Exodus

Exodus 14:13 But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. 14 The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

Welcome back. I haven't blogged in over 2 weeks, so I felt the need for an update. I'm going through the Bible in a Year, and my reading this morning was Exodus 13-15. There were a couple verses in Exodus 14 though, that really touched my heart.

Lately Tim and I have really felt like the Devil has been attacking us. We have determined and committed ourselves to paying off bills, and putting money into savings for a house and for Natty. It is funny though that each time we seem to have made any extra money, some crazy, 'out of the blue' expense will come up to deplete us. It's weird how things have gone. I was looking forward to my time off this month, as I have been struggling with working and not being home with Natty. First, we got all these crazy doctor bills for Natty and her vomit issue, which we were so worried about. God has been so faithful to take care of Natty though, and so far, she has not had any more episodes. So that put a slight dent in our budget. Then our electric bill skyrocketed, since we were trying to keep Natty cooler to help with the throwing up. Ok.... Then Tim's paycheck didn't arrive last week. Yikes... Then, the ONE time I decide to give Tim a break and wash my car myself, I crack the windshield, you heard me, from top all the way down. Needless to say, I was really bummed about everything. Then Tim reminded me this morning. It's a test to see how we'll respond. I felt really convicted then because, truthfully, I was not proud at the way I had responded.

Going back to the above verses, I was reminded once again to slow down and be "still." I hate how my humanity allows me to forget what God is capable of. Well, DUH!, all I've got is the Creator of the Universe looking out for me. Why do I always fret? I was reminded this afternoon that I need to calm down and let the Lord work. He isn't going to neglect to take care of us. We are His children after all, and I need to start acting like that is what I truly believe. So that is my goal, faith.

Hope everyone else is having a good Monday. By the way, our garden is doing GREAT! Especially the basil. Will post pictures in a bit.

Natty and Mommy's Garden

I've discovered that I have a pretty good "green" thumb. In efforts to keep myself occupied (like taking care of Natty is not enough), I've decided that Natty and I would start a garden. It all started in the world of Target. Tim laughs at me, but I always have to check and see what's on sale, what's on clearance, and what I can get a great deal on. Of all places, I love checking out the $1 section at the front of the store (when you first walk in). I've gotten some really cute stuff for our apartment for, honestly, beans. Anyway, I was SO excited when I discovered that the $1 stuff was on clearance! You cannot beat $1 clearance items at 75% off! So after rummaging through stuff, I found these little garden-herb sets. They were SO cute. I really wish I would have picked up more. But the set came with its little own clay pot, some compacted dirt, and seed packet. I picked up 3 different herbs - basil, oregano, and chives. I've really had SO much fun. Below are pictures of the progress of Natty and Mommy's Garden.

I'm really excited about the basil, and so is Tim. One of Tim's favorite Thai entrees is "Basil Chicken." It is extremely yummy, and if you like your food on the spicy side, it is muy bueno! In the above picture, you see oregano, chives, and the basil. I got super excited with how well the herbs were doing so I started green bell peppers (far left) and Thai chilies (far right) in the picture below.



If everything continues to go well, I'm going to start some floral seedlings. I'm excited with my new hobby. I marvel at anything having to do with new life - Natty, planting, babies, etc. It is just a constant reminder of what an awesome Creator we serve and love.

Moo Satay and Kai Jeaow

I've been in the cooking mood lately, and Thai food specifically. I feel bad because, generally, while I'm working, I am just too exhausted to really put anything remotely extravagant together. Both Tim and I love to cook, but I feel like it should be my responsibility and I haven't been that good at it. So, now that I'm off track, I'm determined to cook at least 2-3 nice dinners a week. Here are a few pictures of our "typical" Thai dinner that I make.













It really did not take all that long. I actually have a rice-cooker (SO nice), so all I do is rinse the rice, throw it into the pot and it cooks. Everything turned out pretty nice, and Natty even helped! Not really, but she likes to hang out in the kitchen with me while I cook. I can set her in the living room with all her toys. Three minutes later, she's crawling into the kitchen with the biggest grin. I love her....

The Asian Cheese

Well, I don't know about you, but I REALLY love TOFU. I have found though that many people I run into absolutely hate it and I don't always understand why. It really has no flavor, which is great because it acquires the taste of whatever you cook with so you can actually get pretty creative with it. I guess I am partically biased because growing up in Thailand, that is like the equivalent of Cheese to Americans. I guess tofu is, then, the "Asian-cheese?"

If you are thinking about trying tofu, here are some great health benefits:

• High is protein
• Low in saturated fats
• Good source of calcium
• Good substitute for meat (Vitamin E and protein)
• Easy to digest

Anyhow, here is a recipie that I enjoy making for tofu:

Ingredients:

• 1 tube of medium-soft tofu (sliced)
• 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 3 cups of beansprouts
• 1/3 cups of diced green onions and onions (each)
• 1/2 - 3/4 cups of diced bell peppers
  
• 2 1/2 cups of oil
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 2-3 cups of cornstarch
• cilantro (optional - for garnish)
  

Directions:

Frying Tofu

1. Heat 2 1/2 cups of oil (takes 3-4 mins).
2. Coat sliced tofu with cornstarch and drop in oil.
3. Place fried tofu pieces on a wire rack to cool.

Frying Tofu with Veggies

1. Heat sesame oil in a skillet (medium heat)
   
2. Cook bell peppers and onions
3. Add tofu, oyster sauce, and fish sauce
   
4. Mix so everything cooks evenly
5. Add beansprouts and green onions
6. Cook for about 7 minutes

This makes a great entree to have with rice or noodles. It'll serve 2-3 people. Garnish with cilantro. YUMMY!

Lazy Days

Ladies and gentleman, I am on Week #2 of vacation. Woo Hoo!!!! I have REALLY enjoyed spending time with Tim and Natty. It is so hard to go to work sometimes (especially that last month and/or week). I wish the economy would get better sometimes so we could just live off of Tim's income. I'd really like to be home with Natty and actually make our apartment a home. But it's not God's plan right now. Anyhow, I'm thankful that we are the last intermediate school that is "year-round." What that means is I work 3 months and get a month off. I really like it. At the end of the 3 months, I'm really ready to have a break, and am terribly missing Tim and Natty.

Since I've been home, I'm determined that our apartment will be organized and back to normal. Probably will happen like the last week I'm off, but anyhow, I am making progress. I'm actually possibly going to get selling some junk at 2 garage sales to make some money towards a down payment on a house.

Yes, we are still house hunting. Something cool kinda happened though. We had met with a realtor last week, wasn't too impressed. I think she was more focused on selling the "big" houses that would bring in more commission than what we were looking for. Being discourages, we started thinking may now wasn't the time. We went to a BBQ with our married couples Bible study group. Anyhow, during our prayer request, one of the couples asked our host (who was in Tim's Mens Bible study group) how the job hunt was going. He said he started a new job a while back in REALTY! Omigosh! Tim nearly flew off his seat. He said this definitely had to be the Lord. Who else would be able to point us to a realtor who is a Christian and actually would have our best interest at heart. We were thrilled!!!!!!! So we've been keeping our house hunt in prayer.

Natty has been doing better with her bouts of vomitting. Nothing since the day before we took her into her pediatrician last week. She does have an Upper G.I. scheduled for the 14th. Not a major procedure, she swallows some dye and will have an x-ray to see if her organs developed normally. Sounds scary, but surprisingly, I've been at peace about it this week. It is so hard to not worry constantly about Natty, our finances, jobs, and what not. I am slowly learning (through my Mentoring Group), but learning, that worrying never really helps anything, anyone, or any situation.

Week 1

I've been enjoying my first week off. So far, I've accomplished 3 things on my to do list.

Catch up on laundry and dishes
Turn in credential to the D.O.
Meet with Century 21 and start house hunting

Other than that Tim and I have enjoyed being able to spend time with each other, for once, without having to meet and greet and be out the door, and of course, spending time with our wonderful daughter, who is nearly 8 months old now.

Recently, she's been having trouble with bouts of vomitting, so on July 14th, she will have to have an Upper GI done. As far as I've been able to understand, it isn't a painful procedure. It'll allow the doctor to see if her internal organs (specifically the esophagus, stomach, and upper intestine) have developed properly. Other than that, Natty is as happy as can be. She is truly a bless to us. We often wonder what we could have done to deserve such a wonderful daughter, but then I realize, of course! We did nothing! God choose to entrust her to us as this miraculous, wonderful gift. I am thankful every morning, when I see her little head pop up through the railsof her crib. I am thankful for the life that's in her, for her beating heart, and for each breath she takes. I'm thankful for her 3 teeth. I'm thankful for her beautiful voice that says "Ma-Ma." I'm thankful for her perfect ten fingers and toes, and how she waves to us.