30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 14

Today I am thankful for orphan care.

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you already know that I am quite passionate about adoption and orphan care.

In fact, the month of November is Orphan Care Awareness month.

Last night, Jason and I were invited to attend a banquet for Lifeline Children's Services. Throughout the evening I was constantly reminded why orphan care and adoption is so important.

So today, and everyday, let us be thankful for adoptive families, foster families, orphan care volunteers and workers, and ministries such as Lifeline and Alabama Baptist Children's Homes who provide hope to the fatherless.

I've blogged to you...
Now you can blogbacktome.

Scatterbrained

Good morning friends! I just want to warn you that I'm probably going to be a little bit all over the place today. I have a couple of things I'd like to say, but none of them really have a direct focus.

So, here we go...

Eating Better

Remember a few weeks ago when I went to the doctor, got blood work done, and he put me on a diet? Well, I told you that I'd share that plan with you. I think it is time.

Here are the basics:

This is the breakout of what I am allowed to eat each day.

According to the plan that the doctor gave me, I try to disperse between my calories, carbs, fats, and proteins like this -

Breakfast

• Lots of protein (eggs of some sort, which also has some fat in it)
• Little bit of carbs (fruit, yogurt, or skim milk)

For example, this is a pretty normal breakfast for me: 1-2 boiled eggs, a glass of skim milk, and coffee with a little bit of creamer and some Stevia.Usually if I eat two boiled eggs, I forgo the milk, but I was hungry this morning.

Lunch

• Lots of protein (usually from 99% fat free turkey of some sort)
• Little bit of carbs (fruit, yogurt, cheese)
• Green vegetable (salad, green beans, celery, etc.)

Here's another example - this is my lunch for today:

Dinner

• Lots of protein (lean chicken, lower fat ground turkey, grilled fish, or a very extra lean red meat)
• Lots of veggies
• Just a few carbs (sauces, cheese, MAYBE a piece of whole wheat bread, MAYBE a tiny bit of whole wheat pasta, fruit)
• Fats (just in random foods that I'm already eating)

Here's an example of a good dinner from a couple of weeks ago (dinners have been hard for me lately):

Usually, I eat a snack either in the morning or the afternoon. It's usually another Dannon Light & Fit yogurt, or sometimes a 0% Greek Yogurt with a dash of cinnamon.

Out to Eat

Jason and I have been SUPER busy lately. Lots of traveling, lots of friends/family in town. We have been eating out a whole lot, and I honestly don't know when that will change. I've had to really discipline myself in what I order though. Jason's tendency is to find something he likes on a menu and sticks with it. My nature is to try everything on a menu at least once. I've got to hand it to him, in this scenario, he's right. It's better to stick with items that you know will be healthier choices rather than jump around and try new things just for the sake of eating something new.

Remember that if you're going out to eat, you don't have to get off  your healthy lifestyle plan. Lean steaks are good to order with a veggie on the side. Fish is a great "night out" option as well. Say no to the rolls that are brought to the table, and always opt for a vinaigrette dressing on the side and steamed/grilled veggies as your side dish.

Here's my go-to meals for "out to eat" meals:

Japanese: Forgo the rice and add double veggies
Mexican: Fajita, no tortillas
Thai: Salad; chicken with brown rice (only eat half of the rice serving)
Italian: Salad?
BBQ: Salad or veggie sampler; sandwich with sauce and bun on the side
American chain restaurant (like Chili's): Fajita, fish, grilled chicken (look for their lower calorie options, usually they're marked)
Greek: Chicken with salad (dressing on side) and veggies

Fajita from Moe's Southwest Grill

Rock the Block 

Yesterday was day #2 of Rock the Block. Jason and I were in charge of games and we had a blast. Jason was Simon and kept a pretty consistent game of Simon says going on throughout all of the games (I'm not really sure how he did that, but it happened).

We played one game called "Mummy" and I got completely wrapped in toilet paper. I got a little bit claustrophobic, but it was for the greater good, so I toughed it out.

Tonight, Jason and I are in charge of the lesson. We are teaching on Romans 3:11 and John 1:29. We would seriously appreciate all of your prayers. We hope that the kid's (and hopefully parents) lives are changed through this week of Rock the Block.

4 Day Meals

As I said yesterday, Sunday Jason and I went grocery shopping. I bought enough food for dinner for four days. Since we have Rock the Block this week, I decided that we needed some easy-to-reheat meals for Sunday-Wednesday. So far, it's worked out well.

For Sunday/Tuesday I made BBQ Chicken Biscuits and Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole was (is) on the menu for Monday/Wednesday.


Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole:
Ingredients:

• 5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
• 1 cup fat-free sour cream
• 2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup (98% fat free)
• 2 cups crushed Reduced-fat Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls of crackers)
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 T poppy seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Saute raw chicken breasts with salt and pepper until done. Let chicken cool slightly and place cubed chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish.
3. Stir together the condensed soup and sour cream. Pour over the chicken.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce.
5. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve plain or over rice

Camp of Champions

Tomorrow Jason and I are headed to Shocco Springs for the Alabama Baptist Children's Homes Camp of Champions. Jason will be shooting a video and I'll be helping out with some general activities as well as shooting so photos.

We are so excited about getting to do this together. Our dream is to someday built a client base to where we can do this type of thing full-time to make a living. We love the ministry that the Children's Homes has and we love being a part of orphan care to advance the Kingdom.


Weekend Wedding

On Friday, Jason and I will head to North Carolina. Jason will be a groomsmen in a friend's wedding. We are so excited to celebrate this special day with our friends Cameron and Sarah, and we are praying for them as they begin their marriage. We are also very excited to have a little mini-vacay this weekend to a place that we've never been together! I'm hoping that Jason will love it so much that we can go back next year (fingers crossed).

That being said, this could be my last rambling for the week. I'm sure that I'll have access to internet, but I'm going to just enjoy myself and I'll post about all of our upcoming weekend activities next week. I'm so excited for these FUN TIMES!

"no one understands; no one seeks for God." - Romans 3:11

"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" - John 1:29

A Picture-sque Weekend

Happy Monday everyone!

I'm actually really sad that the weekend is over. I took a half vacation day on Friday and I literally had the best weekend I've had in months.

Here's the weekend-in-review-via-pictures (I like combining words today):

Friday Jason and I went to see one of my best friends graduate from Samford's nursing school. I am so proud of her and it was also great to see my Little (little sister in Phi Mu)!

Yay MK!!!!

After graduation, Jason and I drove to Decatur, AL to see our friends Mark and Lindsay. Lindsay was on the Casting Crowns tour opening for the band while Mark, her husband, was also on the tour as an assistant tour manager. Jason and I became friends with them in the fall and we were excited to get to see Lindsay play at Soul Stock.

Lindsay McCaul - and yes, you should go buy her album, right now!

The event was sponsored by Show Hope, which is an organization that helps people adopt from overseas by raising money for grants and also raising awareness about orphan care. If you've ready my blog at all...you should know that I was totally excited about going to a Show Hope sponsored event (I cried like three times while we were there).

One of the cool things that is connected with Show Hope is called the Red Bus Project. It's literally a big red bus that goes around to college campuses and it's set up like a thrift store on the inside. It's super awesome and if you ever see this thing, you should definitely check it out!

After Lindsay played, Steven Curtis Chapman's sons played. I'd heard a lot about their band, Caleb, but I'd never seen them live before. They were great and Jason and I had a great time relaxing outside listening to their music.

After Caleb, there was a speaker from Show Hope who talked a lot about adoption and what the organization does. Jason and I listened for a little while, but then we got super hungry so we hit up the booth that was selling Chick-fil-A sandwiches. YUM! Jason also bought us matching-ish Show Hope t-shirts! Thanks Jason!

I promise the top shirt (Jason's) is blue, not pink.
The editing made both of these shirts look super girly.

The headliner for Soul Stock was Steven Curtis Chapman. He and his wife started Show Hope after adopting their three little girls from China about 12 years ago. It was only appropriate that that headlined for the first Show Hope sponsored event, right? I definitely re-lived ages 6-9 since he played a lot of his older music.

I loved everything about the event (except the bugs).

Saturday morning I woke up early, per my usual weekend routine. I waited to get a text from Jason saying that he was awake. We were able to go for a walk and do some work around his apartment and mine. I made us some lunch to save money. I hadn't been to the grocery store yet, so I literally threw together random things for myself, but it ended up being pretty good!

I had Italian seasoned green beans with shrimp and a baked sweet potato on the side.

Later that evening, Jason and I went to Chili's for dinner. I had the chicken fajitas with no sides while he went for the chicken crispers with corn on the cob and fries. We had a coupon for a free molten lava cake (hello splurge day), so we split that for dessert. It was good, but not sure if it was worth the calories (that sounds like crazy talk coming out of my mouth, but it's the truth...my how things have changed). Jason made me promise I'd never tell him how many calories are in that cake.

Saturday lunch, Sunday lunch, Saturday dinner

After Chili's we used another coupon and saw What to Expect when you're Expecting at the Edge Theater. It cost $6 for both of us to see a movie and for Jason to get popcorn. Now that's what I call a cheap date :)

The movie was actually really funny...and surprisingly clean. It has some language in it, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Sunday was the greatest day of all. We didn't do a whole lot, but it was great for some reason! I was actually able to sleep in (which is unusual for me), and then Jason and I went for another walk. After our walk, we made lunch and caught up on some TV shows. After TV/lunch time, we went to the pool for the first time this season (it was Jason's first time ever).

When we walked up to the pool, there was a man laying on a float in a teal speedo. Last year, my mom came up to stay with me on Memorial Day weekend and this same man was in the back of my apartment (I guess his backs up to mine) doing yoga in his chair. Well, yesterday Jason decided that it was too hot  to just sit in the chair, so he got in the pool (Jason, not speedo man...he was already lounging on his float). Speedo man started talking poor Jason's ears off. Turns out...he's from Miami and he's an alligator wrangler.

I couldn't help it. I had to take a picture.

I texted my mom while Jason was talking to the man and she said, "Well, it's official. Jason will literally talk to anyone!" So much truth.

After about an hour at the pool, we had to go back to my apartment to wait on the guy from Charter to come fix my internet...again. After he left, it was time to head to church.

Church was great, dinner was get (yummy yummy Thai food), and then we went to Jason's apartment to work on getting the pedestals off of our new washer and dryer.

They're so dusty, which wasn't a big deal. The pedestal came off of the dryer super easy. But the washer was a whole different story.

After about 45 minutes of trying to get the bolts out, Jason decided we'd go buy a better tool later. Poor guy, in the middle of all of that, he killed at least two spiders (probably more) and had to clean off all kinds of bugs and nasty stuff that we apparently purchased with the washer.

Overall, great weekend. I honestly didn't want it to end. But next week is a long weekend (WHOOHOO!!!) and I'm sure it will be great as well!

Enough of the rambling from me...what did YOU do this weekend?

Who's Ready for the Weekend?

First of all, before we get into my eats of the day and other random activities, I have a slight public service announcement.

As you all know, I'm very passionate about orphan care, adoption, and foster care. May is National Foster Care Month.

This Saturday, May 12th, there will be a 5K walk at Veteran's Park in Hoover. I'll be there taking pictures and just hanging out from 9:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. The walk is only $30. Come hang out for a good cause! If you'd like more information, go to the website. Here is some more information here as well:

Yesterday morning I wasn't super hungry. I just kept with the usual coffee until about 10:00. Then I decided I was getting a bit hungry. I've been waiting for the perfect morning to make "Oats in a Jar" (idea from Itty Bits...I'm telling you, she's my fav).

Oats in a Jar:
Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. (about) Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter (creamy)
• 1/2 c. Quaker multigrain hot cereal
• 1 c. water
• Sweetener to taste 

Directions

1. When your peanut butter jar is almost empty (about 2 tbsp. left), set it aside and wait until breakfast.
2. Pour oats (or hot cereal) in a regular bowl and add water. Heat for 2 minutes or according to the directions given. 
3. When oats are cooked, add in sweetener to taste. Stir well.
4. Pour oats directly into peanut butter jar and mix well. 
5. Let cool and thicken up...and then it's time to enjoy!

Yesterday was quite busy at work (which is why I didn't have time to post this yesterday). It was nice to be super busy though. The pace of the day also carried over into the night. 

When I got home, Jason made himself a little snack-a-roo and I made myself "brinner" (breakfast for dinner). I truly love breakfast foods.

I made eggs (using Egg Beaters egg whites), whole wheat cinnamon and Stevia toast, and a banana/blueberry smoothie.

Here is the smoothie recipe -

Banana/Blueberry Smoothie:
Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/2 c. fresh blueberries
• 1 c. Silk unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• Ice

Directions

1. Pour milk into the blender
2. Cut up banana and add to blender
3. Pour in blueberries to the blender
4. Add ice.
5. Blend well.

After dinner, Jason had to do a video shoot at Samford. I decided to tag along. I know I only graduated a year ago, but I just felt old sitting there surrounded by all of the college students. Oh well...

When we left Samford we headed to meet up with some of my friends from college (it was kind of ironic since we'd just been on campus). One of my friends was in town from Texas to visit her fiance. I was happy to see everyone. Unfortunate, Jason and I both had to be up early this morning, so we were the lame ones who left early. 

I think that about sums up yesterday. Today is Friday...which means splurge day!!!!  I believe my sweet man is taking me on a date tonight :)

Happy Friday everyone!

Let the weekend ramblings begin.

Serving the Father to the Fatherless - Part One

Disclaimer: I've been thinking about writing this post for a long time so I have a lot to say about this topic and I'm going to have to write it in sections.

I have had a heart for orphans for a really long time.  In fact, I can remember talking to a friend in Starbucks the summer in between high school and college about how someday I would love to adopt.  That summer I was a lost 18-year-old who didn't really know what I wanted out of life.  Almost daily I was faced with the question of what I wanted; did I want Jesus or did I want the pleasures the world had to offer me?  About 90% of the time, I chose the world because it just seemed a lot easier and more comfortable.  But yet, I had this longing to be a mother to a child who did not have a mother, and I had this desire to adopt and care for a child that was not my own.  This was a very biblical picture of grace for someone who didn't even crack open her bible open other than maybe on Sunday and maybe the week of Christmas and Easter.

Fast forward two years...

June 9, 2009 I finally committed my life to Christ.  I finally decided to quit running, let go, die to myself, and live my life for Jesus. I was about to embark on my junior year of college and I was working over 40 hours a week while I was at home for the summer.  One job was an internship that was great experience, but I didn't enjoy it like I wanted to, and the other was in the restaurant industry.  I was saving up to study abroad for a few weeks over JanTerm, so basically everything I made went into savings, and by the end of the summer I was still short a few hundred dollars.  When I returned to Samford for my junior year, I began searching for another internship.  This time I wanted something totally different from what I'd done over the summer.  I wanted to work for a nonprofit.  I wanted to write.  I wanted to make a difference in someones life.  BUT, I needed to make money to for JanTerm.  So I applied for a paid internship at the Alabama Baptist Children's Homes...what a blessing that turned out to be.

Working for the Children's Homes, or ABCH, opened my eyes to the need for people to step up and become a foster parent.  There is such a need, in Alabama, in Jefferson County, and in Birmingham for people just to love kids who don't have anyone else.  Before I worked at ABCH, I knew that there were kids out there who needed a roof over their head, someone to love them and care for them, and someone to share Jesus' love with them, but it wasn't very real to me; it wasn't tangible.  Interning at the Children's Homes made such an impact on my life.  I could literally see that there are children out there who need love, care, attention, and salvation.

I was blessed to be able to write stories about how God had used the Children's Homes to lift someone out of their darkest days (see Susan's Homecoming).  I was able to write about how people were giving of their money and of their life for this cause (see Edith Snider, Lifelong Ambassador). I spoke with people about how this ministry has provided hope for them and even created an interest for the next generation (see LifePrints Cultivates Interest, Appreciation in Heart of Young Fan and Grace Through Restitution) and most importantly how people had come to know Christ through this ministry (see Salvation Story). Since beginning my internship in the Fall of 2009, I have been working pretty consistently with the Children's Homes.

In June of this year I was honored to attend Camp of Champions, which is the annual camp that ABCH holds for all of the kids in care.  ABCH employees put on a VBS-ish curriculum for a couple of days while house parents and foster parents meet.  They also get to swim, play paintball, watch movies, and just have fun together and share in the community of Christ that has been fostered through this ministry.  My job was to take pictures that will be a lifelong reminder of God's sovereignty for these families and the ABCH ministry(see photos here and read Children’s Homes ministers to children, parents through Camp of Champions).  I was humbled to witness the amount of love that God has provided to these children.

As I got into my car to drive back to Birmingham from camp, I was reignited with this longing to provide that same love to a child, or children, someday.  I've been given so much, and not just material possessions and financial stability.  I've been given love, grace, forgiveness, and a multitude of joy.  I have to share it.  We, God's church, have to share it.