Ephesians 6: 13-17

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

For family night we decided to talk about ways to protect our kids from the bad things that are out there. So we turned to Ephesians, got out the cardboard box, and made Jeff into a little warrior.

Scott was the architect... and I must say he makes a mean shield and sword.

I claim the helmet. Not too exciting... but if you know me, you also know that I am no crafty, creative person.

Jeff loved the sword the most. Thankfully, all eyes are still in tact at our house. (note: the sword is just a kitchen spoon and isn't sharp)

Scott turned out to be a pretty cute little warrior too. :) Isn't he adorable?!?

After it was all over, Jeff tore everything apart and we had the lesson. It was a great night. I think my hubby is the cutest daddy ever. He loves to roughhouse and all that fun stuff that little boys love.

Snow!!!

Okay... I know he is a year and a half old... but I think this is Jeff's first experience of actually "playing" in snow. He was too little last year. After reading my friend Shawna's post, I decided to give it a try. I layers, and bundled, and took the plunge. I shoveled the snow to make a path, and he never left that path. He tried to help shoveling, but found it to be a lot harder than sweeping. He loves to help.

So far, he likes it... but then he put his hand in it (he wouldn't keep his gloves on). Eventually, it turned into a cry fest with me rocking my sweet boy until he stopped howling. Being born in California, I guess he has a lot of that still in him. More than I thought.

Later he really liked watching our landlord as he used the snow blower. Much more his style.

Speaking of style, isn't he just the cutest kid ever. I combed his hair today and it almost did what it was supposed to do. He has unruly hair like his dad. :) Oh, and on a side note, Jeff says baby now. He points to my tummy, pats it affectionately (sometimes with hostility) and says "Bebe". Too cute!!!

What have I been doing?

I'm getting into scrapbooking. This is my first page. It is from my trip to Holland after I graduated from high school. My friend has all the stuff, and I mean all of of it. She told me she would help me put it together if I would help her use up some of her material. What a deal!



I've also been busy lately... working on a quilts for the boys' room. I am making patchwork matching quilts for thier beds. I might do a wall hangning or something in the same colors... but I'm just gonna take it one project at a time.

Jeff likes it... or did he just want to get closer to the camera?



I've also been hanging out with this kid. He is such a fun little guy. He is talking more and more. But all of his words sound a lot alike. "Uh-oh", "Night night", "Bye bye", "Mom", "Dadad", "Ewe"... so on second thought maybe he isn't saying too much, but he has cute facial expressions. And he sings. He likes to sleep without a shirt on. And he is just cute... what more can I say.

This is all it takes to make an ordinary day into a romantic evening.
1. Sparkling Cider ($6)
2. Candle ($5)
3. Fondue Pot ($10- $20) I highly recommend that every married couple invest in one of these babies.

I found a great cheese fondue recipe. Scott likes it better than the one at the Melting Pot. I will include the link to it. I made a few changes. Instead of white wine, I used chicken broth. Instead of a tomato peeled, cored, and seeded (it makes me tired just writing it down) I used a little salsa. I will also include the bread recipe that was super easy and perfect as well as a pound cake recipe that is awesome in the chocolate.

Cheese Fondue
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Badgers-Cheddar-and-Ranch-Fondue/Detail.aspx

French Bread for dipping
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/French-Bread/Detail.aspx

Yellow pound cake for dipping in the chocolate
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Yellow-Pound-Cake/Detail.aspx

Late night

For any of you who know me well, you might know that I am not a night owl. In fact, I often don't make it to night time. Lately, I have been going to bed at about 9:30 each night. I know, I know, you can call me grandma. :)

So, last night Scott and I were staying up into the late, late evening (10 p.m.) talking about baby names and this is a conversation we had...

Scott: Lots of people call me Steve instead of Scott. I don't get it.

Me: Whats wrong with Steve?

Scott: I don't know, it always seemed like a nerdy name to me.

Me: Huh, (in slurred speech) no one has ever accidentally called me Steve... (and then I break into uncontrollable laughter)

Scott: Wow, great insight... thanks for participating.

As you can imagine, I had a good long laugh and then promptly passed out into a deep sleep.

Family

My parents have been here for the last week. It has been so great to spend time with them and show them what life is like for us here in Jersey.

Unfortunately, Jeff has been as sick as he has ever been. He has a cough, fever, and runny nose. He has had it for about five days now. Hopefully he will come out of it soon. My mom was a gem and took care of him much of the time. She watched him while we went to church. I don't know what we would have done without her. I couldn't miss because I was the only one there from the primary presidency and Scott couldn't miss because he had to accompany a musical number as well as play the organ during the meeting. She was such a lifesaver. She also helped me hem my drapes in one of our rooms.

My dad was great too. He spent all kinds of time getting everything fixed from the car to the chair in the dining room. He was pretty handy and now my house feels that much more put together.

It wasn't all work and no play. We also went into the city one day. We went to the Museum of Natural History, Stomp (a percussion show), and on the Staten Island Ferry where they got to see the Statue of Liberty. All in all I think we wore them out.

So, I guess this post is a tribute to my parents and the wonderful people they are. They teach me so much every time I am around them. I hope I can be the same kind of parent to Jeff that my parents have been to me.

Jeff as a baby

Here is a little memory from the past. Jeff is about a month and a half old here. No one believes me when I tell them that my little blond-haired boy was born with dark hair. Here is the proof.