Family Fun - January 2016 begins!

January 2016 started out with snow.  We are "quiet" New Year's Eve and New Year's Day people.  On New Years Eve, we enjoy some soups for dinner and then have snacks while we attempt to stay up until midnight.  This year, we decided to let the boys stay up.  Josh made it (barely) but Nate lost the battle to stay awake at 11:30.  We tried and tried to wake him back up at 11:58 but he was out cold HA!  New Years Day we hung around home, the boys played in the snow, and also worked on doing some cleaning up from Christmas.

 Yes, this is Josh outside without a shirt.  He said he was hot and wanted to go outside.  I think it is incredibly funny.

 Josh and Nate did both get dressed eventually and went outside to take down all of the Christmas decorations.  They worked hard and took care of it all for me.

Nate also helped me inside the house by vacuuming up lots of pine tree needles after we took the Christmas tree outside.

 Love this smile!  Josh missing his two front teeth.  I try to get pictures of the boys as they lose teeth so we can remember what they look like at each point!

 Nate showing off one of his gifts from Grandma LeBeck - homemade hats!  They hats make me laugh anytime either one of the boys ever wear them.

Two of Nate's birthday balloons.  He decided that he wanted to let the pink one go up to the stars so he was hugging his balloons.  The funny thing is that because it was so cold outside, the balloon went up just a little bit, over the neighbors fence, and then sunk to the ground.  I quietly sent a facebook message to my neighbor and asked her to throw it back over the fence.  She did and the boys freaked out because they couldn't figure out how it "found its way back home" HA!

So, January started out quiet as we slowly got back into our routine.

Weekly Menu

This has been a pretty normal week for us.  It was busy with Swim Lessons and starting back into TKD but for the most part, our evenings were spent at home.  This next week my mom is beginning a stay at a local campground so we are looking forward to a mix of meals with her as well.  Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday:  Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs w/ Salad and Garlic Bread.  This is such a simple meal yet everyone loves it.  (Ok, it's not my favorite but sometimes I splurge and buy some fresh Alfredo Sauce and that makes me happy HA!)

Saturday:  Pizza.  Purchased and not made :-)

Sunday: Grilled Chicken Philly Sandwiches, Fried Zucchini, and roasted potatoes for after we get home from church.  My mom will be arriving this afternoon so, maybe after we get her set up, we will roast some hotdogs over the fire to start off her stay right!

Monday: The boys have TKD on Monday nights right now so Taco's is always the easy way out.  We can eat at different times without it being an issue.

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Enchiladas, Mexican Rice, and chips and cheese.

Wednesday:  The boys and I will head to my mom's for dinner most likely since my husband usually has practice on Wednesday evenings and eats in town.

Thursday: The kids are heading to my inlaw's for a few days so eating will be simple. 

Silenced

Silenced.

One of the profound statements that my husband made about 4 days after my dad had the strokes was simply these words: 

"He is silenced.  He has no voice." 

It was true.  If you knew my dad at all you know that he always had a voice.  He had words of wisdom, words that made you laugh or made you think.  He simply always had words.  He was filled with Biblical wisdom and stories of life.  He loved to talk about the things he loved and he always made everyone he met feel, well, loved and cared about. 

Then he was silenced.  A void that can never be filled. 

As I walked into the emergency room where my dad was being treated I was greeted by silence.  He was being given medication to try and reverse the effects of the stroke. 

Tuesday morning I was greeted by silence as his voice was restricted by tubes even though his eyes spoke volumes. 

He then suffered a second stroke and I saw the silence overtake him. 

He was silent as he was airlifted away.

He was silent as I rubbed his hair moments before he was taken into what we hoped would be a life saving surgery.

He was silent as the surgery did not go as planned due to unforeseen circumstances.

He was silent as he laid in a hospital bed and so many came to see him and pray.

He was silent as Jesus took him home to heaven.

He was silent.  His voice was gone. His voice is gone and is missed beyond measure.

I was silenced.  

My voice was used endlessly in the days following my dads stroke.  

I spent hours on the phone, sending texts, e-mails, and messages to family and friends trying to keep everyone up to date.

My voice began to disappear Tuesday afternoon as I called my brothers,  hour after hour, giving updates. 

My voice grew quieter due to stress and exhaustion. 

As I spoke to the surgeon and asked questions, my voice was a whisper. 

As the nurse took me aside and said,'I feel like you are in charge and I need to walk you through some things.", my voice was quiet. 

As I directed friends and family to the crisis room and answered questions, my voice grew faint.

Exhaustion took my voice. 

During the coming weeks and through the days and weeks following the funeral, I found my voice was often weak; quiet; a whisper at times.

I still find that I often don't have a voice.

I have sung in church since I was 13 years old but, I still cannot sing.  I can stand in church and listen to the songs but I cannot sing. 

The words are choked by tears as music touches my soul. Deeply. 

I cannot play the piano because my love of piano belongs to my dad. 

He is the one who found my piano teacher and even told her what song he wanted me to learn to play

He is the one who gave me that love. 

To play again is a deeply personal journey (one I must attack soon as I'm scheduled to play in a wedding)

Silence.  

It is not always golden. 

It is grief.  Sadness. Emptiness. 

It is healing. 

You might see me standing in church quietly.  

It is healing.

You might see me sitting at an event and quietly looking into the distance as the world goes by.

It is healing.

You might see tears run down my cheek as something as "simple" as Aero-med flies overhead.

It is memories. It is grief. It is healing. 

I know I will regain my voice.  Healing will come but for now . . . 

Silence.

What We are Eating - Hot Corn Dip

Hot Corn Dip
adapted From The Pioneer Woman

In planning our camping trip recently, I wanted to find something that I could throw in the crock pot while we were setting up and have ready to eat in just a few hours.  We planned on cooking Brats and Hot Dogs for dinner so a dip sounded great and when I came across this recipe it sounded too good to pass by.  It did not disappoint. A few things I did differently than the recipe:  I boiled the corn instead of grilling it.  I only added red pepper (I don't care for the taste of cooked green pepper) and I did not add any Jalapeno.  One thing to note, if you don't like the southwest flavor of Green Chillies, well, this dip is not for you :-)  We happen to love them so it was fantastic!

Ingredients; 

• 5 ears Corn
• Vegetable Oil For Brushing
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1  HALF Red Onion, Diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Diced
• 1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Seeded And Diced
• 1 whole Fresh Jalapeno, Seeded And Diced Fine (scrap Out Half The Seeds And Membranes)
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream
• 1 pound Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
• 2 whole Green Onions, Sliced
• Chili Powder, For Sprinkling
• 1 can (4 Ounces) Diced Green Chilies

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brush the corn cobs with vegetable oil, sprinkle with a little salt, and place on a grill pan for about 10 minutes, turning constantly. Remove it from the heat to cool. Cut the kernels off the cobs once they're cool enough to handle.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the onion, garlic, bell peppers, and jalapeno. Stir and cook for 5 minutes, until the veggies are soft and golden. Remove the skillet from the heat to let the veggies cool slightly.

In a mixer, combine the cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, and 2/3 of the Monterey Jack. Mix with the paddle attachment on low until combined. Add the green onions, the veggie mixture, the corn, and the green chilies. Mix on low until just combined.

Spread the mixture in a baking dish and sprinkle with the rest of the Monterey Jack. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until bubbly and golden. Remove from the oven and serve warm with tortilla chips!

 

What I'm Reading

You can always find out what I've been reading by visiting my Pinterest board over at Books I've read in 2016

After reading several books in a row that were good, but not Christian based, I went in search of some of my favorite Christian authors to see if they had any new books out that I hadn't read and I was so excited to find some including some new series that I was able to start too.

Lauraine Snelling is one of my all time favorite authors and I especially love her series based on the Red River Valley.  The most recent trilogy based on the family in that series had two books I haven't read. I will admit that even this series could be read as a stand alone set, the back ground of starting all the way at the beginning is helpful.  As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to start re-reading the entire set of series from the beginning myself because I love them so much.

Janette Oke is probably my all time favorite author and I thought she was done writing but, when I went searching I discovered that she has a newer series out that I hadn't read.  I'm just in the middle of the first book and I'm enjoying her writing just as much as I did in the past.  Years ago, after reading a series she wrote, I sent her a letter telling her how much I loved the series and why I loved it.  She wrote back.  A personal, hand written letter that talked about things I had written.  It was awesome.

Tracie Peterson and Dee Henderson  are also authors I enjoy and they both had new books out as well - both the start to new series.

 (I just discovered that the next book was just released July 5th :-) )  I believe that this "set" is more of a stand alone set where each book is written about a different character.

I'm still working on the stack of books I posted about HERE.  As is often the case, I enjoy the "fun" reading more than the reading to improve my daily living :-)

Summer Fun - July 4th

Last week brought it's own fun because, well, it was July 4th week!

Monday - We were at my mom's for the 4th and our day started at a great Parade in the neighboring town . We were fortunate enough to be invited to enjoy the parade at the house of a friend of my brother/sister-in-law which was awesome.  Darryl and I then left for home and the boys got to enjoy some sparklers with their cousins before the big Fireworks Show.

(So I have a few photos for this but . . .my camera battery died and I can't remember where I set the charger so I can't upload photos!  I know I put the charger in a place I could find it easily HA!) 

Tuesday-Friday - The kids were at my mom's all week.  I don't have photos from their week but here's a list of at least some of the things they got to enjoy:

-- Swimming in the neighbors pool with friends
--Playing at the McDonald's Playland
--Shopping with Nana at Walmart (because they always convince her to buy fun things HA!)
--Helping their cousin Seth do things around the Nana's house
--Playing with their cousins and Aunt
--Going to see "The Secret Life of Pets"


I'm sure I missed some things they did but I think you can see - they had fun. 

My Playlist

One of the very popular songs sung by Mercy Me is "I can only Imagine" which was written when the bands frontman lost his father after a battle from cancer.  Recently, though, I listened to an interview with Bart Millard (that "frontman") about a more recent song entitled "Finally Home" and that made the song more personal.  He shared the emotion behind the song in an article shared at New Release Today:

Please tell the story behind the song "Finally Home."
"Finally Home" was a last minute addition while we were writing for our last record. We still get so many comments about "I Can Only Imagine," written about my father after he passed away from cancer when I was 19. Lately, people have been asking if we are getting tired of the song. I am more invested in watching the reaction of people to the song than I am about myself anymore. The first few years of the song were for me, but ever since, the song has been for everyone else. Because of that, I wrote the lyrics "I’m gonna wrap my arms around my daddy’s neck and tell him that I’ve missed him," and I realized at that point, as I fell apart, that I haven't tapped into that emotion in a long time and didn't realize that I had so much emotion still pent up inside me. The guys and I were all crying as we wrote the song.
What's the main message and reaction you’ve received to the song?
It is very therapeutic for me. We call it the closure to "I Can Only Imagine." The song bookends the concept of singing about my relationship with my father. That's why the song was written. 

He talked more about how he can't wait to share with his dad all that he has done since his father passed away and how he can't wait to see him again.  That interview brought new meaning to the song to me and helped my understand why it was written.