My babies

26 1/2 weeks

Not the best quality picture, but adorable nonetheless.

Not that I blog much anyway

But I've been considering a break of sorts. Well, from the computer. I know, I do this often, but every few months or so I begin to feel a little guilty about all the time this cute little box eats up. While sitting at church this weekend Pastor Bob just made an offhand comment about all the time most of us spend watching TV. TV isn't too much of a problem for me, I barely watch a few hours a week, but this computer is another story. So then I got to thinking how I could/should scale back. (Why was God talking to me and distracting me from His own message at church? Isn't it funny how he does that sometimes?) You know how there are always people who say, "God told me to do _______." It's hard for me, because not very often do I hear God speaking so plainly to me. I don't get the specifics about my life straight from His mouth all too often. But for some reason, this Sunday, I did. He said, "Why don't you fast from the computer during the week and catch up on e-mails on Saturday?" Whoa!! You mean, go ALL week without knowing everybody's FB status? Go ALL week without knowing if there is a sale at Old Navy? Go ALL week without seeing the latest pictures and stories about my girlfriends kids and latest endeavors? When I put it that way, I suppose I'd survive :) You know, it was only 10 years ago Jeff and I didn't have the internet, e-mail or even cell phones. I should be able to reach back in my brain and remember how I survived life. So, that's the goal this week. Of course, if I need to look up a quick recipe or Jeff's latest flight itinerary I'm not going to beat myself up for hopping on the net for a few minutes. Honestly, I'm looking forward to all the time this will free up. So, if you need anything urgent, give me a call. Otherwise, I'll be checking in on you all this weekend...

20 Week Belly

Are you up for the challenge?

We are. The oatmeal challenge, that is.

My first trimester diet was the furthest from ideal. When I finally mustered up enough appetite to eat something, I just ate whatever sounded good. Mostly McDonald's cheeseburgers, crackers, chips, french fries... you get the idea. But now that I'm feeling really good (and Jeff was tired of eating such heavy meals for dinner) I decided it's time to start feeding my body, and my baby, better food again. In comes the oatmeal. I'm a sucker for boxed cereal, and it's just so easy to feed it to Claire on mornings when I'm rolling out of bed right when I should be feeding her breakfast. But really, there isn't a lot of nutrition to be had in these highly processed foods. I had kind of forgotten about oatmeal until stumbling upon this post. What a great idea! I love oatmeal, I love the idea of not having to think up what to make each morning, and I really loved the price tag. So, I decided upon this recipe and we had oatmeal Monday morning and today (of course, one day into the challenge I ran out of oats, not great planning on my part). YUM! I was a little worried that Claire might not be as excited about it as I was, but letting her choose her toppings makes it fun for her.


Claire's bowl: Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, peanut butter and a dab of honey.



My bowl: Butter, honey, cinnamon and pecans. (I'm also a HUGE fan of coconut oil in my oatmeal).

I've also been reading Nourishing Traditions. Whew, talk about an eye-opening book about food. Most diet/nutrition books regurgitate the same info I've heard in every other, but this book has my head spinning. It's going to take a couple of reads because she throws a lot of science in there, but I'm really starting to look at food in a new way. Over the past few years I've made a lot of healthy and positive changes to my diet, but this book would call for an overhaul. It'll take some time to make the changes, but I'm excited. For starters, I'm going to be more diligent about soaking my grains, including my oatmeal, and using whole fat, organic dairy products.

Let me know if you decide to take the challenge with me.

It's a ....

Meet Baby Coen

Coen Michael Hendrix
8-6-09
1:32 am

8 lbs 3 oz

I was blessed to help greet Coen as he entered the world early this morning. Megan had a perfect and healthy home birth. What a wonder and miracle to witness one of God's most amazing gifts!

Projects and a Big Belly

I finally finished my 'Pay It Forward' projects.


I've been wanting to make this hat for a long time, and just happened to have this skein of cotton in my stash. I really like it, I'm going to have to make one for myself this fall. (Thanks for the button, Andrea, I can't believe how perfect it turned out!)

And this cute little bag was just so easy to make. I'm loving granny squares right now.

I wanted to get these projects done before our ultrasound next month. As soon as I find out what we're having I'd love to get started on this blanket.

It's called the wooleater and I've been wanting to make one for quite awhile now.


Isn't this belly the perfect excuse? Is this how big you're supposed to look at 15 weeks? I'm feeling enormous already, what's 5 more months going to be like?!?


This is the yummy orange I picked out to make this scarf for my dear friend.


Hers will be a bit skinnier, but I think the orange will make for much more fun.

Meet Baby Fackler

I'm 14 weeks today and we had our second ultrasound.

The baby was too big (measuring 15 weeks) to do the testing we were there for, but I was happy as a clam just to see our little one moving around like crazy (almost too crazy to get a still shot), to hear that precious little heartbeat and to bring home a few pictures.

Cute little button nose...

"Hi, mom!"I'm just so in love already!

Oh, and though we won't be finding out the sex until 20 weeks, the tech (after hearing Claire refer to the baby as a "he") said she wouldn't be surprised if we found out Claire was right.

More crochet and other things

I finally finished this project last week. The hexagon afghan for my new little nephew, Coen, coming next month.



I loved every minute of it, but geez, what a tedious project! I haven't yet decided if I'll ever do another. I think really bright colors would be fun.

Needing something a little lighter, I decided to whip up some baby beanies for Project 3 on the Craft Hope blog.
I love that they are so quick to finish, and that I'm able to use up some of my growing yarn stash.

Today I started another fun project for the 'Pay it Forward' challenge I volunteered for back in February.

I'll let you in on what they are and how they turned out after the recipients receive them. By the way, I only had two people join in, I'd still be willing to add another if anyone is interested...

Claire finished her first round of swim lessons last Friday. I'm so proud of her. She listened to her teacher very well, tried everything including the water slide and jumping off the diving board. She's not quite ready to move up to the next class since she's so young, but I'm excited to see that she loves the water and does so well in it.

How to wipe a poopy bum

Pregnant, nauseated, sensitive to smell, style:
(Not to be confused with the quick, easy process that we used pre-pregnancy)

1. Answer child screaming, "I need some help in wiping!"
2. Enter bathroom holding breath.
3. Gag anyway.
4. Grab spray and hose down the bathroom. (No fakey floral spray, only the real citrus stuff works).
5. Flush the toilet. (Hold on to the child so she doesn't get sucked down).
6. Gag because you just caught a glimpse of what was going down.
7. Listen to child imitate the gagging she hears all day.
8. Grab a wipe (or two, or three, or four) and proceed.
9. Continue gagging.
10. Flush again.
11. Instruct child in pulling up pants and washing hands.
12. Gag one more time, for good measure.

How to wipe a poopy bum at JC Penney:

Same procedure as above. Insert the following without the benefit of citrus spray:

*Throw away accident filled panties.
*Leave the dinner you just ate in the toilet.
*Rush to the girl's department to buy emergency panties.
*Cry a little.
*Lots more gagging.

How would you like an update?

First of all, this little girl turned three!

I can hardly believe that it's been three years since she came into our lives. What a crazy few years. So full of blessings beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Though she has grown so much, in so many ways she is the same as the moment we first met her.

Proudly showing off her new boots birthday morning:
LOVING her new dress up clothes:

Fun with Chuck:
The cake balls that resulted from deformed Hello Kitty:
The best start to strawberry cake:
An embarrassed but "totally loving the spotlight" birthday girl:
On to other news. I am excited to announce that this little man is going to be a big brother. A big brother to a little brother, that is. Could the next little Hendrix possibly be this cute?

Now, I'm excited about this project for the little one. At one time, I started a hexagon afghan for myself, but along the way, discovered an error I was making. I got discouraged and quit. But as soon as I found out what Ben & Megan were having I ran out and picked up these totally boy colors:

And accomplished this on Saturday and Sunday:
A little more than one row, 13 hexagons completed and connected. 8 rows, 90 more hexagons to go...

Excited for this...

new book.

I have several of her books. I love how they are no nonsense and just so practical. I think every wife should read The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands. I'm still in the process of reading Stupid Things Parents Do To Mess Up Their Kids: Don't Have Them If You Won't Raise Them. And I'd really like to get The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage.

Has it really been over a month?

I know, I know. I'll try, but really, there isn't too much to share. I'll try to muster up the energy to put together some b-day pictures of Claire to share. For now, just a really great quote:

“If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, he would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death; and he sent us a Savior.”

- D.A. Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation

Pay it forward

Anybody wanna play? I read about this on Andrea's Knitty Bitty Blog and thought it would be fun to join in. So, here's how it goes:

If you want to join in the fun and get a little something in return ... be one of the first THREE people to leave a comment on this post and you'll receive a hand made gift from me during this year. There's a small catch...You knew there would be didn't you? Post this on your blog (or Facebook* wall if you don't blog) referencing this post then come back and leave a comment on this blog post, telling me you're in. Fun, huh? And by in, you do know that means you have to Pay It Forward and give something to three people on your blog or Facebook page. I don't even care if you make something ... just giving something is good with me!

Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift from me. When and what will be a surprise.

And if you didn't check out the link above, now is the time to check out the Knitty Bitties blog. Andrea's stuff is adorable and you may just want to treat yourself to something if you didn't comment in time, or just can't wait to receive something from me.

Delicious Disaster

Claire has been very clear about wanting strawberry cake for her birthday cake. I really wanted to make a gunk-free cake (without enriched flour, refined sugar, food dye, etc.) so I decided upon this recipe. It's the only one I find, and looked pretty delicious. I figured I'd make a trial run today knowing that there are a lot of things that can go wrong when baking a cake. Especially since I was changing things up a bit. Good thing, because my house now smells like burning batter. Why you ask?

Is it because I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of white cake flour? Nope
Is it because I don't know how to use an oven? Nope
Is it the use of organic cane sugar instead of refined white sugar? Not a chance

Is it because I failed to notice that pictured cake was three layers and I poured all of my batter into two 8 inch cake pans? BINGO

It looked more like an elementary school volcano experiment than the happenings of a culinary masterpiece in my oven.

And it's really hard to tell whether the burning in you nostrils is coming from the smoking batter on the bottom of the oven, or the overflowing cake pans that have been kept in the oven way longer than the recipe calls for because those darn toothpicks won't come out clean.

So, one of my cakes came out looking like this (after trying to flip it onto the cooling rack).



And the other, though done all the way through and frosted with this little bit of heaven, doesn't look a whole lot better. I guess you could say it has a "great personality".



All is not lost. I ate my fair share of cake pieces and finger-fulls of frosting, and it is darn delicious! I'm thinking strawberry cupcakes for birthday girl.

Speaking of...

Because it took me over an hour...

Because I've been tagged in one way or another by just about everyone I know via blog or Facebook over the last several months, and because it took me over an hour to think up 25 things about myself on Facebook, I figured I might as well get double credit and post it for you here too.

1. My nickname in High School was "Barf", short for "Barfany". It really wasn't that bad, I'm sure they all meant it as a term of endearment.

2. I tend to think the best of people. I'm sure it gets me in trouble, and it drives Jeff crazy, but I think it's a positive quality and I'll keep it.

3. I have an explosive temper with a long fuse. We're just now discovering that Claire has inherited my temper. It doesn't mix well with toddlerhood.

4. Some day I want to be a doula. Natural childbirth is something I'm very proud of, but I do understand that it's not for everyone. I was very lucky to witness the birth of my nephew and the experience changed me. Other than the first sight of Claire, it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

5. I was boy crazy from the moment I was born. Boys have never been gross, carried cooties or any other of that school girl nonsense. Ask anyone who ever went to church camp with me...

6. No one ever told me that 31 is when you start forgetting how old you are.

7. I rarely forget just how blessed I am.

8. I can't remember dates at all. Don't ask me in what year I was in 4th grade. In fact, I don't have a lot of distinct memories of childhood, school or even the first years of our marriage. What I remember most about any situation or time in my life is how I felt. If I do have a vivid memory, most likely it was emotionally charged.

9. Some day I'd like to try acupuncture. Not that I desire an ailment that would require treatment, but I'm fascinated by what the results would be. And no, needles don't scare me.

10. I'm even more curious about EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). I know it sounds a little "out there" for some, but I believe that God equips us with many means to heal and repair our bodies and our souls. I certainly don't think every remedy needs to come in the form of a pill.

11. God is determined to teach me that just because His time line and mine don't match up, it doesn't mean His answer is "no".

12. I hate fresh, slimy, snotty tomatoes. I adore all things made with cooked tomatoes. Sun-dried tomatoes are to die for.

13. My BIGGEST pet peeve is when people do not pick up there feet when they walk. That shuffling noise makes me want to step on the back of their shoe causing them to fly face first into the ground. Especially lazy teenagers, chawing their gum, mumbling to one another or into a cell phone, who DO NOT PICK UP THEIR FEET in those stupid flip flops.

14. I'll admit it. I pee in the shower and feel no shame.

15. I never really cared for working out, but have found CrossFit to be slightly addictive.

16. I love to take pictures. I'm not very good at it, but I do have a nice camera that makes up for some of my lack of talent. I wish I had the natural talent, but I don't, and I don't want force it. I settle for a few nice shots among the hundreds of mediocre.

17. I'm thankful that after many, many years of growing apart from my brother, that the last few years have brought us closer than I ever thought possible. Not as close as many siblings may be, but it's a close that I am thankful for nonetheless.

19. One of my greatest fears and greatest hopes is that I will become my mother.

20. I'm a cat lover. But somehow having a child has greatly diminished my need for pets. Maybe I always had cats to fill the longing for children.

21. Being a stay at home mom is something I try not to be snotty about, but it's a hard job sometimes and I'm really proud of the fact I choose to raise my child and that my husband works very hard to support our choice.

22. I wish I were a better Christian. Of course I wish I prayed more, read my bible more and even shared the gospel more. But mostly, I just wish I LET God be the Lord of my life more.

23. I don't have an eye for interior decorating. Jeff is responsible for all the nice parts of our home.

24. I'm a mouth-breathing, snoring, thrashing, sleep-talking sheet hogger. Jeff's not a pretty sleeper either. Eventually we will sleep in separate beds if not separate rooms. Otherwise, divorce may be inevitable.

25. I really hate being "tagged", but love all those who tagged me. I refuse to tag anyone else.

A few photos

There is a piece of scrap metal on my desk that is holding all my pictures hostage. Luckily, there are a few on the camera, so I thought I'd share.

First, here is the project I worked on this week. It was just a whim with some scrap yarn, but I love it!

These are from a couple of weeks ago. We had freezing fog, and I just happened to catch a glimpse of the grasses in my front yard on the way back from the mail box, which led to some pretty pcitures.

Last, due to the fact that we rarely celebrate Valentine's, I had a crummy week, and Jeff will be gone on Valentine's Day, yesterday my hubby surprised me with a dozen roses, chocolates, dinner at the Cottonwood Grille, a movie and an evening at Anniversary Inn. What a lucky girl I am!

Just hanging on

Without boring you with details and to avoid sounding like a whiner, I'll keep it simple:

Life has been rough lately.

That may partially explain my desire to hide out from the world by avoiding blogging, Facebook and e-mail. No promises, but I hope that gets better soon.

And as soon as my external hard drive is un-crashed, I hope to share a few pictures with you as well.

Until then...