Mission: Guest Bedroom

Over the next few weeks, we'll be welcoming a few guests into our home. We'll be hosting a guest at our church's Biblical Counseling Training Conference, then my dad is coming to visit for a weekend, and then Dustin's brother is coming to stay for a week. We're excited! But, as I prepare for these guests, I am reminded of the sad state of our guest bedroom. So, this week and next week I am on a mission to clean, organize, and add a few special touches to ensure our guests feeling welcome and right at home.

My Budget: $50.00

Needs

• Comforter (I have a bright pink one for when Mackenna is in a big girl bed, but it doesn't quite fit for the current purpose of the room)
• Window Treatments
• Throw Pillows
• Alarm Clock

Here are a few "before" pictures. As soon as I am done, I'll post the "afters."

A Trip to the Doctor

Today was a good day. Mackenna had a doctor appointment... but it wasn't because she was sick! It was her nine month well-baby visit. That's all! No diaper rash, no respiratory infection, and no stomach bug! When we got to the waiting room, Mackenna immediately began waving at everyone and every thing. It's her new thing. She loves to wave. And after she waves, she'll usually clap, because Dustin and I clap when she waves. It melts my heart, every time! She was in such a good mood and did a great job during her appointment. She's growing more proportionately now and is in the 25th percentile for height and weight. She weighs 18 pounds and 3 ounces and is 25.5 inches. She's sweet and petite! She's right on track developmentally. She's crawling, clapping, waving, and pointing. She's becoming more and more verbal every day. Her favorite words... "da-da" of course! She'll throw in a "mmmmmma-mmmmma" every now and again, but "da-da" and "ba-ba" are her favorites. The past few days she has been in such a good mood. Lots of giggles and little girl squeals. I love her!

Besides her flu shot and being measured and weighed, her appointment was relatively tear-free! Way to go, Mackenna! Her next well-baby visit, she will be a year old. No way! That freaks me out! Between now and then, our goal is to get her to eat a bit more table foods. I bought a manual food grinder and am looking forward to start grinding whatever we're eating for dinner and see if she enjoys "real" food more than she likes "baby" food. She's pretty much only a fan of pears, bananas, and sweet potatoes right now. We'd also like to get her weaned from Nutramigen (a special formula for milk/soy protein intolerance) to a milk-based formula. We're praying that she has grown out of her milk & soy protein intolerance. Most babies grow out of it by one or two years old, but there are people who have the intolerance their entire lives. I'm not going to lie- that would be tough! Hopefully she'll do good being weaned off Nutramigen, but if not, we'll try again in a few months!

We are so thankful that God has brought Mackenna into our family! She is a blessing beyond anything that we deserve. As we watch her grow and see her personality emerge, we are reminded that she is a small person who was knit together by God. When she throws an angry fit, we are reminded that we are all sinners in need of a Savior. We pray daily for her salvation and are learning ways to share the gospel with her, even now, at nine months old. As she continues to grow, we pray that God would soften her heart and bring her to accept Christ as her Savior. Then, Lord willing, we will have a great time watching her grow in the Lord, becoming a godly young lady, with a tender and loving heart.

The Best Way to Cook Brown Rice... Hands Down!

For all you rice lovers out there... I've discovered the best (and easiest way) to cook up some scrumptious, healthful, brown rice to accompany any great entree. Where did I discover this recipe, you ask? On the Food Network, of course. Alton Brown (one of my favorites) featured rice on one of his Good Eats shows and ever since we saw that show, we've been cooking our rice Alton Brown style. Here's the recipe.

Baked Brown Rice

1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place the rice into an 8 inch square glass baking dish.

Bring the water, salt, and butter just to a boil in a kettle or covered saucepan. Once the water boils, pour it over the rice, stir to combine, and cover the dish tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for one hour.

After one hour, remove the cover and fluff the rice with a fork, serve immediately.

And that's it folks! You can put it in the oven, forget about it for an hour while you prep your meal, and bring it out once every thing's done cooking and Ta-Da, yummy and healthy brown rice. Another plus is that a lot of recipes (at least a lot that I use) that need to be baked in the oven are usually baked at or pretty close to 375 degrees, so this rice has shared the oven with some baked chicken a time or two and they've both turned out great!

Enjoy some brown rice tonight and let me know what you think about the recipe!

Green Beans anyone?

My newest adventure in motherhood is getting Mackenna to eat a variety of fruits and veggies. I am not a baby food making mommy, but I still try to choose wholesome, organic, and healthy jarred baby food. My favorite is Earth's Best, but I will also grab some Gerber Organics when there's a sale. Anywho, getting Mackenna to eat solids is a battle on it's own. Getting her to eat green vegetables and any other fruit besides pears or bananas has proven to be a battle that I was not fully prepared to fight.

Pre-motherhood I did lots of reading on how to get your baby to eat good food. But, like I have learned many other times in these nine months, what the book says and what your baby does is often times two different things. "Feed green veggies first and your baby will grow to love green beans, peas, and broccoli," the books would say. So, being the health concious mommy that I am, I followed the formula to get my baby to love green vegetables. Only, my baby didn't... and still doesn't. Wanting so badly to see Mackenna enjoy some solids, I whipped out the pureed sweet potatoes (a baby favorite, I had heard), and rather than gagging and funny faces I was met with smiles and an open mouth bidding for more. "That's more like it!" I thought to myself. So, we got stuck in the rut of sweet potatoes, pears, and bananas. Bo-ring!

So, after much research and a newfound determiniation, I am at it again. Re-introducing green beans and following a new technique that makes sense to me. Although, I am not a doctor, scientist, or dietician. I read this article and have decided to try it. Basically, I give Mackenna a bite of green beans for every first bite of a meal for eight days. After she refuses three times, I finish feeding her something that she enjoys. By the eighth day, she should "enjoy" green beans more. We'll see. Today she actually took two bites of green beans... the second bite she wouldn't swallow until I snuck a spoonful of pears in her mouth. I added a little trick to my experiment though. I am going to mix up whatever green beans that she didn't eat in with her pears/sweet potatoes/or bananas so that she still gets the vitamins. My goal for this challenge is for Mackenna to be able to eat one tablespoon of green beans all on their own. I'll let you know how it goes in eight days!

Christmas Adventure

Ah, Christmas 2010, a day (or should I say, week) that will forever live in infamy in the Folden household. Gearing up for our trip back home, I had not fully prepared myself for what would unfold. I was preoccupied with excitement about Mackenna's very first Christmas. I had no time to really worry about possible teething and all that ensues with that developmental milestone. That was the beginning of my demise. Oh sure, I had noticed that in the past two weeks, Mackenna's chewing and drooling had increased dramatically and her gums were red and swollen, but I never thought we'd be traveling when that cute little first tooth popped through.

We left for our 12+ hour drive back home on Monday afternoon. As I was making last minute preparations on Monday, I noticed that Mackenna's bottom left tooth looked like it was nearly through and as the excitment set in, so did the anxiety. "Oh no! Will she be cutting this first tooth as we're driving? This could be a long, and stressful drive!" But, I quickly put those thoughts out of my mind, made sure I had packed Infant Tylenol, and continued my preparations.  The drive back home went perfectly. Mackenna napped, played, talked, and actually enjoyed the ride. The only time she was fussy was the last 45 minutes or so. And to be honest, we all were a little fussy those last 45 minutes. Then, on Wednesday morning, there was a tooth. No drama, no extra fussiness, no night wakings, nothing. Just a cute little white tooth that made my darling baby girl look a little more grown up than she had the day before. *Mommy Tear*

The second bottom tooth looked like it was making quick progress towards popping through and everyone (including myself) thought for sure it would cut before we left. But, it didn't. What it did do, was cause every teething symptom to the fullest degree possible for the next five days (well, it's still going on, but we've made some progress). Thursday afternoon and evening, Mackenna started having a diaper rash. Not uncommon. So, I followed all the steps to treat a diaper rash. Friday morning it looked a little better. By Friday night, it was a full blown diaper rash. Each diaper change Mackenna would scream, sweat, and squirm. We began the "bathe at every diaper change" routine and applied Desitin liberally. Two days, and two Desitin tubes later, NO PROGRESS! In fact, it kept getting worse. I called my nurse, three times, tried some new tricks, and still no healing. Mackenna wasn't sleeping at night, wasn't smiling during the day, and her voice was hoarse from crying every two hours during her diaper changes.

Dustin and I were exhausted and were stretched more than we'd ever been stretched before. With little sleep, a screaming baby with a diaper rash that was getting worse, not better, and being home for the holidays, God taught us how to communicate even more as a couple. We failed. A lot. But over the course of the week, we had learned how to be more like Christ in the situation. We became better team mates. Each diaper change became a chance for us to work together to help our baby girl by doing everything the nurses were telling us to do. Dustin held Mackenna. I cleaned her up. Dustin tried to occupy her as she soaked in her baking soda baths. I applied ointments, creams, and powders. Dustin closed up her diaper and got her PJ's back on. And I laid her down with her pacifier and her new Glo Worm from Grandpa Dennis. And then we got about an hour and a half of sleep before the next round of diaper changes. Finally, after discovering that it had turned from a diaper rash to a yeast diaper rash, we found the right cream (Lotriman, for all you mommies out there)!

We had applied Lotriman a couple of times before we left for our trek back home, but had seen little progress. My anxiety about the trip home was raising my heart rate! "How am I supposed to change diapers without wipes in a truck stop? How am I going to do these diaper changes alone if there isn't a family bathroom? What if we have to stop every hour for a diaper change and it takes us 24 hours to get home?" But, here again, God was in control. Mackenna was SO exhausted from being up the past two nights, that for the majority of the trip, she slept. We had six diaper changes the first day of the trip, which was 7 hours. Yes, that's about three more than usual, but by the end of the day, I was a pro at "truck stop diaper rash diaper changes." Day two we had five diaper changes, but three of those were in family bathrooms, so I had my team mate back to help me. :-)

So, overall, although Mackenna may have not enjoyed her first Christmas very much, God used her teething ailments to help Dustin and I grow stronger together. She'll probably never remember her first Christmas, but she's stuck with us, so if we needed this trial to grow in Christ and in turn, be better parents and a better example of a godly marriage, then that's exciting in my books. Mackenna's first Christmas will forever be known as the Christmas Adventure and while I hope that she doesn't remember all the pain and tears, I do hope that we share this story with her often so that she will see how God works in our lives to change us to be more like His Son.

I'll leave you with some pictures. Enjoy!

 Reading with Grandma Lee Ann!

 She loved the bows on presents!

 Second cousins, or is it first cousin once removed?

 Mackenna and her Pillow Pal from Uncle TJ!

 Reading her favorite book with Auntie!

 Four Generations: Great Grandpa Warren, Grandpa Dennis, Mommy, and Mackenna!

 She wanted to eat the tissue paper...

... and the wrapping paper!

In Celebration of Mackenna's Eighth Month Birthday

Eight Things That Mackenna's Doing Today That Make Me Smile

1) Army Crawling... or more appropriately named "The Inchworm"
2) Babbling back and forth with an expression on her face that says, "Mom, this is important stuff!"
3) Making silly faces
4) Playing with my hair
5) Pointing to my eyes when asked, "Where are Mommy's eyes?" (Smart girl, eh?)
6) Sleeping... I love playing with my girl, but there's nothing like some time to recharge while she's napping!
7) Giggling
8) Helping me turn the pages when I read to her... this has been one of my favorite things that she's learned to do most recently!

Happy 8 Month Birthday, Mackenna Grace! Daddy and Mommy love you so much!

Christmas Letter 2010

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!" Psalm 126:3

Dear Family and Friends,

It's hard to believe that two thousand ten is closely coming to an end. As quickly as the year has passed, it was filled with blessings beyond measure and memories that we will cherish forever.

We started the year off with Trisha six months into her pregnancy with our first daughter, Mackenna Grace. The second trimester treated her much nicer than the first, and we were busy preparing for the arrival of our bundle of joy. Dustin began the final semester of his seminary education at Faith Bible Seminary and worked hard to finish strong. By the time April came, we were both ready to meet Mackenna Grace and it seemed as though the days crept by in slow motion.

On April 13th, 2010 we were blessed as our daughter was born at 10:14 am, weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce, and measuring up at 19.5 inches. She is beautiful! We grew in trusting God as Mackenna was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) shortly after birth due to a fever and undiagnosed respiratory infection. So many friends and family joined with us in prayer for Mackenna's recovery and we were overcome with peace and joy that went beyond our understanding. In the midst of a trial, God's grace sustained us and our trial became a blessing and testimony of God's goodness in our lives.

After Mackenna's birth, we had the pleasure of many visits from grandparents and relatives. Almost every month we've been blessed by a visit from loved ones. As new parents, this has brought such joy to our hearts, not to mention some much needed rest as extra hands help care for Mackenna.

In June Dustin graduated from Faith Bible Seminary, and was offered a position as Pastor of Community Ministries at Faith Baptist Church in Lafayette, Indiana. With a new baby at home and with Trisha staying home to take care of her, it was a relief to have a job secured and a plan in place after graduating from seminary. Dustin serves as the Director of Faith Community Center as well as providing pastoral leadership over staff, volunteers, and community members. He also has the opportunity to teach an Adult Bible Fellowship on Sunday mornings. This position uses many of Dustin's gifts while still challenging him to grow.

In October we became first time homeowners. We purchased a home close to the church and perfect for the three of us. After a few coats of paint, unpacking, arranging, and re-arranging, we have settled in and are enjoying making memories in our new home.

Mackenna is growing and changing so quickly. She is about seven and a half months old right now and just began "army" crawling. She kind of looks like a little inch worm pulling herself across the living room floor. It has been so neat to watch her learn to roll, then sit up by herself, then lean forward, then "army" crawl. One of our favorite things to hear is her cute little voice babbling away. She seems to babble most when she thinks we're not listening, like during a car ride or early in the morning before we've gotten her up from her crib. Waking up to baby babbles over the monitor is so much more lovely than baby cries! The Bible says in Psalm 127:3 that, "Children are a blessing from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward." This year, we have experienced the truth of that verse.

As we approach this Christmas season, we don't want to forget the greatest blessing of all, the free gift of salvation in Christ. God has made a way for our relationship with Him to be restored, despite our sinful hearts. We don't have to be good enough, nice enough, or kind enough. We don't have to balance the scales and try to make up for our sins by doing good works. For one, we could never keep track of good works versus our sins and secondly, even if we could, our good works would never be enough. We don't have to earn forgiveness for our sins. God gives forgiveness freely to all who repent and trust in Christ. Because, you see, Christ was perfect. He was good enough, nice enough, and kind enough. He never had to make up for any sin, because everything that He did was good and pleasing to God. He did not need forgiveness because He never sinned. In fact, Christ is the one who grants forgiveness. Christ did not deserve to die, yet He did, for our sakes. And with His death, God's wrath was satisfied. The only way to God is through faith in Christ.

"For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." Romans 5:6-10

So as we celebrate this Christmas Season, let us not forget to be thankful for a God who loves us enough to send His own Son to save us from our sins. He is the giver of all good things and His blessings are beyond what we deserve. We are so thankful for such wonderful family and friends and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!



Merry Christmas! 

With much love,

Dustin, Trisha, and Mackenna