Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Infusion of Grace

I have been wanting to write about the experience that I had at the Easter Vigil this year but have been struggling how to frame it.  I still don’t know so I’m just going to start with this—it was amazing.  The grace that God pours out on me never ceases to amaze me and leaves me standing in awe of his almighty presence in my life. 

I had the honor of being the sponsor for my good friend who was being brought into the church.  It was awesome to see her excitement and to see the pure joy in her eyes after both being confirmed and receiving the Eucharist for the first time.  She was walking on air, in total love with our Lord—it was truly inspiring. 

So, I could write about what was so amazing—the music, the total abandonment in the worship, seeing the church brought back to life during the Gloria, the Alleluia (oh how we have missed thee!), the great message of the homily, etc, etc—but I could never do it justice.  What I will say is that the Holy Spirit moved through me like I have never experienced.  There were moments when I was just blown away and, yes, even a little bit baffled by what I was experiencing.  It all come down to this—God is faithful, He loves us, and infuses us with grace when we least expect it (but need it the most).  And for that, I am forever grateful!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Winding Down Winter

Moan of despair…..that’s what was heard in our house when we heard that it was going to snow Sunday night.  Ok, so it’s officially spring, but we live in Michigan which means that anything goes weather wise.  Just one week prior, it was 80 degrees!  I had to dig through our closet for SUNBLOCK for the kiddos and, then, snow?  Well, no matter what the weather, our kids are still growing like weeds, learning new skills, and making us smile and laugh every day.  

A couple of weeks ago, we had a visit from my best friend/sister and she brought along the newest cousin.  Anna really studied him.  This picture was taken after she rolled over to him to get a closer look. 


She's really into rolling over and wiggling around to maneuver to something that she wants.  She can even be found occasionally sleeping on her tummy now.  

Then, we had our 80 degree weather (day).  It reminded me of how much Cecilia LOVES the park and being outside.  She really likes it when dad puts her at the top of the BIG slide and she gets to slide down (the little daredevil.)  This is her after she found a bottle full of sand that she had to play with.  And, no, she is not sunburned--she just gets that red from the heat!



Anna loves the swing.  I put her and Cecilia side by side and they just LOVE it.  They laugh and have a good time and I get a little bit of an arm workout in.  Seriously, is this not the cutest, happiest baby ever?  


The latest fun toy in our house is the exersaucer.  Woo-hoo!  I’m excited because I’ve wanted one but haven’t wanted to pay for one.  Fortunately, our friends were liquidating all of their baby stuff and sending the message that they are done having kids so we scored this bad boy for FREE!  (Thank you!)  Anna is beginning to warm up to it.  It’s a good thing that Cecilia is around to show her how to use it.  



Oh….and to use it herself.  This girl cracks me up. 

Sunday, April 10, 2011

My Random Run

Last night was a close to perfect night to run.  I hadn’t planned on running but, after putting the little ones to bed, I had a knot between my shoulders that couldn’t be ignored and I was feeling not quite myself.  So, my awesome husband cleaned up the kitchen so that I could put my shoes on for a night run. 

I didn’t realize until I had started that it had been over 2 WEEKS since my last run!  Despite that, it felt awesome and I reflected on what I love about running—the cool air filling my lungs, the feeling of my feet pushing off of the pavement and being airborne for a split second, the stress melting away….ahhhh.  As the stress melted away, I rocked out to this song:



I discovered this artist through one of my new favorite blogs.  I listened to it twice and this is the line that just kept moving me:  “It’s Your sacred heart within me beating, Your voice within me singing out.”  How awesome to remember that God is within me every second of the day, even on a run. 

Monday, April 4, 2011

Culinary Conquests

Last Friday was Joe’s birthday.  He has the privilege of having his birthday fall during Lent 90% of the time but this year he also had the privilege of having it fall on a Friday.  His late night at work combined with his fasting had us celebrating his birthday on Saturday.  Since we weren’t going out to eat, I decided to try my hand at the first meal that I ever made for him—Caper Stuffing Roast—and to make him the desert that he has talked about since we met—a Sacher Torte. 

Caper Stuffing Roast

Some of my friends think that I am a good cook and I say that I am only as good as the recipe that I’m following.  8 years ago, a couple days before Valentine’s Day, I called my brother and asked him for a recipe that would impress Joe but was within my skill level.  I’m pretty sure that he made this recipe up as we talked something that always impresses me.  I remember being somewhat underwhelmed by the caper stuffing so, this time, I found a new caper stuffing recipe.  The combination of his marinade with this stuffing made the roast De-li-cous!

Marinade:
Beef Broth
1 cup Red Wine
1 medium onion
1 medium tomato
Garlic
Salt
1 tbsp thyme (I used basil instead)
1 tbsp pepper

Slice roast flat and marinate overnight.

Caper Stuffing
1 cup bread crumbs
¼ cup capers
1/8 cup green onion
1/8 cup parsley
1 tsp salt
Pour blend of 1 beaten egg + 3/8 cup cream over top and mix

Roll stuffing into roast, place with flap down and skewer.  Pour marinade over roast.  Cook roast at 300º until it has reached a temperature of 160º ladling marinade over the top every so often.  Remove roast from pan.  Mix corn starch with marinade until it has reached desired consistency.  Slice roast and pour sauce over the top. 

Sacher Torte

I got the sacher torte recipe from here.  The reviews were really good and for a good reason.  I was a little intimidated by the recipe at first but it really was easy and turned out to be really good.  The one thing that I do recommend is to not pinch pennies when it comes to they type of chocolate that you choose.  This cake is basically just chocolate, egg, and butter so if you use cheap chocolate it may not be as good (I’m guessing.).   

                                 The presentation may be lacking but it was still tasty.