19th Anniversary

19 Years
And many more......Happy Anniversary, My Love!

Chloe Turns Six

Chloe Turns Six

Chloe is a joy! She was my easiest (natural) birth. She's a sweet girl with big eyes and eye lashes a mile long. She's spunky and funny and loves anything princess. When she grows up, she said she wants to be a mommy, a princess, or a farm girl! :-)

We love you, Bunny! Happy Birthday!

Cravings

Cravings

You'd think after eight pregnancies, cravings would be old hat. The strange thing is, I really never had cravings per se during my other pregnancies. I've always been so sick that I struggled just to think of something that sounded good. I'm sure there was a time or two when something sounded good, but definitely not like now. I've already sent Greg on two craving runs and Chey on one.

Last night, at 9:00 pm, I had a strong craving for crunchy tacos. First of all, I DON'T eat at 9:00 at night, period. I tried to fight the urge, but finally gave in and asked Greg to make me a couple of tacos...we had leftover taco fixings from a previous dinner. But, when he went to fry the shells, to my dismay, we were out of corn tortillas. Oh man! I was all geared up for these tacos. But never fear, my sweet Greg got in the car and headed to Taco Cabana. Craving satisfied.

So my next craving was completely shameless. Why, you ask? Well, we were in the middle of worship today when I just HAD to have a Quiznos sandwich. I was beginning to feel a bit more queasy and knew I needed to eat something. Upon telling Cheyenne (my 17 year old driver) of my plight, she offered to go and get me a sandwich. How shameless is that??? Sending your daughter in the middle of service to get a sandwich. That's the low of all lows. It sure was good though! But next Sunday, I'll be more prepared by bringing a snack from home to tide me over. I promise Pastor Dirk! ;-)

Well, this afternoon, it hit again! At about 3:30, I was suddenly struck with a desperate need for fried chicken. I usually only eat fried chicken about once a year.....but I had to have it. So off my sweet husband went.....and boy was it good. The kids were happy too! ;-)

I don't know whether to be glad or irritated about these cravings. On one hand, I'm so thankful to actually crave something for a change, as opposed to being so sick that nothing sounds good. On the other hand, we certainly can't afford to be satisfying my every whim...this will surely get expensive. Not to mention, I certainly don't need all those extra calories.

My only solution is to exercise a bit of self control. No fun, I know....but I can do it. I can do it. I can do it! Ohhhhh lemonade.....I wonder if Greg's up to going to the store......

And so it begins...

Where's Genevieve?

So, Friday night we were at a function that was fairly crowded. As we were leaving, we were making sure all the kids were right beside us as to not get lost in the crowd. As I take a quick glance around, I don't see Genevieve. In a panic, I say to Greg and the older girls, "Where's Genevieve?" They looked at me in disbelief and let me know that she was right "there". Right where? I was HOLDING HER HAND!

Sheesh!

Meatball Stroganoff

A Quick and Easy Dinner Recipe

We've just recenlty stumbled upon this recipe and have enjoyed it several times. Our menus consist of a variety of meals ranging in difficulty level. This is by far one of the easiest meals and the whole family loves it. Give it a try!

Meatball Stroganoff

2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup Sour Cream
2 cups mushrooms (optional), sliced and sauted in butter
40 Meatballs (we buy a 6 lb bag, fully cooked, from Sams: Casa Di Bertacchi)
Egg Noodles

In pot or large saucepan, mix together soup and sour cream. Stir in mushrooms (we've even just dumped in a can or jar of mushrooms when we didn't have fresh on hand and it tasted fine) and meatballs. Simmer until meatballs are heated through. Serve over hot egg noodles or rice, tossed with butter and parsley if desired. Serves 8-10.

We usually serve this with a salad. Hope you like it....and that it saves you a little time in the kitchen. :-)

California Trip

Snippets of Our Trip to CA

Celeste, Jonathan, and I took a week's long trip to CA. I wish the whole family could have gone, but we had a good time, anyway. It was so special getting to spend time with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and my brother and his sweet family. It was especially exciting for Celeste since she was able to experience her first airplane ride. Here she is with Jonathan just before boarding the plane.

Since our camera has been out of commission, Celeste was our vacation photographer. She really captured some terrific shots. Below is Half Dome, my favorite mountain in the world. Perhaps it is because it's so unique, or just plain breathtaking, or maybe climbing it when I was fifteen has something to do with it. Whatever the draw, I just love it and never tire of seeing it!

We drove up to Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park (one of my favorite places on earth). We made it there just in time to watch the sun set. Breathtaking. This photo below is the Diving Board (left) and Yosemite Falls in the distance. You may have seen a couple of famous photos of the Diving Board involving people. In the old days, people would do handstands on this outcropping; DO NOT ATTEMPT SUCH FOOLHARDY STUNTS! YOU WILL DIE! As a matter of fact, people have died, whether on accident or on purpose.....it's a 3000 ft plunge to the Valley Floor from Glacier Point. OUCH!

We're the handful of family who made the trip. My Aunt Julia is taking the photo. The back row begins with my sweet sister, Angel, and my wonderful dad. In the front, we have little ol' me, my beautiful Celeste, and my awesome Uncle Andy. If you look real hard, you can see the top of Jonathan's head at the bottom. ;-)

Okay, so I know this is hardly an adequate number of photos to come out of a family reunion vacation, but I still need to go through all of them and label them, etc., etc., etc. I'll try to get to that soon since I have loads of free time with nothing to do. ;-)

Seth Turns Nine

Happy Birthday, Sethman!



Yes! Another birthday post. May began our first string of birthdays, and today we are celebrating Seth, now 9 years old.


We were so excited the night he was born to find that we had had a BOY! Having only two girls, it was hard to imagine actually having a boy. But there he was...all 8 lbs 11 oz of him (my biggest baby at that time).


Seth has really been the dream son. I mean, I was a little afraid of having a boy, but Seth was a very easy boy, as far as boys go. He's mild natured, very caring, a superb big brother to the five under him, and loves to help.


But at the same time, he's also very active. He loves the outdoors, baseball, basketball, and building stuff. He likes to tinker around and fix things. He's smart and thoughtful.


He also likes to draw and paint. He's interested in many different things which makes him a lot of fun. Seth is just a neat boy.


We love you big guy and hope that you have a memorable day today! We praise God for you and are humbled and honored by the young man you've become!

Celeste Turns 15

Happy Birthday Celeste

A night out to see Wicked (above)...

Celeste is an amazing young lady. With a loving nature and a sweet spirit, she's always putting others first. She loves to serve and meets needs before asked. With her quick wit, she keeps us laughing. And with her deep, genuine love, she makes this world a better place. We love you, Celeste, and we're humbled and thankful to be your parents. You are a blessing! We hope you enjoy this day...and enjoy this year of being fifteen!

She's not afraid to have fun being silly...in public...at the zoo..


She's been my faithful week day running partner.....


She ran the 8 Miler with Blair and me.....and beat us.


Having fun fishing with Grandpa....
Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl. You are loved and cherished more than you know!

Jonathan is One

Happy First Birthday, Jonathan!



I can't believe we're here at a year already. It seems like with each baby I have, time just moves faster and faster, causing me to pause and savor every moment. Jonathan has been such joy with his sweet disposition and heart-warming smile. He has six teeth at this point, and began walking just before 11 months. He can say Mama, Da Da, and say "Hi" while waving. Such a big boy!


We celebrated his birthday a few days ago with his bestest pals, Ian and Fiona. It was a cute little party in which we also celebrated Ian and Fiona turning one since they were all born within two weeks of each other.


Happy birthday, Jonathan. You are a precious gift and we love you! Don't grow up too fast on us, okay? :-)

Ethan is FOUR!

It's been four quick years since this energetic little boy was born. Ethan has taught us much about parenting and how unique each child truly is. Greg and I often joke that Ethan is the one who keeps us humble as parents. He's ALL boy ALL the time. He's super smart and has a "Hollywood" smile. We trust that God has a specific purpose for this bundle of strong will and energy. :-)










We love you Ethan Edward Sabo. You are truly a joy and we're SO glad to be your parents! Happy Birthday Lovey!

Pictures

A Few Photos


Well, it's been a while since I've posting anything let alone pictures. Our camera is out of commission, so here are a few we captured just before the camera went out.


This one was taken back in December. Cheyenne and her friend Shelley played in a piano recital. They both did very well. Their piano teacher, Mrs. Woodard, stands between them.



Five of our younger crew. Not sure where Ethan was while taking this.



Sweet Jonathan. Here, he was about nine months old. He is now nearly eleven months.



We recently took a trip to the zoo....one of our favorite places to visit. Since Ethan was missing in action in the photo above.....here he is enjoying the play area at the San Antonio Zoo.



And here's almost the full crew. Of course, I'm taking the picture.



Hoping to get back to blogging a bit more consistently now. Stop on back soon! :-)

1-2-3 Dip

Photo Credit


This dip is so yummy and so easy to make!  Yes!  It's as easy as 1-2-3!  ;)
My sweet friend, Hollie, passed on this recipe to me years ago...and it's been a favorite ever since.

1-2-3 Dip

1 (1 lb) bulk tube Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage (or any brand you like)
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 can Rotel

Brown sausage.  Drain.  Add cream cheese until melted.  Add Rotel.  Serve hot.  I usually keep mine hot in the crock pot.

See....wasn't that as easy as 1-2-3/

Enjoy!

Home Government - What Is It?

an excerpt from Mother, Home and Heaven by Theodore L. Cuyler

It is not to watch children with a suspicious eye, to frown at the merry outbursts of innocent hilarity, to suppress their joyous laughter, and to mould them into melancholy little models of octogenarian gravity. And when they have been in fault, it is not simply to punish them on account of the personal injury that you have chanced to suffer in consequence of their fault, while disobedience, unattended by inconvenience to yourself, passes without rebuke.

via Westminister Family

Then and Now

Happy Valentine's Day


In this photo, Greg and I had been married just two months. He went to Basic Training three weeks after we were married...and this is when I flew to San Antonio to visit him.




This picture is now just over three years old. It's not exaclty a "now" photo, but it's was our last professional pic taken. (Oct. 2006)




This photo was taken last September on our 18th anniversary. We've now been together 20 years....more than half our lives for BOTH of us. Even though we are still young (yes we are!), something about "20 YEARS" makes us feel old. But, after 18 1/2 years of marriage and 8 kids later, we are still crazy about eachother.



Happy Valentine's Day, Greg. You are still....and always will be the love of my life!

Google 411

COOL



HT: Judy

Genevieve's Birthday

A Few Birthday Photos

Yesterday, we celebrated Genevieve's 2nd birthday. Her birthday was the 7th, but we waited for the weekend to have the party. We had just a simple family celebration full of noise and laughter. I think she enjoyed it! ;-)

Her first gifts were from Celeste. She didn't seem too sure about these at first.....

She loves books......

She also loves to do the splits........

The cake.......to tell you the truth, I had planned to keep the cake very simple. I wasn't up for cutting out shapes and mixing several colors of icing. After all, she's two! BUT....after Celeste suggested I make a Ladybug Cake...the girls begged me to do one. They found this one online. Since it was made from two rounds and only had two colors, I felt it would be simple enough. Thankfully, it was pretty easy....and I thought it turned out well.

Thought I'd throw in a bonus picture.....isn't he cute?

Vivi Turns Two

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GENEVIEVE

It's hard to believe our sweet Genevieve is two today! Our first home birth baby...it really does seem like just yesterday she was born.

Here she is at two months.......


And didn't she JUST turn ONE?????


And here she is just a couple of months ago at the zoo.

Genevieve, you're a gift, a blessing, and a joy. You make us laugh, your eyes and your smile melt our hearts, and your fire cracker personality keeps us on our toes. We love you so much and thank our Heavenly Father for creating you and allowing you to be born into your Daddy's hands! HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIVI!

New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE SABO HOME TO YOURS

Is it really 2010???

Advent

"In Advent spirituality we are also called on to meditate on the birthing of Christ in our hearts. In this matter we are dealing with the conversion of life, the movement away from the old life lived under the power of evil to the new life lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. True conversion is a turning from one way of life to another. Christ calls us to be converted to him, to make him the pattern of our lives, to make our living and dying a living and dying in him." —Robert Weber

Remembering the Solas

Something that really intrigues me is the state of the church universal. Spiritually, it varies anywhere from portraying Jesus cool and fun.....to the pendulum swing of reverting back to ceremonial law, making faith the work of the person and not Christ.

I love studying about the great Reformers and the historical Church.....and remembering the solas is a great way in which to measure the state of the modern Church. In my time of study, I came across this article that I thought was worth sharing.

Remembering the Solas
by Ben Merkle

Christians who are concerned for the well being of the Church will readily agree that the modern Church has strayed and is in need of some sort of reformation (notice that this is a reformation with a small r). When this reformation, however, takes the shape of a Reformed movement (now a capital R), it will be characterized no longer by an ambiguous yearning for the good old days, but a defined debate over doctrinal issues. In the latter case, unanimous agreement becomes more difficult to get. Yet both the Reformed movement of today and its counterpart of the sixteenth century address what is needed to reform our Church. Now, if we claim to be reforming the Church, then we must constantly ask ourselves "What does it mean to be Reformed?"

The early Reformers gave us five points for evaluating our Church. These were the five solas. The first of these being sola scriptura, or Scripture alone. In the midst of an increasingly unchecked Papal authority and a Bible that was unavailable to the lower classes, it is easy to see how the sixteenth century was in need of a call to anchor itself again in the Word of God. Our modern church, however, does not see that we are in the same boat. We have created a culture that sees regular Bible study as a pain and not a blessing. We refuse to put effort into our Bible study, insisting on having our Bible studies livened up to entertain us. Instead of regularly reading our Bibles, we take a quick read of the uninspired, inspirational paragraph of our daily devotion book. Our Bibles are marketed by adding footnotes and short stories that are supposed to make the Bible relevant to today's youth, the working mother, or nicotine patch users. Our eschatologies are shaped more by tabloids and TV, than by the study of Scripture. We are bored of our Bibles and truly need to reform our view of Scripture. What a joy it should be to read the Word of our Lord.

The next sola is solus Christus, Christ alone. In recent years the good news of Christ's death has been significantly tampered with. Although the tampering is often well-meaning, it is a destruction of the gospel all the same. The new gospel is not that Christ died to pay the price for our sins, but that He died on the cross in order to give us more meaningful relationships. Life just isn't fulfilling as is, but with the help of Jesus things just seem a lot rosier. If we are preaching a gospel that doesn't teach Christ's death for our sins, we obviously aren't really preaching the gospel. And, if we aren't preaching the gospel, then how can we even feign surprise at the poor state that our Church is in? We need to reform our gospel message.

Next is sola gratia, grace alone. It is by God's grace alone that we are brought to a saving knowledge of Him. Yet, we are continually apologizing for what our God looks like to non-Christians. We try to dress our Lord up to make Him more appealing in the hopes that we might woo an unsuspecting pagan into the kingdom without him ever noticing where he is going. The Bible continually describes the nonbeliever as a God-hater, an enemy of the Lord's, and under His judgment. Why, then, are we distressed when they don't like the looks of our God? If a non-Christian is not frightened by the God we worship, then the God we worship is not the God of the Bible. It is by God's grace alone that anyone comes to a saving knowledge of Him. We are to preach His gospel as it is, not to give Him a make-over.

The fourth sola is sola fide, faith alone. Again, like sola scriptura, we can see the immense need for this sola in the sixteenth-century Church. A works-oriented salvation had become the norm and needed to be rooted out by the Reformation. Salvation by faith alone flew in the face of many in the sixteenth century. Yet, salvation truly by faith alone, and apart from any work or effort of its recipient, still flies in the face of the majority of Christians today. Faith is now redefined so that it becomes a work of the person, not the work of God. As long as we insist on finding the grounds of our salvation within ourselves, we have not submitted to salvation by faith alone and are in desperate need of Reformation.

The last of the five solas is Soli Deo Gloria, to the glory of God alone. Everything a Christian does should be done completely to God's glory. Yet, we have flipped this completely upside down, especially in our worship. Instead of going to worship to glorify God, we often go to glorify ourselves. We require as much fanfare and excitement as possible in order to keep our attention, making the entire service focused on ourselves. Then, when we get ourselves as worked up as possible, we hope that God might take notice of us and somehow feel vicariously glorified. Glorifying God is giving glory to God, not getting ourselves worked up and slipping Christian phrases in, hoping that God will feel the excitement that we've manufactured for our own benefit.

As we consider the issues that the Church has continually muddled, it is interesting to note that our doctrines have not undergone a random decay. The truths we have muddled are crucial to our faith, and are the same ones that have been muddled many times before. It is no accident that we continue to stumble at these points, but it is because they are so crucial that we continue to stumble there. Because of this, it is important to have an historical perspective to our faith. We should be standing on the shoulders of those who went before us, not running to catch up with them.

Photo Credit