Fun Visit

Lew's sister lives in Chicago but was in town on business this week so we had the pleasure of having her over for dinner. It was so much fun to catch up with her! So here are a few pics of us together.
[soon to come more recipes from this weeks "experiments" ;)]

We love you Cherai! It was so good to spend some time with you.

Season of new recipes!

Since school is out once again I am committed to trying some new recipes. I went through a ton of my Cooking Light Magazines from the last year and ripped out a bunch of new recipes and planned a few of them in the next 2 weeks. Here is the first one that I tried and it was so yummy! It also was pretty simple for a cooking light recipe. Lew and I gave it 2 thumbs up. Enjoy!

Chicken Piccata with Capers

• 4 chicken breast halves
• 1/4 C flour
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbs capers
• 2 teas. minced fresh garlic
• 1/4 teas. salt
• 1/4 teas. fresh ground pepper
• 4 cups hot cooked spaghetti
  
• 2 tbs chopped fresh flat leaf parsley and lemon slices for garnish

Directions: Pound chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thickness. Dredge through flour. Heat butter and oil on med-high heat in skillet. Add chicken, cook 3 min. each side or until brown. Remove chicken, keep warm. Add white wine, lemon juice, capers, and garlic to pan; scrape pan to loosen browned bits. Cook for 2 minutes or until slightly thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve chicken over pasta. Top with sauce; sprinkle with parsley and top with lemon wedges.

"Far more precious than jewels"

Happy Mothers Day Mom Lewis and Ellis!

We could never fully communicate how your love and care all these years has affected us, but we can't let this day pass without thanking you and saying how much you mean to us. You truly are a treasure to us!

The Woman Who Fears the LORD

Proverbs 31:10-31

An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
She dresses herself with strength
and makes her arms strong.
She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,

and let her works praise her in the gates.

Birthday Fun

So birthday week has come to a close. There is too much to post all in one, but I will post a few fun recipes throughout the week that we have enjoyed during this weeks festivities ;)

For now I will post some pictures of the fun we had this weekend.

First we had a great time Saturday, we had a lot of downtime during the day and per Lew's request we were able to have a tea party together. Yes, thats right for most of you who know my husband you know his love for good tea. So, he was able to open his new stash of Teaforte exotics tea... a birthday present much researched by his wife. It's hard buying tea for a tea snob like Lew ;) The tea bags are so cute they stand straight up like a triangle and have little stem with a leaf that stands up above the tea bag I give them an A for presentation and taste!

Notice Lew's new glasses? Lew decided on some new frames which God amazingly provided for. I'm a fan ;)

Then that evening we were able to go to a baseball game together, one of my favorite things to do with Lew! And for the first time this season the Orioles did really well ;) The same thing happened last year for Lew's birthday when we went to an O's game, we must be their good luck charm ;)

Then Sunday we were able to have a cookout with the Hendricks family and some of my family. It happened to be that Diana Hendricks and Lew have the same birthday, so we had a combined party. It was so much fun! So here are the pics:

Mom & Dad Ellis

My sister Charissa with her college roommate Libby

Gianna with "Dada"

Making rounds and visiting Grandpa

...and Great Grandma...

And finally free to roam and show off her new crawling moves

Diana and Lew as we sing Happy Birthday

Grandma and Lew

Isaiah swinging

Isaiah and Mama


We had a great time with everyone! So glad Lew could celebrate his birthday with you all!

Happy Birthday My Love!

Hard to believe another year has gone by, but every year I find myself more grateful for you! Thank you for being the best husband and friend, God has richly blessed me through you. Life tastes so much sweeter with you by my side, and every new day that we have together I can find so many new reasons why God picked you as the perfect man for me. Thank you for the joy you bring to my life, all of the adventures and laughs that we share make me feel so rich to have such a treasure as you ;) Thank you also for the way you spur me on towards godliness, you are such an example to me in so many ways, I really could never fully describe just how thankful I am for you.

I love you my dear, Happy 27th!

Remember

I saw this video on a friends blog and was provoked. Lets remember to pray for those people who are giving up on their own comfort as well as the comfort of their own families in order to fight for us and our families. I realize I don't have anyone close to me serving in the Middle East so it's so easy to forget all that they have sacrificed and left behind! I feel like the best way I can remember them is prayer...

What a cutie!

I know I just posted some cute pics of my nephew Isaiah the other day but I can't resist to post these pictures from yesterday as well! In fact you will see many pictures of this cutie over the next 2 weeks as I try to spend as much time as I can with him before my sister and her husband move to North Carolina in the middle of May.

Enjoy;)

So I took this funny hat over to show Isaiah, and when he put it on it was the funniest thing! Although he looks startled int he first few pictures he really liked it!
"what on earth is on my head!?"

"I'm not so sure about this thing"

"Maybe I can pull this look off"

" Starting to dig it ;)"


And my personal favorite....

Showing Mama his new look ;)

How precious to me are Your thoughts...

I was reading Morning and Evening by Spurgeon yesterday and was so encouraged. Even though I am not going through a specific form of physical suffering right now this passage brought me back to places of physical suffering that seemed to be endless at times. Physical suffering, more than any other form of trial I walked through, seemed to weaken me the most....and those were the times that I seemed to question God the most. "Lord where are you, have you forgotten me in this place?" or "Aren't you all powerful, please remove this heavy burden" But unlike Christ when I cried out for God to let this "cup" pass, I forgot to add in the very vital part of "not my will but Yours be done." But it was through those trials that I learned to depend on the Lord the most, it was those times that God built endurance, character, and a hope in Him that is unwaivering (Romans 5) The evening passage from M & E last night was from one of my favorite chapters in the bible Psalm 139. This verse speaks of God's intimate involvement in our physical bodies. He knit us together in our mother's wombs, we are fearfully and wonderfully made! And not only that but He planned all of our days before one of them came to be. That means the good days and the bad days...healthy days and sick days....all of them were intricately planned and orchestrated by a loving God who wants nothing but what is best for us and who desires to pour out mercy over mercy over mercy upon us! Hope this encourages you in the midst of any form of suffering (especially physical suffering) that we have a God who is involved, and who is always thinking of us! Let us think upon our God's care in all things, there is no trial that He is not in...working for our good and His glory.

"How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!" Psalm 139:17
... God is always thinking about us, never turns His mind from us, always has us before His eyes; and this is precisely how we would want it, because it would be dreadful to exist for a moment outside the observation of our Heavenly Father. His thoughts are always tender, loving, wise, prudent, far-reaching, and they bring countless benefits to us: It is consequently a supreme delight to remember them....He observes us incessantly, and not a painful emotion escapes Him; in our toils He notices all our weariness, and He writes all the struggles of His faithful ones in His book. Those thoughts of the Lord encompass us in all our paths and penetrate the innermost region of our being. Not a nerve or tissue, valve or vessel of our bodily fame is uncared for; all the details of our little world are thought upon by the great God. Dear reader is this precious to you? Then hold to it.

Weekend Fun

So this weekend didn't start out so fun because my sweet husband left on Friday for a weekend camping trip with some of his guy friends...it was fun for him....but a little sad for me. It was our first separation since we have been married and I missed him so much! But he had a great time and I actually was able to have some good quality time with my sister Charissa who kindly spent the night with me Friday night. It's funny because I realized how much my sweet husband does for me on a regular basis.. so many things that often go overlooked...so in missing him I was reminded how thankful I am for him, and how much sweeter life is with him by my side.

When Lew returned on Sunday we began his birthday week (an idea borrowed from my sis-in-law Rachel) The idea is basically to start the week before his birthday, which is next Sunday the 6th, and spend the whole week blessing him, encouraging him, and doing all the things he loves! So, yesterday originally the plan was to go to the zoo, but that didn't work out so we went to South Mountain Creamery in Middletown, Maryland and had so much fun. My personal favorite was the little calves, some were only a week old and they were really funny! They just wanted to keep licking our hands.....it was actually pretty gross, but they were too cute to resist ;) We also got homemade ice cream and fresh milk while we were there....yum!

They have the funniest tongues! You can see the corner of it in this picture. There really long and if you put your hand near their mouths they wrap their scratchy slimy tongues around your hand....pretty funny.....and gross at the same time!

This particular calf kept mooing really loud. It was funny because I think it wanted some attention.

Its funny if you enlarge this picture you can see this calf licking his nose...pretty cute.

To top off our Sunday we went to get fresh crabs...one of our favorites! For only getting one day together we really enjoyed it! I will keep you posted on the rest of Lew's Birthday week.

Baking Soda....who knew!

So Lew and I were cleaning tonight and I was complaining about this strange yucky odor coming from the garbage disposal....I knew there were natural items you could use as deodorizers so I decided to google it really quick just to see what popped up....and I came upon this article about baking soda and not only is it good for deodorizing the kitchen but it has like a million uses! I included my favorites below and the link for your reference ;) So break out that baking soda ladies!

http://www.wackyuses.com/arm_hammer.html

This website has all kinds of other "wacky uses" for other items around the house such as baby powder, bounce etc....

• Clean a microwave oven. Sprinkle Arm & Hammer Baking Soda on a damp sponge, scrub, and rinse.

• Remove tarnish from silver. Mix a thick paste of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda with water, apply the silver with a damp sponge, rub, rinse, and buff dry.

• Clean a stainless steel sink. Sprinkle Arm & Hammer Baking Soda on a damp sponge, scrub the sink, and rinse clean.

• Boost the strength of liquid laundry detergent. Add one-half cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda with the usual amount of detergent in your regular wash cycle.

• Deodorize garbage disposals and sink drains. Instead of throwing out that old box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda that's been sitting in the refrigerator or freezer, gradually pour it down the drain and flush with water. Or better yet, pour two tablespoons Arm & Hammer Baking Soda down the garbage disposal every week.

• Deodorize food containers. Mix one-quarter cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda with one quart water, swish food containers in solution, soak overnight, then rinse clean.

• Clean coffee and teapots. Wash in a solution of one-quarter cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and one quart warm water, then rinse clean.

• Deodorize kitchen garbage. Sprinkle a handful of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda in the garbage pail each time you add garbage.

• Soothe poison ivy rash or insect bites. Make a paste of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and water, and apply to the affected area.

• Soothe sunburn, windburn, and prickly heat. Dissolve one-half cup baking soda in a tepid bath. Soak in the bath for fifteen minutes.

• Take a refreshing bath. Dissolve one-half cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda in a tub of warm water for soft, smooth-feeling skin and a relaxing bath.

• Brush your teeth. Plain baking soda is a gentle abrasive that cleans like the strongest toothpaste. Apply Arm & Hammer Baking Soda to a damp toothbrush, brush as usual, and rinse. Note: Arm & Hammer Baking Soda does not contain fluoride.

• Neutralize vomit odor. Sprinkle Arm & Hammer Baking Soda generously to cover the stained area, let sit for an hour, then vacuum up.

• Soothe tired feet. Add three tablespoons to a basin of warm water and soak feet in the solution.

• Use as a deodorant. Dust baking soda under arms.

• Remove conditioner and styling gel build-up from hair. Wash hair once a week with a tablespoon of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda mixed with your regular shampoo; rinse thoroughly, then condition and style as usual.

• Make baby clothes smell even fresher. Add one-half cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda to baby's laundry.

• Boost bleach. Use one-half cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda with your normal liquid bleach to boost the bleaching action and freshen the wash.

What Laura's been up to...

It's so hard to believe that at this moment I have about 2 1/2 weeks left of this semester... and then only one more semester to go! This semester has been really busy along with being a new wife it has definitely been such a learning experience for me! I have had to really learn how to manage my time well....and let's just say I learned by trial and error ;) I am realizing more and more how very dependent I am on God for strength and perseverance. Lew has served me well during this time. He helps around the house: dishes, laundry, making the bed...you name it and if he knows it needs to be done he will do it....sometimes without even asking!

This is just a glimpse into my little world when I am in "school mode". This is pretty much what I have looked like 2-3 days per week.....surrounded by a number of different books.....keypad in my lap....typing away... different nursing diagnosis....medical histories....pathophysiologies... and not to mention all of the different information on all of the different medications we are learning about

I know I look kinda sad in this picture....but don't worry, I wasn't sad....just a little tired! There were moments that I was so weary and wondered how much longer I could take all the work of the semester, but God always supplied the strength I needed, and now the semester is almost at a close.

On another note I haven't had a lot of free time, but I did get to spend some time with my nephew Isaiah today while my sister went to have her 4 month prenatal visit (thats right she has another little one on the way Lord willing in October!!) It was so much fun to spend time with him and see how much he is turning into a little toddler ;) I couldn't take too many pictures because every time I whip out the camera he tries to take it away so the few pictures I could get were pretty funny. He got his hands on my sunglasses and decided he wanted to give them a try. It was so cute.

He insisted on me wearing them for a picture ;)

Well I don't have too much more to update on except for one more thing.....I lost about 8 inches....of HAIR that is ;) You can't see it too well in the picture above but after 6 years of growing my hair out I finally took the leap....it was just too much work! I now feel so free....5 minutes to wash it and 25 minutes to dry it...I am not quite sure how I ever survived with long hair before!

Grace notes

Most days when I get off the metro I don't usually take notice of the trumpet player who performs for spare change. As musicianship goes he's kind of average and definitely no Joshua Bell. Although this morning his music featured grace notes that made my heart sing. As I was coming up the escalator I was looking at the front page of the Express and saw the face of the killer from the Va. Tech shooting. As my eyes were confronted with this face, my ears were impacted with the sound of a trumpet proclaiming, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." This brought me back to the truth, this world isn't my home. One day I will be face to face with the One who has bought me with His blood and transforming me to His image. On that day there will be no more death, no more pain, no more sadness or sorrow, but everlasting rejoicing in the holy lamb who was slain so that all may know His all surpassing worth and glory.

Humility vs. sharpness

I had this funny exchange with my boss this morning. It was at 8:20 and he walks by and he asks me and my cubemate if we remember about 9:00. I thought about it, but nothing came to mind about 9:00, so I started to assume that maybe he was only talking to my cubemate. It didn’t take my cubemate long to think about it and reply, “they’re having breakfast for us in the conference room.” Being the type that gets excited about food I stated, “I totally forgot about that.” My boss being quick on his feet said, “Here is a lesson in sharpness, although at the cost of dishonesty. When I ask a question and one of you doesn’t know the answer, but the other one does, act as if you knew it all along. That way I am not standing here thinking, ‘Gosh, does this guy not read his e-mail?’”

Glory Revealed

Lew and I had the opportunity to go to a concert with some folks from the small group that we lead. It was called "Glory Revealed" and it was so great! The tour was originally started with David Nasser and Mac Powell (from Third Day) because David was writing a book called Glory Revealed and really felt like God put on his heart that he should have a CD to accompany it with music that is mostly just God's word. So Mac Powell started picking artists that he thought would participate and ended up with artists like: Shane and Shane, David Crowder, Micheal W. Smith, Brian Littrell....and more! The concert was so good and the music was great! It was so neat to see all this artists come together and make beautiful music with mostly just scripture as the lyrics.

You can check out samples of the songs here

One of my favorites (which was a really hard one to choose) was based on Psalm 51

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

It's good stuff, so check it out, and if you register on the website they will let you download one free song and give you a $5.00 coupon for the CD.

When the Lord Pays the Way...

Long time no blog....things have been busy! Lew's settling into his new job and things are going great. I have been really busy with school, we have a huge project once a semester called a "concept map" and seriously it's a 40 hour project....and we only get a week to do it. But I finished it and presented it Friday, did well, and then to top it off I had a test yesterday. So that's really all there is to update on ;)

Lew read me something very encouraging yesterday from The Minor Prophets by James Montgomery Boice. This is from the chapter on Jonah 1:1-3...it is such a good reminder of how our God provides for us when we simply seek his will and obey, something that has been quite a struggle for me lately! I want to have my own plan sometimes, I see an outcome that I desire and I think if I do this and this and that everything should go according to plan. Oh, but that usually is not the case, usually things don't turn out how I planned and it's then that I realize that God is the one who knows what is best for me, if only I would seek His will and obey. I am reminded every day that I am just a "work in progress"....just like Jonah...unfortunately he learned the hard way too....except his "hard way" was in the belly of a whale...I guess I should consider myself blessed!

At this point we find our first great lesson regarding God's sovereignty. Built into Jonah's first attempts to get away from God are two results that will follow anyone who tries to disobey him.

First Jonah's course was downhill. He would not have described it that way. He would have said that he was improving his life, just as we do when we choose our own course instead of God's. But it was downhill nevertheless. This is suggested in verse 3, where we are told that Jonah went "down" to Joppa. It is always that way when a person runs from the presence of the Lord. The way of the Lord is up! Consequently, any way that is away from him is down. The way may look beautiful when we start. The seas may look peaceful and the ship attractive, but the way is still down.

There was another result. In his excellent preaching on Jonah, Donal Grey Barnhouse often called attention to it by highlighting the phrase about Jonah "paying the fare." He noted that Jonah did not get to where he was going , since he was thrown overboard, and that he obviously didn't get a refund back on his ticket. So he paid the full fare and did not get to the end of his journey. Barnehouse said, "It is always that way. When you run away from the Lord you never get to where you are going, and you always pay your own fare. On the other hand, when you go the Lord's way you always get where you are going and he pays the fare."

Jonah illustrates one half of that statement. The story of Moses' mother, Jochebed, illustrates the other half. Jochebed conceived Moses during a time of great persecution by the Egyptions, a time in which Hebrew male infants were being thrown into the Nile River to die. When the child was born Jochebed and her husband, Amran, tried to hide him as long as possible, suspecting, I believe, that this was the one who had been promised by God to be the deliverer of the people. But at last the baby's cries grew too loud, and another plan was necessary. The mother made a little boat of bulrushes covering it with tar. She placed Moses in it and set it in the reeds by the riverbank. Then she stationed Miriam, Moses' sister, at a distance to see what would become of him. Though she wanted her baby more than anything else in the world, Jochebed entrusted the matter to God, allowing him to do as he wished with the child.

The daughter of Pharaoh came down to the river, saw the ark in the water, and sent her maids to fetch it. When it was opened, she saw the baby. He was crying. This so touched the woman's heart that she determined to save him and raise him in the palace. But what was she to do? The child needed a wet nurse. Where could she find one? At this point, Miriam, who had been watching from a distance, came forward and asked if she could be of assistance. "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?" Miriam asked.

"Yes" said the princess. Jochebed was brought.
Jochebed was about to receive back the child she most dearly wanted. She would have done anything to have kept him. She would have scrubbed the floors in the palace! In fact, if the daughter of Pharaoh had said "I am going to give you this child to raise, but I want you to know that I have seen through your stratagem. I know that this young girl was not up on that hill watching by accident. She must be the sister of this baby, and therefore, you must be the mother. You can have your child. But as a sign of your disobedience to the Pharaoh, I am going to cut off your right hand"--if she had said that, Moses' mother would probably have held out both hands, if only she could have had the child back. But that is not what happened. Instead Pharaoh's daughter gave the child back declaring, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you" (Exod.2:9).

"I will pay you." This is the point for which I tell you the story. Jonah went his own way, paid his own fare, and got nothing. Jochebed went God's way. Consequently, God paid the fare, and she got everything. I repeat it once more: When you run away from the Lord you never get to where you are going and you always pay your own fare. But when you go the Lord's way you always get where you are going, and he pays the fare."

Ropa Vieja!

This is one of our favorites....but I don't make it very often because its one of those dishes that tastes so good, but takes some effort and a little bit of time. It's a Cuban dish with flank steak, tomatoes, peppers...and some other goodies ;) You serve it on a tortilla or you can just eat it with a fork and knife. So, if your up for the challenge its definitely worth it!

Ropa Vieja

• 2 tbs. peanut oil
• 1 medium size onion chopped
• 1 small sweet red pepper chopped
  
• 1 small sweet green pepper chopped
• 5 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 teas. ground cumin
• 1/2 teas. dried oregano
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 2 pounds beef flank steak
• 1/2 teas. salt
• 1/2 teas. black pepper
• 2 cans (4oz) green mild chilies, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 package (10 0z) frozen corn
• 1 fresh jalapeno chile, seeded and chopped
• Warmed flour or corn tortillas

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large flameproof dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, red and green pepper, and garlic; cook until onions translucent and peppers soft (about 8 min.)
2. Stir in cumin and oregano; cook about 1 min. Add tomatoes and broth.
3. Season steak with salt and pepper and add to pot. Cover and bring to simmer. Simmer about 2 hours until meat is tender, and turn meat occasionally.
   
4. Remove meat; let cool briefly. Cut across grain into 2 inch thick slices. Use 2 forks to pull slices apart into shreds.
   
5. Heat tomato sauce remaining in pot to rapid boiling. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally until thick (about 10-15 min.)
6. Add green chile's and corn. Heat to boiling; cook 5 min.
7. Add shredded beef, jalapeno, and cilantro. Heat to boiling. Serve with warmed tortillas.
   

Breakfast is Served

I found this great recipe for French Toast Sticks and decided to try it out this morning. They were sooo good. Its very simple, yet very delicious. Enjoy ;)

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup preserves(we used blueberry)
  
• 8 slices day-old white bread(I used sourdough, it actually gave it great flavor!)
  
• confectioners' sugar
  

Directions:
In a small bowl, beat eggs, milk and salt; set aside. Spread preserves on four slices of bread; top with the remaining bread. Trim crusts; cut each sandwich into three strips. Dip both sides in egg mixture. Cook on a lightly greased hot griddle for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

Bed and Breakfast...

This week was my spring break...hard to believe it's almost over! Thursday was also Lew's last day working at Covenant Life Church (he starts his new job at CSA as a Content Analyst on Monday....prayers appreciated!) Either way Friday was a day off for both of us so we left Thursday night for good old West Virginia to a bed and breakfast called the Carriage Inn by the recommendation of my brother Jeremy and his wife Rachel. It was so wonderful! The innkeepers are a very sweet husband and wife, and are truly the best hosts I have every encountered. The husband Donn was a pastor for many years and then they came upon this opportunity to run The Carriage Inn and him and his wife Marie have been doing so since 2004.

The Inn has a lot of history behind it. You can find out more about it on the website, but it's been around since 1836. We stayed in the Garden View room where apparently Ulysses S. Grant had stayed. It was a nice relaxing get away for a night, but unfortunately due to the yucky weather outside we decided not to stay during the day on Friday because most of what there is to do down there is outdoors. But we plan to return soon. For those who are interested we highly recommend it for a romantic get away! It was affordable and so worth it. The food was great and the room was very large (but still cozy) with a nice fireplace. There are lots of good restaurants nearby but we chose to go to Three Onions in Shepherdstown, we also recommend that...the food was great! So, the only pictures we really got to take were of our room...but here ya go!

Dont' Waste...

Lately Lew has been confronting me on an issue that is not a new one....not wasting food. Now I have to admit I do not waste food intentionally, but usually it goes a little something like this:

I go to the store I see grapefruits on sale..well i like grapefruit (Lew doesn't) but I still buy a good amount anyways b/c they are on sale....then I see some bread that I really like... I like bread (Lew really doesn't) but I still buy it anyways....then I see that its cheaper to buy a gallon of milk instead of 1/2 a gallon...so why not....you can see where I am going with this. With only 2 of us it's very hard to eat all of the groceries we buy per week especially the produce! This means I have to plan very well and keep track of what produce and other perishables we have on hand so that when I am planning meals I can incorporate them in someway...and therefore not waste them. My Mom can vouch for this struggle as I would often times do the same thing when I lived at home except I didn't have my own fridge, just my own drawer in the fridge. Many times my Mom would complain of a really bad smell in the fridge to soon discover there was once again some unidentifiable item rotting away in my drawer...yuck! So I have been trying to get creative and make things with my perishables when they are on the verge of going bad. It actually has been kinda fun.

So this week I made Caramel Bread Pudding thanks to Allrecipes.com
This is my second time using this recipe and it's so great. I have used french bread and that was very yummy, and this week I tried to be really innovative...I had 4 slices of stale oatmeal bread and two wholewheat bagels that were also on the verge of being stale...I also had some milk that was just about to expire....and yes, once again it turned out so yummy.

Ingredients:
6 slices stale (not moldy!) bread broken up into small (1/2") pieces.
1 C hot water
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 eggs lightly beaten
2 C warm milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teas. vanilla extract
1/2 teas. ground cinnamon
1/8 teas. salt

Directions: Place bread in a greased 2 qt. baking dish. Combine water and brown sugar, pour over bread. Combine remaining ingredients; pour over bread. Let sit for at least 10 minutes, mix bread around a little if you see any dry pieces on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 min or until knife in center comes out clean. You would never know your eating stale wholewheat bagels ;)

The weight of wings...

I just recently began reading Let Me Be a Woman by Elisabeth Elliot, and I can't get enough of it! Originally I was just going to read a chapter at night and maybe a chapter in the morning (the chapters are only about 2 pages) but it always ends up that I read a chapter or 2 at night and like 5 or 6 chapters in the morning. It's basically a bunch of letters that Elisabeth wrote to her daughter Valerie right before she got married. There are so many helpful truths in this book about womanhood, marriage, motherhood...and it's oh so easy to read ;) Here is my favorite chapter titled "The Weight of Wings"

Every creature of God is given something that could be called an inconvenience I suppose, depending on ones perspective. The elephant and the mouse might each complain about his size, the turtle about his shell, the bird about the weight of his wings. But elephants are not called upon to run behind wainscots, mice will not be found "pacing along as thought they have an appointment at the end of the world," turtles have no need to fly nor birds to creep. The special gift and ability of each creature defines its special limitations. And as the bird easily comes to terms with its necessity of bearing wings when it finds that it is in fact, the wings that bear the bird---up, away from the world into the sky, into freedom--so the woman who accepts the limitations of womanhood finds in those very limitations her gifts, her special calling--wings, in fact which bear her up into perfect freedom, into the will of God.

You have heard me tell of Gladys Aylward, the "Small Woman" of China, whom I heard speak many years ago at Prairie Bible Institute in Alberta. She told how when she was a child she had two great sorrows. One, that while all her friends had beautiful golden hair, hers was black. The other, that while here friends were still growing, she stopped. She was about four feet ten inches tall. But when at last she reached the country to which God had called her to be a missionary, she stood on the wharf in Shanghai and looked around at the people to whom He had called her. "Every single one of them," she said "had black hair. And every single one of them had stopped growing when I did. And I said 'Lord God, You know what you're doing!' "

It reminds me of Psalm 139...He knit us together in our Mother's womb, surely no mistakes were made in that process. He even intends our limitations for our good.

Dream Job

I mentioned in my last weekend read that in my last weekend read that in high school I wanted to grow up to be a journalist. I have had people ask me what my dream job is and I've given a myriad of answers, but I was thinking about it, and plain and simple, my dream job is to be a writer. Will that dream ever come to fruition? Yeah, I get to write all the time, the question of getting paid for my writing is another story. Even if I never actually get published or make a living off of my writing, I definitely plan on continuing to pursue it for the simple joy it gives me and the exercise of mastering rhetoric because I believe no one ever truly masters it.

Speaking of writing, below is a meditation that I wrote earlier this week during my quiet time on Hosea. Even if a publisher never publishes my work, blogger will always publish me ;)

My sympathy is stirred (Hosea 11:8)

If you are more aware of your sin then God’s love for you, then direct your attention to the cross. Kneel before the cross and realize that the death of His Son was for you. The only begotten Son of the most high king gave up His life for you to be adopted into the family of God. Nothing can break these family ties for you have been wrapped with His bands of love. At calvary, the most heinously conceivable sin was displayed for all to see that even when sin abounds to its highest level that grace is still triumphant. All of your sins were placed on the son at the cross so that there is no fear or dread of any punishment.

At the moment that you notice condemnation lurking around the corner, remember that our God is not like man. He is holy and cannot be in the presence of sin, because of His great love for you He has washed you clean of the sin that stains you. His grace has abounded greater then any past, present or future sin. Your coming before Him is not on the basis of your works, but what He’s done. Your holiness is not what you’ve earned, but what He’s given you. You are eternally His, He has bought you with the blood of His Son and will not give you up.

How can this be you ask? God’s heart for you is a heart that overflows with compassion. Instead of treating us as we deserve, He crushed His Son for us. The fierceness of His anger was the burden that Christ faced so that we can experience God’s love poured out into our hearts. Due to our sin, we should have been destroyed by God’s holy wrath, but the righteous One who knew no sin, took on our sin and died in our place so that we can be considered righteous. At the cross God’s sympathy is displayed and we find no greater display of love.

"All Aboard"

Baldwin Station : winner from 1998-2005 of best restaurant from Baltimore Magazine & date night destination of Lew and Laura on 03/03/07

One of the most disappointing things in life is when you get excited something for and it doesn’t live up to expectations. This past Saturday Laura and I went to a restaurant that I had found online and it definitely exceeded our expectations. The restaurant is called, “Baldwin Station,” and is located in Sykesville, MD. Sykesville, you ask. Yes, Sykesville and as the Washington Post states, “It is worth the trip.”

Baldwin Station is located on the Patapsco River and is actually an old train station that was converted into a restaurant. When the weather is nice they have been indoor and outdoor seating. It is a very family friendly restaurant to as along with being a hot spot for acoustic musical venues, there is also a children’s theatre at the restaurant.

Lastly, the food, it was exquisite. We had authentic Maryland lump crabcakes. I heard my mom speak of these authentic Maryland lump crabcakes where it is mostly crab and minimal cake. Not until Baldwin Station did I experience it for myself. Laura even claims that these are the best crabcakes she has ever had.

If you get a chance to make it out to the country to visit the winner of City Paper’s Best Romantic Restaurant in 2000.

My Answered Prayer

"She's Everything"

She's a yellow pair of running shoes
A holey pair of jeans
She looks great in cheap sunglasses
She looks great in anything
She's I want a piece of chocolate
Take me to a movie
She's I can't find a thing to wear
Now and then she's moody

She's a Saturn with a sunroof
With her brown hair a-blowing
She's a soft place to land
And a good feeling knowing
She's a warm conversation
That I wouldn't miss for nothing
She's a fighter when she's mad
And she's a lover when she's loving

[Chorus]
And she's everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
I talk about her, I go on and on and on
'Cause she's everything to me

She's a Saturday out on the town
And a church girl on Sunday
She's a cross around her neck
And a cuss word 'cause its Monday
She's a bubble bath and candles
Baby come and kiss me
She's a one glass of wine
And she's feeling kinda tipsy

She's the giver I wish I could be
And the stealer of the covers
She's a picture in my wallet
Of my unborn children's mother
She's the hand that I'm holding
When I'm on my knees and praying
She's the answer to my prayer
And she's the song that I'm playing

[Repeat chorus]

She's the voice I love to hear
Someday when I'm ninety
She's that wooden rocking chair
I want rocking right beside me
Everyday that passes
I only love her more
Yeah, she's the one
That I'd lay down my own life for

And she's everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
She's everything to me
Yeah she's everything to me

Everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
She's everything to me

The above is a song by Brad Paisley and it is probably one of my new favorite songs. One of my favorite things about Brad Paisley love songs is that he doesn't write about this perfect woman and a perfect marriage that they have. Instead, his songs can be very real and talk about the imperfections and the joy found in the imperfections. As he says in the song Little Moments, "I know she's not perfect, but she tries so hard for me, and thank God that she isn't because how boring would that be."

What's really neat about this song is how he loves his wife. The extent of his love is that he would lay down his life for his wife. Not only does he want to grow old with her, but if he had to, he would sacrifice his life for her because that is what love is. "There is no greater love then this, that a man would lay down his life for his friends," Jesus Christ.

That's how I love Laura. Not only do I love to talk about her and think about growing old with her, but just like Christ gave up His life for the church, so will I give up my life for my bride.

Snow Falling on Cedars

March is here, the temperature is in the 50’s and instead of snow in the forecast it’s rain. If you’re not like me and aching for the snow to stick around a little bit longer then might I suggest to you David Guterson’s first novel, “Snow Falling on Cedars.” I am not a fan of most contemporary authors, so the fact that I enjoy all of Guterson’s writings is saying a lot.

Before writing this review I decided to run a wikipedia search on the book and it turns out that Guterson was a teacher and from the 1960’s-1980’s and he would write the book little by little in the morning. Once the book was published and became a huge success he quit his teaching gig and started writing full time. Since he began writing fulltime in 1995 he has published three other novels. His latest two novels, “East of the Mountains” (highly recommended) and “Our Lady of The Forest” (good, but his weakest work in my opinon), I’ve read and will review in the future.

“Snow Falling on Cedars,” takes place in the pacific northwest and set in a post world war II time period. I read this book as a high school assignment and part of the reason why I enjoyed it so much is because it is told from the point of view of the town’s newspaper editor, which at the time is what I aspired to be when I grew up. The plot revolves around racism between the white-Americans that live in the community and the Japanese-American fishermen with the backdrop of a murder trial that is very Lee Harper-esque. As the narrator tells the story, you also get personal flashbacks to his youth and a forbidden romance. This is without a doubt a story that has it all, courtroom drama, love triangle, a morality tale, a historical novel and a story about racism told from the perspective of an excellent author.

Grade: A- 91% (missed the A ranking because it isn't exactly family friendly. There is some violence and other content that actually has this book placed on the banned book list).