My Beautiful Kids

Up North

A couple of weekends ago we went up north to Grand Marais with the kids. It was a beautiful weekend. We enjoyed throwing rocks in the lake, eating good food, shopping, and a few small hikes. It was nice to get out of town and spend quality family time.

Happy Birthday Noah!

Here is a few pics from Noah's party last weekend.

Noah had a blast with his uncles. Here he is spraying Uncle Denny. He thought it was sooo funny.

Talking to his little friend Claire. He is so gentle with her.

MMMM Choo Choo Cake

Time Flies

We just finished having Noah's 2nd birthday party. It was a beautiful day and Noah was surrounded by everyone who loves him. He had all of his grandparents and great-grandparents, all of his uncles (unfortunately his aunts were not able to make it this year), and his good friend Theo. A few of our friends even stopped by to celebrate with Noah. Noah had a blast. He ate Choo Choo cake, played in the sandbox and water table, snacked on m&ms and goldfish, and drank a lot of juice, pop and lemonade. I am surprised he doesn't have a belly ache after that meal.

As I watched my son today, I am reminded of how fast these young years go by. I have tears in my eyes as I write this. I am afraid to blink because he will be 18 and going to college or 40 and getting married (hehehehe). It just doesn't seem fare. Why do they need to grow up so fast? It seems like yesterday I was bringing him home from the hospital and rocking him to sleep.

This week at MOPS, we talked about having Christ as our center and our focus, not our kids, husband, jobs, etc. Our children are a gift from God, but they are on loan. We have them for a little while to shape and mold them and then we are suppose to give them back to him and let them go out into this world. Noah is a gift and I love him so much and I am excited to teach him to love people, love this world, and have Christ as his center. That is my prayer for him today on his 2nd bday.

Learning to love Cooking

As many of you know, I am not the best cook. However, I am learning. I read a few food blogs to help me out and I have enjoyed trying new recipes. Above is a picture of the Kung Pao Chicken I made for Peter. He LOVES it. We have to make almost weekly if possible. Noah likes it too. If I know Noah is eating it I make it a little less spicy. The Kung Pao Chicken usually has green table onions on top but on this day I didn't have any. We have started adding carrots to it too.

Here's the recipe. Hope you like it.

Ingredients
3 T vegetable oil
1 lb chicken
1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced thin
1/2 c roasted unsalted peanuts
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 T grated fresh ginger
1 t red pepper flakes (1/4t if you're cooking for kids)
3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 (3-ounce) packages ramen noodles, seasoning packets discarded
2 T hoisin sauce
1 T rice vinegar
2 t toasted sesame oil
4 scallions, sliced thin

Instructions
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 T of oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add chicken and cook until done. Transfer to a clean bowl.

Add remaining T oil to skillet and return to medium-high heat until shimmering. Add bell pepper and peanuts and cook until pepper is softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl with chicken.

Add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes to oil left in skillet and return to medium-high heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth. Break bricks of ramen into small chunks and add to skillet. Bring to simmer and cook, tossing ramen constantly with tongs to separate, until ramen is just tender but there is still liquid in pan, about 2 minutes.

Random Pics for the Grandparents

The Fair!!!!

Last Sunday we decided to brave the fair with 2 little ones. It was a perfect cool morning and not too busy until around lunch time when we left. Noah had a blast. He loved the tractors and all of the barns. When we were visiting the horse barn, a horse neighed in Noah's face. He still talks about how the horse neighed and he was scared. Too cute. We had mini donuts, milk shakes, turkey legs, and tacos. Sorry there isn't pics of Emme. She was asleep in the carrier most of the time.

Happy 3 Months Emme!

It's only been three months but it seems like Emme has been apart of our lives forever. She is a great fit for our family and an easy baby. She is a good sleeper, good eater, and overall a happy baby. Last night Emme slept through the night for the first time. I put her down at 8:30 and she woke up this morning at 6 am. I hope this is a sign of whats to come.