At Mimi & Boppas

A couple weekends ago, while David was painting, we went to play & stay at Mimi and Boppa's. Here are a few pics from our fun time there...

Mom took this-loved the angle!

Mom took this one too... thought it was so pretty!

Bear crawl through the grass-it's too pokey for him! :)

Time for bed! Blaise with Boppa after he returned from his soft ball game...Blaise stayed up late just to say good night! :)

Tasty Stir-Fry

Coconut Chicken

From the Joy of Cooking

This is a tasty stir fry dish that we started making when we were in Uganda. It works well with all of our CSA veggies. Last time I made it, I chopped up some bok choy and added it, along with sugar snap peas. Pretty easy-and delicious- way to get your veggies in!

Ingredients/Directions:

• 2 lbs chicken, Cooked/browned in skillet w/ 2 tbs. olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper (we use about 1/3 of this amt)
• Remove chicken from pan
• Add 1 c. chopped onions
• 2-3 large carrots, chopped
• 1/2 c. peas (sugar snap
• ½ c. green beans
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (I usually skip it!)
• 1 tbs. finely chopped and peeled fresh ginger
• 2-3 chopped garlic cloves
• Cook until soft, about 5 min.
• Add and bring to a boil:
• 1 ½ c. unsweetened coconut milk (I add a little sugar to sweeten it a bit!)
• ½ c. golden raisins
• 1 tbs. curry powder
• 1tsp. salt
• about ½ cup cashews
• Add chicken, reduce heat, simmer 20 min, or until sauce is thickened and chicken is cooked. Add cashews. Serve with rice.

In the Strawberry Patch

This summer, we decided to join a CSA (community supported agriculture) with a group from church. The quaint farm is in Elsah, Illinois and is operated by a hard working couple not too much older than ourselves. (She's pregnant too and due in August! Talk about a hard working momma! Just like the Ugandan women...) We bought a "half share" of the chemical -free produce, costing about $10 a week, lasting May- November. So far, we've enjoyed delicious fresh strawberries, sugar snap peas, radishes, beets, romaine, spinach, bok choy, kale, swiss chard, onion and probably other stuff I'm forgetting! It's been good for us to be stretched a bit and eat some veggies that we normally wouldn't buy-like radishes for instance!

David, Blaise and I enjoyed seeing the farm on our first week of pick up (we're rotating pick up w/our friends)-and much to my delight we got to pick strawberries! This was my first time berry picking-David used to go as a boy with his Gma. Anyway, Blaise LOVED sitting in the field and sucking on the strawberries! I think the bright color makes them especially attractive.

The Farm, Three Rivers, was recently featured in the Post Dispatch. You can read more about it here.

Blaise loved the baby chicks & kept trying to grab them. Next time it's our turn for pick up, I look forward to seeing the pigs!

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

Mmm I got this easy, healthy & delicious bread recipe from Becky last fall (she found it in a Nova Natural toy catalog.) She, along with a couple other friends, all encouraged me to make my own bread. Nothing like positive peer pressure! ;) I took the plunge in November and have been enjoying the process ever since.  It's really not that bad! And yes, you really do save money (I think David calculated how much-he's out back painting or I'd ask him!) And it doesn't take that much time to make (I don't grind my own wheat or anything like that-yet! ;) I make a double batch and freeze the loaves each time I bake, which is about once a month, though we've cut back on sandwiches! It's nice not having to worry about what preservatives are in my bread or if it has high fructose corn syrup added.  (Sigh of relief-especially now that Blaise is eating bread!) I can make it natural without spending $4 on an organic loaf too. Not too bad of a deal! 

Whole Wheat Bread

3 c. white wheat flour (TJ’s sells it)

or 2 c. whole wheat flour, 1 c. white

2 T butter

2 t salt

Mix flours and salt together. Work in butter by hand.

1 c. warm water (100-110 degrees)

2 ¼ t yeast

1 T honey (I am very generous with the honey-maybe add ¼ cup)

Dissolve honey in warm water and stir in yeast. When yeast is foamy (about 5 min), add it to flour.  Work dough into ball, using a spoon and then hands. Add more flour or water to make a sticky dough. When dough is formed, cover with a towel and leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.  Punch down and knead 3-5 minutes. Cover and let rise again for 1-2 hours.  Punch down dough and form a loaf. Place in pan and let rise, covered, 30-45 minutes.  Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until its golden and sounds hollow when tapped.  Turn out of pan and cool. We slice ours into thin, sandwich slices when cooled, then store in the freezer, taking out slices as needed.  (If it's not set out, I defrost a piece for about 1 min at 50% power level in the microwave.) 

Enjoy fresh out of the oven with some honey and butter-mmm! The ends are my favorite!

I Fail Everyday

After reading Elly's comment on my last entry, I realized that I might have made it look like I have it all together now since I've experienced such a difficult hardship in my life as losing my sister. Oh contrare!!  I am only beginning to learn the depth of my sin-and praying to learn, know, and taste the  depth of the love and grace of our Savior. 

Here's Elly's comment: 

Thanks for sharing this letter, Amanda, and for using the grief that you and your family experience over Natalee's death to minister to others. It is good to remember the purpose of this life is far from the things we daily invest in. Your words remind me to refocus my perspective where it should be. You are so right too, about not taking our loved ones for granted. It's hard to see that without having experienced the tremendous pain that you have after losing Natalee. In that way, you have received a blessing from the Lord -- He has given you eyes to see where your focus should be in this life. You've learned not to waste it, not to take moments and people in your life for granted, not to expend time and emotional energy on what will not matter for eternity. 

Thanks for blessing me with your friendship and your willingness to share the things God has shown you through this painful part of your journey.

And my response: 

Elly-thank you for your encouraging words & genuine heart of love and compassion for me and my family. I know you having a sister makes what we went through feel especially close to home. I must say though-as it's been five years now-that I do forget. I fail & forget to live in light of eternity everyday-and instead just go about our normal routine, often without even taking but a minute to fellowship with my Father. I waste my time on what is fleeting (hmm should I buy a white picture frame or a black one? or I'm "just" gonna check my facebookreally fast...) and not eternal (Father, show me who I can minister to today.)  I do still take people for granted and I am still unkind, unloving, critical, defensive, prideful (the list can go on and on...) with those closest to me -David, my parents, friends. Though I have so personally learned how fleeting life is and how imperative life after this one is, I still lack passion for the gospel and am apathetic about spreading Christ's love. I am convicted that I am more passionate and apt to talk about about natural childbirth, breastfeeding, and cloth diapering then I am about what God has done for me through his son. I stick with my Christian friends who I am comfortable with, not pursuing more then a few minute conversation with my neighbors. I am preoccupied with myself (and my child and husband) and the luxuries of this world (ie the computer!) Oh the list could go on and on....

Yet, despite all this, God has justified me & pardoned me-something I could never do on my own! God is still working on refining me, and it is a  s l o w  process!

          I love the following catechism and am so thankful for Christ’s work on my behalf...

Q.How are you right with God?

A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God's commandments and of never having kept any of them, and even though I am still inclined toward all evil,nevertheless,without my deserving it at all,out of sheer grace,God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me.  All I need to do is to accept this gift of God with a believing heart. (Heidelberg Cat #60)