What's Up Wednesday {9.6.17} Edition: What Day Is It?

This What's Up Wednesday post is most likely posted on the wrong day, but this is how most of us in Houston are feeling...

What We're Eating This Week:

Well, after helping our Chick-Fil-A owner friend not waste all of her defrosted chicken during Harvey...


not chicken!

Y'all, Taylor coordinated my dad and neighbors to cook at least 500 pieces of chicken!  We handed it out to shelters, first responders, and tried to eat the rest at a block party for our street, and we still had to freeze about 300 pieces.  It was so yummy, but the #Harvey15 is real folks.

Here is a tiny portion of the sandwiches we handed out to first responders

Chicken Spaghetti made with Chick-fil-a chicken

So this week, because we've been so cooped up the past 10 days, we're letting the little people decide because two weeks into the school year with no school,  Mama is choosing her battles.  Traditional spaghetti it is.

What I'm reminiscing about:

Last Fall.

Fall is my favorite season though it's debatable that Houston has seasons.
Read:
1. summer and
2. warm and muggy (not sure what to call this season).

But the beginning of the school year is a new beginning for me, a clean slate, a get back on a normal bedtime schedule, eat healthier, eat all of the fall food (apples!!!), and have a break from each other (school!!!).

This September, fall doesn't exist.  Normal doesn't exist in Houston right now.  We had a week of school and then Harvey hit.  Harvey has devastated my city.  For those of you not living here; the news has moved on, but we are still dealing with after effects of epic proportions.  It has extended summer and made real life go on hold while major street arteries stay flooded - it took me an hour and a half to get from my parents house to my house yesterday; this is usually a 15-20 minute drive.  The last mile took 45 minutes. The grocery stores have no eggs and very little bread.  Schools are still closed till next week and some even the week after that.  Many homes still have 3-4 feet of water in them. News has moved from home rescues to relief workers coming down with nasty bacteria from the filthy standing water.

Mercifully, we were not affected physically by the floodwaters, but for most Houstonians that were not affected physically, we are still affected emotionally.  It was hard for me to let my mother-in-law watch my children across town yesterday, I was woken up by thunder two nights ago and couldn't get back to sleep, and I wake up exhausted even though I'm getting the same amount of sleep I usually get. My friend, Hillary, shared this on Facebook the other day, and it gave words to this feeling many of us have here:

What I'm Loving

All of the relief efforts for Houston!  My favorite is what Jenn's company is doing:

Click here to see her Harvey Relief necklace line.  100% of the proceeds will go to Harvey Relief (these photos are some of the supplies they have purchased so far for the GRB shelter).

What We've Been Up to

Harvey Relief.  As a mom with little kids this mostly looks like making lots of food for various people though here is a funny break in all of that - I found myself alone in my house (thank you Mia for taking my kids for the day) after running around all day getting errands done and finally taking a break at 3 to eat lunch, and my friend Kara texted Jenn and me to see what we were up to:

Busted!  Sometimes you just have to laugh.  That is Survivor Season 3 FYI.

What I'm dreading

The possibility of school being postponed another week.

What I'm working on

Letting go of any part of my "normal" that I should leave behind. (Credit)

What I'm excited about

Our upcoming anniversary trip to Colorado

What I'm watching/reading


Duh.

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I just finished The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George, and it was an interesting read though not what I expected.  It paints a good picture of what idolizing a person does to you.

{via}

What I'm listening to

During the day I stream Mozart Piano Quartet on Pandora because in a house full of children, give me all the peaceful music.  In the evenings,  I've been foregoing my typical Pandora station, "Italian Cooking Music" (think Dean Martin) for this youtube station, French Cafe music.

What I'm wearing

My summer uniform: denim shorts and a solid color t-shirt

Worst lighting ever!

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{via} I got mine from a clothing swap, but these are similar

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What I'm doing this weekend

I'm kind of creeped out to put this on the internet...tell you about it next week, mkay? I'm excited about it though!

What I'm looking forward to next month

Pumpkins and hopefully cool weather! #eternalHoustonweatheroptimist

What else is new

About to start a minor remodel in our kitchen because our oven died, and our new one doesn't fit in the old space. #badtiming #contractorsinhighdemandinHoustonrightnow #goodthingmydadisacontractor

Friday Favorites {8.25.17}: Hurricane Edition

I'm going to nonchalantly come back here and pretend that it hasn't been 18 months since I've blogged...

This post is brought to you compliments of Hurricane Harvey and "Frozen"

Friday Favorites

#1 My bestie who has a generator built into her house

 #hurricaneharvey #potentialfamilysleepover #acisessentialinaugust

I'll let you know if we go swimming...

#2 Daddy making breakfast

Yesterday I asked Taylor to head to the grocery store on his way home from work to grab us bread before the impending storm.  There was no bread left in the store, so he got these cinnamon rolls instead...we'll just go with that being close to what I asked him to get.  Some little people in our house were really happy about them this morning though!  #thehurricanemademedoit

#3 Blue corn chips from Trader Joe's

I won't pretend to be the healthiest eater (give me all the carbs), so usually I think blue corn chips taste like cardboard, but after having some with the best hummus ever the other day at my friend's house, I decided to give these a try and I am glad I did!  #hurricanefood 

Next I went to HEB to get the hummus, but there was a LINE to get inside, so we decided hummus wasn't an essential during the storm.  #priorities

#4 Self-taught gainer!

Seth was like, "Hey mom! Is this a back flip?!"  I couldn't believe it. #hegetsthisfrommysideofthefamily

#5 Second Annual Cousin Camp!

#6 Family Discipleship

I found them like this this morning - he was reading to her from this children's Bible and she was asking questions.  Melt my heart!  #familydiscipleship

What's Your Number?

Started writing this last Tuesday, but a crazy week got in the way and I never posted it...

Shay wrote on the topic: "what's your hardest number when having kids?" this week (last week!) and I thought it was fun, so I decided to write my own post on the subject.

This post was meant for Tuesday (last Tuesday!).

My master blog plan was to do What's Up Wednesday for Wednesday, and Friday Favorites for today, but suffice it to say it's been a hard week.  Yay for goals - the incompletion of them has a lot to do with this post and "what my number" is!

I always wanted to be a mom.  I loved playing dolls and started naming my children in elementary school (obviously my taste changed by the time I actually had kids since my daughters aren't named Tiffani (aka Kelly Kapowski and Stephanie (as in Tanner) and Joe (as in McIntire) - those of you who get this, you are my people.).  Actually having children was a lot different than I could have imagined.

First of all, it didn't just happen like we thought it would.  You can read about each of my second trimester miscarriages here and here.  Children truly are a blessing from the Lord - we learned this through suffering and loss.  The other morning, I came across this in my Bible - I read a psalm a day each morning at the beginning of my time with the Lord.

On July 27, 2009, the due date of my first baby, I "just happened" to be on Psalm 127.  What an encouragement from the Lord, but it took faith to believe this was true.  So on that day back in 2009, I noted it with Tristan's due date forcing myself in ink to memorialize this promise even though the "what ifs" still hung in the air.  Then as I came across it during the first year of each of my kids' lives, I got to write out God's faithfulness and his promise fulfilled to us in Seth, Avery, and Susannah.  I love seeing each birth date written in my Bible every time I read that passage.  He's Always Been Faithful.

I know that no matter if you have children or not that this verse is true, and I'm aware that not all have the same ending to this part of their story as I do, but I've learned through the suffering of these two losses that the reward is in the wait, the reward is Him whom we're waiting with.  The children are a blessing absolutely, but the ultimate blessing is God Himself who draws us in and binds us to Himself when we need Him the most.

So when I found out that I was pregnant with Seth, we were elated.  After losing Tristan, I was more aware of what a gift he was than I probably would've been and hoped that the Lord would use that to help us through the sleepless nights.  Thankfully he was a very peaceful baby,  but we had some issues with nursing,  and I struggled with some post-partum baby blues (and we were in the final planning stages of moving to Scotland), so as you may have guessed, I was slightly overwhelmed.

Emotionally going from 0 to 1 was the hardest.  Seth rocked our world, and redefined our family. There were growing pains to be sure, but the Lord used his birth and our move overseas to shape our family.

Avery was born 21 months later and she was the easiest baby known to man.  Always happy, LOVED her bed, nursed like a champ.  She is still my best sleeper.  Everything about going from 1 to 2 was incredibly easier than 0 to 1.  I felt prepared, I was able to sleep when she slept instead of hovering over her making sure she was still breathing. :) Transitioning from 1-2?  Piece of cake (until she turned 2, but that's a post for another time ;)).

We struggled about when to have baby 3.  We went back and forth on the timing (should we wait till after we're done in Scotland?  But we want them close in age... etc etc).  Finally one of our friends who has 8 kids told us, "it's never the right time." And that sealed the deal.  William was on the way - due exactly 2 days before Avery's second birthday.  Soon into my pregnancy, we heard the news that he wouldn't make it to term.  Again the Lord was faithful to hold and to heal.

After hearing from the doctor that William's short life wasn't due to any genetic concerns, we were given the go ahead for more children, and Susannah Mackenzie was soon on the way.

"Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?"

I'll let you guess what our hardest number is by looking at that picture...

3!

While going from 0-1 was hardest emotionally, going from 2-3 has been hardest life adjustment. Emotionally not so hard, but physically and logistically running a household with 3 kiddos born in the span of  4 years = Crazytown a lot of the time.

This  little girl has rocked our little world.  She is the cutest little toot, but man is she busy!  Turn your back for 2 seconds and she's stealing big brother's valentine chocolate, climbing up the bunk bed ladder, jumping off the coffee table, I could go on and on.  Her namesake warned me that once we had 3, there would be no time to myself.  I didn't believe her then, but I have learned.  3=NO time.  I feel like a sherpa and a cat herder, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

(Susannah's behind me in her cute smocked dress lying on the floor post tantrum refusing to get in the picture...)

And since it's already nuts over here...should we add one more to the party?  Jury's still out :)

Friday Favorites

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday favorites

#1 My BFF

First off, it's my best friend's birthday today - she is definitely one of my favorites!  
Happy Birthday, Erin!

We have no recent photos together - boo!  Here is one from freshman year of college (taken 16 years ago!) - Erin is top row, maroon shirt! 

And here's one from my wedding where she was my matron of honor (this one is only 9 years old ;))

#2 Flowers

I love have fresh flowers around the house.  In Edinburgh, fresh flowers seemed to be so inexpensive (probably because of the conversion rate and my stellar math skills).  I especially loved when the daffodils were in bloom and, I could walk to Tesco and buy a bunch for a mere 1 GBP.

My dad works for a wholesale floral company, so we're never lacking flowers. I love flowers as long as they aren't high maintenance (read: I will enjoy them until they die, but I will not tend to them so that they last longer - it kills the enjoyment of them because that is work).

#3 My Slow Cooker

Since we moved from Edinburgh in 2014, I've been out of a cooking rhythm and my slow cooker has been majorly underused. The last two weeks I've made:

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

What you'll need:

red wine to taste (maybe a 1/2 cup)

1 can beef broth

1 can of smooth cranberry sauce

onion soup mix

Pot Roast meat

3 potatoes diced (I used Idaho because that's what I had)

1 medium yellow onion

small bag of baby carrots

Method:

1. Pour broth, cranberry sauce, and wine into slow cooker and which till fairly combined  

2. Add 1/3 of the onion to broth

3. Put in roast and sprinkle soup mix over it

4. Add the rest of the vegetables

5. Add more liquid (water, broth, wine etc) if it looks like it needs it

6. Cook on high for 4 -6 hours or low for 8-10 hours

Delicious one dish meal!

Cilantro Lime Chicken

adapted from October Morning Blog

What you'll need:

4 chicken breasts

4 limes

a bunch of cilantro, chopped

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 small bag of frozen corn

1/2 red onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves minced

2 tsp cumin

garlic salt

Method:

1. Place chicken in slow cooker and sprinkle a little garlic salt and cumin.  

2. Squeeze two limes over chicken

3. Add minced garlic, beans, cilantro, corn, onion. 

4. Stir slightly without disturbing the chicken and squeeze third lime over the mixture

5. I added water so that it was covering the bottom of my slow cooker

6. Cook on high for 4 -6 hours or low for 8-10 hours

After it was done cooking, I shredded the chicken inside the slow cooker and served it in a tortilla with an extra lime on the side.  Taylor added hot sauce to his and my salsa would also go well on it.  You could also serve it over rice.

Now that Taylor is teaching a class once a week during dinnertime, I will definitely be using my slow cooker more often!  Which leads to my next favorite...

#4 My favorite professor

So proud of this guy - his students are going to love him!

#5 My little ballerina

All this little girl wanted for Christmas was ballet clothes!  She started her very first ballet class this semester, and she is loving it.  How cute is she?!  Love this sweet girl!

#6 My Kindle Paperwhite

I had a Kindle Fire that died recently and got a Paperwhite for my birthday last month and I LOVE it.  I used my Fire some, but I'm using my Paperwhite all of the time.  I'm not sure if it's the size or the fact that I don't feel like I'm looking at a screen, but did I mention I love it?  I've always been a book girl - definitely prefer to hold a book in my hand and be able to flip back and forth easily, but my Kindle is so convenient.  The Amazon monthly book deals are fun too though the last book I got through this was a FLOP.  I'll review it for my February Goals post at the beginning of next month.

#7 Lush "Perfect Roll Tab Sleeve Tunic

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Sheaffer got me onto this shirt a month ago when she named it a must have, and I love it.  I'm always looking for long tunic shirts to wear with jeans or leggings and at this sale price, it was a no brainer.  I got it in tawny port and ivory - the ivory is pretty sheer but looks fine with a tank under it - not sure that I'm going to keep it though.  Nordstrom is so easy to shop online with their shipping and free returns!

#8 HCPN

Last but certainly not least is the Houston Church Planting Network.  This is a movement to unite churches to saturate the city, to collaborate with one another not compete for "our" turf, and to multiply so that there are Gospel centered churches in every community.  Houston is growing at an incredible rate and although we have a large number of healthy evangelical churches already present in the city, planting churches is necessary to keep up with our current population growth!  Pastor, Tim Keller, says this about church planting:

"The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for
1) the numerical growth of the Body of Christ in any city, and 2) the continual corporate renewal
and revival of the existing churches in a city. Nothing else--not crusades, outreach programs,
para-church ministries, growing mega-churches, congregational consulting, nor church
renewal processes--will have the consistent impact of dynamic, extensive church planting. This
is an eyebrow raising statement. But to those who have done any study at all, it is not even

controversial. "

We recently were invited to Neartown Church's vision and birthday dinner. Russell Cravens, Neartown's lead pastor invited us along with Roswell Smith, the pastor of The Church at UH, and Sergio Garcia from Kerusso Grace Church.  It has been such a blessing to make connections, share resources, and be a part of each other's ministries thanks in large part to HCPN.

Happy Friday!