eggs.

eggs. not to be confused with eggos.

i like them hard boiled.

i like them sunny-side up.

i especially like them in chocolate cake.

hunter likes them too.

he especially likes them off mommy's plate.

the only problem? hunter's body thinks they're bad.

really bad.

so bad that it landed him a few trips to the hospital.

no more eggs for hunter.

yesterday we found out he is severely allergic to eggs and anything containing eggs.

i also learned that there are several other words that sound nothing like egg but indeed are eggs.

ever heard of "ovovitellin?" those are eggs. along with "livetin," "simplesse," "albumin," and the list goes on...

time for mommy to start reading a whole bunch of labels.

time to start substituting baking powder, vinegar, gelatin, yeast, water, and apricot puree for eggs. who knew?

athough, i somehow don't think that scrambled apricot puree will hardly do. i think it will be more like a counterfeit.

here's to hoping that he will grow out of this allergy by the time he's 5.

thus far

at the end of every year and the dawn of a new one, i often become reflective and hopeful. reflective over the past year and all that it entailed - the joy, the trials. hopeful over the year to come and what the Lord will bring into our lives.

i read this from, (of course) morning and evening. i couldn't not share it with you:

"the words 'thus far' seems like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. but the word also points us forward. for when one arrives a certain mark and writes 'thus far,' one is not yet at the end, there is still a distance to be traversed. more trials, more joy; more temptations, more triumphs; more prayers, more answers; more toils, more strength; more fights, more victories; and then come sickness, old age, disease, death. is it over now? no! there is still more -- awakening in Jesus' likeness, thrones, harps, songs, psalms, white clothing, the face of Jesus, the society of saints, the glory of God, the fullness of eternity, the infinity of bliss. o be of good courage, believer, and with grateful confidence raise your Ebenezer: thus far the Lord has helped us, for he who hath helped us hitherto, will help thee all thy journey through. when read in heaven's light how glorious and marvelous a prospect will your 'thus far' unfold to your grateful eye!" - charles h. spurgeon

as believers, no matter what happens in 2010, we can be hopeful and joyous over our home in heaven for all of eternity!

what was the best part of your year?

9 of my most favorite things from 2009

(in no particular order... the order is based on how blogger uploaded the pics...)

9. celebrating christmas as a family with a little one.

8. celebrating 5 years of fabulous marriage to an amazing man.

7. trip to venice for free. stayed in a castle for free. sang in a centuries old chapel for a venetian wedding.

6. finding out about baby #2. a blessing in surprise!

5. visiting my home and family in california for free. thanks to skymiles and lodging with grandma.

4. seeing our baby boy grow up during his 1st year...

10 months.

6 months.

1 month.

3. being a mom.

2. never feeling so close to my hubby. this was right after hunter was born.

1. seeing my son for the 1st time. definitely the #1 memory of the year.

"sing to him; sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!" 1 chronicles 16:9

baby's 1st christmas.

yay! a leap frog table!!! thanks grandma and grandpa. hunter loves it already.

opening a present from uncle andrew - it was a monkey bowl! it will be perfect for snacks. (uncle andrew is 11 years old... he took some money he earned and went to the dollar store to buy everyone in our family a gift. how sweet is that?!!!)

uncle chad and hunter.

my bro, chad and i.

my sister, melanie and i. she gave me some peppermint lotion. after i opened it she said, in all seriousness, "sis, that is really good lotion. i only used it two times but i won't use it anymore since it's yours now." ha! she gave us a good laugh.

unbelievable! a family shot with all of us looking in the (almost) same direction. hunter is wearing a cute wintry shirt. i tried to find a baby's 1st christmas shirt for him to wear. since he is so big (he wears 18-24 mos) they don't make baby's 1st christmas stuff in those sizes. oh well. his daddy probably would've likened a baby's 1st christmas shirt to a christmas sweater and kept hunter from wearing it.

how sweet and handsome.

checking out his new outfit from aunt cheryl!

christmas morning. he opened his one gift from daddy and mommy. i filled his stocking with stuff he already had (he didn't know he already had it) and with his favorite snack - yogurt melts. i think he would've been just as happy with a package of yogurt melts alone.

mommy and hunter.

at the christmas eve service. hunter, me and my brother, andrew.

after the christmas eve service. we had to wait for daddy to get offstage so we could hug him and get a picture. hunter was hungry at this point. : )

we tried to get a better shot... it's better but not good. oh well!

it was such a joy getting to share christmas with our little boy! i can't believe that next year at christmas we will have an almost two year old and a 7 month old. wowee!

i hope you had a fabulous christmas!!!

rejoicing in the Savior's birth!

"fear not, for behold, i bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

luke 2: 10b-11

may our day be full of rejoicing as we celebrate our Emmanuel!

my year in status...

...according to facebook.

the Lord has been gracious to us! i praise Him for the blessings He brought this year.

it was a wonderful night.

christmas eve came a day early for us with kelly's family. the graham's always get together on christmas eve but tomorrow evening we are having two services at our church (kelly is playing and singing for them) so, we wouldn't have been able to come. they didn't want us to miss out on the family festivities; they rescheduled it. just for us. it was especially sweet of them!

hunter is dying to escape from my arms to play with his new toy. thanks papa and gigi!

hunter has sure been drooling up a storm. speaking of which, why hasn't anyone had the idea to invent baby clothes that will not absorb moisture (i.e. - spit up, drool, milk, etc.)??? i think that could earn someone billions.

tearing into his presents. he had fun!

i just love how his face is squished up against mine. do we look alike? i have a hard time seeing it, but kelly says we do.

our sweet niece, taylor.

our other niece, (who is also sweet) camryn, me and hunter.

kelly's mom. she is sporting her new ugg hat, scarf, and she was even wearing her snazzy new ugg boots! all courtesy of her hubby!

we had such a great time with the graham's!!! tomorrow night we will go to church. on christmas we will go spend time with my family in the afternoon. we will always keep christmas morning to ourselves... i think it is great to spend time with just our family at home. especially now that we have a little one!

my family used to always open presents on christmas eve and then we'd do stockings on christmas morning. kelly's family does the same thing. for some reason i feel like it spoils christmas morning a bit that way. maybe we will change that for our family and do presents on christmas day. i somehow want to keep the main thing the main thing and never allow all the gifts to overshadow the greatest gift - Jesus! so, i am thinking of ways to make that happen. what's your tradition - how do you keep Christ the center and when do you do your gift exchanging???

taking your mane from lame to tame

this is lame.

not only is this a terrible picture, but look at my hair! people often ask why i always wear my hair in a ponytail... this is why. it is a thick bird's nest full of curls. i do love my curly hair and the versatility of it, it just takes a whole bunch of time to give myself a decent do.

can i just tell you that it takes me at least 35 minutes to blow dry my hair when i do it curly! isn't that insane!??? and, if i do it straight the real way (i.e. with a straightener) it takes just as long.

when i don't have all the time in the world (which is most of the time) i go for an almost straight look. i say "almost" because if i really wanted it straight i would have to use a straightener or use a brush while i blow dry. i hardly have the patience for that.

i have to stick to a 15 min hair routine (15 min is still long, though!) - i brush it, run my favorite new product through it and blow it dry.

meet coconut milk. my favorite new product. and, its cheap. it runs $4-6 and it will last several months. it tames my mane. it is what i use to help fake my straight look without using the straightener.

ta-da! this is tame.

my friend styled my hair right after she cut it (several months ago - because i only get my haircut like 3 times/year. yikes! i know.). my hair never looks like this when i do it, so i had to take a picture of this.

sometimes my hair just wears me out. i know, such a petty little thing... especially to dedicate a whole post to it. : )

how do you do your hair? if you have curly hair, what are your favorite products (criteria: they must be cheap and not the fancy salon kind. sorry gals.)??? if you have straight hair, what do you use? i want some hair advice.

p.s. - i bought the baby girl bedding!!! i got three receiving blankets, crib bumper, sheet and skirt for $34. yippee.

birds for baby girl

introducing birds... our crib bedding for our baby girl. - if we have a baby girl and if someone hasn't already snatched it up! i'll explain - we were at target two days ago and i saw that this bedding was on big time clearance. it's funny because i saw this a few weeks ago and thought i would like to get it if we have a girl. well, the clearance price would be right around $30 for the entire set. wow. that is a mighty fine deal. i have a target gift card so we really wouldn't have to pay anything for it. {i think this is more than coincidence... to me, it is a little sign that we are having a girl! kelly thinks i am nutso and always reminds me we have a 50% chance of having a girl.} we find out in january what we're having. if it's not a girl, i will return the set. sounds like the perfect plan to me.

today i went to target (a different target. not the same one we saw the bedding at.) and the bedding wasn't as cheap as the other target. so, tomorrow i will go to the target that we first saw the clearance items at in hopes of it still being there. wish me luck!

on this day in history...

2004: kelly and carissa became mr. & mrs. john kelly graham. it was the best day. ever.

the whole story:

the night we got engaged. also the best day ever. june 2004.

at our engagement party that my family threw for us when we were visiting california. by the way, what in the world was i wearing??? i can't believe that was really in style. or, at least i thought it was.

i took kelly to all the cool places in cali. here we are in the redwoods the summer before our wedding.

wedding day. l-o-v-e.

we are married! walking out of the chapel to coldplay's "clocks."

leaving our reception... headed to hawaii.

honeymoon in hawaii. the best vacay ever.

we are seriously in love. and always will be.

for four years it was just the two of us.

now we have a family!!!

"every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father..."

-james 1:17