shh i’m in class.

sis + sis

where have we been? hate when life gets too busy to write. no worries though, we are back in action. things have just been plain crazy. between school + my market colors internship + k’s scare i’ve just barely had time to breathe. my graphic design classes are kickin’ my butt. but i finally enjoy what i’m learning. (now can i graduate?) in other news, i got a new car!!! so incredibly thankful that God worked that out. now i can sit at a red light without having to pray i make it through the intersection without my car overheating. it’s the little things. ruby (yes, that’s her name. way cooler than a name like hefe… sorry stef) is a stick so that has been… an adventure. i’ve only stalled a few times out on the real road. people honk. i smile and wave, then start her up again. i’m a work-in-progress.

 

 and more exciting news, i just got hired at rifle paper co.! i know beck, i’m flipping out too. stef, you’ll soon see why. rifle has the cutest prints ever and i’m so inspired by their design. days are slowly getting better + less stressful as i can see the end of school coming. k has been over a lot lately and it has been the best thing ever and has made my stressful days sweeter. all he wants to do is run around and catch minnows and giggle. i could just eat him up. it’s seriously incredible to see him eating and being silly and walking!!! god was just being typical him and going beyond answering the prayers we were praying and blew our minds with k’s healing. we are so thankful to have presh back.

 

(side note, every tuesday i do a social media fast. but i sacrificed today just for the sake of the blog #yourwelcome)

 

okay now before my teacher notices, i have to go back to pretending to pay attention. don’t tell mom!

 

catch y’all on the flip side!

 

speechless.

stef & sam,

 

my sistas! eeesh it’s been too long since i’ve written! i am just sitting here tonight contemplating how gracious our God is. i am speechless. opened all the windows today and all the doors and just let the sunshine come in. it was windy and wonderful. it was a farmer’s market slash zoo day. picked up some homemade soap, raw milk for the mr. and some yummy olive salad and pesto. k ran around yelling “eeek eeek, ants! bugs!” ran into an old friend from high school who informed me that our ten year reunion is in october. whaaat? surely I am not that old. the zoo was so much fun too! saw the new giraffe exhibit which was really neat. also a sweet angel of a woman from j’s work gave me an in-home massage that i had yesterday. i felt like a queen. his amazing company continues to bless us with all they have done since k got sick. so like i said… it’s been a really nice weekend and it’s not even over yet.

 

 

it is incredibly hard to believe that today was k’s two week anniversary of being out of the hospital. what a journey. from being intubated, on a feeding tube, with three iv’s and barely able to hold up his head… to walking, talking, smiling, singing and dancing in two weeks! no therapy yet either! he goes for at least 5 appointments each week now, which is a lot, but the doctors are amazed and happy with his progress. this week we have a neurology appointment to try to put a name to his metabolic/neurologic condition. the thing is though, we know there is something to this because the GAPS diet is for just that- “gut and psychology syndrome.” it’s a diet for the nameless stomach issues that also correlate with psychological problems. so many disorders have been thrown around but no one really has a name for k’s condition. which is fine with me – his diet is literally healing his body. with a lower carb diet we have seen enormous progress up until he got whatever virus he had (the doctors still don’t know what it was) and was hospitalized. now we are just reintroducing foods one at a time until he can tolerate more. He will also be having therapy for chewing since he struggles a bit still. although tonight he did eat olives, zucchini sticks, homemade applesauce with coconut oil, and meatballs and egg yolks. he’s packing on the pounds! we will continue to feed him a GAPS/paleo/lower carb diet as this, we believe, is the key to health. he is thriving without grains and sugar. his allergy tests have so far revealed allergies to peanuts, egg whites, and wheat gluten. he is having some flares of eczema again so we are using a combination of young living oils/epsom salt baths to draw out the toxins. we are working with a nutritionist who has us keeping a food journal daily of what he is eating. food has a profound effect on our health. who knew? seems like an obvious thing but little k has proven that to us. 

 

 

 

all i have to say is if you are a mommy (or a daddy) – you know your child. keep fighting for them because you are their greatest advocates. they need you!

 

 

here is our new prayer board! today it fell and hit k In the head during lunch. he cried and daddy said we better add him to the board now. today we prayed for sweet elliot. it’s been amazing to see the outpouring of prayers for k, and we want to bless others with that gift. and speaking of bumping his head…we had another head injury incident after dinner. we had a picnic and rented frozen. highly recommend it. k is starting to potty train and pointed to his diaper to signal impending poop. so I grabbed him and raced to the potty and was so excited and proud and accidentally bumped k’s head into the wall. So he did his business while crying. #momoftheyear

alas, it was nothing a little larabar and stars wars sticker couldn’t fix.

 

this verse keeps swirling through my head. “I have set The Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad…” -psalm 16:8. life isn’t perfect. i sort of thought we’d have more kids by now, a perfectly happy marriage, and that I would be more organized. and I certainly never would have planned for all these terrible health issues. but I am learning that despite circumstance… He is God. and I am not. and desperate attempts to control are pointless. so in the words of elsa… “let it go… the perfect girl is gone.” thankful I have an amazing savior who forgives me, delights in me, and makes me whole. tootles, sissies!

check out this amazing little girl singing that song!

 

can we freeze time? (and a recipe!)

sam & stef,

where my sista’s at? it’s been too long! stef… we’re so excited you’ll be here in a few days! k has been talking my ear off about you and s! so hop in that car and just drive 10 hours and GET HERE, ok? no big deal!

these days things are so sweet i would like to freeze time. i am exhausted and loving every exhausting minute of my exhausting life. i am up at 5 to greet the day and start cooking. i used to hate cooking. the GAPS diet has given us such results i would cook like this for the rest of my life if i had to. i run the dishwasher 3 times each day, just to give you an idea of how much time i spend in my kitchen! k is nothing but smiles and naughtiness and laughter and CONSTANT talking. the boy who rarely smiled or said a word… he is blowing us away. my little side gig is taking off and i love love love it. we could not be more thankful for what God is and has been doing in our little family. we have walked through the valley for sure, and are thankful for every ounce of joy we’ve gotten to experience these days.

 

grammy and bop got some new baby ducks. k had a little incident where he almost popped one. they are so fuzzy and sweet and we can’t wait to release them into the pond to swim. we have been doing a lot of bird/duck/fish feeding. definitely a fav of k’s.

 

so my side gig… there is so much money to be made in direct sales. i love the ladies i work with and i love setting my own hours, being my own boss, and setting and meeting my goals. i love that i can lay k down for a nap and “work” while i fold laundry. it’s so perfect for our life and is helping us pay down our debt. our goal is to be debt free by january 2014. we are following dave ramsay’s model and we’re so excited. goodbye student loans, hello more money for groceries!!

like i said, k has been doing amazing, and so have i. we still eat a very limited diet, but we get all the vitamins and minerals, fat, and protein we need from this nutrient-dense diet. i’ve truly never felt better! all 3 of us have been taking betaine hcl for digestive support. these little guys work wonders. as we age, our stomach acid levels lower due to parasites (candida) and inflammation. these contain pepsin, which is a digestive enzyme created by the pancreas. many people report huge improvements in digestion after taking betaine hcl. try it and see!

 

how about a new recipe?! made this for j tonight and he really liked it. we got some delicious pork sausage from the local co-op we are part of, farmfreshdirect2u. i whipped up this little dish complete with homemade soy sauce (sans gluten) and it got the seal of approval from j. i always ask him to rate my meals on a scale of 1-10 and he gave this one an 8. could have been because i wore a cute pink apron. either way, he said it was good.

asian pork stir fry

time – 15 minutes

ingredients

1 lb organic pork sausage

1 bag organic frozen assorted veggies

3 T soy sauce (3 tsp. molasses + 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar = 1 T soy sauce)

4 T homemade chicken stock (or water)

4 T sesame oil

2 tsp. minced fresh ginger

5 cloves minced fresh garlic

Instructions:

In a dish, mix ground pork with 1 tsp. oil, 1 T soy sauce, and a little salt to taste. Set aside. 
In a small bowl mix 2 Tablespoon soy sauce and water or chicken stock. Set aside.
In a large frying pan or wok, heat 2 Tablespoons oil until smoking. Add veggies and fry for 7-8 minutes, moving/mixing around almost the entire time, until browned and softened. Transfer veggies to a large bowl. Place 2 T more oil in your pan and add your ground pork. Fry the sausage until brown, stirring often. Add ginger and garlic when pork is about 1/2 cooked. When fully cooked, add veggies back in, along with the broth/soy sauce mixture. Heat through and serve. 

i love you my sweet sisters! ciao!

meet indy.

i could probably stop there. we.are.obsessed. indyana jones, she is the sweetest. s surprised me with her last friday and we can’t get enough! basically my obsession has turned into: laundry? eh. what laundry? dinner? sorry s. even the bed has gone un-made if i am being totally honest. sweeping, funny how that doubled. i think i will slip back into reality next week. stay tuned for her halloween costume. and that’s how quickly we turn into “those people.”

this is scotty and our strict no-indy-in-the-bed rule the morning after we got her. notice the black dog and white sheets.

#sorryimnotsorryforpostingthispicture

all is well here. obviously. trussville is finally home.  i remember this time last year feeling so lonely. i remember watching the leaves change and finally understanding what noel was talking about when she said “seasons changing make me anxious.” for me, it was holding on to those little pieces of past and not welcoming this new season ahead. i felt so out of control and it was so like god to humble me to my knees and embrace his sweet plans. #notwithoutafight. why do i even entertain the idea of “knowing more than Him?” thankful for a got of redemption who makes everything beautiful. i married the most incredible man who loved me through those few months and cared for me so well. its fun to look back now, a year later, and see how the Lord is so good. the leaves changing this year excite me.

here is a diy project that i have been working on #notreallyworkingon #alliwanttodoisplaywithindy. it will soon be a map for our wall. stay tuned for a finished product pic. right now i just really want you to think i am super talented and drew the map. i didn’t. instead i have blisters from tracing it onto what home depot told me was soft wood. hey home depot. it’s not.

 i have gone back to my strict paleo diet and yet again wonder why i ever drift away. it could be the, i don’t know, enormous grocery bill, or the picky eater it makes me seem like, or the fact that drinking apple cider vinegar, eating brussel sprouts, spinach and sausage for breakfast is not normal. but hello again energized days, happy heart, working brain and settled stomach. still waiting for s to let me join crossfit. kinda feel like paleo and cf go together. can’t have one without the other. s isn’t buying it. here is a yummy recipe that has worked its way into our meal planning. http://paleoparents.com/2011/stuffed-pork-chops/

(picture from http://paleoparents.com)

can’t wait to see my sistas in 2 weeks! Let the wedding festivities begin!

snickers + scripture

beck & stef,

where my sistas at? really could have used some sister time this past week. let’s just say, my car overheated three different times, i shattered the screen on my phone, paid for a repair, and then had to get it replaced two more times because the new screen was messing up. i’m happy to report there were only two sobbing phone calls made to mom (the rest of the sobbing was done in the quiet of my room). having to deal with all this grown-up stuff on my own is no fun #growingupisoverrated. i have never appreciated dad’s handy-man-ness so much.

so this here is what has been getting me through the past week :

i am really learning that sometimes you just have to admit that things are stinky. and then trust god to do what he does best, and not try to figure out on your own how things are going to workout. because that is just silly. who am i to think that i can even begin to imagine what god is going to do? so that verse is the message version, but it has brought me a lot of comfort this past week. and later on in jude he calls us as believers to “persevere as we wait for the mercy of the lord.” so that’s what my week looks like, I’m just praying and persevering.

luckily, in the midst of all the craziness of my week, j came to my rescue (when doesn’t he?). we had the happiest of weekends here. 2 ½ days flew by, but we packed them full of every fun thing we could think of. we went out for our traditional sushi date, saw a movie, walked on the beach at night, did sparklers on my street and topped off the weekend with a signature j+s photoshoot.

Here’s a few of our best shots.

i’m off to pretend to study. see y’all for sister time + wedding festivities in 17 days!

lylas

duck pond.

stef & sam,

i am writing to you with the sounds of zombies shrieking in the background. it’s slightly distracting. j can’t get enough of walking dead. halloween is by far his favorite holiday so he is on cloud 9 these days with all the pumpkin carving and orange lights and spooky-ness in the air.

k and i have been going to the duck pond like it’s our job. every day he asks to go feed them bread. then he holds the bread, plays the drums on it, puts it on his head, and makes bread balls to throw to the duckies. he then always proceeds to tell me “mommy, bread…tummy hurt, sick.” he is the best listener. how many times have i told him that he and i can’t have bread?  he reminds me not to worry and that he knows in our family, bread is for the birds 🙂 today he had a massive come-apart complete with kicking, screaming, and growling. ended up laying him on the floor to do his thang and then he got up, came in, and said, “hi mommy.”  i’m thankful for tantrums these days. i might be the most thankful mother on the planet. can almost guarantee that. this boy has progressed leaps and bounds since last year. i am amazed God let me be his mom because he is one heck of a little fighter. added another new food and no reaction this time – butter! let’s give a big shout out to paula deen.

fall is the best time of year to eat the way we do. tons of soups and stews and lots of nourishing bone broth. i made j this yummy shrimp recipe tonight. super fast and easy and s would love it, stef! also, my favorite go-to easy meal these days… a smoothie packed with nutrition. try it girls, try it! i promise the raw egg/salmonella thing isn’t something to worry about! i have eaten at least 6 raw eggs daily for the last few months. and i have put on 8 pounds! k and i have tried so hard to gain weight and it’s finally happening! it’s all that good fat we’re eating. #fatdoesn’tmakeyoufat! #ipromise!

below you will find a card send from none other than our mother to little k. he got it in the mail today and was so happy. apparently grammy is a little sidetracked with the wedding and everything, because this was her message. see if you can find the blooper. pfffff. sorry i’m not sorry, mom. #loveyousillymama

girls, the roller is available! at wholesale price and only available through halloween! i am loving this rodan + fields side gig. it’s so fun to work with leslie and all these other amazing women. and it doesn’t take up much of my time – super part time and flexible and perfect for being a stay at home mom. don’t squeal but j loves the products. we used the macro the other night…had a little dead skin cells party. he was impressed.

i miss you two like whoah. g’night.

think pink.

stef,

how sad are you right now that we are living it up sister style and you are oh-so-far away? harsh, i know. beck and k made the trek up to see me and they will be bringing me home tomorrow so we can celebrate our soon-to-be sister’s wedding shower. i am going to wear heels in attempts to walk like a lady and not a football player.

speaking of heels… beck has been whining for weeks that she couldn’t find gold heels for the wedding. i took her to the monstrosity of a DSW that we have here in the ol’ town center and…bam. there they were. k ran around peeking in every shoe box screaming “batman!” “coffee!” not sure how those two are related but he was the funniest little moog in the store. ok, so do you have these boots? we saw a knock-off pair at ross for $25! don’tcha wish you hadn’t paid full price? they had them in beck’s size but she did the sister thang and wouldn’t even try them on because they didn’t have my size. #makingsisterpoints

we stopped at the pumpkin patch so k could pick out a “punk” for my coffee table. he was extremely indecisive and particularly obsessed with the stemless pumpkins.

so blew my stinkin’ mind away to watch k eat. i remember the days when he would cry and refuse all food… there really is something to this GAPS diet beck won’t shut up about. i couldn’t believe hearing him talk in sentences and watching him run around so happy. he has come so far from the “blah” days he used to have when mom and i used to babysit. it broke my heart to see him have such little energy and it is so refreshing to see how God has used this diet to transform our nephew’s life! he actually instructed me on how to buckle his stupid space carseat when i couldn’t figure it out. #babymamadrama

right now we are watching How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, though neither of us actually want to lose the gems we got, am i right? it’s only half sister time without our third sister. and let’s call this tbtuesday and head on back to the “pink days” with none other than barbie herself. holy mother of pink i can’t believe there was a music video all along.

here are a few more pics of our shenanigans tonight. lots of love.

sunny and 75.

sam & stef,

have ya’ll heard that new song by joe nichols – sunny and 75? love it. and that was basically today. peeked my head out this morning and was greeted by – a surprisingly cool wind. so i made k finish his breakfast super fast so we could run to the park and enjoy it! there was this sweet older woman sitting on a bench beside me and k while he threw rocks in the pond, and she had her grandson with her. out of nowhere she just started encouraging me and talking about Jesus and how his yolk is easy and his burden is light. made me tear up right then and there, because i needed to hear that today.  i love when you meet people who just can’t help but talk about Jesus. 

made some broth today. here’s my recipe. super delicious and hearty and full of minerals and nutrients. we make soup with it, and when i’m out and have to use water to make soup, it just doesn’t taste the same. #canwesaysnob? here’s our fav soup these days: spaghetti (squash) soup. deeelish. yes, those are chicken feet and heads in that pot. i know, crazy. but they make for a super gelatinous broth! if you don’t believe me that you should be making your own broth… you shouldread this, believe me, and start making your own broth. Ha.

k is rocking and rolling with the potty training. cracks me up because sometimes all he can do is get out a drip, but he tries so hard that i give him a sticker anyway. here he is adding to his new potty chart. this boy is the sweetest.

we took k to the pumpkin patch tonight! he ran around like a crazy man from pumpkin to pumpkin. we kept telling him to pick one out but he was too excited to stop and focus to pick one up. in his words: “punk patch, punk patch!”

stef, j and i listened to the sermon you sent us last night. great reminder that we forgive because we’ve been forgiven.  we planned to have a nice night together and after we listened to the sermon we started watching new girl and i fell asleep. ugh i am just like you stef… 9:30 hits and my eyelids won’t stay open. p.s. i’m pretty convinced one ms. jessica day is the reason i took the plunge and got bangs. lol.

so tomorrow’s my business launch party for rodan +fields! wishing so much that my sisters could be here! i love you both to pieces and really miss you. as mom would say ” i have a tear in one eye” right about now. ta ta for now.

 

 

 

the third sister lives

stef & beck.

it’s my first post! indeed, the third sister does live. jax has been treating me pretty well. on most days i wear my bathing suit under my clothes to school so i can go read some sweet beth moore at the beach right after class. i’m not hating this summery october weather. sorry you two.

i got to go to gville this past weekend to see j. we had way too much fun together. and he took me to the gator game. beck, k would have loved it. we’ll have to take him to a game sometime. in other not-so-fun news, my car decided to get really hot and stop working while i was there. thank goodness j was there to take care of everything because us sisters don’t know the first thing about cars. since his car has been broken too, we were both car-less for the weekend. but that didn’t stop him from making me dinner. he ran all the way to winn-dixie to buy the ingredients to make a chicken parmesan and noodles dinner. complete with cookie dough ice cream for dessert. isn’t he just the sweetest?

counting down the days until sister time.

toodle-oo

feeling fall.

s & b,

only have a second. so what do i post about? food.

s and i were super fallish yesterday. scratch that. i was. maybe it was spending the day before in auburn. all those fun fall outfits and boots. or maybe it was the rainy day yesterday that we knew would leave us today with some fall feeling weather. actually now that i am thinking about it, it was that canned pumpkin that you left here last time you were up. yep.

sunday morning brought savory smells of pumpkin pancakes and coffee. i found a yummy recipe from jans website and tweaked it a little to make it paleo (more on that later).

here is the recipe: makes 4

Ingredients

• 2 large organic free range eggs
• 1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (i used local organic honey)
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2/3 cup almond flour
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 2 teaspoons ghee or butter, melted (i used coconut oil)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

 Instructions

1. Heat a small, heavy skillet over medium heat; add the pecans and toast, shaking the pan frequently and taking care they do not burn, until the nuts are fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Toss them with the melted ghee and salt and set
2. aside. Chop coarsely oncey they have cooled.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla until well-blended. In a smaller, separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour, salt and baking soda. Stir the dry ingredients into the
4. wet ingredients, mixing just enough to ensure there are no lumps.
5. Lightly grease a griddle with your fat of choice (butter, lard, coconut oil, etc) and heat just until a drop of water placed on the griddle sizzles briefly before evaporating. Using a ladle or small measuring cup, pour the batter by
6. the scant 1/4 cupful onto the griddle and cook just until bubble appear on the surface. Carefully flip and cook on the other side until the pancake is done, about one minute more.
7. Place on a plate, cover and keep warm; repeat the previous steps until all of the batter has been used. Top with the buttered pecans and serve warm with additional maple syrup, if desired.

these were ah.maz.ing. s bought me mums and a pumpkin for our front porch and i got all out all things fall decorations and we spent the rest of our lazy rainy day feeling fallish.

ok. ready for the reason for this post?

paleo.pumpkin.pie.latte. yes. you heard that right. sorry starbucks. you’ve got nothing on this. it was even s approved. i found the recipe here. if you don’t already follow just eat real food you should.

paleo pumpkin pie latte (makes 2)

1 tbs canned organic pumpkin
2 tbs organic vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon, ground
1 cup organic milk
1/2 cup strong coffee, or 1/4 cup espresso

In a saucepan, heat milk and pumpkin until steaming. Stir in vanilla and cinnamon. Put mixture in a blender, and blend for 15-20 seconds until thick and foamy. Pour into tall glass, then add coffee (or espresso). Top with a sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice or ground nutmeg.

in other words. thanks for the canned pumpkin you left me!

tootles.