Our Trip to Illinois

A complete family picture of Mommies immediate family, from L to R, Pappa, Gammie, Alicia with Bella, Jeremy (Alicia's husband), Gracie, Becky, Daddy & Mommy with Titus.

We had a very good trip to Illinois this past week. We flew into Cedar Rapids, IA on the 13th from Missoula with only one stop in Denver, CO. Titus did very well flying and I don't think the air pressure bothered his ears too much that I could tell. They say to have them nurse or suck on a pacifier during the take off and landing to help their ears but he only nursed half the time and seemed fine the other times he wasn't. My dad picked us up from the airport and we headed to Galena, IL where both of my sisters and parents live, amongst many others on my dads side of the family. My mom was busy making a big dinner for all of our family to come over and enjoy. We had many good meals while we were there and we had three family Christmas'! My parents just moved back to Galena after living in WI for about the majority of 17 years now. Galena is where they grew up and met and I did also until 8th grade year. The Lord provided them a beautiful place just about 3.5 miles outside of Galena with 10 acres. The house is the nicest house they have have ever had and has 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. So they are very close to both of my sisters and the two grand kids that are there, which makes everyone very happy.

On Wednesday my dad and Tom went and cut down a huge beautiful tree for us to decorate that night before we would have our family Christmas.

Friday Tom got to enjoy ice fishing all day with Jeremy. They both love ice fishing so that is a great blessing for them to connect in that way. I think they caught 12 fish between the two of them. I got to get my trimmed by Alicia, she does hair in Galena amongst other services there.

Saturday was my dads side of the family Christmas at Great Grandmas house. I took my pumpkin dump cake and it was a hit! My cousin had her first baby this year too so Titus got to enjoy little Nolan, he is 4 months old.

Sunday was my moms side family Christmas out at the Apple Canyon Golf Pro Shop! Now my moms side does Christmas a little different than most of you would. We have what you would probably call a 'talent show.' You don't have to participate but some people write a poem to share with the family (yours was beautiful aunt Sandy) and some people sing some of their favorite songs like karaoke but there is no screen with words! Gracie was very brave and got up there and sang a Taylor Swift song! She brought tears to my eyes because she is growing up too fast for her auntie and she knew every word! She went 2nd and when she was done I asked if anyone could top that, cuz I didn't think so! Ha! Then she tried a couple other ones that she didn't know so well but very cute. I think Tom and Jeremy thought this was a very different way to do Christmas but it is fun for the family and very funny at times.

Monday was our travel day again :( We were sad to be leaving and both of my sisters got teary eyed to see us go. Both my parents and Becky took us back to the airport and Tom and I hadn't gotten the same flight home but I went on standby and got on his flight out to Denver with him but once we got there I was stuck there for a couple hours cuz his flight to Missoula was overbooked. So he got into Missoula around 9 pm and Titus and I got in around 12 am! I was so exhausted and had a terrible headache but Titus just slept the whole time. When we got in thou it was just at the time of the lunar eclipse which was cool! It felt nice to be in our own bed but I am still missing them all.


Mommy got to meet her niece, Bella Jean, for the first time. She just turned 1 year November 11! She loves any kind of food, dancing and her big sister.


Four Generations: Great Grandpa & Grandma Berning, Pappa, Mommy & Titus @ Galena Stauss Senior Care where Great Gramps now resides.


Goofy picture of Gracie and us, we had just finished watching the first Narnia movie with her and she was spending the night at Gammie and Pappa's with us. We had lots of fun with her and we hope she comes to Montana to spend a month with us next Summer!


Tom and I got to enjoy a date one night after Titus went to bed! We went into town to enjoy what they call the 'Old Fashioned Christmas in Galena' with the 'Night of Luminaria'. They have around 5,000 luminaries lit along Main Street, hills and stairs throughout the town! We got some chocolate at the old Candy Kitchen store before we climbed the old Galena High School Stairs (around 180 steps), enjoyed the view with some chocolate and came back down.

17 Months Today And Fish?

Wayne, our good friend, with a Brook Trout, couldn't keep those!


Tom with all the fish that he and Wayne caught together! Now all missing theirs heads and guts and soon to be in our freezer! Yummy.


Well today has been 17 months since Tom and I said "I do." The day started with Tom getting up early, like 5:00 am, to get ready to go ice fishing @ 5:30 for the day with a friend of ours for trout and salmon! He was doing his "hunting and gathering" for us. I on the other hand had plans to sleep in a little, spend some time with my aunt putting up Christmas decorations at their house and then babysitting our little Jayce buddy while his sisters and parents went to enjoy the new Narnia movie (#3) in the theater. Well I didn't really sleep in, Titus woke just after 6 this morning and mommy was planning on trying to get him to take a bottle today so that maybe while we are home in IL my mom can watch him while we go to enjoy the Narnia movie ourselves. Well since he woke up earlier than I anticipated I was trying to get a bottle ready of my own milk while he was crying in his crib :( Then he screamed the whole time (15 minutes) that I tried to give him the bottle. I tried again a little later in morning, still cried, not as bad but mom was heart broken and I am not trying that again! After his morning nap, we headed over to my aunts and on the way I had to get gas and figured out I left my wallet at home! Yikes, so I got back to the pump and I got a call that the babysitting was cancelled because one of Jayce's sisters had been a little under the weather for unknown reasons and they felt one of them should stay home with her and Jayce instead of Titus and I.

So I spent the day over at my aunts and had fun. Later this afternoon I got a text from Tom that they had gotten 55 salmon! There is no limit on the Salmon where they went but a limit of 5 trout per person, which they only got 1 trout! But awesome anyway! So I headed home after a short visit with my Grandpa on Skype with my aunt, which was sweet! When I got home Titus just wanted to cry the whole time and I couldn't figure out what was wrong and he refused to nurse, which NEVER happens with him. So after much agony of trying everything and starting to worry something was seriously wrong because his tongue had been sticking out all day in a way he hasn't done before, Tom said to try some Orajel! Well I didn't think it would help because I couldn't see or feel any teeth coming in, well, he almost instantly started nursing and fell asleep like the sweet baby he is.

Got to show you these pics though before we leave for IL! Only 41 hours till I see my family!

And I decided to make a playlist of "love" songs to be able to put on here when it is our anniversary! I was listening to some of our honeymoon cds today we had made for us by my cousin Lauren and one of our other good friends. Sometimes it is so sweet to reminisce.

6 Months Old!?

What? Where has the time gone? I can't believe Titus is half a year old already and my heart can't believe it either! I was pathetically crying to Tom on Saturday night about the time going so fast and how much I don't want Titus to grow up and get older. I want him to stay an infant even though at times this stage can be trying for me at least. He is just beginning the stage where he is clingy and I thought it was tough before, at least he enjoyed his toys for a small amount of time without Mom being there but now he does on rare occasion. If mom tries to have him entertained with his toys so she can do the dishes, man that is a no no! I try to reassure him that he is okay without picking him up but that rarely works. And it is hard to find peace or pleasure in letting your little baby cry because you know they are okay but they don't think they are. Anyway he will only continue to get older and eventually won't need me and I don't like that idea. He is also starting to get snugly and that will someday go away too!

Well we introduced rice cereal yesterday as you can see in this cute pic of his first bite. Daddy got to feed him too, he took about 5 or 6 bites I would say and then he wasn't interested anymore. I think he liked it just not as much/long as I thought he would but what do I know, it was his first time. I would say he swallowed half of what we fed him and the other half ran down his chin! Anyway it was very cute and exciting. Although I am not excited for stinky solid food stool! With breast milk it barely stinks ever except when he passes gas!


Then we took him outside to see what he thought of the snow since dad was out there grilling some pork ribs, which were so delicious by the way. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Course dad thought he would like to taste the snow since he likes to put everything else in his mouth. That lasted a short bit and then he was cold.

Today was his 6 month well check! He is 16 lbs. 11 1/2 oz. now and 28 1/4 in. long! It is always interesting, every time he has a Dr. appt. and mom wants to get there a little early he has a blow out at home before we leave and I have to change his clothes along with his diaper and practically wipe his whole body down! So we still get there on time but just once I would like to get there early! He is starting to army crawl also! Very impressive to me, he gets his knees up under him but he doesn't put the two together yet. I don't think it will be long though.

Well I should go, we are trying to get things in order to leave for IL on Monday! Not long away, so excited! Oh just a prayer request if you think of it, my old red car that I have had forever (1996) I think has seen it's day! We are pretty sure there is a head gasket problem because the car is overheating and the oil looks like the coolant is leaking into it. It would most likely cost more to fix it than what the car is worth. So we are praying for what we should do, it will be interesting to see how the Lord provides for this need. This week Tom is driving his car to work, which I have been using since Titus was born, and we either go with him to have the car for the day or we stay home all day with no car. Our budget is pretty tight to be able to afford a monthly payment on something so we are not sure what is going to happen?

Pumpkin Dump Cake

I have to share another recipe with you that was introduced to me at a birthday party on Halloween. I loved it almost better than pumpkin pie. Maybe you would want to try a new holiday dish?! We did, I made it in CO and I plan on making it in IL for our Christmas parties there.

1 can Libby's pumpkin pie filling
then all the ingredients you need to make filling according to directions on can.
(eggs, sugar, salt, ground cinnamon, nutmeg or ground ginger, ground cloves, & evaporated milk)
1 box of yellow or white cake mix
1 stick of butter, melted

Make filling according to directions on can. Pour batter into greased 9x13 pan. Top with pkg. of cake mix. Melt butter & pour over dry cake mix. Bake 1 hour @ 350. May serve topped with whip cream.

NOTE: Personally I like it better if the cake batter is just mixed in with the pie filling instead of just on top of filling. It tasted better to me and looked more appetizing but you could do either and it would be good.

Taco Soup Anyone!

I made this really great Taco Soup this week for the first time, a recipe I got from Tom's side of the family when we got married. So I thought I would share it with you since it was so good.

2 Lbs. Hamburger
1/2 onion chopped
2 qt. Tomato juice
1 pt. or 16 fl. oz. whole kernel corn
1 c. chili beans (Mexican style, we just used black beans)
1 pkg. Taco seasoning

Brown meat, drain & add rest of ingredients and simmer, (I just brought it to a boil on a medium setting since my instructions didn't say how long to simmer.) Serve with sliced black olives, grated cheese, sour cream, chopped tomatoes and Mexican corn chips. We also made corn bread to go with it! Mmmmm really yummy. Enjoy!

Our First Family Thanksgiving Adventure

Well our Thanksgiving trip to Colorado was great all the way around. We did end up leaving a little later than we wanted due to weather but we got on the road Wednesday morning just when Titus was ready to take his morning nap. He did really well and actually slept almost the whole way to Billings which was where we stopped to spend the night. Thursday traveling for him was a little different, he was not as happy to be in his car seat as the first day and he was in it longer on Thursday. But I did sit in the back with him for a while and discovered that he couldn't move even his arms a whole lot since mommy was strapping him in with his winter jacket on! But we made it into Colorado to our destination at Larry & Linda's (second cousin of Toms') just in time for dinner. Mmmm, it was all very good, my personal favorite besides the star turkey of course, was the sweet potato dish that Gary (Larry's brother) made. It was soooo good and I thought it was a shame that Tom doesn't like sweet potatoes but I ate his portion!

Then we had to load Titus up one more time to make it over to Rich & Carols' to stay til Saturday morning when we would get back on the road. Our stay was great there and it was so good to see Grandpa and Grandma enjoy their grandson when he would let them. Sharon, Carol's sister, (in picture above) also stayed with us there to visit while we were there. I was determined not to put Titus in his car seat on Friday to give him a break, I thought that was only fair to him with 4 of our 5 days of travel being in the car for long hours. So we played some games and played with the baby, Titus got really tired during the day but wouldn't go down for a nap, I don't think he wanted to miss any action or miss out on time with Grandpa and Grandma.

We had him of course sleeping in the same room as us this whole time on our trip which he hasn't done since he was 3 months old and I was impressed. I did hear him wake up at least once every night and he would just put himself back to sleep. Such a good baby he is.

We headed back then on Saturday and the roads were pretty much fine the whole way, wet in areas. But mommy didn't strap him in in his car seat with his winter jacket on this time and he did even better! He hardly complained at all, if he was awake he would just play with his toys on his bar and I didn't have to even sit in the back with him at all. He was a trooper! Tom did all the driving which was so nice of him.

We had many things to be thankful for over the holiday and everyday we do. God answered many prayers to keep us safe and to keep Titus happy during the traveling. And we had a good visit with Grandpa, Grandma, aunt Sharon, Larry, Linda and Gary. Titus just loved all the attention he was getting at the Thanksgiving table. He was soaking it up the little ham. And our car ran good for that long trip, it has some issues that need to be addressed but it did fine.

Now we will be getting ready for our IL trip, coming up in just 12 days! Yikes! I am so excited, it has been a year and a half since I have seen my sisters and the rest of my relatives. I am so excited for all of my family to enjoy Titus, it is refreshing to me as a stay at home mom to have other people enjoy him and all I have to do is feed and change him. It kind of recharges me and he is such a good boy too.

We will be trying our first foods on Sunday! He will be 6 months old and we are going to try that rice cereal and see what he thinks!? I am just going to take my time with it though if he ends up not being to interested. Everything you read these days as far as development and when you go see the Pediatrician are letting you know that they are finding more and more links to allergies due to starting foods too early in babies and nutritionally they say that they don't need anything else the first year if they are breastfed. But they do after that so they need the know how by then and that is why you introduce it before a year. Besides they are also finding that you as a mom are less likely to get breast cancer if you breast feed. So either way it doesn't matter to me, I plan on breastfeeding til he is a year anyway unless he weans himself before then. With all the allergies that his cousins have on his dad's side I don't want to take any chances. I even am going to avoid introducing potential high risk allergy foods until he is older than 6 months to try to prevent it. Basically no dairy, nuts, eggs, wheat based products, fish or chocolate until he is 9-12 months.


Mommy found some long underwear and some sweet wool socks for Titus before our trip just in case the weather got bad or something and we got stranded. I wanted to make sure he was warm and he was enjoying this box for a little while. His eyes always look big in our pictures because he is looking at the red eye light on the front of the camera! Ha!