Caleb, Nathan, Grandma, and Grandfather at Rawhide!

Rawhide was fun with the boys and Grandma and Grandfather. Here are some of the pics from there special trip. I even think Grandfather went to jail!

Micah went to the Polar Express with Grandma and Grandfather Moore!

Well, last year Ali went and this year was Micah's turn. They left yesterday afternoon and somehow found snow and threw snowballs! Then they had hot chocolate and cookies on the Polar Express. Micah got some new jammies, slippers, long underwear, mittens, a hat and a coat out of the deal. Oh and let's not forget the bell he recieved from Santa on the train. Thanks Grandma and Grandfather! We love you.

My adventures

Ok so life has been a little stressful lately. Let me start with a story about Micah. He is a little bit of a worrier. I'm sure he got this from me unfortunately. I do not want to teach my kids to worry but instead rely on God and trust in him. So, I am working on that in myself. God is using Micah to teach me not to worry. He worries about things like dinner and lunch and basic needs. Well, We have never forgotten to feed him or take care of him. As I told him that I realized God has NEVER forgotten to provide my basic needs either. Sometimes I feel worried as if God has forgotten me but the truth is he hasn't!

That being said, raising support to go overseas is a hard thing to do and it also requires much faith in God. Sometimes we go without things and other times I think we are going to run out of food and then God provides just when we need it.

Last week our fridge was getting bare and we were starting to make up meals with random food. I was worrying about our situation but God wasn't worried! He sent a storm! It was the most beautiful lightning storm I've seen in about ten years. Mark and I sat on the back porch stress free for a moment, watching the lightning and talking. What we didn't know about this storm is that it would knock out the power of a grocery store. I guess when the electricity is gone from a store they can only leave their cold food for 10 minutes before they can't sell it. Through some strange circumstances God sent us food from this store! It was really expensive yummy food that we don't buy but want to. Oh my goodness. It was so cool. I still laugh about it because God is so much more amazing that he would send me fun food! Praise God for not just His provision but how he provides :)

So, because of our situation we are learning how to make strange things from scratch. It has been fun really and it is very good for me to learn the basics of some of these things before I go to Africa and can't buy simple things. We have made some yummy crackers! I've been making bread every other day and we sat down as a family and made pasta. It was so fun and so yummy! When it came time to cook the pasta I didn't have anything to put on it so I faked it! I used a few small tomatoes I had in the fridge, olive oil, garlic salt, and some basil and spinach from my garden. I simmered it all and then tossed our pasta in it. Oh and we also tossed in some feta cheese (thanks to the storm :) It was so tasty the kids ate so much. I am thankful for these times because it really is rewarding to make these things from scratch. I don't know if I would have made pasta from scratch. Well, that is my story for now. I will update this post with a picture I took of our pasta.

Butternut squash soup

Begin by cutting a butternut squash in half lengthwise and taking seeds and strings out. Place the halves face down in a baking dish and roast on 350 for about 30-40 minutes or until you can easily scrape the insides out.

While the squash is baking turn crock pot on low and add half of the chicken broth and chopped swiss chard.

Chop and saute' onion, carrots and sweet potato in a dash of olive oil and season with a dash of garlic salt for a few minutes and then add about half of the broth and cover and simmer until everything is soft. Once everything is soft blend it together ina food processor or blender and stir it into the contents of the crock pot.

Once you've scraped the insides of the squash out mash them and stir them into the crock pot.

Add already cooked chicken and/or chicken apple sausage. Season with additional garlic salt to taste. Simmer in crockpot on high for a shorter time 2hours or low 3 hours - all day.

Ingredient list

Olive oil
onion
two carrots
large sweet potato
32 oz chicken broth
already cooked chicken
butternut squash
swiss chard

cooking tips
This is a great fake it recipe!
If you don't have these exact ingredients you can substitute. Play around with it but use your food sense to make a good sub choice. Don't be afraid to add other kinds of veggies to the saute' step. They will be blended and unrecognized. Corn might be another fun thing to add with the broth and swiss chard step. Have fun!

Zoe crying :)

I know it seems so mean that we took these pictures of Zoe crying but truth be told Zoe is so cute when she cries and I wanted to remember what she looked like. No, we didn't pinch her. She was mad that I put her in her car seat and I asked Mark to take some pics for me. They turned out great and will warm my heart in years to come at just how sweet she was. (No children were harmed in the shooting of these pictures and all babies were comforted moments later).

This one screams MOM in annoyance :)

All better :)

bedtime story part 3

bed time story part 2

bed time story part1

Zoe my love

These pics were from a photo shoot earlier today. There were so many cute ones that make me smile! I hope you enjoy.