The Saturday Six

One.

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 I stumbled across this blog post last week, written by another family experiencing a move and life transition right now. I loved the post, because it reminded me of how I feel about our move away from our home, but what I REALLY LOVED was the idea of leaving our names on a board in the attic. So of course, when we go to the old house next time, I plan to do this in the attic there!. One more mark of our family on that home before it passes on to a new legacy with a new family!

Two.

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A couple of weeks ago I shared with you a link to the wedding photos from one of my friends. This week she blogged a bit about their unconventional and completely Christ-centered relationship. These two inspire me, because I think they do something right that a lot of us don't get: they say right out loud they have no idea what they're doing except following hard after God. Two people following Christ together. That's what it should be.  

Three.

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I grew up eating cereal for breakfast, and for many of those years, my choice was Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Whenever I needed a break from that, I usually chose Cocoa Puffs. For about a year in college, I lived on Captain Crunch Berries. Seeing a theme here? I tended not to pick the healthiest ones! Ryan and I don't eat a ton of cereal, but we do like it for a snack {he eats more of it now than I do} and we struggle to find a cereal that's affordable AND good for you. While this one doesn't usually fit in the affordable category {unless we find a good sale}, it does rank as my current favorite cereal: Post Great Grains Crunchy Pecans. It tastes much like the granola I make!

Four.

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I love finding a good testimony: a good reminder of how absolutely involved in every detail God actually is for each of us. And so....read this.  

Five.

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I finished two books this week. The first one has been part of each day for several weeks now as my devotional reading. I told you a while back that I read Mark Batterson's book, The Circle Maker, but at the same time, I also started his 40 day prayer challenge companion book called Draw the Circle. I sheepishly confess that it took me longer than 40 days to get through it because with moving and a vacation, I didn't read every single day. But my delays were purely self-inflicted and were no reflection on his quality of writing at all! :)
 
Mark published this book in 2012 after he wrote The Circle Maker, and while you will find some content transferred from the main book to the companion guide, you'll also find a lot of brand new content, some of which was inspired by letters and emails he received in response to the main book. He shared stories people told him after they had begun to pray circles in their own lives, and he added new stories from his journey along the way.

This book is, in format, very much created for daily reading with short chapters and a Bible verse to begin each day's reading. I found within it the same style of underline-worthy phrases and challenges that I have always found in Mark's writing, and it was a good daily guide in learning to pray genuinely and with passion and risk.

I also appreciate that Mark doesn't claim to be a prayer expert or to always pray well. He shares of his own shortcomings and desire/hunger to learn more on the subject, but he also shares incredible stories of moments when God did big things because of prayer.

So if you like a daily reading guide better than a standard book, this would be a great choice for you. Because it's 40 days in length, it would be great for Lent or for any season when you want to mark out a prescribed number of days to pray over something!

Six.

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I've shared before on the Saturday Six about Ian and Larissa Murphy and their Christ-centered love story. I was excited to find out in 2014 that they released a book about their story, but because my free time was so limited then, I wasn't able to read it when it came out. But I purchased it recently, eager to read more of their story. And the book did not disappoint.

If you're looking for a sappy love story, this isn't it. If you're looking for a place where grit and grace collide and bubble over in the truest form of love, read this book. Ian and Larissa Murphy were young, in love, and dreaming about becoming engaged, planning a wedding, and living happily ever after. Their dreams and hopes and life looked much like anyone else's. And then came September 30, 2006, when Ian's car crashed with an SUV, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury and both of them with a future 100% unlike anything they envisioned.

Their book, titled Eight Twenty Eight, is a nod Romans 8:28 {as well as Ian's dad's birthday on 8/28 and their anniversary on 8/28} and is filled with the truth of how two imperfect people push forward in the most unimaginable circumstance and choose love. Larissa shares honestly about her fears, her anger, and her confusion as to why God would allow her beloved Ian to be trapped inside a coma, trapped inside his own brain, and unable to walk beside her to make her dreams come true.

She also shares honestly about how she began to see that despite his disability, he was still very much her Ian. He was still funny and tender and caring. He still had a deep, unwavering faith in the Lord, and he still loved her and wanted to marry her.

And they did marry. They married, and their life is full of nothing any girl would ever dream of for her future. She's a full time care-giver and wrestles with fears and worries about the reality of their forever. They live in a suite with Ian's family and every day, a village helps her care for her husband. But they married, and their life is full of everything any girl would ever dream of for her future. She's loved unconditionally, championed daily by her biggest encourager, and her faith is strengthened as she watches Ian love her as Christ loves the church.

 I love a good love story. I love my own love story and I love the stories of those around me. But this one - this one challenged me to the truth of love. The choice, day in and day out to rise above the temptations, rise above the challenges, rise above the unfairness that pervades, and just love. Larissa says, "The simple beauty of this marriage is the truth he speaks and the God he loves. We live as two empty vessels, vessels that we know not how to fill on our own, but are completed and perfected through what we receive down, what trickles down, from perfect love in him."

THAT is the love story we should desire.

What I Learned in April

I've enjoyed Emily Freeman's series on what we've learned each month, so I submit to you the various things I learned throughout the month of April!

1. Never trust an online calculator.

Ryan and I decided to do a stone feature on a wall in our living room {thank you, Pinterest, for the idea}, and we elected to go with the AirStone brand. While we loved the weight of it and how easily it went onto the wall, we trusted the online calculator to help us figure how much stone we would need. According to that, two boxes should have been MORE than sufficient. Uhhhhh how about needing six boxes?? SIX!!! {Also...in the interest of fairness, I should tell you that the wall looks STUNNING, and I cannot wait to tell you about the process to assemble it!}

2. I like Brussels Sprouts.

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When I babysat for a living {back in my teen years}, I remember one of the families I sat for leaving Brussels Sprouts for their kids for dinner one evening. They said the kids hadn't had them before, but I should try to get them to eat them. I didn't try very hard. They looked and smelled awful, I thought, and frankly I didn't blame the kids for turning up their noses. And that was my last run-in with this dish. When we stayed with Tom and Olivia during our Wisconsin trip, Olivia served them for one of our dinners, and of course to be polite, I tried them. And then I went back for seconds. WHAT!? What has become of me???? But it turns out that it's true: in my grown-up life, I like Brussels Sprouts.

3. Yellow cheese has added coloring {usually}.

Another gem of information gathered on our Wisconsin trip. By nature, most cheese is white. They add yellow coloring, and if you'd like to read even more fascinating information on the history of why they do that, you can read it here!

4. Contesting an issue IS a full time job.

I spent hours on the phone this month trying to resolve an issue with an ebay purchase we made, and I'm telling you...it became my job. I guess if you do work full time, you do this sort of thing on your lunch hour - but I don't think they make lunch hours that long. The whole thing was so silly and never should have required the amount of time it took, which was the most maddening of all. But I felt like every day I had to get up, get dressed, go sit at my desk, and argue our case. I hate arguing. I hate feeling like the bad guy. But I felt strongly that we had been wronged, so I got up and went to work to fight for us! {And apparently it gives me big hair, too.}

5. I'm getting stronger!!

From mid-March to mid-April, we moved, and my eating and workout routines were sorely shaken as we had early mornings, late nights, long work days, packed-up kitchens, and a vacation tucked in there, too. I grew discouraged on the whole eating and exercise plan, because I need routine and it wasn't happening. But I  noticed on our final moving day, when we moved all the heavy, bulky stuff from the garage, that I was able to lift heavy stuff much more easily - and for much longer periods of time - than I ever have before. I perhaps didn't lose like crazy in that stretch, but I got stronger! I celebrate that!

6. Our lawn mower is not self-propelled.

And to this I say...WHY!?!?!?!!?!? I don't enjoy yard work and Ryan really likes it, so after we were married, he took over the yard exclusively and I happily let him. We each owned a lawn mower, so he sold mine and kept his. I was fine with all that until this month when {at our new home} I offered to mow the yard to help him out during a particularly busy week with a rainy forecast. One swipe in, I stopped and said to him, "Is this thing not self-propelled?" He said, "Oh no. I don't like those." WHAT?!!?!?!?!?!?!!? So I've now mowed our yard twice and counted it as a full workout each time. It was a close call, but it's Bekah - 2, yard - 0.  

Becoming Home

It's been forever since I wrote a thoughtful kind of post. Life has been so {beautifully} full lately that each day's post is a mad dash to keep you up to date on what's happening in our world {not to mention to serve as a reminder to me later when I finally have time to scrapbook this wild journey and have forgotten key things I want to preserve}.

But I feel the need to catch my breath, so today isn't a recap. It's just my heart.

When I moved into my first home, the one we just left last month, I was a college graduate with a new job, a white twin daybed, a hodge-podge of things inherited from the homes of my grandparents, a kitten, and a roommate.

Life was brand new for me in every way and each day was an exercise in figuring out who I was and how I fit in and how in the world I would survive this Financial Aid thing. And life found a rhythm. I figured out the job, the kitten went to live on a farm after not liking the roommate's cat, the roommate went to live on her own after we failed to find harmony, and I was left with the white twin daybed and the hodge-podge of things inherited, while adding to it a hodge-podge of what began to represent my life.

And despite a couple of huge home-purges in the last few years {one before getting married and one last summer after quitting my job}, this move still felt like an exercise in honing our possessions and figuring out what we need learning to live concisely and simply.

People ask us almost every day if we're all settled in and the answer is no. I would feel comfortable now saying we are largely settled in, but we are not fully settled. Rooms are mostly assembled. Less than ten boxes remain packed. The piles of to-be-sorted are not as bad as I imagined they might be, and I am tickled to the brightest shade of pink at all my newly assembled {AND LABELED!!!} storage boxes that make life lovely

This week, we started the permanent settling of hanging our pictures on the walls. We piled the bed high with art and pictures and sayings and then created little collages on the floor to be transferred to each wall. It was a slow process - and those of you with husbands who have the same love affair with levels and measuring tapes that mine does will understand what I mean by that.

With each step we've taken, this house has become more of our home. The kitchen was the first room I assembled, so I could work to create healthy meals for us - meals that could be eaten on real plates at an actual table. And then I organized the closet so we weren't pulling wrinkled clothes from suitcases and wondering what happened to the bag of socks.

Room by room, we've slowly made a home, continuing to organize and purge as we go. This house is as different in layout from our old home as I think we could have gotten, so nothing naturally went in the same space. Everything required a new home with new vision. And we've loved that. We have loved figuring out how this place suits us. We've combined the old and familiar of our things with the new and exciting of the space. We've combined my things with his and purchased a few more that could just be called ours.

It's becoming home. It's felt like home since the first day, when we wandered inside and stared at the blankest of home canvases. But with each box unpacked and each item given a place, it's become a true home.

We're back at it again tonight - with the level and the tape measure and a new armful of art that needs a wall. It's lovely, comforting {although occasionally maddening} work. And I can't wait to introduce you to the finished product!

Homemade Marinara Sauce

I know. I know. It's easier to buy it.

But hear me out. :)

Several weeks ago, when my 21 Day Fix Coach sent out a list of recipes to get us cooking in a healthy way, homemade marina sauce was in the mix of things she sent. She told us that sometimes the bottled sauces in the store are loaded with additional sugars and salts and things you can't pronounce, and it's good to make your own.

Right about then, I remembered how often Ryan and I would stand in the aisle at the store, grumbling about the price of such sauces, and how sometimes I rationed making dishes that used such a sauce more because of what I had to pay for it than anything else.

Maybe making my own wouldn't be so bad after all. Better for me, better for my wallet....yes, please!

I will tell you the complete truth here: this does not take long to put together AT ALL. The last time I made it, I whipped it up in about 10  minutes and let it simmer on the stove all evening while we did our workouts and such. And then I just stuck the whole pot in the fridge. The next day, I portioned it out by 2 cup intervals into storage baggies and put them in the freezer for someday, when I need marinara sauce.

Truly easy.

And I also have a funny story for you. Enjoy.

I grew up in a home with absolutely no alcohol. My parents do not drink, and alcohol was not permitted in our house. Not even for cooking. I also do not drink, and neither does Ryan. I've never purchased alcohol in my entire life, cough medicine aside. So when the recipe called for red wine, I panicked.

I purchased said wine in the same aisle with all the vinegars and such things. It's cooking wine, not I had a bad day wine. And yet I about freaked out in checkout putting that bottle of wine in my bag. And when the day came to make the sauce for the first time, I measured out the cooking wine, set it aside, and worked on the first part of the recipe. I got so flustered, I spilled the entire measured out portion of wine, and it went everywhere...over the counter, down the cabinets, onto the floor. The entire house smelled like a drunken fest had just taken place, and I figured that was my punishment for buying and cooking with wine!

HA!!!

So if you can look past the wine, here is the recipe for making homemade marinara sauce.

Homemade Marinara Sauce

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 teaspoons garlic powder
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine {IF YOU DARE!!!}
2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
1 Tablespoon seasoned salt
3 Tablespoons chopped basil

Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add garlic powder and tomato paste, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes. Don't let tomato paste burn. Add wine {CAREFULLY} and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, seasoned salt and basil and bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow to simmer for at least an hour - more if you'd like. Use with pasta, on pizza, or any other type of dish in which you'd use marinara. 

* A Few Tips

* I used red onion in this batch, because it's what we had on hand. Any kind of onion would be fine.


* The original recipe called for 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped, but I don't use real garlic cloves, so I switched mine to include the powdered amount I used.

* The crushed tomatoes I found already had basil in them, so my recipe was extra basil-y. You could include other herbs if you like them in your Italian dishes.

* The original recipe also called for 2 Tablespoons of agave nectar, but I don't like my sauces sweet at all, so I eliminated that.

* Another thing I eliminated was 3 ounces of parmesan rind because I didn't have any and didn't want to make another purchase. I think the sauce tastes fine without it.

* I got 7 1/2 cups of sauce out of this recipe. I bagged them in 2 cup bags, except the last one which was just 1.5 cups. You could make the portions even smaller depending on your needs.

* Kind of nice to be able to open a serving for 1 or 2 as needed rather than opening a jar, not using it all, and throwing the rest away.

* I labeled my bags and froze them until needed.

* If you can find the tomatoes on sale, you can make this REALLY inexpensively. 

It's The Birthday Boy!

We are so excited that Spill the Beans has a new and permanent home in our office! Our first run from the new table...

Click to listen.

We did Ryan's birthday dinner at Tucano's a day before his birthday, so we had more celebrating to accomplish on the actual day!

Since his birthday fell on Sunday, we had to get up early for church. I'd made homemade {clean eating} donuts on Saturday and had planned to make egg cups on Sunday morning, but he was still miserably full from Tucano's, so I pretty much just put together the donuts for photo purposes and delivered them to him in bed where he promptly ate none of them. LOL!!

 I would show you the pictures of him blowing out the candles, but he would KILL ME, so I will just keep that sleepy show for the scrapbook.

We were busy singing in church when one of the pastors came and got Ryan and asked to borrow him. I turned to our friend behind us and said, "That's the pastor that knows Ryan will do anything. I'm scared he might show up on stage in some sort of costume." The pastor must have read my mind because he came back shortly and said, "I just need Ryan to be an usher - no need to worry." HA!!

After church, we did the official birthday photo:

And then we ate what was supposed to be breakfast...for lunch. 

He was excited to open his present - which was a collection of coffee gifts!

And then we took a nice. long. nap. Ahhhhhhhh sweet goodness.

It was such a pretty day that we ended up going for a long walk in the evening.

A beautiful Sunday, a wonderful birthday. Ooh! And I can't forget the mint chocolate chip ice cream pie. He liked that!

Happy birthday {again}, Ryan. You bring so much joy!

Starting the Birthday Boy's Celebration

I am a HUGE stickler for celebrating birthdays ON THE ACTUAL DAY. That was new for Ryan - at least to be that crazy about it - but he kindly humors my need to celebrate birthdays ON the day, not NEAR the day.

Having said that, we did start his birthday celebration a bit early this year. Last year on his birthday, we went to Tucano's, which is a Brazilian restaurant where you can eat all the meat you want. That's his love language. He wanted to go back again this year, but since his birthday fell on Sunday, and we had church and he wanted to rest, he wanted to go on Saturday instead.

His mom and Allen were able to join us, and the four of us just had quite a fun night! {They had never experienced Tucano's before. We enjoyed introducing them!}

Before we left home, Ryan's dad and Lynne stopped by to wish him a happy birthday, so I got a picture of the three of them!

Ryan had been saving up his calories all day to EAT UP! He was ready! {You turn the green side up when you're ready for more meat and you flip it to red when you don't want them to stop by anymore.}

The newbies!!

My plate! {And yes, I got veggies, too!} {And no, I didn't eat everything.}

His happy, happy place.

They sang to him {and many other people that night. It was a big night for birthdays and prom-goers in there!}

And despite the crazy amount of meat he ate, he did save room for dessert. He got creme brulee and I got a brownie with ice cream. I ate the ice cream there and brought the brownie home. HA!

It was such a gorgeous night, so we took some photos outside after we left:

And then a little shopping...

What a fun night and a great start to the celebration. He's fun to celebrate, isn't he?