beans and rice

 

a few weeks ago heather wrote an inspiring post about how her and her family got the idea to eat rice for dinner once a week.  in doing so, they donate 10% of their food budget to world hunger.  i thought it was a great idea.  for the past 2 weeks sam and i have been eating rice and beans (haiti style!) on wednesday nights.  it is pretty shocking to me, but when i finished grocery shopping for the week, i had exactly 10% left over.  wow.

i am excited to do more with this later on when nic is older.  i want to talk to him about different countries and hunger problems world-wide.  thanks for the idea, whittakerwoman…

oh look, photos.

so, it’s no secret that i am no pro at the whole computer thing. i usually need help with some stuff. i know the basics, but well, it takes me awhile to get around to the cool stuff. anyway, that said, i think it is just about time for a few pictures! because i love to look at blogs with pictures, and mine is sorely lacking. so…tada! maybe i will do it right and you will see some photos below.

 

my hubby and son fishing on the fourth!

 

nooch swinging and laughing

 

 

 

all of us!

oh i am festive now.  look at all those (three!) photos!!!!!

does this mean i can’t make the “wise choice” anymore?

well, this past thursday i got my wisdom teeth taken out. all 4. it was my first “surgery.” i have had a pretty uneventful medical history, and i’d like to keep it that way, thank you very much.
it was totally not what i expected. i was “sedated” through an iv. basically, i expected to fall asleep, not remember anything, and later, “come out” of some sort of weird sleep. unfortunately, i apparently was not breathing correctly (um, what????) and so they couldn’t really put me all the way under from what i understand.
at any rate, i remember the whole thing. i can tell you the order they took the teeth out, i remember the stitches going in…all that. no pain though, which is super. i kept talking to the doctor and nurses during the whole thing. i kept saying, “shouldn’t i be asleep?” and they just kept telling me, “you weren’t breathing right.” i was apologizing, but i didn’t think that was something i had to manage while i was supposed to be freaking sedated.
oh well, it is over. i have 4 holes in my mouth now and some ridiculously annoying stitches that i wish would *please* dissolve before i rip them out go crazy. i am also taking an antibiotic and i have some mouth rinse that–bonus!–numbs my tastebuds so everything tastes like stale bread.
it’s really been a delightful experience.
have you had YOUR wisdom teeth out?? tell me all about it!
oh–big THANK YOU to gretch and my sweet sam for taking such good care of me at home…you guys are the best.

tornado season

well, i’ve just returned from a trip east for my brother’s wedding. it was awesome! my husband and i also celebrated our 5 year anniversary on the trip! so fun. all in all, a pretty good trip.

but then we tried to travel home.

summer in indiana is riddled with storm warnings, tornadoes, and flash floods. it’s delightful, really. however, as we traveled from ohio to indiana on monday, we ran smack in to some of the worst rain i have ever seen, let alone driven through. we had just passed middle point. i forget if it was in indiana or ohio. it all looks the same so scenic it’s hard to tell. we literally could not see the road in front of our car. so we coast off this exit just as the radio announcer is mentioning that there is a tornado spotted in middle point. PERFECT. we are literally in the middle (ironic name for an exit) of the storm. the radio guy (pretty much our bestie at this point) is telling us to take cover and all sorts of things that you don’t want to hear (especially when you have a toddler in tow)! so we drive…um, more like creep, along the road looking for a shelter of some sort. because in case you didn’t know, the alternative to a shelter is to lay down in a DITCH on the side of the road. right. i can hardly get nooch to lay down for a nap in his own comfy crib, let alone in a ditch on the side of a flooded road. so we are desperately seeking shelter. we come upon a drive in movie theater…however a huge screen coming crashing down didn’t look like the best option for us. so right next door is this house. we figure whoever is home might let us in their basement. you know, being human and all, we figured they’d help us. so my fearless husband trots up to the door (getting soaked) and knocks. no answer. he knocks again…then he OPENS THE DOOR. i am wildly gesturing –what the #(*&(#* are you doing??? he is motioning me in. there is no one home in there! i take one look at the green sky and one look at my sweet nooch (who is still blissfully coloring away in his carseat) and scoop him up to run into the house. the house that isn’t ours. that is open. that we are illegally using for shelter. i just keep saying, “this is so illegal, this is so illegal.” thankfully the warning expired about 15 minutes after that and we could escape.

just in case you’re wondering, no one ever came home. if you’re from middle point…i hope i didn’t break in to your house. i’m sorry.

i hate tornadoes.

Book 22

If you’re married, you really should check out Book22. Especially after hearing Morgan’s talk in church on Sunday, all I could think of was that more people should know about this site! They even have a blog, which i added to my blogroll.
Really, go check it out. Happy shopping!

Caprese Salad…a recipe.

i had a request for a recipe (gretchen) and we were talking about this one today at small group. so here you go!

Caprese Salad (serves 4-ish)
2 large tomatoes (really best in summer)
1 large ball of fresh mozzarella cheese
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped (like a 1/2 cup maybe?)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper

Slice tomatoes and cheese in thick slices. Arrange artfully on a plate. (i do an overlapping circle…you know, use your imagination.) Sprinkle with basil. Drizzle vinegar first, then oil. Season with salt and pepper. (fyi-fresh mozzarella is WAY less salty than the deli stuff. so salt it liberally if you wish)

I also make this with boccocini (small, individual fresh mozz. balls) and cherry or grape tomatoes. no slicing needed. it looks pretty in a glass bowl.

I serve this with grilled chicken and asparagus in the summer!
ENJOY!

back home again from haiti

hey everyone! just wanted to update about the haiti trip. we all arrived safely home on saturday evening. it was a really long day of travel, but i’m thrilled i could be home for mother’s day with sam and nic. (which, by the way, was very nice! sam blogged about it with pictures and everything, imagine that!)
a few comments about the trip:
i mainly worked with the dentist. he was under an extreme amount of pressure, but managed to pull through nicely. he pulled 61 teeth out of 60 people. some were 5 or 6 at a time. seeing all that was a lot more than i bargained for, but a good experience. it was great to know those people wouldn’t be in any more pain.
the home we started construction on was mostly completed. i think the roof and some paint is all that was left. the guys all put in a lot of long days to make it happen.
i was able to go into the school at double harvest and do some dental education, as well as interact with the teachers and students. i really enjoyed that aspect of the trip. the children were so animated and seemed to be excited about something as simple as brushing their teeth!
my biggest take-away from the whole experience was just an overwhelming feeling of respect for the people-particularly the women-of this country. they really do so much with so little. as a mom, i feel the universal pull to provide a “great life” for my son. seeing the moms in haiti do virtually the same for their children reminded me what a “great life” really means. it’s not all the stuff, or the house, or the white picket fence. it’s not the activities or the gifts. it’s the time and the love; the playing and the reading, all the things that don’t cost a thing. and i definitely was reminded that if women in haiti can feel that need to give to their child and provide it with so little, than i can surely give nicholas those things here in the US.
overall, it was a great trip. we met some great people, and i know that some groundwork is being laid for future trips. i was honored to be a part! thanks for all your prayers and support!!!

live from haiti!!!

hello all!!!!!!!! i am writing from double harvest here in croix de bouquets, haiti. our accommodations are awesome and i’m thrilled to have internet access. our main duties while we are here are to build a home for a woman with 3 children, and to provide dental education and services to locals. today we had the chance to visit the home and begin work on that, as well as visit the school and see the village next to double harvest. we attended a home dedication for a family in the village. it was for a family of 7 orphans, being cared for by the oldest sibling. we also attended at church service this morning at 6:30 am (!) that they provide for their laborers here at double harvest. then, the workers go into the field for the day. it is so hot here. the sun is fierce. gretch and i spent the majority of our day in the bed of a pick up truck riding back and forth from double harvest to the home site. it was a SHOCKINGLY bumpy experience. we totally “got air” several times in the back. so we will be sore tomorrow. tonight we cooked for the team and celebrated the arrival of our dentist, jeff. he has been delayed in travel. we are all looking forward to the work we can do with the clinic. we will know more about that tomorrow. gretchen and i are really racking up the new experiences here! we have been so excited to see all the children and look forward to being in the school more.

i am really missing my two favorite boys at home. sam has emailed a few times and it sounds like they are having great “daddy-son” time. you can check out those adventures HERE on his blog.

well, the team is hanging out and playing some cards. i think i will join them! maybe more soon!!!

I’m off!!

well, i’m taking off for indy tonight. i’ll stay at the airport and then we leave bright and early at 6 AM. OHMYWORD. how early is that??? i haven’t seen 6 AM in a looong time. but hey, sacrifices you know? poor gretchen–i’m really not much of a morning person.
anyway, i’m really excited to go to haiti and do whatever i can to help…as well as learn whatever God has for me. i know that it will be amazing, no matter what. i’m really looking forward to sharing with you all when i return. if you think of us, please pray for safety and the ability and opportunity to minister in various ways.
we are SUPPOSED to have internet down there…i’m not really holding my breath. but if we do, i’ll try to update! if not–more in a week!

oh, side note: my sweet hubby is keeping my little one ALL week by himself! (okay, with the HUGE help of julie, brigit, and barbie)…and he’s video-journaling it all HERE. check it out and show him some link love.

Sweet Babies

i read a great blog…”one thing” written by Jenni who has 12 (!) children. anyway, i really like her blog not just because she is a mom, although i like that too, but also because she just really witty, deep…things i’m really not. haha…

so her post today…wow…pretty moving for me as a mom.  i remember thinking when nicholas was born…i really don’t want to look back and wish i had appreciated this time in his life more– you know, because EVERY parent i’ve ever known says that.  so i really tried to make a big point to appreciate all his little features and characteristics.  but looking back, i know that with my next child (if God chooses to bless me with one) i will notice different things, more things, i hope.  anyway, the post over at “one thing” really verbalizes all of that.  i hope that it doesn’t take 12 kids for me to realize how precious and wonderful the newborn stage is.  because i’m not looking to have 12 kids…but you never know.  haha.  enjoy.

 

“I used to be a moron.

Not that I can now claim to have completely escaped from the tangled web of morony, but from at least one thread I have won my freedom.

This sticky, deceitful thread was the one entitled “newborns are boring”. 

In years long past, I would gaze upon the face of my infant child and sigh at their helplessness. I wanted them to DO something. When would they smile? When would they sit up? When would they crawl? I checked the books and chafed at the interminable time it would take before they would be entertaining.

Moron. Card-carrying. Certifiable.

When they would curl their bodies into tight little balls as they lay upon my chest, drawing their feet up and tucking in their arms, a chrysalis of humanity encapsulated between my collar bone and navel…I didn’t find that particularly wondrous.

When their heads would lift off my chest, bobbing and weaving, eyes wide with unfocused wonder and mouths in tiny o’s of surprise, struggling to study my features before burrowing back into my neck in exhaustion…I didn’t think that was terribly interesting.

When they would twitch and squeak as they slept, eyes darting under delicate lashes as they sailed their ship of dreams, smiling suddenly, breath puffing out in the heh-heh-heh of a Lilliputian laugh as angels stood at the helm and told them of the adventures they would have together..I did not stand in amazement.

When they would wake in the night, nuzzling and searching for comfort, flailing and furious at the sensation of hunger, knowing somehow exactly how to be satisfied: nurse, swallow, breathe, repeat…I never saw the miracle before me.

But slowly, so slowly…I have learned. I have cut away the sticky demands, the tangle of impatience, the ignorant blinders that kept me from seeing all that my infants were.

They were fascinating. From the curl of their fists to their wrinkled soles, amazing. At two weeks (+!), my newborn has already changed monumentally from when I first laid eyes upon him. He does not smell like the breezes of heaven anymore, but of Burt’s Bees Baby Wash. He does not wear the infintesimal speck of size NB any longer. The cord has shrivelled and gone. Every day, he grows (faster, I think, than any baby has before).

I sit and rock him, and stare. I do not want him to sleep so that I can “get something done”. I do not hasten to lay him in his bed as soon as he is finished nursing. I do not wonder how long it will take him to smile at me in recognition. I kiss his wizened little old-man hand and do not wish for it to fill out. I am cherishing his tinyness. And I cry for the infancies that I wished away, in ignorance and impatience.

I wish I could have them back, just for an hour, to treasure them for all that they already were.

In this respect, at least, I am no longer a moron”

thanks for the words, Jenni.  you are so right.