Realizations!

It has been a long time!!!! I guess I do have a 9 month old reason but I have really been slacking.

Is there a time in your life that a thought hits you so hard it feels like you have been stabbed in the chest? WELL.......that has been happening to me a lot lately. Once when Josh preached his sermon on  "Questions" (click to listen, I urge everyone to take time and listen to it) I do not get a lot out of sermons but Amos was behaving pretty good this day. I didn't get everything but I got enough to make me think about the questions and what I needed to change. And let me tell you it pricks my heart when I think about things that I need to change in my life. And how many questions I answered "No".

The most reason stab was just today. The PCRMC (a hospital) is/was under a bomb threat. My mother works at the hospital. This bomb threat touches close to home. After I found out I call a friend who's mother also works at the hospital, luckily she works night shift. I ask her to keep my mom in her prayers and we hang up. After that i call my brother from out of town, posted on Facebook then I start looking for something to eat, then I go to the bathroom. I tell you all these details to show that there was on thing I did not do AS SOON as I found out. Can you figure it out?  If you said PRAY you are right. I did not drop to my knees THEN AND THERE and pray. Instead I worried, I called others, posted on Facebook and thought about myself.

I don't know aout you but I think about stuff while on the toilet, sorry for the TMI, but I do. In between calling and facebooking someone responded "Will do" to my post on Facebook about keeping my mom in their prayers. While in the bathroom (again sorry), I started to think about will any one actually pray for this situation, then I thought about how often I say I will keep someone in my prayers then I turn around and not say a pray on there behalf. I don't know if I think "Oh, I will say it tonight during my bed time prayer" or "I'll say it next time I think to pray". I should just call it what it is.... I do not have a good praying relationship with God. I do not talk to God as much as I should. God gave me this way to comunicate with Him (Luke 6:12) and a way to express my worries (Philippians 4:6), and I do not take advantage of it.

After thinking about how much I pray for someone when I say I will, I got half way down the hall then started to think "I am doing the exact same thing I was just thinking about". Right then and there and stopped and prayed. I prayed for my mom, then the employees and the patients, then I prayed for the one that made the threat. I know this is hard to do sometimes and especially when it touches so close to home but God says we are to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44), this is another one of my faults but I will save this one for another blog.

This is just something I wanted to share. Not to brag about changing, let me tell you this is hard to say to you and it is something I am deeply ashamed of. But, I write this so you can help me and support me in my quest to serve God as He would want me to. I post this asking...begging for your help. For you to hold me accountable. For you to Check in to see if I am changing my ways. For you to PRAY for me.

Colossians 4:2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

James 5:16 Confess your trespasses[a] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Chicken salad

Well I have been thinking of doing recipe blogs for a while now.  I have decided to start and atleast once a month I would post a new recipe that I have cooked. I hope to prepare things in a way that might give you ideas and maybe ideas on how to make what you love for less $.

I thought I would start with something I have been eating a lot of lately and one of my favorite things.

CHICKEN SALAD

Sorry I did not think of posting this until it was done so no pics until the end.

Ingredients I used:
1 dozen eggs (boiled)
1 can of chicken breast (I also use cooked chicken sliced/shredded)
1 large onion (chopped/diced/how ever you like it)
3 stalks celery(same as onion)
half jar of dill pickles sliced up (I use sandwich slices. I like my chunky. you can cheat and use relish...even sweet :/
Jalapeño mustard (regular if you want)
Miracle whip
pepper, paprika, salt to taste

I boil the eggs and sometimes set a few aside for deviled eggs or boiled eggs. If you make deviled eggs you can take some of the veggies and make them up and have them for lunch or dinner.

Chop the eggs. I leave the whites more chunky. Add the chicken, onion, celery, and pickle.

Next add a little mustard just enough for flavor. I used the jalapeño mustard because I ran out of the regular. I won't go back it adds amazing flavor. Then add a little miracle whip. I do not want it over powering the chicken and vegetables. I think it needs just enough to hold it together. Then add spice to taste.

Chicken salad...I like mine chunky

Deviled eggs made for supper

This is very easy and most people have there own way of making chicken salad. This may have given you a few ideas to make it a little different.

Since I am on a diet I have to find ways to eat things. Here is a couple of "different" ways to eat the chicken salad. 

Pepper boats

Slice the pappers and stuff them. I had red and orange peppers the last time. Those added a little color. These make them crunchy.

Instead of making the boats use them as chips (this allows  me to get my dipping in)

Lettuce wrap. 

Instead of a tortilla wraps use lettuce. I did not have the big leaves, just the inner leaves so it is more like a lettuce boat but still very tasty.

Add caption

Well I hope you enjoy this and stay tune for more recipes. Some won't be as common. This is just something I really love.

A LONG Journey

January 13 my eating habits have changed drastically. I have decided to take out all bread products (starches) and sugars from my diet. This has been a long road just in the past 3 weeks. I have lost around 5 pounds but I have not enjoyed the journey. 

My husband has a fast metabolism and he can eat anything and still loose weight. When I first started he said he wouldn't eat anything I could not have in front of me. We tried that for a week and it turns out he started to loose weight. There is a slight problem (ok it may be a big problem) with him loosing weight. One he is already a bean pole, and two, when he gets below a certain weight his blood sugar does wonky things and it does not turn out very well. He has lost almost ten pounds in these last 3 weeks. So after the first week I started making him things like pasta, cakes, breaded things, you know all those good things that you can't have when on a diet. He has been very supportive and feels really bad about eating things in front of me and the fact I have to make it in the first place. But, I am willing to do it, to keep him healthy.  Even when it tempts me beyond measure. 

I love to cook and to eat. I love flavor, spices, and smells!!! I love to experiment with foods and to try new recipes. So naturally to take most everything that I like out of my daily living is hard. I have had great will power and have been trying to find different things to eat but it just seems to be the same thing over and over. 

 Well I will stop throwing a pity party now :) Here is to getting healthy and living a long life in service to our Lord.

I think I'm back

Wow it has been 4 months since my last post. And what a ride it has been since then.

Well I don't know where to start. This may be a little random.

Amos is now 4 months old. The time has really flown!!! He is rolling over front to back (Nov. 7) and back to front (Jan. 15), but he can only roll one way at a time he can  not figure out how to get back. I guess he just has a one track mind. I think he is trying to get his first tooth. There is a bump on his lower gums and he is drooling.....a lot. We were having trouble with him waking every 3 hours at bight after having a good stretch of at least 6 hour nights. No I think he is getting back on track. He is trying to sit up, crawl stand, and talk. He seems to forget he is still a little guy and he was a preemie. He is growing like a weed and i wish I can pause it just for a little bit. He is not a cuddlier, he likes to observe everything around him. He doesn't like to be rocked, just lay him down lock his hands to his side, wrap him up give him his binki and he is good to go. He only uses his binki when sleeping, so we don't have to worry about that as he gets older. He tries to explore everything around him and experience new things. We think he is going to be a dare-devil. Not a day goes by that he doesn't hear "If you do that your going to fall on your head". He has the sweetest smile and the cutest laugh. I have enjoyed watching him grow and loved teaching and playing with him. He is a content little guy and is a joy and blessing.

As for me. I am great. Need about a year to catch up on sleep but great. I started a diet
Jan. 13. No bread starches or sugar. I have lost 3.6 pounds. I weigh myself on Sundays so tomorrow we will see how much more I have gone down. Some days are harder than others and some days I feel like I am starving. I just take a handfull of nuts or grad a cheese stick and make it to the next day to do it over again. John tries not to eat the "bad" things when home and he has lost 8 pounds or so (which is not good, I don't want him to get sugar problems again).

We are going to be starting from seeds and growing a garden this summer. I really want a BIG pumpkin patch. Amos will be 1 or almost there and there are several young children in the congregation  in StJ and OG. It would be a lot of fun for every one I think.

Well I warned you its random but here you have it a review of the past 4 months in the house of Crites.