A Few Winner Recipes...You need these!

I've been on a kick to pull in some new recipes as of late. You may have had a different experience, but Pinterest has disappointed me a few times. Sometimes a recipe can garner a lot of buzz and so many of your friends are repinning it....You try it and discover that the picture just didn't live up to reality. Nor did the reviews! Case in point: Baked Chicken Fajitas. Ohhhhhh no Pinterest. You misleader! They were fine but only fine and who really wants fine? If I'm going to prepare food and put my time, energy and money into it - I want great!

Which leads me to two new recipes that I love more each time I make them. There's nothing too outside-of-the-box about them. One is a great tortilla soup recipe and the other is a baked lemon chicken recipe. Like I said - they verge more on the classic side of things but the flavor combinations are seriously yum in your tum!

First, Chicken Tortilla Soup by Food Network's Danny Boome.



THIS picture is pretty dang close to reality ladies! Here's what I love about it. It's a great broth-based tortilla soup instead of cream based. Saves a few cals but man alive the taste is great. It's not a difficult recipe but it's high impact. I added a LOT of cumin when the chicken went in, an extra can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and a can of corn at the very end. Bottom line - this soup is killler because of the big shot of fresh lime juice and ton of fresh chopped cilantro that goes in at the end. I will be making this for years to come!

Second, Pan Roasted Chicken with Lemon Garlic Green Beans from Real Simple.



Disclaimer: I DID find this one on Pinterest and it was worthy of all those repins! At first glance, this recipe sounded like so many other baked chicken recipes. The difference is the zippy lemon (lots of it) and heavy garlic. Soooo if you don't like either of those - I'd pass on this one! But if you do - you will be oh so very happy you gave this one a whirl. I stuck to the recipe as is and have zero complaints. It's one of those that's even better the next day. For me, very few things make me happier than a fresh taste on a chicken recipe. This one is healthy but right up the alley of comfort food goodness.

Anywho - I try a lot of different recipes. Most that I try are good but not great enough to become regulars, you know? These two are going to become signatures so I had to pass them on!

You know what I'm pondering next? Homemade yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I KNOW!!!!!!!! But the deal is that I truly can't have this in the house for more than one day so I'm on the hunt for the perfect group or occasion to make it for so that it will be eaten in one sitting. No taking leftovers home to 'freeze.' Girl - I've eaten frozen cake on more than one occasion. Ha! I'm confident the Lord will provide!

Until next time...
A

The Joy of a Boy

Before having a little boy - I had no way to understand some of the precious experiences that come along with having a son. As a girl it's easier to picture fun girly moments with a daughter I think. But the sweetness of knowing Liam and raising a boy grows by the month.

For example, Thursday mornings are now a highly anticipated point of our week. Because Thursday mornings are trash truck mornings. It's big. BIG.

It just doesn't get any better than this sweet face and experiencing the drash druck together.


First - we hear the truck rumbling down the street. We watch ardently until it comes into sight. Please forgive the very dirty windows...they are his domain these days. :)


Last second change of seats so that he could see better.


There it is!!!!


Hello trash truck guys!


Mesmerized.


And then, it happened. God smiled on him because just as the trash truck pulls away - here comes a BUS!!! Only his single favorite vehicle to date!


"Go? Go?" he asks....


And more asking of where the bus went...


This is the face of a truly happy boy. So precious in my eyes.

Ahhhh a happy heart does us good doesn't it? Sometimes we have to decide to quiet ourselves long enough to be able to find the simplest of joys. Happy Thursday!

That was ugly!

It's three o'clock in the afternoon and I've just showered for the day. I'm wet haired and fluffy robed and looking for a restart on this day even though so much of it has passed.

Can we just keep it real? I'd like to put out there blow-by-blow what's happened today more for me than anyone else. Kind of like a therapy session with Jesus but you happen to be there too :).

When I say ugly I mean it started when I opened my eyes this morning. I woke up at 5:45 to Zion getting ready and Liam whimpering on the monitor. I have been tired this week because of this stupid diet I'm doing. So I didn't really intend to get up until 6:30 or 7:00. Liam has also been sick this week with a cold or something that has caused fever, cough and the personality of - well - not the usual Liam. My foremost gift is not mercy so day three of sick child is one that causes me to press into Higher Powers anyways! (First two days were great though :).

So we wake up at 5:45. Liam goes back to sleep but I'm awake. Why oh why! Ever since entering mommyworld - I just can't sleep like I used to! Even when I should be able to fall back to sleep - I'm alert and my brain starts ch-ch-churning. But I hopefully lie in bed until 6:25 when Liam wakes up for real. Because of the cold he had a hard time getting to bed last night - so late bed time and early wake time. Happy Friday.

So we're up! And I feel overwhelmed almost as soon as our day began. The house needs hours of work. This week with the diet, tiredness, Liam's cold, etc has lent to less than normal attention being given to the house. How you ever stepped back to take note of how amazingly impacting our homes are? A clean house lifts my spirits, makes me feel alive and like I can actually live life - the important parts of life. A dirty home makes me feel closed in, hopeless, unsuccessful, and the list goes on.

A dirty house + tired mama + Liam on a cold = our Friday.

So, we attempted to go about our day but Liam wasn't having some our norms. Seems like no food was acceptable (due to being sick), no was the answer to everything, outside was the only thing he wanted (mama doesn't play outside when it's 45 degrees), and more messes were made by the minute. On top of that, I needed to personally get a lot done: review a recent insurance quote, read my book so I'm ready for the next five days of said diet, uh - clean the kitchen, sit down and get an announcement ready for church on Sunday, the list goes on. I didn't expect to get all of that done while Liam was awake but yeah - none of it got done. Each little no out of his sweet mouth piled another stone of frustration quietly building up inside of me.

Until it happen. I lost it. Big time.

The fishies (Goldfish) and their cup and their boy had followed me to potty time. Mommy's potty time that is. And they were dumped on the floor.

"Liam, put your fishies back in the cup." Blank stare.

"Liam, put your fishies back in the cup." The hand starts to move...

"Liam... -" The hand starts to grind the fishies into the grout and then spread them further across the bathroom floor.

I shall not go into details but, I was yelling. I hate yelling. Should I be posting this in public LOL? I scooped him up and plopped him into a chair and told him to stay there under no uncertain terms. I went to the kitchen and yelled more. I'm not kidding! Every frustrating moment from the week piled up and forged its way out. Honesty at its best friends.

Did I mention it was ugly? Do I ever feel more ugly than in moments like that?

After taking him back to the bathroom and working with him to clean up the fishies, I apologized and asked Liam to forgive me. Not because I was frustrated. There were very good reasons for that. But because my frustration became anger that he has no real way of processing. Scary!

So funny and humbling how all he wants is to be close and love after moments like that. It's again - humbling.

We made it fairly well until nap time. We probably waited fifteen minutes too long to go down and he was a little wound up. We rocked, read books, drank milk and went down. He fussed. The fussing turned to crying. Turned to getting really worked up. When I went in and found that he had a dirty diaper. Buuuut - the cold this week has made him really snotty. Have you ever cried through snot? Well - on top of the crying continuing through diaper change - the vomit started. While still crying. I mean - I'm feeling like an all together mom-sized-failure at this moment.

We cuddled a long time. He fell asleep on me and went down for his nap. I got in the shower and sat on the shower floor under the water for twenty minutes.

These are the days that make you tremble on the inside! In my absolutely worn down-ed-ness I have been talking with the Lord. Mostly it's to the tune of 'Oh Jesus you have to help me. Can you even believe me right now? Please please please show me how to climb out of this."

Funny - the verse that keeps coming to me is: 2 Timothy 1:4 "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." Some versions use sound mind instead of self-control. The thing that surprises me is that the Lord was pointing me to fear as the root instead of anger. Hmmmmmmm....I didn't feel afraid. I felt frustrated, tired and then angry. But fear you say? Well, then let's dig a little deeper.

What caused the frustration and anger....perhaps it was thoughts like:
"I don't know if I can be sweet for day three of the cold."
"How will I ever get back on top of the house?"
"I feel like our little world is falling apart today."
"I'm so tired - how can I muster up the energy to get stuff done today?"

Ironically, there indeed is a theme of fear in each of those thoughts! Which led to the frustration and anger.

So like I said, more than anything I just personally needed to flush out our day. But, I hope that maybe you feel a little better about yourself after reading! LOL. Perhaps your melt down doesn't seem as bad as mine? Perhaps you too can see that maybe fear is the root of most anger. Now that's something to pray about if you ask me!

I've kept it real and today has restarted. I hope you have a lovely weekend! Grace and peace to you my friend....

Abi

Hi it's me. I still blog. And here's my life in i-phone pictures.

HI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I tell myself that I will get better at consistency with blogging. Ha! Needless to say, it's been too long. I just console myself by saying 'Hey - at least you got back on the horse!'

There's actually a lot on my heart for my little blog but tonight, I think a broad update is in order. A little of this and a little of that.

Life has been full, good, interesting, fun, entertaining and did I mention full? My brain finds it easiest to move through things categorically when I'm trying to limit blabbering on so let's start off with a complicated one: My life as a _____________. Still don't have the right words for 'stay at home mom!' :)



Life in this department is becoming more fluid. I feel a lot less lost in terms of what my days are supposed to look like. There's a good ebb and flow between working the list and building relationships and rolling around on the floor laughing with Liam. I'm finding purpose in my days and peace in my heart that God's plan for my life is going to be full of variety. This is a big and important season of my life. I don't want to miss it trying to figure out what the next season will look like. There are moments when I still feel the brunt of transition but that's happening less and less.


My life as a mom:

Liam is such a fun little person these days. He's looking more and more like a little boy and after he got his haircut today he looked more like his daddy than ever! His language is vast although I understand a fraction of what he actually says. Even at that, his number of words he can say is huge! I'm consciously trying to soak up this time as a mom of one with that one being so independent. We can get in and out of the car so easily now! We love sharing a bag of popcorn. We love going on walks and talking back and forth about what we see. We love reading books together. And we LOVE dancing together!



I certainly have my moments of weakness/failure/frustration as he grows more independent and willful but overall, life with Liam is beautiful. The more I let go, the more beautiful it seems to become.


My life as a wife:

Is good! Darn it, wouldn't you know, the more love you sow the more you reap! It seems like God is giving me grace to yield to some things that I've resisted in the past and the payoffs have been huge. The more mercy and forgiveness I extend, the more sweetness is in the air. The more respect I cultivate in my heart for him, the more loved AND respected I feel in return. The more I pray for him, the more my heart is connected to his. He's becoming a man I am in awe of and it makes me want to step up to the plate. Really thankful that we've pushed through the hard times together and just kept coming back to pursuing each other.




My life as a thankful Believer:

The two themes in my heart recently have been trust and mercy. Have you heard the new Hillsong United song with the lyric 'Jesus take me where my trust is without borders...'? Man that's been reverberating in me over and over again! I want to trust Him more - which means laying down my control. Which means trading in my deeply-held vision for my life in order to have His vision. Which means trusting in the character of God even when the circumstances stir wildly emotional responses. And mercy. Oh mercy! I have received what I didn't deserve. It wasn't fair and it wasn't earned. There are opportunities every single day in which I have to decide if I will extend mercy to another person. Mercy and forgiveness are leading me to a much more restful life in Christ. Aren't you thankful that He speaks? That the Spirit of God leads us into all truth?

My life as me:

Here are some random thoughts - God is trustworthy. There were a lot of years that I felt the sting of rejection with girlfriends growing up. But God has and continues to bring so many special girlfriends into my life now. Being a good friend and cultivating healthy relationships is core for me. I love the relationships He's building in my life right now! Two of which are a few very special highschoolers I get to hang out with and keep my cool factor in check. :) Next random thought - I started a diet today! Dear me. It's been years since I said that last. I wasn't looking for one but this one kind of found me and instantaneously felt right. A body reset is exactly what I think I've been needing. We'll see how it goes though! At the moment, I am seriously hungry. If only chips and salsa were a part of this thing, this wouldn't be an issue! LOL. At any rate, I'm committed for the fifteen days and hopeful. I'll keep you updated.


HELLO BANGS!!!!!!!!


Sorry this is sideways :( BUT HELLO FABRIC that needs to be in my house!

Hope you're well!

Love y'all,
Abi

Failure

Do you know my husband? If you don't, he's a person worth knowing :).



Almost twelve years ago he wrote a poem that recently resurfaced for us. First, let me say that Zion is not a poet. It was a school project he did when he was knee-deep in a very hard season. In fact, it was at the end of his senior year - a year in which an illusive sickness had limited him to attending something like only 20 days of his entire senior year. Failure seemed to want to take him down at every turn.

Although he hasn't written poetry since, something special happened when he wrote this one. It's worth sharing because we've all been face to face with the giant of failure and some of us may even be fighting against it with all we have right now.

Be encouraged my friend. You're not alone.


The Ember by Zion Spencer
May 23, 2001

Failure is like the ash
surrounding ember's glow,
The prudent one will keep in mind
That which does not show.

How many fail to recognize
the fire ablaze within,
Some will even stoop to say,
"It will never shine again".

The ashes only share a side
of the ember's tale,
One musn't assume by them
The ember's doomed to fail.

The point at which it's overcome
and the ember does not return:
When it succubms to the ashes,
Thus ceasing to burn.

So many choose retrospect
pond'ring the light & warmth it could give,
Stuck on the ember's past,
The memories they try to relive.

Determination ignites!
Persistence is a ful.
Combustion's going to come,
When one makes these his rule.

Failure is not final
for a moment it will last,
Look adversity in the eye,
Then choose to press on past!

A Thankful Heart

I just read a blog post that spoke to me. It was simple - so simple. It was a list of what she is thankful for in pictures.


(Note - this picture is just thrown in because I love lattes. That's all.)

Sometimes don't you get tired of the how-to blog posts? Even if they're cloaked in transparency and humility, they can wear me down at times. Isn't it odd? Normally I really like those kinds of posts and I certainly do them myself so that really isn't meant as criticism as much as an observation. Sometimes you just need a break to let your spirit and soul be and rest.

So today I have no words of wisdom. No enlightened stories. No precious (to-me! LOL) Liam updates. Just my own list - inspired by Emily :). And because this is off the cuff - there is no stunning photography to accompany my list. Just a plain ole list y'all.

I am SO thankful for:

- A house with a working heater. I think of people who live in third-world or impoverished or inner city circumstances and I'm grateful.

- My espresso machine. Caleb and Chloe got us a refurbished espresso machine a few Christmases ago and now that latte is something I cherish every single day. There's just something about a special drink celebrating the accomplishment of getting to nap time another day. Note: I didn't make the latte above! No surprise there though! However, I do have a bit of desire stirring in me at the mere sight of such a huge glorious beautiful latte :).

- The fact that my brunette hair color has faded to a color that I really really like as opposed to just generally feeling good about it.

- That God meets me when my fingers are typing.

- Celebrating Zion's thirtieth birthday. It is a meaning milestone for him and it's so cool to see him arriving at this new season wish strength. I'm excited for what he's on the brink of.

- I am thankful in advance for the flourless chocolate cake I'll be eating tomorrow :)

- The new Hillsong United CD. Get this - it's called Zion and it was released ON Zion's thirtieth birthday! Wow! And - it is SO GOOD. Get it.

- My dear friend who's journey to becoming a mama was longer than she wanted it to be and is now pregnant with twins....a boy and a girl! Such joy.

- My parents and Zion's parents are such a big part of our lives.

- Mr. Liam Spencer has started stretching his afternoon nap!!!!!!!!!!! GLORY BE!!!!!!!!!! He's starting to wake up happy instead of a miserable because he's had enough sleep. Praises!

- The fact that I broke through the barrier and worked out this morning...for the first time in a loooooong time. Feels good.

- Our friends who truly care about us.

- Zion allowing me to sleep with the fan on at night - even in the winter - so that I can be under the covers but not sweltering. We're going on eight years of this people! He's tried to dispute it a few times but has thankfully given in :)

- The fact that today is Friday - and thus - the weekend stretches out like a blank sheet of paper. It's going to be a good one!

I'm sure your thankful list could go on just like mine. Mmmmmm it's so good to forget the to-do list and just be thankful. I hope your weekend rocks! Happy Friday!!!

2013 Oscars - Favorite Dresses!

Number one, I did it. I watched the entire entirely too long awards show as I do every year. This year it seemed even longer than usual don't you agree? I feel like I deserve an award for getting through it! Regardless, I'm committed, so I'll watch come what may. But more importantly, I watched the red carpet coverage. My go-to coverage is Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic on E!. This year, I think they got slighted! Usually Ryan has a plush set up with some space and he gets every big name. This year was like a circus down on the ground! It was fast, it was chaotic, and I think some big people were missed. Just to make sure I didn't miss a dress - I've done my homework.

This year, I'd like to commend myself for actually writing this blog post (third annual!) while being dressed in something other than sweats! The first year I was pregnant and last year I had a six-month old - thus the sweats. Tonight, I sit here with not-so-fresh makeup but I am in a lilac blazer that I love. So that's a personal plus.

On to the dresses! My favorites this year were clear-cut. No internal disputes or conflict. The only thing I can say is that some of the pictures just don't do them justice so click on the pictures to see them as large as possible. Off we go to my favorite frocks of the night!

In no particular order:

1. Jessica Chastain


This is one dress that I just don't think still shots do justice towards. She looked ahhhhhmazing. The shimmering pale bronze of this dress on her skin was killer. And I am a sucker for a great red lip. She was the first big dress I saw on the red carpet and it was hard for me to not keep comparing people back to her! Loved the hair, loved the make-up, loved the jewelry.

2. Jennifer Lawrence


I believe 'wow' was my response to this number. The shape and silhouette this creamy number creates is gorgeous to me. I love how understated she went with jewelry (the reverse necklace!) and make-up in order to let the shape of the dress be the big statement. Other than the fact that this beauty literally caused her to fall up the stairs as she accepted her Oscar for best actress - it was one of my top top top looks of the night!

3. Naomi Watts


This dress is a show-stopper if you ask me! There was nothing else like it on the red carpet and it fit her like a glove. It had the cool edge but man alive she looked so gorgeous. The deep metallic gray was so perfect with her hair and eyes. I just thought she was stunning.

4. Amanda Seyfried


Take my word for it, this picture does not begin to do this dress justice! On screen you could see the lilac under color more clearly and the shimmery gold detail on top just sparkled. Frankly, this was probably my favorite of the night! It was Alexander McQueen cool, still ultra-feminine and it was so beautiful because of its delicate color and design. If I could take any dress home - this would be it for me!

5. Halle Berry


and

6. Charlize Theron


These particular dresses on these two women were winners. In both cases I think the structure of the gowns on their bodies was the best asset of each dress. And their super short hair just accentuates the strength of the dresses. Both looks were so sexy and strong and a bit more on the masculine side - which can be so great when done right.

and finally...........

7. Anne Hathaway ON STAGE SINGING WITH THE LES MIS CAST

Not her red carpet dress. Pink number was blah. But her dress when the cast was performing on stage was amazing! Obviously a girl's gotta have some height to pull that off but I thought it was such a unique cut and it looked beautiful. I loved the sparkle. I loved the neckline with her cropped hair. Why didn't she wear this dress on the red carpet???

Since it was a dress not worn on the red carpet - the best I could come up with was a youtube video of the performance. Right here. Anne comes in just after 40 seconds.....it was one of the best moments of the night so I suggest watching the entire three and a half minutes if you have the time!

What did you think???? I wonder if you had some favorites that I didn't include on my list? I just love seeing the dresses each February. There's just something about a beautiful dress that stirs the deepest feminine parts of my heart. They inspire beauty in me and that's a good thing.

Happy Monday!!!

Abi