The Whole Darn Thing

(The Whole Darn Thing is our favorite sandwich shop in Kraig's hometown. We ate there for lunch!)

We packed up yesterday and headed to Pennsylvania. Kraig's grandfather hadn't been doing well. They released him from the hospital to a nursing home on Friday, and he ended up back in the hospital Saturday morning. Things weren't looking good. His blood pressure was really low. His heart rate was really erratic. They called Kraig's mom about 10 p.m. Sunday night and said they thought his time was drawing near. So all of Grandpa's kids that live in PA spent the night at the hospital watching the stats rise and fall. Around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Grandpa Hays finally went to be with the Lord. I didn't know him well, but he was definitely a well-loved man. He was a fixture in his community for years. He owned multiple businesses. He owned and ran the local funeral home. He worked for the city government at some point. Everyone knew him. He had a wife, who passed away when Kraig was in 5th grade. He had two sons, two daughters, ten grandkids, and one beautiful great-granddaughter (Kate, of course!). He lived a long life, but it's always hard to lose someone you loved. The family seems to be doing pretty well. Some people are still travelling to get here, though. It'll be the first time we've all been together since I joined the family.

Kraig and I have lost 6 grandparents since we've been together. Five in the last year and a half. It's hard to believe. Every funeral is just a reminder of the others we've lost. We haven't had time to get over the loss of one person without losing another. Crazy. We miss our grandparents. We're sad that Kate won't have memories of them like we do. We're glad that some of them got to meet her, though.

It's sad, but it's also a nice time to get to spend time with the family that you don't see often enough. After my grandma died, my mom made a remark that she thought funerals, weddings and births were God's way of getting us all together again. And when you live far away from your family, that's pretty much the truth. It's the best time we get to spend with our family--especially because it's an unexpected thing that doesn't require using up a bunch of vacation days. It's sad, and it's a blessing.

We'll mourn our loss, but we'll enjoy the time we get to spend together.

Kraig will be performing the funeral service, so say a prayer for him. Pray that he'll find the words to say and that he'll be able to hold himself together to get through the service. Please pray for everyone travelling right now, too. We have family coming in from Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky....and the Virginians are already here:)

Calendar

(I have the hardest time coming up with titles. Today I chose an inanimate object that I happened to have in my line of vision.)

Yesterday was the beginning of fall. It was over 90 degrees in Winchester yesterday. I was sitting in the living room looking out the front window, though, and I could see leaves slowly drifting to the ground. I love the way they fall. Back and forth. It looked like fall yesterday. It made me a little sad that fall is already here. As part of our Life Group study, we've talked about how much time we waste on stupid things when we could be spending that time with the people that matter to us. And we waste plenty of time. It's time that we'll never be able to get back. Every minute is pushing us closer and closer to our end. So why do we waste it like it's an indispensable resource?

I love being in the ministry. I love where we are. I love our church. I love the new friends that we have. We have some really, really good friends here. But I hate being away from my family. All this time we spend away from them is moments we can never get back. That makes me sad. I know we are where God wants us. I know He has made Kraig and I strong people that can handle being away from our family so much. But it's still hard when I think about it like that. It's so hard to have your entire relationship basically over the phone. Time and money prevents us all from travelling to see each other as often as we would like. That's life. October will be a good month, though.

The first weekend of October, Kraig's parents have asked to visit. The second weekend of the month (Thursday-Sunday) my sister and my beautiful nieces will be coming to stay with me. The third weekend of October, my Mom and Dad are coming out for the weekend. I'm excited. My parents helped us move in, but they were here with us for less than 24 hours before they had to head home. This time, they'll be able to really see our home all put together, to see our town, and to visit our church. My sister has not been here at all yet, so it'll be all new to her. I can't wait!

I talked to a good friend from our previous church yesterday. We have not really had the chance to have a decent conversation in like four months, so it was wonderful to catch up with her. She has a little girl that's just a few weeks older than Kate, and we got to enjoy being pregnant at the same time. It was great to have someone going through it "with" you. There were things we could talk about and share that I wouldn't dream of talking about with anyone else. And now that we're both mommies, we're so busy! Talking to her, though, made me miss her so much. It made me miss all of my close friends from when we lived there. We desperately needed out of the situation we were in there, but you can't help but feel like you're abandoning your friends when you leave. It's hard!

I feel blessed that I have such a wonderful family and such great friends that I miss them that much. I know plenty of people who don't have the kind of relationships I have, and I feel truly sad for them. I'm just praying that I can be the kind of daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, niece, granddaughter and friend that makes people miss me the way I miss them!

I hate missing church!

(It's nice to feel that way!)

Kate and I stayed home from church yesterday. I wasn't sure if I should take her or not, so we decided to play it safe. She woke up around 9 a.m. yesterday with no fever. Praise the Lord! She ate a small breakfast and actually got down on the floor and played with some toys. Definitely a change. She even napped well. I ended up taking her to the teen life groups time last night, and she did great. She still has a little cough and some congestion, but the worst is over. She went to bed at a normal hour last night and didn't get up til 9:30. It was awesome. Kraig, however, is sick and didn't sleep much at all last night. I'm still hoping I can stay healthy. My throat has felt a little sore the past couple days, but that's about it. I so hated missing church, though!

Teen life groups are going great! We're averaging at least 25 kids every week. It's a time for them to go a little deeper, and it's wonderful that so many of them are choosing to show up. After the hour of study is over, we have a game/hang-out time and it's always a lot of fun. I finally feel like the kids enjoy when I'm around. At our previous ministry, I could barely get the high school kids to even look at me. I love feeling like I can actually be a part of Kraig's ministry here. It feels great! We have a great group of teens. The Sunday morning teen service, Awaken, is also going very well. We're getting new visitors every week, and a good portion of the visitors are returning. You can't beat that! Kraig is doing an awesome job with the teens, and God is really blessing his ministry here.

We're having Chinese stir-fry for dinner tonight. I'm gonna go hunt the web for a recipe for the ginger salad dressing they use at Japanese restaurants. I want some!!

Is it really still Saturday?

(It's been a lonnnnnnnnng few days.)

Kate is sick. Like the first real sick that she's been where she was old enough to understand what was going on. The first real sick that has kept her up at night. And she's a beast. She woke up early Thursday morning, just after midnight, completely congested and miserable. I didn't see it coming, and it's been a roller coaster since then. She's slept about half of her normal amount. And I've slept even less, of course. The first night, she would only sleep on my chest while I was sitting up. Not the best position for me to try to catch any sleep, but it seemed to work for her. She slept a little more last night. We slept together in our spare bed, and she insisted on having her head in my armpit most of the night. She seems to be in a little better spirits today, and she's taken two decent naps in her crib. We'll see how the night goes. It was nearly 1 a.m. before she fell asleep last night. She still has a fever. So no church for us tomorrow unless a miraculous healing takes place overnight. This was supposed to be my first week playing with the praise team. Guess I'll live. ;)

"Love at Last Sight" challenge is going well, I think. I've actually read the book like you're supposed to, so that's a step in the right direction. I'm going to hate to miss tomorrow's sermon. Guess I'll listen to it online on Monday. Glad that's an option!

No news on Kraig's grandpa. I guess no news is good news for now.

In other news, Kraig thinks he's getting sick. Oh joy.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

(And now that song will be stuck in my head!)

Tuesdays are always great days. I love our Life Group. We were at our house last night for chicken alfredo with broccoli, homemade garlic rolls, and homemade apple cobbler with ice cream. Yum! We are blessed to have made such great friends so quickly in Virginia. It's mostly because of our Life Group. We love them! It's only us and one other couple right now, so it's prime for getting to know each other. We always have a great time! We started our new study last night. It's the "Love at Last Sight Challenge." You can check it out at www.lastsightchallenge.com. The sermon series that corresponds started on Sunday, as well. We had a great first night. It's all about improving our relationships with the people that matter in our lives. I'm really excited to see how our relationships can improve if we really commit to the challenge. So far, I'm loving it.

We could also use your prayers right now. Kraig's grandfather (his last remaining grandparent) is not doing well. He's been sick off and on for a long time, but he's back in the hospital again. Things aren't really improving this time, and it's looking like he won't be able to be released unless he's going to a nursing home. He's basically alive because he's doing dialysis at least three times a week, which is very difficult on him at his age. He's very discouraged. He's thinking about stopping dialysis, but he's concerned that if he does it will be like committing suicide. And he wants to go to heaven. Pray for him. For his peace and comfort. For him to not suffer. Pray for the family. This will is especially difficult on Kraig's mom. I know the whole family is losing a lot of sleep. It's just so sad. Prayers are always appreciated!

On another note, I love my husband:)

Fall? Is that you?

(The weather is amazing!)

Kate's in her crib "napping," Kraig's at a football game, and here I sit. Slow week in the world of blogging. Well, my blog anyhow.

We've had a good week, though. Not too much to do. Kraig took half of Thursday off to watch Kate while I went to a doctor's appointment. He had today off to make up for Monday. Long weekend for us!! My doctor's appointment was good. It was the first one with my new endocrinologist. He was awesome! My biggest complaint about my previous endo was that I felt like I didn't know what was going on most of the time. The new doctor, however, was VERY thorough with his explanations, which I greatly appreciate. It's essential when you're dealing with something like cancer that you know what's going on. He ran some blood work and scheduled me for an ultrasound on my neck next week. As long as everything looks good, I won't have to see him for another six months. Praise the Lord!! Now I'm just praying everything comes back fine. I'm feeling fine, so I wouldn't expect anything unusual.

Our new sermon series and life group study starts Sunday. It's called "Love at Last Sight." I'm very excited to get to read the book and study it in multiple ways and see what impact it has on our congregation and in my life. It looks like a great series.

In other news, I can't wait til Kraig gets home from the football game. I'm lonely!

Wednesday already?

We had a beautiful weekend! The weather was almost perfect. We got up Saturday morning and went to a local farm market. I had a coupon:) We bought squash, zucchini, peaches and a jar of local honey. Because of the coupon, we also got a 1/2 peck of apples for free. We live in apple country, but I had yet to taste anything local. I got a few recommendations for the kid working the counter and filled a bag with multiple varieties. It was a nice way to spend a little time on Saturday morning. The peaches and apples have been great! Squash and zucchini have yet to be eaten. As we were leaving the market, I received a text message that basically said, "You two need to get out of bed and go outside! It's a beautiful day!" As much as I wished we were still in bed, I was glad we were able to enjoy the beautiful morning. It felt like fall.

After lunch, two friends and I went geocaching. If you don't know what it is, you should find someone who does. It was a blast. We were at it for almost 5 hours before we realized what time it was. We went to dinner at a Chinese place in town where I had never eaten, and it was great. We ordered an appetizer and two entrees to share and still had leftovers. One of the entrees we tried was a red curry. It was quite possibly the hottest thing I have ever eaten. After dinner, we went back to B's house for a movie and ice cream. I didn't get home until after 11 p.m. It's always nice to have a day out, and I'm so thankful that Kraig was willing to be home with Kate all day by himself.

Sunday was the kick-off of the new teen service, Awaken. We're outgrowing our building, so the teens meet in a modular that was previously used by a school for classroom space. We're outgrowing the modular, as well. We have Awaken during the 8:15 and 11:15 services. Between the two we had 37 people this week. It was great! Lots of new faces and lots of enthusiasm. The Lord is moving! All-in-all, Sunday was a great day for the teen ministry.

Monday, which is Kraig's normal day off, we slept til noon....well, kinda. Kate woke up with what we think was a night terror about 12:30 Monday morning. She was screaming hysterically for probably close to a half hour. We tried everything we could to calm her down, but it was like she wasn't really there. Like she was still asleep. Finally, she started to calm down (and wake up). I decided to lay down with her in the spare room, and she was calm and asleep almost immediately. I, however, was not. It was to the point that had the screaming gone on much longer, I was ready to take her to the hospital. It was absolutely terrifying. She was up before her normal wake up time Monday morning, so I fed her and let her play. She was ready for a nap about 10 a.m., at which time I also passed out. Kraig was still sleeping and we all three slept until noon, when Kate woke from her nap. We stayed around the house and did a few things here, but basically relaxed and enjoyed what was left of the day.

After doing some research later on, I'm almost positive Kate was having a night terror. Now we're just hoping she doesn't have anymore!

Happy Wednesday, everyone! The week's already half over:)

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!

Where did my motivation go?

I feel exhausted today! No motivation to do anything. It's pizza night at our house (homemade, of course), but I just don't feel like taking the time to make a good, yeasty pizza crust. A few weeks ago we used French bread for the crusts, because I was feeling lazy. Today I googled "no yeast pizza crust," and I'm going to try out the first recipe that popped up. It suggests making smaller pizzas, so I'm thinking two with pepperoni and onion, one that's just cheese and the last one with a cilantro pesto sauce. I'm obsessed with cilantro, but I still haven't tried to make pesto or anything with it yet. We'll see how it goes! I've heard pesto freezes well.

On the music ministry front, I'm feeling discouraged. I was super excited to get involved, but now I feel like Satan is trying to attack. Perhaps I should feel honored that Satan wants to keep me out of it. We'll see what happens. I'm (once again) praying for guidance.

Kate is growing like a weed. She made me some fridge art yesterday. I've had crayons for her to use forever, but yesterday was the first attempt. She did well:)

Kraig is doing well. Getting ready for the unveiling of the new teen service worship model. We're expecting a big turn out on Sunday and everyone is excited! Can't wait to see how the Lord moves!

Weekend plans? Family night tonight!! I'm thinking we might curl up on the couch and watch a movie. I'm hanging out with a couple girlfriends tomorrow sometime. Church Sunday morning. Teen Life Group kick-off Sunday night. Nothing on Monday. I love lazy weekends!

Taco Chicken Recipe

I promised the Taco Chicken recipe yesterday, and here it is. I wish I had taken a pic of the finished product, but we ate it. Yum. It's a recipe that you can adjust as you wish, but here's the basics of what I did.

Taco Chicken
Chicken pieces (bone in or boneless)
Water
A jar of salsa
Fresh or canned tomatoes (or Rotel if you like the heat)
Fresh cilantro
Garlic
Salt & Pepper
Cumin

Place the chicken in the crock pot. You can make just a few pieces, or fill the crock pot. Add 2-3 inches of water in the bottom of the crock pot. Peel and chop several cloves of garlic (I used one clove for each breast). Add the garlic to the pot. Add salt and pepper liberally. Add as much cumin as you like. (I used about two teaspoons with two bone-in breasts and one leg quarter). Add the tomatoes or Rotel (I used three Roma tomatoes that I had on hand. I chopped them in half and squeezed them into the crock pot before adding in the rest of the skins). Add about a cup of salsa. Cover and cook on high for 5 or so hours. When the meat easily falls off the bones, you'll know it's done. Remove the meat from the crock pot and let it cool. Once cooled, remove the meat from the bones and shred it as finely as you like. Add the chicken into a large sauce pan with 1 cup of water and the remainder of the salsa. Let it cook down until the water is absorbed and the meat soaks up the salsa. Enjoy! (Sometimes I add a few packs of Taco Bell's mild sauce if I have some on hand.)

Super easy, super flavorful, super cheap.

I went to practice last night. We're learning several new songs in the next 6 weeks, so we practiced for over two hours. I'm still unsure about the whole thing, but I'm going to give it some time.

Kate's asleep. I must shower!

Pictures of the food fest...

So on top of cooking 10 pounds of ground beef, seven pounds of chicken and making homemade chicken stock yesterday, we also hosted our Life Group plus a few for dinner last night. There were 8, including Kate in our tiny "dining room." Made for one long day! Some of the chicken and ground beef went to last night's dinner, but the rest went straight to the freezer:

I'm still trying to figure the whole picture thing out, but here you can see the chicken stock simmering away, the deboned chicken breasts and tenderloins, 1/4th of the ground beef cooking, the crockpot of taco chicken for last night, and the freezer after-the-fact. We ended up with a meal worth of taco meat left, a meal of chicken taco meat left, two meals of chicken breasts and tenderloins that are cleaned and ready to be cooked, one small portion of chicken that came off the bones while making the stock, 10 cups of chicken stock, and four meals worth of ground beef for spaghetti, chili, lasagna, etc. All in all, I think it was worth the time. It's probably only about two weeks worth of meat by itself, but there is still some other meat in the freezer for additional meals. I think once this is gone, I'll actually plan to try to cook like this. It really was kind of spur-of-the-moment, but now I feel very domestic. Chicken stock is always nice to have on hand, and I portioned mine out with 2 cups in each bag. The rest of this week's meals include pork chops, homemade pepperoni pizza, and chili (I'll freeze the leftovers). Next week will require very little purchasing! Just some produce:) I love it! All this meat, plus the whole chicken that was used for another meal and to make the stock only cost about $25. Over 20 pounds of meat! I had never worked with the bone-in chicken breasts before, but I don't think I'll ever go back to boneless, skinless. What a waste of money!! Five ways you can use them?

1. Remove the skin. Run a sharp knife up the edge of the bone and literally pull the breast away from the bone. Remove the rest of the meat that is still on the bone. This is the tenderloin. Use these as you would a normal boneless, skinless breast and tenderloin.
2. Put them in the crockpot with a few inches of water and your favorite seasonings. Cook on high for 5 or 6 hours. Let the chicken cool, then debone and shred it. Use the shredded meat for sandwiches, pizza, taco, casseroles, etc.
3. Mix salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic with melted butter and baste the breast with it. Basting both sides of the chicken, as well as under the skin, will help flavor the entire piece of meat and not just the surface. Place on a baking sheet or rack and roast in the oven at 350 for 40ish minutes, and you'll have delicious, moist meat.
4. Grill with your favorite marinade or BBQ sauce.
5. Put them in a stock pot with onions, carrots, celery and your favorite seasonings (I use salt, pepper, bay leaves, garlic, parsley and rosemary) to make a delicious stock. Once the chicken is done, strain the stock and use it as a base for chicken and noodles or dumplings. Add the chicken back into the pot at the last minute.

Simple ideas, but it's so much less expensive than using a boneless, skinless piece. And, as I've learned this week, it's money-saving to find out what time the manager marks down meats. Be there as close to when this happens, and you can find some great scores!

Tomorrow? The recipe for my Crockpot Taco Chicken. It was delicious! Tonight? My first practice with the NLCC worship band. I'm excited, but nervous. Details tomorrow.