Grateful

Some people have an amazing gift--GENEROSITY. It's a gift that I'd like to say I possess at times, but one that I definitely need to continue developing. During my life I've seen many instances in which generosity was humbly and thankfully received by others... And other moments in which I've instead been on the side of the unexpecting recipient. This holiday season has been one of the latter for our family, and herein lies the purpose of this post.

Do those of you who employ this marvelous gift understand how much you bless the lives of others? Can you see in your mind's eye the expressions of surprise and gratitude that your actions and words inspire? Do you allow that gratitude to buoy you up and consistently remind you of your own great worth? You create smiles of surprise, joyful tears, warm hearts and thankful thoughts. Your thoughtfulness alone adds much to the hearts and minds of those you serve and successfully shares the great gift of love that all people so desperately crave. You demonstrate the good in humanity and inspire others to elevate themselves to your level. You are the embodiment of the phrase "Christ-like". You are His hands, and we aspire to be like you. So to all of you "givers" who both in name and anonymously share yourselves with us, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We are utterly, completely and intensely GRATEFUL.

#4 is due in May.

Let's all shout, "Hip, hip, hooray!"

I realize that I haven't blogged for six months now. Sigh... Life happens, and truthfully, I'd much rather focus on enjoying it than writing about it. However, now that Matthew is nearing the 7-month mark, I feel like we're finally falling into a routine that allows me to sit down and take a few extra breaths every now and then. This afternoon I am having one of those precious moments, so I decided to pull up the old blog and get back into the swing of things.

For Mother's Day Andy promised to take me on a lunch date. We've gotten busy and the time has flown by since then. He decided that it was time to make good on his gift, so he set up the babysitting (that's half the gift right there!) and took me to The Chef's Table for lunch yesterday. I'm not sure that there's a word that adequately describes this exquisite dining experience. Wow doesn't quite say it... but "WOW!!" If you've never been to The Chef's Table (like I hadn't) I highly recommend saving your pennies (it will take quite a few) and making the trip. From the moment we walked in I felt as though I had been transported to a world more refined and elegant than our own. (What? Baby spit-up and granola bar crumbs stuck in the carpet aren't elegant?) From the soothing piano music to the fresh red roses on each table, it is a haven of sophistication. The walls are covered in beautiful artwork. There was a candelabra burning in the large fireplace near our table. And the exquisite lighting is peaceful yet bright enough to easily read the menu and enjoy the atmosphere as a whole. Perhaps my favorite part of the ambiance was the noise. There wasn't any! Andy and I could talk to each other without having to raise our voices over the din of kitchen clatter or patron conversation.

The server followed proper etiquette to the point of placing my napkin (half-folded) on my lap for me and placing an open menu in my hands instead of slapping it on the table in front of me. He never made us feel rushed by attempting to clear our plates before we were finished. Our water glasses where re-filled each time they approached the half-full mark yet we weren't bombarded with questions about how our food tasted or if there was anything else that could be gotten for us.

And then there was the food..... Ah, yes, it was worth all those extra pennies. The first thing that the server brought for us was a delicious lemon ice/slush. I wish that I knew the appropriate name for this refreshing little concoction. (Does that show my own lack of sophistication? At least I know that it's meant to cleanse the pallate, right?) At any rate, it was superb. Then we were offered multi-grain or white dinner rolls with an herb and butter mixture. We ordered the coconut shrimp appetizer to begin with. I love shrimp but don't often order it due to the "fishy" flavor that it often has. This shrimp wasn't "fishy" in the least. It was served with a raspberry dipping sauce that we almost couldn't get enough of. For our entrees we ordered the prosciutto stuffed chicken and the herb chicken. Though everything was divine (and artfully served, I might add) the thing that impressed me the most was the flavor of the cream sauce and the fresh vegetables. I love vegetables, but again, I usually steer clear of them at restaurants. They usually taste funny. The carrots and zucchini in this meal were divine. I think that if I could make vegetables taste that good at home my kids would clamor to eat them.

So to sum up this rather lengthy post, The Chef's Table is a true fine dining "experience". The few extra dollars that you pay for the food more than cover the fine service and atmosphere that you are priveliged to enjoy while you are there. So for any of you moms out there who need a break from the sticky floors and pudding stained pajamas for a few hours, we'll watch your kids for you. This is a "break" that you definitely deserve!

Happy Birthday, Babe!

In honor of Andy's birthday I thought about making a list of all the wonderful qualities that he possesses. Though that list would be long and lovely, I thought that I'd twist the idea a bit and just share a few little random tid-bits about him that might not be as well-known but that I love just as much. Here goes.....

1. He loves to watch and quote movies. Challenge him to a quoting contest sometime, but you'd better "have your game on". He's pretty good!
2. When he's getting tired his left eye starts to droop.
3. He LOVES bread. Rolls, breadsticks, homemade bread.... you name it, he loves it.
4. He makes up great stories to tell the kids. My favorite parts of his stories are the character names he comes up with. They're pretty off-the-wall.
5. When he gets home from work each day he immediately asks me what he can do to help regardless of how spent he feels himself.
6. He never complains about changing diapers. In fact, I think that he has been the first to change each of our children's diapers in the hospital after they were born.
7. Each time I try a new recipe he says it might be one of his new favorites even if it didn't turn out very well.
8. He makes really funny comments "in code". I've finally learned to decipher his code and will sometimes "interpret" so that others can understand his jokes too.
9. He loves to watch hockey, but it has to be NHL. His favorite team is the Colorado Avalanche.
10. He likes to shovel the walks and driveway after it snows.
11. His dream home is a cabin nestled deep within a mountain forest somewhere surrounded by pine trees and as far away from civilization as possible.
12. He really practices the old adage, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without". He still insists upon wearing certain shoes even after the soles are so thin or broken that his feet are soaked at his first step into a puddle.
13. He has a sweet tooth!
14. He would rather "work out" by doing physical labor outdoors than going to a gym.
15. He loves ice cream but it has to be vanilla-based. He does NOT like any type of chocolate ice cream at all.
16. He never combs his hair. All he has to do is towel-dry it and then fix it with his fingers.
17. He's loves the game "Sorry" and will show you no mercy if you play it with him. He always wins!
18. He hates shopping. The few times he has shopped with me he starts to really drag after about an hour. Despite this he is still willing to do our grocery shopping sometimes and run errands for me whenever I ask him to.
19. He wears holes in his socks faster than anyone I've ever known. If you ever need a gift idea for him now you know what he always needs!
20. And of course, he is the best father and husband in the whole world, but I'm not biased. ;)

So, happy birthday, babe. I love you more than words can say. I hope that this is your best birthday yet!

Matthew's "BIG" Debut

We've finally welcomed baby Matthew into the world!! He successfully joined the 10-pound club weighing in at a healthy 10 pounds and 10 ounces. They measured him at 20.5 inches in the hospital, but we had our doubts about the accuracy of that number. So, we came home and stretched him out on the table to do a measurement of our own. He's a solid 22 inches long. He's adorable (but we're not biased) and sweet. He's got a little bit of jaundice, so we've had to put him in a special light bed since we've been home. However, his bilirubin levels are on the way down, and we are hoping to be able to return the "bili-bed" soon so that we can finally snuggle our bundle of joy as often as we would like to! Both Andy and I were surprised when this big boy came out with a head full of beautiful dark hair! It will be so fun to see if it stays dark or if it falls out and comes in blonde. So far he is mellow and pretty good tempered despite having to lay in a little "suitcase" with just his diaper on all day long. We feel extremely blessed to have this beautiful little man in our family.

Our New Baby..... "Carrier"

I hate the rollar coaster that comes with the end of pregnancy. One week the doctors tell me that my baby is so big that we may have to get him here sooner than expected and the next week they tell us that because I've had big babies in the past I should be fine to wait. At any rate, we don't have our baby here just yet, but will be anxiously awaiting his arrival this week. In the meantime, we have surrendered to the fact that we can not fit three car seats in the back of our current vehicle. For those of you who know us well, you know that purchases of more than about $50.00 are somewhat agonizing. We tend to research everything "to death". It took us six months to purchase our last car, but we are proud to say that we were a little bit quicker with the process this time. So after a lot of research, test driving and yes, agonizing, we've joined the ranks of mini-van families everywhere.


We opted for the Toyota Sienna in the end because of too many factors to delve into here. After a week of owning this beauty ( I must admit that they've made multiple improvements to the mini-van since I was a kid), we are really pleased with this purchase. It drives like a car, so I don't feel like I'm trying to maneuver a "boat" in parking lots or in the garage. It is SO easy to get the kids in and out of (not nearly as much lifting and bending as before). And what the kids like the most is that they can actually see out the windows. I think that they're amazed at how much they've been missing. While driving around on a rainy (yes, rainy) day last week Kaymi exclaimed, "Mommy! There's water on the road!" She's never been able to see the road from her car seat before. They love how much of the world has been opened to their view while traveling. Happy kids in the car = a happy mommy! So despite the fact that owning a mini-van makes me really start to feel old (as if turning 30 a few months back didn't really augment that), I love the comfort and the drive.

A Great Big Thanks

I just wanted to post a "thank you" to my friend, Erin, who recently re-designed the layout of this blog. I LOVE it. She is so wonderful to work with, and I highly recommend her to any of you who may be thinking about doing something like this with your blogs. So, congratulations, Erin on your fantastic new business!