The 7th Year

On Monday, Andrew and I celebrated 7 years of marriage.

As our anniversary date drew closer, I wondered how we would celebrate it.

Years ago, my city girl upbringing would have assumed dinner at a fancy restaurant and a symphony to follow.

My parent's marriage showed me simply to be happy in each other's company alone on a date. I remember them coming home with sparkles in their eyes after many an anniversary date.

And time together and seven years of marriage, I simply wanted a date where we could just be together. And maybe if it worked out, do something we normally wouldn't have time for.

Little did I know, Andrew planned to surprise me with just that.....

He notified me not to make dinner. (first cause of joy, no cooking!) When I asked him what I should wear...."like a dress or mosquito repellent?"

He said, "Mosquito repellent."

I assumed we would go fishing or something of that nature.

No, he was way more romantic and creative, although I would have loved fishing just as much.

He took me to dinner and after dinner, we pulled up to a shed where one of these:

I (not sure why) have always LOVED four wheel riding!

Taped to the seat was a white envelope and a hand written note that started something like this,

"My Maria, In the Bible, 7 is the perfect number, it is the number of completion...." and went on to say more wonderful things that made my heart soar.

He then pulled out blankets, dessert and drinks and strapped them to the front and we rode out into the country.

We pulled up to a spot like this: 

We laid out the blankets and took in the evening.

 Sometimes quiet, or sometimes talking about our marriage, we sat together looking out into the sea of land and sky.

The country has its own music, rustling trees, grass blowing over, and the sweet sound of silence.

I thought about one of my favorite quotes on love, "Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but looking outward, together, in the same direction."  - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

So I got my dinner and symphony you could say, but a version that my heart appreciated so much more.

 Maybe because we have been married 7 years, maybe because I've grown to love the wide open spaces, or maybe because spending time alone with him on an adventure is my love language, but it turned out to be one of the best and romantic dates Andrew could have given me. (Second to surprise tickets to Phantom of the Opera in Atlanta after getting engaged ;)  



Truly, the more years we spend together, the closer our hearts learn to understand and love the other, the more I pray to God I can fulfill my promise to help get him to Heaven. THANK YOU GOD, thank you a million lifetimes for Andrew!

And There Was June

It was wonderful. It flew by, but we squeezed it for the all the best. Will my children look back on their childhood and love it as much I loved living it with them? I hope so.

I still go by mother's best advice and philosophy on raising young children: Don't fill up your days with too much activity, it is good for children to be "bored" so they may awaken their creativity.

I chose not to enroll in camp after camp or sign up for too much activity...We just enrolled in a simple and sweet style summer, all together.

Visiting Godparents in KC...they know all the fun places to go!

 TBall   He was the "Clean Up" Batter and made 2 home runs. I never knew that would be so incredibly fun to witness.

Eating Snow Cones...two blocks down and one block over they set up a portable shop. Highlight for sure.

Building Forts

Truck Rides During Harvest...thanks to Uncle Dom!

Sister Time + Cousin Time...Nicholas was almost crying he was laughing so hard watching crazy cousins John and Dominic go down the slide.

We got lots of visiting in with these two Locos ;)

After eating a sour blue raspberry snow cone, I didn't want to take a picture with blue teath...so i have a wierd smirk with blue lips.

They came in for a few days and we all went to go get massages and eat chocolate. It was grand. Love them.

Visiting Nanna and Papa...it might as well have been Disney Land to them.

They swam for hours every day...and Grace was never lacking in protective swimwear.

                            Backside Delight.

Nicholas played basketball every hour he wasn't in the pool and Paul was a hero for playing with him for hours.

Visiting the Zoo!

 Avila Celebrating 2 year Birthday

Thank you God for this time to be together, not without scrapes and falls, tantrums and timeouts, whining and wanting too much, but amidst the normal growing pains of these little ones, there were some deeply happy moments shared as a family, the small beginings of their childhood. May I continue to serve them with more patience, more tenderness, more selflessly.

Summer Reading

I accidentally happened upon a crazy good book: 

The back cover reads: 

WHAT IF 

THE LIFE YOU REALLY WANT, 

AND 

THE FUTURE

GOD WANTS FOR YOU, 

IS HIDING 

RIGHT 

NOW

IN YOUR BIGGEST 

PROBLEM,

YOUR WORST 

FAILURE...

YOUR GREASTEST 

FEAR?

I was invited to join a summer book study the morning it started, with this as the book of choice. I jumped at the chance :)

The basis of the book starts with the real biblical short story of Benaiah, a man who went into a pit, to kill a lion, on a snowy day.  

It's an easy read with extremely thought provoking and revealing insights. 

We all have crazy fears in all shapes and sizes or failures or major crisis...and how do we handle them? What are the qualities of men like Benaiah when faced with great fear? 

One out of dozens of great quotes in the book, love this one: 

"God is in the resume-building business. He is always using past experiences to prepare us for future opportunities. But those God-given opportunities often come disguised as man-eating lions. And how we react when we encounter those lions will determine our destiny." 

Highly recommend for all humans ;) 

Summer in 4 and 6

June is my absolute favorite month of the year. The very sweetest part of summer. Bright beautiful warm mornings, and late nights when the sun doesn't set until way after 9, fireflies visit and vegetables start making their first appearances in the garden.  (my rosy sentimental side) I can't help it, I love summer. 

Nicholas and Christiana rush outside after breakfast each morning to ride their bikes down the driveway and sidewalk. And every morning Avila throws a fit trying to follow them, mad that she can't get her two year old squatty body to make the trike go. The minor tantrums are usually a nice break amid the quiet morning silence. 

The two biggest highlights for the kids this week:  
1. Finding lady bugs in the yard. 
2. Visiting the water fountain four blocks down. 

They RAN and SQUEALED at finding lady bugs and gazed for ever. Christiana told me the story TWICE that she found a grasshopper on her swim towel. 

They started long and hard at the flowing water and rode their bikes around the little park no less then 48 times. 

 3. Couldn't forget Birthday girl's big trip to DQ...getting ice cream is a very special treat in this house. Definite highlight. 

 I love their WONDER at creation, their simplicity to SEE the everyday ordinary amazing works of art in the earth. 

This summer, I'm getting a taste of living it again as 4 and 6, looking at bugs and water, and dandelions all over and new again.

4th of July Menu!

4TH OF JULY MENU LINE UP: 50 STARS BBQ CHICKEN, AVOCADO CUCUMBER SALAD, AND LEMON BLUEBERRY BARS

 

 

 

We LOVE the 4th of July around here. We have 8 out of  my husband’s  9 other siblings coming down to celebrate and watch fireworks off the Lake.
I started dreaming about  what the big summer holiday menu would be in May. (I know, I’m weird, and my brain thinks in food sometimes).
In my own family, the food on the fourth always included something on the grill, something cool and refreshing, and something patriotically sweet.
So here we go with a Firecracker Menu!

- 50 Stars Barbecue Chicken
- Avocado Cucumber Salad
- Lemon Blueberry Bars

We’ll also make sure there’s lots of Grillin’ Beans,  Chips and Dips, and Sweet Tea on hand!

50 Stars Barbecue Chicken

I’m not kidding when I promise you this will be the best Barbecue Chicken you will ever taste. I can’t claim the recipe, it was gleened from my friend Marcy Kee, who is FAMOUS in our town for her cooking and smoked meats.

Ingredients:
1 Bottle of Sweet Baby Rays Barbecue Sauce
1 Stick of Butter (don’t be scared, good food is made this way)
2 packets of Italian Seasoning
Dash of Basil
14 Chicken Drumsticks

How To:
1. Preheat Oven to 350. (you will use grill a little later).
2. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Wisk in Italian Seasoning, Basil and Bottle of Barbecue Sauce. Bring to a Boil.

3. Dip Drumsticks generously into sauce mixture. (There should be a good amount left over for later) and place in a 9×13 pan.

4. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes and Preheat Grill on Medium Low half way during baking process.

5. Remove Drumsticks from oven (your house will now smell amazing), and give them one last dunk in the barbecue sauce and place them on heated grill. Grill for an additional 15-20 minutes. I like them just slightly charred.

Notes:
You can fully cook the chicken in the oven if you prefer not to grill, just increase baking time to 45 minutes or until chicken is done.

Hot Wing Variation
Add 1 Bottle of Hot Sauce
Use Wings instead of Drumsticks

Avocado Cucumber Salad

Servings: About 10 -12  1/2 cup servings

This salad is so pure and fresh and a great mix up from the ordinary. I came up with it when I did my Paleo 30 Day Challenge. My kids usually ask for seconds!

Ingredients:

2 Cups Each of Chopped:

Tomatoes, Cumbers, Ripe Avocados

Juice from 1 1/2 Large Lemons

2 Tbs. Chopped Garlic

1 Tsp. Sea Salt (more to taste)

How To:

Toss the vegetables in a bowl and stir in chopped garlic and salt. Drizzle lemon juice over salad and toss again. Best if chilled for 15 minutes before serving.

Lemon Blueberry Bars

Servings: 16-20 Bars (Depending how small or large you serve your squares. They are rich so I tend to keep mine small.)

I’ve made these a dozen times and everyone always asks for the recipe.  This is a golden Kraft recipe I found. It’s been tried and tested and they are AMAZING. Serve on a red napkin or serving dish and you have a beautiful 4th of July themed dessert 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup  butter

1 pkg.  (2-layer size) yellow cake mix

2 eggs, divided

2 pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup  sugar

1 Tbsp.  zest and 3 Tbsp. juice from 1 lemon

2-1/2 cups  fresh blueberries

How To:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Line 13×9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Microwave butter in large microwaveable bowl on High 1 to 1-1/2 min. or until melted. Add dry cake mix and 1 egg; beat with mixer until blended. Press 2/3 of the dough onto bottom of prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese and sugar with mixer until blended. Add remaining egg, zest and juice; mix well. Pour over crust; top with berries. Pinch small pieces of the remaining dough between your fingers; press lightly into cream cheese layer.

Bake 55 min. to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely. Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting into bars.

Light up those fireworks, and the grill while you’re at it, and thank God for our freedom! Happy Almost 4th of July!!

Food Philosophy: Because the effort to make good food is a gift to those around me.

It’s happy memories, togetherness, the living part of life.