Appreciating Art Together

Today, Trav, T.J., and I all headed to Vero Beach for an art festival.  We had so much fun, and it was a splendid day!  Here are some pictures and videos from our fun time.  Enjoy!

 It was a warm, gorgeous day...

 This is the Brazilian martial art, Capoeira.  It has a interesting, rich history and was entertaining to watch!

We explored the area of the museum where people take lessons, and this wonderful woman allowed T.J. to experiment with her potter's wheel!  An amazing, one-of-a-kind experience for a two and a half year old!  We were overwhelmingly grateful!

 If you have ever owned an "Eye Spy" book, you know this artist.  He is a skilled artist who designs, creates, builds, sculpts, and photographs.  He is skilled in a plethora of different artistic skills, and his art was super fun and colorful to experience!  The perfect kind of art to show to T.J.!

 On the right is the sculpted, created model Wick designed in order to take the photograph on the left.  When we were standing in front of the photographs, it was hard to believe that they were, indeed, photographs of his sculptures and not paintings.  So incredible!

Some of the artwork outside the museum.

  My love and I

Sweet baby kisses and nibbles!

We did our job!

Sweet Savannah Travels

This past week, T.J. and I drove 6 hours to Savannah, Georgia where we met up with my parents who are from Tennessee for a quick, four-day visit.  They drove down, we drove up.  We met in the middle.  My dad was actually traveling on business, so they just invited us to tag along. 

Let me tell you something: Savannah is gorgeous!  From the rich, green squares to the quaint, eclectic coffee shops, I am excited to visit again as soon as possible.  We came at the perfect time of year, too.  Granted, the first day it was freezing to the point of borderline misery, but the next two days were great.  Even when it was overcast, there was a cool breeze and the beauty of the town shone through the gray sky.  Doesn't sound like the perfect time of year, does it?  Well, please remember that I am from Florida where the low 80s means AUTUMN IS HERE- HOORAY!  So I welcomed the low 70s weather Savannah had to offer, misty gray and all. 

The first day was cold, but we rode the trolley around and racked up some serious cuddle time with my son.  A success?  I think so!  The next day was blissful.  We walked through the lush squares with trees overhanging statues and benches.  Nothing seemed better than curling up with a good book on one of those benches and relaxing in that beautiful setting- next time we visit, we will have to set aside time for that. 

I am no photographer, but I have to say that if you live anywhere near Savannah and get engaged, want a family photo shoot, need senior portraits, or require a photo shoot of any kind, head to downtown Savannah as it is (in my very unprofessional opinion) one of the most beautiful shooting locations you can find.

Make sure when you get a chance, you visit Savannah, Georgia.  I am sure once it gets deeper into autumn, it is going to be even more alluring.  Hopefully you will find it as charming as I did!

Dear Baby...

Dear Enge 2.0,

     First things first- God is good.  I knew you for but 4 days, and I already miss you.  I had great plans for you.  We already referred to you as T.J.'s sibling.  And you still are.  I ordered the chalkboard paint for what was to be your room.  I took a picture of you and me to keep track of your growth inside me.  At church this past Sunday, when we were praying, I placed my hand on my tummy, feeling a little silly and dramatic- after all, you were so tiny.  Yet still, you were my baby.  Why not hold you during prayer?

I know you are with Jesus now, and I am not going to mourn you for months.  I am not going to get a tattoo in your honor.  But I do love you.  And I do miss you.  I wish you were with us, but God knows best.  Maybe you would have had a difficult time on this earth.  Maybe things wouldn't have developed right and you would have suffered grievously for your whole life or a small portion before passing in my arms.  Maybe God saved you from that.  Or maybe you were so perfect, God Himself wanted to meet you right away. 

Whatever the reason, I am sorry you are gone.  I wish I could have spent more time with you- heard your heartbeat, felt you kick, held you in my arms, helped you take your first steps, applauded as you received your college degree.  No amount of time with a child is enough.  I guess I just wanted you to be the one who had to say goodbye to us rather than us saying goodbye to you.

There is a time to mourn.  This is my time to mourn you.  It won't last forever.  I won't always cry when I think of you.  I already feel the healing process beginning.  The tears have slowed (for the most part, even stopped).  As a Christian, I feel more pain through this process but also more relief.  The pain?  You were a human.  Fully.  A baby, not a cluster of cells or a "fetus"... a baby.  My baby.  My second child.  That is the pain.  I cannot grieve you with the mindset that you were just 5 weeks along.  You were alive.  You were mine (lent to me for short time by the Lord).  That is the extra pain.  But where is the relief?  You are feasting with my Heavenly Father at his beautiful, heavenly table.  No fair!  I was supposed to beat you to that dinner, you little stinker!  That is the relief.  We know we will see you again and that you are currently having an AWESOME time with God.

I know Jesus is enjoying you.  I bet you look beautiful.

I cannot promise this will be the last I have to post about miscarriage, but I can say that writing helps me let go.  I have to let go, Enge 2.0.  The pain is deep, but I will be seeing you again.  Life is but a vapor... yours just happened to be a much smaller vapor than I would have preferred.  Just know that I love you and will always love you.  I will always have another baby waiting for me in Heaven. 

God is good.  He heals all wounds.  God is good.

We love you and miss you,
Mommy, Daddy, and Big Brother T.J.

Amazing Almonds

Well, most of you may not know that I have been doing Whole30 – I’m not big on posting a ton on Facebook.  Many times I just update with pictures and cute videos of T.J. – might as well leave the boring stuff about me out!  Anyway, I just finished Whole30 yesterday, and I wanted to share with you some of the best recipes I have discovered during the program that use such simple ingredients, there is really no excuse not to try them at home!

Coconut Almond Butter

Don’t worry; this doesn’t have a strong coconut taste by any means. 

Start with simple ingredients:

- 2 cups raw almonds

- 1- 1 ½ tablespoons unrefined, organic, cold-pressed coconut oil (Good quality ingredients are expensive but worth it- plus, you can use coconut oil for many other things, including moisturizer.  I use it for T.J. and myself)

- (Optional) ½ - 1 tablespoon salt (depending on how much salt you prefer- I am a salt-loving person and I have adored this recipe without any salt)

Seriously, that is it.  3 ingredients. 

Now, how to make it:

- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

- Spread your almonds out in one layer on a large, glass baking dish.  Roast the almonds for 20-25 minutes.  Open the oven, take a peek at and smell the almonds- when there is a rich aroma and they look nice and dark brown, they are finished.

- Scoop the almonds into a food processor. (I do it when they are hot/warm)

- Add your coconut oil and salt.

- Process until that baby creams up into a delicious butter scraping the sides occasionally.

- Enjoy!

Alternate method: If you are a raw foodie, you can do the same process, just skip the roasting part.  It will, however, take a significantly longer time to cream than the roasted almonds.

Better-Than-Popcorn Roasted Almonds

Ingredients:

- 2 cups raw almonds

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Salt

Notice I didn’t give any measurements?  It is a visual/tactile process- gotta make it the way YOU like it!

Let’s get started:

- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Spread your almonds out in one layer on a large, glass baking dish.

- Drizzle EVOO generously on your almonds.

- Use your hands to mix/coat the almonds with the EVOO.

- Salt according to taste (I have found that I love these with a LOT of salt- like popcorn!).

- Pop those babies in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Open the oven, take a peek at and smell the almonds- when there is a rich aroma and they look nice and dark brown, they are finished.

- Allow them to cool, and THEN enjoy.  The hubby and I don’t follow this rule, and we end up repeatedly burning our tongues… but lemme tell ya something… it hurts so good.  Sometimes almonds don’t feel like they should… they hurt so good.

Alternate method: Try coconut oil for an “Almond Joy” kind of taste- YUM!

I hope you try these at home, but beware, they get super addicting!  Once you realize how little work goes into creating a whole lot of “YUM”, you won’t be able to hold yourself back.  Remember, almonds pack some awesome health benefits, but they also pack a LOT of calories and fat!  Eat responsibly… and oh yeah, try to be nice and share.  I know it is difficult, but try.  ;]

Happy 25th Birthday, Brittany!

This is Travis by the way. Just a little post to Brittany for her birthday. 

It has been a few years since I have posted on here, so I thought this might be a good time to tell everyone about 25 of my favorite memories with you. Here they are, in no particular order:

1.    Closing on our first home

This was definitely a big milestone in our family, and it was exciting (despite the cramps in our hands from signing 45,683,968 documents) (yes, that is a code).

2.    Painting the bathroom of our new home

You did all the prep work and made it easy and fun for us to paint the bathroom together (and it looks great!). It always takes effort to get started, but once we start working together on any project it always ends up being enjoyable.

3.    TJ’s birth

This was the most amazing experience I have ever had. Thank you so much for bringing our son into this world. I can’t even imagine what you went through, but I am so proud of you.

4.    My 25^th Birthday

You are really great at giving gifts (way better than me). The surprise trip you gave me last year was a blast, and was made even better since we had those extended hours just for Disney resort guests.

5.    Our wedding

Everything just worked out so perfectly. You were gorgeous, Steve Camp sang at our wedding, the weather was beautiful, we got great pictures, and the reception was awesome (and the cake was great, too!). There isn’t one thing I would change about that day.

6.    Our honeymoon

We should have known it would be a great cruise when the cruise people saw our wedding cake and moved us to the front of the line to board the ship. We had a wonderful Christmas together and even got to do our stockings.

7.    Attending Financial Peace University

Of course I would like going to any financial class, but it really made it special that you wanted to go and we were able to work through the class together.

8.    The Summer of Activity

I don’t know what else to call it, but there was that summer when we were dating that we got together and were either playing tennis, going to the beach, or having picnics almost everyday. We just had a great time hanging out and melting in the Florida heat.

9.    Singing As Long As You're Mine

Even though I doubled your melody at the end, this was the event that started it all. We had a lot of fun getting to know each other and performing this song a few times.

10.  Any time we sing together at the piano

Or in general, but I especially like when we get a chance to play and sing together, even if I am trying to play a song while you sing beautifully. I think we sound great together.

11.  Mission Trip to Mexico        

Our actual trip, not the song. One of the two mission trips we did together while dating, I’ll never forget the view from the top of the mountain we climbed, and the billions of stars we could see since we were out in the middle of nowhere.

12.  Losing in Scrabble

  … and sometimes winning. I love when we play board games and card games together, regardless of the game and who wins (though I’m always the winner when I get to spend time with you (cue Full House music)).

13.  Watching you play with TJ

Not any particular time, but just in general. You have the ability to get down to his level and get him totally engaged in whatever you two are doing. TJ laughs the most when the two of you are playing.

14.  The Moody Blues cruise

Apparently I love cruises, but this one was exceptional. Multiple great bands were playing every day, and this was the first time I got to see the Moody Blues live. Watching The Zombies was great and really opened both of our eyes to how great they are.

15.  Christmas in NYC

Despite the flagrant violation of personal space by the masses of massivious humans at Rockefeller Center leading up to Christmas, we had a great time experiencing New York in the winter when we lived there. We went to Radio City Music Hall and got to walk around the city and see all of the lights and decorations together.

16.  1984 and reading books together

That year were both weren't alive yet was great... either that or I enjoyed listening to the audiobook of 1984 with you and being able to discuss the book and what we thought. We have also read many other books, either reading aloud to each other or reading independently and being able to talk about them. I love the fact that we can share in the education and entertainment of reading.

17.  Walking around our community

While sometimes I complain because I am lazy, I do enjoy taking walks with you and TJ around our community. It is typically very relaxing (unless we are competing to count all the rabbits we see).

18.  Walking for charity

Apparently I love walking, too. No, I just love walking with you, especially since we get away from other distractions and really have time to spend with each other. The past few years we have raised money for Alzheimer’s and Care Net pregnancy centers, and I think it is great to support these causes with you.

19.  Road Trips!

I think we have had one too many road trips in our lives already. We have probably pushing nearly 1,000 hours together just on road trips of 6 hours or longer. Most of that used to be us singing together, but now we just listen to TJ sing.

20.  Watching FSU football

Specifically this past season since we won the National Championship. I am so glad that you wanted to go to FSU (and that I went as well), and now as alumni we can share the victories together! (especially after so many struggling seasons when we were actually on campus)

21.  That restaurant in NY where the guy played Beatles songs

Sorry I couldn’t be more specific, I forget the name of that restaurant. I just remember us having a great dinner there as we were starting off our lives together in a new place, and the guy playing the guitar that happened to be playing great music. Also, Stage Deli -- no music, but awesome chocolate cake!

22.  Playing tennis in 45 degree weather

Obviously, this was not during the “Summer of Activity” in Florida. It was great having a tennis court 30 seconds away from our condo in New York, and it was actually fun to play when it was really cold out because we stayed cool and it was invigorating.

23.  Doing Insanity together

 I know I have talked about walking, tennis, etc, but I really enjoyed the fact that we (mostly you) did Insanity together. I am still really impressed with how well you did and how you pushed yourself. Especially after I quit and you kept going.

24.  Seeing Phantom in New York

During our other mission trip together, we got to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. I just remember how excited you were, and it was an amazing show and I am glad to have shared your favorite show with you.

25.  Opening our wedding gifts

There were a lot of reasons this was fun (obviously, we were getting gifts!). One great thing is that I was able to see you open gifts without worrying if you were going to like them or not (like I am right now) since they weren’t from me. That, and me almost crushing poor Darlin’ (and then accidentally tossing an empty box on her head).

So these are 25 of the best memories I have of some of our time spent together. The past 9 years of knowing you have been the best years of my life, and I am looking forward to many, many more (where is that music coming from??).