are we incurable fantics?

(info may be sensitive to some)

Most of us have at least heard of human trafficking. It can be easy to turn our heads the other way and think that something so atrocious couldn't possibly be happening, maybe even in our own towns. But it is. It is happening right here in Little Rock and most likely right where you live too. Girls are being sold for sex. against their will, day after day for years. They are trapped, threatened, beat, and brutally assaulted. When did this start to become okay in the world? When did hearts get so hard that this has become a living for people?

It makes my hands ache to even type this and it's hard to press the keys to even write what I need to say. But I need to say it.

About 3 years ago we were introduced to the subject. Much to my ignorance and naivety I did not even know this was happening before then. How could something so awful, so unimaginable be going on for years and I didn't even have a clue it existed? It is such a hidden and secret crime, but thankfully in the past few years many abolitionists are rising up to take a stand against this and to get the word out to people like us who maybe just didn't even know something so terrible was happening. Once you know, really know, you can't forget. You can't forget about the 27 million people that are enslaved around the world or the two million children involved in the commercial sex trade. And these people are more than a statistic, they are a precious human life.

To say that I have a tornado of emotions surrounding this subject would be an understatement. I've never wanted to do something so badly yet felt so helpless at the same time. My heart screams "it's unfair, unjust!" and I struggle to know what to do. I sometimes get this "i'm going save the world" thought process going and try to figure out how I can free them. I can't. I can do nothing on my own. Apart from God, my feeble attempts and hopes for these girls are nothing. I have to remind myself that God is their God too and He loves them with an everlasting love and wants to redeem their lives.
But yet they are still trapped in this prison day after day. I have a hard time understanding these things sometimes.

I recently bought a documentary called Nefarious, Merchant of Souls. It's a documentary on sex trafficking around the world and yes, here in the US. It. is. so. hard. to. watch. It will break you heart, it will enrage you with anger at times, it will leave you speechless. But we have to educate ourselves, we CANNOT ignore this "fastest growing criminal industry in the world". Did you know that parents sell their own children to a pimp so that through sex they will make their parents a healthy wage...and what's EVEN WORSE is many of the fathers don't work, and not because they can't find a job but because they depend on their daughter's income and they sit around all day doing nothing while their daughter is being unbelievably abused day after day. Did you know that the average age of entry into commercial sex slavery in the UNITED STATES is 13??? Did you know 80-90% of families are selling their daughters in certain countries?

I don't want to believe it. And sometimes I wish I didn't know because it's so painful. But I can't ignore what I know. I can't. After we watched the movie, I just wept for a while. I have heard alot of this information before, but when you hear their stories and see their faces, it's not just another fact. It's a human life. Yes you might be emotionally heightened after watching the movie, but beware those emotions will dissipate when you go to bed and wake up and go about normal life, after a few days or weeks it's easy to forget or to dismiss those thoughts. But don't let yourself. I'm not saying to drown yourself daily in a wave of despair, i'm asking that you don't forget this evil and to hope in a God who redeeming people to Himself!

There is hope. Because God is God. Because girls are being rescued and brothels are being discovered. But it's a hard and slow process at times. It's a very dangerous thing at times. What can you do? Ask God how He wants to use you in this. Pray pray pray. Educate yourself. But please don't ignore this injustice, this terrible, unfathomable evil. It's more than a wordly battle, it's a spiritual battle.

William Wilberforce, who fought slave trade and slavery in 1800's said this:

"If to be feeling alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic,

  I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large"

For more information on Nefarious, visit www.nefariousdocumentary.com
Other websites (these are just a few, there are many out there):
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/civilrights/human_trafficking
http://www.humantrafficking.org/
http://www.truckersagainsttrafficking.com/informational-resources-human-trafficking/links-to-related-websites
http://www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/overview?gclid=CN3flNC2rbACFQS0nQodRETvSQ
http://www.love146.org/?gclid=CLv9jNe2rbACFQFeTAod7lZhtA
http://www.ijm.org/
For information on PATH (Partners against trafficking humans) here in Arkansas:
http://www.thepathinitiative.com/

*Statistics were taken from Nefarious resourcs & film documentary.

family & fun things

Things have been busy but so fun lately. We've had lots of visitors and have loved it! First my parents came and spent a weekend with us and the next weekend my brother and sis-in-law and their adorable little girl came. Next weekend Seth's parents are coming and we are so excited! We love having the quality time with our family and exploring the city a little bit more! It's always more fun to do with someone else, because I think when you live somewhere you easily settle into "your routine" but when you are showing someone around you try new things and notice new things.

My good looking mom & dad :)

                                           We got out grandma's sewing machine that I've been wanting to use
                                           f-o-r-e-v-e-r but have had NO idea how to even thread the thing. Mom
                                           to the rescue, she was awesome & helped me figure that darn thing out!
                                          Haha, I was so excited because I sewed a straight line, :)...lots of work ahead
                 
                                          Jen & Kylie Jo...love their ponytails...like mother like daughter :)

We went to the Peabody hotel to watch the march

of the ducks since Kylie is infatuated with "duckies" lately.



We've tried our hand at a garden. Initially we got so excited when we started to see seeds sprouting and growing into tiny little leaves. But our excitement soon deflated once two weeks had passed and those tiny little leaves had not grown. AT ALL. Our garden, with exception to our grape tomatoes, has completely taken a standstill position. We can't decide if it's just going to die or if one day we will wake up and it will look like a flourishing jungle of delicious produce (positive thinking!). I mean last summer when we lived in Goodfield, IL our garden could have won a blue ribbon at a county fair for biggest zucchini, now we can't even get the plants to bloom pre=produce flowers. sigh. I suppose an apartment balcony may not be the most accommodating to growing a vegetable garden. (Don't be deceived when you look at the pictures, some of these we bought as plants, they have not grown that much).

                                           In the back is a long planter with spinach...it's looked like that for over
                                           a month.

                                          Our sad pepper plants. I wanted fresh red and green peppers so bad.
                                          We can't decide if this is all they are going to grow, haha.

In the background you will see our ONE plant that is producing!

Grape tomatos!! We are hopeful for those guys!

We've tried our hands at a couple other DIY projects too. Seth sometimes dreams of having a house so he can set up shop and build projects, not on his apartment balcony, but at the same time we've loved this season of life and often laugh at how innovative he can get to make a workshop here! Over Christmas time we were doing some shopping and I saw an idea at a store that I wanted to copy...the sign was giant nails in the shapes of letters that spelled JOY with yarn wrapped around them. So we came up with our own saying and got to work. Now, if you would have asked me to make this I would have said "Just hammer some nails into the shapes of letters free-handed, it'll be fine!" whereas Seth, a construction perfectionist mind you, says "let's print large letters from WORD and tape them to the board so everything looks even and then we can hammer the nails exactly one inch apart from each other"....at first I thought that was way too much work, but as we started working on it I was laughing realizing how my design would have been horrific and probably unreadable. Here's what we came up with.

(notice the perfect spacing)

So all ya'll who are on pinterest know how many fun ideas they are and also how overwhelming it can be at times. Well the other day I was determined to try some of the ideas that i've pinned. So I tried to tackle homemade handsoap. I read and learned that a. it's much better for you (less chemicals than OTC handsoap) and b. it's much cheaper!! (who isn't a fan of that!?). If you want the "recipe" for this click here. http://www.thefarmersnest.com/2011/11/liquid-hand-soap-diy.html. We have loved it. It smells great and lasts forever! I definitely will be making it again. See how we did it:

                                           Start with your pick of bar soap. I love Mrs. Meyer's Lemon Verbana
                                           scent! These are hard to find though, I had to search town for this
                                           type of soap. 

                                           The recipe called for liquid glycerin. I looked ALL around the store for
                                           liquid glycerin and finally asked the clerk. She took me to the enema
                                           section and brought me to these...glycerin enemas. At first I thought,
                                           "hmmm this can't be right" but then I looked @ the ingredients & it's
                                           pure glycerin so we went with it, haha. 

                                           Buy a cheap grater from the dollar tree so that way you don't mess
                                           up your nice kitchen one!

                                           Grate the entire bar of soap.

                                            Boil the soap shreds into the water and glycerin.

                                           This is what you get after it sits for a while....

We had to add some water to get it to the right consistency. but we've

been using it & loving it!

We are looking forward to summer. Even though we are adults and don't get "summer breaks" anymore, there is still something in the air that is so fun about summer. Everyone gets more relaxed & has more fun with life. You get outside more (unless it's 100 degrees, like I fear it will be here soon), you spend more time with family and generally just feel happier. One of my goals is to read a lot more. I have started about 3 books so far, and have about 20 more I want to read, haha :) Anyone else been there before, haha?

Tomorrow I'm helping to photograph a wedding. YIKES. Thankfully i'm just the backup. It's been such a great learning experience already and i've gained so many tips & tricks. It's been fun and quite a bit nerve wracking to think about. My simple little canon rebel is going to get a workout! I'm excited for this opportunity and hopeful everything will go great! (you can say some prayers, haha :)).

happy friday and happy weekend!!

friends!!

We love friends. We love when friends come to visit us. We love hosting friends that come to visit us (hint hint :)). Last weekend we got all three! Some of our dear dear friends from IL came to stay with us for the weekend. Tommy & Natalie Hoerr (and baby) and Jimmy & Abi Huber (and Alex & baby) came to see us. We were looking forward to their visit for so long and we were just longing to reconnect and talk face to face again.

 (All these pictures are courtesy of Abi's camera :))

We had so. much. fun. !! We started the weekend off with a surprise ultrasound for the girls! Since I volunteer at the pregnancy center, I have the amazing privilege to be able to do these ultrasounds. It was so awesome. We got to see both babies and heartbeats (very healthy little ones :)) and print TONS (and I mean TONS) of pictures :). Below you see Tommy & Jimmy as proud daddies and Seth is bringing in cookies so we could get the babies to move a little more on the ultrasound.

That evening we went to Cothams. If you have ever watched Man vs Food, this restaurant was one of those that Adam (the host) visits. It is where we like to take our guests if they want a "true arkansas experience". It's about 40 minutes from our house, in the middle of nowhere, arkansas. It is an old general store that is literally on stilts over a swamp. It looks like it could fall in any day. It is home of the "hubcap" burger (17oz burger). Apparently people drive from all over to eat there and many famous people have been there. I'm guessing it's for the experience and not the fine dinning atmosphere, haha :). Outside they had some goats and chickens that Alex loved watching while we waited for our table.

Above: Jimmy, Abi & Alex- beautiful family!

Below: Jimmy & Alex outside of the restaurant

Below: group picture inside Cothams

Later that night we played Ticket to Ride

One of Seth's "must-take-every-guest-to" spots is the Big Dam Bridge. It's a dam that they built a walking bridge over and is really pretty cool. Group picture on bridge below.

We played Spouseology on the last night and it had some hilarious actions you had to do. Here is tommy having to do 30 sit ups and kiss nat each time :)

Jimmy & Abi doing some dancing :)

We love these dear friends. When we said goodbye to them on monday morning I was crying (big surprise) and said that this goodbye thing just does not get any easier. We had a great weekend. It definitely made me homesick. I told seth that I feel like i'm missing out on everyone's lives and what's happening. I told him that I wanted to jump in the van with them and go back. But after they left I went to my bible study group here and I was reminded of how much we are really liking it here and all the sweet friends we are making and the community we are a part of. I know that this is perfectly where God has us right now, for so so many reasons. But after the weekend a big part of my heart is homesick. I know this is normal. I know this is okay to feel. I know that we are so happy here. But it made me feel good to feel homesick. It felt good to cry about it and not just keep moving on. Because honestly, I do miss so many things.

But that doesn't make here bad or there better.

 It just means that alot of the people I love are a long ways away from me.

I feel like I should try to "wrap it up nicely" but I don't really feel like doing that, because it is what it is and what it is is not bad, it is good, just different and hard sometimes.

all this to say... you're always welcome here if you're passing through arkansas :)!! (in other words: we LOVE visitors :) )

a mother to the motherless.

I recently received a message from a dear friend from high school. It's amazing that though we've been out of high school for 7 years, I feel like it was only yesterday I talked to Keri. She is one of those people...the kind that make an impact on your life. The kind of person who you never forget, no matter how much time has passed. You remember them, not for their "status" or their "achievements" (though she is incredibly cool & amazingly smart) but for their heart. The kind of heart that is so rare. so pure. so selfless. Keri has always been an example to me. She has always amazed me at how well and how easily she loves people. It's like you could just stand next to her and feel loved...you know those kind of people. I always felt accepted and important around Keri. She's passionate. She cares with such a deep love that she can't not take action.

As I opened her message & read, I could've wept. I was speechless, amazed, inspired, challenged, and humbled. She is an almost-25-year-old woman who is displaying the love of Jesus in a way that I personally have never seen before. She gets what it means to die to self and to live as if this life is a vapor- gone before we know it- she is caring for who Jesus calls "the greatest". She is being a mother to the motherless.

"Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” - Luke 9:48.

I am honored to be Keri's friend. I just read this morning about abiding in Jesus- the vine- and being His branches that bear fruit (John 15). Keri is a fruitful branch and I am excited to see the fruits that grow out of her ministry and her home as she obediently follows what God has called her to do. When God calls us to something, He is faithful to see us through. 

Please visit Keri's website: http://godskidsourkids.webs.com/  . Your heart will be incredibly impacted and touched and moved. Please please think/pray/ask if you would support Keri, financially & prayerfully, in her efforts to defending the cause of the fatherless(and motherless) and orphaned. Even if you don't know her, please consider giving...we are all the body of Christ. And please share this with anyone you know!


My prayer for Keri is:

^"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family^[c] in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

(Ephesians 3:14-21)

I want to brave like that.

Sometimes there's so much I want to write about that I don't know what to write. Sometimes it seems like my brain spins a million miles a second throwing out ideas left and right. Sometimes the only way to focus my thoughts or work through things well is with music. The other day I was taking a walk and listening to some good old caedmon's call. Oh how good it was to listen to some good old familiar music. I was again reminded why they still remain one of my favorite bands. I love listening to them because it seems like each time a do, a different part of their lyrics gets my heart. This time the lyrics came from the song "there is a reason". Here's the part of the song that stuck out to me:

Late at night the darkness makes it hard to see
the history of the saints who've gone in front of me
through famine, plague and disbelief
His hand was still upon them...cause there is a reason

He makes all things good. He makes all things good.
there's a time to live and a time to die
a time for wonder and a for wonder why

I LOVE these lyrics because so often I do forget those who have gone before me. Those in the old testament of the Bible who lived through so much and yet God had a reason for that season and He provided. perfectly. And that doesn't mean it was easy, but He knew the future in a way they could not see. And the God of those people is still the God of us today. He hasn't changed. He still provides and still has a reason for everything.
I've been learning lately what it means to really trust God. Not just "I trust you God." but "I really do trust that Your ways are better and beyond my simple understanding"...sometimes it feels like a blind trust. actually, often times that is the case. I'm learning that the more I sink into Him and make myself let go of things that seem "safe" or "make sense", the more I feel peace. this makes no sense to me. shouldn't it be the other way around? wouldn't it make sense that if I think what i'm doing is "safe"/comfortable that I should feel peace? I think what God teaching me is that I am holding onto things that aren't HIM for security.
But sometimes I don't know how to get from what feels safe to what seems impossible. It's kinda like someone telling me to just step off  of a cliff with no harness or parachute or something of the sort and telling me I'll actually be safer if I just step. crazy, right? who would do that? That's sorta what God's been teaching me. I keep hearing Him say "just step off, I'll catch you" & I say "um first off I think that is a bad idea, but if- and only if I would decide to step off I need to gather some gear, I need to bring my security blankets with me". He says "no, all you need is to step". I say "yeah but I at least need this". And again He says, just step. Why  is it so hard to just step? It's one simple choice, one simple decision. Do I not trust that He is good enough to catch me? Do I not trust that His plans for my life are way better than my plans for my life? I know the right words, I know the right thing to say...but do I really believe it? Do I believe that when He calls me to do something that He will provide...in His own way? Am I okay with the fact that God isn't going to do it "angela's way" and He isn't afraid of my whining? He says He will be with me when I pass through the waters & they will not overtake me (Isaiah 43:2). I think the bravest people on this earth are the people who take that step of the cliff and trust God and walk the journey He takes them on- focused on Him, trusting in His sweet and beautiful love. are they confused? probably. do they have clarity or answers? probably not. do they know how long it will last/take? usually not. do they have questions? yes, tons. but they follow with blind trust in Jesus through fear, doubt, hurt, pain, joy, peace, silence, broken hearts. If i'm brave, i'll trust blindly in my God who never leaves me. I want to be brave like that. Like those who have gone before me.

"The sweetest moment on this road is moving forward not knowing where to go" - Alli Rogers

quarter-of-a-century.

I realize my birthday is almost a month and a half gone but I never posted on how fun it was! Early in our marriage, Seth learned (the hard way, rather) how important birthdays were to me. Since then he seemingly attempts to "top" the previous year's element of fun and surprise. I love to have fun, but I don't always know how to make it happen which is one reason why Seth is good for me- he comes up with great ideas & is able to carry them out well.

I had been complaining/joking for a couple of weeks how old i'm getting (some of you may laugh at this, but turning a quarter of a century is a monumental year)...it's like "official adulthood" from this point on. It's the small things really...I can't blend in as a college student anymore and am entering that season of life that is full of a lot more...responsibilities. I fall into a new age category on surveys...the 25 and older group. I found 2 gray hairs the other day...definite sign of aging. Something about turning 25 just seems so defining...to me anyways. (mom & dad, if you're reading this, i'm sure you are laughing hard at my dramatic emotions & yet are not surprised one bit, haha :) ). 

Yet there are alot of great things about getting older. And I am excited for these seasons and years to come.

With that said...I had a wonderful birthday, thanks to my buddy.

On thursday night (my birthday day)...he cooked me a super delicious dinner...salmon & veggie stirfry coupled with an AMAZING apple crisp from scratch complete with blue bell icecream (thanks to jake & jen) for dessert. THEN after dinner he told me to bundle up because we were going to go stargazing. He had his truck full of blankets & an airmattress to put in the back of the truck. So we made some hot beverages, bundled up & drove to the middle of nowhere & watched the stars for a couple hours....the night sky was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. And we even saw some shooting stars. pretty awesome.

Then  that weekend he surprised me with a weekend getaway to Mt. Magazine St. Park...about 2 hours from Little Rock. We went hiking, played board games, explored the surrounding town of Paris, AR (very, very small town Arkansas to say the least). My favorite part of the weekend was how we just talked alot...with me being an emotional/feeler/talker/need-to-process-everything-outloud-type-of-personality this was the best gift he could've given me. Poor guy was probably emotionally/mentally drained by the end of the weekend. Favorite memory of the weekend would have to be our saturday morning breakfast: we ventured down the mountain to the small, quaint town of Paris, AR on a mission to find a place to eat breakfast. After driving around the whole town about 3-4 times (took about 5 minutes total) we decided on a place called "The Grapevine". We walked in the restaurant and literally everyone stopped what they were doing and just looked at us. Yes, kids even turned around in their chairs, put down their forks and just starred at us. We awkwardly found a table and then everyone resumed their usual saturday morning breakfast...it was obvious we weren't one of the "regulars". haha. I love living in the south just to have experiences like these.

Here's some pics:

                                                              I woke up to this on thursday morning! 

        

                                                                      Making veggie stirfry!

                                                          Getting the airmattress inflated in the truck for stargazing 

                                                                We've got our hot beverages!

                                               Probably one of the best apple crisps i've ever eaten. 

                                                                   on a hike. 

                                                      One of the tallest points in Arkansas 

                        This was the lodge we stayed in...the back of it (here) over looks the valley below...it was beautiful!

I am and feel so blessed. Not in a suzy-sunshine kind of way...but in a true, deep, and honestly speechless kind of way. God is good and so faithful and keeps teaching me that every day i'm on this earth. I get to experience His steadfast love & His unending grace. I don't know what this next year will hold but He does & His plans are good. He does not grow weary or faint (as seth reminded me of this morning- Isaiah 40) as I sometimes do but He gives us strength. What would I do without my Jesus?

happy birthday Tony.

(disclaimer: sorry to my family, the tears will roll on this one, but that's good. love you guys so much)

This day rolls around every year. And every year it just seems to get harder. Tomorrow is my biggest brother, Tony's, birthday. and he is celebrating it with Jesus. It's been almost 10 years we've not been able to tell him happy birthday or make him a cake. Almost 10 years without seeing his contagious smile or be embraced by one of his strong & loving hugs. He set the standard for us kids...we looked up to him so much.

He was just so cool. Each one of us is who we are today because of the ways he has shaped our lives. In 22 years he impacted his family & friends & perfect strangers more than anyone i've ever met...seriously. He wasn't afraid of living. He wasn't afraid of what other people thought. Mostly, he wasn't afraid to love, like crazy. He wore his heart on his sleeve & anyone that knew him, knew they were loved by him. He could press my buttons & get me steaming like noone ever could, yet in 2 seconds he could twist my heart around his finger & remind me how much he loved me and how he just had to give me a hard time out of love. He was the person who could make me the most mad & feel the most loved at the same time. He taught me how to forgive well...he did not hold grudges & always came back with a hug. I miss him, Oh I miss him so much. I miss talking to him. He taught me about being genuine & not doing something just because it was "the cool thing to do", but to be real. He was a dreamer. He could cast a vision & we'd be sold on how great of an idea it was. He was the most passionate person i've ever known in my life. He has inspired me to never settle for just "okay". He pursued life with a passion and love that i've never seen before or since. Sometimes when I start thinking about him, the flood gates open & all my memories come alive again...I love it. I love thinking about him & remembering him.

 Our family just misses him, we miss the life he brought to our family. We just ache for him. I cannot wait to see him again. I can't wait to have a hug from him again. He blessed my life more than I'll ever be able to put to words. He taught me some of the most valuable lessons I've ever learned. He was a leader, a fearless & courageous man who pursued, with incredible passion, how to love & live life to the fullest.

Happy Birthday, Tony! We are celebrating the life you lived & the gift your life was to us. We are forever changed because of you & how you loved us with no reserve. Blue skies, Tony! Heaven is closer every day.

cooking & life

It's finally snowing here in the south! It's actually pretty hilarious when there is a threat of snow down here. Last night we were watching tv and noticed on all the channels how the bottom of the screen kept saying "winter weather advisory"...1-2 inches expected. We had to laugh because coming from IL that would be barely considered a dusting on the ground...here, all the milk in the grocery stores is bought & schools close & businesses close down. So here I am watching a few pieces of snow fall to the ground, thankful I get to see at least some winter before the temperature jumps back to the 50s tomorrow. We've had a few relaxing weekends lately, which has been a nice change after the busy holiday season & all the travelings. We've explored some of little rock, found a favorite coffee shop, caught up on life, tried some fun recipes (see below), and just spent some time "working" through some of the things in our marriage that need some tweaking.

We've found sometimes it's easier to "settle" on certain things because at times it's easier than confronting potential conflict. But we don't want to settle...for anything, because we believe that is less than what God has called us to in a marriage. The point where we "settle" is the point where selfishness tends to show it's ugly face- when we  sometimes don't love each other like Jesus. Someone told me recently that marriage is about making you holy, not happy. There is a lot of truth in that. SO it takes a lot of work. Because we tend to operate in opposite ways. I'm a feeler...I tend to feel everything- in my mind, I feel it, therefore it is real/true (can anyone else relate to this :)? ). Seth is the logical thinker...if there is a problem,  he looks for the solution and fixes what is wrong. We sometimes miss each other when we are operating with our programmed responses. So it takes patience to understand another person's point of view & listen well. But it's good work & down the road we hope to look back, being thankful for the time and tears that sometimes it takes. Okay, enough of my lessons learned in marriage/relationship for today, though my hope is to come across transparent.

Onto my journey in learning to cook. I've always enjoyed baking more than cooking. I think it has to do with how I would always beg my mom to let me make cookies when I was growing up. I loved making cookies...still do, it's a weakness (ask seth). Actually if for nothing else than just eating the cookie dough. mmm. I always was intimidated by cooking...I didn't know what spices were good with what, etc. My mom is an awesome cook. I would often times watch her make supper & she would never need to use a recipe. The food always tasted amazing (ask anyone in my family- they will vouch for me). When I would cook with my grandma- my mom's mom, she would measure to the "t". She would follow a recipe to the exact measurement. And her food was always incredible as well!! SO after observing two amazing cooks, I combined the two ways of cooking & now use a recipe as a guide but also throw in & tweak a little of this & a little of that. Unfortunately this is not full-proof & it doesn't always work in my favor, though (that is why there are recipes for a reason!)...poor Seth has literally eaten everything i've ever made. There has been times it has tasted so bad that i've literally gagged & walked away, haha (Specifcally speaking to a time when I used lemon pepper to season pasta & tried to compensate the flavor by adding everything in the fridge- i'm still slightly scarred to this seasoning). Anyways, thankfully, this has improved some over the years, haha. Now I can say that I am enjoying cooking. It's fun to try new recipes and explore food blogs.  We have developed a rating scale for "recipes"- 1. Ewww 2. Edible 3. Yummy 4. Yowza.

So I thought i'd post a couple of the recipes we've tried lately that have been rated "Yowza" by Seth. The first one I don't have a picture of (though it actually looks pretty ugly when finished, but tastes different that it looks! haha).

Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato & Lentil Soup ( I know, lentils may sound kinda gross- but they taste great & are packed with great nutrients & protein)

1 large sweet potato, peeled & chopped in small cubes (we didn't have this but am trying
 it next time I make it)
3 medium carrots, peeled & cut into small pieces
3 stalks celery, chopped (optional)
1/2-1 onion, chopped
1 cup spinach (optional)
1 cup dried lentils
6-7 cups of water (depending how many veggies you add)
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
ground pepper to taste
1 T tomato paste (optional- I just had some leftover & added it & liked the taste)
1 T butter
1/4-1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1. Add first twelve ingredients to slow cooker (everything minus the butter & cilantro). Stir, cover & keep on low for 8 hours.
2. Stir soup roughly or use potato masher lightly to puree some of the soup- but keep some un-pureed. If too thick, add hot water or milk (if you want it creamier)
3. Add butter & let melt & then add cilantro. Add more salt to taste if needed. Serve with grated parmesan cheese on top if you like!


Chicken Lettuce Wraps (sorta like pf-chang's wraps)

Stir Fry Sauce:

2 T soy sauce

1 T vinegar

1 T brown sugar

1/4 tsp red pepper

1/4 tsp ginger

1 tsp sesame oil

Mix all ingredients together & set aside.

For Chicken/Veggie mixture:

1 lb chicken breast- diced into small pieces

1 1/2 T olive oil

1 1/2 T sesame oil

1 cup diced onion

1/2-1 bell pepper, diced (color of your choice)

1/2 cup diced carrots

1 cup snap peas, cut into smaller pieces

8 oz can of water chestnuts, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced 

1/4 cup cashews, chopped

Heat oils in pan over medium heat, add diced chicken & brown (about 5-10 minutes). Add onions, pepper, & carrots.

Cook until tender or desired consistency. Add garlic, sautee for 1 minute. Add water chestnuts & snap peas. Pour stir fry sauce over

mixture & stir to incoporate evenly. Add chopped cashews at end & let sit for 5 minutes.

For Pouring Sauce (this is optional)

1/4 cup sugar ( I used truvia- but use less if you do this)

1/2 cup warm water

2 T soy sauce

2 T vinegar

2 T ketchup

1 T lemon juice

Mix all above pouring sauce ingredients together & put in fridge to immerse flavors (don't have to do that, though)

1 tsp hot water

1 T dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix last three ingredients together & slowly add to above pouring sauce mixture- to taste. Use to pour over mixture as a condiment at the end.

You will also need a head of iceburg lettuce. Wash & seperate leaves so they can act as indvidual "bowls". Add chicken mixture & add pouring sauce at end, if wanted. Roll up lettuce & enjoy! Warning: this can be messy- have napkins on hand :)!!

Thanks for sticking with me as I am learning to be the woman God is shaping me to be. It's a journey! Happy monday to you!!