"Our" Favorite Things

 Playing.  Hard.  By the end of the day the house looks like a toddler has been through it.  Here, he has pulled all the laundry out of the basket and has a dog bowl on his head.

 Going to the park.  It's been cooler outside and I found a park with lots of shade.  We both enjoy this activity.  He loves going down the slide and swinging. (Notice the super dirty shoes!)

Playing with blocks. I thought these were too old for him but I was wrong, he loves them.  He is learning to stack but for now, knocking them down is oh so much fun!

August's Recipe

 Artisan bread.  Doesn't that make your mouth water?  I was so excited to try this recipe from Mother Earth News.  They claim it takes 5 minutes.  Not quite.  But the recipe is still very simple.  The dough sits in the refrigerator for a few days and makes four one pound loaves.  This is nice because I can take out enough for dinner one night and have more dough sitting in the frig waiting for me.  

Warm bread, fresh out of the oven just makes me feel like I'm at home. 

This recipe was nice to make and to eat just for the comfort of it, and the warmth.

I served it alongside eggplant pasta and salad.  I can't wait to make my next batch.

Rosy Makes Her Debut

Bobbi, John and Jaxon welcomed little sister Rosy on August 3, 2012.  Finn and I spent 3 days with them last week to help around the house.  I don't know how much I helped but Bobbi and I got to spend some time together and it was fun watching Jax and Finn play together.

 Fun with sand!  We went to the park and played outside a lot.

 So tired after my bath!  She slept a lot.  What a cuddle bug!

I see you.  Finn loved playing at the park.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Well folks, I really thought I was done with blogging.  Between a new baby (who isn't so new anymore), following Clint wherever medical school took him and LIFE I thought I was done blogging.  Then, I went over to a fellow resident's wife's house and there on her coffee table was a beautiful photo album of their family.  She went on to tell me that she just took her posts from her blog and put them into the book.  Genius.  Then I saw her blog and all my other friend's blogs and I realized I wasn't done.  I love writing (I didn't know this until recently).  I love documenting our lives with pictures.  And I love to keep up with my friends through their blogs so I thought they might like to do the same.  So here I am.

I'm trying to find a way to do this simply and without taking up lots of time.  As I don't have much to spare.  I'm thinking of blogging with pictures of activities every two weeks since we don't do too much around here that would warrant more posts.  But I would also like to focus some on food as well.  Not that I'm making and creating awesome dishes but I think food tells a lot about where we are in life.  Like when I was in college I ate mostly frozen dinners.  When I was newly married I made more things from scratch but we ate out a lot because we were both working and getting used to our new life.  After about 3 years of marriage and moving to Fort Worth, plus doing lots of research on where our food comes from, how the land and animals are used, etc.  I began a totally new way of looking, cooking and eating my food.  I now go to the farmer's market, eat mostly fresh food rather than boxed, canned or frozen and we eat meat (that's grazed on their natural foods) at home once a week.  So with that being said, once a month or so, I'll try to highlight something I've never made before or an old family favorite to help capture what's going on that month.

I don't know if anyone will be reading these early posts.  Maybe as I "spread the word"  I'll get a few people to check it.  Either way, here goes.  The McHenry Blog...Part 2.

April Showers...

Clint and I decided about 2 weeks ago that we needed some us time so we went to the Botanical Gardens here in Fort Worth. It is really beautiful there. It's more of a natural take, to me, on an arboretum. Instead of lots of landscaping, there are nature paths, ponds, wildflowers and lots of big, old trees.

This is in the Japanese Gardens. They had Japanese inspired architecture and native trees and plants throughout. Very pretty!

They had Koi fish in a lot of the ponds but these were actually in the Japanese Gardens. They were huge!

We also went and ate at Cafe Brazil that night and registered for baby stuff! All in all it was a fun day. Clint rarely gets whole days off so it was a blessing to reconnect.

Our New Addition Coming June 2011!

Clint and I are so excited about our new adventure we are about to embark on. With baby M being our first, there are many things that are easy to get stressed and overwhelmed about, but we are enjoying the ride and all the new things going on. From the nursery to doctor appointments, it all has been fun and new. We have been blessed with a healthy pregnancy and even when we hit little bumps I try to take time to worship God for all He has given us thus far on this journey.

God's timing is much better than our own, and I am learning that more and more. Right now, the plan is for me to stop working and stay home with the little one. I am very excited about that and once again feel very blessed to have that option. When the baby comes, Clint will be off from school. Once again, God's timing is just right.

Clint and I found out I was pregnant on a Friday night. We were just about to go out to dinner with some friends and I decided to check before they came over. I didn't expect it to be positive but I hadn't been feeling right and I was late. I took the test and couldn't believe it. I went in to the living room to show Clint with probably a pretty funny look on my face. I asked him if he thought it was positive. I don't think either one of us could believe it so I ran up to the drug store to buy another. Once that one was also positive it started to sink in a bit. I didn't cry or anything, I think I was just in total shock. We went over to our friend's house and told them. When our friends we were going to eat with came over, we told them as well. That weekend we went to Corsicana and told Clint's parents and my mom and grandmom. It was a lot of fun telling the family. I think Bill's reaction was the best. He just seemed completely stunned. Mom and Clint's mom had similar reactions; they both gave out a little scream followed by hugging. It's a lot of fun to get to share that joy.

I have been posting weekly pictures on Facebook. I think it's fun to see how I have changed. Plus, some weeks I don't think I have changed, but then I look at my picture from the past week and I can see it. I don't always think I look great, but that's not why I'm doing it. I have tried to really go with the changes and not be freaked out by gaining weight and all the other changes that happen. Women today get so consumed about their appearance and the outward things. I think it's another sign of God's creation. He makes women's bodies able to carry and grow a little human. That's just crazy when I really think about it. This is me at 24 weeks, so just a bit over half way there.


We started on the nursery in March. This is the before picture. Unfortunately, our diplomas had to go bye-bye. It was the only link I had left to my diploma since I am currently not using it in my job. Oh well, have to swallow the pride and move on.


This is the after. Well actually, it is all still a work in progress but this is the color and the crib. So exciting to start the nesting process. The crib was mine when I was little.


Here are the workers. Mom and Lacie came down to help with painting. Thank goodness they did because that was a job! Our landlord is going to be putting in new windows which is another big blessing. They are very, very old!


My man, working hard!

I can't wait to have the nursery done, but it will be awhile for that! I have my first shower (hosted by the women at Robinson Church of Christ) in 3 weeks. That will be the one with all the family and close friends from the past and present. It will be great just to see everyone. I can't wait.

I am now 28 weeks, which means third trimester! It has gone by really fast. It is truly amazing to feel the changes the baby has made. When I first felt the little kicks, they were tiny. That changed into full sporadic kicks. Now, I can feel little feet, hands and elbows move across my uterus. They feel more coordinated now. I can even feel the baby change positions. I'll get a really hard spot on my belly, where the head or back is. It's pretty amazing and something so unique. Pregnancy isn't the easiest thing, there have been times where I am ready to be done. But at the end of the day, it is a really beautiful thing that God has tasked women to do from the very beginning. It is a miracle to me!

The Super Bowl Comes to the Cowboy's Stadium

This year, the Super Bowl was in Arlington. All of the media coverage was done from downtown Fort Worth. Clint really wanted to go check it out and see what all they were doing. It was actually fairly boring. But we could see into the set of ESPN and they had some stuff out that was interesting. We took a picture in front of the big Texas that had a football coming out of it. I'm really not sure what it meant but I think it was just celebrating football...in Texas.

We hung out downtown for a few hours, then we headed to the Pier 1 building. If you have ever been to downtown Fort Worth and noticed a huge building with top of it lit up, then you have seen it. It's hard to miss because the lights at the top are really bright. In front of the building they have a walk way that goes all the way around it with trees lining the sides. At Christmas and (I guess) when they are hosting the Super Bowl, they light the trees out front. It is really beautiful.


We told them just to act goofy and this is what we got.

Stephanie and I decided to jump. Stephanie has mad skills and I could barely get off the ground. The thing is after this, everyone was giving me a hard time about not being able to jump. In order to prove them wrong (and to show what a klutz I am) I ran ahead of them and tried to jump higher. Well, that didn't happen so instead I fell on the ground. It was the hardest fall I have ever had. It was one of those that went on for awhile, like I tried to catch myself but my head was in front of my body and I couldn't regain my balance. Not pretty.


I look like I haven't even left the ground. Meanwhile, Stephanie is taking up the whole picture! I don't think pregnant women were meant to jump. Something keeps up grounded.