Yep

recipe for tricia

My husband grew up hating oatmeal. No matter how I tried to get him to try my oatmeal, he refused, saying he does not like oatmeal. Finally, after years of persuasion, he finally relented. And, guess what? He likes, hey Bobby (Life cereal commercial, remember?)! Here is the recipe that transformed him. We eat it often and everyone in my house loves it! Kind of like oatmeal cookies in a bowl!

Yummy Old Fashioned Oatmeal

makes about 6 servings

4 2/3 cups water
salt
3 cups old fashioned oats (NOT quick oats)
1 apple, cored, skinned, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp butter
brown sugar or maple syrup to taste, about 1/4 cup


Bring water and dash of salt to boil. Add oats and reduce heat to medium. (You can add the apples and raisins at this point, if you like them soft). Continue to cook and stir often for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Make sure you don't overcook it; NO MORE SOGGY OATMEAL!

Enjoy!
(In this version, I added flax seeds. I sometimes use pecans, pumpkin seeds, whatever I have available)

penguins and perspective

Maddie is in sixth grade. This is our last year with a child in elementary school, and I can hardly believe it. With each field trip, each special project, I am reminded that this is the last time. The last time of chaperoning a trip to the Denver Aquarium. The last time to sell Entertainment books (not too sad about that one...). The last time to paper mache a marine mammal. So many times in the past I have let these project stress me out, instead of letting them be the fun, creative experiences they are meant to be. I get irritated that I have to be involved in their homework when I have other things I want to do.

It's different when it's the last time. You learn to take it all in. You learn that you can't come this way again. The last times really are the last time. Funny how that realization brings perspective. Makes you realize how much joy there is in these every day moments. Somehow, the stress completely disappears.

You soak it in. You are present. Really present. And you thank God for giving you this moment.

Maddie chose to make an Adelie Penguin. And, guess what? We had fun doing it together.

I want to remember that each moment with my kids is the last time for that moment. I can never come this way again.

Homecoming 2011

Last week was a whirlwind of Spirit Week craziness! The week was packed with Nerd Day, Crazy Day, Spirit Day, Decades Day, football games, bonfires, volleyball, homework, life groups, cross country meets, homework, paper mache penguins, shopping for Homecoming apparel, ordering corsages, and the list goes on! Whew! Now that I've listed it out, I'm not even sure how we did everything!

Here is a glimpse at crazy day. Wish I had taken more pics throughout the week.
And, of course, there was the BIG dance! Nate had a date this year, Caleb went solo. Both were happy with their decisions, but both also wished they could've experienced the other way, too!

Here are my almost-men, ready for their night out!

Caleb, being goofy as always!

Nate met his date, Emily, at a friend's house, where close to 45 kids gathered for a Mexican fiesta before the dance.

Nate and Emily double-dated with Emily's best friend, Rachel, and Nate's good friend, James.

Hangin' with the guys

Caleb met up with a bunch of friends for pictures at Kaela's house, then headed to Olive Garden for dinner.

My boy looks a little too happy!

They had a great night! Feels surreal to have boys in high school, when I remember those days so clearly myself!

5 for 5

Guest Blogger: Sarah Lenssen from #Ask5for5
Family photos by Mike Fiechtner Photography

Thank you (Full Circle) and nearly 150 other bloggers from around the world for allowing me to share a story with you today, during Social Media Week.

A hungry child in East Africa can’t wait. Her hunger consumes her while we decide if we’ll respond and save her life. In Somalia, children are stumbling along for days, even weeks, on dangerous roads and with empty stomachs in search of food and water. Their crops failed for the third year in a row. All their animals died. They lost everything. Thousands are dying along the road before they find help in refugee camps.

At my house, when my three children are hungry, they wait minutes for food, maybe an hour if dinner is approaching. Children affected by the food crisis in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia aren’t so lucky. Did you know that the worst drought in 60 years is ravaging whole countries right now, as you read this? Famine, a term not used lightly, has been declared in Somalia. This is the world’s first famine in 20 years.12.4 million people are in need of emergency assistance and over 29,000 children have died in the last three months alone. A child is dying every 5 minutes. It it estimated that 750,000 people could die before this famine is over. Take a moment and let that settle in.

The media plays a major role in disasters. They have the power to draw the attention of society to respond–or not. Unfortunately, this horrific disaster has become merely a footnote in most national media outlets. News of the U.S. national debt squabble and the latest celebrity’s baby bump dominate headlines. That is why I am thrilled that nearly 150 bloggers from all over the world are joining together today to use the power of social media to make their own headlines; to share the urgent need of the almost forgotten with their blog readers. Humans have the capacity to care deeply for those who are suffering, but in a situation like this when the numbers are too huge to grasp and the people so far away, we often feel like the little we can do will be a drop in the ocean, and don’t do anything at all.

When news of the famine first hit the news in late July, I selfishly avoided it. I didn’t want to read about it or hear about it because I knew I would feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable. I wanted to protect myself. I knew I would need to do something if I knew what was really happening. You see, this food crisis is personal. I have a 4-year-old son and a 1 yr-old daughter who were adopted from Ethiopia and born in regions now affected by the drought. If my children still lived in their home villages, they would be two of the 12.4 million. My children: extremely hungry and malnourished? Gulp. I think any one of us would do anything we could for our hungry child. But would you do something for another mother’s hungry child?

My friend and World Vision staffer, Jon Warren, was recently in Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya–the largest refugee camp in the world with over 400,000 people. He told me the story of Isnino Siyat, 22, a mother who walked for 10 days and nights with her husband, 1 yr-old-baby, Suleiman, and 4 yr.-old son Adan Hussein, fleeing the drought in Somalia. When she arrived at Dadaab, she built the family a shelter with borrowed materials while carrying her baby on her back. Even her dress is borrowed. As she sat in the shelter on her second night in camp she told Jon, “I left because of hunger. It is a very horrible drought which finished both our livestock and our farm.” The family lost their 5 cows and 10 goats one by one over 3 months, as grazing lands dried up. “We don’t have enough food now…our food is finished. I am really worried about the future of my children and myself if the situation continues.”

Will you help a child like Baby Suleiman? Ask5for5 is a dream built upon the belief that you will.

That something I knew I would need to do became a campaign called #Ask5for5 to raise awareness and funds for famine and drought victims. The concept is simple, give $5 and ask five of your friends to give $5, and then they each ask five of their friends to give $5 and so on–in nine generations of 5x5x5…we could raise $2.4 Million! In one month, over 750 people have donated over $25,000! I set up a fundraiser at See Your Impact and 100% of the funds will go to World Vision, an organization that has been fighting hunger in the Horn of Africa for decades and will continue long after this famine has ended. Donations can multiply up to 5 times in impact by government grants to
help provide emergency food, clean water, agricultural support,
healthcare, and other vital assistance to children and families suffering in the Horn.

I need you to help me save lives. It’s so so simple; here’s what you need to do:

1. Donate $5 or more on this page (http://seeyourimpact.org/members/ask5for5)
2. Send an email to your friends and ask them to join us.
3. Share #Ask5for5 on Facebook and Twitter!

I’m looking for another 100 bloggers to share this post on their blogs throughout Social Media Week. Email me at ask5for5@gmail.com if you’re interested in participating this week.

A hungry child doesn’t wait. She doesn’t wait for us to finish the other things on our to-do list, or get to it next month when we might have a little more money to give. She doesn’t wait for us to decide if she’s important enough to deserve a response. She will only wait as long as her weakened little body will hold on…please respond now and help save her life. Ask 5 for 5.

Thank you on behalf of all of those who will be helped–you are saving lives and changing history.

p.s. Please don’t move on to the next website before you donate and email your friends right now. It only takes 5 minutes and just $5, and if you’re life is busy like mine, you probably won’t get back to it later. Let’s not be a generation that ignores hundreds of thousands of starving people, instead let’s leave a legacy of compassion. You have the opportunity to save a life today!

Oh, Fall, So happy you're here!

in spite of me

I wish I was more.

More consistent with my kids.

More intentional with my husband.

More equipped to do my job.

More committed to work out.

More faithful in my relationship with God.

More, more, more.

But what I am learning... to be more patient with myself. And with the work God is doing in me. To be more content. And more grateful.

I love God's patience with me, though I really don't understand it at all. I would have given up on this hard-headed, ungrateful, slow-learning, mess a long time ago. But I am not God. He is loving, sovereign, patient, and gentle. He understands me so much better than I could possibly understand myself. Oh, how thankful I am for that!

And He is so very faithful! He always, always, always comes through!

I have been praying, seeking, and begging God to guide me as I work on our Family Christmas Production at Vanguard this year. Every year I am given the task of heading up the church-wide production. Really? Me? I have never been in a production. I have zero experience. How did I get here?

But God is faithful to lead and use those that desperately seek Him. And, guess what? I have been desperately seeking Him because I CAN NOT DO THIS ON MY OWN. period.

This past week has been amazing to watch God pour out the Holy Spirit with ideas, vision, and passion. The whole thing is coming together in a powerful way, and there is no way I can take a single ounce of credit for any of it. THANK YOU, LORD for your faithfulness. Thank You for always showing up.

And for using this mess of a person so that You alone can receive the glory.

sniff, sniff

Our last day in Hawaii. When we awoke in the morning, the weather fit our mood. Overcast, dreary, the blue sky and sun of previous days were nowhere in sight.
After packing up and saying good-bye to our wonderful condo in Princeville, we set out for our last few hours on Kauai. Our flight wasn't until 9:00 p.m., so we had all day to enjoy taking in everything we could. The clouds cleared, the sun shone, but the wind persisted. The forecast was for high surf warnings, so the surfers were out in force. We stopped by one beach and watched them for a while.

Before long, it was time to eat, and we hit a fabulous little BBQ spot called Scotty's Beachside BBQ. So yummy! Wish we had discovered it sooner so we could've gotten more than one meal in at that place. They had this cool set-up with garage doors that faced the shore, and every seat in the place had an amazing view of the beach.

Bob waits patiently for his BBQ on the deck at Scotty's

We took our food to go, which was probably a mistake. Eating sloppy BBQ in the car is an interesting task!

Off again, this time to one last visit to, yep, Lappert's Ice Cream.
We strolled along the boardwalk in Poi'pu and did some window shopping.
And one last stop at Poi'pu beach. Didn't have time for a swim, but happened upon this big guy cooling off in the sand. Bob estimated that he weighed around 300 pounds! I was really hoping to see him shuffle his way back to sea, but he was pretty content where he was. Hmmmm. So was I.
On our way back toward Lihue and the airport, we took some back roads and discovered some more amazing vistas. This is an ancient fish pond that legend says was built by the Menehune (basically, Hawaii's version of the leprechaun).
Our last stop was the Marriott resort in Lihue. I laughed at this sign on the beach. So thankful the coconut wasn't gone!
I haven't been able to upload videos for some reason, and I really wish I could here. As we walked the beach, we heard drums playing at the far end. We walked to that area and came upon what I guess was a dance troupe for young kids through teens, and they performed traditional Hawaiian dances. There weren't very many people around, so we got a great view of the performance right on the beach. It was such a fantastic way to end our time on Kauai.

But, alas, all good things must come to an end. It was a strange feeling to know it was time to head for the airport and leave this amazing island, when everything in me wanted to figure out a way to stay! If only someone in Colorado Springs could've put my kids on a plane headed for Kauai, everything would've been perfect. But, instead, Bob and I reluctantly waved good-bye to all that is Hawaii as we lifted off the ground. There is a good chance we will never be back. The thought makes me sad. But, oh so thankful! Thankful for the 10 days we were there. Thankful for a time of rest. Thankful for the opportunity to see more of my Creator and to give praise back to Him.

And thankful for this...Spent with this man...

This time on Kauai was fabulous for so many reasons, but the greatest was the realization that, yes, I do love my husband more today than I have ever before. I love the way he loves me, anticipates my needs and meets them before I know I have the need. The way he rubs my feet when I am tired, and the way I fit so perfectly in his arms. I love being fully known by him, and that there is no fear in that. And I love that we have so much FUN together. Our kids will be leaving home before long. Seven years is a very short time. This week has shown me that when the day comes, we will shed tears together, remember together, and laugh together.

And then, he will grab my hand, and we will walk together. Forward. Toward our next adventure. Hand-in-hand. Always.

Hiking the Na Pali Coast

OK, we didn't exactly hike the Na Pali Coast. That is a 22-mile hike that is very treacherous in places. But we did hike the first 2-miles to a beautiful "secluded" beach only accessible by kayak or foot. We drove to the far north side of the island, where the road comes to an end. From there, we headed out on foot up a rocky trail.

It rained on and off for a good part of the trip there. The rain on Kauai is so different from the rain at home. It comes straight down, and because it isn't falling from very high, the drops are very soft and small. If feels like you are standing under the sprinklers.

As a result of the soft rain, the trail became VERY muddy. We were slip-sliding all over the rocks and roots. At times, the trail was really narrow with pretty good drop-offs on one side. Many people gave up and turned around, but Bob and I were up for the adventure!


Our view to our right looked like this a lot of the way:
The beach came into view, and we knew the hike was worth it.
Then it would start to rain again...
We passed a couple of interesting signs along the way.
And then we reached the beach. This wasn't a beach for swimming (see above sign!), but it was great for walking and exploring.
We went to the far end of the beach where very few people went, and found this cave.
It was so neat inside, and Bob found an exit in the back, so we went all the way through. We decided it was the perfect, cool spot for a secluded picnic.

We finished the hike and stopped in Hanalei at Java Kai for an iced coffee and smoothie. Yummy.
Back to the condo for some relaxation. Oh, reading nook. How I love you. How I miss you...

Showered and headed back to Hanalei for our last dinner out. We ate at a Brazilian restaurant called Neide's. Such a bittersweet evening. Our time in Hawaii was amazing; knowing it was quickly coming to an end was almost painful.