Dos Anos Felicidades

Here are some beautiful sites and sights we encountered over our two year anniversary weekend. We were surrounded by beauty, changing leaves, crisp air, history and the love we have for each other. :) I am currently on a Spanish kick, hence the title, with our upcoming Miami trip. Practica, practica, practica!

Walking across the parking lot to the sliding glass doors, doors I had not crossed in 6 months to the day, April 21st, I wondered how long my eyes were going to stay dry. Not long. The admission clerk was not the one I remember and oh how I wish it was her as I would wrap my arms around her neck and squeeze tightly with appreciation. Lady, God used you to love on me, Matthew and Ethan.

Next, I was sent upstairs to seek out Connie, one of the nurses that cared for us after Ethan's birth. As I approached the desk and requested seeing Connie, the woman with salt and pepper hair hesitantly stated, "I am Connie". This was not my Connie, but she offered to help anyway. I started by giving her a smidge of the story as to why I was at the hospital visiting and it all ended in both of us crying and her embracing me ever so tightly. This was not my original Connie, but another Connie that still cares.

My next stop was Labor and Delivery, searching for Original Connie, Teresa and other staff that blessed us the 24 hours we were at the hospital. Non were present, but was able to share why I had come and how much I appreciate the hearts of the nurses and doctors. With tears on my face and sadness seen in their eyes, we conversed as compassionate humans, not healthcare professional to patient. Thank you nursing staff for the love, tears and compassion you bestowed on our family on April 21st. I think of our baby every day and therefore I think of you as well.

4 tsp chili powder
1 T crushed red pepper
1 T dried minced onion
1 T minced garlic
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp parsley
2 tsp salt
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp black pepper

Wow! This was amazing! I combined all these spices to add or rather complete the chili/taco soup concoction I was throwing together for dinner. My mouth was on fire, my sinuses were clearing...it was great! I originally headed to the pre-made pack in the grocery store, but couldn't pronounce some of the ingredients, so I went with an allrecipes.com source and ingredients I already had in my spice cabinet. This was a crowd pleaser and will be used again and again and again.

Homemade Therapy

In an effort to continue in the spirit of celebrating Ethan, I decided to learn something new today. Apparently, and I find this to be really cool, an old t-shirt can be turned into yarn. Well, I did just that and then crocheted a potholder out of the upcycled shirt. So good for the heart, head and soul. It is amazing how the creativity I have been blessed with has become such a way of healing for me. I am so thankful for that. Not only have I strived to fill my time with learning and doing but functional creating has come out of it. Also, less money has gone to a counselor. :)

Before Matt and I left for The Brickstore yesterday, I realized that the potential for crying throughout our trip was very high. Believe it or not, I took the time (3 minutes) to rip up an old t-shirt and turn it into hankies. They worked wonders.

Celebrate Life

Yesterday, September 5th, we tried our best to celebrate our son's life. It was the day the doctors gave us as our estimated due date and of all days, it was actually 'Labor Day'. Our original plans were cancelled because of tropical storm Lee and it bringing rain to our area, rain which we have not seen in a long time. We wanted to head up to Chickamagua Battlefield with our bikes and a picnic and take in God's green earth as well as get a history lesson and some much needed exercise. Of course with the day's weather, I struggled with not falling in to a pity party. What would Ethan want? How should I view this day? Celebrate. Celebrate that his birthday is April 21st and celebrate the few precious moments we had with him and CELEBRATE he is with his Heavenly Father. He is loved, healthy, happy and whole. So...where else should two people go when the dreary day and a burdened heart are weighing heavy on them? Down to Decatur to The Brickstore, of course.

One of Those Moments...

I just had one of those moments where I have to tell myself to keep breathing. "You can get through this Sarah. The sadness will lift, you will get distracted by life, persevere." A friend of Matthew's, acquaintance of mine, just gave birth to a beautiful little boy. He was due the same day as Ethan, September 5th, but came early. This momma is thankful he is safely here and I know his momma is thrilled! Yet, I still want to hide and forget the outside world sometimes. I feel compelled to cancel my Facebook account, ignore my phone, crawl inside myself and disappear. Fortunately, God blessed me with too many people that love me. For this I am thankful and for this I can look at depression, scare it away until it tries to haunt me again with another one of those moments.

This little number was an experiment that turned out well. As an accessory, it can be a scarf, belt or hair tie. I enjoyed sewing it as well as modeling for the photos. :)

Homemade Salsa Will Rock Your Socks Off

I have found homemade salsa to be a true and easy to make treat. The base...a large can of tomatoes. Throw the whole thing in the blender along with whatever you like in your salsa. I add cilantro, onion, cumin, a dash of Tabasco, jalapenos, corn and black beans. Pulse a few times in the blender and enjoy! Also, enjoy that it makes about 36oz and is cheaper and tastes better than the store-bought kind (my opinion of course). Feel good about the fact you can pronounce all the ingredients too.

Homemade Granola

Ha, ha! That title makes me laugh...anyway, just this morning I finished off my store-bought granola and I promised myself when this happened, I would make the next batch myself. This motivation came about from a conversation I had with Katie W. (thank you!). It is something I wanted to try and I couldn't ignore I rarely buy the stuff because of grocery store prices. Too high!

I just completed making my first batch of granola. Easy-peasy! Also, you can make to your liking, truly! I added sweetened coconut, almonds and pumpkin seeds (if the items are already roasted, add them after you bake the granola) to be baked with the oats and after the concoction cooled, I added cranberries and raisins. Yum! Here is the recipe I used as a base but definitely altered it to my liking. I did not add brown sugar and used less honey than the original recipe called for.

Try it!