Storms

Well, it's a quiet night here at my house. This week has been full of self reflection and headaches. I, for the first time in my life, feel thankful for the storm that I'm weathering right now. Usually when I have a difficult time, I get annoyed and then realize the reason I went through the problem in the first place...I learned a lesson. This is a time in life when I am learning a ton about myself...I'm thankful for that! I'm learning about my family...I'm thankful for that! I'm learning that God doesn't orchestrate everything in my life, but he holds it all in His hands. He will take a crummy situation and make it into a a distant memory. He is bigger than all of the ridiculous things that I worry about and I'm learning that I am being rewarded for living my life the way I do, even though it may not seem like it at certain points. I've always said that "man will always fail you, but God never will." I think I should get that tattooed on my forehead. I rely on man too much. I rely on self assurance instead of assurance from the one who already knows how everything is going to play out. I need to strengthen my faith and try to see others the way that God sees them.

A Change.

Something has changed in me.

This will be my 25th Easter. I've gotten too many Easter baskets to count, between my parents and grandparents. I've had beautiful Easter dresses, frilly socks, and silly hats. And, I've been an Follower of Christ for 4 of those Easters. This year, however, something is different. There has been a change in my soul! I know I can't even fathom the brutality that Christ experienced on the day he was crucified, but for some reason, I feel like I get it this year. His sacrifice wasn't tithing until it hurts, volunteering time and being away from his family, or getting up early to go to church on Sunday. It was His life. People, some of us don't even like to say His name in a crowd because we're afraid who will hear it and think we're weird or that there will be a stigma attached to us. Who cares, I ask you???!? God gave his perfect son to die for the sin of all man, which are many. He sacrificed Him for our lives, before we were even born. Jesus knew what was going to happen to him and willingly went through it for us!! That blows my mind!

I look at my children. I would sacrifice my life for them in a second. (First I would try to talk whoever was taking my life out of doing it, because that's human nature.) Jesus didn't do that. He said, "Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) If you think about your day to day life, how many times to do say, "Lord, forgive them for flipping me off on the interstate," or " Lord, bless that person that just cussed me out." It's extremely hard to love your enemies, or in this life, the person who followed too closely on your way home.

This week at my small group, we discussed what Jesus' sacrifice meant to us. I find that I have a hard time putting that into words. In previous years during Holy Week, I think more about Christ dying for me, I pray a little more, maybe. This week, I have talked about it out loud, I have spent time praying and thanking God for sending his son for my sinful, horrible self. I also read numerous scriptures last night (my nightly routine) including the crucifixion. What they did to Him was more painful than most people will ever have to experience in this life time. He did it with a pure heart, and with no second thoughts. I'm so thankful for his blood shed for me and the only way I can thank Him is by the way I live my life. I still suck at life, but I am leaps and bounds ahead of where I was 4 years ago. He has continued to bless me when I truly didn't deserve it. My prayer is that I can trust in Him more (especially when I don't get my way) and love people like He did. I have a hard time with that one.

I guess this is my explanation of what this week means to me. It's all over the place, but it's my truth. I'm so incredibly overwhelmed by how much He loves me. ME!! Thankful doesn't even begin to say how I feel.

Here I Go Again

I'm trying to blog again...This will be interesting! I never follow through, but hopefully this time I can do it. There is a lot going on with the Bishops right now, so it should make for some interesting reading. I've been keeping myself busy planning our move, our new decor, and every little thing that I can think of. Sometimes my planning bites me in the butt because it never goes like I want it to, but that never keeps me from it! I will be working on numerous projects to freshen up our tired old decor...all of which came from family, thrift stores, or yard sales. Here a few projects I'll be working on:

Here's a cool display for the living room or the hallway. I love pictures, but I don't like to clutter my tables up with them.

I love this for Eisley's room. It's a little hanging topiary. I think I'll make 3 or 4 in all of her room colors. I think they're so cute and they're baby safe since they hang from the ceiling.

Mat and I both love this wall hanging. It's made from MDF and felt. This one will definitely have to wait for a little while because it's pretty intensive, but I think it will make a great addition to our living room.

I have a cabinet (maybe not this cute) with a lot of detail on it and I have been trying to come up with something super cute to do with it. I love this look!

I have so many more ideas and I can't wait to start crafting again. It's hard to find time with two little ones. Cam is a wild man and Eisley is going to be walking soon. They keep me busy!

On a side note, I bought a bread maker from a yard sale for $2 last week and I am so excited to make my first homemade bread! I hope it turns out as delicious as everyone says.

Update.

So, we're in our new house and we don't have that much more work to do. *Sigh of relief* It's definitely starting to feel like home and I love having so much more space to spread out! Cam's been going through a stage of arguing and fussing so it's been a little stressful. We're dealing with it as best we can. We're being very consistent with his punishments and his consequences. I'm 5 weeks pregnant this week and I'll go for my ultrasound on the 30th. I feel pretty good but I'm just so thankful to be pregnant. Having gone through the situation I did for the past year and now being blessed with a pregnancy makes me realize how ungrateful some women are to be pregnant. They want to always complain, moan, and groan about how they can't wait to "just have a drink when the baby comes" or "just can't wait to get this thing outta me." Barph. How about...be thankful and thoughtful. There are women that can't have babies at all. Jerks. Mat has been sooo great helping me around the house and trying to take Cam off my hands. I love my boys! God has been so good to me, even though I don't deserve it.

Sunday.

This has been one of the most tiring weeks of my life. Moving, painting, unpacking, practicing for the event, and playing music. I need sleep and rest! Hopefully I'll get some after next weekend is over. Our house is taking shape and will hopefully be done in a week or so! I'm so ready to not have all this clutter sitting around.

Mom got Cam's Halloween costume yesterday. He's going to be Buzz Lightyear! He's definitely a fan. We have a busy 2 weeks ahead. Justin and Bunny are getting married next weekend, and then we have the RWCF Women's meeting and then Halloween time!! I think we may let Cam paint his pumpkin tonight.

We'll be celebrating our 3rd anniversary on Tuesday. I have something special for Mat, but I can't tell what it is because he has no idea :) It's hard to believe we've already been together for 4 years! I'm kind of jumping around all over the place, but that's how my brain feels... I've really been enjoying Wednesday night church. We've been going through the New Testament from the beginning and it's been great. I love learning God's Word and hearing the different interpretations of the passages. I'm learning so much! I'm happy and happy is good :)

So Busy.

This had got to be one of the busiest times of my life! I can't find any time to rest or really do anything fun. I know it will be all worth it, but I'm ready for a weekend that I don't have anything to do. I'm ready to get this show over on Saturday because I can barely play bass when my fingers hurt so bad from painting for hours the night before. Ugh, I really don't like complaining, so I'll stop and discuss happy things!

We're almost ready to move out last items out of the house, i.e. t.v., beds, couch.The plan is to do that on Tuesday and sleep there that night. I still have to work on getting this house ready for someone else to move in here. (You know anyone? It's a nice house at a good price!) Anyhoo, Cam loves the new house. He loves having 2 rooms and the cement outside along with Mat's new garage is plenty of space for him to play. I'll post pics on Facebook because you never can tell who's reading your blog.

Here's a recipe that I threw together the other night. It literally took about 20 minutes from start to finish.

1 lb. pasta (I used medium sized shells because that's what Cam picked)
Sauteed chicken (I used 1 can chicken and 1 leftover grilled breast b/c that's what I had)
1 package baby bella mushrooms
3 cups baby spinach
1 tbs flour
onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cream cheese
a 1/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 can great northern beans
salt and pepper to taste
EVOO

Cook pasta to al dente in salted water.

Heat the pan over medium high heat. 1 turn of EVOO in the pan should do it. Let that heat up and drop in your chopped onion. Cook til translucent and add in the chopped mushrooms. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes and add garlic. When the mushrooms are almost tender add salt and pepper. Sprinkle in the flour and stir. Let cook for 1-2 minutes. Throw chicken in and heat through. Add chicken broth and stir. Scrape up any bits off the bottom of the pan. Let that simmer and thicken just a little. Add your cream cheese (you may want to use more than 1/2 cup) and melt into the sauce. It will turn into a rich and silky cream sauce. Let that simmer for a few minutes. Add your spinach. It looks like a lot, but it will wilt down to almost nothing. Add beans and mix through. When the sauce is done add in the drained pasta. They should be done right around the same time.

Now, what I did was added a little more chicken broth and cheese to make more sauce. Just make sure you have enough sauce for the amount of pasta. Check the seasonings after you add the pasta. You'll probably need to add salt and pepper. If you have any basil, it would be delicious, I just didn't have any.

So, there you go! It was soooo good! Mat said it was his favorite pasta ever....and I make a lot of thrown together pasta!

They were delicious.

Here's the recipe for the Chewy Peanut Butter Brownies I made tonight. They're good!

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup margarine, softened
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C ). Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together peanut butter and margarine. Gradually blend in the brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla; mix until fluffy. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture until well blended.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in preheated oven, or until the top springs back when touched. Cool, and cut into 16 squares.

I made a peanut butter frosting to smear on top. I combined about 1/2 cup of peanut butter with 2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar then added a splash of milk to loosen it up. Layer on top when The brownies are hot. I hope you enjoy it!