The Royal Wedding

I have to admit, the thought of waking up in the wee morning hours to watch the royal wedding seemed kind of crazy, especially considering I truly value my sleep these days. But in the end, the desire to make a memory won out (not to mention not having a DVR; I had no "watch it later" option). I set my alarm for 4:30, & of course Elliot woke me up at 3:45, so it's 8:30 & I've been up for almost 5 hrs. I'm on to breakfast & cup of coffee #2. (It's gonna be a long day).

Anyways, it was pretty great. It was so cool to watch the royal family driving to the church, & to see everyone walking in. [Side note: I want to wear fastenators (sp?)! I think they are awesome! Can someone please start selling them on this side of the pond?]

Then to see Kate getting into the car, to see the dress, her face behind a veil - all the anticipation (that has indeed been media-driven, but nevertheless, it was there) culminating in seeing her heading toward her groom. I got emotional, it's true. & I realized that the way that we see this bride, looking amazing on her wedding day, is only a small picture of one day, when the Body of Christ, all believers, the bride of Christ, is presented to her Groom. It is going to be more amazing, more exciting, more passionate than any wedding we've ever seen or experienced. His love for us is greater than the love of a prince for his princess. It is the love of a King for His creation, for those He literally laid down His life for.

I think there is a part of every woman that loves the fairy tale; that wants to be the princess in the gorgeous dress. Because we were made for that! We were made to be saved, to be redeemed, to be passionately loved & desired & treasured. Marriage is a picture of that, but it's not perfect. Your earthly husband will let you down - he is incapable of loving perfectly. The only way we can truly fill that need is to understand the way that Jesus passionately loves us. I would say sometimes I feel I understand it, but largely, I continue to pray that I would really experience the love that He has for me, & be able to comprehend how that love was shown at the cross. He doesn't need to prove His love for me (though He still chooses to, every day if I choose to see it) - He already did. I just need to understand & accept it in order to live in it.

One day our knight on a white horse will come for us. We will be rescued from pain, hurt, sorrow, death. We will finally be in the presence of our King, Father, Creator, Savior, Friend, Groom. Revelation gives us a little bit of an idea what it will be like, but really, we can't fathom it. But I do know, it will be more spectacular than the wedding I watched this morning (as lovely as it was). THAT will be a royal wedding, my friends. The One that has the authority over all kings & princes & governors & earthly officials will come for us, & we will be presented to Him - beautiful, adorned, pure, radiant.

And I will betroth you to Me forever. I will betroth you to Me in righteousness & in justice, in steadfast love & in mercy.

Hosea 2:19

For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; & the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth He is called.

Isaiah 54:5

As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

Isaiah 62:5

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:5

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Revelation 19:11-16

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:1-4

Teething, & things you do with your teeth

So I don't think that I realized how much I would hate teething. Hate it! First of all, it's one of those things that sometimes is hard to figure out... okay, fussy baby... been fed, been changed (though Elliot doesn't fuss over a messy diaper), being entertained... teething??? The past couple of nights, he has woken up & screamed & screamed, even when I'm rocking him. We've busted out the Tylenol on those occasions. It's just sad that he is hurting & I can't do anything! & that it interrupts sleep - no one wants that!! & no teeth to be seen. I do think his gums were swollen today, so maybe soon.

Elliot started solids a couple of weeks ago, which didn't start out so well, but we are sticking with fruits for now while he gets used to things & develops a taste for different flavors. He likes apple. Bananas kept him from pooping for 2 days, so I think we'll keep those away for now! That, plus his need to reach & grab things, his constant movement - I have realized I have a real live baby. No more little helpless infant, but a growing boy that is developing personality & will get into trouble (hopefully not too much; we're hoping he's lame like his parents ;-) ) that will soon be crawling then walking & talking - ah! I get ahead of myself. It's fun though. It'll be totally crazy one day when we have multiple kids. In a good way. :-)

I'd also like to mention that I started up the food blog again! You can find it on the left side of the page under my favorites - Tried & True Recipe Share. It started out with several women all contributing, then we all kind of fell away from posting recipes (my excuse was that I was not experimenting in the kitchen while pregnant). But lately I have been trying lots of new recipes, so I started posting the ones that turn out good, mostly so I have a place to store them all because my recipe box is only so big. So take a look!

Baby, massage, hummus

I am still constantly amazed that Elliot is like a real live baby now! My little infant is gone. He no longer just lays there. He always wants to play & move & grab things now. It's just crazy! This past week he has pretty much mastered sitting up. He loves to reach out to grab his toys, which sometimes includes face-planting, which he seems to find entertaining. He's going to be a mobile little guy once he figures out crawling!! He isn't a big fan of bending his legs, so I don't think crawling will happen anytime soon... of course, he changes week to week so I could be completely wrong! It's so fun to see him growing. It is a challenge on some days, especially when he's a little fussy (teething, I think) or won't nap or wants to be entertained (by me) all day. It's tiring! But so fun, & I wouldn't have it any other way.

That being said, I am cashing in Thursday on the gift certificate my parents gave me for a massage, & I am SO EXCITED. Oh man. My back has been hurting pretty bad the past month or two, so I know it will help, not to mention the relaxation factor & spa experience. Oh how I love going to the spa. It doesn't happen often, so it is indeed a treat that I REALLY enjoy!!

I made a black bean hummus last week that I must share with you. I got the recipe from Jenny Rigney, & it is DELISH! I am motivated to make different kinds of hummus. I'll have to experiment soon when I have some free time.

Here it is:

Black Bean Hummus

1 Garlic Clove
1 15 Oz Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Water
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
1/2 Tsp Cumin
1/4 Tsp Salt (we use kosher)
1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped

1. Place garlic clove in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and puree in food processor until smooth.
3. Serve with toasted pita bread, tortilla chips, or fresh veggies.

I didn't add the lemon juice because I didn't have any, & I didn't add cilantro because it makes me want to barf. I loved it with black corn chips & with Sun Chips.

Enjoy!