He makes no mistakes.

Jason passed away at 6:45 am yesterday morning.

We're heartbroken that Jason is no longer here for us to enjoy and cuddle. But we're also happy that Jason no longer feels pain, tucked safely in the arms of Jesus.

"Rejoice in the Lord, he makes no mistakes
He knoweth the end of each path that I take.
For when I am tried and purified
I shall come forth as gold."

Jason and such...

As most of you know I have a cousin named Jason. Jason and I have a very special relationship, not just because we're cousins, but because when Jason was diagnosed with leukemia almost two years ago I flew to Iowa City to spend three months with him in the hospital. You can read about the time I spent with him, in part, here.

Jason has been fighting cancer for months and months. He's been in and out of the hospital, through several rounds of chemo, and this summer he underwent a bone marrow transplant. The transplant, however, was not successful and about a month ago we were informed that Jason had relapsed. He went back to the hospital and while undergoing chemo in preparation for further treatment he came down with a nasty infection that spread throughout his body.

At the beginning of this week we were afraid for Jason's life. He couldn't breathe on his own and his organs were failing. I wanted so badly to be with him, my aunt, and all my family in Iowa City, but because of Silas's job situation there was no way we could visit them. A few days have now gone by and Jason has improved a tiny bit. God has been at work in his body and though he's still heavily sedated and on a ventilator, the doctors are more optimistic than they have been all week.

Silas's job situation changed today and when he came home from work he said "We should go to Iowa on Monday." I am so grateful for a husband who is caring towards not only me, but my family. So on Monday we're taking off for Iowa City. Not only will I get to be with my extended family, but my Mom, Stepdad, and siblings are also traveling to Iowa for a visit and we'll all be there at the same time.

Please pray for Jason. If you'd like, you can follow his story on the blog his mom (my aunt) keeps for him here. He's one tough little dude. I don't know if I could go through all the pain and sickness he's dealt with this year.

Silas's Sausage Pancakes

One Saturday morning/afternoon I woke up to find Silas had already risen. This so happens so rarely on Saturdays that I figured he must be up to something. Saturday is the only day Silas ever gets to sleep in so there was clearly something out of the ordinary going on. I was right. I came down stairs and approached the kitchen. Silas stood suspiciously in the door way, spatula in hand,  blocking my path.

Me: 'Morning, Babe.

Silas: 'Morning, Honey.

I move to pass him, he moves to block my way.

Me: How are you, did you sleep well?

Silas: I'm great. How about yourself.

Me: I'm fine.

Again I move to get into the kitchen. Silas smirks and blocks my path.

Me: Are you cooking something?

Silas: Yup.

Me: Am I allowed to see?

Silas: Nope.

Me: Ok then.

Silas: It will be ready soon, go do something.

And so I went about my merry way. You know, doing things I usually do on Saturday mornings. Things like lounging around in my bathrobe, liking all my friends' pictures on facebook, alerting the twitterverse that my husband won't let me in the kitchen. You know, important things. Meanwhile there are delectable smells coming from the kitchen. I feel the need to yell in the direction of the kitchen.

Me: It smells amazing! Is it almost ready?

Silas: PATIENCE, WOMAN!

Me: Whatever! *pause* Man!

Silas: "Man!" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Me: Shut your face, MAN!

Silas: PFT! Make me!

Me: I'm done talking to you!

Silas: Good, I'm busy anyway!

Me: Fine!

Silas: FINE!

I giggle a little bit. My husband is so cute. I'll admit. Sometimes I get a kick out of teasing him until he frowns at me. 'Cause, you know, his pout is pretty much the cutest. *fans self* Ok, end husband gushing. Sometimes I just can't help it. I mean, he's adorable, Italian, AND he cooks. Hopefully all of these traits will be passed on to my Italian baby.

Soon Silas emerges from the kitchen with a big plate of cheesy, sausagey pancakes and a bowl of sour cream. I look up with wonder at my husband, who is positively beaming. Then we ate the entire batch of pancakes. And we haven't even gotten dressed yet. Oh yes, it's going to be a good day.

Since that fateful Saturday when Silas decided to do a little inventing I've made his sausage pancakes twice and each time I wondered why I don't make these everyday for breakfast. And I don't even like eating breakfast. So I'm going to share with you the super simple yet amazing recipe.

Well, sort of. Start out with your favorite pancake recipe. Silas insists that we only ever use the Joy of Cooking recipe for pancakes. So that is what I begin with. Because I'm a good wife.

Then add one cup of shredded cheddar cheese (use sharp for an extra little kick) and one tube of ground sausage, cooked. We tend to use pork sausage, but beef would work just as well, I imagine.

Then plop a couple pancakes on your griddle. Thick and lumpy is perfection in this case.

See that glorious golden brown? Oh, so lovely!

Look at this. An entire plate of deliciousness! (Ignore the two I burned.)

Ok, so next is my favorite part. Take a big dollop of sour cream and drop it on top. (If you're feeling extra skinny you can substitute maple syrup for the sour cream. I've done this before and it's a nice combination of sweet, savory and spicy!)

Now, I like to smear the sour cream all over the top and then take yummy, dainty bites with my fork. Like so.

Not Silas. He smears sour cream on them and rolls them up like a taco.

And then tries to see how much of it he can fit in his mouth in one go.

It's really pretty adorable.

So there you have it. The best breakfast food. Ever. And to think, if I hadn't married my husband I would never have experienced this awesomeness! Let me know if you try these - I'd love to hear what you think.

At 18 Weeks

Hello Lovlies!

I just realized I neglected to post the bi-weekly pregnancy update at the beginning of the week as is usually my custom. I'm sure it wasn't particularly missed, but here it is. If for no one else, then for me. I'm not keeping a pregnancy journal (I tried and failed miserably) so these updates will be good for me to look back on later.

 

So I'm 18 weeks. Just two weeks shy of halfway. It's beginning to become apparent that I'm pregnant, even to people who don't know me. I've outgrown one of my pairs of maternity pants now.  Not because I've gained weight on my hips or thighs, but because my hips have spread in preparation for birth. This works for me because I've always thought my lower body was too narrow in comparison to the rest of my body, so this is good!

I HAVE TO PEE ALL THE TIME! MOST ANNOYING THING EVER!!!

At first it was just the extra hormones that was causing it. Then Baby Snider got bigger and started putting pressure on my bladder. In addition, the amniotic fluid Baby Snider is floating in is completely replaced every 6 to 8 hours which adds to the fluid that needs to be expelled from my body. Night time is miserable. Last night I had to wake up and use the restroom three times. 

My sleep is fragmented... but I need it so much! When Silas and I stay up past 11:30 or so I have to sleep all morning to get enough rest. If I have time I nap in the afternoon too. As Silas, my family, or any of my close friends could tell you, my general good mood completely disappears when I am tired. Suddenly I turn into a grumpy devil or sorts who is NOT pleasant to be around...

Also. I now waddle.

Maggie on the Rocks

When people ask me if I hope the baby is a boy or a girl I generally tell them I think I'd like a boy.

But when I think about my sister Maggie I kinda hope that it's a girl.

Confessions of Chronic Complainer

I am guilty of being a complete and total whiner. I complain about everything. And I do mean everything. I'm not saying it's a good thing. In fact, I think it's probably a very bad thing which I will demonstrate further on. But it's the truth, so I choose to state it in a very matter-of-fact manner.

What's more, you know how when you complain and some smartpants says to you "Come on, complaining isn't going to make you feel any better!"? Well, the truth is, complaining does make me feel better. It's like eating an entire jar of pickles in one sitting; which, I might add, I did yesterday. I WOULDN'T DO IT IF IT DIDN'T MAKE ME FEEL BETTER. There's just something about expressing dissatisfaction with a given circumstance that enables me to deal with it cheerfully thereafter.

Wanna know something else? Just because I complain about something does not necessarily mean that I want it to change immediately. Silas is not that way. If Silas complains about something it generally means he so upset about a situation that he plans to do something drastic in the next 15 minutes to rectify it. But with me, unless I'm curled up on the floor bawling my eyes out, the reality probably is that I don't really have that big of a problem with whatever I'm complaining about. The rule here is: It's not important till I've cried about it.

This rule, however, does not apply after midnight because after midnight I cry about everything. Example: The other night we were out rather late at a friend's house watching Arrested Development (a tv show for a whole 'nother post...) and when we got home I collapsed across the bed. Silas told me to roll over so he could get in bed and when I went to move I found that I couldn't roll over without great difficulty due to the Italian baby taking up residence in my abdomen. I began to cry. Poor Silas, totally taken aback by this sudden burst of emotion, asked what was wrong and I managed to tell him between sobs that "I'M A FREAKING WHALE!" Poor Silas. Luckily for him, he was able to contain the gales of laughter which were, I'm sure, welling up inside of him. End embarrassing story.

I don't really have a problem with the fact that I complain. Unfortunately, the Bible doesn't share my opinion. We are/I am told in Philippians 2 to "Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world."

Ooooooo BURN! It's like the Bible just said "I'm going go kick Elisabeth's butt today, what little piece of scripture should I shove in her face? Oh! I know!"

I have no inspirational story about how I've overcome complaining because, frankly, I haven't managed it yet. It's a life long habit and I don't foresee it simply ending in one day. BUT. Next time I want to complain about something I'm just not going to. Baby steps. Tiny, tiny baby steps.

Night at the theatre; Jesus Christ Superstar

Last night Silas took me to see Jesus Christ Superstar, a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was the first Broadway show I'd ever seen live, and this particular show was traveling with Ted Neeley who played Christ in the 1974 film version of the show, so it was a special treat! It was playing at the Benedum theatre, downtown, and the place is absolutely stunning. We sat in the very last row in the balcony and could still hear and see everything going on perfectly.

The show takes place during the week leading up to Jesus's crucifixion and is narrated, in large part, by the character of Judas. This adds and interesting twist as the literary device "Unreliable narrator", where the narrator lies to the audience, is employed most effectually in this show. Other interesting characters in the show are Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, King Herod, Pilate, and Caiaphas. All played traditionally, and yet, not so traditionally.

One of my favorite scenes from the show is when the pharisees get together to decide "What shall we do about Jesus of Nazareth. Miracle wonderman, hero of fools." I'll share it with you:


As many times as I've heard and read the story of Jesus, which is really quite alot since I've grown up in a Christian home, I am always moved anew when confronted with the pure selflessness that Jesus showed to me by dying to save my soul. This selflessness and submitting to the will of the Father come through very strongly in this show.

Another theme that Jesus Christ Superstar brings up again and again is how no one seemed to understand what Jesus was trying to do. Judas, especially, is confused by Jesus's actions. He blames Jesus for his disillusionment with what he thought was going to be a great cause for the Jewish people. I was reminded again how God's ways are not my ways.

Overall the show takes a few liberties and it does not include the resurrection. It ends after Jesus's death, which is, of course incomplete. But at the same time I think that's just the part of the story that this show covers, as it also leaves out the greater part of his ministry. But I think there are also many redeeming qualities of the show.

Anyway, Silas and I had a great time and I left thinking about my Jesus's sacrifice for me and what I owe him in return.

At 16 Weeks

I feel big and beautiful.

 My hair is suddenly shiny. My face has become clear of zits. My skin glows. I understand now why people say that they love being pregnant. It makes sense. All that misery of the first trimester is a distant memory. I have energy again. My mood is completely stable. I feel happy most of the time. I love being pregnant.

Comfort has become my priority. I actually left the house today wearing leggings... like, instead of pants... I was agonized over this decision for about two seconds. Then I said what the heck. Silas was all "What would Blair Waldorf say!?!" and I was all "Blair Waldorf has never been pregnant and has therefore never been introduced to the wonderful thing that is maternity leggings!" (Just as an aside, TIGHTS ARE NOT PANTS! Leggings aren't really either, but I would say it's a much more debatable subject. Tights are out of the question.)

I had my second prenatal appointment yesterday with my lovely midwife, MeriBeth. We listened to the heartbeat again. We found it instantly this time, no searching around, begging for Baby Snider to come out of hiding. I was given a clean bill of health and told that Baby Snider and I are both very healthy and doing well.

I can feel my uterus, about halfway between my naval and my pubic bone. It's so hard! I suppose it makes sense since it's just one giant ball of muscle that is preparing to push Baby Snider out in a few months. But still. I wasn't expecting it to be so firm.

That's about all I have right now. But I'd just like to give a shout to apple cider vinegar. Not only did it clear up the horrible external yeast infection I was cursed with last week (TMI?), but it also makes my joints so much less achy! 

Peace out!