joy

I absolutely love being a mor (aka mom)! I always wanted to be a mother, but you never know what the experience is truly like until you are doing it. And I love it! Esther is such a joy to be around. She loves to smile. I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago, but I see this smiling face all day long:) She is obviously a baby and has needs that a baby has and my body aches and I am sleep deprived ... but when I look into her eyes and see her smile (or even when she cries  ... does any one else find baby cries adorable?) it is all so worth it! I have a Type A personality for the most part and I have been surprised how it hasn't really bothered me that my house isn't picked up and that there are millions of  things on my to do list ... I mean I would love to get those things done, but if it is between getting those things done and spending time with sweet little Esther (even if she is fussy) - I choose Esther every time. I am so thankful for this little girl. I feel so privileged to be able to be her mor. I know that I may be in the honeymoon phase and some days are harder than others ... but I truly believe that I am doing what I feel called to do. I just love our little family and I am so thankful for the sacrifice of so many that has allowed this incredible blessing of God. God has been so faithful and it has filled my heart with so much joy!

diy thursday: birthday freebies

It was my birthday earlier this month and I got to enjoy some birthday freebies:) I love a good deal and FREE food qualifies for that ... and it is even better at restaurants you like eating at even when it's not free:) This year it looked a little different since we had a newborn baby in tow - but we made a few adjustments and still got to enjoy most of the free meals we usually get.

I have had several people ask me about my list of birthday freebies so I thought I would list some of my favorites.

I will start with the ones that require an ID - meaning you have to eat there on your actual birthday and prove it with your ID. We live in Arizona in the East Valley so we can enjoy what my husband refers to as the triple threat: Liberty Market, Joe's Farm Grill and Joe's BBQ. They all give you $10 towards your meal - which is pretty much a free meal at these places. YUM!

Another two places I usually visit on my birthday because they require ID is Firehouse Subs (free medium sub) and Dutch Bros (free large drink) ... yes Dutch Bros is a must! Chompies also offers a free breakfast and so does Denny's on your actual birthday, but I usually don't take advantage of those - just not enough space in my stomach.

There are lots of places you can sign up for email updates that will send you a coupon for a free meal/snack/drink on your birthday. Some of my favorites are The Keg ($25 towards an entree),Grimaldi's Pizza (free large pizza one topping up to $18), Which Which (free small sub), Jason's Deli ($5 towards meal), Mellow Mushroom ($5 towards meal), Genghis Grill (free regular bowl), Schlotzsky's (free small sandwich), Rubios (free entree), Starbucks (free drink), Dunkin Donuts (free medium drink), Krispy Kreme (free doughnut and coffee), Sprinkles Cupcakes (free cupcake), Culvers (free ice cream)

There are also lots of places that will send you coupons for BOGO type of offers such as Benihana, Zoes Kitchen, Cold Stone, Dairy Queen, Auntie Anne's Pretzels, Bruegger's Bagles, Johnny Rockets or lots of places that offer a free dessert if you buy an entree. I don't love these offers because they are really not giving you much free since you end up spending money on a meal when you otherwise wouldn't have gone to that restaurants. Places I will take advantage of this kind of deal are places like Fox Restaurant Concepts (free dessert with entree purchase) or Postino (free dessert with entree purchase) - because those restaurants are just so yummy and any excuse to go .... right?:)

There are also lots of places you can get free items or money if you are on their email list such as Ulta, Sephora, World Market etc.

Enjoy!

PS. I am sorry I didn't include links to all of these places, but with a newborn I opted for not spending the time adding the links ... I will try to do that soon. In the meantime a simple Google search should do the job if you aren't familiar with the restaurant URL:)

happy new year!

happy new year from THIS girl and her parents:) we look forward to seeing what 2015 has in store.

the greatest christmas present ever

After a season of waiting we received the most perfect and amazing Christmas present. We are in incredible awe of what God has done for us, how he has blessed us beyond measure with the most perfect daughter and in turn allowed us to become a family.

Let me introduce you to our daughter 

Esther Marie Carlson

We love her so much and we can't help but just sit and stare at our beautiful miracle baby:) Our hearts are full!

Even though  our adoption journey has not been easy at times, God provided us with a wonderful birth family that we had the opportunity to get to know towards the end of the journey. We truly care about this family and their incredible loving sacrifice that allowed us this beautiful healthy daughter. We look forward to sharing with Esther her beautiful birth story. 

We are incredibly humbled by the outpouring of love and support from so many of you for our adoption. We lack words to express our thankfulness, but we will start with a THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who has helped make our dream of bringing home our Carlson baby a reality. Thank you for loving us and in turn loving little Esther.  

We are still raising money to help fund this wonderful adoption. If you are interested in making a tax deductible year end donation please consider making a contribution to https://www.adopttogether.org/carlsonadoption 

If you would prefer to purchase something tangible that supports our adoption as well then if you buy some yummy candles at Waiting Hearts Candle Co using our link (https://waitingheartscandle.com/?ref=5) we will receive 35% towards our adoption.

Thanks again for all of your support! We are overjoyed this Christmas season to have Esther as part of our family! God is good!

  

milling mondays: danish christmas recipes

As I mentioned in my last post I can't believe that it is almost Christmas! So exciting:) I just love love Christmas time. I love the cozy times spent with family and friends. Christmas trees and decorations, gift exchanges, Christmas smells, and yummy yummy food and dessert that are served this time of year. This season is often filled with nostalgia for me and with that the desire to make Christmas recipes I grew up enjoying. Here are some of my favorite yummy Danish Christmas treats featured on this blog if you want to try something new and delicious.


Vanillekranse

Brunkager

Danish Rye Bread with Dried Fruit, Seeds and Nuts

Æbleskiver

Ginger Cake (Ingefærkage)

If baking isn't your thing and you enjoy yummy smelling Christmas candles you can head over to Waiting Hearts Candle Co using this link to purchase some.

christmas gift ideas

I can't believe it is already December which means Christmas is just around the corner! If you are looking for some Christmas gift ideas here are some options... and a portion of each purchase goes towards our adoption!

One idea is to get some yummy candles at Waiting Hearts Candle Co. (who doesn't like receiving candles?). They have great Christmas and Fall flavors perfect for this time of year. The people who created this company have also adopted and they in turn have a desire to help others raise funds for their adoption. For each candle purchased using our link (https://waitingheartscandle.com/?ref=5) we will receive 35% towards our adoption. And they are currently offering free shipping so it can't get better than that:)

If you know people who love coffee (yes please!) another gift idea is purchasing coffee and things of that nature at Just Love Coffee Roasters. If you make a purchase using our link (https://justlovecoffee.com/carlsonadoption) a portion will go towards our adoption (if you go to their fundraising page you can see how much of each purchase goes towards our adoption).

thank you

As I have mentioned we are adopting! We are so incredibly grateful to all of you who have supported us already in this journey. We have been so humbled by people's generosity. As you may know we just completed our shirt fundraiser. Thank you to all of you who helped us sell 70 shirts! They should be on their way to your front door.

Many of you have also helped support us by contributing on adopt together. If you are interested in making a tax deductible year end donation please consider making a contribution to https://www.adopttogether.org/carlsonadoption to help us bring Baby Carlson home:) 

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at ourcarlsonadoption@gmail.com

happy birthday maya

this fun girl's birthday is today. 

happy birthday, maya! 

we wish we could be there to help you celebrate. 

we miss you and look forward to the next time we get to see you.

one way to help

I can't believe it is November already! This year has absolutely flown by. Pretty soon the holidays will be upon us and maybe just maybe we will be out of the 90s in Phoenix:)

As I mentioned in my previous post - we are adopting! We also mentioned there are several ways you can help support us if you feel led. One of the ways is by buying a shirt. If you have been thinking about getting one then you have one more week. The shirts will be available until Friday, November 7.

If you are interested here is the link https://www.bonfirefunds.com/carlson-adoption-fund (they send them internationally as well)

If you have any questions please let us know.

milling mondays: whole wheat raspberry almond coffee cake

Who doesn't like raspberries? Last month when raspberries were on major sale I enjoyed these lovely berries and kept thinking how wonderful these raspberries would taste in a dessert. Well, I didn't get around to making a raspberry dessert while the berries were on sale, but I am so glad I still ended up making one. It was delish! This cake was light and moist and not too sweet and the almonds added a nice little crunch. What a great little treat.


Whole Wheat Raspberry Almond Cake


Ingredients

6 oz fresh raspberries
1 Tbs brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour (2/3 soft wheat berries and 1/3 hard wheat berries)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tbs butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sliced almonds


Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix together the raspberries and brown sugar and set aside.

If you mill your own flour, grind 2/3 soft wheat berries and 1/3 hard wheat berries. I used my WonderMill on the pastry setting. Sift the flour once to make the cake less dense.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl mix together the egg, sour cream, butter, and vanilla extract.

Mix together the dry and wet ingredients

Then add half of the batter into a greased and floured 8" round baking pan.

Top the batter with the sugared raspberries.

Spoon the remaining batter on top of the raspberries.

Finally, sprinkle the cake with the almond slivers.

Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cake cool. Serve with icing if desired. I typically mix together confectioners' sugar with a tiny bit of water and maybe a little vanilla extract.

ENJOY!