Another one on the way!!

I just glanced at the last few posts and realized that last I posted about the girls, D was only 3 months old. Now she is 14 months old and everywhere. We are 3 months away from having baby #3 with a twist since they are getting a Brother. Felicity Couldn't be happier since that is what she asked for and Danarra has no idea what is coming!

Our curly headed Danarra is into everything and loves Books-she brings them to anyone she thinks might know how to read them to her, Stuffed animals and dolls- she'll grin and give them big hugs- often she categorizes smalled children in this group as well and Mommy has to save the other child from smothering or being knocked over!

Beautiful energetic Felicity has started Joy School (Mommy and two other ladies are the teachers). She is proud of all her pictures and loves to tell everyone about her school. She is a big girl!!!

Mommy is teaching Joy school next week for the first time and is a bit nervous- probably should just make sure she reads and prepares her lessons. It is also a challenge to be prepared for a new little one but I can't wait until he comes- December 18 is the due date and we'll be thrilled to meet him!

Thanks to Ben!

Well, as you can see Ben has helped me out with the technical details of the blog and has posted some wonderful pictures of our darling little ones! Danarra is working hard to grow big and strong and is eating constantly! Felicity is overjoyed to hold her "baby sister" even when she shouldn't be! We had some struggles today with trying to convince Felicity that she was NOT allowed to PULL Danarra into her lap when she wanted to hold her.

It's a GIRL!!!!!!

We are pleased to announce the arrival of our second Daughter, Danarra Clair Marvin. She joined our family at 5:40pm July 9, 2008. Danarra was 7 lb 9 oz and 20 inches long. She has a beautiful head of dark hair and is absolutely beautiful!

Felicity is thrilled to be a big sister and is often found commanding Danarra that she wake up! When Danarra does wake up or end a feeding, Felicity dances and shouts to everyone that "Danarra Wake, Danarra wake!!!!!"

Daddy is helping Mommy to recover by making sure she doesn't move much. Which is driving Mommy crazy- there are only so many times you can read the same book and it is awful just sitting and thinking of all that I could be doing!!!!
Relief is on it's way though! Ben has agreed to go to the library for me and get me some books to read!!! Poor Ben is having to work quite a bit too even though they had agreed to give him leave. They are in the middle of a big project and apparently he is indispensable. He may even be going up to Fairbanks and down to Juneau in the next couple of months. Both places need the same work done as he just finished in Kenai!

We'll get some pictures on soon!

My latest culinary creation was inspired by tring to use what was in the fridge.
We had a bunch of veggie tray vegetables leftover and weren't munching on them.

Crunchy Vegetable Salad

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, Snap peas
Dried Cranberries
Lime juice
Mayonnaise
Sugar
Dill weed
Salt and Pepper
Feta Cheese
Diced ham

Cut veggies up into small bite sized pieces, carrots into thin slices, toss in a handful or two of cranberries (I like quite a bit, makes it sweeter and chewy!) Mix 5-6 squirts lime juice with a couple of spoonfuls of mayo, a teaspoon or two of sugar, a dash of dill, and a big sprinkle of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning. Pour over veggies and adjust as needed. I had to add a couple more spoonfuls of mayo to get it the right consistency. Covering the veggies lightly but fully. Toss in some Feta and ham to make it even better!!!
Ben and Jeremiah both liked this and it is quite filling and Very healthy!!!

Correspondence

Ok, I am not a very good correspondent at all! I can't even seem to write en mass.
We have been having fun and staying busy. In June Ben had to work down in Kenai for a couple of weeks, Felicity and I were able to join him for the first week and play in Soldotna and Kenai. Since getting back I have begun the count down to Baby time. Thanks to Mom, Erynne, Ben, and his Bro, Jason our house is finally looking like there is a baby coming soon. In fact, we will be having baby Marvin on Friday, July 11, 2008. I am so very ready to have this kiddo out! It will also be nice to know if it is a girl or a boy finally! I don't think I like the anticipation of not knowing- too bad my children never consult me about if I want to know or not!
One of the other things I have been working on is making sure that there is easy to create food on hand for Ben to cook. As we were discussing this and I was trying to figure out what I usually cook, I came to the realization that I don't follow recipes when cooking. I follow ideas from recipes. Yes, I know this is not a great revelation to anyone who has eaten at my house. But it did give me some thing to think about and Ben suggested that I should blog my dinners online. I have decided to try it and see what comes of it. Especially since some of our favorite dishes are lost to time because I didn't write down what in the world I put in them!

Here is my first attempt:

Dinner tonight was Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
What I put in it:
1 Chicken breast, seasoned with garlic and paprika, slice and sautéed
2 cup Broccoli, tossed in with pasta for the last 3 minutes of cooking
1 packet powdered Alfredo pasta sauce mix (knorr brand I think)
8 oz small pasta

Make alfredo sauce as directed, I added a dash of cayenne pepper and about a tablespoon of dried parsley.
Boil pasta as directed, add broccoli for the last three minutes.
Once the sauce is done toss pasta, broccoli, and chicken in sauce and serve with Parmesan cheese.

This was done in about 30 minutes becauce the chicken had to cook. You could use canned or pre-cooked chicken and it would be finished in the 10 minutes it takes to boil the pasta. It serves three adults.

Yesterday's dinner was pretty good too.
BBQ Ribs
1 rack spare ribs
Montreal steak seasoning
BBQ sauce

Slice ribs into 2-3 rib sections. Sprinkle with Montreal steak seasoning and put in crock pot (slow cooker). Cook for 5 hours on high.

Remove from crock pot. (strain fat and use broth for soup) Place ribs on cooking sheet (line with foil to help with mess clean up) brush with BBQ sauce and place in oven set to low broil. Broil for 15 minutes or until sauce has browned and caramelized. Turn over and brush with more sauce, broil 15 more minutes.
We served ours with potato salad and veggie sticks with ranch dip.

Growth Estimates

So Johanna today got very excited about a growth estimate for children she found online somewhere. She quickly typed in her height, and my height, and then Felicity's height and weight. The results? At age 18, Felicity can expect to be a paltry 5 foot 3. Here I was hoping for giant children to look up to, and put me in my place. Instead I get midgets. Sheesh!

Of course only time will tell, and we'll love her just the same. Honest.

I have arrived!!

Ok, I have finally joined the online world. Now Everyone can know me and I can post any random thought or greatness and foist it on the unassuming public. So, here I am!
I am 24 years old. Married to the most wonderful man in the world, Ben. For all those realists, Yes he is wonderful, usually, and he is perfect for ME. Which is really all you can expect from a guy, seeing as I'm not perfect either. We have an amazing two year old daughter, Felicity, and she will be joined in mid July by a new sibling. I am going to school for a culinary degree and should be done in December if all goes well. Ben is completing his Management Information Systems(MIS)(computer stuff) degree this May.
So with school, family, church, and home, I keep quite busy! Felicity keeps me running and her daddy tries to keep me sane. Both of our families live in town which is very nice and can be a bit of a challenge, all at the same time. We love living in Alaska, and that is saying something if you can say that in the middle of the winter when it is -4 degrees F outside. It is a wonderful place to live and raise a family. It is incomparable in its beauty and opportunity to be and do outside.