4th of July at the Lakes

We spent our first 4th of July at my grandparent's house in Spirit Lake, Iowa. My family goes every year but we have yet to make it until this year! It was nice to get everyone in one location for a weekend with nice weather, scenery, and food. We just laid low sitting around, going for boat and canoe rides, and having plenty of conversation.

Kyle isn't too fond of this picture but I enjoy it; Lauren's first time with sparklers!

Lauren entertained herself for HOURS with this froggy. The next 3 pictures are backwards in series but they wouldn't cooperate. She would pick flowers, run to the froggy, and feed them to him. Great Grandma had to eventually hide the froggy because the mosquitos enjoyed that area and Lauren wouldn't stay away.

Lauren being her "Lauren-self"!

Isn't if funny how things not intended for entertainment prove to be the most entertaining. Where's Waldo...I mean Lauren?

Hanging out with cousin Ethan and Olivia by the canoe.

Lauren is not a fan of water. Although she is always on the go and moving around, she is rather timid around water. It is actually pretty nice when we go to the water park because she will just sit on the edge and watch everyone and I can sit by her and enjoy her company. Anyways...boat rides...not so much! Lauren will tell you that she had a blast, she will talk about the boat, but if you ask her if she wants another ride...she will say 'NO!'

Garden Festival

We went to an amazing Garden Festival a few weeks back after a friend suggested it. It was the most perfect, quaint, down-to-earth festival and we throughly enjoyed our time there. They have some of the best children activities: free face painting, games, and the kids even got to plant a flower and take it home. But the best of all...homemade soap! I really enjoy hand made soap and Kyle even found some good ones: Ale Beer Soap. Lauren got her face painted for the first time and sat so still. She talked about it for days!!

Then Sings My Soul Book Review

I am not going to lie, there are many a times that I go to church and sigh when I see that we have to sing an old hymn. I don't know if it is the lack of enthusiasm that the congregation has while singing a hymn, the inability to understand some of the words, or the ignorance of not fully grasping the meaning behind each hymn that I makes me somewhat bored with them.

My husband and I have had this conversation on multiple occasions while deciding what Sunday morning service we are going to attend: traditional, blended, or contemporary. My argument always is about the style of music and my personal preference in worshipping God through music. One Sunday morning we had this lively discussion before heading to a traditional service...lo and behold there was a word that neither of us knew in the hymn that prompted us to look it up when we got home.

I was glad to come across the book "Then Sings My Soul" by Robert J. Morgan on Booksneeze.com. If you are unfamiliar with Booksneeze, it is a blogging book review website that is completely free and includes many different genres of Christian books. The book is a compilation of 150 Christmas, Easter, and all-time favorite hymns and the stories behind them. What I enjoyed best about "Then Sings my Soul" was that each song was organized nicely into categories and easy to find in the book. The stories behind each hymn are only a page long and easy to read. The best thing to me was that I could sing a popular hymn at church and come home from the service and QUICKLY get a better understanding of that particular song. Not only does the book include a brief description of each hymn but also the hymn itself which makes for a great reference or addition to anyone's music collection.

I would recommend "Then Sings My Soul" for anyone looking to better understand particular hymns and have a greater appreciation for traditional and historical music. I know I for one have enjoyed looking deeper into the music and changing my notion of how I enjoy to worship.

*This book was received for free by Booksneeze.com. My opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own and not influenced in any way by Booksneeze.com.*

Firsts!

First time watching a video of her first 6 months of life. She was so jealous me holding her in the video. I kept reminding her that it was baby Lauren and my baby fever kicked in high gear. Bad idea #1.

First time getting to go outside in the rain and dance around with Mommy and splash in the puddles! (with food all over her face!)

Her first mini bowl of cereal...bad idea #2.

Sitting in the back of a police car...this wasn't the first for Hubba though, just kidding!

Enjoying some chocolate-covered fruit from Mommy and Daddy's 4th anniversary. The theme this year was fruit and flowers. We are re-doing our flower beds outside as a joint anniversary gift. She completely devoured WAY TOO much chocolate and didn't go to bed until really late. Bad idea #3! I guess you learn as you go!

Summer?

It feels like Fall around here lately which has been nice. Without central air and a gas oven, we rarely turn our oven on in the summer which increases mydesire to bake; absence does definitely make the heart grow fonder! The other day, it was chilly in the house and rainy outside leaving Lauren and I slightly bored sitting around the house...BAKING TIME! I found all my favorite cookbooks and searched for muffin recipes that we had ingredients for. Plus I needed to finish my double chocolate honey bread for Bible Study. A few hours later, we had applesauce muffins, triple berry vegan muffins, and banana dark chocolate chip; all which were very delicious. I was so glad to get some things in the freezer to enjoy when the weather turns back into summer.

Lauren wanted an apron like Mom so I found this top from an outfit my parents got me while in Hawaii when I was in High School. She has worn it on several baking occasions since this occurrence. I told her to let me take her picture and she decided to pose like this??

Lauren's baking spot with her favorite 'unners'

It's mixing Mom!

The fruits of our labor

Sacred Parenting

Imitation...Imitation...Imitation!

Isn't it funny how children have innate abilities from birth that continue to transcend deeper as they grow? Andy Meltzoff did the famous experiment seen below showing how newborns can imitate facial expressions from a very young age. They are born with this ability, it is a natural tendency for newborns, infants, toddlers, children, etc. to imitate, to look to others for guidance on how to respond, how to feel, how to approach certain situations and so forth.

My current Bible Study is reading 'Sacred Parenting' by Gary Thomas. If you are a regular reader, you remember me mentioning long ago about 'Sacred Marriage' (same author) and how I fell in love with that book. 'Sacred Parenting' follows the same premise...what if the act of being a parent was designed to make us more holy? In other words, parenting should be a continual spiritual journey toward holiness. The Bible mentions multiple times why we should have children: be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28) and that we should love the Lord and raise children that will do the same (Deut. 6 & Psalm 78). Gary Thomas says it perfectly by saying that having children isn't about us...it is about God; put aside the selfish desires of wanting to bear children, be pregnant, get attention from others (which isn't easy).

Imitation...Imitation...Imitation!

While at church this morning, Lauren saw a gentleman in front of us raise his hand in the air while singing. Shortly thereafter, her little hand goes up swinging to the beat. Such an amazing thing if you stop and think about it. Of all the busyness occurring during church, she chose to imitate a positive action (regardless of whether she knew why). 2 Corinthians 7:1 says that we need to, "purify ourselves instead of the desire to purify our children." Isn't that what parenting is all about? We can 'teach' our children all the scripture in the world, go to church activities, and surround ourselves with positive people (all of which are good)...but if we do not purify ourselves, how will imitation play a role in all of it? Gary Thomas says that we need to transform our thinking of being a child-centered parent and turn that into a God-centered parent acting out of reverence for God. That means that our own spiritual quest must drive our parenting, constantly asking ourselves what our children are trying to teach us? (I know patience is a big one for me!)

So as I try and figure out this process of being a parent, I need to constantly remind myself that it isn't so much about behavior modification, eating the right things, going to tons of play dates, although important...it is about making myself a better person so when my little one starts to emulate me more, I can be happy with her decision.

Flea Market

We went to the Flea Market on Sunday while my parents were in town. I was on the hunt for a good window sash for a project but came up empty-handed. Lauren, on the other hand, hit her jackpot. We found a tote with old Playskool and Fischer Price toys for only $20. Of course, once I expressed interest, Grandma came to the rescue and bought the lot for little Lolo. We moved all her toys out of the living room and replaced them with the new toys. She keeps screaming, "New Toys!" when she comes into the room, so silly. There were two little people buses, a train, some wooden safari animals, a few pull toys (one being Snoopy the dog with the spring tail), and some other classics.

Nokout!

First Crop!

We had our first crop of the season ready for eating...strawberries. I have a feeling these little buggers will never make it into the house. Lauren has already picked her fair share of 'yellow' ones...still working on explaining that they need to be red before picking. She has a mouthful here!

Against the garage we have green and yellow zucchini and acorn squash. It will be awhile before we see anything from these plants.

Our finished plots. Plot #1: strawberries, spinach, and peppers (yellow, red, green, and banana). Plot #2: tomatoes (better boy and yellow cherry), onions, and one tiny head of lettuce that Lauren planted.

We got the majority of our plants from a local greenhouse called Adventurous Roots. I really LOVE them and could go out there everyday! We loaded up on herbs and I am so glad. We have a collection of stevia, purple basil, Italian basil, spearmint, chocolate mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and cilantro. All I really need now is chives. The chocolate mint was absolutely divine on our smores and Stevia you can easily just pick off and eat for dessert alone!

We decided to use raised beds instead of plots for several reasons: they are easier to maintain, you don't have to step on the dirt to reach the plants which compacts it and inhibits growth, and it protects against some insects and bugs. Plus, it is easier to set up and maintain without having to prepare your soil in the ground. For our set-up, we placed a layer of leaves down, a layer of compost, and our garden blend topsoil which is a mixture of sand, mushroom compost, and soil.

We had the dirt delivered to our house in a massive pile and had to take care of it fast before it killed the grass. Don't you love Lauren's 80's gardening bibs?

Just Because...

Brookfield Zoo

We went to the zoo last weekend *on the rainiest day of the week* courtesy of our friend's Heather and Jax who had some guest passes just about ready to expire. We definitely took full advantage of our tickets and spent the entire afternoon there. This was Lauren's 3rd trip to the zoo in one month, wowzers! We rented 'Signing Time: Zoo Train' from the library so she would know animal signs before we went and she was so excited to see all the animals in person. I HIGHLY recommend 'Signing Time' for anyone wanting to teach their child American Sign Language, not just baby signs. Lauren has to know well over 100 signs and although she is very talkative, at times we have no idea what she is trying to communicate other than her signs.

We are trying to figure out what she thinks a 'zoo' is. She is absolutely fascinated with all the fake animals around the zoo and statues. She cracks us up!

Crocodile!

She was fearless of the real animals but deathly afraid of a stuffed life-size Moose. She still talks about how she didn't want to give the moose a hug because she was 'shy'.

Splish Splash!

After the storm passed, about 20 planes landed nearby. Lauren loved watching them get closer!

Signing Zebra. Place your hands on your chest like this and move them outward like you have stripes on your belly.

We wanted to get her some sort of toy from the zoo and found this perfect gem, a 'mold-o-rama Crocodile'. Lauren has a little thing for crocodiles right now. She says, "Croc-O-Aisle!"

Lauren's Request

I have been trying to give Lauren more options around meal time hoping that she will pick out something that she will actually eat. The other day I asked her what she wanted (she normally replies, "Pizza!") and she said, pizza and eggs. So we made a delicious egg breakfast pizza.

Crust Recipe

1 pkg (or 2 and 1/4 tsp. of active dry yeast) mixed with 1 cup warm water. Add one tbsp. olive oil and honey. Mix in 2 1/2 cups white flour and any seasonings you like in your crust. Knead for a good while (5-10 minutes by hand or in a standing mixer until it forms a dough ball). Let sit in a warm spot covered by a towel for 15 minutes to rise. Roll out or toss out by hand onto your pizza pan/stone and cover with toppings.

Sauce Recipe

Melt about 2 tbsp butter in a sauce pan. Add 2 tbsp. flour and whisk together to form a rue. Slowly add 1 1/4 cups milk and whisk until thickened about 2 minutes. Sometimes I let it sit a bit and then come back.

Toppings

I used 6 eggs (I think) and cheese but you could add some meat or veggies as well. Be sure to add pepper to your eggs, white pepper would be excellent!

The City

I see a future reality show...maybe 'The City Park Girls'??

Lauren's 2nd Weekend in the City

We headed back into the city for our 2nd weekend in a row for my MSW graduation...and then again the next weekend for a party (but that will be another post). Lauren went to the zoo with Kyle and Uncle Ryan while the ladies (Amanda, Debbie, Sheila, and I) went wedding dress shopping for Ryan and Amanda's wedding. It had been a LONG time since wedding dress for someone else (my sister, in 2003!) and it was so much fun!! After shopping/zoo, we met up for lunch at Gino's for pizza, and then over to Dave and Busters to play some games. It was my first time at D&B's and it was quite the experience. We met up with Sheila's friend, Brian Urlacher (Bears Linebacker). He was very nice and bought us all points to use on games, thanks Brian!

Hugs and Kisses

The Grape with his Cape (Lauren calls them grapes)

Yea!!

Deep concentration! She used her tickets to buy a little tickle monster thing that we keep in the car. Every time we get in the car, she gets so excited and screams, "tickle monster!"

Lauren hunging out with her new buddy at Dave and Busters. I wish I would have gotten a better picture of the size difference between these two but we didn't want to draw too much attention to him from taking a picture. That plan failed though and everyone saw my massive camera and started bombarding him causing them to have to leave shortly after, sorry Brian!

Riding on Aunt Amanda's (Danda) back on the bus. She was holding on tight.

More Emotions...

Can you tell that I am a social worker...sigh...but at least it is official now! I graduated May 14th with my master's in Social Work so now I am Jamie Rouse, MSW, MS. And...because I really am a social worker, I getting a poster made of all Lauren's emotions and using it in my practice. I have even had requests from other school personnel for a copy. Lauren might be famous without even knowing it!

Shy: putting chin down on shoulder and looking away although this one looks a little bit more sad than her normal shy face

Surprised: putting hand on chest and saying 'Oooo' at the same

This is half-proud.

Full-proud: "I DID IT!!"