The Life We Love: January 2011

Monday, January 31, 2011

Kathryn Hastings Photography

If you look to the right of my blog you will notice a new button. Thats mine! Best part is, i set the page all by myself! Getting pretty crafty theses days! I have a few more things to post like, photoshoots and the "all about me" section (that kind of page is always so difficult for me to do). The page will change periodically with new pictures and information. Grab my button and put it on your page. Check it out and let me know you think!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Fruits & Veggies

O is not a picky eater at all. In fact she will eat anything we eat, which is fantastic. I sometimes worry that she just isn't getting all the servings she should in a day. So i have started to make her organic fruit and vegetable smoothies. They are delicious and so easy to drink. You basically get all you need in one drink. Here is what i do:

1 cup of organic Skim Milk
1 Cup of organic frozen fruit (fresh fruit in Illinois is not that great right now and organic is so expensive)
organic Low Fat Vanilla Yogurt
1/2 cup of frozen organic Blue Berries
1/2 Cup of frozen Strawberries
1 organic banana
You can throw in any kinds of veggies you want. I like carrots, but get creative.
You can add a little agave in it to make it sweet.

This makes about two 12oz glasses full! Again it's amazing. Also if you are doing weight watchers it's like 4 points depending on how much milk and yogurt you use. Remember most fruits and veggies are now free. I like to eat this after a work out. It keeps me full and full of energy. I make one cup for me and one for O. She loves it. Its like a desert for her. Nothing better then a healthy dessert. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Friday, January 21, 2011

The Little Details That are so Special....

My daughter turned 2 yesterday. I had been thinking about her birth the whole day and how amazing it was and how amazed i am at who she has turned into, the sweet and hilarious things that come out of her mouth and how she knows to yell out AMEN after she prays with me before bed. She truly keeps me laughing every single day. Anyways i had been reminiscing and trying to remember all the details (details are the reason life changing events are so special), the little things that made that event so earth shattering.

As i was checking out facebook i noticed that one of our friends posted a picture of himself and his new daughter. WOW, you could just see how proud he was holding up his new daughter. I started thinking about that detail of both of my births. I remember B holding both girls taking that same picture and how excited, proud and amazed he was that he created this beautiful baby. The look in my husbands eyes were amazing. They melted my heart.

My second daughter was due on June 26th and decided to make her appearance on July 3 at 11:51pm, thats right 9 minutes before the 4th! The 4th of July just happens to be one of my husbands and my favorite holiday, second in fact to Christmas. So when W was born on the 3rd we knew we would miss all the festivities of the 4th. When we woke up on the 4th I turned to B as he was laying with our brand new baby girl and said why don't you go out and celebrate with all of our family and friends. He was reluctant at first, repeating how he didn't want to leave us. I insisted. So he went to his families house and bragged bragged bragged about his brand new baby girl and me. He then went to our neighborhood parade (our neighborhood is amazing and everyone has know everyone forever, they all knew my water broke right there on the street walking our 1.5 year old up and down it) so they were more then excited to see him. Everyone giving him high fives and throwing him beers. Everyone was genuinely excited for him/us. I can just see the HUGE smile that was on his face. It made me smile as i laid in the hospital bed with baby W.

To me one of the most amazing details of my births were the look in my husbands eyes. He was just totally in love instantly. You can tell he was so proud of what he had a major role in creating. Its when the daddies post the pictures of there little ones that just melt my heart and remind me of how the birth of a child touches the daddies a little differently then us mommies.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!

My first born O was born 2 years ago today. She is a true gift from God. She has changed my life forever. The love in my heart for her the minute she was born is a feeling i can not describe. The minute i heard that cry B and i couldn't stop crying. She ROCKED our world in the best way possible. I somehow in the matter of minutes became a brand new women. O is the light of our lives. She is a blessing from the Lord. She is my mini me. She is an amazing big sister. She is such a daddys girl! She has grown into such a little lady and i love her to pieces. Happy Birthday to the most Beautiful little two year old i have ever seen. O you are truly my heart walking outside of my body!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

4 Years Strong

   B and i celebrated our 4 year anniversary last week. It was a blast, we has dinner at a fondue restaurant in Lincoln Park called Gejas. It was fantastic! Then Brad surprised me with the cake we had on our wedding day (in a much much smaller version) and Champaign. Our cake was made by a bakery in Lake Forest called Gerhards. They are top notch so anything from there is amazing. While we were at dinner we talked about 4 years and what it meant to us. We were shocked at how fast it had gone by and how many life changing events had happened in that time, we were very busy:)
   B and i met the first week freshman year in college. It wasn't love at first sight, but there was defiantly something about him. I thought he was cocky and honestly i was nervous around him. Not many people can intimidate me, but he defiantly did. We became friends and then best friends and by senior year we were together all the time, on the phone for hours. Once we graduated we started dating a year later we were engaged and then married. We have known each other for 11 years! That is a long time! I always ask Brad on our anniversary to tell me the story about how he was feeling when he proposed to me and when he knew i was the one for him. I just love hearing him tell it. I never want to forget those exciting years in our lives.
   In these last four years our lives have been enriched by the birth of our two little girls. They are the world to us. We have lost B's Granddad and i lost my Grandfather and Grandmother. B has changed careers. We have celebrated countless anniversaries, birthdays and special events. We both joined bible studies, we moved from the fast pace life of the city to the slower life in the suburbs, which we LOVE. A lot of things have happened in these last four years. In the future we hope to add to our little family, move and just continue to enjoy our simple lives.
     There is not one other person on this earth i would rather wake up next to and love day in and day out. B is my best friend, i would do anything for that man. Here is to eternity!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy 2011!

I have been so MIA for the last two weeks. Our whole family has been sick with one thing or another. I have laundry coming out of my ears and a whole house to clean. Christmas was wonderful and the girls had so much fun. My sister and uncle came in from out of town, which was so special. Our neighbor who dressed up as Santa for us when we were little came over to our house this year to see the girls, it was so much fun. O was shocked and a little overwhelmed, but she loved it. We celebrated for 3 days straight and had a blast. I am finally back in action, still have a house to clean and laundry to do, but wanted to post a little something about the holidays. Christmas went by WAY too fast and i miss my sister who had to go back to Vail. I am looking forward to the New Year and all thats in store for our family.

2011

So now its New Years and i'm suppose to have some sort of resolution and talk about the past year and all the things we've achieved, blah blah blah. My resolution it to make a goal for just this month and once this month is over i am hoping it has turned into a habit and next month i will make a new goal/resolution. I feel like it is so much less overwhelming and much more attainable. As far as the year we have just had, God has really blessed our hearts and lives. We have some wonderful new friends in our lives, W was born healthy and is a real blessing, B got a new job that he really enjoys, B became a Deacon at our church, our families are healthy and we are so looking forward to 2011. How is that in a nut shell:) Here are some wonderful moments from the last year.