February Highlights- Part 3

Aunt Emily Visits

I'm finally getting to our last February entry (and we're almost at the end of March!!). The last weekend in February Chris's sister, Emily, surprised us with a visit. We shared many laughs and good conversations. We loved watching Aunt Emily dote on her baby nephew. She is magical with the little ones!! She is also gifted in the realm of art. I spent much of the weekend in amazement over her recent artwork. I love it!! She's also quite generous with her talent--- She blessed us with 4 new pieces of artwork!! It is such a gift to have our home filled with beautiful and fun artwork created by family members. Between my talented Aunt Gwen and Mark's talented Aunt Emily our new home is almost completely decorated :-)

Ashley, Brandon & Baby Z Visit

Our dear friends Ashley and Brandon are expecting their first little one at the beginning of May. We were thrilled when they scheduled a visit even during this busy season of their life. As always we all had a great time together. We even splurged on a little Graeter's Ice cream...yum!!

Mark's 1st Bracket Picks

We love March Madness in this house. Here is Mark's introduction to the festivities...

Mia the Puppy

When we visit Curtis and Jess Pennick we always know we're in for a treat. Usually there's a treat for the pallet (authentic calzones, pizza on the grill, homemade general Tso's, etc). And there's always lots of laughter prompted by Curtis & Jess. This time it wasn't the wit of Curtis and Jess bringing on the howls....it was their dog, Mia. We've never seen Mark laugh so hard when he wasn't being tickled!

February Highlights- Part 2: The Wards

February was so filled to the brim with good memories and exciting moments that I need to break it into two posts (maybe even three!).

Visiting the Wards...

Chris has this fabulous friend from college (JB Ward) who married an equally fabulous woman (Bethany) and together they are fabulous Young Life leaders in New Martinsville, WV. It is always so fulfilling to see the homes of our friends and family--- to drive around their town, see their Wal-mart, visit their church. It enables us to imagine their surroundings when we pray for them or think about them. A couple years ago we had the opportunity to see JB's home.. aka "bachelor pad." However, we knew a revisit was a necessity after JB married the sweet, talented, creative, and extremely resourceful Bethany. What once was the epitome of a bachelor pad (you know...the towels for curtains type of thing...) had been "Bethan-ized"...or so JB said :-) We had to see this for ourselves so we scheduled a visit, packed our bags, and headed to the great state of West Virginia for the weekend.

The Ward's know the art of hospitality. We were greeted by not one but 2 welcome signs! The theme of the weekend was "from scratch." Although I sadly do not have any pictures of our morning drink, we began the morning with orange juice "from scratch" (i.e. freshly squeezed, delicious, amazing!). For lunch we feasted on taco salad with a shell made "from scratch." And we ended the day with ravioli "from scratch" (we didn't even use a pasta maker!!!).

Pictures (top row): We may or may not have entertained ourselves by attaching a pillow to Mark's pants.

Pictures (middle rows): We drove to the top of a nearby mountain to enjoy the breath-taking view of the valley of New Martinsville. I could not believe all the beautiful mountains that surround them! Bethany may or may not have chosen to wear her open back shoes therefore needed to be carried through the 8 inches of snow on the ground :-)

Pictures (bottom row): other cute moments

Ravioli from Scratch...

A definite highlight of our visit was making ravioli. It took us about 2 hours of mixing, kneading, rolling, cutting, folding, etc, but good times were had by all throughout the process and the finished product was unbelievably delicious. We were so excited about eating our masterpiece that we forgot to take a picture of it. Oh well. You'll just have to believe me that it was as beautiful as it was good :-) Thank you, Wards, for an unforgettable weekend!

February Highlights- Part 1

Winter Grilling

Chris loves to grill even in the winter. He is frequently asking me if he can grill for dinner. (I know... I'm super blessed!!) Here are my boys whipping up dinner for us.

Mark's 1st Spaghetti

The night before we left for NJ we had spaghetti for dinner. We tried to give Mark the pasta without the sauce (less mess); however, he kept pushing this bland pasta out of his mouth with his tongue. When we dipped the pasta in sauce he slurped it right down!! Looks like we may have a little guy who love Italian!

Grandma's Birthday Weekend in NJ

Valentine's Day weekend we packed up the car and headed East to visit my fam. We ate, we laughed, we played, we celebrated my Mom's birthday, and we just plain "hung out." I love visiting my family and it's even more special when I get to be with them on a birthday. Happy Birthday Mom/Grandma! We love you!!!

I love my darling husband SO much!! I really can't count the ways but here's one of them: he makes life fun :-) We enjoy watching the food network and travel channel every now and then. Once in a while there are shows discussing the best places to eat in _________ city. When we decided to make a trip to NJ he searched out one of these decorated eateries for us to visit. His choice: RU Hungry in New Brunswick, NJ home of "The Fat Darrel" which won the sandwich of the year! What's on this sandwich you ask?? chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, french fries, and marinara sauce Yeah, I was not super convinced I would enjoy this award winner, but it was actually quite tasty. If you run into Chris sometime, you'll have to ask him how this sandwich was invented--- it's quite intriguing. That's another thing I love about my husband.... He's always researching something new and interesting:-)

Here we are in front of RU Hungry

All 8 of us crammed into my parents 7 passenger van so we could take one car. This was before we realized there was no indoor seating for lunch. Somehow we all managed to chow down without making a mess--- it was a miracle!!

We introduced Mark to bubbles in Grandma's kitchen. It's always a joy to see the excitement in his face when he is discovering.

Of course Mark had to see what these bubbles tasted like, but to his chagrin he wasn't quite able to capture them in his mouth :-)

My Creator

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." -Rev 4:11

I learned to sew a month ago and frankly I was obsessed when I first started. My thoughts were swarming with figuring out how to create new things with beautiful fabrics and thread. I couldn't wait for nap time so I could get out my wonderful hand-me-down sewing machine and work on creating. Before this discovery I wouldn't have classified myself as a creative person-- I like to try to copy others' creativity but never really come up with something on my own. After my sewing experience I would definitely say I'm creative--- I'd say we're all "creative." We are made in the image of God and God is certainly creative. You may have already thought about this but I really hadn't until my afternoons with the sewing machine. I would find myself repetitively saying, "Lord, thank you so much for letting me create!" And then my thoughts would wander to His beautiful & perfect creation (God didn't need a seam ripper!!). Sometimes the ugliness of sin disguises the reality that we're created in God's likeness. It was neat to be reminded of it in the most unlikely of places: bent over a sewing machine!

As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. - Ps. 17:15

For fun, here are some of the things I made. I'm loving them!!

Mark's sling (inspired my Aunt Sarah's)

My diaper & wipes cases-- these are so much better than my plastic bag!!

Crazy Diaper Deal!!

Calling all Friends and Family...

For anyone who is interested in saving some money on diapers... I was surfing some blogs for coupons on diapers and ran into this great deal... Basically there is a $10 coupon and a $15 mail in rebate. Here's how it works....

1- go to diapers.com and order the diaper brand of your choice. They have pretty much all of them... pampers, huggies, luvs, etc. In order to get free shipping and use the $10 coupon you have to have at least $49 worth of diapers and/or wipes in your cart

2- at check out type in the coupon code sveten to get $10 off immediately

3- print your receipt and this form. If you read through the form, it says you can mail it in for a $15 rebate (which takes 6-8weeks to receive back...but hey! it's still $15!!) If you don't send in the rebate you'll get a free year of PARENTING magazine (which is still cool, but I like the money better!)

In the end you can get $49 worth of diapers for $24!! I ordered the diapers around 10am and received them the next day! (Coincidentally, Mark also loves the HUGE box they diapers came in.)

Have a great weekend!!!

January Highlights

New Year's

I really couldn't think of a better way to ring in the New Year than playing games with our dear friends and that's exactly what we got to do. We cheered in the new decade after some mean rounds of Speed Slice on the Wii Resort. We then managed to bring on the craziness of "Peanuts" aka "13 Pack" which lasted a good hour or two. As I think back on all the fun we had I can do nothing but smile and praise God for giving us far more than we could imagine. When Chris and I first moved to Cleveland our constant prayer was for friends. We were recovering from the "good-bye's" of college graduation and moving to a town where we virtually knew no one. Our friends from college were such kindred spirits that I didn't imagine God could bless us with such close friends again. I guess that's what Ephesians 3:20 means when it says "He (God) is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." Praise God for His goodness to us!!

Left to Right: Me, Caitie, Lindzey, & Tarah

Mary & Carl (Chris is behind the camera)

Mark's 1st Snow Experience:

I was trying to get through this winter without buying a snow suit for Mark. Chris desperately wanted to take him out to "play" in the snow several times this winter, but I was trying to convince him it wasn't worth it this year. Well, when our lawn was "dusted" with 14 inches of snow earlier this month I saw Chris's point--- we had to document this experience in which the snow depth was greater than 1/2 Mark's height. Chris & I had a blast dressing him up and introducing him to the snow. (We have the proof too--- we took over 200 pictures in about 30 minutes!!!) On the other hand, Mark was not a big fan of the adventure. He pretty much screamed every time we set him down in the snow. Which just meant we got to hold him more :-) (He'll come around eventually!)

Getting Ready: We used Chris's work socks as leg warmers :-)

Fun times with Dad: We didn't have a sled so Chris propped Mark up on the snow shovel and toted him around. They both loved it!!

Me and my sweet little boy :-)

The Pfeils Return & Mimi's 50th

Chris's sister and her family (the ones who are missionaries in Japan) are back in the States for a year. Needless to say we are excited (and that's an understatement for sure!!). All of Chris's siblings were together to welcome their arrival. Coincidently the date of their return was also Mark's Mimi's 50th Birthday. We did a lot of celebrating that weekend!!

The Fam

Mark --the one standing--decided he had to be a part of the piano playing (even if he couldn't fit on the bench!).

Mimi's cake was good to the last crumb!

We celebrated Christmas at the Pfeils... Mark enjoyed Calvin's new toys :-)

Do We Have a Walker??

January 8th Mark took "steps" between Chris and me. While I wouldn't quite say he's "walking" yet, it still seems like a milestone to celebrate. We're so proud of our little guy!!

December Highlights (Part 2)

Mark and Piper...good buddies

From time to time I get the privilege of watching the adorable Piper Gray. Mark loves having his playmate over (and mom loves the help in entertaining him!).

Can it get any cuter than this??? (I submit that it cannot!)

"Christmas" at our New House

We couldn't pass up having some sort of Christmas experience in our new home with our perfect Christmas tree. (not to mention I was looking for an excuse to allow Mark to wear his "My 1st Christmas" pj's more than once) So we celebrating Christmas morning the weekend before we headed out of town for Christmas. My parents had graciously sent all of our Christmas gifts via UPS which we happily opened for the occasion.

loving life in the Christmas PJ's his grandma got for him

Christmas at the Harringtons in Richmond

I tend to dream about my baby's "firsts." His first Easter, road trip, Thanksgiving....and Christmas. I imagined him squealing with the excitement of ripping the wrapping paper. I imagined him darting from gift to gift exploring the ribbons and bows. I even imagined him enjoying the boxes more than the gifts because everyone warned us of that. Unfortunately my imaginations were a far cry from the real events of the morning. The wrapping paper--he could take it or leave it. Boxes--AFRAID!! Excitement--lets just say he went down for 2 naps during the opening of gifts. But you know what?? Christmas morning he loved his gifts, playing with his Aunts and Uncles, and being the perfect little snuggle bug. I wouldn't trade it for the world! :-) We had fun and I'm pretty sure he did too. We did manage to get a few pics of my attempts to fulfill my anticipations.

So why the new name???

Top 5 Reasons for Our Name Change:

1. We didn't want to be associated with that tragic show that used to be on TLC
2. We wanted the focus of the blog to bring attention to God's goodness, so we looked for a name change that had something to do with His blessings
3. "Chris and leanne plus one" might not be accurate in the future
4. We were up for the challenge of finding another blog name that had exactly 21 letters
5. Who doesn't like a little change to spice life up?!?

Why the name "Drinking from our saucer"?

The full phrase is "I'm drinking from my saucer because my cup is overflowing." It came from Chris's grandmother who would say it when she would get overwhelmed with her blessings. Through the years the phrase has been shortened to "I'm drinking from my saucer!" We thought it was a perfect fit for a blog that documented God's many blessings to us.

December Highlights (part 1)

A Weekend of Harrington Traditions:

We love having people over. It is such treat to be with friends and an even bigger treat to introduce them to our world in this city called Twinsburg. At the beginning of December we had the privilege of doing just that with our friends JB & Bethany Ward, Joel, Erica, & Collette Momper, AND Jason Spanogle---AEX friends... for those of you who do not know, AEX was Chris's housing group at Grove City. We spent the weekend celebrating some of the Christmas traditions Chris and I have started here in Twinsburg AND (of course...) playing Settlers of Catan. Here's our weekend itinerary...

Friday night: The Wards arrive during the craziness of what is called our "Adult Ministry Team Meeting". We work with the middle school youth group. Our meetings may or may not include messy Gingerbread House competitions. :-)

Saturday Morning: We enjoyed a little R & R as we awaited the arrival of the Mompers. Upon their arrival, we all bundled up and headed to our 1st tradition: breakfast at Yours Truly in Chagrin Falls... our fav!!

Mark enjoys some play time with Uncle JB

The Christmas tree Farm: After breakfast it was time to get our Christmas tree. We love Sugar Pines Farm in Chesterland. We tried a few "cut your own" Christmas tree farms but have found this place has the best selection in the best location for us.

Collete and Mark tour the Christmas Tree Farm in Luxury

Mark's Christmas Tree Pick

Bethany picked "The One"

Chris's Chili & a Fun Filled Evening

For dinner we feasted on Chris's award winning chili. (Yes, my husband won "People's choice" for Nestle's Supply Chain chili cook-off 2 years in a row!! When all bellies were fed we strung popcorn and cranberries for our tree while playing Settlers of Catan. I must say I have a love-hate relationship with this tradition. I love the way the popcorn strings look on the tree, but DESPISE stringing them. Playing Settlers and having friends to share the load made the experience much more palatable. The rest of the evening was filled with Christmas music (thanks to Spanogle), decorating (thanks to Bethany's eye beauty), and many laughs. It was one of those days you wish you could relive.

Here come the tree!!

Great shot, Spanogle! You're a natural with the camera!

Collete & Mark - 2nd generation friends

Isn't this a great pic (minus the spit up)??

November 2009 Highlights

Aunt Beth Visits:

Aunt Beth drove out from NJ to visit and to help paint the nursery. Long story short we painted it 3 times. But 3rd time is a charm because I LOVE the new color! Beth was super patient with me and she's excellent with the paint brush. Thanks Aunt Beth!

Mark Crawls (11-8-2009):

During Aunt Beth's Visit, Mark crawled for the first time. Beth and I were out for the big event, but Chris was there to witness and video tape.

Aunt Molly's Grove City College Interview Weekend:

Mimi, Papa, Uncle Ben, and Aunt Molly stayed with us the weekend Molly had her interview for Grove City. We did a lot of dreaming. "If Molly gets in..." I love reminiscing when your know how the story unfolds... Aunt Molly was accepted to Grove City College and will be attending in the fall!!! Congratulations Molly!! We couldn't be happier for you (and us...to have you so close is a dream!).

Papa feeds Mark

Uncle Ben's #1 Fan

Thanksgiving:

The Hanlons came out to OH the week leading up to Thanksgiving. We were like kids on Christmas Eve as we waited for their arrival. They loved the house (it was their first introduction to it). My dad went right to work (as usual). He installed wonderful cabinets in our laundry room and child safety latches in our kitchen. I might add-- neither one of the jobs was easy. Thank you Dad!! After their visit we drove out to NJ for Thanksgiving. My Aunt Gwen hosted a fabulous dinner. A good time was had by all. Mark seemed to enjoy his first Thanksgiving, although he definitely did NOT enjoy turkey. I was kinda bummed. Oh well.

We took a break from the festivities for a family photo shoot. photographer: my Uncle Bill (it's such a gift to have some photography talent in the family!)

Katie, the youngest of the Hanlon kids, celebrated her sweet 16 during our visit. I can't believe it---my baby sister is 16!! Katie, I admire your servant's heart. You consistently look for how you can help and don't seem to ever think twice about it. My prayer for you is to see your servant's heart bring people to Christ. Happy Sweet 16!! I love you!