Skinny Recipes

I hardly ever cook. And honestly, I'm not a huge fan of it either. But I know I need to for the health and money side of it at least. I've tried searching for recipes before but it's really hard to keep my interest in a recipe since most involve SEVERAL steps and NUMEROUS ingrediants.


Recently, I stumbled across this website:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/

I started browsing the site and was hooked. I spent at least an hour saving recipes to my recipe box and picking out which one I wanted to make first. The layout of this website is great, the recipes are healthy (which I'm just believing because they tell me they are), and they seem relatively easy.


So I picked out one to try and I actually bought the ingrediants and tried it:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/08/sesame-encrusted-baked-chicken-tenders.html

And it turned out great! Disclaimer: that is not my picture above - it's the one off the website, BUT the tenders I made really did look pretty like that too :) I had to tweak the recipe a little bit - add some more soy and sesame sauce (I think our chicken tenders were pretty thick and sucked up more of the sauce). But it really didn't take me long to make at all and Hogan even enjoyed it - at least he said he did. I told him to tell me the truth because if he did like it, then I'm probably going to make it again :)


So anyways, I know there are a ton of recipe websites out there but for a girl that doesn't cook, this site seems like a good place to start. Maybe you'll have some luck with it too. If you do, please share what recipe(s) you try and how they turn out!

Jehovah Jireh

The Lord is our Provider.

I believe this with all my heart. It's easy to worry in this world but over the past couple of years I have seen God supernaturally provide in my life in my job, my finances, my relationships, and my soccer ministry. It leaves no room to doubt him. And I stand on that. I know he's provided in the past and I know he'll provide in the future as I keep trusting Him and handing things over to Him.

And he continues to provide. Hogan and I have a lot of things on our mind lately (pregnancy, a new place to live, job situations, a new car, vision for ministry, etc etc) but we know without a doubt that the Lord will take care of us. Not in our timing of course, but in His perfect timing. One thing recently though that we can check off the list and give God all the glory for is our next home. We aren't ready to buy a house yet but we definitely need more space than the 1BR/1BA apartment we are currently living in, especially with our new addition coming in late March. So we've been searching for where to rent next and with rent fees as high as the sky, it's been a little discouraging. But through talking with friends, we found out about another friend who has an empty townhome that he's willing to rent to us at a reasonable price. It's a great location for both of us and just seems perfect for this next year of our lives.

I never doubted my God though. It was just a matter of being patient. And here we are with a place to live an entire month before we even have to move out of our apartment. That's a record for me at least! It's just one of the many things we have been trusting Him for. He is so faithful.

Expecting

This picture is so cute (found it on Pinterest), I couldn't not post it. And while it's not Hogan and I in the picture, we are expecting a little one soon!

We found out I was pregnant last month but obviously have kept it somewhat a secret, at least until we went to the doctor. Our plan was to keep it under wraps until my 2nd trimester but it is too exciting and honestly too exhausting to NOT tell people. So here we are in my 8th week and word is getting out!

We went to the doctor for my 1st appointment on August 11. It didn't feel "real" until then. At that appointment we got to see the baby and hear the heartbeat.

The heartbeat is strong at 143bpm and doc says everything looks great. We are beyond excited. We definitely wanted a child sooner than later and the Lord has fulfilled that desire. The due date is March 29th which is super close to my own birthday (March 26th)! We plan on finding out what the gender is, but it's still so early so we really do have some time before that happens.

So far in pregnancy, I've learned that naps are essential and I'm always hungry. I NEVER took naps before and now they are vital to my days. It's amazing how tired and hungry you are for something so small inside of you! If I can make it until 11 every day to eat lunch, that's huge, and that's with breakfast and 1 or 2 snacks before then. I know, it's crazy! Thankfully I have not faced any nausua and am hoping not to. Besides a few food aversions, it's been smooth sailing from the beginning.  

We are so excited about this new season of our lives and would love your prayers and support too!!

xoxoxo

Virginia Trip

Our last big trip of the summer was our trip to Virginia to go to my cousin Brad's wedding in Richmond and then hop over to Roanoke to visit Hogan's family. For a long weekend, it was a LONG weekend. But so much fun. We are thoroughly traveled out though - for now. Here are some memories from the trip...

  

These next two were attempts at a family picture (we were too large to fit in one pic from this distance and our attention clearly was absent). Huge Fail. 

We had a blast in Roanoke as well. Unfortunately my camera did not come out during our time there :(

The Girls



Life happens fast. I'm definitely a fan of change but man can it happen fast. Hard to believe that a year and a half ago, the 5 of us were all living in Birmingham, none of us were married, and no kids were in the plans yet. Fast forward though and we're scattered all over the nation (Alabama, Colorado, and California); Liz, Morgan, and myself are now married; Liz has a baby; Morgan is expecting one soon; and Janey is engaged! Just like that, in a blink of an eye. I love it.

I also love that we've stayed in each other's lives. It's hard, with the distance and the life changes, but good friends stay in touch and I love these girls so much. Janey and Morgan came back to Bama for a long weekend at the beginning of August and it was so good to catch up with everyone. We did what we do best - mani/pedi's at a local spa, cupcakes and wine, yummy food, and some good ol' girl time.

 (We celebrated Janey's engagement and Morgan made her wear that ridiculous pink veil all day)

On the Road to Recovery

Not gonna lie, it's been a tough week since Hogan's surgery.

 While the surgery went great and recovery is going well too, things are just different. Neither one of us is getting much sleep. Hogan can't really find a comfortable place to sleep - bed, couch, chair - he's tried them all. He's been in a good bit of pain these last couple days and it breaks my heart. His rehab is going well though and he's doing his exercises. It's a process. And the process has just knocked us off our routine. But we know it'll pass, as all things do.

Please say a prayer for us though - just for some energy and strength to get through these next couple weeks with a smile on our faces :)