Happy anniversary Kristine – thank you for an amazing seven years!

We just got back from a 4,000 mile road trip that passed through 11 states, included 8 bike races, and included 90+ hours in the car. The trip culminated with us driving through “Billboard Alley” in north Alabama at exactly midnight when the date rolled over to June 28, 2010 – our 7 year wedding anniversary. You’ve got to go back 8 years and 3 months to Easter of 2002 when I proposed to Kristine to see where it all began… That trip was so big I’ve got to use two maps! The first shows an overview, and the second shows the details of the road trip portion – a mere 2,787 miles.

1. I took vacation over spring break while in grad school at UC Davis in the spring of 2002.
2. Kristine took vacation from her missionary work in Nicaragua with Mercy Ships.
3. We both flew to and met at the Dallas Fort Worth airport, and picked up a rental car to begin…
4. …our 2,787 mile road trip to introduce Kristine to my family and get engaged.
5. We returned to Dallas and then flew to Chicago for me to spend Easter with Kristine’s family.

1. Meeting in the DFW airport in Dallas, TX and renting a car together.
2. Going to a movie with Mercy Ships friends in Tyler, TX.
3. Spending the night with friends from Mercy Ships
4. Driving on I-20 to Birmingham, entering Louisiana
5. Driving on I-20 to Birmingham, entering Mississippi
6. Driving on I-20 to Birmingham, entering Alabama
7. Kristine meeting my parents for the first time, going to church together before driving to Clemson, SC
8. Exploring Birmingham, rocks on top of Shades Mountain
9. Driving on I-20, entering Georgia
10. Stopping for lunch in Buckhead north of Atlanta, GA at the Cheesecake Factory
11. Driving on I-85, entering South Carolina
12. Clemson, SC – quick botanical gardens visit, proposing to Kristine beside Lake Hartwell, going to church together afterwards
13. Driving on I-85, entering North Carolina, spending the night with my college friends Darol and Donna
14. Driving on US-29, entering Virginia, and passing through Lynchburg, VA where I cooped for a couple semesters
15. Lake Monticello near Charlottesville, VA where Kristine got to meet my grandmother
16. Driving back to Birmingham on I-81, entering Tennessee, stopping near Johnson City to phone Nicaragua to relay engagement
17. Spending another night with my family in Birmingham
18. Spending another night in Texas with friends from Mercy Ships
19. Returning the rental car at DFW before flying to Chicago
20. Flying from Dallas to Chicago
21. Easter service at the chapel at Valpairaso University
22. Easter egg hunt with Kristine’s family in La Porte, IN to finish our engagement trip spanning 12 states and two countries

And here are photos that correspond to each of the numbered items. Hover over each photo in the gallery to read a caption about the picture. Read the photos from left to right, top to bottom. There may be more than one photo for each numbered item in the list above.

The start of this road trip has just been one bump-in-the-road after another. Believe me, no one is looking forward to 15 days traveling to Wisconsin/Minnesota to see friends and family than me. But it’s been hard to keep a good attitude about all the miles that lie in front of us with all the problems we’ve had since before we even started.

Analise has had Girl Scout Day Camp all week, and Friday was to be the camp program at 2:30. We were going to go together, and leave for our trip right from camp. Thursday I got tons of cleaning and laundry done, but no packing, because a friend had invited Josiah to play for the day (and she was going to bring him to the camp). I was thrilled at the thought of 4.5 hours to myself on Friday, tons of time to get all the packing done.

Analise woke up Friday morning with a large bug bite on her leg, so we gave her Benadryl and rubbed some itch cream on it, and iced it while we drove to camp. I dropped Josiah off, and 10 minutes after I’d gotten home to get started on my day, the camp nurse called. She was bothered by how swollen her leg was, and it was really bothering her. So I headed out for another 50-mile round trip to camp to pick Analise up. We spent a bit of time finding her group and saying goodbye, since she wouldn’t be at the program. Then we zipped over to the doctor’s, who agreed it was probably a spider bite. He gave us a prescription for an antibiotic (just what I need… a bottle of medicine to keep cold for 10 days, and battle with Analise to take. UG!). We got home at 1pm. I got started packing, and Josiah came home at 1:50. Thankfully, Grandma came to play with the kids at 2:30, and after a stop at the pharmacy and one quick trip back home for a forgotten item, we were on our way by 3:50pm, actually about the same time as if we’d left from camp. But my packing was rushed and disorganized (and one set of DVD player headphone was accidentally packed buried in the back), and I was a tired, frazzled mess who had already spent over 3 hours in the car to camp and back twice yesterday BEFORE we left on an 8 hour trip to St. Louis.

It was a long trip, with tired kids, forcing Analise to take her medicine, and lots of grumpiness by everyone. We finally arrived at the super cool Moonrise Hotel at 1am, tucked into bed at 1:30.

Josiah was up at 6:30, and of course, pretty much the only bag Brian didn’t manage to unload was the snack bag, but the kids played quietly until 8. We had a good morning at Panera and then the kids and I went to Forest Park and played on the playground.

I let them ride their scooters for a bit, until Josiah tumbled and cracked his lip open. He screamed for 15 minutes, when a sno-cone finally calmed him a bit. But his poor lip and cheek have been bothering him off and on all day.  It looked jagged and ugly to begin with, then it looked better for a while, but by the evening, it was looking ugly again. Is that normal for split lips?

We headed off to the bike race this afternoon, and arrived in time for the kids to do their first race without training wheels. They did AWESOME! Josiah won (his group of 2), but he was so fast! And Analise was 2nd, and the first girl! They got t-shirts, ribbons and even teddy bears as their prizes. We then had a couple bike tumbles, which I guess is to be expected.

It rained 3 times during Brian’s 1-hour race, and we eventually ended up soaked, and the car got wet bc we left a window open (when it wasn’t raining it was quite hot!). Poor Brian raced well until he flatted with 2 laps to go, and then he ended up 2 places out of the money after chasing the group to the finish. We were all drenched and exhausted and quite grumpy after the bike race. But we drove down to see the Arch, and even saw a rainbow over it (barely visible in the picture below). The last plus was that we enjoyed two trips to our favorite Noodles & Company today, and our hotel is really comfortable and cool.

The sunset from our hotel room window was a lovely reminder of God’s grace and faithfulness. Thank goodness His mercies are new every morning! Tomorrow is another (BIG) bike race, a 6hr drive to Dubuque, IA where we’ll spend the night before driving on to Shell Lake on Monday. I know this trip will be worth it, though! I’m just praying God would grant a huge heaping of grace for each other and anything else “exciting” that happens!

Four years ago today, I became mom to a boy.  I had no idea how messy/sweet/fun/loud/exciting life would be!

At Josiah's front yard splash party, with a surprise visit from the sno-cone truck!

Josiah, you touch my heart in a way I never could have imagined.  You’re still a sweet snuggler, loving to climb up, curl into my lap and lay your head on my chest, just like you did when you were tiny.   You’re still holding my hand most days, and I’m clinging to the moments, trying to burn those soft little boy hands into my memory.  You’re polite, quite a conversationalist, and full of curiosity.  You’re an amazing little cyclist… just like your daddy and your sister. You love Analise so much, and you call her, “my friend, Analise”.

I know I rush you on our errands, in and out of the car, but I so enjoy your company. You’re fun to be with, and I love seeing the little guy you’re growing into.  It’s been a big year for you… 2 days of preschool a week, potty-training, learning to ride a bike without training wheels, giving up your pacifiers, leaving your little bed for a BIG bunk bed, and the top bunk no less!  I can’t believe you’re 4 already!  It’s going to be another busy fun year!

At our last bike race in Atlanta, looking cool in the bike cap.

Man oh man… so much going on here.  Summer is totally wearing me out.  Overnight Girl Scout camp with Analise on Friday, birthday parties for both kiddos last week, Girl Scout Day Camp everyday this week (including 1.5+ hours in the car each day!), getting ready to leave for St. Louis/Wisconsin/Minnesota on Friday…We won’t mention the state of my house in the crazy life!!

BUT!  These muffins were the PERFECT choice for one of my favorite ways to spend a morning… with a favorite friend, drinking coffee, chatting over the crazy chaos that is 4 boys playing.  These are DELICIOUS, and they absolutely need a nice cup of coffee or tea with them.  And a good friend 🙂

Doughnut Muffins by King Arthur Flour (the source of all my favorite baking products, flour and recipes!!) Click over for a picture!

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspon vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup milk

Topping

• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 3 tablespoons Cinnamon-Sugar Plus or cinnamon sugar

1) Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin. Or line with 12 paper or silicone muffin cups, and grease the cups with non-stick vegetable oil spray; this will ensure that they peel off the muffins nicely.

2) In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.

3) Add the eggs, beating to combine.

4) Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla.

5) Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

6) Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full.

7) Bake the muffins for 17 to 20 minutes, or until they’re a pale golden brown.

8) Remove them from the oven, and let them cool for a couple of minutes, or until you can handle them. While they’re cooling, melt the butter for the topping (this is easily done in the microwave).

9) Use a pastry brush to paint the top of each muffin with the butter, then sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar. Or simply dip the tops of muffins into the melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon-sugar.

10) Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Store for a day or so at room temperature.

Yield: 12 muffins.

Nothing profound to share, really, except that Analise and I spent some time this evening reading this wonderful little book, “Born Again” in the I Can Read God’s Word series.  It’s the perfect level reading for her, and it’s gently paraphrased scriptures about salvation.  Besides great reading, it led to a good discussion about Jesus’ words to Nicodemus about how we must be born again and how God gives us new life.  I loved it, and I treasure the chance to see God’s truths growing roots in her heart.

Back in August, I was surprised to find how emotional the start of kindergarten was for me as a mom. I’d looked forward (regretfully) to getting some of “my” time back, and on long days with toddlers and preschoolers, I imagined how eventually I’d happily wave goodbye and start tackling my perpetually procrastinated “to do” list. But I quickly realized that kindergarten was the beginning of the end… from here on out, every day, she’s less and less mine. More independent, more expressive, more articulate, more mature, less my baby girl and more of a beautiful young lady.  School is 8 hours in her own world, being her own person, stepping away from mine.  She’s loved every minute of this year, while almost every morning was reminiscent for me as I watched her step out of the car, pull on her backpack, and confidently stride into school, without a glance back.  Those rare looks back to smile at me as she headed in were the sweetest part of my morning.

So of course, I was surprised to find today’s last day of kindergarten tugging strongly at my heart, because I thought August was the real milestone . In what seems like a blink of an eye, this monumental year is behind us. She’s learned to read and write really well, she’s an amazing artist, she’s stopped sucking her thumb (cold-turkey, in one night!), learned to ride a bike without training wheels (in one short day!), lost 6 teeth! And above all, she’s grown into a person I really enjoy being with.  Today, we celebrate an amazing year, a fabulous teacher, Mrs. Moran, and close the door on kindergarten, the end of the beginning of letting go.

Last day of school with her teacher Mrs. Moran

Analise and Brian walking down the street to school on her first day of school

Analise on the street ready for her first day of school

It’s unbelievable that I haven’t ever posted this recipe. It’s a highly requested and anticipated dessert at Clearwater Community Church events.  I’m not exaggerating when I say I make it probably 3x a month, sometimes once or twice a week, depending on what events our schedule holds. It is fail-proof. Seriously moist, and super-chocolatey, without being too rice. Be sure to have a gallon of milk on hand to wash it down. And some friends who’ve taken leftovers might have mentioned having it for breakfast, and I might or might not have tried that myself 🙂

I’m linking to one of my favorite blogs, The Motherload, who is hosting the Glad to Give Virtual Bake Sale. She’s got a great recipe posted for Honey Nut Granola, and there are plenty of other great bake sale treats linked on her page. Click on over!  (**And if you were going to make this Darn Good Chocolate Cake for a bake sale, wrap it in Saran Wrap and sell it whole, or cut it into big chunks, and bag it up on small paper plates.)

Back to the best (and easiest!) chocolate cake you’ll ever make or…

Darn Good Chocolate Cake from The Cake Mix Doctor

• Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
• Flour for dusting the pan
• 1 pkg (18.25 oz plain devil’s food or chocolate fudge cake mix (preferably NOT the pudding-in-the-mix kind)
• 1 pkg (3.9 oz) chocolate instant pudding
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt cake pan.

Place cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, warm water, and oil in a large mixing bowl.  Blend with a mixer on low for 1 min. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl, and increase mixer speed to medium for 2-3 more minutes.  Batter should be thick and well combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Pour into prepared pan, smoothing out top.

Bake 45-50 min, until cake springs back when lightly touched, and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.  Remove from oven, cool on wire rack for 20 min.  Invert onto rack or plate to cool completely.  Serve on a gorgeous cake plate, and dust with powdered sugar for a perfectly fancy (and crazy easy) dessert.  Or better yet, serve while warm.  It doesn’t even need vanilla ice cream.

Not a great name for this tasty salad, so leave me any suggestions you have!

Asian Slaw

• 1/4 c butter
• 1 pkg ramen noodles, broken into small pieces (toss the flavor packet)
• 1/2 c slivered almonds
• 1/2 c sunflower seeds

Melt butter in a skillet.  Saute all until toasted and golden. (Be warned… turns the corner to burned very quickly!)

• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 T vinegar
• 1/4 c. oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce

Shake or stir together.  Just before serving, toss noodle mixture and dressing with 1 bag of coleslaw mix.

*Would be fabulous with shredded or leftover chicken!

Thanks to Money Saving Mom for this delicious recipe! (Click over for her photo!) It’s a big batch, but great for freezing.  And don’t let the pumpkin turn you off… It’s just a sweet cake-y chocolate chip muffin with a hint of cinnamon.  Yum!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 (16 oz.) can pureed pumpkin
1 1/2 cups oil
3 cups flour (half white whole wheat flour works great!)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 package chocolate chips (mini chips would be perfect!)

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil until smooth. Add in dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 1/2 full. Bake 16-20 minutes at 400 degrees. Makes 24-30 muffins.

I tried this yummy chicken recipe last night, and it was a huge hit with all of us!

Farmhouse Chicken by Kraft Foods

1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 small bone-in chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), skin removed
1/4 cup KRAFT Light Zesty Italian Dressing
2 cups baby carrots
1 onion, cut into wedges
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, cubed
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

MIX flour and pepper in shallow dish. Add chicken; turn to coat both sides of each piece. Gently shake off excess flour. Heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken, meat-sides down; cook 5 to 6 min. or until golden brown. Turn chicken. Add carrots, onions and 1 cup broth; cover. Simmer on medium-low 20 min. or until chicken is done (165°F).

MEANWHILE, cook rice as directed on package; spoon onto platter. Use slotted spoon to remove chicken and vegetables from skillet; place over rice. Cover to keep warm.

ADD Neufchatel and remaining broth to skillet; cook on high heat until Neufchatel is melted and sauce is well blended, stirring constantly. Simmer on medium-low heat 3 to 5 min. or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Spoon over chicken and vegetables; top with parsley.

*My notes: I used 1.75lbs of boneless skinless breasts, split lengthwise.  There were lots of extra carrots, so maybe less next time. It was DELICIOUS!