And a Partridge in a Pear Tree!!!

Well, its been 3 long months since I last blogged. Three LONG months. I can't believe that! A thousand pardons reader! I have been SUPER busy! Let me update you from last we met. And I am going to do this 12 days of Christmas style (hence the title)! 

On the first day of Summer my busy life gave me, my baby boy turning 1! That's right, Judah Michael is now officially one year old. I am just dumbfounded at how quickly the last year passed! He is such a sweet little boy and he brings so much happiness to our lives. My sweet baby is growing up too fast!!

On the second day of Summer my busy life gave me, 10 days at Disney!

We got to spend 10 days in Orlando, Florida and we went 5 days to different theme parks. We were BUSY, but we had SO much fun, especially Cadence. She got to meet almost all the princesses, the fab five (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto), Winnie the Pooh, and so many more! It was so neat to watch her experience it all.  I think it was the best part. 

 On the third day of Summer my busy life gave me, One amazing Anniversary! Josh and I have been married now for 6 years! We are an old married couple! Just kidding, we get told all the time that we are just babies! Might be so! But a LOT has happened in those six years! Almost 6 years in ministry, 5 houses (four of which were in a 20 mile radius of each other - which I can't believe either!), 2 babies, and many crazy days in between! So thankful God gave me Joshua. He is my other half, He completes me and all that mushy romantic stuff! :)

We got to spend our anniversary at Disney World, and Josh arranged for us to go to a really awesome restaurant where we were able to enjoy a wonderful meal AND watch the fireworks over the castle at Magic Kingdom! One of the highlights of the trip for me!

So magical! 

Speaking of Joshua...

On the fourth day of Summer, my busy life gave me, One gallbladder removal...

No, I'm not being insensitive to his pain, we were just goofing off before he went back. But yes, Josh had to have his gallbladder removed. Let me just say, that was an experience! Because, well, I have two kids, and you know how men are...and I will leave it at that! haha! Very thankful it was just his gallbladder though and he is doing well now! 

On the fifth day of Summer, my busy life gave me, a great visit with one of my best friends, Mrs. Pam Worthington!

I got to spend a little over three days with her and we had so much fun! I haven't been able to do that with her in a couple years! She is such an encouragement and example to me! Love you Mrs. Pam! 

Moving on to some personal Amanda updates...

On the sixth day of Summer, my busy life gave me, fructose malabsorption.  

Which is when your small intestine can not absorb and digest fructose or sugar like it should. So for me it basically means I can never eat sugar again (cue the face).  Gotta say, it has put a major damper on my summer, but I know that God has a reason for me to go through this, even if it's just so I can be healthier!   I actually have not done well so far with being completely sugar free, but as of this week I am making a commitment to become sugar free all the way! Being sugar free for me means I can't even eat many fruits and even vegetables that I usually do.  Fructose is in almost EVERYTHING!! This really is a HUGE life change, and I think that's why I haven't done as well with it.  But I know with God's help anything is possible! I CAN do this! Prayers would be greatly appreciated...:P  

On the seventh day of Summer, my busy life gave me, a injured fascia and a sprained tendon.

Thats right! I injured my Fascia.  Did you even know you had a fascia? I didn't...but I do now! As I write this I am still wearing the lovely boot, but hoping to get it off this Wednesday! And I KNOW I will hear the hallelujah chorus as my podiatrist slips the monstrosity off! Sorry for the dramatics, but if you have ever had to wear a boot you know my pain!

On a brighter note... 

On the eighth day of Summer, my busy life gave me, my first set of highlights! 

Yes, this is the first time in my life color of any sort has touched my hair. I was so nervous but excited at the same time! I know I was making my hairdresser anxious because I was so unsure, but she did a great job and I love them! Love ya Jo Ann!

 And now, to my final figurative day...Yes I know I only had nine days, and they didn't have a correlating number of things on each day, but hey, I was never one for coloring inside the lines...:) Just kidding, I totally color inside the lines and I even outline the lines with my crayon before coloring the inside lighter! (By the way, If you know what I'm talking about, you are probably as OCD as me!) But this is my blog and I make the rules! 

Anyway - On the ninth day of Summer, my busy life will give me (because it's tomorrow) my Cadence Anne is turning four!  How has four years come and gone? 

Taken July 8, 2010...

Taken today, July, 7, 2014!  What a big girl she is! She is such a mess - as I write this right now she is running around in circles saying "chicka bock, chicka bock!" Haha! Some things she gets from her daddy. She brings so much joy and laughter to our home. So thankful God blessed us with our Cadence Anne! Can NOT wait to celebrate her four years tomorrow! And her daddy's 26 years and her Aunt Emily's 23! Yep! They all share the same birthday! It's a crazy time, but a pretty neat thing! I mean, not many people can say they share their birthday with that many family members! 

So there are my updates and pretty much my life for the past three months! It's been very busy, but very blessed! God is Good! Looking forward to the rest of my busy summer!! Hope to keep up with blogging through it all! :) 

Plum sauce never go bad!

One of my husband Josh's favorite statements.  And oh, so true it is!  But I'm getting ahead of myself! Let me start from the beginning. A few days ago we had my husband's brother and sisters over to spend a couple of days with us and they began reminiscing about Michigan.  (Quick background, Josh and all his family grew up in Southeast Michigan, but about 7 years ago his immediate family made the move to great ole North Carolina!) Anyways, they were talking about things they miss and it got on the topic of food, and the different restaurants they have in Michigan that sadly North Carolina is not graced with.  The first that came up was a local Chinese place named, Eastern Pearl, that has the BEST egg rolls and sauce to dip them in called plum sauce.

 Now, I have heard them talk of these egg rolls many times and have always wished I could try the amazingness that they speak of,  but sadly since Josh and I have been married we have never made it up to Michigan. So Josh decided enough was enough! I needed to try these Egg rolls and soon! So he made a call to his grandmother, and that's all it took because today we recieved this in the mail! 

I don't know how many eggrolls and two containers of Plum Sauce! What?! She is awesome! Such a sweet lady, I can't imagine how much it must have cost her to do this, but that is Grandma Nita! So giving! Well, needless to say we didn't waste any time! Grandma Nita had asked the people at Eastern Pearl to not cook them all the way so that when we recieved them they wouldn't be soggy, so we preheated the oven and slid them in! 

Then, Josh began preparing the eggrolls.  I know what your thinking, because I was confused too.  Usually you just pick up a eggroll and chow down, but I guess Michiganders do it different, because Josh slit open the eggroll and poured in the Plum sauce, then looked at me and said, "ok, they're ready." I couldn't help but giggle! He loves these things! 

Well, if that wasn't weird enough he told me I had to eat them from the inside out! So, when in Rome...  

Now, I know this picture looks disgusting, but really, would any eggroll cut open and gutted look good?) Ok, so first you eat the insides of said eggroll which contain bean sprouts (no cabbage here!) and some other tasty goodness that I am unsure of, but is fabulous! Then you eat the crunchy outside dipped in Plum sauce which is sweet, tangy, with a bit of a kick of vinegar at the end.  Let me just say, they really are very good! And surprisingly better than any eggroll I have had in North Carolina or Virginia! Who knew Michigan was holding out on us?! Getting back to my title, when we asked the people at the restaurant how long the plum sauce would last, their response was, "oh, plum sauce never go bad!"  Although Josh said it sounded more like, "Oh, plua sau neva go baad." :) Well, here's to hoping it doesn't! Looking forward to more egg rolls soon!!

Our Pottery Painting Adventure!! :)

About a week ago, my friend Keri and I...

(Here is Keri...:)) decided to go out for a girls night.  We went to Texas Roadhouse for supper, and then decided to head on over to the newly named Painted Peacock in Greenville (Used to be Accidental Artist), which is a paint your own potttery studio.  Can I just say I LOVE this place and it's kind of addicting!  If you have never heard of or been to one of these places, first let me say how sorry I am that you have never had this awesome experience and then let me tell you, google one closest to you and GO! It will be worth it!  

  We had so much fun picking out our pottery, designing, and painting it.  And let me tell you, it was quite an adventure!  As we started painting we realized just how difficult a design we had both picked so we had to keep asking for help!? And THEN we realized at the rate we were painting, there was no way we would finish before the store closed and would have to come back later to finish?!  Well, for two mothers of two, who rarely get a night out we decided we would not accept that kind of defeat!!! Who has the time to come back to finish?! We looked at each other and said, OH NO! We are finishing this TONIGHT! Thankfully we had a awesome employee who helped us through the good and bad, calm and crazy moments of our pottery painting adventure.  Her name was Caitlyn! 

A learned a couple fun facts about Caitlyn.  One, she has SO much patience! (Wonder how I learned that?!) Two, she is the same age as me and is currently getting her degree in Elementary Education. We had so much in common, but then I learned the third fun fact about Caitlyn is that she is a triplet! And her sisters all look identical to her?! What?! I have never met an identical triplet. She was such a neat person to talk to and get to know through our painting experience! She helped Keri and I create awesome works of art! :)  Here are some pictures! 

This picture should help you understand how difficult of a process I picked?! First I had to paint my pottery and wrap it in bubble wrap to get the desired texture.  Then I had to let it dry and stencile on my design, which I traced. I wish I could draw that well free hand?! 

Then I painted what I had stenciled on! It was so much fun, but I think I may have asked Caitlyn for help 20 times...but she graciously helped me every time until it looked exactly how I wanted it! :) Did I say how awesome she was?! This picture was before I left the cup with them to work their magic, so the colors are pastel.  But after they glazed and baked it, (mmm...do those words bring krispy kreme to your mind?! they do to me! I may have a problem...lol) the colors were gorgeous!

I absolutely LOVE how it turned out and have been proudly drinking out of my cup every day! :)  So if you have a free night, live in the Eastern North Carolina area and would like to create your own piece of pottery, check out the Painted Peacock on 631 Red Banks Rd, Greenville, NC, and ask for Caitlyn!  You'll be glad you did! :)

Hello? Is it me you're looking for?

Hello everyone!  I have come out from hiding, ready to blog again!  I cant believe how long it has been since I have blogged last! My life has been crazy busy lately, and it wasn't until I sat down to write this post that I realized just how much I have had going on.  But although I am busy and rarely have time for a good blogging session, I can truly say I am blessed.  

So what's been going on you may ask?

Well, for starters, My youngest youngin' is now mobile. 

Enough said.

Can I get an amen from all the mommas out there?  

Judah is crawling everywhere, and getting into everything!  He has even learned how to tip over the huge baby gate we have and crawl underneath it! I couldn't make this stuff up?! 

I post the above picture to show you said baby gate.  Pause a moment to take it in.  He has found a way to flip that monstrousity over and crawl underneath it!!!  I'm amazed. So needless to say he has kept me so busy lately.  But I love both my bambinos and I wouldn't trade these days for anything! I know they are not going to last forever! 

LOVE them.  

I have also been super busy with ministry and all that God has allowed me to be a part of.  He has given many different avenues for service and I am learning how to juggle them all.  It has been challenging, but thankfully His grace has kept me balanced so far. I am so thankful that in my weakness HE is strong.  Praise The Lord for that, because this girl is weak! :)   

Well, there it is blog world - my explanation for being MIA for a month.  Hope it was acceptable!  My plan is to not stay away for this long ever again, but hey, you never know?!  Life is that way sometimes! :)  

'til next time (hopefully sooner than later)

~Amanda

Ground Turkey?! Who Knew?!

So when the words ground turkey come to my mind this is the face I make...

Turkey is great! At thanksgiving of course! Next to the stuffing and covered in Momma's homemade gravy or on my nice toasted sub roll with cheese and all the vegetables that Subway can offer me... not ground up!  So when my husband unloaded the groceries one day and I beheld this beauty

I was less than thriled.  But seeing as my New Year's Resolution is to start eating better and since my Weight Watchers Point's journal wouldn't mind seeing some variety, I said, "What the hay!" And promptly looked up a ground turkey recipe that I hoped would be somewhat acceptable. I came across one that I thought COULD be a winner...Chili.  Chili with ground turkey. What? That just seems wrong... Oh well! Here went nothing! 

I found the recipe on where else, but pinterest! I pretty much followed the recipe, but I changed a couple of things...

The ingredients:

1.3 lbs of lean ground turkey

1 Teaspoon oil ( i used olive oil)

1 medium onion

1 red bell pepper (which i omitted becasue I didnt have one on hand)

1 garlic clove (minced)

1.5 cups frozen corn kernels

10 oz can rotel mild tomatoes ( I used regular because I'm a whimp when it comes to spice)

8 oz small can plain tomato sauce

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

AND a crockpot to put it all in! Can I just say I love my stylish crockpot! :)

Then on to cooking! 

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add the turkey, season with salt and cook, breaking up all the turkey with a spoon until the turkey browns and is no longer pink.  Then put it into the slow cooker.

This was the evolution of the ground turkey.  It looks ROOOUUUGGGHHH when you first take it out and look at it, but once it's cooked it really looks just like ground beef! I was shocked!

Well, after that step, I took the skillet and added the oil and sauted the onion and garlic on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Then I poured the onions/garlic on top of the meat in my crockpot.  Next, I added the corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, paprika, and salt. then I 

mixed it all together and poured the chicken broth over it and added some bay leaf. I then put the lid on the crockpot and let it cook on high for 4 hours, but the recipe also says you can cook it on low for 6 hours. Pictures of each step are seen below!

Well, I waited for four hours and I was ready to dig in! This was the finished product, with tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream mixed in! YUMMY! It doesn't look to appetizing, but trust me, it was really good! 

I  had a cup of the chili, and put all the add ins, and it ended up being 12 points! And  if all you ate was the chili with nothing mixed in it would only be 6 points! WOW! Oh, and Cadence LOVED it as well! She couldn't get enough. So needless to say, my frown turned upside down! (cheesey, i know, but it did!)

I really enjoyed the chili and the ground turkey.  The worst part about this whole experience was having to tell my husband he was right and I (GASP) was wrong! Since this lovely experience, we have used ground turkey in spaghetti as well! It was delicious too!

My husband made that recipe for me, so no blog to show. But I will tell you it was Pioneer Womans recipe for spaghetti sauce, we just used ground turkey instead of ground beef.   This portion was obviously way too much! I ate half of this plate and two pieces of whole wheat bread and it was 10 points!!  I could get used to this. Maybe next time I will try out a turkey burger. You know live dangerously! 

In conclusion, the moral to this story is don't knock it 'til you try it! 

Here is the link for the Chili recipe : http://pinterest.com/pin/79587118388943949/

Anyone have any more delecious uses for ground turkey? Would love to hear them! :)

Kids Update!!

Whew! These past couple of months have been CrAzY to say the least! But now that I am actually having a moment to sit down and write a post i can't think about anything better to write about than my beautiful children! 

Aren't they darling?! Sorry, my husband and I snuck in there too! :)

Cadence is now a little over 3 and 1/2, and I am just scratching my head wondering where all that time went?! 

She surprises me everyday! She is sweet, full of wonder, has the biggest imagination, loves everyone, and I could go and on! 

We have started doing some "school", learning our numbers, colors, and about the Bible! A neat moment with her is the first day we started "school".  I was teaching her about the number zero.  I had drawn the number and written below it the actual word ZERO.  I held the piece of paper up and told her that we were going to be learning about the number zero today, she looked at the paper and said, "Z-E-R-O, does that spell zero momma?"  Needless to say I was speechless!  There I was just trying to teach her a simple number and she was spelling! Like I said, she surprises me every day!!

Another update for Cadence is that she is know a FULL OUT Disney fanatic! She is particularly obsessed with Ariel, and Cinderella.  Depends on which day you catch her! Today was a Cinderella day, she was dancing around the living room singing, "So this is love, mmmm...so this is love, mmmm."  She loves to sing! My favorite song that she belts on regular occassion is "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus."  Nothing will warm your heart more than hearing your child sing about The Lord.  She is really soaking up and understanding her lessons in Sunday school class, and she tells us a lot about all the miracles Jesus performed and even what He did for us on the cross! She has even begun asking to pray before meals and at bedtime! I pray she always keeps her enthusiasm for things of God!   Another cute moment with Cadence (and then I'm done, I promise), is we were at the Fresh Market (which there WILL be a future post on this place, LOVE IT), and we were looking at some fresh bread they had baked and they also had some fresh cookies there, We asked her if she wanted one.  She stopped and looked at all the different bread that was there, and the cookies, but then something caught her eye! She told Josh that she wanted the Jesus bread!! We were both a little confused, so we asked her why she called it Jesus bread and she began to tell us about how Jesus took that bread and two fishes and fed all the people! Josh and I just stood there in that store and listened to her tell us all about that miracle that Jesus performed! What a sweet, and smart little girl God has blessed us with! :)

OK, OK! I'm moving on! Now onto my second born, my sweet Judah Michael! 

 

Judah is now almost 8 and 1/2 months old! UNBELIEVABLE! He is growing so so fast! 

Look at those cheeks!!! :)  

Judah is such a sweet child.  He can say Da da, and people have told me he says mama, but I have yet to hear it myself.  He can sit up, hold his own bottle and sippy cup (He's old enough to have a sippy cup!?), and he can roll just about anywhere.  He has been trying so hard to crawl, but the poor boy just cannot get it! He can get up on his knees and push a little bit, but then falls right back on his tummy and gets frustrated.  Oh well! it will come in time! :)  He is a great eater! He eats oatmeal and fruit in the morning, and an assortment of vegetables and fruits at lunch and supper.  A interesting thing about Judah is he loves to copy.  When someone clicks their tongue, he clicks his right back! Or if you grunt at him, he will grunt right back. That is, if he is in the mood too - Judah has always been a "on his terms" kinda child.  He is also sleeping through the night now! HALLELUJAH!!!!  Only took him 6 months, but he has finally got the hang of it. AMEN! (sorry, it was an exciting time).  Judah is also a cuddler and blanket lover.  He never liked a pacifier, his comfort is found in his blanket. Which I can only imagine the craziness that is going to be later on...but I'm not going to stress too much about that just yet...he is still little...right?!  And he LOVES to be held  and cuddled, which I don't mind AT ALL! He is definitley a momma's boy! (LOVE IT) There is just something about when you walk into a room and your baby goes crazy with smiles and excitment! Makes my heart soar!  

This picture was after he got his first haircut!! I cried....it was devestating.  He is growing too fast!  

Well, I think I have bragged on my kids enough for this post.  Hope it wasn't too bad! :) I am truly blessed with some sweet, amazing children! :)  Until next time!  

 

  

♫Wouldn't you think I'm the girl, the girl who has everything?!♫....YEAH RIGHT!

♫ But who cares? ♫

♫ No big deal! ♫

♫ I want more!!! ♫

If you know me and my family personally, you know that my daughter is like obsessed with the Little Mermaid right now.  So, needless to say I have been watching a lot of Ariel, and, you know, lately I have been seeing a lot of myself in her.  Now I know you are sitting there scratching your head, so I will try to illuminate the subject for you.  I like to dream, just like my red headed friend here, Ariel.

Now, do I dream of living out of the sea or the ever attractive prince Eric? 

Uh, No.  But I do dream!  

Sometimes about how my life would be if I was just better at certain things, or if I had more patience, or if I could just please everyone, OR if God could just see it my way! Oh boy do I like to dream! But as I sat here today, just dreaming away and maybe even getting a touch discouraged with how circumstances are not the way I would like them to be right now, a thought hit me.  

WHAT A WASTE OF TIME?!  

You know Ariel spent a lot of her time dreaming about how her life would be different if she was something else, if her circumstacnes were different.  Sound familiar? You know the story of the Little Mermaid has some SERIOUS flaws in it when it comes to taking a look through spirit filled eyes.  Now, I am NOT trying to say that this movie is evil and we shouldn't watch it, because come on, every disney movie has some sort of moral flaw. (But hey, thats a whole other post for a whole other day!) And I enjoy not only watching this movie, but also belting out "Under the Sea", "Part of your World", and yes, even "Poor Unfortunate Souls" all the time! Now, I gave that long disclaimer to say,  you know, Ariel kept searching through the whole movie for the next thing that could make her happy - possessions, herself (you know the leg situation), her circumstances, and when it didn't come she turned to darkness to achieve it.  Now, I know, I know! Most of us are more than likely NOT going to turn to an evil sea witch to meet our needs...

...but how many of us will turn to oursleves to fix our OWN circumstances or try to fulfill OUR wants, when we need to turn to GOD? Or maybe we will turn to others, or to distractions, or even to sin?

It has been such a sobering thought to me these past couple of days - when life has been especially tough, and I find myself dreaming and even wishing things weren't the way they are, or wanting to change to be something I'm not because circumstances are difficult and I'm tired. Or even trying to change things myself instead of listening to God's still small voice saying, "Be still Amanda. Be still and know that I am God.  Stop worrying about what you are not and what you do NOT have, and just trust in me." 

You know, things are always going to go wrong, circumstances are not going to be what we want them, and there will AWAYS be things we want to change about ourselves. We may not have King Triton as an earthly father, who can come in and fix the mess and save us, and even give us the thing our hearts yearned for the most, but we are even more BLESSED to have a Heavnely Father who saves us from the sin that holds us captive and gives us what we need even though it may not be what we're dreaming of, and helps us to grow through those things.  What a LOVING God.  He doesn't leave us poor and unfortunate, but He makes us rich and blessed through HIS grace!  Just thought I would share how God has been working in my heart today through something as small and insignificant as watching The Little Mermaid.