Cam's Questions

Seeing as Camden is starting school on Wednesday, I have been doing some things to document where he is in life right now. Both of my children are such sweet souls. I try to drink them in as much as possible, and plant the memories in my heart. Thinking of Cam not being here has inspired me to try and do all sorts of things to make this a special time for all of us.

Tonight I asked him a list of questions and wrote down his responses exactly. Here it goes:

1. What is something Mommy/ Daddy always says to you?

Listen/ Cam, Listen

2. What makes Mommy/ Daddy happy?

Me listening/ When I do listen

3. What makes Mommy/ Daddy sad?

Me not listening/ Me not listening

4. What was Mommy/ Daddy like as a child?

Good, but didn't listen/ Rode his bike without training wheels

5. How does Mommy/ Daddy make you laugh?

When you're silly/ He makes silly faces

6. How old is Mommy/ Daddy?

27/ 27

7. How tall is Mommy/ Daddy?

(holds hand above head and says) 6/ Daddy is 46

8. What is Mommy/ Daddy's favorite thing to do?

Play with me/ Play video games with me

9. What does Mommy/ Daddy do when they're away from you?

Play without me/ Play video games without me

10. If Mommy/ Daddy were to become famous, what would it be for?

Roller skating/ Skateboarding

11. What is Mommy/ Daddy really good at?

Walking/ basketball

12. What is Mommy/ Daddy really bad at?

Skateboarding/ Skating

13. What does Mommy/ Daddy do for a job?

Get money/ the jail

14. What is Mommy/ Daddy's favorite food?

Cauliflower/ Broccoli

15. What makes you proud of Mommy/ Daddy?

Of you being good to me/ Him playing with me

16. If Mommy/ Daddy were a cartoon character, who who she/ he be?

Princess Bubblegum/ Finn (Both from Adventure Time)

17. What do you and Mommy/ Daddy do together?

Play/ Play basketball at the Y

18. How are you and Mommy/ Daddy the same?

I don't know/ Both play video games

19. How do you know Mommy/ Daddy loves you?

Because you kiss me/ Because he kisses me

20. Where is Mommy's/ Daddy's favorite place to go?

Tennesse/ McDonalds to get an ice cream

21. What is your favorite color?

Blue

22. What is your favorite toy?

Spiderman

23. What is your favorite fruit?

Orange

24. What is your favorite show?

Regular Show

25. What is your favorite food?

Grilled Cheese

26. What's your favorite outfit?

Going to the pool. (bathing suit)

27. What is your favorite game?

Hulk

28. What is your favorite snack?

The peanut butter cookies that you made.

29. What is your favorite animal?

 Lion

30. What is your favorite song?

Spiderman

31. What is your favorite book?

My Bible

32. Who is your best friend?

Jacob, Elijah, Sissy (He hardly ever sees the boys, but he still loves them)

33. What is your favorite cereal?

Trader Joe's O's

34. What is your favorite thing to do outside?

Play on my scooter and go get the paper or the mail on my scooter

35. What is your favorite drink?

Tea

36. What is your favorite holiday?

Easter

37. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?

My Tolee from Kai-Lan

38. What is your favorite thing for breakfast?

Pancake

39. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?

Black bean brownies

40. What do you want to be when you grow up?

At the jail with Daddy

There you have it! A little bit of an insight into my sweet boy's mind. Eisley also sat here and answered most of the questions. Most of the answers were "Dora" and "two." What blessings they are!

Sweet Babies

I have been enjoying my kids so much. The sweetness in their faces and voices is overwhelming to me. Camden made me a mommy, and Eisley made me a mommy to a little girl, two very different things. They are so smart in their own ways, here's the thing about my kids. They both have the sweetest spirit. With Mat and I as parents, I didn't know what to expect from out little ones! We're both a little weird, each with our own quirks, but our hearts have been made pure. I still struggle on a daily basis. Gone are the days when I think I've got it all together. I need to submit to the Lord much more, listen to my mind a lot less. Mat is a great dad, and a special, special guy. He wants the kids know he loves them, and he wants them to learn and grow. He has grown in his faith so much in the past year, and for that I am thankful. Our kids are our investments, of sorts. We put all we have into these little babies, hoping and praying at the end we have two respectable and loving human beings who live by God's plan for their lives. We may not always do what everyone else thinks is right, but after all, they're our investments. We put stock in God's guidance and we listen to Him in parenting Cam and Eisley because we want them to see that as a model, and know what it's like to walk with the Lord. It's a prayer that I pray over them every single night. They are such a treasure, and deserve to be treated and raised as such.

Something About Spring...

What is it about beautiful weather that just breaks us out of our winter shell? I don't know if I'm speaking for myself, but once the weather is pretty for a little while, I feel like I come out of hibernation. Everything looks different to me, life feels different to me. I have more energy! For this, I am thankful, because the past year has been the most difficult of my entire life.

I heard a song today called, "If You Want Me To," by Ginny Owens. It is my anthem.

Why do we have to go through the bad situations that we go through? Why does God let bad things happen to good people? The answer is simple. Wisdom and love. He loves his children, in the same manner that we love our children. He wants us to be happy, successful, thoughtful, loved. In the same way that we discipline our children because we know better, our Father must discipline us. He brings us to storms to bring us through it, because He knows that we need a little smack to come back to His path for us. Now, does this mean that every bad thing that happens in our lives has God's signature on it? Absolutely not! There is an an enemy out there who wants to see us fail. Where does God come in? He's there on the other side calling out for you come rely on HIM. That is precisely what I've learned.

I was just going along merrily, living my life. It was a great life! I was spiritually stronger than I had ever been, there were no major problems at all. Then, everything that I thought I was collapsed. It collapsed in a catastrophic way. Did God create this situation? Nope. Did He prepare my heart for it? Without a doubt. I had a strength that I never knew I had before. I fought, and I fought hard. Because of God's wisdom, I won. He was problem solving. He fought for me because I am His! What a wonderful thing to be able to say, and rest in! I am so incredibly thrilled that this year is in the past, and is not my present anymore. I truly wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. However, here I stand, a year older, stronger, wiser, and victorious. That's a powerful thing to be able to say. I know who is responsible. Thank you Jesus!!

If you have a lot going on, let go of it. You will screw it up anyway!!! If you have plans, forget them. They're probably not going to work out. God wants us to smile more, laugh more, love more. He's got this.

Just Waiting.

There are so many unknowns in life. I hate that. I am, by nature, a planner. I like to know what's going on, what going to happen in the future, and how I can make everything better. This has, as you can imagine, posed a huge problem in my Christian walk. God makes the way. Not us. Not me! I think that may be one the biggest obstacles in giving your life over to Christ. I mean, really and truly giving yourself to your Maker. Being selfless is easier said than done.

Our family has lots of decisions and possible changes on the horizon. The easy thing is to do what we think is best and keep on moving. The hard thing is waiting and praying and waiting some more. It is a temptation to be hasty and let your mind sway your decisions. So, we sit, pray, and wait on God to lay our plan our in front of us. Not having an answer is hard. Getting the answer of, "not now," is way harder. We know all the answers will come, and that we will be rewarded for our faithfulness. In these times, I find myself feeling closer to my Father and I have learned, that is His plan. He leads us down uncertain paths to draw us near to Him. For that, I am thankful and still in waiting.

Cheap.

I am so cheap it's ridiculous. I hate spending money. At the same time, I have a slight shopping addiction, so you can imagine the inner turmoil that occurs when I enter a store!

It all started after I had Camden. I started scrimping and saving and learned how to shop frugally. And here's my issue: I shop, I find things that I want, but I can't bring myself to spend the money on them, so I leave with nothing. Boo! Even with gift cards, I over-analyze each purchase. I have a lot of clothes because I buy things so cheap, but some of them I've had for 6+ years. I am afraid to get rid of clothes because I'm afraid to buy clothes. There has to be a medical term for this!

Accomplished.

Today I feel accomplished. It's an especially great way to feel after trying to recover from a crazy week by doing as little as possible for a day or two. Our garage benefited from my burst of energy, as well the kid's tummies! I decided to try out a new recipe that I had my eye on- Black Bean Burgers. They were delicious!

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. olive oil, divided
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed, keep aside about 1/4 cup

1/2 onion, minced or grated

3 cloves garlic minced

1 large eggs
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. salt

Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in Panko and toast until golden brown. Set aside and and cool.

Mash black beans in a bowl using a fork or a potato masher until fairly smooth. Add in the whole beans. Stir in onion, garlic, eggs, cumin and salt. Separate into 4 even portions and form into patties. Cook until well browned on both sides. About 10 minutes total.

I served the burgers with a whole wheat pita cut in two pieces, cheddar cheese, and vegan mayonnaise. I had some romaine lettuce on mine as well. Corn on the cob and baked beans rounded out our dinner. It was soooo good and filling! I hope you'll try a new recipe this week. It's so much fun!

Food.

I'm going to update the blog with some recipes and choices that we make in hopes of inspiring someone else to make some small changes in their own diets.

When I cook, I rarely use a recipe. I have always made up soups, pasta, pizzas; really just anything that I can use what I have and get a delicious outcome. One of my favorite new dishes is a ziti that I whipped up one day a few weeks ago. It goes something like this.

2 tbsp EVOO

1 small yellow onion small diced

1 package of cremini mushrooms, washed and chunky diced

2 to 3 cloves of minced garlic

1/2 can of no salt added sliced carrots

1/2 can of sweet peas

1 cup cottage cheese

Marinara sauce of your choice, I think mine was 24 oz.

1 cup shredded cheese of your choice

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup 2% milk

16 oz organic brown rice pasta, cooked just shy of al dente

Cook pasta to just shy of al dente. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add in onions and cook until translucent. Add in mushrooms and cook until tender. Stir in garlic, carrots, and peas and cook for 2 minutes. Add Marinara sauce, cottage cheese and 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and stir. Heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste. If sauce is thick add in 1/2 of milk to make more creamy. Stir pasta in with sauce and mix well. pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Top with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 minutes.

Here's what it looked like the first time I made it...on a crappy camera phone.

I'm terrible at writing recipes, so hopefully this works well if you decide to try it! It's absolutely delicious. You can add any vegetables that you have to make it more nutritious and to use up what you have in your refrigerator.

I found some new crackers that I'm in love with. Kavli crispbreads are a whole grain cracker with 2 grams of fiber per serving, no cholesterol, no fat or GMO's, and very low in calories. I got the garlic flavor. Today for lunch I topped one with a slice of cheddar cheese and melted the cheese in the oven. The kids loved it and so did I! I served it alongside TJ's pesto tortellini tossed with EVOO and a little sea salt. They love pasta! It was a delicious lunch.

Another product that we have come to LOVE is Trader Joe's (can you tell I love that store??) Organic Vanana yogurt. It is the kids new favorite! It tastes like a banana pudding with a little cheesecake tartness. It's worth a go!

Yet Again...

I've failed at keeping up with my blog. However, if you had just a peek of my life for the last year, you wouldn't blame me! It's like I've been turned upside down and shaken and everything I knew fell away from me. Dramatic? Yes. Accurate? Yes. Reading back through my old blog posts reminds me of my journey to get to where I am. With every trial comes a lesson, and with every lesson I gain more wisdom from the Lord.

Moving on to a different subject...I'm so proud of my family for making such a positive change in our eating habits. We have added in so many new foods to our diet and it's exciting! I have tried out many new recipes and they've (almost) all been a hit. I'll post some of the recipes here so you can try them if you'd like. My favorite thing to do is use what I have to make up pastas and pizzas. It's become my trademark. So, I make it my goal to get those written down so that others can utilize them.