Redemption

I made a crock pot meal today and we all loved it.  I love using my crock pot because it seems to make dinner so much easier.  I found a recipe for Coconut Curry Beef and it simmered in the kitchen all day.  Our meal consisted of:

Coconut Curry Beef

Rice (cooked in a can of beef broth)

Sweet Potatoe Patties (you can find them in the freezer section)

Steamed broccoli and cauliflower

Naan bread from Trader Joe’s

I am really bad about sticking to any kind of routine apart from what my life deems necessary.  But, I’m thinking it would be neat to share a recipe once a week.  I’m not going to set a schedule or anything, because that would be a guarantee that I would let you all down.  Just stay tuned and see if I follow through!

What did you have for dinner?  Leave me a comment and share with us!

We stayed in STL for Christmas this year and it was very relaxing and good to be together.  We were able to spend some time the week before Christmas with our dear friend, Mandy.  Then, Jared’s Dad and sister came out to visit us for a few days.  It felt good to not be traveling, but I have to admit it wasn’t easy being away from my side of the family.  I wish we could see them more, but that’s just the way things go when you’re monetarily challenged!  I’ll stop talking and pass you on to the pictures.  By the way…..most of these were taken with my old camera.  I got a NEW camera for Christmas, and I am thrilled.

This angel topped our tree when I was growing up.  My Mom passed it on to me, and I love it.

Mandy took these pics and we were laughing at the look on my face by the end of our fun.

Our Christmas meal with Jared’s Dad and sis

Gage with his new camera (wearing his new, handmade cape from Granny)

Ready to work with his new tools

Seriously?  That’s it?

Downtown STL

Winter Wonderland at Tilles Park

Made from a soda can on a tree representing Uganda (at Lady of the Shrine display)

His very own dinosaur egg!

Wow. Now that I uploaded all of the pictures I can totally tell which ones were taken with my new camera.  Can you guys?

And, last but not least………. In case you, who are far off, wonder how my belly is growing these days:

(The smudges that appear to be on my clothes is toothpaste on the mirror.  Welcome to my boy’s bathroom!)

And, that’s all, folks!  Happy new year!!!

I married the best guy on the planet.  I knew then that I had found a “keeper”, but as time has progressed, I’ve learned just how much of a gift God gave to me back in 2002.

Photo courtesy of Gage (with his own, new camera)

Everyone has baggage, and I carried quite a bit of it into our marriage.  Jared always says that he is amazed that I put up with him, but, I am continually amazed that he puts up with me.  He never stops loving me unconditionally.  Even when I expect him to.

My goal this year is for me to run to my husband, rather than away from him.  I want to love him, just as selflessly as he has loved me.  He is an ever-present picture to me of my Savior’s love.  He never gives up on me, even when I withhold my heart from him.  This year, I want to run to my husband and to my Savior.  I don’t want to close my heart off any longer.

Years ago, I pleaded with God to give me a husband who would love me as Christ loves the Church.  I had been hurt deeply, and wanted to know what it meant to be loved “as Christ loves the Church”.  Now I know.

I am extremely tired and have lots that I’d like to write about.  However, I am going to direct you to Jared’s blog tonight.  He put into words exactly what my heart has been feeling this Christmas.  It looks like God has us on the same wavelength.  So, go read it here.

I have lots of Christmas pictures to post from the past couple of weeks, and I hope to do that tomorrow.

I received my new camera in the mail today and am thrilled.  I have a lot to learn, though.  Mandy, I NEED YOU!!!!

Shea woke up from his nap with a fever today.  So, it looks like we might have a sick kid for our Christmas tomorrow.  Poor thing.  I feel so bad for him.

Jared captivated the kids tonight with the story of Jesus’ birth and the restoration that He will bring when He comes to make all things right.  As Gage sat cuddled beside me on the couch, watching the lights get brighter, he leaned over and said, “Mom, Dad’s gonna be a great pastor.  This is such a good idea!”  It warmed my heart to hear Gage say that.

Three of my very best friends are suffering deeply this Christmas.  One lost her Granddad very suddenly this week, the other is watching her Dad wither away due to Lou Gherig’s disease, and another is spending her first Christmas as a single mom to 4 boys.

We sang “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” tonight, and I’ve found this song has more meaning to me this year than it ever has.  As Jared said in his blog post…………….I’m just longing for our Savior to come and wipe away all of the tears.  And, I’m rejoicing that He will one day do just that.

I keep planning on posting to this blog, but I can’t nail a topic so I give up.  I think a lot of it has to do with the many thoughts swirling around in this head of mine.  Thoughts of graduating, possible jobs, baby coming in May, the uncertainty of where we will end up in the near future.  There are PLENTY of things to keep my mind occupied these days.  But, instead of filling you all in on those things, let me leave you with a conversation that just happened between my sons and I.

I went back to the boy’s room after being summoned by Gage.  He informed me that Shea was keeping him awake and getting off of the bed.  Shea quickly butted in and said, “But, Gage was looking down at me.” Gage sleeps on the top bunk.  I asked Gage why he was sticking his head over looking at his brother and he explained to me that Shea had gotten off of the bed to get a “peanut” for his chipmunks, along with 2 plastic play knives.  He was using the knives to cut the peanut up for the “chippies” to eat.  I quickly told Shea that he was not to feed the chippies any more tonight, and he said, “But, they need to be feeded, Mommy.  They’ll be hungry.”  At that point, I turned my head to hide the laughter bubbling up out of me, mustered up as stern of a voice as possible, and told him to go to sleep, as I closed the door behind me.

Now, the house is finally quiet.  Hungry chipmunks, and all.

Today, after listening to Shea scream about something he wanted, but couldn’t have, Gage said, “Mom, you need to call the Super Granny for Shea.”  I started laughing for more than obvious reasons, but he had no idea.  I said, “Do you think he’s that bad, Gage?”, to which he replied, “Yeah, Mom, I think the Super Granny could help us out.”

Now, excuse me while I go explain to my distraught 3 year old why he can’t have bubble bath in the tub tonight.

I changed my blogroll around a bit by splitting it up into two categories:  “People I Know” and “Never Met ‘em But Love ‘em”.  I would love to know what blogs you enjoy reading, so leave me a comment and let me know what your favorites are!

My Uncle Chris and Aunt Sharon just might have the answer for you.  They own a business in Eastern NC called Mackeys Ferry Peanuts and you can order gift boxes online.  They were recently featured in a popular magazine, Our State, and the photographer for the article is an old friend from our college town.  If you visit his blog, you can catch a glimpse of the article.  My Aunt and Uncle have worked so hard in their business these past few years and would love to serve your Christmas needs.  Go check them out!

I’ve been kind of quiet on my blog lately, but have blogged plenty of posts in my head over the past week or so.  I guess it’s time to put something down on “paper”, so I’ll do it in the form of a rambling update.

~Life has been extremely hectic around here lately.  Jared is in crunch time for school, and that always makes things fun.  Actually, it makes me feel like pulling my hair out and screaming.  But, we’re making it through.

~I’m officially into the second trimester of pregnancy.  This is especially comforting, considering the scare we had a couple of months ago.  I really, really need to get back into my swim routine at the Y.  My most recent excuse has been that I need to shave my legs, and therefore I can’t go.  I do not like to shave during the winter, or when I’m pregnant, so it’s a pretty sad combination right now.  I did break out the razor tonight, so no more excuses for now.  It’s pretty sad when it takes 10 minutes to shave ONE leg.  So, so sad.  Thankfully, Jared doesn’t mind.  At least, that’s what he says.

~A couple of weeks ago, I was 99.9% sure that we were going to put Gage into public school in January.  It was going to be a little experiment to see how he would do and to give me a much needed break until I picked up homeschooling again after our move this summer.  I was feeling extremely overwhelmed because it had become more and more obvious over this past semester that the way we do school around here was going to have to change drastically.  I was not feeling like I had it in me to make the changes necessary.  After talking to Gage about it, my mind changed.  He wants to be homeschooled and became tearful when we told him about our thoughts.  He is so tenderhearted, and so my heart quickly melted and I somehow felt the strength once again to plug through this.  We implemented some major changes the next week, allowing him to start school on his own (he began at 6:30 every day!), and things have gone really well so far.

~Many of you know that we seem to have skipped the “terrible two’s” with our 3 year old Shea.  He has always been so easy and sweet.  Very compliant and easy to handle.  Lately, he has learned how to throw tantrums and how to demand things from his big brother.  Apparently, he is just a late bloomer in this area.  He’s still oh so sweet.  But, he is a NORMAL 3 year old, without a doubt.

~On a heavier note, Gage began asking detailed questions about his biological father a few nights ago.  In the past, his questions have been very brief and the mood light.  He has quickly moved on to other things.  This time, it felt heavy and difficult.  It became an hour long conversation and the questions were detailed.  It just seems too heavy for a 9 year old’s heart, and yet he asked, and we felt we had to answer honestly.    It broke my heart, but also filled me with joy as I was able to tell him of God’s protection over him.  He was able to hear, once again, of how his Daddy entered his life when he was 2 years old and chose to be his father.  Jared was able to tell him of going to the courthouse to get a new birth certificate because  “I chose to be your Daddy and will always be your Daddy.”  It was heart wrenching to see my son sad over the fact that his biological father lost so much.  My prayer is that as he grows older, Gage will be able to see the way God protected him and hand-picked a Daddy for him.  I would also be so bold as to pray that he will one day meet his biological father (years from now) and that he will be a changed man, delivered from an addiction that stole so much from him.  I told Gage to pray for “the man that used to be his Dad”, and I believe he will.

~I’m beginning to understand why I have been so tired lately.  Phew! I need to go to bed now.  Oh, yeah.  First I have to get Gage’s folder ready so that he can start school as the sun rises.  The kid is crazy, if you ask me.  But, it’s working, so I’m going with it.

It has become a tradition since moving to St. Louis for us to take the boys over to the park across the street for pictures each fall. This was the third (and last, sadly) year we were able to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL fall weather in St. Louis. I thought I’d share some of my favorite shots of the season. Enjoy!

I hope you all enjoyed your fall weather, wherever you are. I’m sad to say that it seems ours is over. Cold weather is on the way!