Stories from Alisa's childhood

    This is a story about Alisa, my oldest sister. When she was little she picked up a brick it. It was not a red brick it was a big grey one. She accidentally dropped it on her toe and hurt her toe really bad.  Her toe got big and swolled.  It also turned blue and it hurt her. I think she even lost her toenail.
     That's one story about Alisa.  Another is that when Alisa was about five years old she went to look at our horse that we had.  I don't remember his name but Alisa must of got behind it and it's never good to get behind a horse because they kick back and they must they kicked her and she must've flown through the air, far from the horse because and lost consciousness or got the wind knocked out of her (that means that you're not breathing)  My mom and dad found her laying on the floor.  The called an ambulance.  The parametic, the people who come in the ambulance lifted up her shirt and she had a horseshoe print on her chest.  They helped her get better and she was fine but I don't think she ever walked behind the horse again. 
      The last story about Alisa takes place in my grandmas pool.  We sent our summers at my grandma's house.  We loved swimming in her pool.  We especially liked our dad to throw us up in the air because it was fun to be thrown up in the air and then fall into the water and make a big splash.  Well one time my dad, that is your grandpa, threw Alisa high up in the air but when she landed she landed on this little floaty thing that we used to put the chlorine in.  It was a hard container and it hit her in the face, the eyebrow to be exact.  There was a lot of blood and she cried.  From then on my dad was very careful to take out the floating chlorine container before throwing us in the pool.  To this day Alisa has scar on her eyebrown from where she hit that clorine container.
- told to Luna by Mommy

I can't do this alone

My mission field is my home and my family. 
Do this job well. 
A marriage the way God intented. 
Break the cycle of divorce that my husband and I grew up with.
We cannot achieve this without Jesus.
I don't want my kids searching for love in the wrong places. 

All these thoughts rush to me head when I hear the song "Lead Me" by Santus Real.  But the first time I heard this song I thought, "if only my husband could hear it". However after listening to it many times I started applying it to myself.  I am the leader in our home too.  I am the mom.  I am teaching them and guiding them. Then yesterday I heard it again in the car and the words were like what I wanted to say to God.  "give me the strength to be everything I'm called to be"

LEAD ME by Sanctus Real

I look around and see my wonderful life

Almost perfect from the outside

In picture frames, I see my beautiful wife

Always smiling, but on the inside

Oh, I can hear her saying

Lead me with strong hands

Stand up when I can't

Don't leave me hungry for love

Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight

That I'm still the love of your life

I know we call this our home

But I still feel alone

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes

They're just children from the outside

I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine

They're independent, but on the inside

Oh, I can hear them saying

Lead me with strong hands

Stand up when I can't

Don't leave me hungry for love

Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight

That I'm still the love of your life

I know we call this our home

But I still feel alone

So Father, give me the strength

To be everything I'm called to be

Oh Father, show me the way

To lead them

Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands

To stand up when they can't

Don't want to leave them hungry for love

Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight

And give them the best of my life

So we can call this our home

Lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

Answered Prayers

My Dad, being goffy.  My two older sisters, enjoying his company

Today I am so thankful. The Lord is so quick to answer my prayers.

1-I was discouraged and hopeless. I prayed. My father called and was very positive and uplifting. We had a great conversation. Also it just warmed my heart to see my own father being used by God. I am so thankful he has a relationship with the Lord.  Although the Lord can use anyone not just people who are in close relationship to him for some reason I think my father being able to be respond to my need through God has something to do with his growing relationship with the Lord.

2-My dear girlfriend who is suffering terribly. I have been praying for her daily for weeks. She is in immense emotional pain. I asked if the Lord could relieve her of even a small fraction of her pain. Then last night at 4:30AM she called and shared with me. We talked for 2 hours. Just by being available and listening she said she felt better. I am so grateful that the Lord has removed some of her pain. I promised her I would not share her story, so her name and issues will remain anonymous.
3-Future answered prayer: I get excited thinking about this. To see my dear girlfriend completely healed, restored, and living a godly life. I am praying she will know and feel how much God loves her.

What is God's will for me?

                                                       What is my life dream?
        I have a full time job.  I work Monday thru Friday from 9am-3pm. It is easy. The hours are good and the company is highly sought at by many. It has nice benifits and pay.  My boss is cool and so are the people I work with. 
       Despite all those things I don't really like it. It is not my calling.  It doesn't fullfill me.  It does not satisfy me.  I've spent a long time wondering and praying what is it that I am suppose to be.  I am constantly praying, "Lord what is your will for me?"  "What profession should I pursue?  I don't feel that my true talents lay in being a mom, so that's off the list.  I have a wonderful husband, but I don't think my calling is a homemaker.  God knows how much I stuggle with keeping the house clean and organized.  Rather than helping my husband, I feel I often make more work for my husband.  Just a few weeks ago I sent him and the kids to our friend's child's 1st birthday.  I had the present ready and sent me husband on his way, feeling proud of myself for being so organized.  My husband called me 20 minutes later.  He made it on time all right.  He was a week early!
     Especially after quitting Jazzercise (it's been 4 months now)I have been wondering what is my thing.  Sometimes I am jelous of those people who always new what they wanted to be when they grow up.  I never knew.  I new knew what career I wanted, or if I wanted to marry or even if i wanted kids.  I am very glad I got marry and had kids, but I never was like 100% yes I know for sure that was my life calling.
      I spend a lot of time praying for family, neighbors and even strangers.  I put a lot of worry and energy into them;  I encourage them, invite them to church, worry how my actions effect their faith and so on.
Then I thought (God put in my heart), What if your mission field is your home?  What if your husband and children are the ones who you need to encourage, evangalize, pray for, and set a christian example for?  What if all that energy went toward them?
      I still am not sure if this means being a stay at home mom.  The money I bring in really encourages my husband.  Also he says I am more productive working.  So if it's good for our marriage, that's important.
      Then the most amazing thing happened,  God answered me and told me that his will for me is to be joyful, thankful and to pray.  I saw it one day as I was reading the bible. Thessalonians chaper 5 verses 16 through 18 say, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." The coolest thing is that God's answer had been there in the pages of the bible all this time and I never knew it.  I bet there are even more answers there.  The Bible is so alive with God's word's.  I love it!  Clear as day and right there under my nose the entire time!

Lemon Pepper Salmon

                    

This is the best Salmon I have ever tried. Believe it or not I got it from the GE cookbook that came with my Microwave Convection oven! All that means is that it is a microwave and a regular oven too.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons of lemon pepper
6 (5 oz) salmon steaks (i don't weight them but they look 1 inch thick to me)
2 teaspoon of lemon juice (fresh is best as in squeeze it yourself from the lemon, watch for seeds!)
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
6 thin onion slices
3 lemon slices, halved
1 teaspoon of tarragon
½ teaspoon of papirika
Dash salt

1.  Place butter in 2-quart oblong glass baking dish. I put in in my 9x13 glass dish and that workes out ok
2.  Microwave at high for 1 minute until melted
3.  Coat bottom of dish with butter and sprinkle with lemon pepper and some of the garlic and onion powder.
4.  Lay down the salmon steaks, leaving a few centimeters between steaks
5.  Pour lemon juice over steaks
6.  Sprinkle remaining garlic powder, onion powder and lemon pepper on salmon steaks
7.  Put one slice of onion and lemon on each steak
8.  Add papirika and sprinkle the tarragon on the steaks
9.  Bake 13 to 17 minutes at 350. I begin check at 11 minutes. DO NOT OVERCOOK or it will be dry and it does not taste good dry. 1 minute can sometimes make the difference.
10.  You can use frozen salmon like the one above from Sam's club, but I think it is a little better with their fresh salmon, it's a better price too.

Red Neck Riviera

    When I told my coworker I was going to the gulf shores he told me they call it the redneck riviera. I was pretty pumped about my vacation to the gulf shores until he called it "Redneck riviera". For some reason that made me feel like my trip had just been downgraded. Then I remembered that his words are not truth. God's words are truth and he made the gulf shores and said "it was good".

So, would you like to know what I thought of Alabama's gulf shores?


     They are beautiful! Pure, clean, white beaches. In fact I would like to return every year. There are lots of beach houses that accomodate groups of 10-14, so I think it would be a nice trip to go on with my sisters and their families and my dad.

     The ocean water was pretty and clear despite a greenish color but it was from the algea.  To me that just means it's healthy because that is food for all the fish.  And boy did we see fish. Even in the very shallow part at the shore there were small pretty white fish.  Luna, Sergio and I tried to catch some, but they were very fast.  Out further, as we were boggie boarding I saw bigger fish surfing the waves!



     One day we even went on a dolphin cruise.  It was a 1 and a half hour trip on a boat to see dolphins.  I did it mainly for Luna, since she is crazy about all animals, but it was cool to see wild dolphins up close.  They were bigger than I expected.  Prettier and cleanier than I thought.  I guess I though "wild dolphins would be small and spotted with all kinds of imperfections.  The dolphins came very close to the moter and jumped in the waves made by the boat.  We also saw some dolphins following shimp boats.  They do this because the shrimp fishers throw out all other things caught by the nets.  The dolphins know this and so follow them and eat the stuff they throw off the boat.  Aside form this it is illegal to feed dolphins.

Chocolate Sunbutter bars

Ingredients
1/4 cup honey
1 ½ cup oats
1/2 cup coconut oil (no substitues)
1/2 cup sunbutter
1/2 sunspire grain sweetened chocolate chips

Heat coconut oil, honey and sunbutter in pot untill it is melted.  Take off burner add chocolate chips.  Add oats.  Pour in dish.  Refrigerate for 2 hours.  Cut and serve

The original reciepe calls for peanut butter, but my daughter is allergic, so we used sunbutter, which is made out of sunflower seeds. 

No refined sugar!  This is a fairly safe "healthy" reciepe to satisfy your sweet tooth without breaking your goal of no sugar or white flour.

Warning: These are so good I ate all of them except 3!