A Healthy Chocolate Treat ;)

So what have I been up to today? I'm glad you asked! :)

Today I got to go to Costco with my two wonderful sisters (Eunice and Micole). And what started out as a day full of sampling all the Costco goodies, ended up in getting a great bargain for something that is very hard to get here in Naples! 

THIS!!!!

                                                                                                                                               

Ok, and now you may wonder - why on earth would she need that many hazelnuts, right? 

Well, I thought you'd never ask! :D I need these babies in order to make....

THIS!!! :o)

Homemade NUTELLA!!! And it's HEALTHY, too!

This picture is not my own, it belongs to a genius named Chocolate-Covered KATIE and you can find this amazing recipe right here! 

So go check out her site and have fun! 

She has all kinds of delicious healthy chocolate recipes, you won't know where to start!

I mean, is that every woman's dream-come-true, or what??? :D

ENJOY!! :o)

11 weeks, starting week #12 today

We got to see our little peanut on ultrasound today again! 

The OB couldn't hear the heartbeat through the doppler, so we had an ultrasound done. 

The reason why we couldn't hear this little one the first time was because he/she was doing all sorts of flips and flops and wouldn't hold still! :o) Looks like we got another lively one!! :)

Heartbeat: 162 

I don't know why, but this ultrasound was a very emotional experience for me. I just couldn't hold back the tears of joy, and have I had a little more privacy, I would've bawled my eyes out! Seeing that little human being dance around and wave its little arms up in the air, as thought to say "Hi Mommy and Daddy! Don't worry, I'm doing great and I can't wait to meet you one day!" Ok, just writing down this comment made my eyes water up again. I mean, WHAT A MIRACLE!!!  

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well." 

Psalm 139:13-14

So what is Arminianism and Calvinism?

There is something that has been on my heart a lot lately, and I would love to share with you!

For the looongest time I had absolutely NO IDEA that Christians can be grouped into two main categories - Arminians (salvation is our choice) and Calvinists (salvation is of the Lord). Well, actually I'm sure there's other categories as well :), but these are the ones I'd like to focus on today.

I'm not going to go into details on what the differences are, I'll leave that up to Pastor John Piper to explain. So far I haven't heard a better teaching on it! I will however say, that it is VITAL for a follower of Christ to know there are these two views of salvation... and not only of salvation :) But like I said, enough of me taking up your time, just listen to the teacher! I promise you, it will be a HUGE eye-opener to you, and will make you embrace God's grace in a whole new different way! That's my prayer for you!

Click bellow to listen to the TULIP series:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyGf4rLc_r4&list=PL93F178954D043A5E

p.s. I know it'll take some time to listen to, but please don't let that scare you - it's so worth it!
Maybe take it one day at a time? :o)

Birthday Fun After 8 Years

Yes, it's my birthday today! :) And I mean, who cares, right???? :o) BUT... though I wouldn't really write about it under normal circumstances, this really was a special occasion! "Why?" I'm glad you asked! :) Can you believe it's been 8 YEARS!!!!! since I got to celebrate with my whole family?!?!?! And not have to make my own cake???? :o) Oh my goodness, I just HAD to share my joy with you all!

So here's a quick peek at all the wonderful people that had blessed my day! Hope you enjoy!! :o)

I kept stealing all these kisses from my favourite nephew!!
It was my birthday after all, so I was allowed! ;-)
And besides, how can you NOT kiss this little guy!
He's soooo YUMMY!

All my ladies (and my Man... and a 'lil man :) together!

And here comes the Master-Chef with the cake! She did such a wonderful job! And you probably want to know what kind it was, right? :) White cake with vanilla pudding on top, finished off with canned peaches in jello! Topped with whipped-cream! Oooooh, la, laaaaa - pure deliciousness!!

Oooooooooh, and the age is REVEALED!!!!! Yikes! :D

La, la, laaaa - lots of singing and counting! 

Yes, we actually do the: 

"Are you 1?"

"No!"

"Are you 2?"

"No!" 

And count all the way up to one's age!:) Lots of fun! Especially when it's my parents' turn!! Haha!

So much cuteness going on here! :)

                                                                 

            Had a little cutie help me uwrap all the goodies! :)

                 

I must say though that I'm missing one more beauty in these pictures - our precious, talented Abbie! As you probably figured, she's the one behind the lense, taking all these beautiful pictures, making it possible for me to post on here. THANK YOU, Abbie!!! Love you and appreciate you so much, gurlie!!

Well, that pretty much wraps it all up! 

I'm so thankful to God for allowing me spend this special time with all my loved ones - we take such things for granted, until they're taken away from us... 

Make sure you let your beloved know they're special to you! :o)

"Give Them (your KIDZ) Grace"

As Vivie and I were driving around in my car today, I got to listen to Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss.
She had a guest speaker on there - actually a Mother/Daughter Team of speakers (Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson) - talking about how you may raise obedient and good kids that don't truly understand the Gospel.

Naturally, this sort of thing caught my total attention, and I was hungry to hear more!!! I have a 26-month-old at home right now, and I'm not gonna pretend everything is perfectly fabulous at the moment :-) Can you say "terrible two's"? Although I hate that "name tag" with a passion, I must admit I have caught myself saying "yep, this has got to be it"! 
The ladies don't necessarily address what to do with a 2-year-old, they do however help you get the bigger picture of who you have at home - a sinner that is in desperate need of a Saviour no matter what age! And that pretty much teaching and training them to obey is to only show them how they're not able to obey in and of themselves. . . 
I tell ya, I was SO ENCOURAGED by this short message, and my prayer is that your heart will be uplifted as well!

Take heart Mommah, you are not alone, and your job as a Mother does not define who you are! :-) 
Doesn't that take A LOT of pressure off your shoulders? Listen, cry, enjoy and thank our God for His love and mercy towards us!



CLICK HERE: http://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/revive-our-hearts/play/give-them-grace/

Hanging out with the Cuz

Today we had two precious visitor come over to our house - my sister Eunice and her little man, Andrew!

Did we ever have a blast! :) We're so blessed to live real close to each other, but because of my morning sickness, and then my hubby's and Vivie's sickness we actually weren't able to see them for a whole MONTH!!!! Crazy, I know!! I almost didn't recognize this lil' handsome guy!!! He's all smiles and giggles and has a way of melting an aunt's heart - not to mention Viv's passionate love for him! :D 

So here's a few of our captions from our play-date today! :) Just LOOK at those smiles!!!

He's actually trying to be all serious on me here, explaining how he's gonna be chasing bunnies across the field one day :) . . . 

A cuddle-cuddle moment on our favourite blankie . . .

"Counting the toes, checkin' them twice..." Yep he's got all 10 of 'em! ;)

Aaaand we're holding hands - that's right! Best Cousins forever!!! I could just eat those two - 

aren't they so yummy?!?!?

Love is definitely in the air - or better said, in their hearts! :o) 

A heart-melter! 

Father God, please equip us with wisdom and love to guide these precious two gifts before Your throne, so they may live for Your glory alone and be Yours forever. Give them to your precious Son, 

our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Which way to the beach?

Ok, this was just too cute not to share :) 

As we went on our family walk today, Viv takes out her map and starts telling Daddy which way to go. I was just sooo amazed how grown-up she looks already! 

"Oh where oh where has my little girl gone, oh where oh where can she be??"...

We also stopped by the beach (no, we didn't walk :)!
Didn't really get a good sunset cuz of the clouds, but we got to do a lot of fun stuff like...

Taking pictures of our footsie-tootsies... :)

And throwing seashells into the ocean... A little blurry, sorry, but she wouldn't stay still :)

Oh how I love to spend time with my two hunnies! Feeling so blessed!!!!

Ratatouille

• 1 eggplant 
• 2 zucchinis
• bell mushrooms
• 3 carrots
• 2 potatoes (optional)
• crushed tomatoes (small can)
• tomatoe sauce (small can)
• about 1 Tbsp of sugar 
• spices: some salt, pepper, garlic powder
•  (or fresh garlic)
• herbs: oregano, basil leaf and anything else you think would make it taste amazing

*I personally like to add some poultry seasoning and a pinch of italian herb blend

1) cut up the eggplant into cubes and zucchini into quarters, add a little bit of water and cook on medium-high heat till it drops in size and becomes nice and mushy.

2) cut up the rest of the veggies and mushrooms and add with the rest of the ingredients to your big pot.

3) allow to simmer for a while, till all the flavours blend in nicely just like in the movie ;D
(and the carrots are on the softer side)

4) when ready to serve, put a nice heaping spoon full of sourcream on top, with a sprinkling of paprika or cayenne pepper!!!!!.. or a healthified version would use plain white yogurt  ... tastes just as amazing!

VIOLA and ENJOY!!!!! :o)