Delicious Roasted Veggies!

 

Her:  After having my third child I became burdened with symptoms unable to be relieved by modern medicine.  My illness became more and more debilitating and it was overwhelming to think I may never feel good again.  After asking for help from many different physicians without success, I began my own journey to discover ways to heal my body. This led me to eating healthier and I feel amazing!  I am about 90% healed which is awesome.  In the past six years I have discovered a love for all things healthy.  Here is my food strategy: Think about what you are putting into your body, pray about it, take it seriously.  God only gave you one body, treat it well.

So here is one of the healthy and downright delicious recipes that have become a staple in our home.

 

This time I used beets, carrots, rutabaga, red bell peppers and fennel.  But, you can also use potatoes, onions, or any other veggies that sound yummy! 

I diced up the veggies, tossed them in olive oil and minced garlic then laid them out on a cookie sheet.

I then sprinkled the veggies with salt and pepper put them in the oven at 450 degrees for 40 minutes.  I stirred the veggies once at about 20 minutes.  You can broil the veggies for a couple minutes at the end if they still look wet.

 

 

And, ta-dah!  Yummy veggies!  They are great as a side dish or here in a burrito with black beans and cheese!

Why Her?

Some people obsess about finding “the one”, others talk about destiny (more on this in another entry); for me, I can do nothing but express how appreciative I am that God allowed our paths to cross… over and over again. Allison and I first met (not sure that we actually met but I knew who she was and I’m certain she knew of me) in eighth grade. At that time, had someone told me that I would one day marry the skinny girl with braces and long curly hair I would have began a ten point argument for why they belonged in an asylum. I say this only because we didn’t seem to have a single thing in common, at least on the surface. Our paths never crossed- we had no classes together or friends in common.

During our freshman year of high school this changed. We landed in an Honors English class together and that class teamed us up with a couple others for a group project. All seemed to be going well until the day of the presentation when I refused to wear her dad’s twenty year old 70’s bell-bottoms and flowered shirt for a reenactment of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, hippy style. My logic- we had a substitute that day and the costume would be a waste of my effort. Her logic- who am I kidding? no logic, just plain, old, unadulterated disdain. She hated me for my stubbornness.

Fast-forward two years. We’re both juniors and again find ourselves in the same Honors English class together and, once again, we’re partners for a group project. This time the groups were made up of two. All I can think about is how livid she had been the year before and how I’m now “stuck” with her for the next several weeks. For these several weeks our paths merged and almost became one. We were forced to sit together in class to work on the project. We talked in the halls after class- we had four other classes together too. We exchanged phone numbers so we could coordinate the various tasks that the project required. 

In all this communication a friendship began to form, until, the night before the project was due, we had our last run through of things over the phone and said good-bye. Not more than two minutes went by when I realized that I missed her voice. I called her back and asked her, “What are you doing tonight?” Her response, “Something with you.”

What had started as an improbable relationship developed into impossible before the two of us became inseparable. Before long, I counted her my best friend and it was clear at that point that I could not let her get away. Come to find out we had so much more in common than we had ever imagined and thank God, He allowed our paths to cross… again and again. In July of 2000 I chose her to be my wife and I continue to choose her every day. What God knew would be the perfect gift for me, a partner to stand by my side and journey through life with, took this dumb bloke almost four years to realize.

The English project- we aced it… and many, many other tasks that we’ve teamed on over the past 15 years.

Why Him?

Her: Why did I pick Troy?  Well look at him, ladies!  No, I picked him for a few more reasons than he was the captain of the football team . . . ok, a lot more.   

 When I met Troy I was lost.  Only sixteen at the time, I didn’t know who I was or really where I was going.  I was like a kite blowing in the wind not knowing which direction would bring me the joy I was looking for.  I made choices previously that failed miserably and swore off boys completely.  But Troy was different.  He was a rock.  He didn’t sway in the wind.  He didn’t even move at all.  He knew who he was and where he was going, not to be led away by anyone or anything.  I flew while he anchored me and we became best friends. 

At twenty-one, I had the joy of marrying this amazing man and getting a partner for life.  Over the years we’ve had our ups and downs.  My best friend has let me down and broken my heart on more than one occasion but he is still the rock I was once drawn to.  I have often wished I could move that rock just an inch or so one direction or another to serve my purposes.  Those attempts are rarely successful.  But, then a crisis rolls in and I run straight back to that rock I once tried to move. And, there he is, in the same place he’s been for over sixteen years – right by my side. 

 

Good Morning and Good Night!

Her: Troy and I set a goal of blogging three times a week.   Lately, life has gotten in the way of documenting life so we resolved to wake up this morning at 6:30 a.m. to produce something creative and exciting for all of you.   Last night after settling into bed about 11:00 p.m., I heard my first feverish kiddo crying in her room.   I got up, gave her medicine and a glass of chocolate milk, then I tucked her in and headed back to bed.   5:00 a.m. rolled around and the next child wandered feverishly into our bed.  5:25 a.m. - she throws up in our bed.   5:30 a.m. - next child woke up from the sound of the bath delirious and needing encouragement to get back to sleep.   5:45 a.m.  - coffee brewing, oatmeal cooking and day begins.  6:25 a.m. – Baby drinks off feverish sister’s sippy cup.  7:30 a.m. - biggest sister gives baby sister a bite off her spoon.   I think you can see where the rest of our week is going!

Just when we were feeling too busy we got a sick kiddo curve ball.  So I figured today I would share a scripture that has been rattling around in my brain all week:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.   
2 Corinthians 12:9

Today I feel weak and overwhelmed.  But I am letting that all go. This day will be barren of checklist items completed but I will rest in the Lord. So good morning and good night. 

Manhood: Although Not Because

Him: There are many things in this world that I enjoy and some of those things I can even say that I love. I love them all for different reasons- the power of a fast car, the adrenaline of riding single track, the smell of my well worn baseball mitt. I love these because of an intrinsic value that each possess. Take away the power, adrenaline and smell and the car is just ordinary, the ride becomes boring and the mitt is just used up old sporting equipment. 

This is how, or maybe I should say why, we love most things- because. I love my wife this way. I love her because she’s so great to me, my best friend (and has been for 16 years), a terrific mother, beautiful, patient, caring... I could go on. But if all I do is love her because, what happens when she’s not so great to me, when her beauty fades, when she’s impatient? I’ll still love her, but I’ll love her although- although she doesn’t feel like my best friend, although she makes mistakes as a wife and mother, although she’s imperfect.

You see, most of the time my wife is great but there are times when she’s not. And I’ve made a commitment to her; you know the one- to love and to cherish, richer, poorer... till death parts us. So I choose to love her not because she cares for me but although in her moments of pain, weakness, misunderstanding, anger, frustration, you name it, I’m committed to her. She and I are one- two halves of a whole- a team.

Being loved although takes the pressure off to live up to expectations all the time. We’re all human and we’ll all make mistakes. Imagine the freedom you’d feel if you knew that no matter how you fail, you would still be loved. This is the freedom we are able to experience through Christ because of what He’s done for us. My goal is that, following His example, my wife and girls will experience this from me. Each day I wake up and strive to make a choice to love them although not because.

Screaming

Her:  Isn’t screaming awesome?  Especially coming from a 3 year-old who just got her toy taken away or my now 1 year-old whose favorite thing to do is scream.  Happy screams, sad screams, how freakin’ dare you get near me screams.  Awesome and relaxing.  It just makes my ears sooo happy.  Even more awesome is the ringing.  The ringing in the ears that lingers well after the scream is gone.  Here’s how to create the best scream ever:   Put the 3 year old in the same room with the 1 year old with only one sippy cup and just let the screaming ensue.  Ahhh… life.

Parenting: Part 1

Her: When our oldest child was a baby she was perfect, except that we had to change her diaper, seriously perfect! She was on a schedule, she slept through the night at two weeks (other than illness or teething), did great in restaurants, traveled well, didn't spit up, you name it. We were parenting pros! Or so we thought. We couldn't wait to have another baby so we got pregnant again when our oldest was 16 months. We were thrilled! And then it happened. Our oldest started this weird throwing a tantrum thing. You know that thing naughty children do. But I didn't have a naughty child. I had a good child because I was a good parent. And if she WAS a naughty child then, dare I say it, I was a bad parent. Uh, oh! This could be a problem.

So I went on a journey to fix this problem. Bad child = bad parent and good child = good parent so I must make my child good. And so I bribed, I cried, I pleaded, I begged, I screamed, and I yelled. But nothing made her good. Oh, and I failed to mention that we had our 2nd child and she had tummy trouble so she cried most of the first 8 months of her life. No schedule for her. It was brutal.

So in our house we had an angry two year old, an angry baby and definitely an angry mommy. Welcome home hubby! Desperate for answers we sought counsel from family, friends, elders, pastors, etc. Out of that came parenting lesson number 1: Parenting starts with you. It starts with your relationship with God. You will never be the parent you want to be without fixing your own sin. Your own sin stands in the way of your relationship with your children, how you guide them and what example you set for them.

What does this look like? If you yell at your kids they will meet you toe to toe. If you are inconsistent they will sniff you out in a heartbeat and pounce. If you're a complainer they will complain. If you are negative they will be negative. They are a reflection of you good or bad. Children are little beautiful beings desperate for protection, love, correction when needed, and direction. They are God's gift to you. Parent them accordingly.