Food Successes

Well, as of last post I was headed off to make Chicken Pot Pie for dinner...it was a success and super easy.  I cut off some of the prep/cooking time by using some pre-baked chicken from the evening before so all I needed to do was dice it up and throw it in the skillet with the onion let it brown up a bit before adding Thyme and chicken broth mixture with some half and half and bit of corn starch to thicken it up a bit.  The thyme gave it such a delicious flavor--normally I'm not a huge fan of the spice.  Once everything was cooked a little I added about a cup of frozen peas and carrots (it not only added to the flavor, but to the color of the food as welll--without those peas and carrots it would have been a very bland and boring color.)  I then spooned it into a 9" pie plate, added 4 sheets of whole wheat phyllo dough and brushed the top with a bit of olive oil and threw it into a 400 degree oven.  Fifteen minutes later I pulled out a beautifully, lightly browned chicken pot pie!  Mike and I ate half of it for dinner that night and he had another quarter of it for lunch the next day!

Yesterday I tried another new recipe!  I am trying to cook healthier meals for us, but also ones that will fill my husbands always flat stomach!  At one point early in our marriage---around 4-5 months in--we were going to the gym about two days a week; Mike was trying to gain more weight and bulk up a bit.  If he were to eat as many calories as he would need to gain the weight, he would eat us out of the house.  Not to mention he doesn't have the emotional attachement to food that I do.  So he told me late last year that he'd get bored of eating before consuming the number of calories he'd actually need to eat for the weight gain he wanted!  One word....jealous...in more ways than one!  Anyway, this isn't about my husband's fast metabolism or his lack of emotional attachment to food but new recipes!  So, my new recipe yesterday was an Apple Butternut Squash Soup.  In my opinion it tasted better tonight than it did last night--perhaps it got thicker or the flavores got to mingle with one another all last night and all day today.  Either way it was delicious!  This too was quite an easy recipe and ready to eat within 45 minutes of starting to prepare it.  The hardest part was to peel, de-seed and chop the butternut squash into inch size chunks.  I browned a small onion in a tablespoon of olive oil for about 5 minutes before I added the squash and cooked it with the lid on for 10 minutes.  After stirring several times I added 3 cups of low-sodium chicken broth and let it simmer for about 20 minutes until the squash was soft.  Next I removed the squash chunks with a slotted spoon, put it into a blender with 1/3 cup of unsweetend apple cided and pureed it.  Once it was relatively smooth I added 1 1/3 cups of the broth to the blender to puree it until it was completly smooth, then transferred it back to the sauce pan to heat it until hot.  A couple lessons I learned when cooking this recipe was to puree it in 2 batches---my blender was completely full (thankfully the lid still fit, but just barely) and you really want to use a bigger sauce pan.  My 3 quart was very full--no room for extras!  If I had a four quart that would have been perfect, but I think my 6 quart would have been a little overboard.  I took a gamble and came out with a win in the end! 

I served this delicious soup with some homemade bread made in my breadmaker that Mike gave me for Christmas!  I haven't bought a loaf of bread since I started using it middle of last month after my birthday.  Thanks to my sister and her husband I've had the boxed bread mixes so all I've had to do so far is scan the barcode on the box, dump everything into the mixer and press start!  I love it!  I only have one more pre-mixed package to use and then I will try my hand at measuring all the ingrediants and actually set the machine to the proper baking requirements!  I have loved the scan, dump and start method! 

Oh, what new recipes can I make this week.... 

Obsessions

I've been having a new obsession....Gilmore Girls!  The family I started nanning for in January--they have a beautiful 4 month old girl and cute 4 year old boy--has all 7 seasons, so I've been watching them over the past several weeks.  I'm already on season 5...have I mentioned I've been slightly obsessed?  haha  Yes, and this is the first thing I post on in a couple months.

It is fun though to spend several mornings a week with his precious 4 month old girl--Amelia.  She has been such a joy and I am loving every moment!  I take her to the park for about an hour and she enjoys having tummy time on a blanket in the grass--new sights, smells, sounds and things to feel.  I also get the cutest smiles--it's great that she knows who I am!  Liem is usually at preschool, but we got to spend Presidents Day together and he is such a sweetie and a great big brother.  He loved going to the park, but we were only there for 10 minutes before we had to go.  The time difference it takes to get a baby and 4 year old ready for the park is at least double!  Goodness gracious!

Well, time is ticking away and I need to get started on dinner for tonight before our Bible Study.  I'm making a chicken pot pie--hopefully it will turn out well! 

I Fell Off the Face of the Blog World

Well, it has been quite a while since I've updated y'all on what's going on in the Dearborn home.  I fell off the face of the blog world for several months and thought up numerous posts, but never had the time to sit and actually write.  I'm hoping to hit the biggest events over the last couple months, so this could become a bit lengthy....you can't say I didn't warn you!  And unfortunately no picutres...I am in the process of cleaning out my computer (hard drive and all) due to a possible virus.  Thankfully I have everything backed up, now I just have to clear it and reinstall everything!  But enough of the mundane...

Mike is working at Alliance Defense Fund and has been there close to two and a half months!  ADF is an amazing organization that works to defend our First Liberty.  Go to their website and check it out http://www.telladf.org/ or to their facebook page www.facebook.com/AllianceDefenseFund and become a fan. You will truly get a much better understanding than I can accurately provide, and hopefully get a glipse of how excited we are to be part of this organization!

God has been so good as we were waiting on Him for direction for Mike's job.  During the two months that Mike was unempolyed God provided just what we needed.  We knew this was a posiblity and had several months savings to use as we prayed, waited, interviewed (5 rounds of interviewing with up to 6 interviews in a round), prayed and waited some more.  The family I nanny for also needed me to work 3 days a week instead of of my usual two during those two months--coincidence, I think not!  Mike and I also started taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class through our church, and completed the course on Wednesday!  Although all the topics are relatively simple and things we've heard/learned before, it gave us some great practical tools for us to use in helping us to better our financial sitation (especially since Mike was unemployed when the class began).  I found it encouraging that even though we had a relatively good handle on our finances and were in a fairly good position--we were able to take on what we learned and really apply it in a way that is making a big diffence for us right now.  It is safe to say I am a Dave Ramsey fan and would encourage others to take this course even if your financial situation is "not" in need of "help"!  I think we call all learn something and become better stewards of what God has blessed us with.  Let's face it, here in America we have so much more than most people in the world....use your resourses (home, money, health, car, everything!) to make a difference in peoples lives!  Imagine what God can do if we're willing to be used by Him and the gifts He has given us--impact the world for Christ!!!!  Okay, I'm off my soapbox, but promise me you'll consider it! :-)

We also celebrated our Two Year Anniversary on October 18th!!!  We had a stay-cation in a house 45 minutes north of our condo (Terrivita for those family members reading this) the weekend leading up to our aniversary which was on a Monday.  We went there Friday after I picked Mike up from work and stayed over through Sunday night.  Mike worked on Monday so I took him to work and then went back to the house and packed up our stuff.  I brought some candles for decorating to make it nice and cozy and I brought our food to cook so it would be more economical.  I forgot my camera so I took a couple pics on my phone, which of course doesn't do it justice! 



As you can see from Mike in the backround we really got a chance to relax and just be.

I made maple french toast and scrambled eggs two mornings in a row because it was so good!  We also spent the afternoon on Saturday with Mike's dad.  We got a call around 6am from his dad saying that he wasn't feeling good and a friend of his was going to take him to the hospital; he would call us if he needed us.  Thankfully he had no problems and at that point was just really tired.  We picked him up from the hospital around 1 or 2 and went to a late lunch with him while we waited for his perscription to be filled.  The beauty of having a stay-cation was that we could be available for my father-in-law, and still be "away" from the normal pace and daily demands of being in our own home.  Sunday after having our french toast and eggs for brunch we walked through the small shopping center down the street (literally) from the house for a bit of excercise and to enjoy the beautiful weather.  That afternoon we treated ourselves to going out to see a movie before heading to chruch for the evening.  On our actual anniversary we went to dinner at Oreganos where we stuffed ourselves on garlic bread, a specialty pizza and pazookie...Delicious!  I'm hungry just thinking about it!  I have to say I am extreamly blessed that God gave me Mike as my husband!  I couldn't have asked for a better man!  I love thinking back to how God brought us together and knowing that it was His hand that placed us in each other's life and ordained our union.  I know I cerainly didn't have anything to do with it; other than obediance and telling God that my hands were off--I was not going to try and control this; if we were to be together it would be His will and doing.  It's refreshing when we let God be God in our lives--amazing things happen! 

I think I will leave you with that for now--time is quickly passing.  I'll have to write a round two soon.  Remember to keep Jesus the focus of this Christmas season--that's really what it's all about.  He came to give us the Gift of Life through His blameless life, and ultimately His death on the cross to pay the penalty for all our wrong and then bring Victory over sin and death with His Resurrection!  He came for You and for me--grateful doesn't even begin to describe what I feel!            

4th Round Here We Come

God is SOOO GOOD!!!  We received a call on Friday morning saying that Mike made it to the next round of interviews!!!  So, Friday, Sept 10th from 8:30-12 Mike will be interviewing with 6 different people!  Five of the interviews will be 30 minutes and one will be an hour...and this is the last round of interviews that Mike will go through!  We are hoping and praying that it will go well and God will continue to open doors.  We know that either way God will be glorified because that is what our lives and our marriage is about.  Please continue to to pray for us as we go through this process and trust the Lord for His provision!

In some other news Mike performed a wedding yesterday for some friends of ours that joined our small group Bible study a year ago.  It has been such a blessing to watch their relationship grow not only together but also in their relationship with the Lord and their desire to serve Him and have a God honoring marriage.  It was truly a beautiful wedding and God was glorified!

Pastor Mike & Ryan aka "The Groom"

Kristen the Beautiful Bride

Doug giving his daughter away

Taking a look at all the family and friends who came to celebrate.

"You may now Kiss the Bride!"

Presenting for the first time Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Loynd!!

 Wahoo!  They're Husband & Wife!

Pastor & the Mrs!

 

Michael & Rhonda--they open their home

every week for our Bible study! 

Beautiful Sunset to close out a God-glorifying day!

Truly a Blessing!  Thank you Lord!

Interview Update

Thank you so much for your prayers for Mike's interview on Monday!!!  He feels it went very well so as of now we are waiting to hear back from ADF.  Mike interviewed with 4 different people, about 30 minutes each, he had 3 short essays to write since part of his job would be communicating through writing and another phone interview to see how he communicates on the phone.  It's been quite the process!  We also found out that there is still one more round of interviews so we are waiting to hear back on if Mike will continue to round 4!  Mike did get a voicemail today from HR at ADF asking him to call back, but he didn't get it until after 5:30.  He will be calling tomorrow morning to respond to that message.  We are both hoping to hear that he made it to the next round, or course, but that is in God's hands.  I'll write more when we find out.  What a great adventure we are on--it's certainly exciting and stretches our faith--may God be glorified through every detail!

Mike's Interview Date

Really quick update--please keep Mike in your prayers as he has his interview with Alliance Defense Fund on Monday, August 30th at 10am!!!  This interview will be almost a full day at ADF interviewing with various people within the organization.  We are super excited and truly want God's best for us--if it's at ADF great, if it's elsewhere that is great too, we just have no idea what that other possibility would be right now!  Thank you so much for your prayers--it is truly a blessing to us!!! 

I Love How God Shows Up!

Recently I have been convicted on how I need to spend more time with God--in all aspects.  I pray throughout my day, but too often I don't sit down and really listen to Him or focus on His character and Who He is and what those attributes tell me about the God I love and serve.  Yesterday I had some focused time where I just laid everything at His feet.  One of the biggest events in my life right now is Mike finding a job.  As I mentioned a month ago he had an interview with Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and has been waiting to hear back on if he made it to 2nd round interviews.  I prayed that God would just open and close doors and place us exactly where He wants us, even if that means waiting longer or even moving somewhere for the right job.  Mike and I certainly are not looking to move, but if we were not willing to move, I truly believe we would be wrong.  Something I've seen and noticed is that sometimes all God wants is a willing heart for whatever He asks--at times that means hard circumstances and changes other times it means that God blessings you for your willingness.  I don't know where God will take us--it could be somewhere here in Phoenix, it could be across the country and maybe someday He may take us out of the United States--all I know is that my job is to make sure that I am willing to obey and go wherever that is.  Well, as always God showed up in answer to my prayers; less than 24 hours after fervently praying for Mike, wisdom in his job search and whatever the future job may be, my business--in essence our lives--early this afternoon Mike received a call from ADF saying that he made it to 2nd round interviews!!!!  Praise the Lord!  Obviously there is no guarantee that this will be where God places us, but we are one step closer to seeing if this will be one aspect of our ministry for a time.  Mike is also busy writing resume's and cover letters to all sorts of different job opportunities that he's heard about, so your prayers are very much appreciated!

I don't know about you, but I love a good storm--it reminds me of God's power.  I especially love the sky and how it looks before, during or after a storm.  I have a couple great pictures that I took on my phone over the past month.  For those of you who do not live here in the wonderful Valley of the Sun it is currently our monsoon season--big, fabulous storms.  They sky is amazing if the storm rolls in late afternoon/early evening before it gets dark--at least for those who have no photography knowledge.  I've seen some amazing pictures of  storms at night by googling it!

Driving down the road and I look out my window...

 

These next two I took yesterday leaving my parents house on the way to the gym:

Sunset outside of my apartment back in 2007 just after a monsoon,

yes all the same storm--I have 30 pictures of this sunset--it was amazing!

These next pictures were taken in 2008 by the front office of my old apartment:

 

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and were awed by God's creation!  Expect God to show up in your life, not just in the big and important things but even in the small and seemingly insignificant things, because everything is significant to God!  

1 Peter 5:6-7 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."