Christmas Pasta

Several years ago, I was watching the Food Network and Rachael Rae made a dish called "Christmas Pasta".  We have adapted it to the likes of our family.

Christmas Pasta
2 pounds hamburger
1 chopped onion
2 cups chopped pancetta
2 cups chopped salami
Spaghetti Sauce (gravy), the amount depends on what you like
1 cup parmesan
2 pounds penne, cooked
chopped roasted red bell pepper
chopped black olives
chopped artichoke hearts (marinated)
slices soft mozzarella cheese

Cook hamburger and onion together.  Add other meats, gravy, and parmesan cheese.  Simmer for about 30 minutes.  Add cooked penne and mix together.  Stir in peppers, olives, and artichoke hearts.

Serve with mozzarella cheese and extra parmesan.

Menu for the Week of December 26, 2011

This is our dinner menu for the week of December 26th through January 1st.

MONDAY
*Leftovers

TUESDAY
*Tamales
*Rice
*Beans

WEDNESDAY
*Ham
*Scalloped Potatoes
*Fancy Green Beans

THURSDAY
*Pasta
*Salad

FRIDAY
*Tacos
*Rice

SATURDAY
*New Years Eve Fried Food Feast

SUNDAY
*Chicken Stir-Fry
*White Rice

Menu for the week of December 19, 2011

This is our dinner menu for the week of December 19th through December 25th.

MONDAY
Tacos
Rice
Beans

TUESDAY
Ramen Noodle Casserole

WEDNESDAY
Red Beans & Rice

THURSDAY
Grilled Chicken
Yellow Rice
Stir-fry

FRIDAY
Soup
Bread

SATURDAY
Christmas Pasta (recipe coming)

SUNDAY
Ham
Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans

Brain Power????

It seems like we have had so many injuries and illnesses lately.  Katie was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease in the spring.  She has not been able to get her medication under control so she has been miserable for many, many months. I'm so used to seeing her able to do all sorts of things and she used to have enough energy for two people but that's changed now.  We are praying that the Lord will completely heal her!  


Josh has had one head injury after another for a couple of years now.  He has been dealing with post concussive syndrome for over a year from a quad accident.   He also took a pretty hard fall back in September that gave him another concussion.  He ended up with something called "intercranial hypertension" which is a fancy word for too much spinal fluid around his brain.  He has has EEG's, MRI's, CT's, lots of lab work, and worst of all lumbar punctures to relieve some of the pressure from his brain and his optic nerves.  The pressure has begun to cause his vision to deteriorate, but we are hopeful that when the pressure is down consistently, his vision will return to normal.  I honestly hate watching the doctor drain his spinal fluid.  What a painful procedure!  We are praying that the Lord will completely heal him, too! 

I am trying desperately to learn the lessons God is trying to teach me through this really tough time.  I don't want to have to relearn them.  I want to be wise enough to see God's hand and acknowledge him in this.  Did He just want us to slow down?  Did He want to show us who our true friends are?  Maybe God just wanted us (maybe me especially) to see that even though we try our hardest to control everything around us, we are not really in control.  God controls our lives and we can trust him with it!!!  So, please pray for us when  you remember to.


On a totally different note, I am really wanting to get back to regular blogging!  I am going to try to start putting up my weekly menus again and some new recipes.  Believe it or nor, even with everything going on, we have tried some new recipes.  Families still need to eat even when it feels like everything is falling apart.  God has been so good to us and amidst the turmoil, He has enabled us to continue to live our lives somewhat normally.  We are still homeschooling, although I am the first to admit that it's been really tough this year.  But, we'll keep on keeping on;)

HE's Still Working on Me!!!

Do you remember that song we used to sing as children?  It went:
"He's still working on me;
to make me what I ought to be;
it took him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and the earth and jupiter and mars;
how loving and patient he must be 'cause  He's still working on me."

I sang that song so much as a kid, in VBS, and Sunday School that I probably could have sung it in my sleep.  I even believed it, but I never KNEW IT.  I can honestly say now that I know it!  God has been working on me.  My life, my attitude, the way I deal with everyone around me, but especially my prayer life.   

I always get up very early in the morning and start my day with Bible reading and prayer.  I don't say this with pride because I know that the only reason I  do it is because I am so incredibly desperate for God that I can't not do it.  And the only reason I am desperate for God is because he has put a desire for him into my heart.  There is nothing good in me that would make me seek God, but he sought me!

For the last several months, when I would study the Word and pray, I would often feel that I was not connecting with God.  It was terrible!  I felt so cut off from God and I didn't know what to do to get back to him.  So many things were going wrong and I couldn't do a thing to fix them.  For a control freak like me this is really, really bad.  I felt myself starting to get angry with God, but I knew that was just dumb.  How can I dare to be angry with God when he's God???  So, along I go trying to get back to God, trying to pretend I'm not angry with him, and guess what?  It's not working.  It's so crazy to deny the feelings I was having toward God when he knows my heart inside and out.

Truth be told, I was mad at God.  In my head, I knew without a doubt that God is in control and that what he does is good.  In my heart, I was questioning why he doesn't do things differently (read:  my way).  I know when I have all the answers, I will see that God's ways were and are best.  So, instead of continuing to be angry at God, which is foolishness, I repented of my sin because surely this was sin.  I had started believing the lies of the enemy.  I began to think that I did not matter to God because he didn't do what I asked him to.  I became so "me" centered that I  made myself spritually sick.

Repentance is such a beautiful word.  I feel as if I have been born again, again.  God doesn't answer to me, and boy am thankful for that!  Left to me, I would screw this world up so bad.  Since God has always been God, I think I will just stop trying to "help" him be God.

So, through this convoluted post, probably full of run-on sentences and fragmented thoughts, I hope to tell you that God is still on his throne.  He always was.  I just got lost and didn't look to him for deliverance.  But, thankfully, He's still working on me!!!