San Francisco

Last Thursday, Princess, Drummer Boy, and I flew to San Francisco to spend a few days with Leigh. It was a long flight to CA and back, but well worth a few days of sight-seeing and spending time with Aunt Leigh. We spent all day Friday doing typical tourist stuff. We rode the BART into downtown San Francisco and then took the Trolley to Ghiradelli square, where we indulged in some delicious chocolate treats!

From there, we hiked up some of the steepest San Francisco streets to Lombard street, the "crookedest street in the world". (Drummer Boy had to carry Princess on his shoulders on the really steep streets. What a workout!!) From there, we walked through Little Italy and found a great little restaurant for some authentic Italian pizza. After a walk through Chinatown, we were exhausted and ready for a little rest in our hotel and a nice dinner with Leigh and her boyfriend.

Saturday morning we spent with Leigh and Apache. It was great to see Princess slowly warm up to Apache. She even helped Leigh groom him, including picking his feet! And before we left, Princess let Pach eat a cookie from her hand! Slowly but surely, Leigh is going to get Princess over her fear of animals. :)

After visiting Apache, we stopped at Stanford for a little peek at the campus. Then we had a great sushi lunch at a little place in San Mateo.

From there, we went to check out the Golden Gate Bridge. It was beautiful, but a huge PAIN to get to!! We finished out the afternoon walking around Golden Gate Park. We were (again) exhausted and ready for a nice dinner with Leigh at another great restaurant.

We had a really wonderful time with Leigh, and Drummer Boy and I enjoyed our QT with Princess. It was a great weekend and we are so thankful to our family for watching Pumpkin for us while we were gone.

Childlike Faith

Last weekend, Drummer Boy, Princess and I were watching the Olympics and we heard the terrible news of the tragedy of the Georgian luge athlete's death. I was shocked at the video and Princess could see the tears well up in my eyes. She said to me, "Mommy, we should pray for him." I am so thankful that she thinks of prayer first, even before I did. I hope (and pray) that her trust in God's power and the power of pray never ceases or decreases. After we prayed, she drew this picture:

"God I am soooo sad for that man. I hope you take care of him"

My Novice Chef

If you know me, you know that I like to cook. I started cooking with my mom when I was a little girl. Some of my best memories are of the two of us in the kitchen, making brownies, cookies, cakes, candies, and sometimes making dinner. I'm not sure if I usually just helped with the sweet stuff, or if that's just what I remember most because that's what I liked best. I remember how proud I felt that the things we made were always "from scratch". No box mixes allowed in my mom's pantry!! And of course I remember always getting to lick the spoon. Yummmmmm!

Cooking with my own daughter has been one of the things I have looked forward to since I found out I was having a girl. Princess started cooking with me as soon as she could hold a spoon in her hand. She would sit on top of the counter with a bowl between her legs and mix the ingredients. Of course, we always end up with a big mess on the counter and often on the floor, but that's just part of the fun as far as I'm concerned. My goal is to instill in my girls a love for cooking, but even if I can't do that, I hope they will at least have some great memories of us in the kitchen.

About a month ago, Princess and Nana and I saw "The Princess and the Frog". It's a really cute new Disney movie set in New Orleans. The main character, Tiana, loves to cook, so of course Disney put out a cookbook for kids called "Tiana's Cookbook". I saw it in Target and thought it would be a great gift for Princess.

The recipes are all cajun or southern, and the food in the pictures looks delicious! Princess told me that she wanted to cook something from her book this weekend, so tonight we tried out our first recipe, Cal's Chicken and Biscuits.
It was fantastic!! And Princess was a great cook. I cut the onion and celery and measured most of the ingredients, and she did the rest. She stirred everything in the pot over the stove, and she mixed and kneaded and patted and cut out the biscuits all by herself. She really did an excellent job. And she was so proud of herself when we pulled it out of the oven!

She agreed to make it again in a few weeks for our family night dinner with Nana and Pop and Aunt Ash. I know they will be as impressed as we are!

The "Imperfect Mom's Club" Conversation

My best friend, Aimee, started a conversation on her blog about being an imperfect mom, and being okay with that. She asked her readers to submit their own thoughts on the subject and she has posted them as well. This is a subject that I also feel very strongly about because of my own experience with depression and anxiety that ultimately was a result of trying to "do it all" and not having enough grace for myself as a mother and wife. I have learned my lessons on this matter, and I hope that by being honest with myself and my friends, we can all avoid falling into the pit of thinking we are "failing" as mothers, and give ourselves a much deserved break!

Here is my guest post on Aimee's blog:

As I was standing in church today, singing with the congregation, worshipping the Lord, I was overcome with emotion because of the words I was singing.

“Let your mercy fall on me”,
“Our God is mighty to save”,
“Oh, how deeply he loves us”.

All of these phrases bring me back to the depth of my sin and the “deeper still” reaches of His grace. And no other place in my life is it more evident than in my mothering.

The days when I do have the appearance of having it “together” are only because of His grace. And the other, much more frequent days, when it is obvious that I am struggling, I can still give thanks to God for His forgiveness and new mercies every morning. I was struck in church this morning by a powerful lesson.

I remember the days when my oldest was a newborn baby and I would lay her on the changing table. As I looked over her and bent down to kiss her face, I was often overwhelmed with the strength of my love for her, to the point that tears would stream down my face and wash over her. I know that this is something that many new mothers experience, and I had heard others talk about it, but nothing could prepare me for such a powerful emotion, the love that a mother has for her child. At that time, everything I was experiencing in regards to motherhood was good and pure. I couldn’t have imagined how much my sin would mess things up! Looking back, it is a testimony to my need of a Savior.

Not that long ago, I had a very powerful dream in which I met Jesus in the grocery store. He looked like any regular person. He actually looked like a guy that I went to high school with. But, when I saw him and He looked into my eyes, I knew that it was Jesus because I could feel that He was looking into my soul and seeing everything about me and my life. It was like He was staring into my mind as I was shuffling through the files of all of my sins. We stood there looking at each other, Him reading my files and me being overcome with shame. But each time I would think of something I had done that I was ashamed of (usually something related to yelling at my kids, punishing them out of my own anger/selfishness, etc.), Jesus would say,

“I died for that, Amy.”

I would think of something else (not say it, just think it) and He would say,

“I died for that, too.”

I can’t get this dream out of my head. Jesus died for all of those things. No matter how big or small!!

I know in my life, the biggest testimony of God’s hand is in the help that He gives me (and that I desperately need) in raising my children. And if I try to put on a mask that says, “I’m doing alright. I’ve got this mom thing down”, then I am losing out on an opportunity to share that testimony of Christ with others.

I recently moved to a different state and was faced with the challenge of forming a new group of friends. As I was thinking and praying about finding new friends, my biggest desire was that I would find women who are “real”, women who are not ashamed to share their struggles and who freely admit where they fall short. This is so important to me because I know that I need help! I need accountability. I need to be able to talk with other women about the joys and the pitfalls of being a mother. I need to know that they will not judge me, and I want them to feel the same from me. I want to offer help when I am going through a more peaceful period, and I want them to offer me help when I’m struggling. The only way for that kind of a relationship to be formed is with complete honesty.

I will never forget the last time in my life when I tried to do it all on my own, be everything to everybody and keep a smile on my face through it all. That smile ended up in the gutter! And it was several weeks, several therapy sessions, many doses of medication, and many many acts of service and kindness from my “real women” friends before I felt joy again. I hope that I never forget what that felt like. I hope I never put myself there again. I’ve learned my lesson, and I will happily admit my limitations, ask for help when I need it, and ask for forgiveness when I fail, because I know that He died for that.

If you would like to follow the conversation, visit my friend's blog by clicking on the link for "Abundant Life in the Making" to the left.

A Review of our Christmas Festivities (a few weeks late)

We kicked off the Christmas season with our Second Annual Wine and Dessert. Unfortunately, the weather didn't really cooperate and Houston got snow and ice on the day of our party. Most of the guests who were planning on coming decided not to risk the icy roads, so it ended up being a small, intimate, but still very fun evening. I was just so excited when the first guest showed up and I realized that it was not going to be a complete no-show!! Of course we had lots of desserts left over, so the girls and I made little sample plates to pass out to our neighbors the next day.

For our December girls night, we decided to have an "As Seen on TV" gift exchange. It was alot of fun. Some of the gifts were very useful and clever, and some were just funny! Here is everyone with their gizmos and gadgets:

Notice Allison's "Bump-it"

Christmas Eve was spent at Mom and Dad's house with Aunt Ash and Aunt Leigh. Dad made his signature Seafood Spaghetti, which has become a Christmas tradition with my family. And mom made Ma's Ice Cream Ball with Fudge Sauce. Delicious!! We had a great time spending the day with my family.

Christmas morning, the girls woke up to stockings stuffed full and a few presents Santa left by the fire place. As you can see from the pictures, Santa left an easel for Princess with a dry erase board, chalk board, and a paper roll (a big hit!) and he left Pumpkin some pom poms and a little kitchen set. And he gave each girl a sleeping bag. They loved it all, and it was so much fun for mom and dad to watch them enjoy their gifts. After presents, we started a new Christmas tradition by singing Happy Birthday to Jesus and having a blueberry almond coffeecake for breakfast.

After breakfast, we headed over to Mom and Dad Blazer's house for more Christmas festivities. We had a traditional Christmas dinner and more presents. It was great that all the brothers and sisters and cousins were able to be together this year. And we actually got a picture where everyone is looking at the camera and all the kids are smiling!! A Christmas miracle!

All the little cousins

The other Christmas miracle was that Pumpkin gave up her pacifier! She was going to give it to Santa Clause, but she decided not to at the last minute, so the pacifier fairy came and got it a few nights later (actually we just lost it, but don't tell her that). The paci fairy left Pumpkin a very cute little stuffed kitten to replace her paci. It was rough for a couple of nights, but then she got over it, and now she's a big girl (that's what she says anyway). Now we are working on potty training...

My first Mission Trip (first of many, I hope)

Hola Amigos! I'm back from my mission trip and I have to say a HUGE thank you for all your prayers and support. I had a great time and I saw some amazing things. I believe that God was working in Cofradia and I am thrilled that I had the opportunity to experience it!

We stayed 6 nights at a church in Cofradia, Mexico. It was unlike any place I have ever been. Most of the people in that area have a Roman Catholic upbringing, but it is actually a mixture of catholocism and witchcraft. We heard several beliefs about curses and "keeping the evil spirits out". Their word for "priest" is the same word that they use for "healer" or "witchdoctor". The missionaries that have lived in that area for over 12 years have established a Christian church and are starting to really build a congregation. There were about 70-80 adults at church on Sunday, along with lots of kiddos!

During the week, we held a ladies bible study, studying the book of Ruth each morning. In the afternoon, we broke up into groups and had lunch at different houses in the village. We went to three villages, a different one each day. That was my favorite part of the trip, because we got to have some more intimate time with the ladies in their homes, and we ate some really delicious food! After lunch each day, we congregated at one house and all the ladies from that village "hung out" with us for the rest of the afternoon. This was when I presented my talk on first aid and newborn care. I also taught the ladies the Heimlech maneuver. They were very attentive, soaking up every word. I really pray that they remember some of the things I told them and that God uses that information to keep them healthy and maybe save a life one day. (I got word several days ago that a few days after we left, one of the women's sons was choking and the women remembered what I had taught them. She preformed the Heimlech maneuver on her son and he threw up the piece of candy he was choking on. She saved his life!! I am so honored that God used me to do that!) Some of the other ladies on the trip also had things to present during that time, but for most of the time we just talked and laughed together. Much of the trip was about building relationships.

The big project that we did was a drama on the story of Ruth. The ladies in the church all participated in the drama and we presented it to their friends and family at the end of the week. We served hot dogs for dinner, which brought a crowd! They estimate that about 400 people came to watch the drama! It was very exciting and there were two people that accepted Christ at the end of the night.

The thing that was most surprising to me was how open and welcoming the ladies in Cofradia are to us "gringas". The first day that we met them, they gave me hugs and kisses on the cheek, and treated me like an old friend. One woman, Delila, told me before I left that I was like a kindred spirit to her. And the crazy thing was that I felt that too, although I had probably exchanged less than 20 words with her the entire week. God transcends language!

The other surprising thing was how much I want to go back again next year. In the two weeks leading up to this trip, I was very stressed. Christmas had come and gone, and I hadn't put much preparation or mental energy into the trip. I had a long "to-do" list and not very much time. I knew that once I got to Mexico, the trip would probably be great, but I thought it was too much stress and I told myself that I will never do this again! But now I am eating my words. It is my prayer that God allows me to return to Cofradia next January. I plan on corresponding with several of the women that I met throughout this year, and I hope that I get to see them again next year, when we really will greet each other as "old friends".

Shannon leading the ladies in Holy Fit