Sisters know best. A Birthday filled with love.

Sisters know best. Or should I say siblings?

It was the eve of my birthday when I found three...yes, three!...letters for me from two of my sisters and my brother, wishing me a Happy Birthday. Not only did I feel blessed, but I felt loved because all of them are currently traveling or living away from their home. But they still remembered me. Receiving calls, texts, emails, and small gifts from my parents, other siblings, and friends truly made the day extra special.

I really enjoyed everything I did to celebrate my special day. We began it with a yummy breakfast of baked eggs in avocado, grapefruit, sauteed red cabbage, and cultured salsa. I enjoyed being able to eat good food with my husband.

Before dinner, Marshall and I went to the shooting range to shoot our Christmas gingerbread house. It was time for it to go to the grave, and shooting it with a .22 is so much more exciting than tossing it in the dumpster. Plus, don't we all need an excuse to shoot something?

As much as I love having people over for parties, I needed a quiet celebration (so much so that I didn't even blow out any candles). I made an Indian dinner of Saag Paneer, homemade naan, rice pilaf, and steamed buttered carrots. There is a lot of satisfaction in creating a meal where everything is homemade, including the cheese and bread.

I know the meal was a success because when I asked Marshall, "So how did you like this vegetarian meal?" he answered with, "this was vegetarian?" oh yeah. sweet success!

We all know Indian food doesn't look very appetizing. But I happen
to be a huge fan of it. So just pretend you can taste the amazingness of it!

Dessert was a succulent, full-bodied dark chocolate cake, topped with real whipped creme fraiche. What I loved about this cake was how nutrient dense it was. It was made with real eggs, butter, and homemade dark chocolate. The leftovers will be savored ever so slowly :).

Of course a birthday wouldn't be a birthday without silly pictures!

Fishie face!

Trying to attempt a straight face. It didn't really work.

My mother and sister-in-law made an awesome hat and scarf and we were
just having fun being silly.

And Marshall was a good sport to let us take a
picture of him too :) Gotta love that boy.

Comments

Hoping for a Rainbow

I'm really not sure if I ever thought this day would come. The day that I made it past 13 weeks pregnant without losing the baby. #miracle. I know I am not out of the woods yet, and honestly, when are we really? I am just trying to live every day with gratitude for the life inside of me, living with hope for the future. Part of me wanted to wait until next week, when I was past 14 weeks and officially in the 2nd trimester, but I couldn't wait any longer. I've been getting a little thick in the middle, which is getting more difficult to hide, and I feel like I haven't been able to be completely honest with friends when they would ask, "how are you doing?" All I wanted to talk about was how nauseous I was or how nervous I felt. So now, the news is out, whether or not you already suspected something was up. Seriously though, the 1st trimester is not for the faint of heart! There were many instances when I thought I would lose the baby, but dee...

I'm Pregnant! .....

...or so I thought. And you did too. Happy April Fools Day! I had been having baby dreams and feeling nauseous on and off during spring break, and I knew I would test immediately when I returned home from our road trip. The test was barely visible and I didn't believe it, so I said nothing to Marshall. That night I had a dream where the next pregnancy test I took was a solid double line. Well, two days after the first test, I got my obvious positive. I was so excited. Not knowing if it would be a good pregnancy or not, I tested again two days later and the line was darker, so I felt confident. The past two pregnancies I miscarried at approximately 6 or 7 weeks both times, so I was pretty nervous about this one. What if it happened again? Would I be strong enough? Knowing that I needed extra strength and prayers, I asked roughly 40 of our family and closest friends to fast and pray with us on Easter Sunday. That Sunday I was on the top of the world. I felt so strong an...

The Power of a Slice of Bacon

Nothing to do with a Army PT test, but this was at the "Beat Beethoven 5K" on the 13th of April I have always been a big supporter of setting personal goals and making a plan to follow through with them, especially when it comes to athletics and performance. But I also know that these goals really are a personal endeavor, and no one can make another accomplish the goal. The motivation and effort has to come from the individual setting the goal. But I may be wrong. A slice of bacon might have the power to help a person accomplish a certain goal. Let me explain. Ever since my husband entered the Army, just shy of 2 years ago, he has been saying he was going to get a perfect score of 300 on his PT test. I believed in him, and kept waiting for him to come home from his PT tests with that perfect score. But he seemed to always come shy of the elusive 300, by just a couple of points. How could I help hi...

Tender Mercies

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