Ham and Turkey Croissants

In this home, we agree on many things. Except food.

Somehow we've created little connoisseurs that think very differently about their preferred menus.

But tonight, a slight miracle occurred. I made a meal creatively, using a couple of recipes as a guide, and I managed to please everyone, myself included. I have no photos, but here's what I did. Simple and delicious!

Ingredients:
Turkey, and ham in you preferred, chopped finely
Ranch dressing
Peas and small cubed carrots (you could also add in some finely chopped celery)
Mozzarella cheese
cajun seasoning
Dill
Pepper
Croissant rolls

Make a mix of all the ingredients, except the rolls, until well coated in the Ranch dressing.
Get a muffin tin coated in olive oil or butter.
Place an uncooked croissant roll in each hole of your muffin tin, with the larger portion covering the bottom of the tin, and the smaller part hanging out.
Fill with the mix, and close the croissant, tucking it under the bottom.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
Enjoy!

It’s Amazing What God Can Do (Happy Anniversary, Chuck)

There was a beautiful sunset on the horizon as I walked the red clay shore of a lake in East Texas. A lady, a stranger and fellow camper at the park, sat in her camping chair. “Lord, please give me opportunities to meet people and minister while I’m here,” I thought. “Give me words.”  So it started with the simplest thing: “Beautiful sunset, isn’t it?”  Her response: “It’s amazing what God can do.”

And it’s amazing what God did in the span of a few days on that camping trip.  I had a lot on my mind, and this getaway with family was just what I needed to process the events unfolding.  I had been friends with Chuck Thier for over 2 years. In that time, I’d analyzed him from every angle. How did he relate to his family? How did he control his temper? Did he have integrity? Did he live by his convictions? He didn’t know it, but he was passing all my tests with flying colors. We were merely friends, and I had worked hard at times to keep it that way.  But recently, he’d done something unexpected. He’d held my hand. I knew this friendship was progressing into something more. Confrontation was coming.  Was I ready? 

You see, I’d developed a litmus test for relationships. Could I marry this man? If the answer was “No” or “Maybe someday?” then I promised myself I wouldn’t date him. Why risk your heart unnecessarily? It’d be easier to be friends.  It was a safe plan, fully rational in my mind.  Could I marry this man?  Well, now the answer was “Yes” which was both exhilarating and terrifying.  But the real question to me was “Could I marry?” That’s where it got uncomfortable.  My grandparents had gone through divorces. My parents had gone through divorces. Who was I to think I could have a successful marriage? My confidence wavered as I considered the opportunity that lay before me. Surely God wasn’t calling me to this. 

That’s where the lady on the shore came in. We began talking about our shared faith. We spent the next few days discussing so much from the Bible and our own lives. She told me how her husband had left her and their children after 14 years of marriage for another woman.  “There it is!” I thought. “God’s sign that I need to run.away.right.now!  If this lady couldn’t manage, how could I?” I shared with her my conundrum.  Her response changed my life.

“Is your Chuck a Christian? Well, then, Honey, he’s gonna love you like Christ loves the Church.”

Like a two-by-four between the eyes, conviction hit me.  And my vision suddenly became much clearer.  Ephesians 5 is what she was referencing. It instructs men to love their wives as Jesus loved the Church, “and gave Himself up for her.” The  Bible says that marriage is meant to be a picture of Christ’s love for His people. No one has sacrificed as much as Jesus for those whom they love.  If God was calling us to marry, God was calling Chuck to take care of me sacrificially. And not only was he to have this great responsibility, but God Himself cared that it be good, because it is a picture of Jesus and His love for us.  This wasn’t meant to be something we pull off in our own strength.  This was much bigger than that.

Suddenly, “Could I marry?” became “Could I trust God to do this? To carry me through, into this new territory? Where I have no wisdom and no experience?”  And I knew the answer to that. You bet I could!

I returned home, and we began dating.  It seemed a bit silly, since we knew each other so well already. And while it caught me off guard when Chuck proposed a mere two weeks later, I knew the matter had already been settled.  Could I marry this man? You bet I could!

I write all this in retrospect.  Next week we celebrate 15 years of marriage.  And if I had known it’d be this good, I wouldn’t have been fearful.  If you would’ve told me that we wouldn’t have a single yelling-match in 15 years, I wouldn’t have believed you.  I’ve watched Chuck sacrifice his plans, his desires, and his dreams for what’s best for me and our boys.  Did I mention that he washed my feet during our wedding ceremony, to demonstrate that he would use his leadership to serve me? 

God has given us the tools we needed to walk in life together. God gave Chuck the patience to learn how to relate and care for me. And He’s done the same for me. I’m not naive, I know that at any moment one of us could walk away from God and everything He’s built here. But that wouldn’t diminish the fact that He’s already given me way more than I could have imagined. And most of all, He gave me hope, strength, and faith that day that He could be trusted. And He’s been faithful to us ever since.

I’m so thankful for the times that God ministers to me when I’m not expecting it. Especially through the lady on the shore. She was absolutely right, It’s amazing what God can do.

Lost Maples

The weather in autumn is always unpredictable. And while the temperatures were starting to dip, I knew the leaves might start changing at Lost Maples park. So we convinced Chance to take a Saturday off from soccer, and we trekked up to the park. It’s really only about an hour from our house. And we stopped at the OST on the way in, just in time to watch a Veteran’s Day Parade in Bandera. I love that little town! 

Anyhow, we made it to the park, and as I feared, it was full, but we only waited about 10 minutes before we could get in. From there on it really wasn’t too crowded.

I chose a long and high hike for us, and thankfully everyone did well. In fact, I dare say they all enjoyed the challenge. Chance reported later that he thinks it helped his stamina on the soccer field the following week.

 

I love this photo that Chuck took.

 

I was surprised at the diversity of the landscape. The boys thoroughly enjoyed throwing rocks up into the mouth of “Monkey Rock.”

We also had moments when we thought of our sweet friend, Rebecca Taylor, and her impending Pancreatomy. 

There were spots where the leaves were changing!

Toward the end, we were racing the last minutes of daylight as we tried to get down the hills and back to our car. It was a little difficult at the end, with tired boys, but overall, we quickly decided it was worth the trip, and we’d do it again soon.  Also, a little more OST for dinner seemed to set everybody back to happy.

The Carlins Adoption Day

I want to include this on our blog because it was such an honor to be a part of something so special for our friends’ family.

The Carlins have been our friends for a few years now, and we have watched them go through foster training, then receive 2 children and adjust from having 4 kids to having 6. What a journey! It was awe-inspiring to attend their official adoption day. It was held in a conference center because they were officiating 80+ adoptions at one time. What a celebration! If you ever get a chance to attend something like this, do it. You’ll be glad.

The Carlin kids posing with their grandma.

Vivian and Erik with their adoptive children and case worker. God bless case workers!!

The judges are reading off the charge to the Carlin family and they are saying “I do!” as a family in response.

That night, they had a fabulous party to celebrate, complete with cake and outdoor movies! They even had a slideshow of their journey over the past year. So much fun!

 

Baptisms

{This is the perfect post for Thanksgiving. It sums up my latest blessings perfectly!}

The day after Halloween, the family went out to cheer on Chance at his next soccer game…

And enjoyed the rest of the day together. The next day we had family from far and wide come in, and friends join us as we celebrated a momentous occasion for two Thier boys: their baptisms. 
As it usually goes, they came from completely opposite directions.
Chandler astounded me a few months before his 5th birthday, asking to be baptized. I thought he surely didn’t understand what that meant. When I asked him why he wanted to be baptized, he said, “Because I want people to know that I love God.”  This is very much in line with his personality. He is so sweet and so trusting. He has a child-like faith, no doubt. I held him off for another 2 years before finally conceding that he was ready.
Charlie came from the other end of the spectrum. He’s a thinker and he’s been analyzing this from many angles. We’ve had many discussion on apologetics and the like. My emphasis has been that faith is their decision alone and in no way do I want them to feel any pressure from us.  Charlie began taking steps in the direction of faith in Christ in June. I have truly seen his mind and even his attitude transformed. It’s been a great delight to watch.
So, here are the baptisms:

And afterwards, friends and family joined us for lunch to celebrate. I was SO thankful for a beautiful day and a chance to truly enjoy our deck!

The family that came from Austin: Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Mel, Uncle Jason, Cousins Kaylie and Kaleb.
 
And Nana!!