Sweet CAKES! Since my last post, I've gotten to see each of you! What a blessing and refreshment each visit was for my soul. I'm thankful for your friendships. Some visits were more eventful than others :).We'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Now for a reunion in C'ville in August anyone?? Speaking of people getting married, Peyton and I have been married 5 years as of May 19th! Since you didn't know us then (and I just recenlty got access to all my photos here's a moment from the ceremony)

Our anniversary was a sweet day to reflect on the abundance of God's grace we've experienced over the past 5 ( both realized and unrealized). Be sure, each of you were mentioned in my prayers of thanksgiving for the ways He has blessed our marriage. After pages and pages in my moleskin of thanksgiving for people, churches, books, experiences, lessons, and gift after gift I finally just said: "Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare." (Ps 40:5) In light of our wife-to-be, I think it would be fun for the married girls to share some thoughts/things you've learned on marriage??? Katherine?

Recipe Share: Zucchini Bacon Lasagna

Well, this poor blog needs some love. So, here I am with a delicious new-to-me recipe that has graced our table several times in the last month! Zucchini Bacon Lasagna. Yum. Here is the link to the recipe: http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dinner/zucchini-bacon-three-cheese-lasagna.html. The only change that I made was instead of fontina cheese, I layered provolone cheese slices before putting the top layer of noodles. Provolone is cheaper and I already had it! So good.

I miss you all! We've been staying busy with getting two bottom teeth, getting into everything, learning to say "bababa" over and over, and reading/chewing/eating everything in sight. Caroline is busy, happy, and so much fun! I've been enjoying our broiling hot spring weather- 80* most days is so weird for march and april!!

Easter is this weekend. I was reading Psalm 66 today. What a wonderful reminder of what the Lord has done for us:

Psalm 66

For the director of music. A song. A psalm.

¹ Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
² Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.
³ Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
⁴ All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”^[a]

⁵ Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds for mankind!
⁶ He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him.
⁷ He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.

⁸ Praise our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
⁹ he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.
¹⁰ For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
¹¹ You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
¹² You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.

¹³ I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfill my vows to you—
¹⁴ vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
¹⁵ I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.

¹⁶ Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
¹⁷ I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
¹⁸ If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
¹⁹ but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.
²⁰ Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!

Thoughts on Lent by Greg Thompson

When God’s people were liberated from slavery in the exodus, their understanding of the world changed. Their whole lives—their food, their worship, their very calendars—were ordered in such a way as to tell that story of redemption to themselves, to their children, and to the world. So they gathered together, week after week, month after month, in feasts, in fasts, in songs, and in tears, to tell the story of God’s liberation of His people from slavery. And they did this not so that God would deliver them—as though by the keeping of these fasts they would find favor with Him—but because He had delivered them. Salvation was theirs, and as a result they ordered their lives in such a way as to tell that story to themselves, to their children, and to the nations who lived as their neighbors. When the earliest Christians came to understand Jesus as the bearer of a new Exodus—not merely from slavery, but from sin and death—it seemed good to them to order their lives and their calendars around the story of salvation. They called it “the sanctification of time.” And so the season of Advent became a time when the church told the story of the coming of the Savior. The season of Epiphany became a time when the church told the story of the earthly ministry of the Savior. The season of Lent became a time when the church told the story of the suffering and death of the Savior. The season of Pentecost became a time when the church told the story of the abiding presence of the Savior by the power of the Holy Spirit. All these seasons were celebrated not in order to secure God’s special favor, but because in Christ, this favor has been freely given. Their purpose is simply to tell the story of God’s salvation in Christ—to ourselves, our children, and to our neighbors—as clearly and intentionally as possible.


Wednesday we begin the season of Lent, the time when—in anticipation of the great celebration of Easter—we tell the story of the suffering and death of Jesus for our sins and the sins of the world. It is a time when we, through intentional and particular reflection on the last weeks of Jesus’ life, tell the story of the gospel.First, it is a time when we tell the story of our need. We tell of our need for forgiveness of sins— and so Lent is a time of confession. We tell of our need for repentance in life—and so Lent is a time of self-denial. We tell of our need for resurrection from the dead—and so Lent is a time of reflection on mortality. Each of these is symbolized powerfully in the imposition of ashes—the humiliating sign of our own broken mortality. And we do this before the eyes of a culture that does not believe itself mortal and doomed to die. And yet we also tell the gospel story of Jesus’ work on our behalf. We tell of His work of forgiveness—and so Lent is a time to remember His willingness to forgive sinners. We tell of His work in enabling our repentance—and so Lent is a time to remember His power in our weakness. We tell of His work of raising the dead—and so Lent is a time to anticipate His resurrection from the dead. And we do this before the eyes of a culture that, even if it believes it needs a Savior, does not believe that it has one. And again, we do these things not to drown in our misery, or to secure God’s blessing through our self-denial, but because in Christ, these blessings are ours this day.


So in celebrating Lent, here is what we are doing: We are simply coming together to tell the story of the gospel and to live that story out before ourselves, our children, and our neighbors—mourning together the sorrows of the world and, in time, celebrating the glory of the resurrection.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY A!

In keeping with C's wonderful bday wish tradition for E last year... here are some great things about Amanda on her bday!

A... Amazing woman of God
M.. May's precious Mommy
A... A contented City dweller
N... Never fails to be cheerful
D... Dependable and Trustworthy
A... All around a wonderful friend!

I am so thankful for Amanda! Happy Birthday! I hope little family treats you especially well today!

Love!

Winter... Not So Bad

Not everyday you can say you had a lovely January, but I was almost sad to turn the calendar to February it was such a refreshing month ( and because the January of this new calendar that my Mom gave me was just especially cute). We were feeling so recharged that we FINALLY tackled our dining room and office and I wanted to share (although still obviously works in progress):
I even got to break it in by hosting a baby shower for my friend Mary Mills ( Katherine, AKA Baby-Shower-Throwing-Parner-In-Crime, I needed you and though so often) but it turned out great and loved debuting my sweet new stuff...
Our office is much less complete but we're loving the cozy it brings to our house just having SOME progress. And now that I have an office space outside the home ( thank you Lord), it can be just for us. I'll update you with the finished project but note the book page project. P got really into this and we selected favorite passages from favorite books and blew them up and framed. It makes us happy. But really I'm writing to update you on some very exciting news ( no, not pregnant, not trying, talk to Peyton or actually don't because he does not respond well to pressure nor do I) WE'RE GETTING A WHOLE FOODS!!!! WF announced via twitter today. It's made my day and since you know me well, you'll not be surprised. Plus, remember the weekly angst the massive Kroger caused me!?! Just this week as I was walking through the ugly parking lot dotted with security guards because I think someone was murdered there once ( seriously), I thought to myself in faith-- there will be a better option for me one day. :) I'm going to start saving now.

PS. Clock just struck midnight here in Mississippi so it's officially Amanda's birthday! Happy Birthday sweet friend! YOU and your friendship bless me.

Much love to each of you!

E

Recipe: Pork Tenderloin with Spices!

I made this recipe a couple of weeks ago and of course tested it out on a night when I was taking a meal to someone. Glad it was so good! I highly recommend! It's originally from here. I didn't have any Tabasco sauce, so I did a couple of drops of Liquid Smoke... so you could probably get pretty creative there and it would still be tasty! I do recommend that you brown in a skillet and then put the meat in a cast iron skillet to cook in the oven. I had to cook it for almost double time because of the cast iron skillet, but it was well worth it!

I served it with mashed red potatoes with rosemary tossed in, as well as brussel sprouts with butter, bread, and salad. Highly recommend for your next dinner party... also makes enough to keep one and take one if you have to make a meal for someone.

Island Spice Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:
For the spice rub:
2 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 pork tenderloins (about 2-2½ lbs. total)
2 tbsp. olive oil

For the glaze:
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tbsp. (2-3 cloves) finely minced garlic
1½ tsp. Tabasco sauce

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Combine the salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir together with a fork to blend. Pat the mixture over the pork tenderloins.

Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Place the tenderloins in the skillet and brown on all sides, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes total. Remove from the heat, leaving the pork in the skillet.

Stir together the brown sugar, garlic and Tabasco in a small bowl until blended. Spread the mixture evenly over the tops of the tenderloins.

Place the skillet in the preheated oven and roast about 20 minutes, until an instant-read themometer inserted in the center of each tenderloin registers 140˚ F. Loosely tent the skillet with foil and let stand 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Brownies from heaven

So, I made brownies today and they were literally better than the box. I've made several different brownie recipes from scratch. Never have I ever found a recipe that I liked better than the good old boxed mix. Until today. And just you wait..... here it is..... they are made from black beans! On a whim, I decided to make these because I wanted brownies, but I'm trying to lose the pregnancy pudge, so black bean brownies sounded better than the regular deliciousness. Well, these were a treat. I even gave one to Joe before I told him they were made with black beans. And he said they were the best brownies I've ever made. SO, there you have it. The verdict.

(found on a gluten-free blog and I did it in the food processor not the blender... doubt it matters)

Lila's Black Bean Brownies
1 can, rinsed and drained black beans
1/2 cup fresh spinach (more or less) (I did almost a cup)
3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Hersheys)
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 tsp ground coffee (I added a tsp of Trader Joe's instant coffee)
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Hersheys)


so first, throw your black beans in the blender and give them a couple pulses just to break them up. then add your oil and spinach. pulse them until blended. we want this smoooooth.





you'll have to scrape down the sides...then pulse again...scrape the sides...then pulse. you want there to be no chunks or as little as possible.
add your vanilla, coffee, salt, sugar, cocoa powder... and i threw in a TBSP of choco chips too for good measure.
pulse until it's all smooth.
then add those eggs.
pulse until well blended. you don't need to over do it here. just blend it all together and then stop.



spray an 8X8 pan with pam or butter the dish. put your runny brownies in there.
throw the choco chips on top


bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
take out and let cool completely for a couple hours. Serve with ice cream and trick everyone!