Growing and learning and wanting to GO!

While talking to Alyssa about Nana being at a funeral she asked me why do we have funerals? I said, " Alyssa when someone dies you have a service for them to honor them." She said, "Well why is he going to die today at the funeral?" I said, "Well he has already died. He's in heaven now with Jesus!" She said, "Well, that's a great place to be!" I just smiled and said, "Yes baby it sure is!"

I'm so thankful she is getting an understanding of Jesus and heaven. She told us Wednesday night that she wanted to have Jesus in her life. She said, "But he's already in my heart!" "Cause I pray!" I said, "Well Alyssa theres a lot that you still don't understand but you just keep learning and keep asking questions." She said, "Yeah mommy there is a lot I don't understand. But I'm will soon!!"

Alyssa came home Wednesday night after church with a picture of a little boy. Not just any little boy. A sweet little boy from Haiti who's parents are dead, he is deaf, and he lives in an orphanage. He is just the cutest little boy. Such a bright smile. An innocent child left with nothing after the earthquake.

Our church has taken in an orphanage. An orphanage filled with close to 100 other children who are orphans. we are building a kitchen for these kids and feeding these children 3 meals a day. Three good meals a day that will sustain them and help with their growth and nourishment. We are sending a group from our church every month to send the money to buy food for these children and to love on and care for them. We are looking forward to going. Trying to picture what we will see when we arrive, but knowing nothing can prepare us! Praying for God to raise these children to mighty warriors for Him. Thankful for the call of God on our life to love and serve others and to tell the world about our Savior!

As I am looking at this picture Alyssa says, "Mommy I'm going to Haiti!" I said, "Well you are not quite old enough but you CAN pray for these kids!" She said, "Well I want to go and I will get my shots...even though I know it will hurt!" As tears fill my eyes I say to Alyssa, "This makes mommy so sad. It makes me want to cry." She full of wisdom beyond her 4 years says, "Mommy, it's going to be ok. He's going to be ok. You know why? Because you and daddy and many others are going to go and take care of him!" I said, "You are right Alyssa! He is going to be ok."

I am so thankful for a little girl with a heart for others. A tender heart. She might not be the most lovey dovey child, but her heart is more loving and compassionate than any hug she could ever give me! For that I am thankful!

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

John 13:34-35

Pizza Subs...:)

(This picture is from one that Alyssa made. You can stuff them as full as you want! I recommend them being very full it just adds to the yumminess!)

This is a modified version of a recipe that friend gave me for Pizza bread! Either way they are both so super yummy! I LOVE pizza. I LOVE pizza subs. They are just so great. Maybe not so great for you, but the taste totally outweighs the guilt!!:)

Pizza Subs

What you will need:

Rhodes bread dough (in the frozen bread section. Comes with 3 loaves)

pizza sauce

pizza toppings of your choice

shredded mozz. cheese

What you do:

First thing in the morning, take out your pizza dough from the freezer.

Spray a 9x13 or a bread pan with pam and place your frozen loaf of bread in the pan. Cover with saran wrap.

Let your dough rise all day. I usually let mine rise for about 7 hours. It should at least double in size.

Cut your dough in 3 equal pieces.

Sprinkle your counter with flour and begin to roll your dough out. It should be pretty flat and about the size of a salad plate.

Roll out each piece of dough and put about a spoonful of pizza sauce and spread on your dough. Then place your toppings (I use pepperoni, sausage, mushroom and cheese) in the middle of your dough. You will then folding all four of the sides of your dough to the middle where they all overlap and you can no longer see any of your toppings.

Turn the sub over and brush the top with olive oil. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. I usually flip mine about halfway through. At about 20 minutes, I cut the sub in half and place it back in the oven for another 5-7 minutes.

*They are done when the top is a little brown and the inside cheese is melted and the dough is cooked all the way through!

Serve with the pizza sauce or ranch. I heat up my pizza sauce and sprinkle in parmesan cheese. These are great for company and are quite filling.

Each loaf of frozen bread will make 3 pizza subs. Once they are cooked it makes 6 halves.

A lot of Random info...

(Just dreaming of NYC with my hubby...)

We have had a week! It all started Monday night when Bella came and got in our bed about 1:30 and was HOT as fire! She had a 104 temp. She sounded horrible and was coughing a ton! So I planned on taking her straight to the Doc on Tuesday morning. I woke up and she acted just fine! She was running and playing and having a great time. Acting completely normal. So as any other mom would do (or maybe not) I decided to wait it out and see if she started feeling bad again! She was great just a little cough. I knew they would not give me anything for a fever or cough so I held out. She woke up this morning feeling bad again...she was at Matt's parents and the snow was not allowing us to get to her (safely). So we picked her up after nap and heading to Promed....it was closed as well as every other Dr. in town! So we came home...drugged her...and what do you know she fell right to sleep!!! JK!! She had a few meds and was off to sleep! I'm praying she feels better in the morning but if not we are headed to the Dr.

Wednesday was my birthday! It was a great day! :) Started off with Matt sick with strep. Doesn't he know he can't be sick on MY birthday?!? Although sick, he got up and picked up around the house and made the beds. He's good like that!:) Alyssa decided they should make me coffee! It was good...made just how I like it...by me!! My glasses (my brand spanking new glasses) fell out of my pile of things (cake, diaper bag, Alyssa's junk bag, cell phone, oh and I must not forget Alyssa on my hip) I was carrying after dinner at my dad's Tuesday night. I did not think about them falling with the other things until Wednesday. I got in my car and headed down the road and found my glasses. Still in one piece...but a bit mangled. They had been ran over by us and possibly my dad too!! So we are working to "possibly" get them fixed or replaced! Let's see....Bella got in fingernail polish cause Big Sis has a hard time putting things where they go...so we have pink carpet in the play room!!:) I then had a biopsy on a lump that I found. So thankful they wanted to check it out. Looks totally benign, but wanted to make absolute sure. Came home and rested while my sick hubby snored the day away. Ended up having to go to the garage because he was soooo loud!! I did get some red rooster pie!!:)

All in all...it was a great day! No, it really was! I am thankful for a husband that loves me, adores me, and takes care of me...sick and all! I am thankful for a sweet little girl who gets into things and a daughter who loves to do things for me and others. I am thankful for a dr. that is proactive with my health! I am thankful for another year that I was able to love my Lord, serve him, grow with my husband more than I ever thought imaginable and care for my sweet and precious daughters! What a blessed life this year has brought! I'm praying for this next year! I don't want to be in the same place I am now! I want to be closer to God. I want to be deeper in my walk with sweet Jesus. He deserves it. He expects it! I want to be a better wife and love my husband more than ever. I want to be an amazing mom. Full of patience and love to the blessings God has given me!

Today was a snow day. I sure love snow days! They are more like LAZY days! Like I said, we did not have the girls (Matt was sick and I couldn't lift the girls due to my biopsy) so we slept in, ate breakfast, watched tv, read by the fire, sat on the couch..all day, made my 2 week menu and grocery list, made an early dinner, got the girls, and came home and sat some more! It was GREAT! I could get used to days like this.

Tomorrow is back to the normal routine! I like routine! I like my schedule, but is sure is nice to put that all aside and just have a day at home with no obligations and nothing to do but sit still and listen to the Lord....and the fire! I need more of those!

Psalm 68:3
But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.

Try it and you'll like it...

Ok, maybe I have watched (or heard) a little too much "Yo Gabba Gabba!" But I think this recipe sounds yummy!! I love crock pot recipes. Especially on days the girls have school. I can throw something in the crock pot and when I get home its done! So easy and always so yummy!

Here is a new recipe that I found. I will be trying it soon! Sounds nice and warm and yummy!

CROCK POT ROBUSTO CHICKEN

Ingredients:

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 bottle Italian dressing

1 lb. bag egg noodles

4 oz. sour cream

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Place chicken breasts in crock pot. Pour Italian dressing over.

2. Cover and cook on low 7 hours or high 3 1/2 hours.

3. Remove chicken from crock pot and leave turned on. Add 1/2 the sour cream and stir until dissolved.

4. Cook noodles and drain. Add remaining sour cream and the Parmesan cheese to noodles and mix until dissolved.

5. Serve chicken over the noodles. Pour warm Italian dressing over top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to taste

Don't be mad at me if this is non-edible! It's not my recipe. I will try it out and let you know how it is!!

Poppy Seed Chicken!

What you will need:

1. Boil a few chicken breasts, remove fat, and cut into small pieces).

2. Softened cream cheese

3. Stick of butter

4. Poppy Seeds

5. Ritz (or generic) crackers

6. Can of cream of chicken soup

Preparation: Take out your stick of butter and cream cheese so that it can soften a little while before you prepare this meal.

Place your cream cheese, butter, and one can of cream of chicken soup into a large mixing bowl and mix until creamy.

Next, add your chicken and stir this all together. Place into a casserole dish. Here you can bake it (45 minutes) OR you can place this in your fridge until you are ready to bake it. I like to make this in the morning so that dinner is basically finished and all I have to do is pop it into the oven later! But the night before would work great as well!

When you are ready to bake place the dish into the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the topping!

Heat 1/4 stick of butter, crush a sleeve of ritz crackers and add a few teaspoons of poppy seeds.

Place the topping onto the hot casserole and bake for 10 more minutes.

This pairs great with green beans or corn, a salad, and rolls!

This is a super yummy meal! We had this brought to us after we had Alyssa and it was so appetizing! Such a great comfort food!

A couple of recipes...

We are going over budgeting in our Sunday School class and it has been an awesome series. It's amazing how your life will change when you get your finances in order with how the Lord expects us to manage our money. With that said, Grocery shopping is a BIG deal in our family! I love to grocery shop! I love to see how cheap I can get things and how much I can get for free. It's not always easy. It takes some time, but there's nothing greater than knowing I have saved a lot of money just by being discipled with my pre-shopping preparation. I make a list and I follow it! I make my menu for 2 weeks at a time. It makes things sooo much easier and saves a ton of money!

So with all that said, here are some great meals that are easy to make and so yummy!!

It's not always easy to sit down and think of a couple of weeks of meals. I get in a rut just like everyone else, but I love trying new things and I love looking for new recipes!

This is a great meal that is always satisfying to our family!

Recipe: Sloppy Joes

Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 20 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 8

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Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2-½ pounds Ground Beef
• ½ whole Large Onion, Diced
• 1 whole Large Green Bell Pepper, Diced
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1-½ cup Ketchup
• 1 cup Water
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Chili Powder (more To Taste)
• 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
• ½ teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes (more To Taste)
• Worcestershire Sauce, To Taste
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste (optional)
• Tabasco Sauce (optional; To Taste)
• Salt To Taste
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• Kaiser Rolls
• Butter

Preparation Instructions

Add butter to a large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain most of the fat and discard.

Add onions, green pepper, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, or until vegetables begin to get soft.

Add ketchup, brown sugar, chili pepper, dry mustard, and water. Stir to combine and simmer for 15 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. Also add tomato paste, Worcestershire, and Tabasco if desired. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Spread rolls with butter and brown on a griddle or skillet. Spoon meat mixture over the rolls, topping with a slice of cheese if it makes your skirt fly up. Serve hot with kettle cooked chips!

Recipe: Macaroni and Cheese

Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 15 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 6

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Ingredients

• 4 cups Dried Macaroni
• 1 whole Egg Beaten
• ¼ cups (1/2 Stick Or 4 Tablespoons) Butter
• ¼ cups All-purpose Flour
• 2-½ cups Whole Milk
• 2 teaspoons (heaping) Dry Mustard, More If Desired
• 1 pound Cheese, Grated
• ½ teaspoons Salt, More To Taste
• ½ teaspoons Seasoned Salt, More To Taste
• ½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
• Optional Spices: Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Thyme

Preparation Instructions

Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.

In a small bowl, beat egg.

In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.

Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.

Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.

Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.

Add in cheese and stir to melt.

Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT.

Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.
Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

(I don't usually use the dried mustard only because I don't have it on hand and it tastes

great without!)

This makes a great meal! I don't like sloppy joes but these are amazing!

Happy Cooking and Happy Meal Planning!!