HE IS RISEN!

Happy Easter! He is risen!

This weekend marked a celebration of life! And, what a way to celebrate--we enjoyed a wonderful getaway in the Great Smokey Mountains! Wow, what a wonderful way to admire God's creation!! We stayed at the preserve resort. You can click on the link to see a version of our cabin. This version is practicaly identical, with the same magnificant views!












One of the views from the cabin...look at those mountains!











A violate on a hillside, just above a fast moving stream.











Sunrise, as seen from the cabin.

Smoke rising from the mountains. Another sunrise from the cabin











The moon in the upper left hand corner--just above the chapel.










Another view of a beautiful sunrise.










Dustin's first waterfall finding hike--Laurel Falls!!

In the Kitchen

Yesterday marked the tenth straight day that I cooked a meal for my family!

I realize that this may not seem like such an accomplishment and is probably not so exciting to most (I mean it is really work, after all), but in the Anderson household and for me, it has been quite a feat!

Las night officially marked the end of the brief cooking spree. The grand finale was stuffed green peppers, and they were yummy!

Stuffed Green Peppers

4 green bell peppers
salt to taste
1 pound lean ground turkey

1/3 cup chopped onion

one garlic clove--minced

one tablespoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 can diced tomatoes

1-2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (depending upon your tastes)
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/2 cup beef broth or water
1 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cans condensed tomato soup
water as needed

DIRECTIONS
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes (submerging with a spoon); drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, saute onions and minced garlic in olive oil, add ground turkey and cook until turkey is brown. Drain off excess fat, add the oregano and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup beef broth or water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in one cup of the cheese.

3. Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers.

4. Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until heated through. During the last five minutes, remove cover and sprinkle remainder of cheese on top of the peppers. Cook until the cheese is melted.

He will Never Leave

This week, an individual told me his sad story of meeting with attorneys to prepare the final documentation to be legally separated from his wife. The tale was such a sad one, a marriage that has lasted longer than my lifetime to date.

This individual described a scenario where he has tired of the circumstances that have led up to this ultimate end. It was sad to hear that even if the spouse regained her senses, the man would not be willing to stop the divorce process.

Christ describes his relationship with those who call Him Savior and Lord as a bride and a bridegroom. His word promises that He will NEVER leave me nor forsake me. As I reflected on the sad story of a marriage coming to an end this week, I am abundantly grateful to be loved by an awesome God, who, despite all of my shortcomings, will never seek to sever my relationship with Him.

In Hebrews, God says:

"Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.

So we say with confidence,

The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:4-6.

I am amazed that despite my adulterer ways (by continually putting small g "gods" before my one true God), my God promises that He will never leave me. Aren't we so lucky that we have a God who does not tire of our bad behavior, who continues to love us, who continues to pursue us wholeheartedly?

Surgery Postponed...AGAIN!!!

Dustin's surgery was scheduled for today at 10:30 Central time. We drove to Bowling Green, Kentucky last night which is about one hour away from Nashville. There, we stayed in a Fairfield Inn, planning to make the remainder of the trip on Thursday morning.

The night was quite a sleepless one, between a bit of nervousness over the upcoming events of the next day and Dustin not having his pack and play to sleep in, there was no rest for the weary (the weary is definitely Tim and me)!!

So, the next morning we got ready and were on the road 2 and a half hours early for our one hour car trip. By way of background before the next part of the story, I have been praying that God would make it very clear if we should not move forward with Dustin's surgery. Specifically, I have prayed that God would place a very clear roadblock in our path if surgery is not the best option, at this time.

And so, now for the rest of the story. As we made our way to Nashville, we encountered some serious traffic. A tractor trailer had overturned on I65 and was blocking the entire interstate. Roadblock or detour?

In any event, we were able to find a detour and made our way to Vanderbilt. We finally arrived one half hour late. Let me first tell you that I had contacted the surgeons office twice this week to inform them that Dustin had had a cold last week and that the cold was gone but he continued to have a little bit of a cough. And so, when we were in pre-op the Anesthesiologist expressed concern regarding the lingering cough. The surgeon also said that she was nervous to perform the surgery with the cough.

And so, here we are back in Lexington, Kentucky. We'll treat the trip as a detour until a permanent road block or sign clearly tells us this path is not the one for our little guy, at this time. We will try to reschedule for May.

Dustin looks a bit punch drunk in the photo above. I assure you, he is not. This photo was taken last week, with little man wearing shoes for the first time. His hat says, "Heartbreaker," which is totally true--with his big blue eyes and long eyelashes, he's going to be adored by many (and frankly, already is).

Below are a few photos of a recent cake that I made for a friend's birthday. The design was intended to look like zebra stripes made of fondant with a bright pink bow on the top. My fondant bow flopped and because I did not have time to re-create, I had to settle for a silk poeny bow. The cake was chocolate, filled with a raspberry/whipped cream/white chocolate buttercream filling with white chocolate buttercream icing on top. Pretty good!

The Five Non-negotiables

Tim and I have been attending a Revolutionary Parenting class at church on Sunday mornings. For this past Sunday, our homework was to identify the 5-6 non-negotiable items that Tim and I wish for Dustin to leave home with and the steps that we can take in order to facilitate the process. This past Saturday, Tim and I had a date night where we talked about the 5-6 non-negotiables.

Below are the 5 qualities that Tim and I wish for Dustin to leave home with and the steps that we can take to help this to happen:

1. Integrity -- Character counts. Doing the right thing even when no one is looking. Tim and I must show Dustin how important it is to be honest in all that we do. The little things count. Are we giving the right amount of time to our employers? Do we ask others to tell callers we are not home when we do not wish to speak with the caller?

2. Faith/Love of Christ -- We wish to show our little guy that Christ is the foundation. Tim and I each need to have a consistent quiet time and prayer so that our lives reflect the priority that we wish to teach our son.

3. Contentment/Peace -- To reflect joy in all circumstances. As parents, we will focus on the positive and attempt to reduce complaints. We will also work to cast all of our fears and worries aside.

4. Wisdom/Knowledge -- To seek truth. Learning is important. We intend to read to our son frequently, to demonstrate that education is important. We can reduce the time spent watching television and increase the amount of focus on reading.

5. Love -- Dustin will leave our home knowing that he is cherished, that he is the apple of our eye. We will encourage and support him. He will be affirmed and secure.

The leader of the parenting class provided a quote that I thougt was very good, "I cannot control the wind, but I can control my sails, and I have to adjust my sails every day." This is a good quote for me to keep in mind as a mother who is routinely facing changing circumstances. In those ever changing moments, I must adjust my direction and my focus in order to face the new challenges on the course.

Dustin's surgery is in a week and a half. We have been trying to keep him healthy (to the extent we have any control over this--which we don't) until the surgery. Today, I had to pick him up early at the daycare--he had a fever of 104 degrees! We are saying prayers that he gets healthy VERY quickly and that his surgery will not need be postponed again.

Weekend Ramblings

Finally, a preview of Spring arrived this weekend!

The weather was much, much warmer and the sun did make a slight appearance yesterday!

Tim is working in the yard, attempting to move part of our fence so that he can make a vegetable garden in our back yard! We are looking forward to having fresh veggies by merely walking down the deck steps to pick them!

Overall, we had a relaxing weekend. I was even able to get a pedicure today!

On Tuesday, we learned that Dustin had developed an ear infection. (Likely resulting from the cold that he had previously had.) He has been on antibiotics since Tuesday evening and is showing significant improvement!

Dustin's surgery is now scheduled for the end of March--we are praying that he remains healthy!

Surgery Postponed

At 5:00 on Friday, I received the phone call. It was the daycare calling to tell us that Dustin had a fever of 101.7 degrees!

Our little guy had developed a cough earlier in the week, so we were watching him to see if he exhibited any additional signs of an illness. Friday morning we visited the pediatrician for Dustin's HIB vaccination and synagis injuction. At that visit, the pediatrician saw no current reason why Dustin's surgery could not continue as scheduled on Monday at 1:30.

This weekend, Dustin's cough progressed into a cold with the inclusion of a runny nose, moaning, little eating and a low grade fever early Sunday morning.

Consequently, we were able to get in touch with the surgeon Sunday afternoon who choose to postpone the surgery until Dustin is healthy.

We will find out tomorrow the new date for the surgery.