Husband Approved Dinner!

It's the end of the school year and I am of course completely swamped with paperwork, and tying up loose ends.  I cook a lot for my husband, but there aren't as many days during the week that I actually enjoy it during this time of the year.  I got all of my work done (for the most part) at school yesterday, and came home to start cooking.  I was motivated, and I wanted to cook, although I have no idea where the motive came from!  OH well, I took advantage of the emotion while it lasted! 

The night before, I began marinading some chicken in a citrus/onion/herb marinade.  I sauteed some sliced mushroom and onion in some olive oil, and topped the chicken with the sautee mixture.  I opened a can of campbell's cream of mushroom soup and put that on top of the chicken, and then covered it to bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.  Made some greenbeans, rice, and garlic bread.  It was delicious.  After dinner dishes were cleaned and put away, I started on banana bread! 

Basically, I was super domesticated last night and could NOT get enough.  Also, my house smelt like heaven might.  The prize was of course hearing my husband mumble and moan while he took bites.  That means it's GOOD.  :)

Home is so much more than just the exterior look of a house, or the interior for that matter.  I am definitely a fan of big soft couches, soft linens, blankets, pillows, curtains, and bright decorating accents on the walls and within the home...but to me home is about the love shared inside.  The food enjoyed and the days discussed.  The prayers said, and the hands held.  I love my home, and I love being a warm attribute to its overall environment.  I love how cooking can arouse all of these warm and gooey feelings deep in my soul, and I love knowing that my love through cooking is appreciated and enjoyed. 

I LOVE cooking for my husband. 

Infertility and Update on Life

I have not been a very good blogger on this one, and I am sorry.  I have mainly been focused on my blog about my journey to a baby.  If you want to read and follow, you should do it!

About a year ago, my dear husband and I decided to really start ":trying" for a baby.  I expected like most women my age do, that we would try and a few months to a year later become pregnant and a new baby would be bouncing in my lap 9 months later.  Our hopes and expectations were brought to an abrupt hault when I got pregnant in September of 2013.  We were just beyond excited that after officially tracking days and truly trying it did not take us that long.  We sadly lost that pregnancy 7 weeks later on a cold October morning.

Long story shortened is, I have something called septate uterus.  I am not afraid to share this with the world, because it was new to me, and maybe there is someone out there who can learn and appreciate my story.  Maybe there is someone out there like me, who feels alone and just wants so badly to know there are others going through the same.  A septate uterus means I have a normal sized uterus that looks good from the outside.  On the inside, it is separated into two cavities by a wall of tissue called a septum.  I also have two cervixes and a vaginal septum (my vagina was separated into two parts too, and it took up almost 3/4 of the whole interior.  Crazy!)   I had surgery on 2/26/14 to have the uterine septum taken out, as well as the vaginal septum.  I still have two cervixes, but that is okay!  My Doctor said when I do have a baby, the baby will most likely just choose a path to take and the other one will just move out of the way.

I go in for another sonogram today to see if there is still residual septum in my uterus.  If there is, there is a chance I may need to go through the surgery again.  If the septum is small enough, giving a future baby plenty of room, she says she may just leave it.

It's been hard.  My husband and I are doing so much better.  We've definitely had some rough spots the past year or so.  God has really taken this storm and turned it into a beautiful opportunity for our marriage.  Through my relationship strengthening with my Heavenly Father, I have grown to love and appreciate my husband even more through all of this.  That is a blessing.  Not a curse.

One day, the storm clouds will roll away and through a sunny clearing, I will see a bright rainbow.  Just for me.  I just know it!

Kristen

Why I Love Folger's Coffee

     I love coffee.  My husband is feeding the addiction by purchasing me a Keurig Coffee machine recently for Christmas.  I have become quite the coffee connoisseur.  I can sip on a cup, roll it on my palette, and determine the pronounced flavors within the roast before even looking on the tag lines advertised on the box.  I can pick and choose from a line which coffees are medium, dark, and light, and I can tell you which coffees are higher quality than others.  I LOVE COFFEE.  All kinds.  Black, rich, light, creamed, sugared, decaf, half caf...it doesn't matter.  I think coffee is a wonderful blessing from above, and I can tell you now when I have babies someday and the doctor tells me to lay off the coffee, tears will be shed.  

I say all that to say this.  Nothing beats a morning cup of Folger's Classic Roast.  It truly is the best part of waking up.  It's the soft and soothing rumble coming from the Mr. Coffee in the morning, and then the chest-nutty/almond scent that begins filling the kitchen and then somehow travels down the hallway and into my bedroom... as if to gently tug me towards the sun.  It's the way it tastes coupled with a piece of wheat toast and jelly.  It's the way it reminds me off my childhood, and reminds me of sitting on the couch for hours on end in the morning talking with Dad and Valda...refilling cup after cup while we talk and enjoy time spent together.  It's mornings sitting on the couch snuggled next to my husband, and sharing Folger's breath kisses while cartoons blast in the background.  Simply put...Folger's is home.  No matter how many k-cups I buy, no matter how many flavors, Folger's will always be my morning cup of choice.  

Now, off to get a refill. ;)

Magic Mike is for the birds.

I hold the same opinion about Magic Mike today that I held the day I discovered it was coming to theaters.  It has got to be the lamest plot for a movie in the history of all movies.  End of story.  I recently read a blog post that inspired me greatly.  It inspired me so much in fact, I am now writing my own list of what makes a man completely irresistible and sexy to women.  I am writing this not solely because I strongly believe Magic Mike is full of double standards, but also because it encourages us to be completely desensitized, and allows women to fantasize about thinking in ways, and being in "places" that in the real world most people would be embarrassed to admit to (i.e sexual thoughts about other men, and Chippendale's...) but I am writing this most importantly because God has blessed me with a truly sexy and utterly irresistible man, and I could not be more thankful. He's not perfect, but neither am I! So, ladies...if you're confused about what makes a man sexy after watching Moron Mike, here is the list.  Men, if you want to know what truly attracts the right kind of woman to the right kind of man...read on because you might learn something.

Comes home after working long hours, and finds energy for you and your children even though his body is tired and rest is on his mind. 


Seeing that you're upset or concerned and pushing all of his issues aside to make sure that you are assured and comforted. 


He is not afraid to use the swiffer, dish washer, broom, or sponge.  And doesn't complain about it either. 


Gets under the covers with the kids and reads with them until they fall asleep on his chest.


Using his talents and abilities to help others without being asked.  He just has that much gold in his heart. 


Makes time to assure you that you're beautiful when he knows you need it the most.


A man that purposely looks away from other women and especially when she is dressed in far less clothing than you are. 


A man who appreciates the beauty of his wife, 20 years and plus into a marriage.  


A man who reads the Bible in front of His family in hopes they will follow His lead.


A man who reads the Bible TO his family with love and compassion.


A man who sweats out in the yard week after week to make sure the lawn looks "pretty".  :)



These are just a few.  Ladies, open your eyes.  Men, take note.

Being truly grateful now and always...

I had one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had in my life this past week.  What made it the best?  There were numerous factors to contribute including the fact it was my first time to host one and all of the food turned out beautifully.  I also had the ones I love most right there next to me, and got to spend quality time with them. (something I really don't get to do during the school week!)  My sister was here with Devon, my sweet husband of course, Tasha and Joey came with their mom, and they brought their two little babies.  We watched football after eating, and then played some board games and ate some more.  It was amazing.

Let me say something that may just blow you out of the water right now.

At 24 years old, this was THE FIRST Thanksgiving that I really and honestly understood the importance of just hanging out with family, loving them for who they are, and thanking God for all of the ways He has blessed us.  This was the first time I really thought about the real meaning of why we cook turkey and share it, why we pray together around the food, and how important it is to just sit on the couch and laugh with one another.    I know how cliche it is, but it really got me thinking about how many people and things God has blessed me and my family with.  I then started thinking about how... if God has blessed me with all of these things that I do not deserve rightfully, at any given moment if it was His choice, He could take it all back again.

That's a hard pill to swallow, especially after Thursday.  We are so accustomed to wealth and spoil here in America, that we hardly notice an opportunity for gratitude or encouragement when it arises.  God forbid it should take us all year long until we get to Thanksgiving to truly appreciate the loves in our lives.

 I am so incredibly thankful for my family, friends, and all of the ways God has blessed me.  What an amazing and Mighty Creator.  Thankful for His grace, thankful for his mercy, and so grateful for who He is.

Losing focus effects everything!

I have been having a really hard time focusing lately.  Not on one particular thing, it's just there are so many different things going on at once I am not sure my mind knows how to process it at the speed it's coming in.  Some of these things are good, and some of these things may be on the stressful side.  Either way, basis of the story is: I can't focus.  When I can't focus, I over think.  When I over think, I get into this really angry and pensive mood. I have been doing some serious thinking about focus today, and where mine should be at the moment.  God surely does not call me to be a disorderly, variously-minded person, who cannot seem to focus her priorities.  He also surely does not call me to have a mean and grouchy mood about my life, or towards others.  Even on my best days, I must admit I am only human.  Is that an excuse or a crutch?  Most definitely not...it's one of my flaws.  Miraculously, I have been given the gift of God's Word, and if I really take the time to dig into it, all of my questions can be super naturally answered.  How often do I forget this...HAHA.  Try daily.  So what does God say to me about what I need to be focused on?


"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things." Phil 4:8 (ESV)


Paul wrote the letter of Philippians to the Church of Philipi while he was IN JAIL.    This man, who was most likely sitting in a very rotten, stinky, cold and damp jail cell, was writing a letter of encouragement to friends and family.  To make the story even more interesting, he was telling them to think about pure and honest things.  I'm sorry....are you kidding me?  I can tell you exactly what I would be thinking if I were in a jail cell with Lord knows what kind of varmint, stinky stenches, and feeling starved on a regular basis.  I bet you can guess it would be very difficult for me to focus on pure things when I'm surrounded by all of that filth.  Kudos to Paul.  I am a woman after a heart like he had, and I mean that.  Maybe this is the type of focus I have been called to.  Not only the kind of focus that steers towards truth, honesty, justice, purity, and loveliness...but the kind of focus that even in the midst of the filth I can remember to think of others.  I am called to have the type of focus that prevails to encourage other people,  even while I am sitting in the darkness of unknown obstacles.  That's a pretty high calling if you ask me, and almost unattainable.  His yoke is easy though, and His burden is light, so...I'm thinking if I've got the Creator of the Stars backing me, this higher calling that's described in Philippians 4:8 is closer than I imagined it could be.  


Here goes nothin'...

Classroom update...almost there!

This is just an update on the classroom.  It is almost complete!