Miracles and Prayers

It has been a while since I have posted. Perhaps I was waiting for a miracle to whack me in the head so that I could write one fabulous, miraculous, all powerful post. Let's just say that hasn't happened yet. Hubby is still unemployed with no jobs in the near future.

While most would be full of fear and anxiety, we have been blessed by this time of togetherness. It has given us the time to reflect on our lives thus far. We have realized that we can live on much, much less money. It has given us new determination to save more, do more for others, and be better stewards of our resources in the future. Mostly, it has made us realize that we need nothing. We have food, water, shelter, and above all each other and a God that loves us.

Security for some is a job, a nest egg, money for emergencies. I am not advocating anyone not save money but what I have come to realize is that it can all be gone in an instant and our faith in God alone is what carries us forward. He alone is the only true security in this world. No other living person, thing, or amount of money can give us the security of God. He promises eternal life but also He promises to meet our needs. Like the birds do not have to worry about what they will eat, we too have that security. (Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26)

I had been asked to make some costumes for the dance studio. I had been praying for the money to buy the materials since I barter lessons for costumes. God is faithful and in the end, the studio did not need the costumes. I had prayed for a vacation because I really needed to get away. God answered my prayer in the form of a dear friend that paid my way to an upcoming sewing retreat. It is just the time I need to work on Christmas presents for the girls using fabric that I found in my stash.

My prayers are consistently answered and yet there is still doubt. I think everyone struggles with doubt. The devil gets into our head and plants these doubts. God gives us the courage to stand up and stand firm against the devil if we only ask for strength. It is a continuous battle but it is one I do not face alone. The Lord is my strength and my shield.

For dinner tonight...pot roast at church!

Doc Google

Have you ever had strange symptoms and turned to google rather than a doctor? I've read studies reporting that more and more people are turning to google and medical message boards when faced with medical symptoms. WebMD doesn't survive on information alone. I am sure it is funded by the pharmaceutical ads blinking in the corners.

What has gone wrong with our medical care that we are more comfortable turning to the internet for answers? I would be willing to bet that the majority of people that turn to the internet fall into one of a couple categories. Perhaps they have no insurance to pay for a doctor visit and are trying some home remedies first in an effort to save the cost of an office visit. Perhaps they have been to doctor after doctor only to be no closer to a diagnosis and are turning to the internet for the elusive diagnosis. If they are turning to a message board, maybe they just want someone to actually listen to them and sympathize.

Our medical care in the US has gotten so frustratingly reliant on the newest drug available that doctors have stopped trying to figure out what is truly wrong. Rather than figure out what is wrong, they medicate the symptoms and shove us out the door. For years I complained of hormonal problems. I went to doctor after doctor, only to be told time and again that I needed either birth control pills or antidepressants. At my wits end, I settled for a hysterectomy hoping to avoid the horrendous side effects of medication. I am not one that handles medication well. I tend to have all the side effects listed on the bottle and some that doctors refuse to believe (like the all over itching caused by birth control pills). So surgery solved the pain but didn't solve my hormonal imbalance.

I've had a similar experience with my digestive tract. When the tests came back negative, and everything appeared normal, they offered to medicate the symptoms. Yet again, I do not handle medication well so the medication is worse than the symptoms. After years of no help, I took matters into my own hands and did a food journal and an elimination diet only to find that there were several foods that made me particularly ill. Eliminating them not only helped my digestive tract, it did wonders for my skin.

My sis-in-law has fought most of her life with doctors only to find that she has been battling lyme disease for years and years. The doctors didn't know the answers so they assumed it must be mental. At one point, her kidneys were not retaining any fluid. She was very sick and went to a kidney doctor for help. He accused her of being anorexic and offered no help. I guess he didn't have a drug to medicate the symptom and felt threatened.

What have we done to our health? We poison our foods and our environment. We cram our bodies full of half tested drugs with numerous side effects. I really think the link to cancer is our environment, our food supply, our medical care, and our lifestyle. Obesity is a growing epidemic even though they keep trying to find the magic pill to fix it. Stress has fallen on the youngest of elementary kids as they try not to be left behind. We don't eat real food. We don't exercise and we don't get out in the fresh air. Perhaps if we fought to prevent disease, the doctors wouldn't be so reliant on drugs to fix us.

Family Dinner

Some may wonder why I am so obsessive about dinners. As a child we ate family dinners together every night. I remember my mom cutting portions smaller and smaller to accommodate my teenage friends that often arrived at dinner time. She never turned anyone away, but would add more rice, make a bigger salad, or add more bread to the meal. I remember those chicken breasts getting smaller and smaller, much to the dismay of my hungry dad. I lived in "that" house. The one where everyone felt loved and safe. The place where everyone hung out on sultry summer evenings. Mom would inevitably make an appearance on the screened porch with a tray of drinks and a bag of popcorn or chips. There were kids digging in the fridge. There were extra teenage bodies strewn about the family room many mornings. My friends so loved our house that they would come and stay when I was not even home.

Children can sense a safe, loving home. They gravitate to those houses. My mom never complained about the extra mouths to feed. She never grumbled about the disappearing sodas and kids digging in her fridge. She reveled in the joy of knowing where her kids were, that they were safe, and that she could sleep peacefully.

Well into our older teen years, my brother and I were often home for dinner. Mom said she found out all the important information at the dinner table. She found out which kids were struggling, how we were doing in school, how we were getting along with our friends, and the latest gossip spreading through the neighborhood and school hallways. It gave them a chance to offer advice on our problems and reconnect as a family.

The family dinner has become a tale of antiquity. No longer important in this fast paced world that values travel sports over family togetherness. Parents must divide and conquer to get the kids to all their activities which are conveniently scheduled during the dinner hours. What happened to school activities right after school? I was an active kid. I swam and danced. I worked and dated. How was I still able to be home for dinner? Quite simply, activities were never scheduled during dinner hours.

I guard our family dinners with the fierceness of a bear protecting her cubs. It is important. My girls at younger ages learned how to behave at the table. They learned how to engage in conversation and be polite. How can we expect them to behave in a restaurant when they don't sit at the table at home? As they have gotten older, I find so much truth in my mother's words. We get all the important information at the dinner table. Food has a way of knocking down barriers and opening up honest conversation. We laugh. We play silly games. We tell stupid jokes. We have some serious conversations. We go over things that happened during the day. It is my favorite time of the day. It is not about the food, it is about the family.

Here is my hectic, running around, no time to cook crockpot taco recipe...

2 lbs. ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 can diced chile peppers
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 can tomato paste
1/2 C water
1 pkg. taco seasoning (I make my own but store bought works too)

Brown ground beef. Add onions and garlic and saute a couple minutes. Place in crockpot. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Cook on low 5-8 hours. Makes great leftovers for taco salad!

Serve with tortillas, roasted corn (or frozen corn), salad, and all the toppings.

Rejoice!

Our friend and cabinet guy Rodney over at Wooden Innovations installed the sink cabinet this week. We thought our favorite plumber would get to us this week, but it will be early next week before we see the completion of our bathroom remodel. The lighting has been ordered and I still need to go buy a mirror. I found an antique, silver, framed mirror at the flea market that would look beautiful. I just need to go buy it.

Hubby is still job hunting. The girls and I started back to school "officially" this week. Some couples thrive on their time away from each other. We are one of those odd couples that likes having each other around. His time at home is a blessing not a burden. I suppose my husband is just odd in general. He likes being home with me and the girls. He helps around the house, in fact putting laundry away is his job. He's not interested in looking at other women or even joking about that. He hates to travel for work because he would rather be home. He took his lunch to work because he always says my leftover cooking is better than anything he could get in a restaurant. As much as people joke about their in-laws, I have to give them all the praise for raising 2 amazing men.

I was lucky enough to get one of those men. My sister in law was lucky enough to get the other. My brother in law has been through a lot in the past couple years. My sister in law has been fighting late stage lyme disease. She has been to the point they thought she would die. I think lesser men would have run away from what they have been through, but it has made them strongly united. You can read her story at Our Life In My Words.

I am excited about the future. Some are amazed that I am not afraid because I do not know what lies ahead. The truth is, do we ever know what lies ahead? We think we can plan the years ahead and lay out our path but we do not know what our futures hold. I do know that God is good, that He loves me, and that the Bible says "do not be afraid". My faith in God's big plan makes me excited. He has big things for me and my family just around the corner and I cannot wait to see tomorrow. This is the day the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

For dinner tonight? Maybe chicken.... It is Saturday after all.

Could You Live Without?

I do most of my thinking in the shower. The water drowns out the dogs snoring, the kids bickering, and my husband puttering. It's a good time for me to think, pray, and just be alone. So I was thinking this afternoon, as I rinsed the colorant out of my hair to cover the ever increasing number of gray sprouts, what one thing could I live without if I had to cut the budget further?

My hair color was $13 on sale at Harry's and I refuse to give that up. I look young and if I had a head of gray hair, everyone would be terribly confused. I'll stick with my medium golden brown, thank you. I say that I could give up the cable, but could I really survive without Tim Gunn? Perhaps not. I could live without meat, but my husband and rapidly growing children would wither and fall away. I could give up my cell phone in an instant and get a pay as you go. I love my i-Phone but I know it is a want not a need. Our biggest bill outside our mortgage right now is our electric bill because it has been so hot. I will not turn off my A/C. If I had to get a job to keep it turned on, I would be out pounding the pavement rather than blogging.

I suppose I could look at what I have already given up: shopping, vacations, new furniture, the ASG Convention, and a new kitchen. Our budget cuts have not been too deep when I think about it. I still eat the foods I love, still have a couch, albeit a teal green couch, still have a kitchen, albeit an ugly one, and best of all, I still have my family, my pugs, and a place to live. Does God ever promise us more than necessities? Nope.

I got to thinking after I talked to a friend of mine that insisted that her kids needed name brand clothing because they have to fit in. She was not willing to give up anything to afford her kids clothing. In fact, these same kids have i-phones. What does that teach those children? I think those kids will grow up feeling entitled to all the things that everyone else can afford. Nobody ever bothered to tell them "no, we cannot afford that".

My kids are well aware of their daddy's unemployment. They understand that we won't go to the beach this year if he doesn't have a job. They understand that we don't have $40 to go see Toy Story III in the theater. These are the life lessons that will serve them well into adulthood. We are not destitute but it is because of our financial responsibility that we are ok. This is exactly why God wants us to be financially responsible and to teach our children how to be financially responsible. Life is much less stressful when we are good stewards of what He has given us.

For dinner tonight...???? We're going to a birthday party! I'll post our favorite cake recipe tomorrow.

Knitting Socks

I am currently obsessed with knitting socks. It has been one of those "things" on my list for years. I have my own sort of Bucket List with things that I would like to try or do in my life. Things that I would like to try just to see if I like them.

I have always said that I would knit just one sock and never make it's mate. I have done some research about socks. Checked out some sock making books from the library and placed others on reserve to wait for them to be delivered to my local library. The first book was about making socks 2 at a time on circular needles. What I made was a huge mess of circular needle cable and yarn. There was this awful laddering going on down the sides and I finally gave up.

I thought that double pointed needles (DPN's or skewers as my kids call them) would be hard and I envisioned one stuck up my nose. To my surprise, they are easier than the circular needle method and socks knit up rather quickly. I haven't finished one yet but am working my way down the foot. The best instructions I have found came from Come to Silver I suppose I will finish this pair of socks even though the size is off and the gauge is really small. I would like to try a pair with worsted weight and bigger needles.

As promised, my Chimichanga Recipe...

Chicken Chimichangas
Black olives
Monterey Jack cheese (optional)
Refried beans (or black beans from previous post)
Guacamole
Salsa
Sour Cream
Shredded lettuce
Cheddar Cheese
Large tortillas
Rice:
1 C chicken broth
1 C water
1/2 C red enchilada sauce
1 C long grain rice
Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes or until done.

Chicken:
4 C diced cooked chicken
Cook cut up chicken with cumin, chili powder, garlic (optional) salt and pepper. Alternatively, a rotisserie chicken would work.

Spoon equal amounts of the following into a tortilla: Rice mixture, refried beans, chicken, black olives, monterrey jack cheese. Turn top and bottom up and then roll and place seam side down on greased cookie sheet. Spray tops of finished chimichangas lightly with cooking spray. Bake at 425 F for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown. Serve with remaining red enchilada sauce, sour cream, cheddar, guacamole, and lettuce.

Cooking Without

Honestly, I do love to cook and it is a good thing. While I was nursing my first daughter, I had to avoid dairy. She still continued to scream for hours on end and not sleep. I was at my wits end with her. She screamed inconsolably until she was about a year old. Everyone who knew me then was shocked that I would even consider having another, let alone actually go through with it.

I was shocked when my 2nd daughter arrived 6 weeks early. Placenta previa was the culprit and let me just tell you, it's a scary ending to a pregnancy. Because she was a preemie, we visited every pediatric -ologist you could imagine. Neonatologist, pulmonologist, opthamalogist, and lastly gastroenterologist. When she developed blood in her stool it was the gastroenterologist that shed light on not only her problems, but the problems with my previous infant. She had what he described as a classic case of protein intolerance. This diagnosis severely impacted my diet. I was told to eliminate soy, dairy, beef, eggs, chocolate (yes, really), and nuts. Within a week the problems all cleared up and she was a happy, smiley baby again. If only I had known the first time around.

Fast forward 9 years and they have outgrown all their issues. It was just a case of an immature digestive tract, not a life long problem. I began eating all my usual favorites again. I began having terrible digestive problems. It seems my body forgot how to digest dairy products and not just lactose, it is a cannot digest dairy protein problem. That was soon followed by trouble with soy, onions, and garlic. The onion I can live without, the garlic has been rather hard. The trick is that either dairy, soy, or onion is found in all processed foods. That eliminates cookies, salsa, Italian cuisine, Mexican cuisine, fast food, flavored rice or couscous, potluck dinners, the list goes on and on.

This is where the love of cooking has come in handy. I have been cooking dinner since we first got married. We rarely eat out because I'd rather eat at home. I have developed work arounds for most cuisines and recipes that allow me to eat what I want without consequence. Last night dinner was Baked Chimichangas. I will give the recipes for dairy/soy, onion, and garlic free Mexican over the next 2 days. If you can have those things, by all means add 1/4 C salsa and 2 cloves of garlic to the Enchilada sauce, First up Red Enchilada Sauce and Rena's Black Beans...

Red Enchilada Sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, pureed
1/2 tsp oregano
2 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp basil
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 C water

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered 15-20 minutes.

Rena's Black Beans
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 C water (or chicken broth)
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to boil and simmer, stirring occasionally and mashing beans with the back of a spoon. Be careful to not burn the bottom. If it gets too thick, add more water. Mine looks close to refried bean consistency when I am done.