Farmer's Marker Finds

The passed month or so I've been more intentional about shopping at a local farmer's market here in town. I'm learning how to cook with less meat, more veggies, and veggies that are in season (this is key... and also takes some getting used to). Here in the states we suffer much from INSTANT gratification. I know, I'm quite guilty. But truly, buying what's in season and locally grown is SO much better for us! Tastes better too. Cheaper? Not necessarily. But cheap food is not honest food (I highly recommend every American watching Food, Inc). I truly believe it all goes back to learning how to wait on the Lord, His timing is perfect... even down to the last strawberry.

This week the market was the biggest I've seen so far. More farmer's showed up and there was so much more of a selection! The passed few weeks there really has only been some radishes, green onions, and different green leaf veggies. Now, I'm not complaining, I do love greens. I've always loved salad and a few weeks ago I put together a really tasty salad made up of the things I found at the market. But this week.... YUM!

I called my mom and told her I "hit the farmer's market jackpot"! We came home with green leaf lettuce, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, baby spinach, strawberries, squash, and sugar snap peas! I am so excited to get cooking this week. We will be eating a lot of salads :) And I'll probably be freezing some strawberries because I still want to go to the fruit and berry patch here in Halls before the season is over.

Then later for dinner I made vegetarian taco salad for the second time. I LOVE this meal. And so does the hubby! I cannot believe I would ever be saying that. Dustin has always been the typical male meat lover. But honestly, I haven't made a meal with meat in the passed week! Even then, I haven't actually bought meat in over a month. We're buying organic meats/ dairy and grass-fed beef now. Which is definitely pricey, but a thousand times healthier. Because of the increase there, we're cutting back on how much of it we buy. Decent trade-off. Dustin is venturing out, willing to try different things, willing do without meat. It's great :) Coming from the girl who was a vegetarian at one point in her life.

Here's the tasty taco salad:

Hubby gave me a funny look when he saw me taking this picture. I assured him, "Baby, if you made something this beautiful that was this tasty, you'd blog about it too!" ;) I can't take the credit for the recipe though. My go-to place for vegetarian and in-season recipes has been Eating Well.com.

The finished product:

Tomorrow's menu: veggie pizzas.

Heavenly Sandpaper

I am in love with an amazing man.

My husband, Dustin, and I have been married for almost 3 and a half years. Looking back to when I said "yes!" I could never have imagined the journey the Lord would have taken us on to this place. Here we are... 5 apartments, 1 house, a beta fish (who knows how he's still alive), 2 cars- one that has passed on, a minivan- oh yes, a minivan, and two beautiful girls, a hundred or so arguments and whole lotta "i love you's" later... we are in it for life. This life.

He is my heavenly sandpaper. I've been thinking a lot this week... well, the passed few weeks... about how I didn't picture this. I am so thankful. So thankful for a man who still points me to Christ. The thing that, truly, honestly, made me love him from the beginning was how he made me desire to be more like our Savior.

It has been hard. Nobody is kidding when they say it isn't a fairy tale. Marriage is NOT a fairy tale and it's for that reason that I loathe romantic comedies, and most "drama" movies. Real life marriage looks nothing like that. If anyone ever makes a movie that truly pictures real life marriage, no one will want to go see it... except for maybe me :)

Even though it has been hard, so much harder than I even imagined, he still makes me want to be more like Christ. The things he does that drive me crazy, or things we disagree about, the Lord chose for me. The Lord had me in mind when He created Dustin, and vice versa. The Lord is using him to refine me, mold me, peel away the layers that are not pleasing to Him.

It's for this reason that I still choose to love him. The reason I love him even more than 3 and a half years ago... I am so thankful I can honestly say that. I'm so thankful the Lord is helping us to press on, and continues to unite us together. I pray so much our marriage pictures the love between Christ and His church.

Be thankful for your heavenly sandpaper. It's for your good and God's glory that he (or she) was chosen for you :)

Our Next Adventure

We're not going to plant our garden until next year, but we're going to go ahead and get a compost started. My grandma is going to come sometime this summer and help me get our flower beds looking nice. So I'll be able to have this compost to add to it this year, then to our garden next year. I'm quite excited about this! Flower beds and a garden are things I've really looked forward to about having our own home.

Laundry Thoughts

I was painfully reminded this evening there is NO such thing as being caught up on laundry. There is, however, a constant state of catching up. If anyone ever tells you they have caught up on their laundry, well, they're lying.

We're going out of town this weekend, and on Tuesday we have family coming in. Then my parents come in next weekend. I really want to be caught up on laundry. Today that was my focus. Pretty much everything got neglected but laundry, and some playtime with the girls between loads. This evening, I marched pridefully up the stairs from the laundry room, carrying our last load of towels as I announced to my husband "ALL our towels are clean!" (This is a rarity in our house. Towels take back seat priority to diapers and clothes.) No sooner do I make this declaration than he comes out of the shower, hanging up his towel and washcloth... *sigh*

However, our laundry IS getting cleared out of the laundry room even now as I type. I'm making a strong effort to be done with everything except the girls' clothes and diapers, which I can finish in the morning before heading out of town. I suppose my steps in making this effort sometimes get ahead of my mind. I had been up here for a good 45 minutes, putting all our clothes in their respective homes (another rarity), then go back down with the intentions of switching the load over. What do I find? The lid to the washer still open, the cycle not even begun... *sigh*

I have nothing left I can do but laugh.

I was discussing with some dear friends last night how in the world to balance everything in my life? My walk with the Lord, my marriage, teaching and instructing my children, being a keeper of my home. I feel like I have a tendency to go to the extreme. If I'm determined to keep my home neat, it seems my walk with the Lord suffers. If I'm determined to be in the Word, my home goes astray. Between feeding, diapering, playing, and disciplining, there doesn't seem to be time for everything.

I do know there is a balance. I do know I am serving my God even as I fold towels and wash dishes. I know He is glorified when I clean my home and am "mommy pony" to my 2 year old. I just always feel like it's never enough.

My prayer is that He will continue to guide me, showing me this balance, that I may teach my daughters and it will not be as agonizing for them. This has been so heavy on my heart today... I want to simplify my life, to be able to hear Him more.

Thoughts?

Dancing with Cinderella

Yesterday I had such a sweet moment with my Gabbi. We have been struggling during our mornings. I don't think either one of us are "morning people". I am quite fleshy when I wake up and need much prayer to get through diapers, potty, breakfast, getting dressed... Gabbi too.

So yesterday morning Catie decided to sleep in which left Gabbi and I some much needed one-on-one time. We had our morning devotion from the Jesus Storybook Bible, then went to the couch and sat and talked and prayed. I shared with her how we've been struggling and needed some extra prayer this morning. She sat quietly and listened, it was sweet.

When we were done, she looked up at the bookshelf at a wedding picture of Dustin and I. She asked "Mommy, were you married in that picture?"

"Yes Honey, I was."

"Oh, was Daddy married in that picture?"

"Yes. That is a picture from the day Daddy and I got married."

"Oh, and you had your white dress on??" So observant, my little one :)

"I did. I had a wedding dress on."

"I had a dress on when I got married too!" Silly girl.

"Well, Honey, you're not married. But when you get bigger you will wear a white dress when you get married."

"Oh, when I grow big I will get married and where my own one??" She started to perk up a little. Any occasion to wear a dress makes her happy.

"Yes honey, Lord willing you will."
"Oh, and DADDY WILL DANCE WITH ME?????" Her eyes were so big, and she had such a huge smile on her face, I couldn't help but tear up. Even more exciting than wearing a dress is having Daddy to dance with. I will not tell her that on her wedding day, she'll probably be more excited to dance with her husband than Daddy.... I won't tell him that either ;)

My girl loves to dance and wear dresses. No kidding, every time she puts a dress on she says, "so I can dance?" Then instantly begins to twirl around. Even cuter than this is the fact that for the longest time she believed at the ball Cinderella was dancing with her dad. The idea of a prince had never occurred to her. She has only ever danced with Daddy. I'm sad that I corrected her about the 5th time she told me "Mommy, Cinderella is dancing with her daddy!" Wish I would have just left her with that innocent thought. Whenever we watch it she now asks me, "Can Daddy be the prince when he gets home??" If he's home when we are watching it, he'll always come and dance with her when the ball scene is on. He's such a sweet Daddy.

Our prince :)