I'm alive!

Hi, friends. I have a new blog. Check it out! http://delightfullydelishspringtx.wordpress.com Love, hugs and blessings, whitney

The House

I am extremely hopeful that I will start blogging more often, now that we are settled (or almost settled!) into our new home. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to have a semi-laid back morning playing with the kiddos on the backporch and not worrying about having the house spotless in case someone wanted to come see it. That has been the last six months of our life...living in a house with a lockbox. Now, don't get me wrong, the places we lived were all HUGE blessings, but I can say I'm thankful that I can leave my dishes in the sink if I want to or wait and make my bed until I feel like it! Our new home - I mean, God's new home for us is wonderful! He is such a blessed Father.

Just a thought for the women...

Are you living in peace and harmony with the man you are in covenant with? When you said, "I do," you not only vowed to stand by him thick or thin, but you also vowed to GOD that you would stand by him thick or thin. (And I'm not talking weight!) :)

What a perfect mystery marriage is. However, are you choosing to live with a chip on your shoulder about everything that's not perfect about your husband or are you embracing his imperfections and loving him anyway? You know...like Christ loves us! We are called to be his help meet. His helper. Not the head of the house, that's his job. (I thank God for that!) If you are trying your hardest to "wear the pants" or make decisions on your own or go around his back, so that he won't find something out, SISTER, you are living in sin! Snap out of it. Let your marriage become what God wants it to be, what God made it to be and you will have a blessed, joyful marriage.

Right now I am reading Created to be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl. This book is transforming my mind. God calls us to renew our minds. I'm thankful for Debi and her passion for God and for marriage. Get a copy. You will not regret it.

I'll get off my soapbox now and go unpack some boxes. :)

Love!
wk

Don't get too excited.

Yes, this is my second post in two days. Don't get too excited. It's probably just a glitch in the system. :)

Okay, so I'm a genius. Well...most of the time. You'd think after three kids, I'd have it all figured out. (Insert loud laugh here.) Sweet Braeden HATES being swaddled. He comes by it rightly, though, because Jordan and Ella fought it as well. However, he's still in the I-Can't-Control-My-Flailing-Arms stage. Choosing not to swaddle at bedtime doesn't bode well during this phase of newbornness.

So, I got smart tonight and swaddled him with his hands by his face. I'm pretty sure I remember doing this with Jordan, but since all of my pictures are packed, I can't say that with 100% positivity. (Pictures will be unpacked in less than 30 days. Yippee!)

And guess what? The boy didn't even cry one little mini-cry when I put him in his bed tonight. He's even still sucking on his pacifier! We'll see how long it lasts. :)

Now I am going to peacefully eat some strawberry shortcake I made tonight. So, there!

Love to you all,
wk

This one's for you, Mom!

My mom loves it when I write posts on my blogs. I'll love it one day when Jordan, Ella or Braeden do the same thing...or probably just something similar. I'm sure they'll have something much more advanced than blogger. :) So, this post is for you, Mom...the wonderful woman who brought me into the world 28 years ago today.

It has been an interesting week. We are adjusting well to sweet Braeden being a part of our family now. However, it is nice that my mother-in-law and father-in-law agreed to keep Jordan and Ella from last Thursday to this Tuesday, since Josh went to lead worship at a youth rally last weekend in Louisiana. The bump in the road came when I came down with the stomach bug on Monday. I am extremely thankful my oldest two were not here. I was able to take care of Braeden through the morning and continued to get more and more nauseated as the day went on. I thank God for our precious friends, Heidi, Matt and Luanne. Heidi called me in Phenergen, and since Josh was at a youth minister's luncheon in the middle of Houston, Matt brought me my medicine and some Gatorade and Luanne came and got Braeden, so that I could sleep. I slept from 2:00 Monday afternoon until 9:00 Tuesday morning. I felt like a new person once I woke up. It was amazing! Josh, on the other hand...didn't look so great after his first full night of Daddy Duty with this little one. :)

Anywho...to make a long story short, we are finally getting Jordan and Ella back on Saturday when Jevanna comes down to meet Braeden for the first time. I CANNOT wait. The kids called and left me happy birthday wishes on my voice mail today. I listened to it about 3 times and cried every time. I miss my babies!

On another note, my birthday today was wonderful. I woke up to a new James Avery charm that Josh bought me, and we bought my chain tonight before dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It's perfect, simple and lovely. He knows my taste so well. We went to League City today to look at fireplaces. We got an education on "Big Green Egg". I definitely think we will be getting one soon. If you don't know what it is, Google it! ;) Then, we went to Lowe's to buy all of our light fixtures and fans for our new house. It's all coming together so quickly now. We will be in before we know it! The evening ended with conversation with sweet friends, dinner at Cheesecake Factory and a very satisifed me, because I didn't overeat!

Yay me, and yay God for blessing with me another wonderful year of life!

wk

p.s. I have lost 30 of of the 57 pounds I gained with Braeden. Well, technically, I only gained 48 because I had nine pounds left to lose when I got pregnant. But, seriously, who's counting anyway?!

Poop Does NOT Equal Peanut Butter

My last post was written exactly a month before Braeden was born. I do apologize. Braeden is now two weeks and four days old. He's a precious, precious baby. And, thankfully, his sleeping habits allow me to get decent amounts of sleep, as well! Thank you, Lord, for that blessing. Ella's sleeping habits left much to be desired. :)

A few things I've learned over the last few weeks...

A stomach virus might just put you into labor. Pretty sure that's the only time in my life that I've been thankful for a night of the pukes.

When you have your third child, the hospital staff leaves you alone. I guess if you've not permanently damaged your first two, they assume you know what you're doing!

Pumping is SO MUCH BETTER than breastfeeding. (In my opinion, at least.)

It's best not to have your children less than 18 months apart. It's difficult to hold two children at the same time, especially when one can't hold his head up.

The laundry and dishes never end.

Don't lick your fingers after making a peanut butter and honey sandwich. They might look similar, but poop does NOT equal peanut butter!

I'm blessed beyond what I deserve! Thank you, Jesus, for my precious family.

Blessings to you all,
wk

Thinking

Since my last post, I've been thinking about what I want to focus on for a while; regarding my blog, that is.

I've decided that since my precious friend, Erin Day, (who, by the way I miss terribly) helped me become a more adventurous, dare-devil cook about two years ago I will post some of my creations in the kitchen. A lot of what I cook are family recipes, but I do venture out every once in a while. :) I also like to take away and add items to recipes I find to make them my own.

So, if you're inclined to go with me down this road, buckle up, because it might be a wild ride!

Oh, one more thing before we dive into my first recipe of the year...my sister got me a PHENOMENAL cookbook, written by The Pioneer Woman, for Christmas and she has pictures of her recipes in her book, so I am going to do the same thing. I'm such a visual learner. Maybe it'll help you too!

Super Yummy Calzone (Yoon, one of our foreign exchange students, LOVES this meal!)

What will you need?

refrigerated pizza dough - I always buy Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough. There are some store-brand items that just aren't as good as the name-brand items.
1 pound of your choice of meat - hamburger meat, diced ham, pepperonis, Italian sausage, etc.
3-4 hands full of Spinach
1 small can of tomato sauce
crushed garlic or garlic salt
diced onion or onion salt
mozzarella and Parmesan cheese
dried parsley
dried basil
EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Now you're wondering, how do I even make this thing?

FIRST- Place a decent sized pot on your stove and pour in about a tablespoon of EVOO.
SECOND- About two minutes later, add the spinach and stir it constantly until it's wilted. (Once you are done with this, you will seriously wonder what happened to all your spinach!) When it's wilted, remove from heat and place into a large mixing bowl to cool.
THIRD- Start browning your meat in the same pot in which you heated the spinach. Add your onion and/or garlic (the real thing or the salts) to taste and brown until done.
FOURTH- While your meat is browning, squeeze the water out of your cooled spinach. Yes, you can do this with your bare hands. Just make sure they're clean! Now, throw the spinach in your food processor for a few seconds to chop it up. Put the spinach back into the large mixing bowl and add your can of tomato sauce. Don't stir anything yet.


FIFTH- Once your meat is done, strain it and add it to your spinach and tomato sauce. Now, you may stir.



SIXTH- Add a handful of grated Parmesan cheese and a handful of mozzarella cheese to the mixture and stir. (I've even used Colby Jack and Cheddar.)
SEVENTH- Lay your pizza dough out on a rectangular, greased pan and scoop your meat/cheese/spinach/tomato sauce mixture into the middle of the dough.



EIGHTH- Fold the short ends of the dough over the mixture. Then fold the long ends of the dough over the mixture.
NINTH- Flip the calzone over, so that the folds are on the bottom of the pan, and cut two slits in the top with a knife.



TENTH- Sprinkle your basil, parsley and some more garlic salt on top of the calzone.
ELEVENTH- Stick that sucker in the oven for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees.




Because this meal is so filling already, I just make a tossed salad and call it done.




Oh, do yourself a favor and buy an Onion Chopper. Yes, like the one you see on TV.



Let me know what you think!

Love,
wk

Waiting

So much of life is about waiting. I've come to the conclusion recently that it's okay to wait. I am facilitating a Wednesday night women's study of Angela Thomas' When Wallflowers Dance. The content is phenomenal. Her gift is evident. The videos we watch each week are hilarious. She is transparent and has inspired me to be more transparent, as well. I know, I know...many of you are wondering how I could be any more transparent. :)

This week has been about waiting my turn...my turn to be called up for His service. Yes, I'm in His service each day, but she's specifically talking about being called up for whatever it is we have passion for. Some of us wait a long time to find our passion. I've come to the realization that my passion is helping people. I desire to help others become better people tomorrow than they were today, whether that's regarding parenting, walking with God, growing in their relationships with family, etc. I'm not sure what that means career-wise. (I'm a little too focused on being a wife and mommy right now to worry about going back to school, at this point.) However, I'm convinced He will show me what it is He wants me to do when the time is right. He will put people in my path that will help me attain my goals. So, I will patiently wait.

Angela says in this week's devotion:

"Waiting is an opportunity to grow up."

How true is that? I've already used that quote on Jordan. :) I need to use it on myself more.

So, as I do my best to re-enter the blogging world, I ask you to be patient and wait. Entrust your valuable possessions and dreams into His care and work towards your goals knowing His timing is perfect.

Love to you all,
wk