Bits of Life Lately

Baptizing our new godson Johnathan Vincent! 

Smoothie face (favorite recipes here)

Hosting our first MOPS dinner & freezer meal exchange! Each woman came with 4 frozen meals and left with 4 different meals & recipes for their own family (& sanity) PLUS each woman here made one EXTRA frozen meal so that we are able to bless FOUR different new moms with a dinner casserole when they get home from the hospital or in other times of need! Love serving alongside such amazing women and so grateful for that prompting to get involved in the first place :) If you are local and interested in being a part of Willow MOPS you can check it out here!

Twinning in our Sorels

New, meaningful custom made decor for the home inspired by It Is Well by Kristine DiMarco. (Handmade by Kim Art)

The best mornings 💝

 Another beautiful hand painted addition to our home, by Ines at BellySketcher

Smoothie Recipes

Been mostly at home for the past month getting over a nasty virus between everyone and have been making lots of smoothies every morning to help a little. It's been a great way to kick start our vitamin C intake, and they've been feeling very good on our sore throats, and the kids love them too. They're quick and easy to make and all you need is some juice, frozen fruit, and a dollop of yogurt, and there you have it.
Here are two recipes for our two favorites, A Pomegranate Berry Smoothie made with R.W. Knudsen Family's Just Pomegranate Juice, and Strawberry/Banana/Peach/Mango Smoothie made with R.W. Knudsen Family's Peach Mango Juice. We love R.W. Knudsen Juice brand because they stand by wholesome ingredients without any artificial flavors or preservatives - they are made from organic single-fruits, with no added sweeteners and completely sweetened 100% by the juices straight from the fruit, and they taste absolutely delicious. The R.W. Knudsen Family offers over 100 types of equally amazing, natural, organic fruit and vegetable juices, elegant celebratory beverages, bubbly Spritzers, and natural sports drinks, and you can find them now at local grocery stores, Walmart, and Target.

Pomegranate Berry Smoothie: What You Will Need:
- 1 large dollop of plain Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 cup Pomegranate juice (R.W. Knudsen Family Just Pomegranate Juice is our favorite)
- 1 cup frozen mixed berries
- 1 banana

Strawberry/Banana/Peach/Mango Smoothie: What You Will Need:
- 1 large dollop of plain Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 cup Peach juice or half peach half mango juice (R.W. Knudsen Family Mango Peach Juice is our favorite)
- 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
- 1 banana

Some other optional healthy add in's are a tablespoon of coconut oil, a tablespoon of hemp seeds, a tablespoon of chia seeds, and/or protein powder.

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in blender. Cover and process until smooth.
Enjoy!

The Afterglow

I know I've been a little absent here lately, as we all got hit with a terrible virus the day after Christmas, and then Chris' grandmother suddenly passed away on New Year's Day, which left us all extremely saddened and preoccupied in grief and tying up affairs. Although she wasn't my own grandmother by blood, I truly felt like she was. She and I shared a special relationship and I am so grateful for everything I shared with her and learned from her in the 7 years of knowing such an amazing, strong, fiercely loving woman. It has been a hard, grieving time for us all, but amidst the tears and sadness, we've been spending hours upon hours together, creating poster boards filled with pictures of her life, and a video compilation of many, many moments to be played at her funeral. It was as if going through all those past memories with her, seeing all the joyous times, seeing all her love everywhere that trickled down to three whole generations -- it made it a little bit easier. Her life had an epic quality to it, a quintessentially American story, a nostalgic and charmed quality, a life filled with family and music and weekend barbecues with friends and grandchildren. We can't stand in the way of death, but when it comes, we can stand in its face together, and celebrate having loved fiercely and expressively. And that is exactly what we did. When her funeral finally came I was a weepy mess the entire time. I couldn't hold too many conversations with people and was mostly trying to catch my breath and composure. When it was my turn to stand up and give a reading, I somehow pulled it together and read the entire thing, smoothly, without choking up once. The second I began walking up to that pulpit, I received a new sense of pride in that moment -- that I was chosen to stand up there in front of all these people she shared life with and play an important role in her service. I was proud to have known her, to have learned from her, to have been a recipient of her overflowing love and affection, to have played a small role in such an extraordinary story. My husband posted this on Facebook after her death and I thought he said it best, and wanted to share it here, "God called my husband's Grandmother home to be with Him on New Years Day - After having spent 94 years on this earth... We were fortunate to have all just shared what she described as a 'perfect Christmas' together only a few days earlier... My grandma was a truly an amazing women ... she drove a car until she was 90 and managed to maintain a social calendar that continuously put mine to shame... She lived alone independently in the same childhood home her children grew up in until her very last moments... They say 'behind every great man is a great women' which was true with her being the loving force behind my incredibly talented Grandfather, but really what she taught us so well is that 'behind every great family is an unstoppable, powerful force of a women'. She was that and so much more everyday during her almost century-long adventure building our family to what it is today... Despite the terrible pain she carried with her after out-living my Grandpa and both her children, my mother and uncle – she continued to find joy in the small moments of life, took so much pride in our ever growing family and the many, many cherished friendships she had - this joy was especially noticeable when she spent time with her great grandchildren sharing the special, gentle love they had for their 'Nana'. We created this video as a memorial to honor my grandmother.... It was played at her funeral and I wanted to share for anyone who was not able to attend or simply is interested in her fantastic story.."