Meals and More....

Last weeks meals that I posted about turned out so good. The zoodle dish was surprisingly so AMAZING! I of course had help because both girls like to try things in the kitchen and Ryanne especially likes to cook and test taste meals as we prep them. She likes to be the one to decide what spice we need so I've dubbed her my little tasting chef. She also is learning to cut everything up and it's fun to watch her figure it out.

I think this pepper has seen better days but ya know it tasted good all the same ha!

I love how just over a year ago God took me all the way down to Belize where I met Brittney and how He brought her back to the states so I could love on her and her family. I got to spend a little girl time with her and her four month old daughter...such a sweet time when they are little like this.
Having a preteen and a teenager is super sweet too, just different.

Here is my list of what I'm cooking this coming week incase you are needing some ideas. I only plan five meals a week because Tuesdays are date night and the girls aren't home and then one night we usually have a "clean out the fridge" left over night and we fight over our favorite left overs ha! Most of you know we eat dairy free and gluten free so if any of these recipes call for cheese we just leave it out or use a vegan cheese. Also, if it calls for flour we just sub out GF flour, use corn tortillas instead of flour, things like that. I always want to give credit where credit is due and since I am a complete foodie-recipe-blog stalker you will find the links below the recipes I am making. Enjoy!
Chicken Enchilada Bowels-www.thewholesomedish.com
Creamy sun-dried tomato chicken-www.mynaturalfamily.com
Chicken quinoa and broccoli casserole-www.pinchofyum.com
Kung Pao Chicken-www.fitfoodiefinds.com
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Muffins-www.amyshealthybaking.com 

No New Years Resolution...

So here's the thing, I'm not really one to make a New Years resolution and I'm just gonna go ahead and say the real reason...if you know me it won't come as a HUGE surprise but what might surprise you is why I wonder on a daily basis why my youngest daughter is like this. I don't like being put in a box, doing whatever everyone else is doing or.....being told exactly what to do. There I said it. The fist step is admitting I have a problem. This is no joke, I have serious issues people. When I tried to do the "read through the bible" in a year I was fine until about day 5 and then I started freaking out like, "What else am I missing? Could I be reading something different?" The whole scripture that had to follow the date drove me nuts! Don't worry though, God is working on me ha!


So now that you know my issues (only scratching the surface trust me on this), I will say I DO like to look back over the year and think about how God can use me more, change my heart to love Him more, what I can do better as a wife, mother, friend, servant. And because I am daily fighting to be healthier as I live with RA I would say I consider my health and how I can improve my overall pain level with better eating and exercise. I already bike, swim at the college and walk but I really wanted to work on my flexibility and range of motion more so I don't lose any more range of motion. I figured I could manage going to one or two "structured" classes a week as long as I could hop on my mountain bike and be free whenever I wanted the rest of the week. There's just something about going down hill with the wind in your face and nobody talking to you, no phones, just the cool air in your face and having to focus on riding is great therapy for me. I joined a Pilates class where you use the Reformer table and also a Burn at the Barr ballet type class. So hard! So crazy, crazy hard but so good! I mean like have to soak in the tub, rub bio freeze all over my body and can't lift my arms above my head for a day kind of good...it'll get easier right? :)

I also wanted to be more purposeful about having my meals planned for the week and the recipes magnet to the front of the fridge by Monday morning so that I am doing more clean cooking/eating. Plus my kids are old enough and willing to jump in and start dinner when they know what the plan is for the night. They both enjoy cooking and our youngest especially has this crazy ability to know what spices are needed to improve something. Here is what we are cooking this week:

Day 1-Chicken lettuce wraps with avocado and rosemary roasted red potatoes as a side. www.dearcrissy.com


Day 2- Cilantro Lime Chicken with zoodles and avocado
www.dearcrissy.com

Day 3- Turkey Chili and Gluten free cornbread


Day 4-Roasted veggie and black bean tacos with quinoa as a side
www.cookingclassy.com


Day 5- Slow cooker chicken noodle soup
www.simplecleanfitness.com

So there it is, my non resolution to eat as good as possible, dive into Gods word each morning wherever He may lead and exercise with fun abandon. Oh and to have joy in all things because God tells me to...see, not totally hopeless ha!

Christmas and A New year....

                       I have been wanting to post but when I say it was a crazy month in our family, it is really putting it lightly. I remember on Thanksgiving thinking to myself,"Self, we are going to totally chill this next month. We are going to enjoy the Christmas season and all it means to us. We are going to relax, not run around in the chaos, not be over busy or stressed and NOT worry about anything! Joy! Joy! Joy! We will NOT get sucked into the craziness of what Christmas has become." Then December 2nd rolled around and people lost their lives senselessly and it threw our first responder loved ones into the middle of chaos. It was a long couple of weeks of sleepless nights, anger and questions that really had no sufficient answer. Then Dan worked the shift when the president came to town and got to spend some time with the secret service. Stressful but interesting and a good experience all the same. We thought we were catching our breath when two days before Christmas with no warning we lost Dan's dad. It sucked the wind right out of our family and left us shaken and deeply sad. In the days since, Dan & I have started to regroup and reflect on the last few days and we were talking about how two days before Christmas could not have been more painful to lose his dad but on the blessing side of it; when you have young kids you have no choice but to push on and if nothing else celebrate their excitement in the season and find joy in just the blessing of another day to be together. So we went numbly to Christmas Eve service and clung to God and everything we know about his goodness. This is a recap from this month and all the sweet times God provided for us with our families and friends....

Morgan's friend turned 16 and they were treated to a fun murder mystery dinner....

Fun gifts mailed from Uncle Mike and Aunt Sarah....

Macy got her Christmas stuffed animal and was cuddled up on the couch immediately...

The girls think we can't take selfies because we aren't cool but Dans really long arms are actually perfect for group selfies....

We threatened to mail Ryanne to my brother...he said as long as we put snacks in there she would be fine ha! I love that Dan has on a Boise State sweatshirt because he wants to move there and Ryanne has on an SMU t shirt because her cousin plays soccer there....

This is Morgan and AJ; the more mellow of the cousins so they tend to gravitate to each other at get togethers....

I got to spend some time with my young nieces which is always good for the heart...

Dans mom with all her grandkids....

All the cousins lined up by height....

All the first cousins and their spouses who were crazy enough to marry into the family :)
I was thinking over 2016 and at first I think,"Please be a calm year God!" But then I remember that whatever life brings it's an adventure and that's what I love about life. The good, the bad and the ugly because all of those put together grows my character in the Lord and makes me who I am meant to be. It challenges me to be more compassionate, more at peace, to have pure joy in ALL circumstances that only comes from God, to be kinder and to have a more quiet spirit. To live large and fearless for Christ. To jump off that ledge into the water, climb that mountain for the better view, breath in deep the fresh cool air and thank God for the sunset that is never the same every night. To swim out farther and go deeper to see below the surface, to ride my bike on that dusty trail and thank God for the wind in my face and yup even the dirt in my teeth because I can. Because everyday I wake up and get to take another breath, I'm pretty darn determined to glorify the creator with that breath. To take nothing for granted, to fear nothing because Gods hand is in the details, to enjoy the creation and be in awe of the creator. Blessings!

Giving Thanks In Idaho....

We decided we wanted to do some exploring over Thanksgiving break and we loved Northern Idaho when we were there a few years ago so we decided why not check out Boise. We had heard great things about it and so we rented a little condo near downtown and off we went...

We fell in love with so many aspects of it that it is hard to nail down just one. We took a couple of hours one morning before the storm rolled in and toured the state capital. It was like 23 degrees outside so it was also a great excuse to get in out of the cold...

This building was beautiful and the marble work was breathtaking....our kids were afraid we were trying to "sneak" school in and make them learn while they were on break. Whaaattt? Me? "Nooo....just walk around the state capital and read all the historical markers and don't let any of it sink in, I promise you'll be just fine children."

Boise is Bronco college football nation so of course we had to visit the stadium..

Sadly they were in CA for a game so we missed seeing them play...

The best part of exploring was finding all the cute little areas with old fashioned candy shops and quant coffee shops....

One of the days brought about 2" of snow which was nice because we built a fire, had hot cocoa and just enjoyed the different weather than we are used to...

Dan & the girls did a 5k turkey trot on Thanksgiving morning and it was COLD! I think like 15 degrees. My doctor told me no because my leg is still healing, so me and my mom were the support crew...

Being a support crew member requires that you put a crazy turkey hat on and cheer on your loved ones. Yes I was proud and plus I think it makes me look taller. The atmosphere was so amazing. There were over 6,000 runners, walkers, people walking dogs or pushing strollers but then they asked us to face the flag while this guy played the national anthem on his violin....it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Then one person started quietly singing, and then another and then pretty soon all 6,000 of us were singing. I got very emotional and couldn't help but cry as I was moved to be thankful for our freedom.

My mom likes hot weather so she was freezing! She especially liked when I had the bright idea to take pictures near the river when it was like 12 degrees out ha!

We try as often as possible to take our girls and get away from the norm and into new places with different people and things to see and try...to just have that time with them that we can't get back and to be together as a family.

It was so beautiful this time of year. We are thinking of going back this summer so we can try some of the summer activities like mountain biking and kayaking, tubing etc.

 

On the way home we stopped in Provo Utah and woke up to more snow...I made sure to tag cars as we were leaving...the friendly kind of tagging of course.

Me and my mom are kindly making you aware that in this very moment it is 5 degrees!

What We Know....

I can remember 9/11 like it happened yesterday. It's a day burned in my memory for many reason that are obvious but one that really stands out is that I remember looking at our 7 month old daughter and thinking,"Oh dear God this is your world you have to grow up in." Wednesday December 2nd brought the same anguish in my heart when my sister in law called me and told me to turn on the T.V. because there was an active shooter in San Bernardino and it appeared that many people had been killed. Knowing my husband would be on scene along with many friends who work for the fire and police department, I sat paralyzed in front of the T.V. trying to get answers just like everyone else in the area. Suddenly my house being cluttered with my kids shoes and school books didn't seem that important. Errands could wait. Being annoyed with my daughter for her bad attitude became small. My phone went crazy as everyone wanted to know Dan was safe and what was going on. We all hate not knowing, not having the answers right away. Why is this happening? Who would do something like this? Are we in danger? When will it end and will there be more victims? My girls are older now and they understand and can wrap their brains around the fact that we live in an imperfect world. They understand there is sin and evil and that this is what we call it. If we are being straightforward, as Christians it doesn't really matter if it's work place violence or domestic terrorism because the bottom line is it is sin and we know sin has a ripple effect that spans so beyond the person involved and this is has a very large span of people it has frightened, hurt and scarred for life. Our youngest looked at me and said,"Mom, I know this is bad and I never want to be involved in something like this but I know God has my exact days numbered and I know when I do die where I'm going." Our oldest who I thought might be changing her mind about going to Spain this summer for a missions trip said,"Satan wants to steal our joy and our security and the word tells us God wants us to not hide our light." So in the midst of overwhelming sadness this week for the victims and their families, and worrying about my husband and all of our friends who were on scene of the shooting and their mental and emotional state, I still don't have the answers to why this couple would do something so hateful and quite frankly what answers would be sufficient? What answers will bring those who were killed back? What answers will erase the memories embedded in the images the first responders saw? What I do know is that when something bad happens and our hearts are hurting I tell the girls to go back to what we know even if we are scared and confused. We know God is good. We know God works all things for the good of those who love Him. We know there is evil and we live in a fallen world BUT that God is bigger. We also know the ending of the story and that is that satan does not win God does. We know that satan has come to steal and destroy and rob of us of our joy and security. But our God has come to give us peace and our joy is in Him not based on our circumstances. As children of God we need to be steadfast in prayer and because we are certain of where we are going we need to love on others and make sure they know that Christ died on the cross for everyone and his grace and mercy are sufficient in all things. Be blessed today knowing He is in control. Come Jesus come!

Dog Post....

I walked out this morning to find our Great Dane curled up on the couch asleep with the T.V. remote near her paw and her face buried so my mom suggested I post on here with her picture and a funny caption. We were thinking; "No mom, I swear I was not watching that scary movie!" or "I'm sorry mom, but yes I was up all night with the cats watching Netflix." I realize it's the end of the week and I could very well be losing my mind...in fact I'm 99% certain.But I thought a dog post was long over due. I even text a friend telling her Happy Anniversary for her 10-10 wedding anniversary...she said,"Umm....you do realize it's November?" I responded with,"Well shoot, Christmas is going to be a HUGE surprise now!"

Halloween Happenings and Kicking Diabetes to the Curb!

Our Halloween weekend was super low key but fun. Friday night the girls had a few friends over and we made a big pot of chili and had a fire pit with s'mores. Then on Halloween we went to dinner and then just walked around the neighborhood for a little while. All our neighbors sit out in their driveways with fire pits so it's super nice just walking around visiting and getting candy along the way.

This past weekend we headed down to San Diego to support my niece AJ and walk in the Juvenile Diabetes walk. 5am came quick and cold as we took the shuttle from the zoo to the starting spot.

All the cousins came out to support AJ and our team raised $1,500!!

Once the sun came up bright and warm everyone thawed out and we enjoyed a beautiful morning together.

Go team AJ! AJ was diagnosed almost a year ago and so this was our families first time participating in this event but Team AJ will be back next year!

Good exercise. Good attitudes. Good scenery. Good family time.

Thank you to everyone who sponsored us financially and or came out to walk. It was a great day and I'm super proud of my little niece as she figures out how to live with type 1 diabetes; she has a great attitude and is doing an amazing job managing it all.

Until our next adventure!