Guest Blogger, Beware, Guest Blogger

A special thank you to my mom who has so graciously provided text as a guest blogger. Josh and I have been so busy lately working on many projects and one very big one that this blog has sadly taken a backseat. We do have some very, very exciting updates to come soon!

_________________________________________________________________

Hello all you readers and friends of Josh and Annies’ blog. I am a guest blogger who does read this space from time to time and I have noticed a shortage of reading material. So, rather then message them I have offered to fill a bit of this blog with some thoughts of my own! I am not quite ready to create my own blog so I’ll just try out this one and see how I do.

The young Easterling’s have been very busy lately. For the past month they have been working on home improvements. We have been fortunate to have been included in some of those improvements. We, being parents of Annie, in-laws to Josh, and “puppy-Grands” to Charlie, (probably one of the sweetest Labs in the State of Colorado) are Gary and Pam.

The improvements I am talking about have been putting in new windows for a nice tight home. Gary shared that this process was about blood, sweat and tears! We arrived in CoSP on Monday afternoon and the work began. The men put in one window and rested. Well, it was late, nearly supper and the sun had gone down! You could just see the wheels turning as they discussed the next window, how they would improve on the process, what supplies they would need to run to the store for etc. Ah, men on a mission. Then off to sleep and dreams of saws, trim, hammers and some special yellow foam insulation.

Tuesday was a new day and after a trip to H.D. (closer than Lowes) the windows were being re-placed and the home was shaping up nicely. Along the way Josh had to rescue Gary by replacing the end of his thumb….okay placing a bandage over a nice little gash! (Although there was enough blood loss to make you think the thumb was gone) The sweat part came in the afternoon. Even though the weather was cool, men at work just get sweaty! By the end of the day, towards evening, after sunset, the final window was secured for the night. What was planned to take 2-3 days was completed in about one and a half. Mission accomplished. (ah, yes, they are both that kind of man….one mind, one mission, “get ‘er done”)

Now what do two men with time on their hands do? Well, the guys found a few nice little jobs to fill in the remaining time of our visit. Gary purchased new carpet for the other daughter’s house on Villa and on Thursday what was put in. Josh and Gary were the movers of the huge couch, up and back down the stairs. Also several outlets replaced there and the lawn raked and mowed. Later they started an electrical project of hanging new lights on the Easterling’s garage. They put their heads together and even opened a book to help get the lights to work in harmony. Never happened, and that had them stymied, but eventually with the help of “Bo” the job is now completed. I would like to add that as we flew home, Gary was still trying to think of why the lights didn’t work as wired.

And that is where the tears come in. Yes, it is hard to leave your family, get on the plane and fly home. So much was accomplished on this “work and witness” trip. We did some work, we not only witnessed family love but were a part of if, but realized that being a part of your adult children’s life is such a gift. No matter the distance.

nausea

The sickness has begun. It started with just nausea which I could easily deal with. Then last week driving home from the gym one morning I couldn't control it. I lost the few crackers and Vernor's I had to tide me over until breakfast. This happened in the car, mind you. Then the next day it happened at home. There have been a few other times and of course it's not that bad but it's definitely not the most fun!
So sorry for the TMI!
Anyway, most days I just feel nauseous. I have a few more weeks until they say it should settle down so we will see. It is interesting how your body reacts to this. The little person is the size of a grape today and has arms and legs. The joints are developing and it can move the arms and legs around. The tail, gone! Maybe it will still have a small tail though, that would be cute.
Pictures coming soon! I have a very tiny little bump right now.

announcing baby easterling

This is how big the baby is right now, a kidney bean. Or a raspberry. About .6 inches long. It has little arms and legs and a head where eyelids have formed.
We are currently at 8 weeks and 5 days. Soon we will be telling the world that we are expecting a little bundle of joy but in the meantime here are some pictures to document this momentous time.
We are thrilled (and a little freaked) that God would bless us with a child. He is such an amazing Creator. And to think that just 8 weeks ago this little being was not even formed yet but was being prepared...for us. For such a time as this.
I have been thinking about how amazing it is that it was God's plan for these cells to meet and grab hold of each other and create this little living thing to grow into such a blessing. How it was not a surprise to God, at all. It was God's love. It is interesting to think about creation, when God saw that Adam was alone and needed a companion, he took part of Adam and created Eve. Out of love. And then he saw that it was good. And when we look at a relationship with God, how at one time this person had a choice to meet and grab hold of their Creator and they grab hold. You see their life change and they become a blessing. They become a picture of love. And when two people who God has drawn together, just like those little cells, grab hold of each other and don't let go you see an amazing creation called love. I think creation is Love in its finest form.
It is quite a surreal feeling to think that something was being formed in my body and I didn't even know it. That God did not only create my body as a temple for his Spirit to dwell but that he created my body to grow one of His creations. And as it continues to grow, our love for this little bean continues to grow. Love is such an overwhelming thing. But. Love. Is. Enough.

Pesto Cream Sauce

I'm sorry there won't be any pictures of this but next time I make it I will try to remember to take some pictures.

This sauce is really very simple to make and is delicious to eat.

You start by making pesto or you can buy it if you are into wasting money like that (just kidding, kind of). Go to your local farmer's market and they will probably be selling basil for some absurdly low price like 2 bunches for $1. If you buy this much basil you will have like 3 batches of pesto. Pull the leaves off the basil and put them in your salad spinner. Fill up the bowl and cover the leaves with cold water. Shake off the water and pour it out of the bowl. If you don't have a salad spinner, put the leaves in a strainer and fill your sink with water, then drain the water. Rinse the leaves again and then spin them a few times to get all of the water off.

Now to make pesto, I use a very simple recipe….are you ready for this?

Get out your blender and load it full of basil leaves, pine nuts, and olive oil. Grind. Chop. Mix. Whatever you need to do. Make sure all the pine nuts and basil are chopped up to little tiny pieces. Oh, you want to know how much to use? Hmmm..

I use about 3-4 cups of basil leaves, 1 cup of olive oil, ½ cup of pine nuts and then I added a pinch of garlic and Kosher salt for some flavor. Add more olive oil as you see fit.

So you made your pesto, it is great to put on pizza or pasta or you can freeze it and save it for later.

Now let's say you want some pasta with pesto but you want it to have some depth to it and not just be plain pesto. Here is when you should make the pesto cream sauce!

To make the cream sauce:

You make a simple Bechamel sauce and then add pesto. Easy as 1-2-3.

To make a Bechamel sauce you do the following:

2 Tbsp Butter

2 Tbsp Flour

1 ¼ Cups Milk

Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and stir until the flour is dissolved to a paste. You want it to start bubbling but not change colors. This happens pretty quick. Next you add your milk and continue to stir. Let the milk boil. Lower the heat, add your pesto and cook. Stir the sauce for about 2-3 minutes. If you want it to be more like an alfredo sauce with the pesto, add some parmesan cheese. If you want it be cheesier, add some mozzarella cheese. Keep stirring until the cheese is melted. I usually add about ¼ to ½ cups pesto. It will turn a nice shade of green. Don't worry, it will taste so good you can overlook the color. Hope you try this, it is very tasty!

Back in the saddle again

Hello, we are back. I had the flu last week and was pretty much lazy so that meant no blogging. I could hardly get enough energy to read all of the blogs that I like to read. So we are back and ready to post again. A forecast of what you can expect to see this week…pictures from Josh's birthday party (only 10 days late), a recipe for Creamy Pesto Sauce, a fun knitting project, something from Josh.

Ok that should do it. Just wanted to let you know we are still alive and kicking, just a little bit slow these days.