About Trust

SOOO, today I had this splendid (note sarcasm) idea to take a drive up into the mountains. It was a beautiful day, my husband had been aching to go hiking and I didn't want to be in the house all day. So it was a good idea right.

 

Off we went, or maybe I should say, up we went. The views and the scenery were indescribable. The first hour and half was great. We took lots of pictures, got out and hiked up some hills, took some more pictures, ate some snacks, laughed, took more pictures, put the kids and the dog back in the car and kept going up. 

Then the safety net of the massive pine trees lining the road started to disappear exposing the cliffs we were driving so close to, the road got narrow and very bumpy, and it started snowing! I panicked. I'm not kidding. 

My stress level went through the roof and all the sudden my husband could do nothing right. I was uncomfortable, feeling out of control, agitated, unsafe, and I just wanted to go home. I wanted to be somewhere that looked familiar. I wanted to be able to have my feet on solid ground that was not 9000ft in the air. I wanted to be in control. 

The road was only going higher and the end of the road was no where in sight. Literally, I could see the road and it was still going up and around the mountain. I kept telling my husband you have got to slow down, you are going too fast, slow down. Are you sure this road will lead us out to the highway and back home soon? I don't think it is going to. Did you make sure? Slow down, slow down. Let's just turn around.  

My husband grabbed my hand and said, just trust me Ali. I can't go any slower or we won't make it up the mountain. I'm going as slow as I can. It will take us even longer to turn around and go back the way we came at this point.  Just trust me, I love you.

Sound familiar? Isn't this how it goes in our walk with our Savior at times? Things are going well, you're going on a new journey, you're traveling up the mountain and the sights are beautiful and your laughing and talking and making memories. Then the conditions start to change. The situation gets uncomfortable, scary, and you start to feel out of place and out of control. You start to panic and worry. You forget about the beautiful trees and mountains that are all around and you start to focus on what isn't yours to worry about. You start to question if this will ever end, why you came in the first place, and how continuing could be of any relevance. 

I know that this has been the case in my walk with Christ at many points in my life. Let me tell you what I've learned from it. 

Panicking and worrying are a lot easier then staying calm and trusting. If you shut your mouth long enough you will feel your maker and creator reach over and grab your hand and whisper in your heart, "Just trust me. We can't turn back now, we've come too far. I haven't given you anymore then you can handle. I love you, just trust me."

I'm so thankful that my husband is steadfast in his love for Christ and he spoke the words of truth into my life today. I'm even more thankful that the difference between my over dramatic, freak out today and a relationship with God is that God is always sure of the outcome. 

He knows the future, the past, the present and everything I need, want, and don't have to make it through this life. I'm thankful that he is the Beginning and the End and everything in between. I'm thankful that unlike man he never changes. I'm thankful his love is unconditional and steadfast. I'm thankful that he has not given me the spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. Most of all, I'm thankful he never gives up on me. 

We made it out of the mountains today. (Surprise, I know) In one of the little towns we went through on the way back home we found this super cute, little maw and pop restaurant that served me the best country fried steak that I've ever tasted. Wouldn't you know if I had forced my husband to turn around, I would have missed out on that tasty blessing. I also would have being feeling a lot of disappointment, tension, and guilt on top of my panic. 

God always knows whats best. Always. He is worth trusting no matter the cost. The blessing will out weigh the discomfort every time. And if your lucky enough to be married to a Godly man like me, then you're always blessed! 

Cami's 3rd Birthday

Our day in (mostly) pictures:

Of course we have to start the morning with chocolate milk

 Then we skyped with Mamaw and Pops, so they could see us open the  presents they sent us.

  Thanks Mamaw and Pops!! 

 Then Cami got in trouble. Gunnar thought it would be nice to sit in time out with her. (too sweet) 

 Cake pop for the birthday girl!

 

Off to the bookstore!! 

Cami needed to preform on the stage...

We found a very large basket at a thrift store.

Birthday lunch complete with coloring and lemons. 

Off to the Candy store!

Surprise visit from Ms. Jamie and Mr. Brad and baby triston!!

Skype with some cousins!! We also skyped with Uncle Corey and Aunt Jess but mommy forgot to take a picture.. (sorry)

Bedtime story from one of the new books

What a great 3rd Birthday! 

Clean Eating Turkey Roll

I normally sit down and make a meal plan for the week. This helps me to stay on budget and away from Prozac when it comes to dinner time. Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. While these two faces are cute, they are always hungry. Without fail they always seem to need 800 different things at dinner time, a drink, a diaper change, to go potty, to wash their hands, help with a toy, to watch a movie and of course the dog has to go potty too. You get the idea. Thus I have found the meal plan is key! 

This week I waited until grocery shopping day to make my list. This is always a bad idea! I quickly ran to Pinterest http://pinterest.com/adetamore/ to find some easy recipes. Lucky for me, I happened upon a lot of "clean eating" sites. So, I thought, its healthy I guess. I copied a bunch of recipes and nervously wrote them on my meal plan for the week. We hadn't ever tried anything on the list or anything like it. I crossed my fingers and hoped the meals would taste, at least, okay. This is what my list looks like. 

I like to organize my groceries into categories. I feel like the shopping goes faster that way. We all know the longer we are in the store, the more we buy. 

Anyway, all that to say we had our first meal today. It was Pasta Roll-Ups with Turkey and Spinach and they were was so good! I got the recipe from here http://punchfork.com/recipe/Pasta-Roll-ups-with-Turkey-and-Spinach-Clean-Eating . 

Basically this is what you do.. 
In a large skillet you cook some cut up onions and garlic and add some ground turkey. After your turkey is cooked you add your spices, a 28oz can of whole tomatoes, juice and all. Mix it up and let it simmer, stirring occasionally and trying to break up the tomatoes. It looks like this- 

While that is simmering, cook your pasta noodles, drain and lay them out to cool off. You can also be mixing your "stuffing" together. In a medium bowl you mix one egg, 15oz ricotta cheese, some mozzarella cheese, and spinach. The recipe calls for frozen, but I bought fresh and just chopped it myself. I also used Colby cheese instead of mozzarella because I pulled the mozzarella out and it was molded. Yuk! 

I forgot to take a picture while the mix was still in the bowl. (oops) Make sure you save some of your cheese to put on top. Next you use your fingers to put the mix on the pasta. It makes about 8 rolls. (This is really fun for the kids to help with.) 

Next you put some of your sauce on the bottom of a pan. Roll up your pasta rolls and put them right on top of the sauce like this. 

After you get them all in there, put the rest of your sauce on top of your rolls and then sprinkle the cheese on top of that. 

Cover and bake at 400 for 20mins, uncover and broil for 5min and viola!

The taste is really yummy and it's healthy! The kids even ate it!