to feel different. Harder, stretched, and just kinda weird in a good way! I hope to hear news about when my ultrasound will be, hopefully in about 3 weeks.

Anyway, stay tuned for Thursday things tomorrow!

xo.

TUESDAY TUNES

Chris Thile & Michael Daves

Sleep With One Eye Open

Check it.

THURSDAY THINGS

1. This week, I introduced Jamie to Zaboomafoo. She loves it... as do I. And then it got me thinking, that these Kratt brothers may have the coolest job in the world.

2. The last time we went grocery shopping, we bought WAY too many bananas. To begin with, we regularly buy enough for an average family of 6, but this time we pushed it a wee bit. So I found the recipe above on Pinterest, and I plan on whipping up a loaf this afternoon. Looks delicious.

3. Mini pizzas on english muffins are probably the best discovery of my week, thanks to my crafty hubby. So fluffy and amazing! You should seriously try them.

4. Is this not the coolest thing you've ever seen? No? Well... I think it's pretty cool. Why? Because you don't just have to stuff it with fluff! You could make a hacky sack! Which of course, as a mom to be, I'm already planning on making some down the road if I have a boys. Plus, it took me down memory lane thinking about high school and all the fun hacky sack times. Which mostly consisted of us girls watching our crazy soccer guy friends kick it around in a circle while we made up code names for all of them. I also seem to remember someone playing around on crutches and then taking the hacky sack pretty hard and wiping out... I'm assuming I didn't just make this up? Oh good times.

5. We're heading to Saskatoon tomorrow and I am so so excited. Most people take little trips to get away from the city and experience some peace and quiet... well now that we live in Beauval, it's the opposite. I am almost craving some hustle and bustle. There's a Chapters just down the road from where Mark's coaching clinic is taking place, and I plan on spending at least half of my Saturday there. With a decaf Starbucks or two of course.

6. Check this video out. I meant to blog it a long time ago, but I forgot. This is my friend Amy whom I met just over two years ago (I think), and she is incredibly talented. She wrote this song but there are a few more videos on her youtube channel that you should also take a listen to. She's just lovely! She's also a roofer which makes her even cooler.

7. This is probably the greatest cake I have ever seen. I want to make it so bad. Someone have a birthday soon please.

8. John 12:25 - "Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity."

HARDCOVER MEMORIES

As part of Mark's Christmas gift, I made this photo book from a compilation of photos we took on our road trip this past summer. It was so easy to make ( on www.mixbook.com) and such a great keepsake! I got it done in hardcover so it should last us quite a while. We have it propped up on a coffee table in our living room for easy access any time we want to flip through those memorable moments!

TUESDAY TUNES

The Lone Bellow, "Never Need Nobody". 

Hella good.

Check it.

4 MONTHS

Photo by: Brad Ardley

Where has the time gone? 4 months already? It's unreal!

As you can see, I definitely have a bump now, and I've felt the little one fluttering around a few times now! It's a feeling I cannot describe, and I suppose only mothers could understand the sensation. Mark and I are just so thankful for this little joy! In the next 3 weeks the baby is supposed to double in size and weight, so I'm preparing to balloon up by the 5 month mark. Right now, baby is about the size of an avocado!

In other news, we had a great visit to Ottawa for Christmas. We were there for 11 days and then visited family in Saskatoon and LeRoy on our way home. We are so thankful to both sets of our parents for taking such great care of us! It was great to see our some of our friends, although there were still a BUNCH of people we didn't get to see! Hopefully we will have more time when we visit in the summer to see everyone, and there won't be any snow storms getting in the way of traveling! We are happy to be home now, and look forward to our trip to Saskatoon this weekend for a basketball coaching clinic that Mark is attending. Should be another sweet mini-vacation!

I'll try to get back into the habit of blogging now that we're home! Can't wait to start on some little baby projects!

xo