Prom

Last weekend was Sam's senior prom!  Since I have just had our sweet little boys for the last 5 years getting to do some girly stuff was a real treat!
Sam and Allison and I headed up to Dallas to look for the perfect dress.  We saw some beautiful dresses, some VERY expensive dresses, some really strange dresses, and finally we found THE dress...we thought.
When Sam went back to school the next day she found out that another girl had bought the same dress. 

What is a girl to do?

Luckily, one of the principals from the district brought in her daughter's prom dresses from a couple years ago.  In that bunch of dresses was the most beautiful purple ball gown!  We got to take the  other dress back which left us with some extra cash to do some other girly stuff!
I had so much fun taking Sam to get shoes and jewelry, and then to get her hair and nails and toes done!  Nathan even let me get my toes done too!   It was a sweet moment as we sat there next to each other getting our toes done!

I didn't get near as many pictures as I would have liked to but here are a few...

I love this picture that Donna took...her smile is so great...she loves to have fun!

Verse 9 and a recipe!

Well...I did it!  I was able to memorize the 3 verses from Romans so I am adding another verse for this month.  This verse really starting speaking to me before we left for Mexico...however, we got to SEE this verse in ACTION through an amazing couple while we were in Mexico.  Thank you Juan and Veronica for your incredible example!

Matthew 25:35-36 & 40
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. 40- I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these you did for me!

Lord please help me to have eyes to see those who are in need around me!

Here it is...another strange but wonderful recipe!

I am sure that this ooey gooey goodness has a real name but in our family we just call it Apple Cheese Stuff!

I know what you are thinking...apples and cheese???  Trust me, it is sooo good!  We love it with pork chops or sausage tortilla wraps.  I think it would also be great for breakfast!

4 cups granny smith apples sliced and sprinkled with cinnamon

1  stick of butter (softened)

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup of flour

2 big handfuls of shredded cheese ( I usually use colby jack)

Place the apples in a baking dish.

Mix next 4 ingredients (it will be crumbly)

Put the crumbly mixture over the apples

Bake on 350 for about 45 min. or until brown and bubbly

Enjoy!

And while we are talking about apples...last Saturday I branched out and made Pioneer Woman's apple fritters!  They were really good but they made a BUNCH!  Next time I make them I will be sure I have an army around to eat them all!

They tasted a lot like an apple funnel cake!

Easter

Like always, taking a good picture of 3 crazy little boys is never easy!  At least I got all three of them looking at the camera and smiling...we are getting closer!=)

We had a great Easter Sunday!  We finished out our third and final performance of "Loved With A Cross" and enjoyed a wonderful lunch and Easter hunt with Nathan's dad.

This year was so much fun with 2 little boys to hunt eggs...I can't wait until next year when all 3 of them get to hunt together!

Thank you Jesus for a beautiful day to celebrate you and the gift you gave!

Why is this little guy so happy?

On Wednesday of Easter week sweet Kolson had a minor surgical procedure to correct his frenulum.  Kolson was born tongue tied...literally his tongue was stuck to the bottom of his mouth because his frenulum was too long. He is so happy now that he can move his tongue and is able to eat more solid foods now!

We continued our Easter celebration well into the nest week with coloring and decorating eggs...so fun!

Yum-O!

I could not think of a better way to describe our dinner from earlier this week.

Not long ago I stumbled upon a blog called The Pioneer Woman.  Ree Drummond aka  The Pioneer Woman grew up in the big city and was living a citified life until she met and fell in love with a cattle rancher.  Now she lives on a ranch in the middle of nowhere.  From her ranch she blogs about life, cooking, homeschooling, photography, and more.  I have been most captivated by her cooking section where there are step by step pictures to go with all of her recipes.  For a girl who buys a cook book based on the pictures this is my dream come true!

My sweet friend Flo got her cook book for Christmas (hint, hint mom:) and has also been trying some recipes!  On Monday night I made these:

Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich

Like Flo there was no time to take pictures of my own...they looked so good and tasted every bit as good.  We took Flo's suggestion and added some swiss cheese.  I served them up with a fruit salad and we enjoyed a meal on the back porch.  These sandwiches get 5 stars in my book for tastiness, and ease of preparation!  Try them you will not be dissapointed!

Verses 6,7, and 8.

So March and the beginning of April was CRAZY.  I know I say that a lot but truthfully things around here are pretty crazy most of the time!  I think we would be board and wondering what to do if it wasn't that way!

In all of the craziness I missed learning a verse for the 2nd half of March.  After spending some time talking to my friend Kim I decided that I really wanted to know the verses in Romans that talk about salvation.  I know that I am a preacher's wife and I have heard these verses over and over but I will admit that I have never taken the time to hide them in my heart the way I should.  When I was thinking about this it reminded me of the scripture that talks about being prepared in and out of season to give an account of the hope we have.  So I am choosing to learn 3 verses from Romans for my March and April verses.  These verses are familiar to me so they will not take long to learn.  I think I will challenge myself to learn at least one more verse on the 15th of this month.

So here are my verses:

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death. but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Romans 10:9
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you WILL BE SAVED!!

Inspired...

While I was in high school my church went on a mission trip to Kenya.  I remember the Sunday night when the team shared like it was yesterday.  I remember exactly where I was sitting, what the lighting was like...everything.  I heard story after of story of how God had moved in the lives of the people in Kenya as well as in the lives of the members who went. 

I should have been in awe of the power of our mighty God. 

Instead, I remember having the most overwhelming urge to just put my fingers in my ears.  I remember thinking to myself..."please God, please don't ever call me to that...I will do anything else but please don't call me to be a missionary".

10 years later here I am. 

I have been on my first mission trip.  No longer am I wanting to put my fingers in my ears.  I am not sure that God is calling our family to leave the country but I know now that I am willing, willing to follow Him.  I also know now that I cannot just stand by and act like everything is just peachy when I have seen with my own eyes that there are people who are struggling because of their faith, there are people who are hungry, there are people who have nothing, but still they are coming to Jesus.

I heard a song recently by Brooke Frasier called "Albertine"  it talks about her time in Rwanda and how it changed her life.  One phrase from the song had really grabbed me...

"Now that I have seen I am responsible...faith without deeds is dead."

To be honest I don't know what that looks like.  I am still processing what God has taught me through my time in Mexico and still trying to figure out exactly what He calling me to do because of what I saw there.  But I know that my life cannot stay the same.

God in His amazing sovereignty has been preparing me for this over the past few months.  One thing I have discovered in this blogging world is that there are some amazing stories out there.  Stories of people who have faced unbelievable tragedy but are still writing His praises, there are stories of people who are crossing the seas to rescue to orphaned children, and my most favorite are the stories of people who have decided to give it all up...everything that we Americans think is necessary for survival and to live in total faith.  My favorite is the story of Katie.  She is a young American girl who went on a mission trip to Uganda and God so powerfully moved in her heart that she gave up everything to follow Him...even to Africa.  God has and is continuing to use her blog to speak great truth to me.  Opening my eyes to the reality that there is so much more than this life of mediocrity I have settled for.  I encourage you to visit her blog, read just one of her posts (without putting your fingers in your ears:) and let God work on your heart.

Click here to read Katie's blog.

Through Katie's blog I was lead to this sermon series by David Platt.

http://www.brookhills.org/media/series/radical

Take some time to yourself and listen...my heart is changed because of what I have learned.

Please pray that God will open the eyes of my heart, that I will see exactly what He is calling me to and that I will no longer settle.

Thankful

The house is quite...everyone is in bed and I am just savoring a few moments in the stillness.  We just finished our second night of "Love with a Cross".  Tomorrow is Easter and we will perform the play one last time.

As I sit here tonight I am reminded of how worthy our sweet Jesus is and what a great sacrifice He made for me.

Thank you Jesus for coming to live amoung us and for paying the price for my sins.  Your grace amazes me! 

Happy Easter!