25 weeks

Here is what is going on with Noah this week according to babycenter.com;

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.  Your baby's not the only one with more hair — your locks may look more full and lustrous than ever. It's not that you're growing more hair, but thanks to hormonal changes, the hair that you'd normally shed is sticking around longer than usual. Enjoy the fullness while you can — the extra hair will fall out after you give birth.  You may also notice that you can't move around as gracefully as before. Unless your caregiver has advised you otherwise, it's fine to continue to exercise, but follow a few safety rules: Don't work out when you're feeling overly tired and stop if you feel any pain, dizziness, or shortness of breath. Don't lie flat on your back and avoid contact sports as well as any exercise where you're apt to lose your balance. Be sure to drink plenty of water, and make time for both warm-up and cool-down periods.  When you have your glucose-screening test at 24 to 28 weeks, a second tube of blood may be taken at the same time to check for anemia. If blood tests show that you have iron-deficiency anemia (the most common type of anemia), your caregiver will probably recommend that you take an iron supplement. 

As for me.  No major changes.  Still getting bigger, still hungry, still hot, but still feeling good (aside from the cold I've been fighting).  My belly button is getting smaller by the day and I'm sure it's going to pop out any time now.  We're taking a prenatal class at our hospital tonight, in which we'll be able to tour the Labor & Delivery unit of the hospital.  Tomorrow morning I'll have a normal quick doctor's visit also.  All is well in prego land.

Shannon

weekly verse: Philippians 4:8

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

This is the next verse in the series of verses that I memorized last week, and it couldn't have come at any better of a time!  I don't know if it's a result of my hormones soaring, or of being tired, or of the cold that I've been fighting since Wendesday, but lately I have found myself grouchy, self-centered, angry, negative, and just plain mean.  Unfortunately my husband has been the one to shoulder my soaring emotions.  Thankfully, he has been super gracious and understanding with me... WAY beyond what I deserve.  Just like Christ is with us.  How I love these moments in marriage when I am able to get a better understanding of the grace and love of our Lord by seeing it carried out through my husband!  The moments where I am completely unlovable... but Christ continues to love and pursue me, just like my husband has been doing.  It's humbling... completely humbling. 

Yesterday I was the opposite of this verse.  My heart and mind were consumed with festering on everything negative, bad, and ugly.  I couldn't seem to snap myself out of the soaring emotions that seemed beyond my control.  I had forgotten all too quickly the instructions in Philippians 4:5-7 (to present my requests to God, with THANKSGIVING, and to receive the peace beyond understanding that would result).  Philippians 4:8 is a great addendum to verses 5-7.  The instruction to dwell on the true, right, noble, admirable and praiseworthy.  To be consumed with the good, rather than the bad.  The act of safeguarding my thoughts, not allowing them to spin out of control.  The act of rejoicing, which is dually stated in Philppians 4:4.  I seize hold of this verse, adjusting my thoughts, allowing the Lord to adjust my heart as I seek Him, and remember all the reasons that I have to rejoice.  And today is a MUCH better day!

Shannon

Slow Cooker Carnitas

Have I mentioned recently that I've been LOVING using my slow-cooker this summer and not heating up the kitchen every time that I cook?  Plus being able to be lazy all day on Sunday while dinner cooks away on its own?

Slow Cooker Carnitas

I used a pork loin for this recipe, because I think that it's a good compromise between price and health.  To make this recipe on a tighter budget, substitute a pork shoulder or boston butt for the pork loin.  If money isn't an issue, and you'd like to make it even leaner a pork tenderloin could also be used.  You could even use chicken breasts or thighs if that's what you have on hand.  This would also make a great meat for homemade burrito bowls.

-5 lb pork loin, trimmed of all fat
-1 (16 oz) jar salsa verde
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp cumin
-4 Tbsp lime juice
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 yellow onion, diced
-1/2 bunch cilantro,chopped
-several dashes hot sauce
-tortillas, sour cream, avocado, hot sauce, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, jalapenos, and chopped onion for serving

Place pork loin in slow cooker.  In a separate bowl, stir together 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin, 3 Tbsp lime juice, 4 cloves minced garlic, salsa verde, and diced onion.  Pour salsa mixture over pork.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Remove pork from slow cooker, reserve juices in a bowl on the side.  Shred pork with 2 forks.  Return pork to slow cooker.  Moisten meat with several ladles of the reserved cooking juices.  Stir in cilantro, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp lime juice, and several dashes hot sauce.  Cook on low 1 more hour.  Serve on tortillas with toppings of choice.

Shannon

24 weeks

Here's what is going on with Noah this week, according to babycenter.com;

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon. In the past few weeks, the top of your uterus has risen above your belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball. Most women have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between now and 28 weeks. This test checks for gestational diabetes, a pregnancy-related high-blood-sugar condition. Untreated diabetes increases your risk of having a difficult vaginal delivery or needing a cesarean section because it causes your baby to grow too large, especially in his upper body. It also raises your baby's odds for other complications like low blood sugar right after birth. A positive result on your GCT doesn't mean you have gestational diabetes, but it does mean that you'll need to take the glucose tolerance test (GTT) to find out for sure. Finally, if you don't already know how to spot the signs of preterm labor, now's the time to learn.

As for me; I'm still feeling good, and still feeling hungry every 1-2 hours.  I'm having a little bit more difficult of a time sleeping some nights (between getting comfortable, and getting up so often to visit the restroom), so I tend to be a little more tired during the day now.  I'm hot almost all of the time, which is absolutely the opposite of my pre-pregnant self.  I've been getting a slight bit of back pain from time to time, but I'm sure that's to be expected.  It is starting to get a little harder to bend over with my big belly in the way, and it's also getting a little harder to get out of bed or off of couches.  And when I do go to get up my tummy visibly looks very funny as my displaced abs work to get me up, so I've been trying to pull or push myself up as much as possible and avoid the weird tummy straining thing that happens when I get up like a normal person.  Noah still moves around a whole lot.  My favorite foods are still sausage, sushi, pickles, and watermelon, or really any type of meat or fruit in general.  Everything is going very well overall, a little over 3 months left to go.  My next doctor's appointment is next Wednesday, they won't be doing anything special though, just weighing me and listening for Noah's heart rate.

Shannon

Baked Beans

Because cookout fare was on sale this week at the grocery store I went with a dinner of turkey dogs (buy 1 get 1 free), baked beans, corn on the cob (12 for $2), and watermelon ($3.99 ea) for dessert.  All was delicious, and now I have enough leftovers to cover my lunch for most of the week.

Baked Beans

This was my first attempt at making baked beans from scratch, and I was super pleased with the way they turned out, just the way baked beans should be... sweet, tangy, and slightly smokey.  Next time I would leave out the bacon though, it didn't seem to add much flavor, and Jeremy isn't a fan of fatty meat in his food.  Because I like to make everything more nutritous I added the carrot, green pepper, and celery into this recipe, but for a more traditional dish they could all be eliminated (although they are really good in here).  More ketchup could be used instead of the BBQ sauce, but I happen to like the combination.  I did this in the slow cooker, because I haven't been very interested in heating up the oven lately, but this dish could easily be cooked at 350 for 1 hour, although I'd probably saute the veggies before mixing with everything else if I was cooking it this way.

-1 lb navy beans, cooked according to package directions
-1 onion, chopped
-1/2 green pepper, chopped
-1 stalk celery, chopped
-1 carrot, chopped
-2 cloves garlic, chopped
-8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
-3/4 cup ketchup
-3/4 cup BBQ sauce
-1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-2 Tbsp yellow or dijon mustard
-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
-1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Coat slow cooker with cooking spray.  In bottom of slow cooker whisk together ketchup, BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, cayenne, and Worcestershire sauce.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Cook on high for 6 hours (or until veggies have reached desired tenderness), remove lid during last 30 minutes of cooking to thicken sauce.

Shannon

weekly verse: Philippians 4:

For the last few months I have found myself worrying about a specific situation that was out of my control.  I have prayed fervently about this issue, all the while never really surrendering it to the Lord.  All the while keeping a grievance in my heart, and even a few times allowing this issue to become a source of conflict between me and my husband.  Only to find that today, this issue has been resolved, that God had it figured out all along, that He was in control, and that all of my worrying was for NOTHING.  Oh, when will I learn how futile worrying is?  When will I learn to follow Paul's words to the Philippians?  This brings me to my memory verse for this week... I think I need to spend a little more time understanding and carrying out Philippians 4:5-7.

Philippians 4:5-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

First of all let's remember that Paul wrote these words from jail.  That he had a lot that he could be anxious for, that his circumstances from a worldly view would have looked very dismal.  But Paul understood the Spiritual view, he understood that God was still in control, that God was still using all circumstances for the good of those who love Him.  He was able to write just two verses earlier to "rejoice always!".  Can you imagine rejoicing from jail?  I can't imagine that rejoicing would be my first (second, or tenth) reaction to being behind bars. 

These verses say to be anxious for NOTHING!  But to make our requests known to God, and to do so with THANKSGIVING (again, thanksgiving from jail?).  I have to admit that being thankful for dismal circumstances does not come easily to me.  But I do know, and have experienced, that when I seek God with thanksgiving amidst dismal circumstances my circumstances suddenly become insignificant.  In the light of the cross they fade away.  When I realize how much I have to be thankful for and how much God has already done for me I realize that really nothing else is needed.  I learn to trust.  I learn to obey.  And I experience the beauty of God's peace.

Perhaps my recent trial wasn't as much about the situation or outcome as it was about God wanting to teach me to trust Him more.  About Him teaching me to be patient in prayer for months before He finally answers me.  About Him showing me that although I have no control, He has all of it.  And that is all such a beautiful thing!

Shannon

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

I made BBQ Chicken Quesadillas (with caramelized onions) for dinner tonight, based off of this post at one of my favorite blogs.  The only things I changed was that I did not use oil to caramelize the onions, and simply used cooking spray.  I also added garlic powder, pineapple chunks, and jalapeno slices to the quesadillas, because that is what we like on our BBQ Chicken Pizza.  These babies were delicious, and definitely served as a quick, inexpensive, throw together dinner.  This combination of sweet, spicy, and cheesy is pure bliss!

Shannon