Welcome, Karlee Jo!

Matt's sister went in to the hospital to be induced at midnight yesterday, and had her baby at about 11:30 this morning. Her name is Karlee Jo, and she is 7 lbs 3 oz, 19" long. She has the longest fingers and feet - I think her hands are about the same size as Mackenzie's! She is doing pretty well, but the nurses are a little concerned because she hasn't eaten very much today, and they said that if she doesn't eat tonight they will have to give her a feeding tube and IV. So if you could say a little prayer for her, that would be great! Matt and I got to go see her this afternoon, and I couldn't believe how it seemed like just yesterday that we were holding Mackenzie in the hospital, and now she is a big eight month old scooting all over the floor and getting in to everything! We forgot our camera, so I will post some pics of all the little girl cousins as soon as I get some.

Insects of Unusual Size

Ever since I moved to the midwest, I have had the joy of experiencing some new and abnormally large insects. (Nothing compared to what Luke and Kacie have probably seen in Thailand, I'm sure, but for me, very disturbing.) First there are "June Bugs" or, as I like to call them, "Kamakaze Light Bugs" I hope I spelled that right, the spellchecker doesn't work. At night when you leave your porch light on, they fly as fast as they can towards it until they hit your door and die. I have actually thought that someone was knocking on our door only to open it and see upside down June Bugs all over the porch.
Next we have what Matt calls "Locusts", like the plauge in the Bible. They can be seen dead (thank goodness) on the ground at the park where we walk. They basically look like dinosaur-type bugs.
Last weekend I learned about "Sea-Ticks". Or "See-Ticks". Or maybe it's "C-Ticks" - I really don't know, but they are tiny little brown ticks that move in herds and climb your leg if you spend too much time in the woods. Matt came home covered in them after he went squirrel hunting (which is a whole other issue).
We also have your run of the mill spiders and crickets, except bigger. My favorites that I actually like are the pretty moths that like to hang out on our wreath, and lightning bugs.
I say all of that to tell you about the walking stick that has taken up residence on our sliding glass door. I saw it and kind of flipped out because I couldn't tell if it was inside or outside. Thankfully it was outside, so I let Mackenzie look at it. She watched it for awhile and tried to grab it, so I'm thinking she's going to be one of those kids who has sixteen mason jars with bugs in them all over the yard when she gets older. I guess I'll have to get used to having them around.

Tasty Tuesday - Pork Chops and Apples

Pork Chops and Apples

2 medium apples, sliced

1lb pork chops (any kind, we like the boneless)

4 TBLS packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place apple slices in a 13x9 casserole dish. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle half over the apples. Trim fat from the pork chops. Spray a skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium-high. Brown the pork chops for about 3 minutes on each side, and place on top of apple slices. Sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar mixture over the pork chops. Cover with a lid or foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until pork is 170 degrees and juices run clear.

This recipe is so good, and really easy! We had it tonight and I took a picture of Matt's plate. Yum yum. (It looks better in person, I promise!)

All About Our Day!

Mackenzie and Greyson playing. Greyson hits her little balls, and she tries to grab them - it keeps them both happy!

Let me just tell you about our day today. Mackenzie and I had some errands to run, but Matt needed the car, so he took it to the church. After Kenzie and I had breakfast and got dressed, we were going to walk up to the church and get the car. Well, I realized that the stroller was in the car, so I just carried Mackenzie to the church (it's not very far). When we got there, I remembered that the carseat was at the house, so I couldn't take the car. So next I decide that we will just take the stroller, go to the dollar store to get milk so I could have my coffee, and have Matt bring the car later. I opened the trunk only to realize that Matt had taken the stroller out - it was at home in the garage. So I carry Mackenzie to the dollar store (which is also really close to our duplex). I wait outside for a few minutes until it opened, go in, and realize that my wallet is in the diaper bag - in the car - at the church. Yeah. So I leave and take Mackenzie home - no car, no stroller, no milk, no coffee. After Mackenzie's nap I load her up in the stroller and walk back to the church. We leave and go to the post office where I needed to mail a few things. I park, get out, and attempt to carry Mackenzie, a bag with two boxes in it, and another bigger box all at the same time. It was probably really funny to watch - I was propping the bigger box against the side of the building so I could fling open the door with that hand and run through really quick. This whole time Mackenzie is bending herself in half trying to pull on the plastic bag. We get in line and make it up to the counter. While I am filling out the form to send the box to Canada, Mackenzie grabs my wallet, shakes it, and throws everything in my wallet all over the post office floor. Thankfully a nice lady in line behind us helped me pick it all up. After that we still had to go to Walmart to get groceries. I was exhausted when we got home. I felt like all we did all day was walk around in circles! If you are still reading this you must be really bored, or be a really good friend!

Jogging Suits and Scary Storms

I just thought this little jogging outfit (crawling outfit? scooting outfit?) was so cute, I had to take some pictures of her in it!

Matt left this afternoon for a conference for junior highers (let's take a moment for a silent prayer) about an hour away. Hopefully me, Mackenzie, and our duplex will not get sucked up in a tornado while he is gone. We are having some bad weather, and being a Colorado native, I do get a little nervous about rotating clouds. Also, since we just moved here, I can barley locate our state on the map, let alone our county. My neighbor is outside looking up - is that a bad sign? I guess I will just listen for sirens and follow Matt's emergency directions - go sit in the bathtub in the hallway bathroom. Wish us luck.

(Just kidding, mom, we're fine)

One of THOSE days!

The top picture is yesterday - Mackenzie just finished up some zucchini, which she actually likes pretty well. She just isn't a big eater. She went through a week or two where she would eat quite a bit, but usually she just eats a few bites and she never really opens her mouth very wide for a bite. I guess she just has better things to do! The bottom two pictures are at Matt's softball game last night - it was so cold!

Today we have had one of THOSE days - you know, the days where you just count down the hours to bedtime?! No, it really hasn't been that bad, it could be a lot worse, but Kenz has just been a crab all day, not napping well and not happy when she's awake. One of her bottom teeth is about half way in and the other is just starting to poke through, so I think that might be the problem. And we still have to go to church tonight! We'll just hope for a better day tomorrow, and if not, at least Daddy will get to deal with it for awhile while I'm at Bible Study!

Tasty Tuesday - Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I thought it would be fun every once in a while to talk about something other than Mackenzie on my blog! I know that's why most of you read it, though, so I won't do it very often! :) I thought that on Tuesdays I will post one of our favorite recipes, and if anyone else has one they would like to share, feel free to leave it in the comment section - I am always looking for new things to try! I haven't actually ever tasted this one, but I am making it today and it smells really good, so hopefully it turns out okay!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

1 jar (9-10oz) sweet and sour sauce

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 TBLS soy sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp pepper

3lbs frozen meatballs

1 medium red bell pepper, cubed

1 can (20oz) pineapple chunks, drained

Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Stir gently. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high 4-5 hours. Serve with rice.

I halved the recipe because I don't think I can fit 3 lbs of meatballs in my crock pot! I got this recipe from the box of slow cooker liners. If you haven't tried these, you really should - they are fantastic, and make clean up so much easier. Enjoy!

Mackenzie's First Stereo

Mackenzie and I walked to the dollar store today to get packing tape, and we found this little music player that starts up every time you push one of the big buttons. She really likes it, but I couldn't get her to push the buttons with her hands - she only wanted to use her mouth! Later on in the day she was sitting up playing and she fell over and bonked her head on it, so she might not like it as much tomorrow!

Our Flirt

Well, another busy Sunday is over - Matt and I always feel like our weekend is over on Saturday night since Sundays are so crazy. Mackenzie stayed in the nursery for all of second service without crying! Yea! The teacher said that she really liked this one other little boy... great, she's a flirt already! She also tried and came really close to pulling herself up on her excersaucer this morning. She hasn't shown too much interest in crawling, although she can scoot around pretty well on her tummy, but she really likes sitting up and standing up. Her tooth is about half way in, but it doesn't seem to be bothering her as much as it was. Well, that's about all the excitement in our lives right now! I guess that is a good thing!

Bed Head

I don't know if you can click on this picture to enlarge it, but Mackenzie had WILD hair this morning when she woke up! It is getting really long.

No, I don't want to wake up!

Gettin' ready to leave on a walk. She spends the whole time pulling herself up with the tray and looking around.

Mackenzie's New Toy

Matt's parents came over last night so that Matt could help them pick out a digital camera. Matt's dad (Mackenzie's Papa) loves to buy her toys every time we go to Walmart, so last night he got her this Nemo ball. She loves it, and she can actually hold on to it really well. She even threw a fit when we took it away so that the checker could scan it (can you say "attitude"?). She also likes to watch us bounce it.

Busy Days

Mackenzie has started this new thing where she leans her head back and smiles really big and squishes up her whole face. It is hilarious.
I put some water in this short little bowl so she could practice drinking from a cup. She has a lot of fun trying, although here she is trying to lap it up!
Trying to climb out of my stroller!

We are just running like crazy right now! Matt has youth group on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights, plus all kinds of stuff the rest of the week. He had almost 60 high schoolers tonight, which was great! I have joined a MOPS group, a women's bible study, and have been helping out in the nursery on Wednesday nights. Mackenzie is just going along for the ride! She is slowly getting used to being in the nursery, and today she stayed the whole time for MOPS without screaming! Yea! She is also still trying to cut this tooth - it is sticking out a little bit, but it is taking forever!

Here, Kitty Kitty

Mackenzie standing on the couch trying to grab Greyson, who is being very patient (don't worry, I was right behind her and just took my hand off to take the picture!)

The Budding Chef

Matt has been hogging his computer over the last few days! How dare he actually use his work laptop at work?! Just kidding. I have had to borrow his since my laptop bit the dust a few months ago, and he has been so busy this week that I haven't been able to post. Matt had his big kickoff on wednesday. He brought in a band and had big inflatables for the kids. It went really well - he had a ton of kids and everyone had a great time. Most importantly, there were no major injuries from the giant sumo suits and boxing gloves! Mackenzie is working on cutting her first tooth - finally! When she woke up yesterday it was poking through, but it kind of went back in. It doesn't seem to be bothering her too much, though. The top pictures are of her with one of new favorite toys - kitchen utensils. She loves cups, bowls, measuring cups, and, as you can see, big plastic spoons. The bottom picture is of her sitting up in the shopping cart at walmart!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Look at our big girl! She can't pull herself up, but once she's up, she can stay on her feet for quite awhile.

Reading a book with Daddy.

Matt's birthday was on friday. We had cake and opened presents before Mackenzie went to bed.

The Little Lady

Mackenzie is such a little lady - she always crosses her feet when she's in her stroller, and now she also crosses her hands.

"Helping" Mommy hang up clothes.

Matt had softball practice the other night, and we decided to go along. I was so glad I had brought a jacket - it was chilly! Fall must be on the way...