Home Sweet Home

Our home...do you notice what is missing by the door (check out the earlier post)?

We have been in the house now for almost 3 weeks. There are still boxes piled around waiting to be unpacked. Josh is as I am writing this continuing to work on getting the books and DVDs unpacked and put away.

The kitchen is 98% unpacked. I have a couple more boxes to go. With my hip really bugging me, I haven't been able to do much of anything lately, and the doctor told me today to try to keep as much weight off of it as possible. So, there may be a bunch of stuff for my mother-in-law and mother to do when they are here for Peanut's birth in late July to help out with.

Here are a few pictures of our new home.

view of the living room from the front door

the fireplace in the living room

Our messy family room...
view of the back yard

Leftover Chicken

Tonight, I wasn't sure what to do for dinner. I had chicken enchiladas down-they were already pre-made and in the freezer. However, I needed to use up the chicken from Sunday. So, a searching I went for a recipe I could use. This is what I found- Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti. I of course modified it, as I am apt to do with any recipe I find. Result? Yummy! It is definitely a make again dish. The best part- there is leftovers to go into the freezer for next month. Whoo Hoo! Another big plus- this dinner was way under $5.

Without further ado-here is the recipe.

Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 1 (7 ounce) package spaghetti, broken
• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided (I used 1/2 Mozzerella, 1/2 colby jack mix)
  
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 cup milk
• 3 strips of bacon crumbled
  
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon oregano, thyme, rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the chicken, 1 cup cheese, soup, milk, bacon, spices, salt and pepper. Drain spaghetti; add to the chicken mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

House Progress

We are now 4 weeks from closing. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for Josh's dad and stepmom-Thank you!!

We found a cute little ranch house over by the neighborhood where we used to rent, so we already know the area very well. One of the best things is the back yard, Pete will have a good amount of space to play in.

Even though we are closing mid May, we'll probably wait to move into it till the end of May (any one want to help us move?). There is some work to be done, and it would be easier to do it with out having us in it. My parents are gong to help us get the kitchen up to par. The house has been a rental for a long time, and the cabinets are kind of nasty.

It is hard to believe that we will soon be homeowners. We have seen God's guidance and work through this process, both on the house front and in our own lives. God is good!

My Boys

One of the best things about Saturdays, is watching Josh and Pete play together. I know that Josh loves getting to spend time with his little boy. Today, I put out a comforter from the guest bedroom out on the patio to finish drying. Pete immediately crawled under it, and it became his tent. He pulled Daddy down to enjoy it with him.

I am so thankful that the weather is warmer. Pete loves it too. He likes to go between the 2 patios and watching the birds and cars go by.

We have looked at a few more homes, but none were ones that we could see ourselves in. One had foundation issues plus a lot of repairs to be made to it, and the other two were nice and ready to move in, but way too small. We will keep looking. We'll be in our current place through July. At that point we will reevaluate what we want to do, if we haven't found a home to buy.

Waiting

A good word for today.

³Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
⁴Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
⁵Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
⁶He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.
⁷Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;

Psalm 37:3-7a

The Eve Effect

Last night I lay wondering about the first woman on earth. Have you ever thought of her? We are in a society that has books, advice columns, cook books, etc on most facets of life, she didn't.

She didn't have a midwife when her children were born. Other than knowing she would have pain in childbirth, she had no one to turn to when Cain was born. Did she realize she was in labor? How did she know what to do with the umbilical cord? Did Adam really freak out over the first birth? Was it instinct that had her bring her babe to her breast to nurse?

In a way without having all the help we do, she had a lot to figure out. But she didn't have to face the cultural norms or expectations that society places on us today. It is so natural, that when her babies cried that she brought them to her breast whether it be day or night. She had never heard of the cry-it-out method. Sleeping through the night? Probably not for a few years- most likely many years, as she gave birth to many sons and daughters.

It took Pete almost year before he really sleep consistently through the night. There are times that he has relapses, which many times revolves around teething, growth spurts, not feeling well or his schedule being interrupted. Most times I don't mind getting up with Pete, especially if I can offer him some comfort. I know it won't be forever. I do enjoy the midnight cuddling I get with Pete, one day he is going to be too big to be cuddled by mommy.

Little Brothers and Aunts

This past week has been full of events. Thursday afternoon, we found out that we are having another little boy. Oh! so much fun! I know Pete will love it when his brother gets big enough to play with him.

The same day I found out that my Aunt Vonnie was brought to the hospital on Wednesday night, at the time they thought it was heart related. A blood test showed that she had a heart attack, however none of the other tests showed the same result. It was eventually seen that she had a blood clot in her lung, which can present the same symptoms as a heart attack. She was put on blood thinners. During her stay, her heart went into arthemia (which she has had issues with for a while). The cardiologist put in a pace maker on Friday, she was been kept at the hospital to do more tests. She finally came home yesterday and happy not have to be poked and prodded every hour.

The other big event in our lives this past week, was putting an offer down on a house. I got home on Sunday from my business seminar, and went to look at a home that Josh and his dad saw on Saturday. We put in an offer Sunday afternoon, which we knew was the second offer to go on the house. Monday afternoon, our real estate agent let us know the owner was going with the first offer. Wednesday afternoon rolls around and we get a call from our real estate agent letting us know the first offer was rejected by the bank. So our offer was put in on Thursday morning. We are now in the waiting game to hear from the bank whether or not they will accept our offer.