WOW

Wow it's been a long time since I've posted!
And I don't have time right now..!
Later..

WOW..it's been a really long time since I've had time to blog! Months actually. Life has been busy around our household. I'm still learning to be a full time momma and manage all that that entails. Let me see if I can catch up with the last few months. I think the last time I posted was in December! Not quite as long ago as I thought, I actually forgot my login info and had to reset everything, pretty sad. We found out in November that we were expecting our 3rd child, a boy! So for the next couple of months after that I was feeling quite ill and tired ALL the time. In January I had to have my appendix removed, that came as quite a surprise and was not fun at all. Especially being pregnant! It made the weeks to follow quite hard. In January and February we (the kids and I) also battled lots of winter time illnesses. It seemed never ending at the time. Schooling Isabella is going ok. It has been a hard adjustment for me, schedule wise. I'm not the most organized person, especially time management wise. But thankfully first grade is really easy and only requires a couple hours a day of work, if that. We've really only been doing school a few days a week on average and are right on track to end in June. So the end is near, we are ready for a real break and summer fun! A couple weeks ago my dad had open heart surgery, it was something that seemed to happen fast, and it was something I wasn't ready for. Going into it I figured 'hey, people have these surgeries ALL the time! He will be fine and home and back to normal in NO time!' This however was not the case! After hours upon hours of waiting with my mom and aunts in the waiting room for his surgery to be over, we finally got to see him. Needless to say I was in shock. The last time I honestly saw someone in that much pain was seeing my grandmother in hospice dying of breast cancer. She was colorless and near lifeless. She moaned and moaned in pain. And here my dad was looking the same way! Only he wasn't dying! But he was colorless and in SO much pain. It's really hard to hear someone you love moan like that. And the nurses and doctors had the hardest time finding pain medication that worked for him. That first week after his surgery was a rough week for me. His pain didn't get better as the week went on, he may say it got worse. And towards the weeks end they had to do ANOTHER surgery to re-do his breastbone wires that be broke loose by coughing, due to the pneumonia infection he got right after surgery. So the pain started all over again the second week..only it was different this second week. It was better, his color was returning and the pain medication was finally working, slowly. Now almost 2 and a half weeks out he's finally almost ready to come home. I know it will be a while before he's 'back to normal' but, I'm ready to have my dad back now. God has taught me a lot in the last couple of weeks, more than He has in a couple months. When I saw my dad in such severe, unbearable pain-God very clearly said to me "I love you enough that I went thru a similar pain on the cross for you..". And that's all it really to start the process of breaking and softening my heart. For the longest time I've been asking myself and Him, how I am supposed to love Him, as my FATHER, if I can't see Him?! It's so hard for me! But, He is showing me slowly by showing me how much He loves me. How many times have I read the story of Jesus dying on the cross over the course of my life time and I'm just now getting the depth of love that it took!? Hopefully as life is starting to slow down as the school year is coming to an end I will find more time to write about our life. I'd like to be able to keep up with it more but, find it hard with all that life has for me right now.

OH, and ck this out if you'd like.
ABIYAH

how to make lots of chicken and rice

this ones for you KG.

10 cups of rice
20 cups of water
12 chickens cut up
15 cans of mushroom soup
12 pkgs of dried onion soup

First, process the ckns as usual. make sure to remove all feathers, bones, and skin.
spread rice in the bottom of your largest baking dish. add the water and sprinkle onion soup over. add the ckn. pour soup all over. bake all day at 350. if you have an outdoor oven or fire pit this may work best.

A delicious meal.....recipe by request..

Here it is folks. Panera's Cheesy Broccoli Soup Recipe..found on Food.com.

It doesn't taste EXACTLY like it but, its pretty close..and delicious....

1T melted butter

1 med onion, chopped

1/2C melted butter

1/2C flours

4C half-and-half

4C chicken stock

1LB broccoli (i used frozen)

2C carrots, julienned

1/2t nutmet

16oz cheddar chz

Saute' onions in 1T butter, set aside. Cook 1/2C melted butter and flour using whisk over medium heat for 3-4 min. Stir constantly, add half-and-half. Add chicken stock, simmer 20 min. Add broccoli, carrots, and onions, cook 20-25 min. (optional-remove most but not all broccoli and carrots, puree in blender, place back in pot) Add salt and pepper to taste. Return to heat and add cheese, stir in nutmeg.

Enjoy!

I served with homemade sweet potato fries....mmm, delicious!

Updates

Isabella and cousin Josephine

Well this has been a busy and quick summer! I haven't 'worked' since May 1st and I wouldn't change anything! I love being home...I love being with my girls all day. Well, most days..yes, some days I wish I had a job to escape to! Last week I started homeschooling Isabella and so far so good! She listens to me so well! May be odd to you that I say this, but she usually gives me quite a hard time and listens to every word of her dads. But not this time! It's odd to me that things have reversed, in relation to school. We're doing an art class together and here is an example of something she's learned so far..just thought you'd like to see an example of her drawerings. I thought it was cute. She's learned to look at an object or picture and mimic (as best as she can) what she sees. I drew a rough sketch of a bicycle (because thats the newest facination at our home) and she copied what she saw.

Ellie once she turned 2 on August 27th has hit her terrible 2's. Some days are great and she's very pleasant and listens really well and then the very next day she wakes from a nap and it's like she decided all the sudden to be in the worst mood possible! TODAY for example! She was great this morning..sweet as usual and then after nap time, miss angry came out to play! Temper tantrums, crying fits, you name it! I just want to pull my hair out some days! Isabella had her moments at this age, but never 'hit the terrible 2's'.

Ellie is also learning to converse quite well...some new words include, milkey (choco milk only), Pockey (pocket), and frickle (freckle)....it's quite cute when she says them. She loves to see 'big trucks' going down the road and 'ice keem trucks, kool bus!' It's very exciting when the school bus rides down the road. She will also tell you quite clearly when she's ready to go home from somewhere she doesn't want to be. ' Go (h)ome!' '(h)ome now!' Chris sometimes has to glance at me to see what she is saying...Isabella and I seem to pick up on it easier and faster. Or atleast Isabella says she does. 'She wants (this) mom....' 'She's saying (this)'...."ok Isabella!" :)

Oh Isabella learned to ride her bike, just in the last couple of weeks actually. Mamaw Joan made the 3 middle kids (isabella 6yrs, josephine, her cousin also 6, and Vincent, her cousin 5yrs) but, she offered them a $50 reward for the first person to learn to ride their bike. $40 for second place, and $30 for third. Within the first few days Isabella and Joey had it down! They were all riding this little 12-13'' bike made for 3 year olds...now though they are on the right size bikes. We even took our first bike trip (without pulling isabella in the cart) from Bass Island to Old Milford on the bike trail yesterday. She biked a total of 6 miles! There was a tad bit of complaining but overall she did awesome.

Beth Moore

I forgot my camera so here is a great video of the conference you can view.

And you should view it first!

Beth talked to us about Jeremiah, a book I don't think I have ever

studied this much. Her outline was Eat, Pray, Love...from the new

movie that is out now with Julia Roberts. It's about a woman

that just got out of a broken relationship and is searching

the world for God (maybe not my God...but a god..). It may not be the

best movie morally..but, it makes sense when reading the verses below.

You can search the world over and live in a desert much of your life

but you will not find ultimate love and satisfaction until you meet your heavenly

Father. And you will not bear fruit until you submit to Him and die

to yourself and forget your idols.

One of the big things that I took away was what the

definition of a desert was, or an explanation of what the desert is.

Jeremiah 2:2

"Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: I remember

the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and

followed me through the desert, through a land not sown."

In the desert nothing is plowed, nothing is being dug up.

Only in the fertile land will a plant grow and be fruitful.

Matthew 15:13

"Every plant that my heavenly Father has

not planted will be pulled up by the roots."

Jeremiah 31:25

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint"

By following our addictions and idols we are in the desert.

ANY part of our hearts that arn't brought before God are open
to destruction.

Here some verses she gave us that may also be inspiring to you

EAT: "I brought you into a fertile land to eat fruit" Jer. 2:7

"When your words came I ate them, they were

my joy and my heart's delight." Jer 15:16

PRAY: "You will call upon me and come and pray to me, and

I will listen to you." Jer 29:12

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you

great and unsearchable things you

do not know." Jer 33:3

LOVE: "I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn

you with loving-kindness." Jer. 31:1-6

"Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is

good, His love endures forever." Jer. 33:11

"Should you then seek great things for yourself?? SEEK THEM NOT!" Jer. 45:5

We had pretty awesome seats on Friday night,
rightdown in front. We got there almost an hour
and a half early to get these. Though we stayed up too late
Friday night devouring the pizza below and watching a movie
we arrived about 15m before the show started Saturday and
still got floor seats! See the ladies in blue down in front?
We sat right behind them! God is good..

Notice the odd short slice? How does that happen? They
cheated us out of a 1/4 of a slice! :D