Halloween Fun!

Well I think after 3 halloween parties & 1 birthday party Emma Grace was over the madness of halloween weekend!.... so we spent halloween day & night fighting off throw up, fevers & going to bed at 6pm! But honestly overall we had a GREAT time and she had MANY chances to wear her costume (as a mommy I loved that part) So after Blake's halloween party, the harvest carnival and hosting one of our own with all her friends TinkerBell was WORN OUT!!:)

Hope everyone had a great weekend & a great halloween!... I can't believe it's November; yikes!!

why is this picture sideways??? no idea:):) BUT anyway it is a fun pic of all the kids (& parents) decorating caramel apples; so fun!

My poor baby so sick!! I had to take a picture; so cute:(

1st Snow Day!!

Truly enjoyed our 1st snow day!

Played outside, had hot chocolate, watched a movie and ended up having the best day....

Enjoy some pictures...

First real time playing in the snow!

Camera got foggy BUT she was SO proud of her 1st snowman:)


Mommy & Emma Grace day!

SO beautiful!

This pic is driving me crazy; can't get it the right way; sorry!

Her & Daisy running around

My sweet girl!

She was so excited to pose with her "friend" & her pumpkins:)

Yay.... Dentist!!

Emma Grace did FANTASTIC at her 1st dentist appointment!

I think I was more nervous than she was; LOL!

Practicing with baby opening wide before seeing dentist

LOVED Kayla the dental assistant she seriously ROCKED!!

Emma Grace getting ready for the chocolate flavored toothpaste!

Such a big girl; so proud of her!

I'm back!...

I know, I know it's October!:)

My life..... well in a nutshell..... it's complicated, difficult & overwhelming; so there you go there's my excuse as to where I've been the last 2 1/2 months. The Lord definitely has me in a season of change and more than anything I just rely on Him to carry me through everyday!; So with that said I'm just going to jump in as if I haven't missed a day:)....

Today we had an amazing MOPS playdate at a pumpkin patch! It was the perfect fall morning; cold, crisp, sunny & beautiful. We had an amazing turnout and Emma Grace had a blast and to be honest so did I:). I had a great time chatting with friends, watching her run around and I loved watching her interact with all the animals there; so great!

So thank you Lord for days like today!

This is a picture of Emma Grace (on the right:) & her BFF Hayley! So cute we almost died!

Pictures from Vail

Vail

Headed to Vail for some much needed time away....
I will definitely take some pictures of our gorgeous digs.
So excited to sit on the patio, read a book and enjoy the sound of the river!!
Yay for relaxing!!
Enjoy your holiday weekend; be safe & have fun!

feeling beautiful...

First wanted to say I'm so sorry if my posts have been cryptic or confusing. I honestly have just been writing from my heart & broken spirit lately and without going into gorry detail have just let God's word or songs do the talking. I'm continuing to strive to be authentic during this and again feel moments of pure Godly joy in the midst of a rough season. The friendships and support that God has put in my life are unexplainable and perfect! Just wanted to share this song with you. Everytime I hear it I cry; because at a time where I'm again feeling broken it's great to hear but also great to remember to look at ourselves like God sees us but also think of other people that I know are hurting deeply and there is a part in the song where it says something like "praying that you'd have the heart to fight, you are more than what is hurting you tonight, for all the lies you've held inside so long they are nothing in the shadow of the cross; you're beautiful, you're beautiful you are made for so much more than all of this, you're beautiful, you're beautiful; you are treasured, you are sacred you are His!" I mean seriously who wouldn't want to hear that when you're feeling broken... or ever??!! God is amazing!

click here & listen;

it's amazing and I promise that if you let it sing to you it will put a smile on your face:) Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WnAq0o2Xl8

As the title says;.... I am feeling beautiful!:)

Strong enough

My heart

Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long?...
I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow... psalm 6: 2, 3, 6 & 7

Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me, Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O lord, the God of truth.
Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. psalm 31: 2-5 & 9

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. psalm 34:17 & 18

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation he is my fortress, I will never be shaken! psalm 62: 1&2

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my savation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge, Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. psalm 62: 5-8

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. psalm 94:19

I Don't have the words to write about what's going on or where I'm at so I took some verses from my quiet time this morning in hopes that they will convey my heart. Still asking for prayer for what looks like a storm that will not be ending any time soon. As I sit in despair I also rest comfortably in the arms of a God who is faithful, strong & who loves me unconditionally and I am certainly finding some hope & comfort in that!

prayer

Another tornado has hit this season of my life.

Please pray for me.

I need prayer for strength & courage.

I am feeling broken & exhausted.

Please pray for Emma Grace that she feels peace in the midst of this storm,

and that mommy is filled with the Lords strength & energy everyday.

Thanks all.

Joy

First off thanks everyone for just letting me know that you stopped by; I really appreciated that! Also of course for your continued prayers; I can't tell you how amazing it is to know that people are praying for you and love you enough to not have to know every gory detail but just trust that prayer will help; Thank You!!

JOY!

I think people always say they want to be "happy", but I don't know if that is truthfully realistic. In this world we face trials of many kinds; job loss, loss of loved ones, relationship strife, confusion, anger, etc.... I think it really is unrealistic to be "happy" all the time. BUT if we're talking about "joy" that is different in my opinion. I think pure joy comes only from the Lord. Only from His promises and ultimately His hope. At church they have been preaching on "Out of the Ashes", finding hope in/through suffering!(ps thank you Lord for speaking directly to me:):)

and there is something to be said about this incredible amount of pure "JOY" I feel even in the midst of trials. I read through my last post about this next chapter and it feels 100% true BUT the only thing that didn't come out of that post was my JOY & HOPE that God continues to fill me with as I continuously go to him! "In the midst" there are alot of really cool things happening as well...

* A while ago I mentioned in one of my posts that there might be some "fun" new ministry opportunities coming up?..... well there definitely were or I mean are....

1. I am the new MOPS coordinator at our church! Yay:):)

They asked me back in March I think and I was pretty taken aback that the Lord would put my name on their hearts to ask because of where I am and how broken I felt at the time. But I'm telling you it was the most AMAZING prayerful journey I have ever been on! I mean if you ever want the Lord to speak to you just completely surrender the question to him and WOW he just met me where I was every single time and just poured into me through his word that it is NOT by my own strength that I would be taking on this role it is through HIS STRENGTH! and honestly a bit broken, frightened and weak is exactly where he wanted me going into this leadership position because now the words I say are His! the actions I posses are His! and the strength to keep it all going is His! and what a ministry initself that is!!! so I'm super excited abou that!

2. I have joined High School ministry staff!

Now it's not like I'm running anything or going crazy in that way just a volunteer who faithfully goes to youth group every week and conitinuously speaks into the lives of a group of incoming freshman girls! I LOVE IT!! I've missed it!

(and Sharri if you're reading this I came very close to calling you a few weeks ago on my way to my 1st youth group because I was having flashbacks of our time with Mariners Jr. High, thinking about ministering with you and was just missing you and getting excited to hang out with students again:)

*Also part of the transition from the 1st chapter to this chapter all of a sudden I forgot to take care of myself! Does anyone ever do that when you're in transition and you're not sure which way is up? You get so good at keeping everyting else afloat that you forget to take time for yourself.... so with that said; I (WE) decided to run in the Bolder Boulder 10K! Yay!!:) It was a HUGE accomplishment not just for me, not just for Chris but for us as a couple. It was sort of this symbolic thing; I can't quite explain it without droning on & on and boring you all, but basically it represented something that we have always wanted to do, always "never got around to doing" either out of fear or just lazy? who knows and also it represented something that we could do as individuals but also as a couple!

Ok so let me put this in perspective for you (because I am super excited about it). The Bolder Boulder is a 10K race that takes place every Memorial Day. It's obviously in Boulder and it takes place in the heart of downtown, in the heart of all the residential and all around. It is the 5th largest road race in the world and the largest in the US (of timed runners), there were over 56,000 runners!!!! Apparently the course itself is one of the most difficult (ps nobody told us that when we signed up, LOL:). It was TOTALLY a God thing because Chris came home Thursday night and after chatting we both decided to do it? Ummm what??:) I woke up Friday morning at about 5:30ish; sort of panicked and sort of excited and decided to go running because apparently 48 hours from then I would be running in a 10K:)LOL! So there we were 2 days later and off we went! Chris had been training for awhile and had some goals in mind and honestly he is in amazing shape right now (he did it in 55 minutes; seriously I know!:)

And then there's me whom shall we just say had not been training; LOL!!

I Hadn't run consistently at least since October (before our failed transfer)

and here I was staring at a 10K (6.2 miles) in the face and I ran it in.....

Drumroll please because I even amazed myself....

1hour 9minutes (69 minutes)!!!!!!!!!

Not by my own strength but His! I'm telling you I had been praying consistently for the Lord to fill me with courage, discipline and strength to begin to take care of myself and to challenge myself, well I defintiely did that and felt GREAT!!!! Ok well let me not exaggerate that I did not feel GREAT after the race. Chris & I could barely keep our eyes open the rest of the day. Did everything we could not to fall asleep and failed miserably and were in bed by 8pm with Emma Grace but WE DID IT!!!

I know the picture is tiny I took it off their photo site because we didn't have a camera that day but that's me bottom right corner wearing blue!!!! yay!!

I know it's super tiny and I know you can't see me but I'm the blue dot on the far right, 1st row ready to start. I thought it would be cool for you guys to see the sea of people behind me!! Crazy! And my wave took off at 8:59am the first wave took off at 7am I think and there were still many more waves after me.... 56,000 people the energy was CRAZY nuts!!

I pray that in the midst of your daily struggles, daily frustrations and daily grinds that you can Find His JOY! Rest in His JOY! and Enjoy His JOY!

It is pretty awesome!

:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

A new chapter!?!

Going back to a blog post a couple of weeks ago just stating that I had been wanting to post but just not quite knowing how or what. I basically have been trying to clearly define where I am. I still feel absolutely 100% in the same "season or storm" BUT definitely beginning a new chapter of it. So here is my best definition:

"I am beginning to cautiously rest in the idea of a rebuilding season instead of a painful and constantly stormy season"

I wrote that at the beginning of May, a couple of weeks after my cry for prayer. I feel like after that specific storm calmed down a different storm would rain down and then a different one and a different one and that went on for a few weeks; then mother's day/ emma grace's birthday it has been a whirlwind month or so of trying to "cautiously rest" in this new season, this new chapter!

I can honestly say that it's as if my life was hit by a tornado and the actual tornado and wreckage lasted 6 months or so and now I am in the process of piecing it all back together. And honestly if you ever talk to an actual tornado survivor I'm sure we'd here that the rebuilding is of course better than the actual tornado; better in the sense of you survived it! you're alive! you're blessed with what little or lot you have left BUT it's still difficult & devastating to look back and remember what you lost and how close you came to not surviving.

I am blessed everyday by my life. I am excited to see all that God has in store for this family and feel privileged to have gone through the "tornado" because I do feel stronger for it. I feel empowered and strengthened by the Holy Spirit and feel a deep down unexplainable peace & joy that was not there before. So as I begin to walk through the debris of rebuilding and begin to cautiously rest in this new chapter I will continue to share with you what the Lord shares with me!

Keep praying and seriously thanks for reading! Please let me know you were here or that you read this because it is my heart and I would love to know who I'm sharing it with;) Thanks!

Birthday! Barf! & Balloons! (pictures see post above)

So Emma Grace's 2nd birthday was on Thursday May 12th! But truthfully started on Tuesday the 10th and is still in progress as we speak; let me explain....

My mom & dad came over to celebrate Emma Grace with gifts and yummy dinner on Tuesday night because they were busy Thursday night. Well it ended up being a bit of an impromptu bday gathering for my little angel because I ended up watching Jameson (Emma's BFF:) for my friend Megan. Our friends Allie & Jason and their girls Hayley (Emma's other BFF:) & Elysa ended up stopping by as well. So with pizza, gifts from the parents, a nice evening we laughed, played outside and thoroughly got as hyper as possible enjoying her 1st (of many) birthday celebrations!

Fast forward to Thursday (her actual birthday) and Chris took the day off and we had an amazing time at the WOW childrens museum, lunch at Red Robin and shopping at Target for a toy. She crashed out and we put together her bday gift so that when she woke up she was surprised! It was awesome:)! Then Chris' parents came over to enjoy a little Chick fil A and sang happy birthday! She finally got to eat a cupcake and blow out her candle!

Well all this to lead up to her actual birthday party Saturday morning; with all her friends! We were so excited... first though we had to pick up Uncle Mark on Friday at the airport who flew in for her birthday celebration. We got stuff done for the party, hung out with another friend and by the time we got home from airport & running around it was 5pm! Well we got home to my poor beautiful Emma Grace sick! Barfing with a temperature! So needless to say the party must NOT go on! So we had to cancel her party for Saturday morning.

So here we are Monday afternoon with a pink train cake that feeds 20, 36 sandwiches, 30 bags of chips, a dozen balloons, 12 chocolate cupcakes and 12 decorated cookies for a parting gift!!! I'm exhausted just typing all this:)LOL.... so we just figured out that this Wednesday morning we are having a "do over" party for Miss Emma at our house with anyone that can make it:)!

Pray for continued health the next couple of days:) and I'll be adding pictures of the actual "party" after Wednesday!

So as I said before the LONGEST 2nd birthday EVER!!!

xoxo

Life

Hi all so sorry for the 2 1/2 week sobatical:) that I took following my cries for prayer and support. First off THANK YOU again from the bottom of my heart for pouring out love, encouragement and prayers to me! Truly amazing!

So I've been in this sort of funny place of wondering what to blog about. I have logged on at least a half dozen time to sit, write and update but something has been stopping me and I think a part of it is that I wish that I had this amazing post about; It is finished! it is over, this season that God had me in is now healed and I'm moving on.... but honestly I'm still in it. It's still storming and I'm still in the midst of having good days & bad. Some days I sit feeling a bit lost from one day to the next because once one rain stops another begins. I get so used to one storm and then another one comes and I don't exactly know which way is up; does that make sense? I have learned so many incredible lessons through this season of life and the top one continues to be I am forever changed and will forever be authentic & real. Regardless of what season; I am a broken woman, I am not perfect, I struggle with wanting to be thinner, I struggle with coveting what other people have, I struggle with comparing; especially as a mommy! But I tell ya it is absolutely 100% awe inspiring and awesome to watch God grow me through such things. I have never felt so scared and so empowered in the same breathe as I have through certain storms in this season. I have never felt so lonely and so loved at the same time. And I have never felt so false and so authentic all at the same time; thank you LORD! for NEVER waivering and never leaving.

Right now life is a day to day journey of loving myself for who God created me to be and where God has me. It has been an amazing journey that through my vulnerability and transparency that God had been challenging me with he showed me such a truly pure and beautiful picture of what the body of Christ is supposed to look like this side of heaven and a day to day journey of relying on his promises for his will and his purpose in my life and my family! So folks that's pretty much where I am..... I promise not to go MIA for 2 weeks again but regardless thanks for giving me some grace and continuing to care what I have to say and care where I am. Thank you so much for praying!

Body of Christ

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for support, encouragement and especially your prayers! You have showed me the true meaning of the body of Christ. It was such a beautiful outpouring of support; Thank you! Right now the storm is pounding and I am trying to walk faithfully through each day. I am working on being the best mommy I can be everyday and I am weary and exhausted but I know that the Lord is faithful and sovereign! This has been a tough and very emotional couple of days but honestly thank you so much for your outpouring of emails, texts & calls telling me that you are here for me and praying for me. It touched my heart & soul yesterday!! Thank you!

Please Pray

So this is just a call of desperation. I need your prayers right now as I am barely holding it together. I am just weary, tired & exhausted. Recent issues have just been so difficult and so overwhelming. I have been pleading with the Lord for his strength, his mercy and his peace I'm just feeling like I need a little "help from my friends":). So if you think about it today please pray for me. Pray for me to keep it together for my daughter, pray for strength, pray for answers, pray for hope and pray for this head cold that is making me physically exhausted on top of emotionally exhausted. Thank you friends...

Don't you LOVE it when...

1. When your child is laughing SO hard that it makes you laugh out loud!


2. When a hot (& quiet) shower feels like a million bucks!


3. When your child is completely 100% taken care of and you get a quiet moment to just... sit!


4. When you can hear kids playing outside because it's spring & it's warm enough to have your windows open!


5. You can actually smell spring in the air; cool, kind of crispy at times, but beautifully sunny & blue skies!


6. When you are journaling/praying; sometimes very passionately and you can actually feel someone listening!


7. When you stumble upon a verse that speaks to you EXACTLY where you are at that very second!


8. When your new recipe that you were super excited about... actually turns out to be delicious!


9. When someone sees your gifts & strengths even when you can't!


10. Your child actually eats all of what you made for them; veggies, meats, fruits!


11. Someone is truly praying for you and you can actually feel the support & comfort!

* This post came from such a fun evening with Emma Grace. The tickle monster (aka: Mommy) was chasing her and she was laughing so hard and so loud that it sounded like she was 5 or 6 years old! It made me just burst into laughter, giggles, crying laughing, all of the above because it was so fun and so hysterical! and just absolutely priceless!! And so it allowed me to sit here and think of a few more things in a quiet moment in the house while Chris is putting Emma to bed of what else I truly love!

In the midst of this storm/season God is challenging me with a few amazing ministry opportunities so please be praying for me (guidance, discernment & faith)!

I'll share more when I know more; very fun!

i LOVE grocery shopping!

First to those that are following my crazy roller coaster of emotions and praying for me, supporting me and leaving me comments, emails & voicemails... THANK YOU!!! from the bottom of my heart. It is a tough season and some days are definitely better than others but as I've said I'm just sort of laying it all out there and saying, "Here I am!" so thanks all for loving me through it! Ok now on to the title of my post:).... I know some of you are thinking I'm crazy. Maybe some of you are thinking, "you love it because you only have ONE child"LOL:)! But honestly there is something about menu planning, taking inventory of my refrigerator & pantry and then writing a list and checking off that list as I shop. Emma Grace & I actually do have a ball while doing it too; I think because I'm in a good mood while shopping that in turn makes her giggle and often say, "Oh mama:)!" So they recently opened a Sunflower Market (http://www.sfmarkets.com/) near me. I believe it's a Boulder based company so I don't think they are in Cali but basically it's whole foods meets traders meets sprouts. I really love it. The closest one before was in Boulder and now there is one a couple of miles away. Anyway, that is where we go for our produce and then dare I say, I can't believe it but we get most of our groceries at wal mart! Never thought I'd say that statement:) just because in OC I think there might be one in Foothill Ranch or something but I don't think I ever stepped foot in one until I lived in WA; LOL! Anyway LOVE, love Wal Mart and so does our household budget:):). Anyway crossing off my list, getting the best bargains/prices; I don't know I love it. THEN you get to come home and ORGANIZE!! Well let's just say that's the highlight of my day. I'm not even kidding; organizing my refrig, getting my pantry in order, replacing empty for full, breaking down boxes for recycle... I don't know people it's a high, LOL! Are you embarrassed to know me yet:). OK so there is something about this whole process that I loathe!! Emptying the car and carrying all the grocery bags inside (especially now that I have Emma Grace, a little tricky to say the least:) but honestly even that doesn't stop me from LOVING the end result of full refrigerator, full pantry, organized and ready to cook, snack and eat! It also gives me a new sense of healthy eating, ya know? With all the fresh produce lining the countertops and drawers of your refrigerator! So obviously I went grocery shopping today and it put me in a better mood for a bit. I always do feel more complete and "put together" so to speak when everything is brimming to the top with foods for us and Emma! Ok well there was no real reason for this post other than to say; "Hopefully you still love me after this embarrassing post!"

Happy Weekend!

2 steps forward, 1 step back

Do you ever feel like that? Especially when you are in a season of trial or storm? I have just felt so encouraged lately with the season I'm in. I have felt that through all my support, my quiet times with the Lord, my friendships, my attitude that "things" have gotten better and then you have "ONE OF THOSE DAYS!" and it all just gets thrown out the window. I'm not comfortable going into to much detail but I just wanted to post about those times when you are just having a crapola day... for lack of a better word:)! I think sometimes when I'm going through valleys, trials, seasons; whatever you choose to call those trying times in your life that I focus so hard on getting out of the muck and being truly sympathetic to whomever or whatever I'm struggling with that when I do feel anger or frustration (even if for very valid reasons) I don't allow myself to feel them. Well guess what after a very exhausting and emotional weekend it's as if I just couldn't hold it together anymore and just had a really raw and emotional couple of days. It's hard when you are feeling lonely through all of that as well. My word for the year is authentic! You will be sick or are already sick of that word if you have chatted with me for more than 5 minutes lately because it truly is my word to live by right now:). I am just craving to be authentic; real. I want to be transparent in the good times and bad. And right now it's one of those "bad" times. This morning I woke up just saying, "breathe for me today Lord because I don't think I can do it myself" I feel overwhelmed, beat up and just plain exhausted! Thank God that he meets us wherever we are because my journaling time & quiet time with him today was great. It was just nice to be still, to just write/journal about how I'm honestly feeling and how I'm honestly overwhelmed and just sad. So with that said I am feeling a bit more refreshed after just listening to some encouraging music and have the Lord meet me and comfort me right where I am today. So if you think about it or if you feel so called I would LOVE your prayers right now as I am just weary & exhausted and having moments of frustration & hopelessness. Prayer for strength as a mommy, that I may have strength to keep her days positive and fulfilling. Thanks everyone who's been leaving me comments, or emailing or calling me about my posts. I want you to know that just knowing someone is reading this stuff that is coming from my heart & soul makes me feel supported. So if you are reading this and not commenting PLEASE leave me a quick hello to say you were here! ** took a break from my "praying" challenge today:)!

Challenge Updates & Green Smoothies!

All I can say is WOW right now... I am just so encouraged, challenged and excited with how God is using this time of praying for Chris. When I started I basically was just getting encouraged by the fact that no matter how big or how small the loss in your relationship is or has been that when we have faith God will restore all that has been devoured or destroyed. I absolutely LOVE that picture of restoration. Also as I may have mentioned I'm taking my leading of what to pray for and how from the book "Power of a Praying Wife". I went through this book our first year of marriage (which let's face it was the honeymoon phase AND 12 years ago) so it's been a while:).... but now it is amazing to read it again and read some of my underlines or comments from back then and to see WOW life sure is...... LIFE!! for lack of a better word. Back then at the "beginning" you just don't know do you?:)! And I'm not saying now is "worse" it's just different and more intense in my opinion. It's also an amazing opportunity for closer intimacy through God. What I mean by that is that no matter how much our marriage has been pushed or pulled in the season we are in; by fervently and purposefully praying for Chris and our marriage I feel closer to him in only ways that God can bring. It's truly amazing! Also I've been chalenged by the word FAITH. We hear it alot and it is a word that gets thrown around often, so as I've been going through the first couple days of this 30 day challenge to pray faith has definitely been spoken of alot. And after looking up the definition some of the challenges and commands mean so much more; for example:

* You have to have FAITH that whatever has been eaten away in your marriage/relationship can be restored.

*We have FAITH that when we pray for restoration that God WILL answer it

* FAITH that we have authority over the enemy when we pray.

Faith defined is:

trust or confidence, belief that is not based on proof, in truth or in loyalty. So those are a few things that I've been challenged with and also excited about as I dive into this incredible 30 day challenge to pray; thanks for listening to my update:)...

Ok on to GREEN SMOOTHIES! So as mom's we are all in the same boat of wanting to provide more nutrition or whatnot for our kids well to that I say... Good Luck!!:) No I'm just kidding but you have to admit that sometimes it's just hard to feed them the "right things" when they just don't want it or as we call it in our house "a hunger strike"! That's where Emma Grace decides that she will eat pasta (or whatever she chooses for that day or week) for breakfast, lunch & dinner and she doesn't want ANYTHING else!! Yikes! So with that said I know that she enjoys smoothies. Tuesday & Wednesday mornings I drive into Boulder for MOPS & bible study and have to be there by 9am (you know what I'm talking about mom's) and getting breakfast in her is kind of a joke before we head out the door. So we have gotten into the habit on those mornings that while we are driving she is comfortably eating/drinking her smoothly as we drive. It makes for a nutritious, quick & pretty easy meal that's portable. Well a friend from MOPS who is also a nutritionist suggested a GREEN SMOOTHIE to that I said, HUH? Basically now I add spinach leaves to her drinks. I know it sounds weird/maybe you already do this but try it (especially if your babies like smoothies) here's what I put in mine.

*My measurements are approx. I eyeball it in my blender*

1 cup yogurt (I've switched to lowfat most of the time I use Vanilla)

1 cup orange juice

1 banana

1/2 cup(ish) of frozen fruit (typically whatever I have but I usually buy the humongo mixed frozen fruit of peaches, strawberries,pineapples,mangos)

1/3 cup(ish) of small spinach leaves

Honestly I'm telling you it's not half bad and you really can't taste the spinach. But I am a true believer because I just threw the spinach container away which means Emma Grace ate an entire container of spinach in a week and a half! Pretty good!