Nature Walk

I have the privilege of knowing a wonderful woman, Lisa, through our church. We met a while ago at her house for an ice cream social she hosted. That was such a great day since I met some of the most amazing women and felt so comfortable with them. A little while later, we went on the women's retreat, where my life was changed forever. In case you didn't know, I was baptized that weekend. I had been thinking about it for a while and could not have thought of a more perfect place- surrounded by so many women supporting me and gathering around to pray for me. The theme of the retreat was "Thirsty" and we talked a lot about the woman at the well. I was thirsty for God that weekend, but left quite quenched.

Lisa has her own blog which is truly inspiring to me. She has her own ministry now, which I am just amazed by, but you'll have to read about it yourself! She also loves photography and takes some amazing photos. I was inspired by some of her posts called Time with My Father Part I, Part II, and Part III. So, I decided to take a nature walk in my own yard to document what I enjoy looking at every day. First, I have to say:



When I look at nature, especially clouds, flowers, plants, and insects, I just cannot believe that there are people in this world you do not believe in God. How on Earth could this planet have such beautiful, yet mysterious things if not created by Him? How do flowers know when to bloom or when not to bloom? How do leaves know when to turn the most amazing colors I have ever seen? How do they know when it's time to fall to the ground? How do animals know when it's time to hibernate and time to wake up? How do birds know where to find food for their babies? How can they build nests that most humans could not - and we have opposable thumbs! Why are sunsets some of the most beautiful sights one can ever see? I know there are people out there who can put science behind all of this. And I certainly do believe in science. But how did science come to be? How did scientists learn these things? How were we blessed with 2 beautiful children - our 2 miracles - without those brilliant Doctors Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe, who developed in vitro fertilization? I'm sorry (well, actually I'm NOT sorry), but GOD created them! To Him, I say thank you. Even when I don't understand what your plan may be at times, I have learned to put my trust and faith in you to execute it in a way that is best for me. Case in point - our 2 miracles, Libby and Drew. We waited and waited for them and just when we thought we'd given up hope, there they were to bless our lives and fill our hearts forever.

I think that my thumb is getting a little greener as I learn from my Mom, my Dad (both like to garden), and from experience. But no matter how green my thumb gets, I still have lots of questions for God because often times nature just perplexes me. First, I want to thank God for giving me (and all of my neighbors who compliment) these beautiful sights:












Thank you for the rosemary and parsley that made my meatballs so delicious Saturday night:



Thank you for letting me find this plant on the clearance table last summer. It had no tag, so the nursery workers and I have no idea what it even is. I will stand back and see the beauty it brings:



Thank you for giving me the patience not to give up on the climbing hydrangea that Mom and I planted probably 3 years ago:



Thank you for telling me that the forsythia we also planted then wasn't happy in its place. It loves its new home in full sunshine:



But, God, I also have questions for you. Like, why do my 10 azalea bushes in the backyard look like this:



And not like the ones in the front yard that look like this:



Why is this plant suddenly unhappy despite the pruning, watering, feeding, and TLC I've given to it? And how can it be saved?:



And why did you create some of us to be sensitive to things like this?:



and this:



Do you sit back and giggle when the weather forecast says rain all weekend, but instead you give us this?:



Thank you for always letting me know you are there peeking through watching over me:



But most of all, I want to thank you for this,:



This,:



and This:



Amen.

Our Prayers

Tonight's prayers were some good ones. We start out by thanking God for our family, friends, and whatever was relevant for the day. Here's how it went...

Me: "Thank you, God, for giving us sunshine today when they said it would rain. Thank you for our family - Libby, Drew, Mama, Daddy. Please keep us all safe and healthy. Thank you for our home to live in and for all that we have because of You."

Drew: "Thank you, God, for bulldozer PJ's," (what he was wearing - I bought them a couple of weeks ago for him when I was shopping alone). "Thank you for giving those to Mama for me. Amen." {heart melting here}

Libby: "Thank you for Princess and Toy Story helmets," (yes, they got out the tricycles today). "Thank you for tricycles, flowers, and houses. Amen."

Namee's Meatballs

Libby is feeling much better, which is wonderful news! Tonight, we are having Supper Club at our house and the theme is Italian. We started Supper Club last month when our friends, Laury (Louisiana native) and John, invited us over to their house to meet 3 other Louisiana couples that live in our neighborhood. We had some delicious gumbo that Laury made. It made me homesick when we got to her house and she had this HUGE Magnalite pot covering 2 burners on her stove. My mom uses the same big pots (maybe it's a Louisiana thing?)! I made Namee's (my great grandmother) bread pudding and it was gone quickly. We had so much fun with our new friends that we decided to make it a monthly get-together... our own Louisiana Supper Club. My dad and stepmom have done this where they change the cuisine each month to make it interesting.

We decided to host in April and I am excited to make a huge pot of Namee's meatballs! She was Sicilian and my mom learned how to cook from watching her. She never wrote anything down and hardly measured anything. My mom cooks this way today. When I first started to cook in college, I had a really hard time with this! I NEEDED a recipe to refer to so that I would feel comfortable. I remember when my mom first gave me the fudge recipe she uses (maybe it's Namee's, too?) and said things like, "Well, you wait till it comes to a hard ball and then just let it cook a little more." Okay, what? I did find out what that meant by making my first, and second, and third... batches before getting it right. Funny thing is, we didn't account for the climate in Virginia to be VERY different than in Louisiana. Did you know that humid days are not good for making candies, like pralines and fudge? And cold climates (such as a snow day in northern Virginia) requires much less time beating as it firms up much quicker. I found that out after wasting lots of money on LOTS of pecans to make pralines for the first time!

Well, here's Namee's recipe for meatballs that my mom and Janey (her sister) still use today:

You'll need a total of 3 lbs. of meat:
~ 2 lbs. ground chuck*
~ 1 lb. ground pork (or Italian sausage squeezed out of its casing)*
(sometimes we add a little bit of ground veal, too-- makes the meatballs softer)
* I actually cheat and buy the "Meatloaf Mix" from the grocery, which is ground beef, pork, and veal all blended together
~ chopped onions
~ freshly chopped (or dried) parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary
~ freshly minced garlic
~ 1 medium carrot, finely chopped (or a few tbs. of sugar to cut down the acidity of the sauce)
~ 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
~ other seasonings you might like (I use Spike)
~ Progresso Italian breadcrumbs
~ 1 egg
~ yellow mustard
~ worcestshire sauce
~ red wine
~ 4 big cans tomato sauce (I often use 2 sauce, 2 crushed tomatoes)
~ 1 tiny can tomato paste

Mix meat (but not too much b/c it will make the meatballs tough), some chopped onions, herbs, garlic, carrot, and seasonings, the egg, a few squirts of mustard, a shake or 2 of worcestshire together with hands in a large bowl. Add enough breadcrumbs so that the meat holds together to make meatballs. Form into meatballs (I like bigger ones) and place in large glass casserole (Pyrex) dish. Bake until cooked or microwave covered with wax paper for 20 minutes (what mom and I do). Meanwhile, prepare the sauce:
Brown some onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in olive oil in a large pot until tender. Add cans of tomato sauce and paste. Add 1 can of water for each can you put in. Add some more herbs, seasonings, some red wine, worcestshire, etc. When meatballs are done, use a strained spoon to add them to sauce. You can add some of the juices from the meatballs for flavor, but I try to cut down on excess fat when I can. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low for as long as you'd like- the longer, the more the flavor and thicker the sauce. Serve with spaghetti. This will feed about 4-6 people quite easily- with leftovers.

If you try it, let me know how it turns out! ;) I will never forget one of the first times I helped Mom make them at her house for a big family gathering. She told me to add the sugar to the sauce to cut down on the acid. I asked how much and she said, "Just a spoonful." Well, that was a mistake b/c I was actually using the spoon scooper from inside the sugar canister and it was probably a cup or so. Let's just say I RUINED the pot of meatballs. They were sweet as candy and disgusting. I remember Mom and Janey feverishly running around trying to figure out what to add to fix this. Well, there was no fixing it! I wasn't really asked to help much after that. ;) But no worries about that now- I've made them enough times on my own to know better. The good thing about our "a little this, a little that" way of cooking makes each batch come out a little differently. I think that is what makes them magical- delicious every time, but always a surprise.

Libby's sick again :(

Libby has been sick the past couple of days. It started Monday night with the barking croupy cough. Darrell took her outside in the cool air at about 2 AM, which seemed to help some. The next morning she sounded awful and even lost her voice, so Darrell stayed home with her. The doctor wanted to see her since she had to be on the nebulizer last time she was sick. But this time, she was prescribed steroids instead. I stayed home with her today since she was still really raspy.

It was a nice day to sit out on the porch swing since it was cool and rainy. We talked about how God was making the rain so that the plants, flowers, and animals can have a drink. She was tickled that they were actually thirsty! Then she asked if everythign she saw outside was thirsty, including the mailbox, the flag, the porch, the swing...

Let's just say that she's feeling better. I know this because she drove me bananas as the day went on! She wanted this and that and the other and then the 1st thing then the next. She must have eaten everything in our pantry and was still complaining of hunger. She followed me around all day, even to the bathroom! Then she wanted play-doh, so as soon as we got it all out, she didn't want it. Then she did again! Then she wanted the pizza game from downstairs. I went down, got it and took it all out the box, and wouldn't you know... she didn't want it anymore. She took a little nap, but as soon as I sat down on the couch when she woke up, she was pushing and pulling on me saying, "Mama, no sleeping! No close your eyes, Mama!" So, no rest for me today. But that's okay because even though she was a pain in the neck, it was still nice being alone with her in our PJ's all day long. How often do we get to experience that luxury? What a great way to spend a cold, rainy day!

Happy Easter 2010

Libby and Drew's birthday was even more special this year since it fell on Easter Sunday. We had a great weekend! We dyed Easter eggs, visited the Easter Bunny at Cox Farms, went to church, and had an Easter Egg Hunt in our yard. It was lots of fun since Nana, Uncle Tim, and Uncle Jeff were here to share it all with us! You'll notice that poor Libby got a sunburn on her face from being outside in the sunshine too much. But that didn't stop her one bit!