My Choice Monday

Jonah Day 2015: A Day of Thanks

If you’ve been visiting our blog for long, you know November 29th is Jonah Day. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, see this postΒ to catch up. πŸ™‚

Every year on November 29th, Craig and I count our many blessings and thank God for our precious baby, Jonah, who will be joining us one day! This year, not having been able to spend Thanksgiving together, we whipped upΒ quite the feast to celebrate Jonah!

Today, since I’m sure we are all still in a turkey/leftovers coma, I’m going to spare you a full-on blog post and just share some pictures of the food we prepared. If you want any of the recipes, click on the photo to be re-directed to a close facsimile. πŸ™‚

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I started off our morning with completely from scratch Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls. Here they are ‘resting’ and ‘rising’ before they went into the oven.
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Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls – The finished product!

 

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Hot Mulled Cider
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Our ‘Appetizer’: Caramel Havarti with Candied Pecans & Granny Smith Apples
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Lucy never leaves my side… πŸ™‚ #loveher
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Cranberry Sauce
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Zesting a Meyer Lemon into the cranberries while they were bubbling away. The recipe this links to calls for orange juice, but I find the zest of a Meyer Lemon does the trick without adding anymore sweetness.
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Skillet Cornbread
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Skillet Cornbread as the butter is melting in…Yummmmmm!
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Chop Chop Chop!
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Talking with my hands…about the corn casserole I’m preparing!
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Corn Casserole
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Corn Casserole
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Very interested in the cooking that’s going on…
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The Bird
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Craig was in charge on the turkey – So of course we had to grill it!
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Yummmmmmm!
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Sweet Potato Souffle just before it went into the oven…
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Adding a few more marshmallows for the final 5 minutes on the Sweet Potatoes… You’ll note the recipe doesn’t call for ANY, but I HAVE to have marshmallows with my sweet potatoes! πŸ™‚
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Sweet Potatoes (pre-oven again)
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Oh the marshmallows…
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Delicious Turnip Gratin… SO decadent!
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Turnip Gratin
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Oyster Dressing – a throwback to our year in New England
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So. Good.
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Pardon my messy hair. At least I don’t have roots! πŸ™‚
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Those sweet pups…Don’t let their innocent angel smiles fool you. Lucy totally stole some turkey while Craig and I were eating!
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Broccoli & Cauliflower Casserole
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Broccoli & Cauliflower Casserole – I added more cheese than the recipe called for…And I highly recommend it! πŸ˜‰
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Almost Done!!!
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So delicious! I wish I could share the recipe for this but to be honest, I have no idea. It was all Craig and the grill. I will say: it was the BEST turkey I have ever eaten!! Super moist and flavorful!!!
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Pecan Pie!!! (Made even more delicious with some French Vanilla Whipped Cream!) I used the recipe for the Perfect Pie Crust and then the recipe for the Pecan Pie at the link.
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Blondies!!!!!
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Seriously one of my favorite desserts…No walnuts…Just add Vanilla Ice Cream please!

And there you have it! I’d have to say Jonah Day was pretty successful as far as both thankfulness and cooking were concerned! We ate at 3pm yesterday and neither one of us TOUCHED a morsel of food again until breakfast. πŸ˜‰

Until we meet again,

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Thirsty For Christ Thursday

A Whale Of A Tale

Tuesday

Happy Thank You Jesus Tuesday!

By now, I hope you have all watched our vlog from last week… If not, watch it hereΒ and the rest of the post will make more sense to you. πŸ™‚

Craig and I have completely surrendered our fertility to God, and everything that goes with it – and if you’ve watched the vlog, you know that included our long held onto “baby girl name” of Olivia Florence. We are excited to one day welcome into our home and family a little girl named Jonah Elizabeth! What a blessing total surrender to our Lord is!

So, we all know the story of Jonah in the Bible, right?

God asked him to do something, and Jonah was scared. He ran away and was thrown off a ship, but instead of drowning, he was saved by God and swallowed by a whale. He lived in the belly of the fish for three days (the Sign of Jonah), and was delivered by the Lord – this time deciding to obey His commands!

So, Jonah is associated with a whale…And Jonah is typically a boy’s name… and all things whale and little boy are typically blue…

But after we received our revelation from God, and shared it, in faith, with all of you, Craig and I were walking through Target this past weekend and saw these things:

ALL THINGS PINK AND WHALEY!!!!!!!

Craig looked at me and said, “This is definitely an affirmation from God! We have to buy Jonah’s first blanket in faith!” and so we did:

How awesome!!! We serve such a wonderful God, and if we only ask He will respond. Never think your prayer or request is too small. Have faith in Him.

The point of the story of Jonah is that God rescues His people – and He doesn’t require earthly measures to accomplish His rescue! It doesn’t matter that doctors say I can’t ovulate on my own. It doesn’t matter that doctors don’t believe I can become pregnant without their assistance. God doesn’t rely on science and human knowledge. He created science and He operates in theΒ supernatural.

Psalm 46:10

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

10Β Let goΒ of your concerns!
Β Β Β Β Then you will know that I am God.
Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β I rule the nations.
Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β I rule the earth.

xoxo

PS – Don’t forget about Love On Purpose Week! Today is Intentional Kindness Day! Do something for someone else! #loveonpurpose

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My Choice Monday · TTC Tuesday

Devil, I’m Ignoring You!

Tuesday

Good Morning Everyone!

First, let me apologize we didn’t blog yesterday – I know ALL of you were just devastated not to have our “choices” for the week! Ha ha! Craig and I left the house earrrrly in the morning and were not home until laaaaate last night, so there wasn’t a chance for a goodΒ blog. But, have no fear – we did make two choices yesterday for you, so this will be a double post! πŸ™‚

Yesterday, I took the day off work for Craig and I to make our first appointment at ACRM. We wereΒ so blessed with aΒ knowledgeable,Β understanding,Β thorough care team, who highlighted a few issues with our current treatment program to begin with, and took steps to solve some problems from the get-go! What a breath of fresh air!!!

When we spoke with our new doctor about wanting to pursue options other than IUI and IVF, and about a new option, embryo adoption, we are exploring, she was ready with alternative ideas for us! And what began as a refreshing experience, turned into something absolutely praiseworthy!

You may remember we attended a Joan Hunter healing service in North Georgia on Friday evening. Ms. Hunter is a Christian woman with a healing ministry, traveling around the whole world, asking for people to have faith and understand WHO God is – howΒ loving andΒ powerful! (We are going to speak a little more about this on Thursday!) Craig and I prayed prior to going into the service that God would truly use Joan to bless us, and to show us why He had led us to this conference – which was completely out of our Catholic comfort zone. πŸ™‚

At the end of the service, we asked that Ms. Hunter’s daughter, Melody, pray with us. She asked, in Jesus’ name, to heal me of PCOS, to give me a new ovary (she knew it was my right ovary, and we did not tell her this information…), and a new pancreas to handle my body’s insulin correctly. She asked God to please bless us with a child. As she placed her hands on me, and prayed for healing, I felt a warmth through my abdomen. I felt a peace. Craig and I truly felt the power of God that night. We both left feeling thankful and blessed beyond measure.

Yesterday, at our doctor’s appointment, they performed both an ultrasound and blood-work to check my estrogen levels – which are typically very elevated.Β There was no strand of cysts (as there usually is) on my right ovary – or my left, for that matter – and my bloodwork came back “perfectly normal” – and not normal PCOS, normal for normal women.Β Compare this to the previous ultrasounds and blood-work levels of this past 16 months, and the difference is marked. It truly does appear I have a new ovary and a new pancreas, regulating my insulin and thereby, my hormones.

This news was such a blessing yesterday, an affirmation of faith. I am not saying we will finally be blessed with a child tomorrow, or even this year, but God is healing me, and He will bless us with children in His time. We have faith.

To wrap up TTC Tuesday, I would like to share with you this post from “waiting for baby bird”:Β Devil, I’m Ignoring You!. It’s powerful, and beautiful, and if you are struggling with God’s timing and maintaining faith, it is a message straight from the Lord to you.

MondayAnd now, let’s back up to My Choice Monday! πŸ™‚

wpid-20130923_212300.jpgFirst, something fun – beer ice cream! While this is for “adults-only”, it is so delicious, and a perfectly sized dessert! Click here to see where you can find this yummy treat in your area!

And finally, while I have heardΒ so many raves about White Barn Candle Company’s Marshmallow Fireside, when it came down to decision time, Craig & I fell in love with this scent over the other:

We don’t have a true fireplace – something that makes me a little sad during these ‘harsh Georgia winters’… πŸ™‚ This candle provides a pleasant, homey, evening by the fireplace with a great book scent. Click on the candle for a GREAT price on this candle at Amazon!

Well, folks, that’s all for today! Enjoy your Tuesday, and we look forward to chatting tomorrow for What’s Up Wednesday!

XOXO,
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The Parable Of The Ten Gold Coins

Today’s Gospel (Click Me)

Good Morning Loves!

Craig and I have been trying to be pretty consistent with meditating on and reading the Daily Readings, and today’s gospel (with the link and reflection above) struck a chord I have spoken about in a previous post. It also is a great reading to reflect on in light of this season of giving thanks.

God has provided each of us with so many gifts and blessings. More often than not, we all focus on the negative things in our lives and forget about the wonderful aspects. This Thanksgiving, let’s make a return on our ‘investments’ – use the gifts God has blessed us with and thank Him for all He has done.

Will we show God our gratitude for His blessings or will we hide those blessing away, as if we are ashamed?

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s big list of THANKSGIVING from Craig & I!

Love Y’all!

Pier & Craig