We have maybe watched too many of those documentaries like Forks over Knives. We eat no where near enough fruits and vegetables. And with the onset of Lent, we have decided to go Vegan for the next few weeks. This has included quite a bit of research and thankfully for Pinterest I have been able to find quite a few recipes. One of my favorites right now is a quinoa salad. I got the recipe off Pinterest which linked to this blog Eating for England. I have tweaked it just a little, mostly because I like it as simple as possible otherwise I will not make it and some because I often go from memory and left out a few of the ingredients on accident, so this is my version of the quinoa salad...
Quinoa Salad
1 bag of quinoa (I use this quick bag kind, I like the garlic flavor)
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes cut in half
1/2 red onion
1 avocado
1 can black beans
Dressing
1T olive oil
1t minced garlic
1 lime juiced
Cook the quinoa according to directions, while it is cooking cut tomatoes in half, chop onion, slice up avocado. I put this in a large Tupperware (so I can put it in the refrigerator and eat it through the week). I then mix the Olive oil, garlic and juice from the lime in a small glass bowl, and pour it over the tomato/onion/avocado mix. When the quinoa is done cooking, add the can of black beans to the quinoa to let it cook up the beans a bit. Then add the quinoa bean mix to the tomato/onion/avocado and mix. I eat it with tortilla chips-- the lime flavored ones are wonderful, and it lasts for 3-4 hearty lunches!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Overwhelmed
I have to say, I am COMPLETELY overwhelmed, with gratefulness!
I started thinking of writing this post several days ago, when I was brought to tears thinking about how amazing God's timing and faithfulness is. I maybe have mentioned on here a few times that we have been waiting on a job. And I even did not write on here, because the only thing I had in my head was, "we need a job, we do not have one." And honestly I was sick of my own thoughts so why share them with people who did not HAVE to listen. I have been a limping lump of anxiety for twelve months, worry over a job, worry that my foot would never heal, worry over a job, worry about paying bills, worry over a job. It was the tape running through my mind. My husband and I wanted to be faithful in the midst of this time of waiting, to come out like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, not even smelling like the fiery trial we had just been through. Especially since the fire was not even that hot. But most people who have spent more than 5 minutes with me this past year know exactly all the troubles I've seen.
But the amazing part is that even though I am smelling pretty smokey, God was still faithful. See, we were supposed to not have a job this year. My husband was told last January (a year ago) that they were not renewing his contract for the coming year. This sent us into a definite panic mode. My husband plead his case to the administration and was granted a year to find a job. I do not know if I knew at the time what a gift that was, but we were given a WHOLE year to find a job. They told us in May that we would have this year, our contract expired in June. A big relief. So this year we have spent looking for a job. And he got one, a good one, a one at a place we hope will be a blessing to our family and where he can be a blessing to the school. AND the job starts this summer. When we moved here, we bought our first home and were grateful recipients of the "first time home buyer credit" which meant the government gave us a gift of $8000.00 with just the side note that we had to stay in our house for 3 years. Guess what?!?! July 9th of THIS year, not last, but this year our 3 years will be up. Our contract here ends June 31st and our new one starts August 1st, meaning, we will be moving right around July. We probably could not have planned the timing more perfectly if we tried. And, I would honestly have liked this tied neatly in a bow a year ago, to have saved me from all the worry and questioning, but now looking back I am certain this year has brought my family closer as we waited together, praying. I also am certain that this bow is not so neatly tied up yet. There are still a lot of loose ends.... and we continue to wait and pray, but overwhelmed with gratefulness.
I started thinking of writing this post several days ago, when I was brought to tears thinking about how amazing God's timing and faithfulness is. I maybe have mentioned on here a few times that we have been waiting on a job. And I even did not write on here, because the only thing I had in my head was, "we need a job, we do not have one." And honestly I was sick of my own thoughts so why share them with people who did not HAVE to listen. I have been a limping lump of anxiety for twelve months, worry over a job, worry that my foot would never heal, worry over a job, worry about paying bills, worry over a job. It was the tape running through my mind. My husband and I wanted to be faithful in the midst of this time of waiting, to come out like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, not even smelling like the fiery trial we had just been through. Especially since the fire was not even that hot. But most people who have spent more than 5 minutes with me this past year know exactly all the troubles I've seen.
But the amazing part is that even though I am smelling pretty smokey, God was still faithful. See, we were supposed to not have a job this year. My husband was told last January (a year ago) that they were not renewing his contract for the coming year. This sent us into a definite panic mode. My husband plead his case to the administration and was granted a year to find a job. I do not know if I knew at the time what a gift that was, but we were given a WHOLE year to find a job. They told us in May that we would have this year, our contract expired in June. A big relief. So this year we have spent looking for a job. And he got one, a good one, a one at a place we hope will be a blessing to our family and where he can be a blessing to the school. AND the job starts this summer. When we moved here, we bought our first home and were grateful recipients of the "first time home buyer credit" which meant the government gave us a gift of $8000.00 with just the side note that we had to stay in our house for 3 years. Guess what?!?! July 9th of THIS year, not last, but this year our 3 years will be up. Our contract here ends June 31st and our new one starts August 1st, meaning, we will be moving right around July. We probably could not have planned the timing more perfectly if we tried. And, I would honestly have liked this tied neatly in a bow a year ago, to have saved me from all the worry and questioning, but now looking back I am certain this year has brought my family closer as we waited together, praying. I also am certain that this bow is not so neatly tied up yet. There are still a lot of loose ends.... and we continue to wait and pray, but overwhelmed with gratefulness.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
The Jacobs are moving to ARKANSAS!!!!
It has been a roller coaster of a week. I have hesitated to even write this post because I do not know if I can write in words all that has happened. Well, I can write pretty easily what has happened. It is the little things, the emotions, the little events leading up to the week, the thoughts and the questions all combined to make this a week that seemed to last a year.
I will just say the easy thing... WE GOT A JOB!!! Well, technically, my husband got a job. But, when your main breadwinner is soon to be unemployed we all celebrate with, "we got a job." And that job happens to be in Arkansas. So the Jacobs are headed to Arkansas. Which is CRAZY because I have barely visited the south, let alone thought we would live there. My one experience with Arkansas was a random trip there in college when a couple girlfriends and I decided to go backpacking in the Ozarks for a few days. I saw a wild pig with tusks and hair flying out behind it running across the trail. Later to find out it was a razorback. And now, I am moving to where they have razorbacks and armadillos? On a side note Karis is now studying Armadillos for science and soon will be our resident family expert on them.
It has been a year of waiting for this job. Of praying and asking God, why? And last week after I wrote my post my husband and I had come to some peace about not getting a job. About being obedient in one thing we feel like we have kind of been side stepping. We talked about maybe going a completely different direction in life. I was kind of excited about it. I am my husband's biggest fan. And I get excited when we get together on something.
SO when we got the "yes" of this job. It was this huge relief, but kind of anticlimactic as we had just made this whole other plan that was a lot less practical.
BUT we are thankful. We are thankful for a job when jobs are few and far between. We are thankful that God heard our prayers. I have been thinking this year, how thankful I am when God answers with a "yes" to our prayers, especially when my kids are praying with me. I know that the answer is not always "yes" and this year it has been a lot of "wait" and "not now" and sometimes just silence. So when the answer to our prayer finally came,and it was a job, I was very thankful. And not just us, but another guy got the job. Our prayer had been for these other people we were competing with for this job, that God would provide a job because we know how awful it is to be in this situation. And that is just what happened. The school decided to offer my husband and this other man a job. How amazing is that!!!
The more I have thought on it, especially while shoveling snow this morning knowing that yesterday it was 75 degrees in Arkansas, the more excited I become. But there are mixes of emotions. We will be leaving some REALLY great friends, a WONDERFUL church and closeness to family. And then there is the minor thing of selling the first house we have ever owned. I am trying not to go on too much. There are so many ways we can see God has worked over the past year. Often in silence, and we are waiting and anticipating our new adventure in Arkansas.
Now.... to figure out how to get our house ready, sell it and find a place to live over the next 4 months.
I will just say the easy thing... WE GOT A JOB!!! Well, technically, my husband got a job. But, when your main breadwinner is soon to be unemployed we all celebrate with, "we got a job." And that job happens to be in Arkansas. So the Jacobs are headed to Arkansas. Which is CRAZY because I have barely visited the south, let alone thought we would live there. My one experience with Arkansas was a random trip there in college when a couple girlfriends and I decided to go backpacking in the Ozarks for a few days. I saw a wild pig with tusks and hair flying out behind it running across the trail. Later to find out it was a razorback. And now, I am moving to where they have razorbacks and armadillos? On a side note Karis is now studying Armadillos for science and soon will be our resident family expert on them.
It has been a year of waiting for this job. Of praying and asking God, why? And last week after I wrote my post my husband and I had come to some peace about not getting a job. About being obedient in one thing we feel like we have kind of been side stepping. We talked about maybe going a completely different direction in life. I was kind of excited about it. I am my husband's biggest fan. And I get excited when we get together on something.
SO when we got the "yes" of this job. It was this huge relief, but kind of anticlimactic as we had just made this whole other plan that was a lot less practical.
BUT we are thankful. We are thankful for a job when jobs are few and far between. We are thankful that God heard our prayers. I have been thinking this year, how thankful I am when God answers with a "yes" to our prayers, especially when my kids are praying with me. I know that the answer is not always "yes" and this year it has been a lot of "wait" and "not now" and sometimes just silence. So when the answer to our prayer finally came,and it was a job, I was very thankful. And not just us, but another guy got the job. Our prayer had been for these other people we were competing with for this job, that God would provide a job because we know how awful it is to be in this situation. And that is just what happened. The school decided to offer my husband and this other man a job. How amazing is that!!!
The more I have thought on it, especially while shoveling snow this morning knowing that yesterday it was 75 degrees in Arkansas, the more excited I become. But there are mixes of emotions. We will be leaving some REALLY great friends, a WONDERFUL church and closeness to family. And then there is the minor thing of selling the first house we have ever owned. I am trying not to go on too much. There are so many ways we can see God has worked over the past year. Often in silence, and we are waiting and anticipating our new adventure in Arkansas.
Now.... to figure out how to get our house ready, sell it and find a place to live over the next 4 months.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Its Been awhile....
Almost a year. It is kind of crazy, but I can only write when I can run. And a year ago, well almost a year ago I fell down my basement stairs. Last March I was trying to do way too much, talking on the phone while going down the basement stairs and carrying a bread machine, I fell. I heard the snap in my foot, and my legs went out from under me. Through tears I got back on my phone to explain to my sister, who was still talking and completely oblivious to the fact that I had just fallen, that I believed my foot was broken and needed to go to the ER, BUT I did not know what to do because my husband was at work and I was home alone with all four kids at the bottom of the stairs. They too had completely not heard the crash of my fall down the stairs. I yelled for my girls and they came. I got on the computer and started trying to facebook people for help after my husband had not answered any of my calls. I finally reached a friend and her husband. She was able to drive me to the ER and her husband, also our priest, was able to stay with my children until my mother in law arrived. My mom came as soon as she could to stay for a few days.
My husband finally was reached through a friend whose husband also worked there. He physically tracked my husband down. And when my husband met me... we actually laughed because we did not think it could get any worse. It was one tragedy after another.
Fast forward almost a year... 11 months actually and it has not gotten much better. For whatever reason we are still in a time of waiting. Waiting on a job for my husband that he found out he was losing over a year ago. Waiting to see what God is going to do. Today we were supposed to find out, but so far we have not heard. And over the past week we have been talking about one area we have so far not been willing to step out in faith in... wondering if this scary step is what all this waiting is about. And it is exciting, encouraging and a lot to deal with. And my foot did not heal, for months and it finally needed surgery... that was three months ago.
But, if you have not noticed, I am writing a blog, which if you remember at the beginning of this post I said I had such a hard time doing if I was not running. So guess what that means... I have started running again. It is so little. Just two times for two or three miles. But for the first time in a year I felt like myself. I felt like maybe I will make it.
My husband finally was reached through a friend whose husband also worked there. He physically tracked my husband down. And when my husband met me... we actually laughed because we did not think it could get any worse. It was one tragedy after another.
Fast forward almost a year... 11 months actually and it has not gotten much better. For whatever reason we are still in a time of waiting. Waiting on a job for my husband that he found out he was losing over a year ago. Waiting to see what God is going to do. Today we were supposed to find out, but so far we have not heard. And over the past week we have been talking about one area we have so far not been willing to step out in faith in... wondering if this scary step is what all this waiting is about. And it is exciting, encouraging and a lot to deal with. And my foot did not heal, for months and it finally needed surgery... that was three months ago.
But, if you have not noticed, I am writing a blog, which if you remember at the beginning of this post I said I had such a hard time doing if I was not running. So guess what that means... I have started running again. It is so little. Just two times for two or three miles. But for the first time in a year I felt like myself. I felt like maybe I will make it.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Things I Love Thursday--- A Good Book! (A Review)
I have spent a lot of time reading this year. There has been a theme lately though... kidnappings... not on purpose, just how it ended up. But, most recently I completed Room by Emma Donoghue. Room, is about precisely that, a room. A room where a woman stays with her son fathered by her kidnapper. The story starts when the boy is 5 and is told completely from his perspective. This perspective is very different from any other person in the world since his world consists of only a very tiny space. Each object has a name instead of the door, it is just door. It is a remarkable story of the resiliance of children and what a mother will do for her child. The boy tells the story of his very busy life, "we have thousands of things to do every morning." which includes, doing laundry, gym class, and games his mother has made up to make time pass. (this gives whole new perspective to me as a mom when I now hear my children whine, "I'M BORED!") There is routine in his day and things he looks forward to. I do not want to give away what happens, but it does not get boring. There is more to Room than just the room. I highly recommend it. I was concerned it would be hard to read as a mom, but found it just the opposite. I was so proud of this mom. She handled her situation and its extremes much better than I handle my own day to day some times. But it was also realistic. As remarkable as she was she has her faults. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. It is a creative take on a subject that thousands of stories have been written upon. This post is submitted to Things I Love Thursday at Diaper Diaries.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Top Ten Tuesday--- Ten Ways to Know, "Mom needs a vacation!"
It has been one of those years so far, where just about everything has gone not the way planned... husband loses his job (still no job promises and it is April), son takes first trip to the ER after diving into a metal thing that is in my couch for some reason, a week later... son is really sick and I am told by two different people that he should be O.K. BUT if he gets any worse take him immediately to the E.R. because it could be this deadly syndrome... followed by me falling down the stairs while home a lone with all four children resulting in a fractured foot. I have handled it all with a just few tears. Mostly I have held it together. BUT every once in a while life catches up with me. And I wish I came with a warning alarm, LOOK OUT! MOM IS ABOUT TO LOSE IT!!! Here are the Top Ten Ways to Know, Mom Needs a Vacation, I think I will make a copy for my children to keep on hand.
1. I spend more than an hour on the computer straight looking for places to vacation-- this one should seem pretty obvious
2. I put myself in more time outs than I do my children
3. I call my husband at 9a.m. to ask when he is coming home from work
4. I am willing to load up everyone to walk to the store (since my husband has my car) to buy a coke for some needed sugar/caffeine in the middle of the afternoon.
5. I say "yes" to just about everything my children ask because I do not feel like arguing about it (this one I will keep a secret-- I think it would be taken advantage of)
6. I yell at the top of my lungs, "I AM ON THE PHONE!" only to realize that I really am on the phone and the person on the phone may no longer want to be talking to me.
7. I yell again a couple of hours later like my three year old, because every once in a while I want him to understand what it is like to be screamed at ALL day long!
8. I am looking forward to just going somewhere after my husband gets home, I talk about it, plan it all day... even if it is just the grocery store or library-- but I am going. by. myself.
9. My children point out to me at noon that I am still in my pajamas and my hair looks kind of crazy. (this probably just adds to my need for a vacation, but probably not the best thing to say to a mom when she has been having a rough morning)
10. My FAVORITE... my six year old started writing hate mail today to give her dad about why mom is such a bad mom... she later explained that she would really think if she should give it to him, but do I understand how hard it is to be home with a mom who is having a rough day and there is no dad around? YES I understand, and I have a feeling if dad were around mom would not be having quite so rough of a day.
This is meant in good humor-- it has been a rough day for this mom, but all children are loved, laughed with and cuddled at this point, the house is quiet and tomorrow will come and a new day starts fresh. And hopefully soon a vacation!
This post is submitted to Top Ten Tuesdays at Oh Amanda
1. I spend more than an hour on the computer straight looking for places to vacation-- this one should seem pretty obvious
2. I put myself in more time outs than I do my children
3. I call my husband at 9a.m. to ask when he is coming home from work
4. I am willing to load up everyone to walk to the store (since my husband has my car) to buy a coke for some needed sugar/caffeine in the middle of the afternoon.
5. I say "yes" to just about everything my children ask because I do not feel like arguing about it (this one I will keep a secret-- I think it would be taken advantage of)
6. I yell at the top of my lungs, "I AM ON THE PHONE!" only to realize that I really am on the phone and the person on the phone may no longer want to be talking to me.
7. I yell again a couple of hours later like my three year old, because every once in a while I want him to understand what it is like to be screamed at ALL day long!
8. I am looking forward to just going somewhere after my husband gets home, I talk about it, plan it all day... even if it is just the grocery store or library-- but I am going. by. myself.
9. My children point out to me at noon that I am still in my pajamas and my hair looks kind of crazy. (this probably just adds to my need for a vacation, but probably not the best thing to say to a mom when she has been having a rough morning)
10. My FAVORITE... my six year old started writing hate mail today to give her dad about why mom is such a bad mom... she later explained that she would really think if she should give it to him, but do I understand how hard it is to be home with a mom who is having a rough day and there is no dad around? YES I understand, and I have a feeling if dad were around mom would not be having quite so rough of a day.
This is meant in good humor-- it has been a rough day for this mom, but all children are loved, laughed with and cuddled at this point, the house is quiet and tomorrow will come and a new day starts fresh. And hopefully soon a vacation!
This post is submitted to Top Ten Tuesdays at Oh Amanda
Monday, April 11, 2011
Magazine Review
Last Friday, my baby had her nine month check up, and I had to tote all four kids along. We were waiting in the waiting room, for what seemed close to forever, which always seems to be the case when you want your children to be quiet. My oldest asked if she could look at a magazine, quickly followed by the next two. She came back with a hunting and fishing magazine, I cannot remember the name, but quickly came to me with a look of disgust, "MOM! This magazine is about killing animals." Apparently that does not go along with the new club she is starting, "SAVE THE ANIMALS AND CHILDREN" So, she put it back and picked out a Family Fun magazine, much more up her alley. She looked through it and found THIS picture. She exclaimed that she HAD to make this. And the next day......
this is what she created on her own during quiet time... and her sister joined in the fun....
Well, our magazine adventure was not quite over that visit, my three year old son had been viewing Boy's Life. Which he grew tired of and went to exchange for a new one on his own, he returned with, Ladies Home Journal with Lauren Graham on the cover. I look at his choice, and commented, that one has a pretty girl on it. He looks at me with his sweet smile and answers, "YES MOM! I like pretty girls!" Followed by Verity's name for her appointment, phew!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)