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These were both taken at 17 1/2 weeks :)

 Speaking of 17 weeks... the bottom RH corner shows 'actual size' (ish) footprints of our baby girl at 17 weeks. the cutest footprints if you ask me!

 hot date!

 right before our ultrasound... so excited!!

 20 weeks and off to work!

p.s. i thought i would be one of those people who takes a cute picture in the same outfit and location every week but the weeks have been passing so quickly!  oh.my.goodness. well at least it's cute when other people on pinterest do it...

Football

My brothers (in-law) play YMCA flag football.
They're on 2 different teams.
We've been to a few games this season.
Here are a few of my favs...

David usually plays QB

such intensity

i don't know these kids but it was a cute moment. the kid on the left just ran for a touch down

Will usually plays RB

everyone was surprised the YMCA scheduled a little league game during the husker game.  fortunately someone was blaring it from their car :)

get his flag!!

teaching moment

another teaching moment...

are you enjoying football season? :) i am!

Cheap Food!

A recent endeavor of mine is seeing how cheap we can eat while still eating food we like.  i.e. I know we could eat for about $5.00/ week if we ate pasta w/ jarred spaghetti sauce every day.  But let's face it, that is not going to happen any time soon.

Mission: eat a variety of meals, try new recipes, bake snacks for students, and still keep it in our budget.  our tight budget.  

Added challenge: I am usually teaching from 3:30ish until 6:30 or 7:30.  We share one car so I go pick Ben up from school when I'm done w/ lessons and then we head back home for dinner.  It's 7:30 or 8 by that time... so the other part of this mission is finding food that can be prepped ahead of time i.e. when I have time to make it in the morning.  (and I'm definitely not complaining about this at all.  we like our schedule and our 1 car.  just learning to adjust cooking accordingly.)

Things I'm trying/ learning:

1.  I make my menu plan for the week (or for 2 weeks) based off of the Hyvee (grocery store) 3 day specials & get everything else at Walmart.  if chicken is on sale, we eat something with chicken.  if beef is on sale, beef it is.   Usually more than one main meal ingredient is on sale.  I plan what I'm making around that & use similar ingredients across the board.  This doesn't take as much time/ planning as I thought it might. 
2.  Walmart brand is usually cheaper - even when I have a coupon for the regular brand.  The only things we are particularly choosy about are cereal, orange juice, butter substitute, toilet paper, and probably some others that I can't think of right now.  Everything else, we get generic.  And all those things, I buy only with coupons.
3. Stack manufacturer coupon with store coupon with sale.  Bingo!  This doesn't happen very often and I don't spend a ton of time couponing, but when it does, I feel great :) 
4.  buying fruits and veggies that are in season is cheaper than, for example, trying to get pineapple and watermelon in January in the midwest.  it is what it is. 5  frozen fruit for smoothies goes a long way - snack, breakfast, or lunch!
6. yogurt in big container instead of little ones.
7. i am trying to snack on the fruits and veggies that are in season rather than junk food.  junk food is SO expensive.  seriously $3 for a bag of chips or 33 cents/ lb of bananas.
8. Leftovers. [happy sigh]  Ben eats leftovers almost every day for lunch so we don't buy a lot of lunch food (deli meat, bread, etc...)
9. Soups go along way on the budget :)
10.  I try to make things that call for ingredients we already have around - like marinaded chicken with oil, vinegar, herbs, or cheese, eggs, etc...
11.  i try not to make another trip until we are out of food. seriously.  we go through all the pasta before I go back to the store.  Some people buy in bulk on the sales.  For just the 2 of us, I've found that it makes more sense to only buy the things on my list for that week's meals and eat until it's all gone.  If I plan for 5 days of meals, but we end up getting dinner with friends one night and eating a frozen pizza, then we just keep using what we have until it runs out.  i think this saves us a lot of money.  although i can see how this strategy might change with little ones around.  [also i think we waste less food this way]
12. some meals are cheaper than others. and we don't go over in food budget for the month.  so sometimes we eat tuna casserole, spaghetti, or pancakes.  :)
13. we don't keep a lot of fun drinks around.  wah wah.  i love fun drinks - juices, teas, coffees, sodas, all of it!  Ben likes pop too!  but we just don't really buy it.  Lemonade on sale in the summer and OJ.  other than that, it's just coffee and water around here.  And the cheap maxwell house coffee that comes in a big container on sale for $8. Not the 1lb of dunkin donuts coffee that is $10/bag.  little changes go a long way.
14. we pay cash for food.  as I count it out at the register, I am very aware of how much we are spending on food, and how much we are able to spend on food... and how big of a difference a couple bags of chips and a couple 12-packs of soda makes.
15. Don't eat out.  We are minimizing the amount we eat out.  i.e. PB & J with an apple on the go when we're rushing out the door to small group instead of fast food.  Peanut butter = $3.  Jam = $3.  Bread =$3.  PB&J lasts about 3 months around here... those containers are huge!  Bread every other week at most.  So, $24 for 3 months of PB & J on thursday nights or $12 minimum for a stop at Jimmy Johns. The math is easy.  The discipline is NOT!  This is new for us and we are not even close to mastering it... just working on it one week at a time. 

not sure why I felt the need to share all this.  sometimes it helps me to organize my thoughts by just getting them out on "paper"... or on keyboard.  also, i think cutting $50 a month from groceries is $600 a year.  and most people in the circles I run with could use the extra $600.  

happy shopping and happy SAVINGS!!

-Ren

Recent Random Stuff

We have had all sorts of random fun lately.  Here's some snapshots of our recent activities. 

Before we moved to Lincoln, we had a fun "goodbye" dinner with my uncle and my brother.  We went to Ruth's Chris for the best steak in the world.  It was delicious.  

And then we went to Chicago Cut for a fun dessert - a chocolate bag.  It was all it was cracked up to be and more.  VERY tasty.

We had a delicious pancake breakfast for Ben's first day of school. :)  [We're currently eating on a card table.  And it's classy.]

And I didn't put non-stick spray on the pan for the bacon.  Woops...!

We made signs advertising piano lessons.  We put the first one in our yard.  Wouldn't you want to come take piano lessons from me!?!?

Ben reading studiously.  Me playing old school nintendo.  Perhaps what many of our nights this fall will look like?

I went to Hobby Lobby today.  :)

Beginning of Summer

My cousin Christa came to visit from Georgia - Michigan Ave shopping was a must!

Christa was FASCINATED by a beach in a city :)

You can barely see them but we met up with Kyle and Erin

Madison Ave bridge at 5:30 pm - full of commuters

waiting for the water taxi

3 of my favorite guys riding the Chicago Water Taxi from train station to China Town - a must if you're visiting! 

trying to be artsy w/ the camera

artsy #2

artsy #3

my bro Brian and my cousin Bryan chowin' on burgers at "big Brian's" graduation party

bubbles were good for about 3 hours straight of toddler entertainment

my 4 year old cousin, Brody

this is what happens when Brody (picture above this one) gets the camera and says "say cheese" to my dad.

Poetry Discovery

Ben and I were doing some organizing/ file-purging this afternoon and Ben stumbled upon a collection of his Great Grandpa's favorite poems and stories.  Ben's Great Grandpa John was, from everything I've heard, a wonderful man of God.  He passed away in 2006, at age 94.  Some of the poetry and stories are his own, and some are written by others.  We paused organizing and began reading through it - wow!  I'm not one to sit around and read books of poetry (although I admire people who do), but this stuff is good.  Very good.  I'll be reading this collection for sure!  Perhaps I'll share some :)

Since I never knew Grandpa John personally, I'll share a poem written in remembrance of him by a lady named Lorene Hoover.

How tall he stood
as husband, father, counselor, friend,
how upright
as leader, pastor, administrator.

How strong his voice - 
poet, storyteller, preacher -
in capturing the rhythms of life,
from promoting Lions' Club turkey dinners
to inviting us to join him on a CROP walk
to invoking God's blessing.

How large he was
in his desire to serve,
in his belief of nature's promise.
Large enough to be humble
as he bent to his wheelbarrow
took up his garden hoe
knelt in the dirt.

Large enough to kneel
at God's altar
sure of His promise.


 Included in the collection ("John Anderson's Favorite Poems and Stories") is this excerpt of a poem by Ralph Cushman:
I met God in the morning 
when the day was at its best.
And His presence seemed like sunrise -
like a glory filled my breast.

All day long the presence lingered - 
all day long he stayed with me.
And we sailed in perfect harmony
o'er a very troubled sea. 


So I think I know the secret
learned from many a troubled day.
I must meet God in the morning 
If I want Him through the day. 

Error. ErRoR. ERROR!!

I have a great dad.  He is wise - the "wisdom from above" kind of wise.  Over the years, he has taught me about 3 different types of errors people in the Bible made that we can learn from and learn how to avoid. 

Here are his words...

1) I used to ask for "kings."  This is asking for something that is not the Lord's will - he says no - and I pursue it anyway. 

2) I used to do a ''moses."  This is not understand the timing of the Lord and getting way ahead or behind His timing of something He really was leading me to do.

3) I used to create "ishamales--" just doing something that I have direct power to do,  For example, when I quit my job, bought a car on lease, etc. 

All 3 of these can be very costly in time and money besides delaying God's plan for my life.

There you have it! 3 types of errors to avoid.

Commencement is really just the beginning

My brother graduated from University of Illinois today.  To say I'm a proud older sister would be an understatement :)  Can I brag about him for a minute?  Thanks.  He's graduating from U of I's engineering program in 3 years with a 3.96 = top 3% of graduating class (which is like 8,000 people) and has received an award for best student in his engineering class several semesters in a row (which, I might add comes with some nice reward $$... why don't they have these for music students?)

The best part though is that he is humble and Godly.  He does not walk around bragging that his major is something most people can't even pronounce or remember (Engineering - Theoretical and Applied Mechanics with a specialty in Computational Fluid Dynamics... I just learned to say all that today.  It's only taken me 3 years!)  He is easy going and friends with anyone.  He is not arrogant and does not talk to people in a condescending way (come on, we've all talked to smart people who talk to us regular people like we're stupid or lesser).  Most importantly, he loves Jesus and lives it out!  I could not be prouder that this kid is my brother and friend.

I recently heard that "commencement" really isn't the end, but the beginning.  That's why they call the ceremony "commencement."  It makes so much sense, when you think of it.  Finishing undergrad is when you finally learn how to start learning!  It gives you the awareness and thinking skills to learn for life.  Brian will be "commencing" at Stanford to continue in his engineering studies and we couldn't be more excited for him.  And, while we'll miss him in the midwest, Palo Alto, California isn't a bad vacation destination!

Congrats to my brother!!! :)

Random Updates

Ben has signed up for the Chicago Marathon.  It's official.  He'll be running it with a group from our Church (The Moody Church) who runs annually with Team World Vision.  "World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice."  They have focused on clean water in Africa for a long time, although they now have all sorts of outreach world wide. 

Ben also found out the other day that he has officially been accepted to the Phd sociology program at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.  Yay!!  We are still waiting to hear from other schools he's applied to and we are waiting on the Lord to direct us.  The repeated command throughout scripture to "Trust in the Lord" takes on a new meaning in different situations, doesn't it?  We are learning this lesson each day.  We are also so thankful to God for his provisions!  His mercies are new every morning.  Great is His faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:23) 

We had a blizzard.  Oh wait, that was the only news story this week, so you probably heard about it ;)

Our church does a one-on-one mentoring program for women and pairs up younger women with older women under the command in Titus 2 to teach younger women.  I signed up to be a mentee and met with Valerie last night for the first time, my new mentor.  It was lovely getting to know each other.  I could see that this was a great fit :)

Reading lists are well underway.  Ben is powering through book after book - some of his latest are:

The Seeing Eye, C. S Lewis

What in the World is Going On, David Jeremiah

Brothers Karamosov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky.  

Some of my latest are: 

Choosing to See, Mary Beth Chapman

Forgotten God, Francis Chan

The Magician's Nephew, C.S. Lewis 

We're both reading through the "Chronicles of Narnia" series again - brilliant!  I appreciate it SO much more as an adult.  The biblical metaphors are beautiful and moving in a fresh way.  It's such a quick read too... READ IT!

Book reviews to come. 

Our street was finally plowed last night - so Ben is faithfully shoveling out our car as I write.  We decided last night that this snow probably won't melt until July.  Bummer. (My students' drama has rubbed off on me, what can I say...?)

Happy weekend,

Ren

You have what you say

I've learned a lot of things from my dad over the years.  One of them is that the Bible has many principles in it that God has established and they're working whether or not you believe in the Bible.  One thing that God has established in this world is "You have what you say."  (Mark 11:23-24)  The reason this verse works is because most people believe what they're saying when they say it, without even thinking about it really. 
Honestly, I used to think it was weird that my dad applied truth from God's Word to every little thing in life.  Now, I see that his faith is real.  His faith isn't sunday-only-faith, or believe-what-i-want-when-i-want-faith, but rather faith that lives out God's will in his every day life and TRULY believes all of what God says.  The kind of faith God commands us to have.  Hebrews 11:1 says "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  If you are sure something is going to happen, your certainty isn't based on faith, it's based on knowledge.  The pastor of the church I grew up in defined faith as "believing in the Word of God and acting upon it, regardless of how I feel, knowing that God promises a good result." 

Back to the principle - you have what you say.  Lots of people are experiencing something in their life - big or small - that is a result of their speech.  I used to say "I'm so stressed" a lot.  a LOT.  (side note: I was one of those people that thought it was somehow impressive to always be stressed or busy, so when people would ask how I was I might respond, "good, but I'm so stressed." or "good, but I'm so busy."  Thank GOD I learned to stop doing that.  Listen for this in conversations you have with people - it's amazing how many people brag about their busy-ness.)  Anyway, guess what. I WAS stressed.   I chose stress and I felt stress because I said it a lot.  Not once or twice.  A lot.  Another example, think about someone you know who might be experiencing depression.  I am not minimizing the real emotional state that people experience, especially when they don't have the resources to deal with a devastating circumstance or a chemical imbalance...  but does this person you know often say (to themselves or others) "I'm so depressed."  Definitely not helping their situation.  My dad said that when I was 2, everyone would tell him, "oh no!  watch out- terrible twos" (or something along those lines).  He knew they were just joking, going along with popluar cultural phrase to make conversation, but he would respond "no. she's great. we call them the terrific twos."  And sure enough, I guess my two year old phase was great.

A small thing that my longest friends might find humorous.  I used to drop my phone a lot.  Again, not once or twice, but a lot.  I also said "I drop my phone all the time" all the time.  I would tell all sorts of people that.  I remember my dad saying... well, you have what you say.  So I decided I was going to stop saying that. and guess what? I haven't dropped my phone in a long time. 

This is one of those principles that is working for or against you whether or not you believe God's Word.  Try it.  Pick something you say that is negative.  Replace it with the positive alternative.  See if it impacts you over a period of time.  It could be big or small.  Maybe a family member that you always speak negatively about is living up to your negative expectations.  Maybe a 2-year-old to call "terrific" instead of "terrible."  Maybe you talk about how nervous or anxious you feel a lot. 

What speech are you going to change?
-ren