Looking Back

We kicked off 2009 in high style, by joining together in marriage on January 10th. It was a snowy day, but many family and friends made the trip over to celebrate with us.

Two weeks after our wedding, a home pregnancy test confirmed my suspicions. We were blessed by the honeymoon baby we had hoped for! :)
The baby was dubbed, "Boing", in honor of the aerobics that he/she would do, making my pregnant belly dance. What fun to watch! I pulled out baby name books, looked up meanings, and we actually discussed Ava Grace for a girl and Judah Scott or Nathan Scott for a boy. Names like Nicole Grace, Felicity Noelle, Connor Riley, Caleb Joshua, Justice Michael, Elsie Kathleen and Aria Joelle also made the baby name list.

The end of June brought a much enjoyed trip to New Hampshire, visiting friends and enjoying the coast. We visited a lighthouse, drove through a mountain pass, and toured different parts of the state with our dear friend Lindsey Peterson.

September 26th, I was extremely pregnant, as in 37 weeks pregnant and feeling ready to pop any day. September 26th also was the wedding day of our dear friends, Joel and Esther Meeder. Scott and I were honored to be the Best Man and Matron of Honor, and guess what...lots of activity brings on labor pains!
Sure enough, I was in labor by 1pm on September 27th, and on September 28th, our daughter was born. It was 12:21 pm when she was fully delivered, and the nurse immediately took her from the doctor and placed her on my chest. No one bothered to find out boy or girl, since we didn't know yet, and so we basked in the miracle of our lovely generic baby. Then we remembered to check, and sure enough, it was the daughter I thought it was! One look confirmed that she is Ava Grace, named after myself. She was 8lb, 14oz, 21" long. And at 2 minutes old she had the most perfect pout I had ever seen...and she hasn't lost it either. :)
What a blessing! Ava has grown and become a light in our lives beyond anything we could have imagined! She loves her grandparents and aunts and uncles, blesses us with hundreds of smiles, and is a wonderful gift.

It has been a full year...tell me about your year. I want to know what God has blessed you with, miracles that have happened, events that shaped your life, and the things that inspire you.

God's blessings to you in 2010!

Love from our home to yours...

So much love, such a little person...

Merry Christmas from the Kratzer's to you!

Christmas Treats!

'Tis the season to eat goodies! Here's a sampling of our snacks:So, I made the almond bark pretzel sticks, and had some almond bark left over. It makes delicious peanut clusters. I'm sure it would be fabulous on cashews as well.
And not to forget the chocolate clusters. Mmmm, yummy!
Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!
"And you shall call His name Emmanuel, which means "God with Us."
I'm so thankful that God is with us, that Jesus came in such lowliness and humility to be our Savior!

Body Scrub

If you're anything like me, your skin dries out during the winter months. My hands always look chapped, or are so dry they feel papery. I was looking for a solution and stumbled across a recipe for a body scrub on Martha Stewart's site. (Check it out here: ( http://www.marthastewart.com/article/natural-beauties-body-scrub )
I love lavender, and did some research and found out that almond oil is incredibly good for your skin. So, to combine the best of everything, I looked up prices and did some ordering.
The lavender oil and almond oil are from Swanson Vitamins ( http://www.swansonvitamins.com ), and the purple coloring is from Brambleberry ( http://www.brambleberry.com/default.aspx ). Sugar courtesy of Hy-Vee food stores.

Mix it all together and store in a wide mouth jar.

This is incredibly moisturizing, so be sure and give your skin time to absorb the oil after using it.

As a side note, this is a slightly purple tint, but you can't really tell in the photo. You can omit coloring altogether, but I opted to use a natural colorant as opposed to food coloring. Using a colorant such as one from Brambleberry means you will need to use more, just fyi.

Make some and enjoy the luxurious feel of moisturized skin! Best part, it's great for your face too!

A Blue Velvet Dress

When I was born, my daddy bought me a very special dress for going to church the very first time. It now fits Ava, so of course I did a photo op! Enjoy!
The dress is made of dark blue velvet, and trimmed with white lace.

Of course, there are ruffles on the bum. :)

My beautiful Ava!