"Girls. We got 'em."

On December 26th, my sister (my only sibling) had a baby girl, Sophia Noelle. She already had an eighteen month old little girl, Kaylee B. I have two children: both girls. We don't seem to have boys in my family. My dad likes to say, "Girls. We got 'em." I'm sure the men in our family are feeling outnumbered, but I love having a sister and I was thrilled when Rebecca was born and I knew my daughters would know the blessing of sisterhood.

Last week I went to visit my sister and her family in Dallas. I finally got to meet my new niece and she is just precious. I spent many contented moments holding, feeding and just soaking in her sweet babyness. I also had a lot of fun with her big sister, Kaylee B., who is 20 months old now. We especially enjoyed dancing to 80s music. I was sad to leave my sister and her girls on Friday, but of course I was happy to get home to my girls.

Valentine's Fun

This was an experiment. I'm still trying to figure all of this blog stuff out and obviously I still have a lot to learn. We did have a fun family Valentine's Day celebration complete with a chocolate fondue. I think all Abigail wanted for Valentine's Day were her two front teeth!

Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Word of the day: paraskevidekatriaphobia - an morbid fear of Friday the 13th.

This is NOT something I am afflicted with. I love Friday the 13th! Many good things have happened in my life on a Friday the 13th: my sweet hubby and I became a couple on a Friday the 13th and years later on another Friday the 13th, we were given the wonderful news that we were expecting our first baby, our precious Abigail. These are just my two best examples, but there are others. So tonight, Chris and I are going out to celebrate our lucky day ;)

I've been invited to join a blog recipe swap by Mama of the Ingram Gang, so I'm sharing my best Go To recipe for a very easy Pasta Skillet. We all keep hearing that we should eat more fish, especially salmon and this is an inexpensive and fairly disguised way of getting our families to eat fish. I made this for dinner last night and had it on the table in less than 45 minutes even though I forgot to put the water for the pasta on to boil till I almost had everything else done. My hubby always raves when I make this, my 7 year old likes it and my 2 year old used to eat it, but she is going through a phase where she eats almost NOTHING but Cheerios and cheese...Maddening!!!
Anyway here is my recipe for:

Balsamic Salmon Pasta

1 T. olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 green (or red, or yellow) pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tomato, chopped
15 oz. can pink salmon with liquid (boneless/skinless is easier)
4-5 marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
3 T. balsamic vinegar
1/2 lb. just cooked rotini or other pasta, drained
salt

Heat oil in large skillet. Saute onions, mushrooms, peppers, garlic and tomato till veggies are tender. Add salmon w/ liquid and break up chunks. Add artichoke hearts and hot pasta. Mix. Remove from heat and add balsamic vinegar and salt to taste. Serve with Parmesan cheese if desired. Serves 4-6.


This is the most versatile recipe ever! I've made it with & without mushrooms, with and without artichoke hearts, used every color pepper out there, used canned tomatoes if I didn't have fresh, added zucchini in the summer when my mom's garden is overflowing. I've even made it without the pasta and added extra veggies when I was trying the low carb thing, but I've moved past that insanity. I do however use whole wheat rotini. The only ingredients that I wouldn't omit or change up would be the garlic and balsamic vinegar.

If you try it, let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Super Bowl XLIII

We had a fun little family Super Bowl party. My team didn't win, but they sure made the Steelers work for their Lombardi. I'm not usually a Cards fan, but since the Cowboys can't seem to get er done, I had to root for somebody and that somebody was Kurt Warner. Had he won, he would have given the glory to Jesus and I think that is so cool. I have learned a little bit about Mr. Warner and his family these past few weeks. His life is a great story and if you have time you should check it out. Our party menu included: Veggies and dip, Buffalo tenders, pizza rolls, and queso and chips. I think I ate almost all the queso and chips myself. My hubby might have helped a little bit, but it was too spicy for the girls. Does it help that I used Reduced Fat Velveeta and baked tortilla chips? Maybe a little, but I still ate waaaay too much and now I'm feeling guilty about it today. Oh well, it's a new day and so far I've been good. However, the day is young so wish me luck (or self control)! ;)

God wants me to blog

Does that sound weird to you? It sure sounds weird to me. I wrote, in a previous post, that I felt that God had put this on my heart and since then I have really questioned that. Is God really leading me to put the struggles and triumphs of life and my walk with Him out there for others to read or am I just hopping on the blog band wagon? I honestly don't know if God thinks this is a wise use of my time, but here is what I do know:

1. God wants me to share His love with others.
2. At this point in my life, I can't just walk up to someone and say, "Let me tell you about Jesus...".
3. I have been comforted and inspired while reading other blogs, specifically As We Are and The Ingram Gang.
4. I am encouraged when I hear that other believers struggle with the same doubts and fears that I do.

And here is what I hope:

1. Reading about my struggles might encourage someone in their own walk.
2. Blogging will allow me to get to a place where I feel comfortable talking about my faith in person.
3. God will be pleased with my 21st century way of spreading the good news of His love and grace.
   

Yikes!

I received my first comment to a post (Thanks for the warm welcome, Tamara) so now it hits home that people might actually be reading my blog. I guess that's the goal in blogging, but all of a sudden I'm worrying what people might think: she's boring, she's clueless, she rambles... Basically, it boils down to my lifelong fear of being judged. Why do I care so much what others think? What does it matter what people think about my house, my clothes, my weight, my blog... What's important is what's in my heart. I know this and yet I struggle with my irrational fear of judgment in some way or another almost every day. I guess what I really fear is judgment that leads to isolation and rejection. A couple of weeks ago, our pastor challenged us to fear God's disappointment more than man's disapproval. So I pray: God, give me the wisdom to fear what I should.