Why I Avoided Pinterest... and Why I Finally Caved

I avoided Pinterest for a long time. I did so because I already have enough things to do and check online and really didn't need one more. Plus, I heard from plenty of people who said they spent hours pinning things but never actually making or doing any of the things they pinned. I was afraid I'd be one of those people as I know my creativity motivation... and it's pretty low.

Well, I wouldn't say I love to cook, but I do enjoy it. I think I enjoy it even more while pregnant. I found myself googling recipes, and it was annoying to have to click on every link to see what the recipe looked like. I began thinking it might be a good idea to join Pinterest so that I could get recipes more easily (I love being able to see a picture!). I'll admit... part of me was being stubborn because I was proud I had held off on getting it for so long. But finally I decided to get it.

And I have not turned out to be one of those people who pins all day long and does nothing about it! Ben has been very happy with my decision to join as he's gotten lots of good food out of it (he told me if I made at least one recipe a week, I was allowed to stay on it, haha!)

I've made EIGHT recipes in the 2.5 weeks since I joined! And quite a few of them have been really good.

I made Chick-fil-A Bites that were amazing- I think they were the biggest hit! They really weren't too complicated either. Now here's the shame part... I've never had real Chick-fil-A Bites, so I don't know if these compare or not. But they're really good either way. Definitely worth trying! 

Other main dishes I made were:
- Bourbon Chicken (I LOVE the bourbon chicken place at our mall- I would say this wasn't quite as good, but it was close!... You have to scroll down in the link...
- Sweet and Sour Chicken (I love sweet and sour anything, so it was good of course, but I think I had my hopes too high)
- Chicken Ranch Tacos (These were great, but really not much different than regular chicken tacos made over the stove with just taco seasoning)

I also saw this thing floating around on Pinterest about how you could hard boil eggs in the oven. I was a fan! I hate hard boiling eggs on the stovetop. So I gave it a try, and they turned out great! The only thing is that you have to make sure you push the pan back far enough in the oven because the ones in front didn't cook quite as good for me as the ones in back.

The most addicting part of Pinterest for me is the desserts... mmm yumm!

Last night, I made No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies. They are delicious, of course. http://mysoulisthesky.blogspot.com/2011/09/no-bake-peanut-butter-cookies.html
Other desserts I made:
-No Bake Energy Bites (These were ok, but I used regular oats instead of rolled oats because it's what I had, and it made it much harder for them to stick together).
- Healthy Banana Cookies (I'm a chocolate... and sugar lover... so these wouldn't be my first choice by any means... but Sophie loved them, so they're a great healthy cookie for a 1 yr-old)

All in all, I would say my joining Pinterest has been a success.

Sophie's First Trip to the Zoo

On Wednesday, Sophie took her first trip to the zoo. Ben had off work, and we have been talking about going all summer, so we finally went. It was the perfect time to go because it was late in the season, kids were in school, and we went early in the morning, so it wasn't very crowded. We also left just in time before the rain came, so we had perfect weather too.

I started babysitting this week, so the boy I babysit for came along too! Here they are looking at the hyenas.

Sophie checking out some animals...

Looking at the lion.

Giraffes!

Sophie's favorite animal was the orangutang. They were so fun to watch as they swung from one rope to the next.

There was a little farm area, so Sophie got to pet the goat. She's probably one of the few one year-olds that go to the zoo and yell out, "Goat!" when she sees a goat. Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Miller, she knows what goats are and love them.

All in all, we had a great day at the Ft Wayne Children's Zoo! Sophie will probably enjoy it a little more in the next couple of years, but it was fun to take her.

Visiting our Future Home (MTC MO)

We took a quick trip to New Tribe Mission's MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Roach, MO. We left thursday so that we could help these dear friends from the Bible School move on to the next phase of training (Downings and Cizdziels). 

We drove through rain the ENTIRE drive from Indiana to Missouri (the worst rain I've ever drove in too!), and we hit some frustrating construction as well. But we made it in one piece, and thankfully a lot of things stayed dry.

It was nice to help them move because it also gave us a chance to see our future home! Hopefully, this is where we will be moving to next August in order to finish our last phase of training. This is the older, smaller housing ... this is Jason's and Laken's apartment.

This is the newer, bigger housing for families...

And standing in the same spot as the previous picture, but looking down the hill instead of up, you can see the classroom and administration buildings. It's a little bit of a walk, but not bad.

Here are the administration buildings.

And that classroom building.

Here is the beautiful lake. It is really pretty! We love the location of the campus. It's on the Lake of the Ozarks.

One other nice thing about visiting was that we got to see quite a few Bible school friends! It was nice to see Brett and Kelli and baby Addie.

After a quick few days in Missouri, we drove home through the night last night (less traffic, no construction hold-ups, and no rain= much faster arrival time!!!). It was so nice to get home to see this little girl who stayed with my parents. It's the longest we've been away from her, and we sure missed her... but I think she had such a good time that she didn't really miss us much. She will love the MTC too- it is very kid-friendly with playgrounds and lots of other kids and lots of area to run.

Family Vacation with the Millers - Gull Lake

This past week we took a little vacation with Ben's family as we do every year. They go to a place called Gull Lake Family Camp every year. It's in Michigan, and Ben's family has gone for 24 years! That's some dedicated family vacationing, right there. I have gone with them ever since Ben and I got married- so this was my 4th summer. And it was Sophie's 2nd summer :)

Ben unfortunately still had to work- but his job is about half-way between our house in Warsaw and where we were in Michigan, so he didn't have to drive much further to work. He would go work every morning and then come hang out with us the rest of the day!

This is our cottage that we've stayed in every year since I have gone. It's a nice little cottage right on the lake. I sat in the back yard almost every day while Sophie took her nap- it was nice to soak up some sun while reading and watching people on the lake.

Sophie had SO much fun with her grandparents and aunts and uncles. They definitely spoiled her, and she knew it! Last year she was only 4 months, so it was fun to see her enjoying everything this year. They have playgrounds, a splash pad, a gym, and a fun nursery area for her. Here she is with Uncle Nate kicking her feet in the water. She was trying to splash Aunt Katie.

On the last night, they had a fun carnival-type thing set up for the kids, and Sophie loved the bouncy houses! This was a little bouncy house, perfect for Sophie...

It had a slide that she loved to go down. She did it over and over again.

Here Sophie and I are after we went through the splash pad some! She likes it as long as she's with an adult. Nate, Katie, and I all took her through in our clothes because we didn't have our swim suits on :)

(thanks Katie for a couple of the pictures... I am always bad about taking pictures at Gull Lake!)

Sophie's Going to be a Big Sister!

We've enjoyed Sophie so much, that we can't wait to add another Miller baby into the mix!!

I'm about 11 weeks and due around February 2, 2013.

If you want to read more, you can go to my Mommy Blog :)

5 Homes. 4 Years.

Ben and I have been married for 4 years as of May of this year. In those 4 years, we've lived in 5 different homes! To be honest, moving is not one of my favorite parts of the missionary life. It's a lot of work! The up side to moving so often is that it keeps us honest with out stuff (we are always getting rid of things, and we're cautious spenders) and our house never has a chance to get very messy or dirty because we move again before it can!

Our first home was in Larwill, IN. We lived in this modular home in a nice little hillbilly town for 2 years before moving to New Tribes Bible Institute.

In 2010, we moved to New Tribes Bible Institute to begin our training with NTM. This is the building we lived in both years we were there...

Our first apartment was on the third floor, had no running water, was a mere 400 some sq. ft., and had a loud radiator and paper thin walls.

We felt so blessed our second year with the apartment we were able to move into! It was 700 some sq. ft., had running water, had thicker walls and a quiet radiator, had a newly remodeled kitchen, and was on the second floor.

This is the loft we lived in the summer before we headed to NTBI, the summer in between our two years at the school, and for a month after we graduated. This loft is above Dad and Mom Miller's garage. We're so thankful that we had a place to stay when we needed it!

 And here is our most recent home! Last weekend we moved to Warsaw, IN into a 3-bedroom apartment. We're excited about having our own place and really like our new home! We'll live here for the next year... until we leave to finish our training with New Tribes.

Sophie is 15 months, and she has lived in 4 of these 5 homes!! What a crazy life this little girl has had. She's done really well with all of the changes, but I know it's still an adjustment so prayers for her are always appreciated.

Philippians 3:20: But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

There and Back Again [Pennsylvania Trip]

We took a (quick) trip to Lancaster, PA two weekends ago. We hadn't been back for 2 years (I was born in Lancaster and lived there until age 13 so I have family and a few friends back there), and I wanted some people to meet Sophie. When we heard that my Mom's parents were going to be in Lancaster to celebrate their 50th anniversary, it seemed like the perfect time to go. The only problem? Ben only had one day off. So we left thursday afternoon and drove back sunday morning. It was a lot of traveling in a short amount of time- especially for the little tike- but we all did it, and it went well!

Sophie got spoiled by all the people she came in contact with...

It was really nice to celebrate my grandparents!

Sophie's still unsure of the pool, but she stayed in a long time with Aunt Renee...

My mom's whole side of the family that was able to be in Lancaster for the celebration...

My best childhood friend, Heather. We stayed with her and her family who are always so hospitable, and Sophie LOVED their dog!

We got to go to Sight and Sound to see Jonah. Sight&Sound does amazing productions, and I hadn't been since I was a little girl, so it was fun to go.

We also had a chance to see some of my dad's family which was really great since my grandparents and aunt hadn't met Sophie yet. We took some pictures with them as well, but my aunt has them on her camera :)