Hello and Happy New Year!

Just a moment ago my hubby, who is sitting on the next couch over, said "you need to update your blog honey. You haven't done anything since March." So here is an update my love. Not much to say and yet a lot of changes in our lives over the past year. I am so busy living life that I run out of time and steam to write about our life. We have had a very interesting year and it seems to me that we are finally settling into a routine for this new life, of course now that I have said something everything will change. For those of you who have known me for a long time you know how I feel about change, and how well I handle change. I will say that this is an area where I have grown and I know without a doubt that I still have more growing to do in this area as well. We took our annual summer trip to my grandma's cabin with our kids and grandma. Our friends came up for a couple of days to enjoy the water and cribbage games. We also only went camping 3 times last summer. Very unusual for us but hey unusual has become usual for us this last year. Last Thanksgiving we took a family vacation, with just the four of us, down to AZ to see my brother, sister-in-law, five year old niece and the newest addition to our family. Once I saw him I just couldn't help myself from nicknaming him Popeye. He was only 3 weeks old and he would do the cutest stretch while opening one eye. On the way down we stopped in Vegas (would never take the kids there again). We viewed the Grand Canyon. How anyone can see that and not stand in wonder of our awesome God just blows my mind. We went all the way down to Benson, AZ to see a cavern only to be told that the tickets were all sold out, to a school field trip. Then back up to Tucson to visit the Pima Air Museum. We would recommend this to anyone who visits the area even if you are not a aviation enthusiast. We then landed in Mesa and had a wonderful 2 bedroom suite with 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and front room. It was at the hotel that my SIL works and it was wonderful. I would highly recommend it. The kids especially loved the pool swimming at least twice a day. We enjoyed a full Turkey dinner, that my SIL's co-workers provided for us. We took all the kiddos to see The Muppet's and of course swam some more. As soon as we returned home it was time for Christmas. Christmas was different but good. There were some sad and hard moments but we made it through. Including a time where my son was struggling and when he said he needed a moment alone to compose himself he went down on his knees to talk to the ONE who could give him the comfort he needed. It was a moment where I was happy and sad at the same time. New Years Eve was also different. For the first time in 10 years we did not spend the evening at our home. Instead we rung in the New Year at our friends new home. (They now live only one mile away and we love it.)
Well that is what our year looked like in one long paragraph. I am looking forward to 2012 and all that this year will hold for us. I pray that through it all, the ups and the downs, everything I do and say will bring Glory to my Heavenly Father who has showed HIS faithfulness to me and my family this last year.

P.S. There is your update hunny.

Changes....

Hi There...I know it has been awhile since I have written anything and really since I started being a FB junkie I have found that a couple of words or sentences can pretty much sum up my daily life. Lots of things have changed in my life over the last month or so and I have found that one moment I am okay with them and other moments I am still wanting to hold on to the way it was. This last month I watched as my MIL's flesh body deteriorated and she received her new body. I found myself in a situation that I had never imagined I would be in. It was hard and easy at the same time. We are still trying to figure out what life looks life with Donna at home with our Lord. Last weekend the kids had their first Friday Night Sleepover at their Grandpa's house since Grandma's home going and really they hadn't had a Friday Night Sleepover in over a month. As they were getting ready my daughter said to her brother "Isn't it weird saying Grandpa's house and not Grandma & Grandpa's?" To which he replied "Yeah". This is what our life looks like right now. It is kind of surreal on some levels and yet very real on other levels. The other big change in our family life is that our bookkeeper has officially retired and now I am the book keeper at the shop. I am not going to lie and say that I have taken this change as I should have, with thanksgiving in my heart because we still have work. I will keep it real with you and let you know that I have fought it tooth and nail, the whole way. It is not that I can't do the job or that it is hard. Really it is quite easy for me. I have always liked working with numbers and have found that even paying payroll tax, sales tax and all the other taxes and reports that have to be done for the government isn't that bad. (It probably helps that our bookkeeper was also our tax lady and she had it all figured out and she even wrote me a manual so I can just follow directions if I can't remember exactly how to do something.) So that part isn't so bad. I guess I am just not happy that after being a stay-at-home mom for over 10 years I am now a working mom with all that it entails like when exactly do you clean the house? Do laundry? Shop for food? Plan meals? Pay household bills? I know that these are things all working mom's have to figure out but usually the job comes with a paycheck and well mine does not. For someone whose love language is not words of encouragement or acts of service this is a really hard thing. I am trying to remind myself of my Lords promise to me in Jeremiah 29:11 but I will admit that there are days that I take my eyes off of Him and well things just go bad. So these are the things in my life that I can't just sum up in a couple of words or sentences on FB. My life with all it's bumps and bruises......

12 years and counting...

Wow...12 years ago I married my hubby! Sometimes it feels like yesterday and other times it feels like forever ago that I walked down the isle and joined my life with his. I will be forever grateful that he married me. He is a wonderful husband, truly my better half. He is our provider, he doesn't complain about going to work everyday to provide for us. He is a loving father to our children. I love him more every day!!!

Oregon

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It Must be a food kind of day!!

As I was preparing the marinade this morning for our dinner tonight my brother called. We talked about our Grandma's Christmas gift, which has to do with food and we talked about what I was making for dinner. Then my sister called and we talked about the Carnitas she was making for the progressive dinner at the Ranch tonight. So it must be a food kind of day!

Chicken w/ Tomatillo Sauce
Marinade:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Splenda
1 TBS Chili Powder
1 TBS Cumin
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Ground Coriander
Zest of 1 Lemon
Zest of 1 Lime
Juice of 1 Lemon
Juice of 1 Lime
3 TBS Olive Oil

Marinate Chicken in Ziploc at least 2 hours.
Grill chicken

Tomatillo Sauce

5 Tomatillos (Med-Lg) If usually buy 6 if they are med/sm
1 cup Chicken Broth

Remove Husks & Stems, rinse and place in pan w/ chicken broth. Bring to boil then lower to simmer cook covered for 8 min or until Tomatillos are soft. Let cool & drain out broth.
In blender add
cooked tomatillos
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Splenda
1/2 tsp Sriracha Sauce (Chinese Hot Chili Sauce)
1/4 cup Cilantro
1/2 cup green onion
1 garlic clove
juice of 1 lime

Blend, don't forget to remove the middle piece of the blender lid otherwise it will explode because of the heat. Cover lid with towel to stop sauce from shooting out while blending.

I usually make cook the sauce while the meat is marinating and then I blend it while I am grilling the chicken.

I usually serve this with rice and I pour the sauce over the chicken and the rice. Then for days after I enjoy the sauce with chips. Yum!!

Well I really do hope you give this a try. I know it is winter and most people don't grill outside but hey I have snow on the ground and I am grilling tonight. Grilling is a year round way to cook, even if you don't live in AZ.

Enjoy!!

(P.S. I just have to give credit where credit is due...this recipe is from the kitchen of my friend Bon.)

Hello...Is this thing on????

Hello.

I know it has been a while (8 months) since I have last posted here and I would like to say I am sorry and hopefully it won't be another 8 months until I post again. I make no promises though.

I just had to post tonight because I cooked our dinner in a way that would make my friend Bon so proud of me. I had a recipe to follow (the only way I like to cook) and well my ingredients were different. So after I panicked a little and told my hubby that we were going to go out to eat, to which he replied "I don't think so", I thought of my friend who is FABULOUS at improvising a recipe and I walked back into my kitchen. Guess what!?! It turned out wonderful. My daughter gave it 5 stars as did my hubby. My son gave it only 4 stars because "I reserve the 5 star status for my favorite meals only".

Well I am not gonna complain if 4 stars is my lowest score.

If you want to make the original recipe you can find it at Cook's Country.com and search for Cider-Glazed Pork Loin. I received this recipe from a friend who had tried it and loved it. Now just to give you fair warning when I went to the web site I found out that you get a 14 free trial and then it looks like you have to pay to see their recipe's. So If you decide that you wish to invest in this resource please forward any recipes that you try and like because I am just to cheap to do it. Seriously. I just can't. Or maybe it should read that I just won't. Now I will share my modified recipe with you and it will only cost you.....a comment to let me know what you think of it after you have tried it.



Cider-Glazed Pork

1 lb Pork slices , Sliced less than 1/2" thick
2 TBS Vegetable Oil
1 Large Shallot, thinly sliced
2 cups Apple Cider
1/2 cup apple butter
1 Bay Leaf
1 Sprig Fresh Thyme (I didn't have this on hand so I used 1/2 tsp dried)
1 tsp Cider Vinegar
Salt & Pepper

1. Heat 1 TBS Oil in large skillet over med-high heat until hot. Season Pork with salt & pepper on both sides then place in pan. Brown both sides and then remove to plate and cover w/ tin foil.

2. In same pan add 1 TBS Oil and add shallots and cook until golden brown. Increase heat to high and add Cider, Apple Butter, Bay Leaf and Thyme. Bring to boil and cook, stirring frequently until it starts to thicken.

3. Place pork back in skillet and cover. Lower heat to med and cook until pork is done, turning once.

4. Remove pork, yes remove it again, and whisk in 1 Cider Vinegar then return pork to pan.

I served it with Rice Pilaf and as an after thought I also served green beans (canned).
Next time I think I will precook fresh green beans and then add them with the pork in step 4 to serve them smothered with the sauce.

Well I hope you, all 3 of you who read this blog, give this recipe a try. It really is Yummy!!

Do you know Him??

Do you know Him??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upGCMl_b0n4