Snow day

We had our first snow day this last week. It only left enough snow to make a footprint. It was sad really. Yet schools were still cancelled. Schools are very cautious when it comes to snow here in our great state. Once, schools were cancelled because someone unexpectedly made a snow cone. Snow is a relatively infrequent visitor to Arkansas. In a typical winter we will see two or three snow “storms”. One of these occurrences will be considered severe. Severe translates into about two inches of snow. Here in the south, the first and only thing people do when it begins snowing is to buy bread, milk and eggs. It is critical to buy as much of these three things in whatever form they can be obtained. If the only thing available in the bread section of the grocery store is hot dog buns, that is what you should buy. No eggs? Egg beaters is going to have to do.

Last week's snow flurries qualified as one of these instances. The threat of snow caused mass pandemonium at the grocery store. I wish I had taken a picture. I was there on my regular weekly shopping run. I rarely listen to the news and had not realized the magnitude of what was about to hit our state. We were packed in like sardines. People were just grabbing what they could off the shelves. It didn't matter what it was, they were in a hurry to get out of there. They were all rushing around, I'd be surprised if some of them even stopped to pay. After all, they needed to get to the gas station, this is basic survival training. You absolutely MUST top off your tanks. You don't want to be caught without gas at a time like this.

Thankfully, I managed to get out of there in one piece. I can be quite scrappy when I need to be.

I am even more thankful for the pretty little snowman that Ryan made.

C is for.....chocolate! I love chocolate, and usually in large amounts. It is very important to my over all health and more importantly, my well being.

Here is the food pyramid. These are all the food groups. See that top one there? They say this one is to be used "sparingly" Who decides this anyways? How on earth did they convince themselves this was a good idea? Sparingly? Come on people.


I leave you with a great recipe for Molten Lava Cakes. They are awesome!

Really Awesome Beef Stew!

This is a great recipe for the cold winter months. It is hearty and delicious! I never grew up liking stew at all, but this recipe is awesome. It is easy to make and so very flavorful, you will never see stew the same way. It's a must try!

You will need
1 to 2 lb chuck tender steak
3 to 4 slices bacon
3 carrots
2 potatoes
fresh green beans
1/2 of a yellow onion
4 cups of beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoons parsley
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic

Start by cutting up the meat and vegetables.
Feel free to add more meat and vegetables than what I have above. I don't really measure how much I put in, but the above is my best guess. I usually put in a couple handfuls of fresh green beans, and a couple handfuls of cut up baby carrots. If you use the big carrots, I would use two to three. Also I use three thick slices of bacon or 4 regular slices for this dish.


Place the cut up slices of bacon in a pot or dutch oven over med. high heat with a little oil so the bacon doesn't stick. Did I mention this is not low-fat? Don't be skeered....

Cook the bacon until done and transfer to paper towels, it will come back into play later.


Leave two tablespoons of bacon grease in the pot and save the rest for the next step. Then throw in the cut up meat. Sear the meat on all sides and remove to a plate. It does not need to be cooked through.


Once the steak has been removed, lower the temp to medium and there should still be some grease and juices from cooking the meat at the bottom of the pan, if not add two more tablespoons to saute the vegetables. Then throw in the carrots, onions, and green beans. Cook until the onions are translucent. About five minutes.




Once they are cooked add the two tablespoons of butter and let melt. Then add the 5 tablespoons of flour and stir. It will turn into a paste around the vegetables.



Next add in the beef broth and stir. Then add in the two tablespoons of tomato paste. Once these are stirred in add back the meat and its juices, add the garlic, italian seasoning, bay leaf, and parsley. At this point put on the lid and either cook it on the stove over medium heat or stick it in the oven on 325 degrees for
1 1/2 hours.


After 1 1/2 hours add the cut up potatoes, then either put back in oven or on stove for 45 more minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.

Here it is in all its goodness! Yum!


Then get you a big ol' helping and sprinkle the bacon bits on top! I also add a little salt and pepper. So So Good!


I serve this with either rolls, or garlic cheddar biscuits, or yummy cornbread. I will give you those recipes another day.

*Do not use stew meat in this dish, stew meat is tough and chewy. I use chuck tender steak which you can find at walmart, or you could use sirloin or any other tender cut of meat. You will not regret it. Also if you can add just about any vegetable...celery, mushrooms, etc. Try this as soon as possible it will make your winter a little more bearable!

You must listen to this!!!

If you want to hear more David Platt sermons or his entire series on what the Gospel demands go to www.radicalthebook.com/resources.html
and below sermon resources for each chapter of his book he has sermons that go along with each chapter. I would highly recommend reading the book too! It has changed my thinking completely. It is time to make huge sacrifices for Christ. As he puts it "We are His plan A, there is no plan B."

B is for......Books!

I love books! Love, Love, to read. I love to read fiction and non-fiction. Generally if I am going to read non-fiction it is Christian books. And of course I love reading the Bible. I also really like Fiction! I am one of those that has read the Twilight series and loved it! For those of you who haven't read it, you need to. Right now. I also like Christian fiction, such as the Left Behind series or the Mark of the Lion series. Have you heard of Francine Rivers? She wrote the Mark of the Lion series. Its awesome.

I would say the only thing I dont like to read is when it is an "assignment". Generally I am not favorable of studying. I did not like this about college. I would avoid it at all costs, and most of the time I got away with it. Then there was spanish.....I will own up to the fact that I lacked a certain something as a student of foreign language. That missing something, which I will call initiative, did nothing to endear me to the teacher. It couldn't be helped I'm afraid. I was a classic underachiever when it came to school. It just took up too much time, college is supposed to be about hanging out right? It just made too much sense to me not to have it that way.

My husband says I am a complex person. He seems to think he could write a very long book about all my quirks. He sees quirks, I see innovation. Sometimes, when you are an innovator, it is hard for people who see you every day to recognize it. I try not to fault him for his lack of insight in this matter.

So I'll try to share things that make me who I am. I realize you know some basics about me but there is always more. I realize it may be more interesting to me than to you. I plan to make this even more boring by going through these alphabetically.

Naturally we will start with A!



A is for Animals. I love animals! More specifically I love having pets. Frankly, I dont understand those who do not like pets. We have a dog and 2 cats. Ben wishes we did not have the latter.

Here is a picture of Gauge

We love him! I mean he has pretty much destroyed our back door because he freaks out when it is storming. We let him in a lot but he can be a real baby when there is even a hint of a strong wind. He also has destroyed some toys and stuffed animals. We once had to take him to the er bc he ate two giant turkey legs. He can be a real mess. But he is great with the kids. And generally he is pretty well behaved.

Here is a picture of our cats. The one on the right is Sam, the other one is Oscar.


Sam is the sweetest most well behaved animal you will ever meet. She's awesome. Even Ben can deal. She likes to curl up beside me at all times.

Oscar (I think) is awesome too. He was found outside in our backyard in Gauge's mouth. I heard some hissing and cries coming from the backyard and ran out there, and sure enough Gauge had him in his mouth, like he was a chew toy. Oscar was a tiny little kitten and scared to death. I quickly grabbed him out of Gauge's mouth and ran inside to look him over for injuries. He was fine, besides being covered in drool, he looked pretty good. We asked around to see if it was a neighbor's but no one claimed him! I was pretty excited about this. He wouldnt let anyone touch him for a couple of days but soon adjusted and grew quite comfortable with me. He was so used to living on the street that he would snatch food right off our plate and run off. This is why Ben thinks he is from the devil. Ben does not share food.

I grew up always having pets so it suits me well. We always were the family that would take in a stray. So animals will always be a part of me. I used to want to be a vet until I realized I would probably cry all day long. I just cant stand to see them in pain. Plus you have to take a lot of chemistry. I dont believe in chemistry.

Basically there is not an animal I dont love. Dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, etc. I would make a great farm girl.....except for the manual labor and rising before the sun is up.

Really excited about this conference coming in Febuary!
Come check it out!

We are all meant to play a part in orphan care.
Every. single. one. of. us.

Take time to think about your part in caring for the least of these. I promise you will never be the same. While your thinking, check out this post. It will make you think some more.

"Once our eyes are opened we cannot pretend we do not know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows we know and holds us responsible to act."
Proverbs 24:12

Come to the conference!

Have you ever.....

Have you ever wanted to know what would happen if you flushed a bunch of rocks down the toilet? I know the answer.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you push the emergency button in the elevator? Just ask me.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to topple over one of the displays at Wal-Mart? I can tell you all about it.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you empty an entire bag of fish food into a fish tank? Let me fill you in.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to mix juice into your brownie batter? I've got the 411.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you looked through a complete strangers purse? Yep, I do.

I learn so much from having kids! Its awesome. Lets face it, some days I'm ready to fall on a sword. :) But most days I just can not help but laugh. My kids must account for somewhere around 100% of the broken things in my house. Generally, the breakage is not well-received. But afterward, like way afterward, I can look back and laugh. After all its just things, right?

But the memories...they are forever.

Here are the usual suspects

Play!

I came across this quote and wanted to share. I am reminded time and again, that I need to play more. We get busy taking care of our children and forget to PLAY with our children. It is amazing how much can be accomplished just in play. We get to connect to our kids in the most simple of things, and we are reminded that life should be Fun! God takes pleasure in the simple things, in the ordinary things. Rejoice in the daily routine as God does!

"A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown -up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon.

It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we." Orthodoxy G.K. Chesterton

Great Meat Marinade

This is a wonderful meat marinade recipe. It is good for steak, pork, and chicken. It is reusable marinade but not after you use it on chicken, due to the throw up factor or what some people call, salmonella.

I once had salmonella poisoning, so did my daughter and my husband and some friends we were eating with. It hit us about 24 hours after eating. My daughter just threw up a few times bc she only ate a little. I was pregnant at the time with Jacob so I chowed down. Probably had two or three helpings of the stuff. Ben too. So we both started throwing up that next night. And. it. would. not. stop. I was so sick, Ben took me to the women's hospital since I was pregnant. They put me in a bed and hooked me up to an iv. Ben, bless his heart was by my side trying to be a comfort. He had to keep running to the bathroom to throw up. He looked real bad, pasty white, sweaty. At some point in the night he collapsed and they had to admit him to the hospital too. We got to share a room! They told them he was the first male ever to be admitted to the hospital. That was a proud moment for us both. We felt much better after about 24 hours and went home. We talked to our friends who also said they threw up all night, I guess they didn't have it as bad as us though. I felt really guilty......

oh yea, did I mention that I made the meal that sent us to the hospital? Sometimes it’s truly the thought that counts, isn't it? You betcha.

Oh and the night I got salmonella we were eating chicken spaghetti NOT anything marinaded. So don't get scared away. This marinade is so yummy. Try not to think about the story I just told.

OK lets begin!

You will need:

1 1/2 cups salad oil
3/4 cups soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 tablespoons parsley
1 tablespoon pepper
2 1/4 tsp salt
2 cloves of garlic crushed or chopped

Combine all ingredients and stir. Then add the meat! Its really easy. Sorry I have no pictures. I usually marinade steak for 6 to 8 hours, pork about the same, and chicken just a couple of hours. I usually use the marinade up within a couple of weeks of making it. I will post some pictures of the finished products the next time I make it!

Dear Pumpkin

Hey, Pumpkin. It is the time of year when you become a trendy food ingredient. Pie. Soup. Casserole. Beer. Bread. Coffee.

Stop it.

You are not food. You are a decoration.

People pretend to like you to get closer to the whipped cream.
Notice they only like you when you are seasoned and in a pie. I will not be moved. You are not a food to these people, you are a vessel for their cinnamon and nutmeg lust. You are a delivery system for spices.

Here are the things you are good at: Being carved and placed out front of people's houses till you rot. Being shot out of a cannon. Being the head for the scarecrows around the world. Stick to what you are good at. There is no shame in it. We all have our roles.

OK glad to get that off my chest

Here is another thing that confuses me about this season. The ushering in of cornucopias. You know what I'm talking about right? The baskets that you make centerpieces that have stuff spilling out of them. I mean what is the point of a basket if it won't even hold its contents?


Here is a picture of said basket not holding it's contents.


I do love Thanksgiving however, I love all the food and family. My mom always whips up a bunch of deliciousness. It feels like when I was a kid. Which I always like to be reminded of.

Sup

Ok I know it has been forevs since I have blogged. Let me explain...
So I had surgery a few weeks back. Doc removed an ovary, my appendix, and my cervix. I had been having trouble with pain in my ovary, I already don't have a uterus, so he decided to take the right ovary and the cervix out. Then I asked him to remove my appendix while he was in there. Seemed to me with my streak I would end up having appendicitis sooner or later so it was a preemptive strike.
Anyways surgery went fine (at least I thought). This surgery is usually an outpatient surgery....meaning that you go home the same day. My doctor decided to keep me because I am usually so sick after surgery from the general anesthesia. Well that night I started hurting really bad, like worse than childbirth pain. Like worse than what I think jumping off a building might feel like. My heart rate was around 160 laying down, my blood pressure got really low, and I was white as a sheet. It all feels like a bad dream. Anyways after drawing blood and studying me for awhile they determined I was bleeding internally. So guess what? I had to go back into surgery that next morning. Turns out I lost somewhere between 4 to 6 pints of blood and was hours away from organ failure. Crazy huh? I didn't know any of this until after or I might have been freaking out. But I was pretty calm. They gave me a blood transfusion and some iron and sent me on my way.

Looking back on it now I feel so blessed that I have God to watch over me. Just think if I had gone home after surgery instead of staying in the hospital, that decision probably saved my life. But it wasn't really the doc, it was God. He knew, He cared. It is amazing to me that He loves us that much! How great are His affections!

Oh and the surgeon told me my appendix was inflamed and looked like it would rupture any day. Another miracle.

So sorry for the prolonged absence I realize your day rises and falls on my whereabouts. I apologize. :)

I hope to be back to my regular self soon. When I post again I would like to discuss peoples infatuation with all things pumpkin. It shouldn't even be classified as food. Its weird.

Another Announcement!!

Ok this post has been a long time coming and some of you already know all about what I am going to say. About 6 months ago, Ben came home from work and told me he was really feeling like God was calling us to do more for the orphans. As many of you know we have one adopted son and are in the process of adopting again. But as it turns out God has called us to more. Long and short of it, Ben and I prayed and prayed and felt such a strong calling to meet the needs of many orphans in practical ways.

We started a non-profit called The James Initiative. The idea behind this initiative is to bring hope. Bringing hope by building and sustaining orphan communities. Our first project we plan on starting is in Ethiopia. We would like to build a children's center for children to come to to get clothed and fed. We also want to build family-style homes around this center for those orphans with no mom or dad to live with "house parents" Eventually we would like there to be a school, a clinic, and agriculture. These may come about through partnerships with other non-profits. We are in the infant stage of this project. All we know is we have to follow the calling. We have a wonderful group of people already on board with this project and praying over this project. God will remain in the center of this project and at the front of all our steps. Please understand, this is God's ministry, we are just participants. It is ultimately for His glory. We are humbled to be a part of bringing hope to these children.

Right now we have incorporated and our in the process of getting our 501(c)3 status from the IRS. As far as in Ethiopia the next steps are to go and to apply for NGO(non-governmental organization) status. We need favor with the Ethiopian government that they will like our proposal and give us freedom to work in their country.
Ben and a few others are hopefully going later this fall to Ethiopia. We already have some ethiopian contacts that are going to help us once we get there.

And here's the thing...there are millions of orphans waiting for hope at this moment. The numbers and statistics can seem overwhelming, but every moment we have, is an opportunity to make a difference! It is time for radical sacrifice in our lives. When we strive to be a blessing, we in turn are blessed! I pray that our actions toward orphans reveal Christ in us. As David Platt explains in his book, we are God's plan A for the hurting world, there is no plan B. WE have to be His hands and feet.

"You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
2 Corinthians 9:11

Anyone who wants to be a part of the James Initiative in some way is welcome! We are very excited about what the future holds and are so thankful for those who have already stepped up to be a part! Bottom line.....Hope in Christ should be shared.

"Hope means a continual looking forward to the eternal world. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought the most of the next." C.S. Lewis

Go to the website to learn more! I am hopefully going to be blogging on it as well. Here is also a video we did for an upcoming conference. Check it out!



*Statistics from the video are from UNICEF, World Health Organization, and Christian Alliance for Orphans .

There is so much more to share but I think it will take many posts to share the whole vision. Please stand with us in prayer over this initiative! He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine! Ephesians 3:20

Website is www.thejamesinitiative.org or click on The James Inititative above. I still dont know how to make links different colors. Bear with me!

Benadryl

Yes this post is about Benadryl. I have a cold. I am taking a lot of Benadryl.
Ahhh Benadryl.... There is no sleep like sick in bed on Benadryl sleep. Days can go by unnoticed. Sleep is the best thing for me when I’m sick. Benadryl turns out the lights, even if my eyes are open. I am not responsible for anything I might have said these past few days or for what I say in this post.

Anyways I realized a few things while I was laying on the couch (feeling sorry for myself) flipping through the channels. One thing was that I am one of the only people on earth who does not have a talk show. I've got to do something to remedy that. I’m equally as unqualified as anyone else to have my own show, yet there are so many who are not me who do. Perhaps I’m on a waiting list. This is what I have to believe anyway.

Secondly, I think Disney has something against mothers. Have you ever noticed there seems to be an awful lot of Disney movies where the mother is not present or killed in the opening credits? What is this about? Aladdin, Beauty & The Beast, Pinocchio, Nemo, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Ratatouille, Snow White....No mother, no no no no. What is the meaning of this? What is the purpose....beyond causing me to wonder about it the rest of the day? Because when your on Benadryl you wonder about stuff like that.

Other things i have been wondering about...

How can I get my kids to clean my whole house....

Why does my husband feel that, at the completion of his business, if there is even a square of toilet paper left on the roll, he is absolved of all roll replacement responsibilities. It’s hard to say if one square will be sufficient for the next user. It is also not his problem.

Why does Joby feel like he needs to take everything out of his drawers and pile it up in the corner of his room? What message is he sending?

Why do we drive on parkways and park in driveways?

What does hummus taste like?

So I could go on and on until you got really tired of me, tempting.... but I don't think it is going to happen.

I leave you with another thing I wonder about....why can't my boys always act this sweet to each other?

Africa stuff!!

I have some new Africa stuff to show you guys. This stuff will also be sold to benefit the adoption. Yay! I have to mention that my mom is a wonderful seamstress. I mean she's awesome, it's not human. None of her neat, creative traits passed down to me in case you were wondering. I often wonder about it.

So to start she makes these adorable security blankets or a lovey or whatever you want to call them. They are little. Here are a few examples.



She also makes these wall hangings!


and pillows! This one is a little dirty bc someone's grubby hands were all over it.


She makes things without africa on them too. I will get some pictures of those up soon! She will make anything in the colors you like, boy or girl. I didn't have a girl one pictured bc they sold! But she is making more, aren't they cute? She also does baby bedding, from bumpers, to sheets, to quilts, to pillows. She does it all! She will also monogram for free with a purchase! All prices vary, email me if you are interested in anything at carriecbutler@gmail.com and I will continue to put up pictures as she does them.