grateful for HIS faithfulness...

fair warning: this will be a long post...not really written to anyone, but myself. in my printed yearly blog books with all of the fun stories and pictures from year to year, i want to remember how God provided for us ... over and over again.

andy has been in school now for 2 1/2 years...and even before that, God was faithful in preparing us. the smallest details that meant little at the time...looking back at how it was all part of His plan. andy was talking about going to seminary the first year we were married. we waited, and waited because we never had a total peace about it...but when the time was right...it was a very clear decision for us...and though we weren't totally sure how it would all work...we moved forward. i want to note a funny thing...our crazy appearance on the family feud....that was a part of God's plan! it is amazing how EVERYTHING is orchastrated by Him! see, we did auditions in sept. 2006, and they actually called us back and wanted us to come to L.A. with in 2 weeks of our auditions...sadly, we had to turn them down, because joey and kyle had a non-refundable trip planned (with another couple)...so we hoped and prayed they would call us back. they did...in july of 2007. you might be wondering why this is so perfect. see, we won money on the family feud...and had we gone that first time they called us....we probably would have spent some of it on something fun (because at the time, we had no idea that we would be starting school the next year). but when we went in july, we knew we were moving to denton, and knew that we had some financially straining years ahead, so we put that money away...and can i just tell you, that we have survived off that chunk of savings from the family feud!!!!! we have thus far been able to pay for andy's school without loans, and were able to supplement our finances from those winnings. the timing of everything was amazing.

ok, so we moved to denton, andy started school, and working part time with denton bible's youth. we raised support to supplement andy's part-time work, and were beyond blessed with amazing support that came through. for the first year and a half, the Lord was so gracious in giving us one-time donors along with monthly donors, and we were able to pay for school, rent, bills, etc... we were constantly amazed at others generosity. (and still are...it is so humbling to have others pour into you, and give generously so that we can finish andy's training at school to be in the ministry.) a year ago, we knew that our monthly support checks would be starting to come in about $700 less....so, we started praying...and seeing that it was basically our rent money each month...we prayed for a more affordable place to live (as opposed to having to withdraw savings each month to pay for rent). within a month, the Lord literally just handed us the deal at our apartments....we do resident activities each month in exchange for free rent. it was incredible to see Him provide....right when we needed it. not a moment before, not a moment too late....

now, a year later, the Lord has reminded us of who is in control. last week, our apartment manager came to our door at 5pm on Monday....with a fax from a new corporate managing company that was taking over our complex. the fax stated that they were ending our contract, and it was an official 30 day notice to end our services. so...basically, we either needed a new place to live, or we would have to find a way to pay for rent. we sent emails for prayer, and asking for any options anyone might have....on wednesday morning, andy and i went to look at some apartments, trying to see if there were any cheaper places to live. we got back about 11:30, and decided to run over to the office and check into our options here...like maybe downsizing to save money. when we walked in, our manager greeted us, and said, hang on, i think we are ok! the new management company was there, and they had been discussing our contract, and apparently, there were some misunderstandings...and the new company ended up wanting to renew our contract with the same deal. wow. we are once again, overwhelmed at God's blessings.

i had one friend tell me that she had prayed that morning, that the Lord would resolve our housing issue THAT day...and another friend who had specifically prayed for us to be able to stay in those apartments....praying that they would have a change of heart, and allow us to stay. that was not even something i had prayed for! but the Lord heard the prayers, and now God gets the glory. He once again showed how merciful and good He is. He has NEVER let us down...and He provides for us.....exactly when we need it.
God is GOOD!

brotherly love

logan's at school....its rainy and cold...what else is there to do but build a fort with my little brother?

patch work

we get a lot of questions about ian's patch, so i thought i would write about it, and also so we remember! :)

when he initially got glasses in october, he was seeing 80/20 in his left eye, and 40/20 in his right eye. after a few months of wearing his glasses, his right eye was corrected, and he now sees 20/20 in the right eye (with the use of his glasses). his left eye had improved to seeing 40/20, but was still weaker than the left eye, so we are doing 'patch work' to strengthen that left eye. he wears the patch a couple hours a day until march at his next checkup. and hopefully, that will correct the vision, and he'll be able to quit at that time (the patch not the glasses).

ian's been doing great! he's such a trooper, and doesn't complain about it....lots of people ask him 'what happened to your eye?' and he'll start explaining that the patch helps that eye get stronger...

he has done an amazing job transitioning to his glasses! he loves wearing them (i'm sure partially because of the improved vision!)....i have never had to fight him to wear them. when we bought our 3rd pair (in 3 months) of the plastic ones, we decided they just weren't durable enough for a 4 yr old with 2 brothers, so we invested in some that are supposed to be indestructable.

here's my handsome stud...:)

hulk smoothies

i'm pretty excited about this new way to make smoothies....our friend tracy shared the recipe, and our friend heather gave us the creative name...and here we are with "hulk smoothies".
bear with me, as the thought of drinking anything green makes me gag, but these really do just taste like a banana smoothie!!

i don't really measure anything...but i used apple juice, a banana, a couple of frozen strawberries and pineapple....that's all normal, right?
here's your key ingredient: a huge handful of baby spinach.
that's right....spinach.

could you taste the spinach? no. but it did make it green....
hence giving it the fond name of a 'hulk smoothie'...

i know some people are blessed with wonderful eaters, and have a 2 year old that will eat a salad...but i was not blessed with this...so this is HUGE for me!! my boys won't touch anything with even a shred of lettuce...but here, they drank an entire cup!!!!! i'm so excited!

TIPS: i did NOT make this in front of the boys...
and i did NOT tell them there was spinach in it.
i DID tell them that it tasted like a banana smoothie...
but i made it green cuz i'm a super cool mom, and i know they love the incredible hulk.
i did have to make them try it...but after one sip...they were sold.
and here's the result!!


i know, i know...that looks awful...but i'm showing you this so you know that my picky picky PICKY boys all drank a full cup....and loved it.

i will say, that i would have added a little more juice to make it thinner....it was kinda thick, and that made it harder for me to drink (knowing what was in it)....but this is just too creative to not share with others!! a great healthy snack!

houston!

last weekend we took a trip to houston. my grandfather and aunt live there, and my dad flew in to meet up with us. we are trying to make a trip each year, and its fun to go all together, so its sorta becoming our 'kazee' vacation....
we are just starting out and everyone is excited to go to houston! the boys did ok...tysen doesn't like the car, so we had to work at keeping him entertained, but we managed...once everyone got settled we walked across the street to the galleria mall for dinner. it would have been great, but tysen didn't take a nap, so he was quite the challenge. i think the others enjoyed the time, but needless to say he went to bed about 6:30 when we got back into our hotel.

here's audrey and logan at breakfast the next morning. thankfully, they have a free 'hot' breakfast, so it was really fun to go downstairs and eat with the family...

we had planned to go to the zoo, but it was a bit too cold, so we stayed indoors at the hotel pool. that was a lifesaver, and the kids loved getting to swim in the winter!

we went to chuck e. cheese for lunch. it was a madhouse, but we all had fun getting out and what kid doesn't love the games??

kenzie and tysen sharing some french fries...

g-pa and tysen

i crippled carleigh the first game, she destroyed me the 2nd, and sadly, i lost by 1 basket on the tiebreaker game....

tysen's version of how to play!

ian was a little shy...but still wanted to be in the picture with zach...

during naptime we got a chance to go visit granddad.

and that evening they came to the hotel to visit...
here's g-pa ('grandpa' is slowly changing to 'g-pa' per the kids)

me and auntie ann

the 'kazee' kids...

kazee family
granddad and myrtice, and dad, and aunt ann...then the 3 youngest...me being the baby!

having breakfast with aubren on our last morning there...

home sweet home...to 45 degree and rainy weather, so we had to be creative to burn off all that energy from 5 hours in the car!

a new cooking phase...

so...i'm really in a cooking phase right now. i'm actually trying to find new recipes, and have tried a few out recently that are excellent! i've thought about wanting to do a cooking club, but just don't know how to make it work...but i also want to inspire other wives/moms to have fun in the kitchen as well! so--for now...
...i'm going to post some of the new recipes i have made...
...give a score (on a scale of 1-10...10 being freakin' awesome)
...and give a review (my experience with making it, and my personal thoughts on the meal)
its just for fun, but hopefully will get your creative juices flowing!!

at any point, i welcome new recipes! if you have one you love, please share it with me! i guess you can just leave it in the comment section. that's where my cooking club idea always gets stuck, at making it interactive...but feel free to leave me a comment with your recipe favs...

here's a few things about me in the kitchen:
--i like to cook and bake (i go thru phases of being partial to one...right now its cooking...but i still love baking)
--i keep it simple (i do not like adding a ton of spices that i have to buy a jar of and only use once...)
--i like quick recipes. (i have 3 little guys running around, and don't have hours to make dinner.)
--i don't like chopping onions. (if a recipe calls for chopped onions, i leave it out, and instead add onion powder)
--i like to make a lot. (i love entertaining, and enjoy having recipes that are cheap, but enough for friends!)

So...now when you see random recipes posted with my reviews...you will know why!!
Here's the first one!!

Mexican Roast
1 small rump roast
chili powder
1 can green chilies
1 can rotel
1 can cream of mushroom
1 c. dried pinto beans
1 can water

Wash and dry roast. Rub chili powder all over roast and place in bottom of crockpot. Layer beans, chilies, cr. of mushroom, rotel, then water. Cover, and cook on low 9-10 hours. Do not open lid or stir. Once done, put all in a dish. Pull apart and cut roast up, and mix all together. Serve on tortillas like you would fajitas.

Score: 10

Review:
This recipe was awesome! It literally took me about a total of 15 min.... total!! 5 min to put it all together...then it cooks all day...then 10 min to cut the roast and stir it all when its done. I was a little skeptical...not sure about roast meat for fajitas...but it was really good! the beans, and everything just mixed well together...and it wasn't weird at all! I put the roast in the middle of the crockpot, and layered the other ingredients around the roast. I didn't touch it all day! the recipe says don't stir or even open the lid! :) I used a 9x13 dish to cut the roast up in, then dumped the rest and mixed it all up!
We sprinkled cheese on ours too. I have no complaints....except that the roast was $7....but there was enough for 6-8 people....so it made a lot! The recipe also called for chopped onions, but I don't like to chop onions, so I just left it out, but if you like them, then add them! :)
Super easy. Super delicious!


what are your favorite crock pot recipes??

blog forward

So...i think this is kinda like email forwards where you answer a bunch of questions, then send it to your friends...a little more specific since you don't send it to everyone, but choose someone to pass on to. my sweet friend, andrea, passed this on to me...and i shall graciously accept the challenge...not because i think anyone will read it, but because i like to answer the questions. :)

hmmm....to answer all of these in one word answers:

1. Where is your cell phone? counter
2. Your hair? short
3. Your mother? mom
4. Your father? dad
5. Your favorite food? american
6. Your dream last night? clueless
7. Your favorite drink? water
8. Your dream / goal? studs (to raise them-just clarifying)
9. What room are you in? living
10. Your hobby? photography
11. Your fear? geckos
12. Where do you want to be in six years? hmm...
13. Where were you last night? home
14. Something that you aren't? negative
15. Muffins? banana
16. Wish list item? jeans
17. Where did you grow up? arlington
18. Last thing you did? sit
19. What are you wearing? pjs
20. Your TV? friends
21. Your pets? none
22. Friends? awesome
23. Your life? faith
24. Your mood? peaceful
25. Missing someone? andy
26. Vehicle? galant
27. Something your not wearing? socks
28. Your favorite store? oldnavy
29. Your favorite color? green
30. What was the last time you laughed? tonight
31. Last time you cried? awhile
32. Your best friend? andy
33. One place that I could go over and over? beach
34. One person who emails you regularly? molly
35. Favorite place to eat? out

I'm passing the "Your Blog is Over the Top" award to my sisters...carleigh and stacy....