Susie

i have written a few times about my friend, susie, and her journey over the last 8 months. susie and ben had baby annie a few weeks ago. both baby and mom did so great! now, today is the day that susie starts her radiation and chemo. this is going to be a hard road for susie and also for her family. please, be praying for them! they post a lot of specific prayer requests, so please be checking their blog for updates. i really wish i could be there to help...at least give sus a really awesome haircut!

please pray that the treatments work. please pray that the side effects are minimal. please just pray for these sweet friends of mine!!

http://www.benandsusiethomas.com/

blessings, ALo

Try these!

i am sitting on the couch, watching the olympics...loving life. i am still so excited! not sure that feeling will go away for a long time! :)

i realized that i never delivered on my promise to give a few recipes that we have loved lately. over the last few weeks, i have done a TON of baking and some cooking. i love the feeling of baking for people. i have gotten much better at it over the years...it has become quite a little hobby for me. pinterest and food blogs only feed that hobby...much to the delight of people here around me! so, rather than re-typing out all the recipes, i am just going to add a picture. that picture will link you to the website with the recipe. enjoy!!

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

this is by far one of the most delicious. flavorful, and EASY recipes ever!! i use a rotisserie chicken (almost the whole thing, sans skin, because we like lots of chicken). we do a toppings bar with avocado, cheese, green onion, tomatoes, black olives, and sour cream. try it...you will love it and me for sharing!! :)

Pineapple Crockpot Chicken

this is another really easy meal! if you have a crock pot, try this! i love this blog...they have several great things there. i use this meal a lot for new moms or company. just 3 ingredients, plus a side of white rice and steamed broccoli...easy! its even better with a little bit of red pepper flakes. 

now for a few desserts...the good stuff!
i made three different kinds of cookies for a wedding last week...they were all good, and there were not any left. guess they were a hit!

Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies very fluffy

White Chocolate Chip Orange Cookies my favs

Glazed Lemon Cookies these are great too

now for the grande finale... you have to make this..tomorrow!! for real...do it! i actually used two recipes, because i wanted a bundt cake, not cupcakes (shocked!), but wanted the icing from the cupcake recipe. so..here are two links plus the pic of first time i made this...yes i made this twice in one week! :) but to my defense, the first time i didnt eat any and the second time i had one piece...plus i am eating for two! lol.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

Brown Butter Glaze/Icing

this was the first one i made, for christina

 ENJOY!!!

blessings, ALo

1,000 words

Pictures are worth a thousand words!!!

Party of three, the story begins!! WE ARE PREGNANT!!! just a few weeks, but i know everyone has been waiting as patiently as we have to find out, so i couldnt wait to tell you!! :) we are thrilled!!! our prayers have been answered! now we are praying for healthy growth!! 

this pic shows the progression of positive tests. i took the first one saturday night, and it was barely visible as positive. it was early to take one and late at night, but i couldnt wait. the second one is from sunday, still faint, but the line is there. i was still worried about a false positive so i continued to take them! monday afternoon, tuesday morning, and yesterday morning. yesterday's came up immediately (like while i was "taking it") and it was very dark pink right away. definitely pregnant. i am also now three days late...i am never late. i have a few other classic symptoms, but i dont need to share all of that!

just pray with us!! we are going monday for our first doctor's visit. at this point, i am not considered high risk. since Charlotte had a chromosome disorder and not a genetic disorder, they are not too concerned. they will be monitoring my levels and i will continue on progesterone until week 13. Lord willing, we will have a baby the beginning of APRIL!! my calculated due date is april 9.

thanks so much for all the love, support, and encouragement!!! we are blessed! we are so full of joy!!

thank you to my awesomely talented friend, christie lacy for an impromptu photo session!! check her out!!! she is seriously the best and also a very sweet friend of mine!! here are two others she did for us...

ahhhhh!! so giddy!!! :) now, i feel nauseous!!

Psalms 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

blessings, ALo

Heaven is Sweeter

today has been a crazy day, full of some every day things and then some serious baking for a lunch party at work tomorrow. i even had a surprise lunch date with peter...it was great. being busy the last few days has made my days fly by...the "waiting til wednesday" hasnt been nearly as bad as i thought!

two sad things this week:

friday i took a meal to a new mom. she was put on our meals team schedule by a friend of hers that goes to the church. christina is living with her parents right now, but that is all i knew about her. when i got there, she was the only one there with her teeny tiny baby. she told me that baby brayden was born two weeks early. he was very small and under weight due to christina being under a lot of stress and not eating much herself the last few months of her pregnancy. she went on to tell me that her husband had been killed two months prior to the baby's birth. he was run over by a truck while at work. :( they had been trying to have children for a while and had suffered through two miscarriages before getting pregnant this last year. christina told me she was so thankful for all the help that her parents were giving her. not only is she still adjusting to a newborn's schedule, she is still in the middle of grieving for her husband. i cried with her in her kitchen. after praying with her, i left so heartbroken for her! it was so sad!!! please be praying for christina and her new baby. please pray that God show Himself to her in a very real way right now.

over this weekend, my sister miscarried her baby. i am so sad for her. she went to the doctor this afternoon, and thankfully she is not in any pain anymore, and everything passed naturally, so she will not need to have any surgery/procedures. liv and brian seem to be doing quite well. they know that God has a plan for them! she told me she thought it was helpful that her body had been responding for over a week...it gave her a chance to process it all. please pray for olivia and brian as they go through the next few weeks/months trying to process. they are planning to try again in the next few months. please pray God will give them great time together as a couple in the mean time. i know that Charlotte is up in Heaven just welcoming and taking care of her sweet cousin...i cant wait to get there to see them both!! what a sweet moment that will be!

i know that so many of you have been praying for me and for peter...thanks. i hope to have some really good new this week! please be praying for these two women...christina and olivia. thanks!

blessings, ALo

ps. i will be posting some recipes for you tomorrow...including the best pound cake EVER recipe!!! :)

Just a few more

so, the wait continues! i have been asked by so many if i know anything yet. i wish i did. this is just as hard for me as it is for you! (well, probably a little harder for me and peter, but you know, whatever) as i was sitting on the couch tonight watching "big brother" (ps. some of these people are so dumb! where do they come from? its like the line from tommy boy: "Hi, im earth, have we met?" "uh, i dont think so.") and researching IUIs, the next step, the waiting, etc. and i realized that we will have to wait longer than normal to be for sure, for sure pregnant. i could take a test 3 days before my missed period, but because of my hcg injection, i could get a false positive. hcg is the hormone that gives you a positive prego test result. so, the most accurate way of testing is to wait until i have missed a period and then test and then still go in for a blood test. so, instead of knowing for sure on sunday, we will all have to wait just a few more days until next wednesday/thursday. TORTURE!!!

speaking of elevated hcg levels, please be praying for my sister!! olivia and her hubby (brian) found out a few weeks ago that they are expecting the first part of march! this is liv's second baby and last saturday i got a text stating they were heading to the ER because she was spotting and cramping. thankfully, she was discharged after hearing the baby's heart beat (healthy 144 bpm). monday she returned to the doctor because she was still concerned. the doctor was not as concerned about the spotting, that should subside soon (she is just under 8 weeks right now) and so should the cramping. good news is that her cervix is still very much closed, but her hcg levels are not quite where they should be. she has to go in every two days for blood work to check her levels. if they dont go up, that could indicate a problem (potential miscarriage). if they start to climb, she should be ok. please pray that God would continue to grow this healthy baby. please pray the hcg level go up where they need to be. please pray that my sister is able to rest like she is supposed to. olivia has an 18 month old (zoe) at home that is very active and wants her mommy to play all the time. please pray that brian and olivia will be able to relax and not get stressed out (easier said than done) and that they will be able to encourage each other through this emotional and scary time. this is one of those times that i wished i lived closer so that i could just go get my niece and take her home with me for a while! wish i could be there to make them some meals and bring liv some movies to watch or a craft to do on the couch. i am praying for this sweet new niece/nephew that i already love so much!!!!

Brian, Olivia, and Zoe. this is the pic they posted to announce their pregnancy.

i also just posted the cutest video of zoe on my facebook page. makes me smile every single time i watch it! my brothers were videoing and you can just tell she was thinking "i am not sure if i should do this for them or not...ok, fine!" lol!!


hope you guys are all enjoying summer! we had a beach day with the high schoolers today and we go tomorrow with the middle schoolers...i love my job! :)

blessings, ALo

Waiting Worship

wow, this is the most blogging i have done in one month for a while!!

anyway, several people wanted the list of worship music we took with us on wednesday. we started listening in the car, then throughout the appointment, and on the way home. there is a lot of music and i am not sure if we listened to all of them or now. we jsut set it to shuffle play.

i hope you enjoy!!

Waiting Worship playlist: 7/18/12


Bethel Live – Hope's Anthem (feat. William Matthews)
Group 1 Crew – He Said - feat. Chris August
Passion – Jesus, Son of God (feat. Chris Tomlin and Christy Nockels)
Passion – Not Ashamed (feat. Kristian Stanfill)
Passion – Lay Me Down (feat. Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman)
Passion – One Thing Remains (feat. Kristian Stanfill)
Passion – You Revive Me (feat. Christy Nockels)
Ginny Owens – Be Thou My Vision
Bethel Live – You Are Good (feat. Brian Johnson)
Bethel Live – One Thing Remains (feat. Brian Johnson)
Bethel Live – Furious (feat. Jeremy Riddle)
Bethel Live – Be Lifted High (feat. Brian Johnson)
Bethel Live – Love Came Down (feat. Brian Johnson)
Bethel Live – Forever And A Day (feat. Jenn Johnson)
Hillsong Live – With Us (Live)
Hillsong Live – God Is Able (Live)
Hillsong Live – Cry Of The Broken (Live)
Hillsong United – Desert Song (Live)
Hillsong Live – Healer (Live)
Hillsong Live – Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (Live)
Kari Jobe – Find You On My Knees
Kari Jobe – Run to You (I Need You)
Kari Jobe – Love Came Down
Hillsong United – Hosanna
Natalie Grant – Your Great Name
Chris Tomlin – Awakening
Leeland – Majesty
Maranatha! Music – Breathe
Maranatha! Music – How Great Thou Art - Incredible Hymns Album Version
Maranatha! Music – Great Is Thy Faithfulness - Incredible Hymns Album Version
Maranatha! Music – Healer
Matt Redman – 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)

blessings, ALo

You too?

i just got back from hanging out with my awesome friend, jacqueline...we watched a few chick flicks while our husbands are out watching a batman marathon...sitting through 3 movies in a theater! oh my! but, we had fun and i loved just sitting around and giggling at dumb stuff.

i am home and sitting in bed, just reflecting on the day and praying for a few old friends. today, three different high school friends reached out to me about their journeys with infertility. the first was a huge encouragement to me. this friend was a year ahead of me in school, but we had two classes together and played softball for two years together. we are able to facebook stalk each other, and yesterday she sent me a message. she told me that she has had 2 very successful IUIs, resulting in 2 beautiful children!  it was great to hear an awesome success story when i woke up this morning! 

i also have a facebook message going back and forth with a friend from my class that i was very close to in school. over time we have drifted, but thanks to facebook, we have reconnected. i have been following this friend's spiritual journey over the last few months and have been so encouraged to see some amazing, Godly growth in her life and in her relationship with her husband. she reached out to me today and told me that they have been trying for about 2 years to have a child. my heart just breaks for them! i know that she will be an amazing mother, and it is so hard to understand why this has not happened for her. i could say that for a lot of people, but i know that this sweet girl has been through a lot in her life. to see her overcome, and continue to grow in spite of some serious obstacles makes me wonder why she is being asked to wait for this blessing. i am praying for her and her husband, and their family! please pray that God would open her womb and give her a healthy baby of her own!!

the second friend i talked to...well, this is a hard one for me. i have known this friend for a long time and we were FAST friends. there are very few high school memories with them not involved!! we are the kinds of friends that do not have to talk every day, week, or even every month, but we know that we will always have each other's back. in fact, it has been several months since we had talked on the phone until today. i was contacted first by facebook message to see if they could call and ask a few questions, then we talked for about 40 minutes. i was shocked to hear that this husband and wife are also going through a hard road of infertility. they are now facing having to decide between IUI, IVF, or being done for right now. i am literally heartbroken for them! this couple has given sacrificially, for years, in full time, part time, and volunteer positions in the church. they are a couple that i can look to as a guide for spiritual matters. they have overcome big things both individually and as a couple. now, they are watching so many of their friends and family getting pregnant and having babies and wondering why God has not blessed them yet. i fully understand that feeling and the toll that infertility can take on you mentally, emotionally, physically, and relationally. i really wish that i could fix this for them. i would love to see them parent...they are going to be fantastic! please pray that God would lead them down the path that is His will for them. please pray that they will have peace in the next few months, and that the doctors would have clarity regarding their specific needs!! i know that God has some amazing things in store for them, and i cant wait to see what it is...sooner rather than later would be awesome!

i hurt for these friends! i hurt for the other families that i have met through blogging and/or facebook that are on this exact road. i will never understand why we have been asked to go down this road. i still wonder how many more things God needs to teach me before we have a baby. i think the same for these friends. i will never understand why it is so easy for some and very difficult for others. why some consider a pregnancy/child a consequence of a bad decision, while so many of us are waiting, sometimes impatiently, for our blessing. but, through it all i know that there is a plan. no, this was not my plan. no, this is not my friends' plan. but i have seen so many awesome God moments when i choose to look around. i have met some amazing people when i open myself up. i have been able to encourage and be encouraged in the most unintended ways...it can only be God. yes, this is hard. yes, it will continue to be hard for so many...until Jesus comes back. but, i am so glad that i can pray with confidence. that i know that i can talk to a God who hears and answers...and answers with very specific responses. so, please join in...have faith with and for me and my friends!

i know that i have been somewhat vague, and i have not given names. i am a very open book, but not everyone is. if you know either of these people, or think you know, please just pray for them. there is no need for anything more!! 

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." 

blessings, ALo