The best part of the day

Derrick was taking a test at school and had come home late. The house was clean (minus the pile of laundry that still needs to be put away. The kids & I had eaten some ckicken tortilla soup & some really good rolls (I'll put the recipe on here). Then Derrick came home. I like it best when he's here. We went outside to water his precious little babies- his new trees that he planted that he is very diligent to care for. The weather is my favorite. I love spring weather. I could smell the new waterhose he bought. I love the smell and taste of waterhose water- maybe I'm weird. ;) I pushed Samantha on the swing set. She cracks me up! I said, "Do you see our little angel over there?" (a decorative angel we have in our backyard). She swung her head back and looked up at thc sky, "That's not an angel! That's a plane!" Then I pushed Bay & sis for a little longer, we played "duck, duck, goose", read books & their bible outside on the porch swing. Then Derrick shot them in the air like rocket ships while they counted backwards. Now it's one on one time with Isabella...

Recipes

I have made these two recipes this week and Derrick and I really liked them. They will be ones that I will actually remake. So much of the time I just cook a recipe once and only a few become "the favorites" that are made a lot. I have also gotten tired of having salad every night to get a lot of healthy raw veggies in so have been on a big smoothie kick with a big bag of frozen strawberries, pecans, dates, a dash of maple syrup, frozen bananas, 2 cups of water, parsley (you can't taste it much with the berries), and spirulina. I just serve one of those with dinner instead of salad. They are really good and we all love them.

Chicken Parmesan
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp Italian seasoning
4 chicken breast halves
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 (9oz.) linguine
1 3/4 cup marinara
Beat egg lightly in dish. Mix parmesan, crumbs, & Italian seasoning. Dip chicken in egg, then cheese, turning to coat. Heat oil on med. high. Add chicken. Cook 6 min. on each side: top with mozzarella, cover. Heat to low until cheese melts. Put on linguine. Top with chicken & marinara.

Enchilada lasagna
This one is different and also hot (could leave off the jalepenos though). I had to make something else for the kids!
Enchilada lasagna
1 TBS oil
1/3 cup onion
10 oz. can enchilada sauce
tsp cumin
12.5 can of chicken ( I used a baked chicken breast and cut it up)
4 (8 in.) tortillas (I used whole wheat tortillas)
1 cup pepperjack
1 cup cheddar (I used all pepperjack)
1/3 cup jalepeno chiles
1 (7 oz.) chopped chiles
sour cream
In saucepan, melt oil over med. Add onion. Cook 3-5 min. Stirring. Reserve 1/4 cup enchilada sauce; add remaining sauce to onion. Stir in cumin & chicken. Reduce to med. low. Simmer 5 min. Grease 10 in. skillet with olive oil spray (or whatever). Heat over low. 1 tortilla in skillet top with pepperjack & 2nd tortilla. Spread chicken mixture over tortilla; top with 3rd tortilla. Sprinkle with cheddar; top with jalepenos & chiles. 4th tortilla over chiles. 1/4 reserved sauce on top. Cover skillet. Cook over low 18-20 min. I also put cilantro on top.

Also, I tried a recipe with orange-banana relish
You can put this over any white baked fish. You just chop up an orange, a couple of bananas, add a dash of kosher salt, chopped cilantro, and ground coriander and put it on top of baked fish. I thought it really gave the fish flavor.

sheep farm

We went to the sheep farm in Claremore the other day! We love that place! It's called Shepherd's Cross. I had to get a precious purse (purple of course!) made of sheep's wool. I think Bella will like the place better next year! We had a picnic with our friends and the cousins! I think Bay's favorite part was the cat! I was like, "We could have just stayed at home for that!" Samantha liked the donkeys.

slushies

D brought us all slushies when he came home from work! Maybe we should get sick more often! Actually, I've still had no sign of it yet but if I don't get it, I must have a stellar immune system! I have been very diligent about washing my hands but they have still found many ways to send their germs my way!

Bay's latest profession

Now he's decided he wants to be a man who "takes pictures of sharks under the water!" This may be due to the new shark book his g-ma bobber got him!

Snow at the Hildebrant's today

Yes! Snow in the springtime! I put a whole bunch of dish soap in the kids bath tonight and they had a blast! It was piled high! We pretended like it was snow. As for my springcleaning, maybe it will be done by the time the real snow gets here!

Today

I've got some sick girls on my hands! Bailey has passed it on to them. Sam was pretty sick and slept in our bed last night but she woke up & did school this morning (she was even our flag holder). We had gotten butterfly larvae in the mail and noticed that our catepillars had made their crystallis' so we put them in their mesh net so we can watch them come out as new creations. We talked about how when someone belongs to God, they become a new creation and God gives them a new heart just like the catepillar changes into a beautiful butterfly. Just before we finished with school, she was back to being puny and said she was cold & she said she "didn't want to talk right now." Usually nothing gets Samantha down for long but she got hit pretty hard this time. She keeps running a high fever and we're trying to keep that under control. Her daddy is going to bring her home a slushie tonight. She says she wants a pink one. She won't let me leave her side (which is the only sweet part of them being sick). But, you can imagine what the house looks like! I can't help but fear I will get it everytime she sneezes or coughs on me or everytime Isabella slobbers on me! For awhile both of the girls were sleeping and I felt like Bay was an only child again. We got to have some good one on one time together and we made pancakes for lunch, I know it doesn't sound very "lunchy" does it? But, we didn't want leftovers & they sounded good to us. Plus, I wanted some chocolate Nutella on them! We made up a song while they were cooking and neither one of us could get it out of our heads.

Battle of the mind

Nothing helps me to battle impure thoughts better than this verse, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things." Philippians 4:8 I love this verse because when I am thinking about things I shouldn't be I go, "Oh, that's not lovely. That's not pure! That's not praiseworthy!" It helps me to shut damaging thoughts down.

Her brownies won my heart!

I knew I loved my mother-in-law before I ever met her. Why? Because she sent some brownies with Derrick for me. They were the best too! They had marshmallows in them. That was just the beginning of knowing her kindness! Derrick is always commenting on the fruits of the spirit in her life! "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

Wild noodles

Tonight we had chicken parmesan with linguine for dinner. Bay said, "My noodles are being wild so I'm going to have to eat them with my hands!" I'm guessing he associates the word "wild" with something moving very vigorously as I'm always telling him to stop being wild. Some of Bay's wild moments (above).

Chik-Fil-A cows mooove away!

Yesterday we went to Chik-Fil-A with my grandma. A cow was there. We have tried to tell Samantha that they are just "men in costumes." The last time the cows were there Samantha was absolutely terrified. She could barely eat her ice cream cone so you know that's bad! They would try to come to our table and she would scream and send them the other direction. Her little eyes would constantly dart around looking for them and she had trouble finding peace to eat her ice cream. I had to take Bailey over to them to see them and he was hugging them. Well, this time she thought she would be brave. After they pottied we walked over by the cow. The other kids were touching and talking to the cow. Samantha stood close by me. "Do you want to talk to the cow?" "No." Bailey was petting him and she just wanted to get away from him. We had to walk past him to get to our table. I felt her body tremble and then she started crying! She is this way with any kind of mascot!

Not a kisser man- a hugger man!

The picture is of him, a former kisser-man! The other day Samantha kissed Bailey. I don't know where he heard this or how he decided this but he said, "Don't do that! I'm not a kisser-man! I'm a hugger-man!" I knew that he no longer liked even his own momma to kiss him on the lips but I was delighted to hear he still considers himself a hugger-man! He's actually very affectionate but does not tolerate kisses! Oh, or spit bathes! My mom used to do that too! Yuuuuck! But, now look at me!

Mom knows best! Who knew Garth would be there?

When Bay was a baby my mom, sister-in-law, Dana, and I were going to go shopping at Target. Bay had been playing (outside I'm sure) and his feet were really dirty. His face had food on it. My mom said, "You better clean that baby up and wash his feet!" I said, "He can go out looking like this in public if he wants to!" I did wipe his face off. I don't know if I forgot to clean his feet or what. We got to Target and he was sitting in his car seat with his dirty feet. Oh, well, it' s not like we would run into anybody is it? I heard my mom say, "That man looks just like Garth Brooks!" Dana said, "I thought so too!" I said, "What? Where?" They pointed me in the way he went. I said, "Yeah, right! I'm going to go see!" I pushed my cart around an aisle looking for this "Garth look-alike." I turned the corner. I saw the man right in front of me. In fact we almost ran into each other. I stumbled, "Are you...Or do you just look like..." (I knew). He said, with a real country drall, "Hi! I'm Garth Brooks!" and reached his hand out to shake mine. "Hi." I remembered Bay's dirty feet. He directed his attention to the baby. "Who's this?" I knew it would be obvious so I withheld from grabbing both feet and just grabbed one. "This is Bailey!" I'm searching the gift cards in front of me thinking, "Should I grab one of those and have him sign it or should I leave it alone?" I had never run into anyone famous much other than the time I met Flea standing BEHIND (unbeknowingstly being in the wrong VIP line with mom, Derrick, & the kids-actually that was after this incident! Another story entirely!) me to get into an L.A. Lakers game and I couldn't even think of his name! Anyway, I had a little small talk with Garth about how my husband saw him and Trisha at Monterey's & all. He said, "Tell your husband I said, "Hey!" He was really friendly. Don't you know everytime you're just running to the store and you or the kids look awful (or maybe the kids are acting crazy?),you will run into somebody you know?! I went back to Dana and mom, "Of all days, I did not wash this baby's feet..." What did mom say,"I told you..."

If it were "kosher," I'd wear a muzzle!

I was talking to someone yesterday about how frustrating it is to walk away from conversations where we've stuck our foot in our mouth. I said, "I know! I wish I could just wear a muzzle all the time!" Much of the time when I'm walking away from the kid's bedrooms at naptime or bedtime, they yell, "Momma, eat me!" We play this game where I have to eat their eyes so they can't see anything when they are supposed to be sleeping, eat their nose so they can't smell anything that would wake them up, eat their mouths so they won't talk while they're supposed to be sleeping, eat their ears so they won't hear anything that will wake them up... at the end of this I "zip" their mouths closed to insure they won't talk. Maybe I should do this to myself before I go anywhere! I so desire to be a gentle and quiet spirit and to teach Samantha. She says the verse, "A gentle and quiet spirit is precious in the sight of the Lord." I am teaching her Proverbs 31:10-31 and Derrick is teaching Bay Proverbs 3.

A nice morning

It is so nice to have Derrick back home. We got pizza last week and Derrick said he was envious. I said, "Don't worry, it's not the same without you!" And it's not. It has been so nice just hanging out as a family. I especially loved that it was a rainy day! Last night we went and saw our friends, the Smoliak's, new baby boy. He is just precious! Early this morning Bay and Sam came running together (one of them must have woken the other one up) and got in bed with us. At one point all of us, including Bell, were together in our queen size bed. Maybe one day we'll have that king size bed we need!

The Cross Centered LIfe

Just wanted to throw this out there. I have been reading The Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney. It is really good! It has reminded me of what's truly important. I get so caught up in the day to day stuff, the things I need to accomplish and searching for new answers (from Godly books) to frustrations that I have. But it seems everything I have put my hand to lately has been surrounded with the same message lately, "Just be focused on your relationship with God first." "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligenly to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." Deuteronomy 6:5-7. I am so worried about teaching my children God's word but I am being reminded that I can only teach others what is impressed upon my own heart. I will only teach them what my heart is being filled up with (And if I teach them things I am not personally doing, they will see through the hypocrisy). Will my words be filled with Christ's love if I am neglecting to spend time with Him? What about my actions? How will they know what He is like? I will write some of the things that have really stirred me up:
"Perhaps the purpose of this book is to restate the obvious, yet oft-neglected, truth of the gospel, to bring it before you one more time. On the other hand, maybe you're thinking, "I already know this truth- I've known it for years." That's good, but let me ask you this:
Is your life cross centered? The symptoms that arise from not being cross centered are easy to spot. Do any of these describe you?
You often lack joy.
You're not consistently growing in spiritual maturity.
Your love for God lacks passion.
You're always looking for some new technique, some "new truth" or new experience that will pull all the pieces of your faith together."
"You need to rediscover the truth that first saved you. The key to joy, to growth, to passion isn't hiding from you. It's right before your eyes. It's the gospel."
"It's important to ask honestly what we're currently building our lives around. Before we can talk about how to live a cross centered life, we have to identify what our life is centered on right now. We're all living lives centered on something. But is it the right thing? So think about this for a moment. What is the main thing in your life? Let me put it another way. What are you most passionate about? What do you think about when you can think about whatever you want? What do you love to talk about? What defines you?"
"Or maybe your main thing is something that's clearly others centered. Maybe it's your ministry, your family. Maybe it's homeschooling, or a cause like the prolife movement. Good things, all, but not the one thing God says should be the most important-the matter of first importance. "I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you," Paul wrote. "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins" (1 Corinthians 15:1, 3). First importance. The Bible tells us that, while there are many different callings and many possible areas of service in the kingdom of God, one transcedent truth should define our lives. One simple truth should motivate our work and affect every part of who we are. Christ died for our sins. If there's anything in life we should be passionate about, it's the gospel. And I don't mean passionate only about sharing it with others. I mean passionate in thinking about it, dwelling on it, rejoicing in it, allowing it to color the way we look at the world. Only one thing can be of first importance to each of us. And only the gospel ought to be."
Okay, I know that's a lot but for anyone who stuck with it, I'm also reading Instructing a Child's Heart as well (by Tedd Tripp, author of Shepherding a Child's Heart & his wife) and it is awesome!

Missin' dad

It's just the kids & me. Derrick is in Florida for a couple of weeks taking care of my father-in-law who got a liver transplant. All is going well with that. We miss him but are happy he is taking good care of his dad. He is cooking for him, getting him to his dr. appointments,etc. The kids are being very faithful to pray for both of them. Of course, Bay thought when we dropped him off at the airport he was just going to stay there for awhile! ;) As if he is just in the building very near our house and not traveling far away! Last night my mom came and took the kids to a Driller's game. They had a blast! Those cats were wiiiild when they came home. They, of course, had Dippin' dots, cotton candy, peanuts, popcorn...Sometimes I wish I could be them for a day! It was just Bel & me and the house was quiet and it was nice to get some things done.

Our ambitious little man

First, he wanted to make chicken nuggets and french fries and be a farmer and then go to college. Now he wants to be a "juggle man!"