Bakers Delight!

Today I decided to experiment with some puff pastry dough. You know, that yummy, pre-made flaky dough that you find in the frozen section at your local grocer- yes! I decided i'd make some mini marshmellow and semi-sweet chocolate chip flaky, golden puffs. And so i did. And though the marshmellow sorta seeped out during the actual baking process, it still left a yummy satiny, chocolate crisp. :-) Enjoy this time with me.

Fisrt: I gathered my items, and layed my dough to thaw on a floured surface for 40 minutes or until pliable.

And then i started to cut the dough to the size i wanted them.

Next, i took my egg wash (1 beaten egg with a bit of water) and coated the sides of each mini pastry sheet to ensure a good seal during baking, along with adding my little dose of yummy flavors.

After each coating, i took my forky fork and crimped the sides (which ended up rather un crimped at the end, but it was fun, and sealed my dough well)

Doing about three at a time, i got done faster...and had 12 in total, which all needed an extra coating of the egg wash on top to give me that lovely golden glow.

Then i baked them for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

And ended up with a cookie sheet full of delicious, bite sized goodies.

Which made this little plate look absolutely fabulous!

And OF COURSE, had to taste them for myself, as well as share with my husband who'd been working hard taping the ceiling for the future kitchen painting...

And so we tasted...

And enjoyed....

And then i continued my personal study of APERTURE and SHUTTER SPEED.

It's been a great day.

:)

And delightful to share with you.

Growing baby....waiting mommy and daddy!

Loving the sweet growth of our Lilyan... I will be 34 weeks on tuesday, which is NOT far from our due date!

This was at 8 weeks:

Here's 33.5 weeks :)

And this is what happens when you're this size...

Your husband gets to serve you by tying your shoes for you!

Though she has less amniotic fluid, and is of a greater size in my womb these days, making her sweet rolls quite uncomfortable....She's the best reward a mommy could look forward to!

Bellies a growin'

'Tis the season for talk about baby bellies. While my friend Tasha is in labor in the hospital pushin' like a champion, i'm sure...My baby belly happily grows with a little tiny gift of a little girl inside, whose got the hiccups :) Here's my "Christmas Belly" pictures for your enjoyment!

Merry soon-to-be Christmas, friends!

Love, Luana

This is...

The one i miss!!

Oh friend.

i love the way your sunglesses sit a little lop-sided on your sweet and lovely face.

Changes are good...even when it's the color of your hair...sometimes.

Soo...i recently had blonde hair, thinking it would "lighten up my face" in the cold, rigid months of fall and winter. However, what I came to realize was that blonde MUST have been a stage in earlier years that was acceptable ( i met my husband when i was blonde), and now is less than agreeable. So, i decided to go back to my very plain, yet lovely light brown hair with natural red undertones. The thing is...i'm also pregnant, (32 weeks today actually!)...which means that there are special hormones floating around my body that change things quite a bit. And technically you're not "recommedned" to dye your hair while pregnant, except that if you're in a well ventilated area (which i was), so why not feel beautiful during my pregnancy? Anyway. The first batch of color was a selected "light ash brown." Wwll, bolg followers...That left a lovely gray hue that made me feel anciently old annnnd pregnant. Old lady? I'm not ready yet! Then i decided to go with a warmer tone to balance out the ash, which works fine, that's the act of neutralizing...and this, my friends is what i've been left with; a very sensible, natural tone. I'm quite contented with the results, and feel so much more "at home" in a brown hue.

Well friends, let the lesson be learned. Don't change the color of your hair unless you're absolutely sure an have allowed optimal time, say at least 1 year, to really consider that change!!

Gracias!

Good

You know...the holidays are a sweet time, and I'm sure you can vouch. The tree was recently put up and decorated, and wreaths and shining lights were hung, but i didn't "feel" christmasy. Now, i think it's setting in a bit....It snowed the other day, and as it snowed, the world was blanketed in pure white blissful powder. It was SO lovely!! Then the next day it turned to ice, and i had to hold my husbands hand down the front steps so i wouldn't fall....BUT....it was peacful and rich, and heart warming. For a believer, though...it's not about the "feeling," is it? No, it's about Christ and remembering Him. It's about how He entered this world, as a babe, and as the Lord. It's about His life...His sacrifice, His grace...and each Christmas I have now, means something completely different than it did when i was a kid, when it was only about the gifts.

It's been a great time out here, as my hubby and I have had many conversations over recently...The reason it's great? Because God is gracious to provide.

Prayer requests

Hey friends,

Another day with more grace, what a thought.
So I am increasingly feeling more and more pregnant, which would become the obvious, since afterall, i'm nearing the end of my pregnancy with a slim 2.5 months or so to go. Lily is getting bigger, and I feel all of her triumphant movements! This morning as i was laying on my left side, and looking on at the baby bump, she awarded my intent stares and admiring touches with rolls of her body underneath my skin. It's the strangest feeling, but i LOVE feeling it! You can literally witness my belly being pushed up and out and poked at, and when you rest your hand on my side, you can feel her twisting around. Somestimes i wonder if i'm squishing her, but i'm sure she's fine. :-) A little loving squish can't hurt a sweet little Lily-bug like ours.

The newest truth to behold is out; now that I've been blessed with state health insurance for this pregnancy, i'm able to receive great preventative prenatal care. I went in the other day for a checkup with the Nurse Practitioner to asses my family history and they informed me that i needed to take my glucose screening test. So, the next day Mike took me in to get my blood drawn after fasting, and drinking an intensely sweetened drink. The results were in 2 days later and it turns out that i'm a candidate for Gestational Diabetes. The protocol now is that i must undergo a longer glucose screening test, with having fasted for 8-14 hours before hand, while they draw blood from my arms 4 times in the course of 3 hours. If two tests come back abnormal, then they will diagnose me with gestational diabetes, which we are praying fervently about. Most pregnant women who aquire this during their pregnancies end up not having it anymore after they give birth, however your chances of having it again in other pregnancies increases. on the short: it's basically like you are a diabetic while you are pregnant and have to take certain precautions like changing your diet, exercise routine, and keep an eye on your blood sugar level. If you do not take care, it will affect your baby in transferring the increased amount of sugars (as more energy) to your baby even though she doesn't need that extra energy. This would in turn, make her gain excess weight and could put her at risk for type 2 diabetes later in her life and other health risks. This is yet ANOTHER clear example of how utterly dependent upon Jesus Christ we are, so through it, we're thankful. I've been taking a 35 minute aftyernoon walk for the past few days now, and will continue to do this daily, as well as drink pleanty of water and avoid sugary foods. This will hopefully bring my glucose levels down and at the next test they'll kindly tell me that i indeed do not have G.D. :-)

You can be praying for us.

Another prayer request is for my hardworking husband. He's been working very hard at a restaurant now for the past two weeks, and he's never been a server before, so it's new to him. Because Christ dwells within him, though, and hes kind to extend himself to other servers he works with, it's more likey that they'll take advantage of his kindness and load him up with their tasks, which is what he's seen. He asked me to pray about it, and I am, but i'm also asking you to pray about it, because in the event that they do continue to take advantage, Mike desires to display a Christ like attitude toward his co-workers with a joyful heart.

I am so thankful for my godly husband, in whose heart i deeply trust.

Love you all!

Changes have occured

It's been awhile since we've written. In our last post, we shared the news about moving across country to VA, where we knew that things would change. So where are we now? We're here. We have made the massive treck of the 26-hundred-something miles across 7 different states to find ourselves leaning upon God's grace as we enter our new life. We arrived safely last thursday, Oct. 22, 2009, at 8pm. So with a little more than a week under our belts, i know that we're feeling the change.

What changes?
Well, first of all, there were no possibilities open to Mike for any such jobs in CA, so we were forced to re-think our plan. Now with only 8 days on our plate here in autumn stricken Virginia, Mike already has a new job as a server in a restaurant. Talk about God's will for our lives. There are other changes too, like going from a quiet home of two, with a baby on the way, to an already established home with two more adults, and two young boys, to which there are now 6 of us and a baby on the way. It's been a little tough adjusting to the noise levels of the screaming children, but slowly, and with a lot of love, i am coming to see that children are just different, and it's not about "me!" It's nice having family, though.

We know that in the long run, this pursuit of "new starts" and fresh palattes only leads us to further sanctification in Jesus Christ, and a well formed family of three; Mike, me and our daughter Lilyan.

Oh By the way!! We're having a girl! It's been so long since we've written that i forgot to mention that the Lord has blessed my womb with a sweet little girl who is now somewhere around a pound and a half and is growing steadily! We've named her Lilyan Rose Johnson, and her due date is February 9, 2010. Going through the whole process of pregnancy in the last few months has been amazing as well, as me and the little one i'm carrying are now well acquainted with eachother. When I probe my tummy and she kicks back, i know we're on a bonding mission. It's the sweetest thing, feeling the life inside of me! I'm now just under 26 weeks (will be on Monday) and am awaiting the site of our daughter with much anticipation and joy!

Through all of this though, we miss our friends, and the church family we'd come to know so well...and are just hoping that those tight bonds never loose. Miss you friends!

Love you all with hearts overflowing!
This little family

News News News, Read all about!

Hi friends,

As you know, I mentioned in my last post some interesting stuff about "new" news in the Johnson Family, but that I couldn't yet disclose that top secret info. Well, the news is now indeed being spread abroad. I've told my family. I've told close friends, and now i'm telling you.

The Move:

Virginia is going to be our new home as of the beginning of November!! That's only 2.5 months away, folks! It'll come fast, and there's a lot to get done, but the way it's all coming together is pretty amazing. We can tell that the Lord Jesus Himself is active and working in our lives, orchestrating all the events perfectly.

Why are we moving across country?

There are literally so many resons, some of the main being:

1. Mike can get schooling done, which has been a burden on his heart for along time now.

2. Live rent-free and being able to save money.

3. With baby coming, i'll have plently of help.

4. Family.

5. There seem to be jobs out there, more so than here in CA.

6. Less expensive in general.

7. A great family-oriented place to raise our kiddo.

8. It's beautiful.

Falalalala.....

We'll be driving the entire way, across the whole united states, which will be an amazing site to see, since neither of us have had such a fantastic opportunity for site-seeing. My plan is to take pictures of every "Welcome to..." sign that I can. :-) When we leave i'll have a decently sized baby bump at about 6.5 months. It may be a little uncomfortable driving for almost 3 days about 2800 miles, but I imagine if i'm able to stop here and there and stretch the limbs, I should be fine. We'll be praying about it though, of course.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Big Bellies and Big Times

I'm 13 weeks today, you guessed it. Well, not that my belly is huge yet, which it's not, but it is starting to abound, and I can feel it. It is strange and feels strange, and seems strange all in one, but so interesting and amazing!

That's not the only news on then waking horizon, though. There's another surprising option making itself readily available to our family, Mike and I. I'm not so sure i'm able to disclose the news as of yet, but when I get the word, I will. If you are reading this, though, you can be praying for us as we seek God's wisdom on the timing of things' exciting things!

On another note, I made my first Beef Stroganoff the other night when my husband and I had a guest over for dinner. It turned out great! That's what recipes are for, aren't they? See, I'm usually the "I'll take a risk and add some of the things that I think will balance the dish out well," type, but because I tend not to cook beef all that well unless the crock pot is doing the work for me, I decided to follow the recipe pretty closely, at least for the cooking of the beef, anyway. I didn't stray too far away this time. The trick?

The trick to perfectly browned beef strips is to take your 2 x 1/4 strips of top sirloin steak, cut against the grain, and dry them off well. Moist beef doesn't brown properly. Guess who I learned that from. Yeah, Julia Child. Anyways...then you lightly dust them in flour, and cook in batches just until browned on either side. take them off of the heat once browned, and place on a plate until you need to warm them through, near the serving of the meal. Once your Stroganoff sauce has been reduced and is just about ready to serve, you add the strips of steak to the sauce and let them warm through JUST for 2 minutes, and then serve with freshly chopped parsely. The beef comes out with the perfect "medium" texture and doesn't end up too chewy. Voila! I took the recipe from the classic "Joy of Cooking" cook book, but you can take it from just about anywhere since there are nearly a million different variations. I took it from JOC, because it seemed classic, and that's all I wanted.

11 weeks along

Today is the mark of 11 weeks along with baby-love-Johnson. We go in tomorrow for another ultra sound and small check up to see how things are going. I hope all is well, as it seems that it is. I have no discomfort which indicates a healthy pregnancy thus far.

We continue to think of names, which is exciting. We have a name for a boy, it's very "english," but will not yet be disclosed ;-), and we're working on a name for a girl. We have her first name, but middle, not so sure. Do we want 2 middles names like daddy, or do we want only one, like mommy? Who knows!

I'm just so grateful to the Lord for giving me the prescious gift of my sweet husband. I know that the baby is going to be important as well, but I must strive to keep my hubby as my number one priority, as he and I are one flesh. Keeping a marriage strong through the child bearing years is so vital, because the truth is- in 18 years, your little ones will be all grown up and probably working their way out of the house...and then when they are gone, it's back to you and your man! I love it.

Such sweet family times are ahead!

P.S.

This picture is sweet, isn't it? He's offering me a tiny little pink flower bud he found whilst out and about in the cool newhall air on a walk. :)

When 2 become 3...

Mike and I have been married now for a little over a year, and oh how the time goes! I was talking with a woman yesterday who reassured me that we're still technically "newlyweds" until we've been married for 3 years, and even by then, we're still in the "new stages" of marriage, and not as seasoned as say, a couple who have been married for 20-something years or more. What a nice thought :)

Time's are a'changin' though.

We found out in the end-ish of May that we are pregnant with our first child! Wow! Unfortunately (but not totally unfortunate) we found out when I was 2 weeks along, so we've got awhile to go before out newest addition to the Johnson family arrives. Our due date for baby is February 21, 2010; that most likely means anywhere from Feb 1-March 1, 2010! There's a good chance our kid will either be an end of winter baby, or a spring babe like both Mike and I. He's March, and I'm April. Either way...honestly...we just want our sweet little gift to be healthy and whole, and all the rest will fall into place as God decides when the best time for the little one to enter the world is. I have a feeling we'll be having a girl, but who really knows? I can't say for sure, and yes...we are going to be finding out the baby's gender. It's an exciting thought though, as well, not to know...and to go for the "neutrals," but we want to plan ahead. I want to know whether or not to buy that cute little lady-bug set, or the jungle baby set. I want to know if we should buy little booties for our daughter, or for our son. I want to know if Grammy should knit her a little pink blanket, or knit him a blue blanket for comforts sake.

The world of babies has opened my eyes to so many things. I am not sure I'm "all that prepared," yet i know that Christ will enable us to be the best mom and dad we can be, if we keep our foundation resting firmly on the rock of Jesus Christ, making Him our family focus.

Lord, may our home display Christ's work on the cross and His grace alone.

When 2 become 3...

Soli Deo Gloria, y'all!