For Bethan and her peeps...

Crockpot Lasagna Recipe

In a LARGE skillet cook 1lb ground beef with 1lb italian sausage (I use med high)
After all is 99% cooked add one large (or two regular) cans of tomato sauce (homemade or store bought)
Add 1 tiny can of tomato paste and stirrrrrrrr in
Add garlic (lots), salt, pepper and lots of italian seasonings to your taste (oregano basil etc etc)
Bring to a bubble but not for too long b/c you'll have a messy kitchen
***sometimes we sauté carrots and garlic and onions and anything else you like and add them to the sauce if we think we can get away with it without Brandon knowing.... =) (it works best if you shred the evidence... especially the zucchini and carrots)
THEN (or before) add a regular size bag of Mozzarella (I use 2% kind) and either 1 container or cottage cheese (low fat) or ricotta and some parmesan cheese and mix together. (see I don't do exact measurements!)
In your unheated crock pot put a layer of lasagna noodles, meat and cheese and repeat... sometimes I only do two layers of each and sometimes I stretch it out to three layers of each
Put in crockpot on high for 8 hours I believe... Bethan you can correct that because I'm not positive about the time. But it's great to do the morning before church
We serve it with sauteed greenbeans and homemade bread... yummmmmm!!!

Note** This will not come out in your perfect restaurant square of lasagna... so if that bothers you, you can use these same ingredients and to it in a casserole dish for about and hour and a half in your oven at 350degrees (approximately)... but this is the yummiest lasagna I have ever had!! (I don't even really like the stuff usually) and it makes TONS AND TONS!! I am pretty sure you could serve about 8 people with this stuff... the most we've done is 6 but we've always had leftovers!

ENJOY!

New Beginnings

My new friend Sloane!


trying to take awkward smile pictures and cracking up!


awkward smile success!!


This weekend my long time roommate and friend got hitched. It's fun when you are married and your single friends get hitched. There is a whole new variety of things to talk about!! haha. The wedding was beautiful and very unique, just like the bride. Everything went without a hitch and every one had a blast!
I was worried going into this whole thing that I was about to spend a week alone, the weird outsider from Kentucky. My friend is from a small town in West Texas as were most of her bridesmaids... and they were all blonde.
So, I prayed. I prayed that we would all be mature and Christ-like. I prayed that I would not be selfish and insecure. I prayed that I would not feel all alone and that God would give me a friend while I was there and away from my husband for the second time in two weeks. I prayed that I would serve serve serve.
God answered.
While I was back in Texas I did make friends. I got to hang out with the Bride a bunch, which was super fun. The blond west Texas girls were very friendly and didn't even make fun of me for having brown hair. haha. I was not as selfish and insecure as I was worried I would be (not claiming to be perfect by any means!). I got to serve that beautiful bride all week and make sure her life was easy as pie the week of her wedding. He also let me meet Sloane!
God is so good. I was already amazed at the way he quickly and obviously answered my prayers and then he goes and tops my requests.. showing once again he is the Father, Creator, Originator of Good gifts!! When Bree was needing an errand run or when she was with her fiance (now HUSBAND!) I got to go around with another gal... Sloane. This girl is funny, godly, beautiful, generous, hilarious, gorgeous, artistic, feminine and talented in almost every way! It all started with getting our eyebrows waxed and then we were friends for life. I laughed so hard with this girl all day every day for a week! I never thought I would leave this wedding ready to cry over some one I met the previous Tuesday! God ordained some awesome conversations between the two of us and even just today revealed another way that we were meant to meet. He is showing us how we don't even know the depths of his foresight. I can't go into all the details but God is so good and I am thankful for Sloane.
There have been low moments this past month where I was clinging to the fact that I knew God would do whatever it took to conform me to the image of Christ... and I was willing to go through low times if that meant looking more like him... and I feel double-blessed that he gave me a friend this week when I really needed one in Sloane to help conform me to his image too.

Lord, you give and take away and my heart is choosing to say BLESSED BE YOUR NAME!!!!
Blessed be the name of the LORD!

SNOW!

I've officially topped my record for most snow experienced. It snowed around 6 inches Monday! We were basically snowed in on Tuesday!!!! It was great. Monday night we went and played in the snow! There is this cement area for no apparent reason in our courtyard thingy and so we pretended to be figureskaters to the entertainment of every one else who's living rooms face the courtyard! I ran, I jumped, I loved the snow!
We had a great day Tuesday together and did end up getting out despite the messy roads and stuff. Today was the interesting day though. We had to go back to work and school and it rained all day/night and refroze. So there was still 6 inches or so of snow on everything and those cars (like mine) that hadn't been cleaned the day before had about 3 inches of ICE stuck on their car. Drew spent many a minute trying to scrape my car this morning to no avail and I couldn't even open my door b/c it was sealed with an inch of ice all over! It was crazy. The worst part is, it was still snowing hard and the ground was sooo icy and slippery that I kept feeling like I was going to fall while scraping. Snow is not as fun without a snow day! But it is still beautiful! Many parks and fields are still covered in white and trees still have icecycles and snow on all their branches. Rooftops are thick white and there are piles of snow everywhere that has been plowed. It's a winterwonderland! What a great Valentine's present from God to me. I've been asking for a big snow for over a year now!
Speaking of God and weather I was reminded on a radio program about how a lot of our weather is because the earth is groaning for the day when it and we will be renewed and made perfect again. With a lot of prego friends I know a little more about groaning in birth pangs than ever before... and I can see the similarity with our weather and those pains. However, our good God has taken this fallen thing (bad weather) and still made it beautiful... suck as snow. There is very little else that captivates me like big cottonball snowflakes falling in front of a background of ice-gray sky with the stark trees in the background. When everything is white and quiet it is really breathtaking. It reminds me that though we sin and live in a very fallen world, that God is still using things for good and blesses us even when we don't deserve it. Creation still cries out the goodness of God... his divine nature and eternal power (Romans 1).

Hardcore!

This weekend I received an unexpected and delightful present. It didn't come wrapped in a package or tissue paper but straight from the back room of Quest. It is beautiful. It is complex. It is hardcore. (kind of like me...ha...ha...ha!)



TA DA!!
Drew has been searching for me the perfect backpack (no, not like take your backpack and lunch box to school... but like.. I am going out into the wilderness for days with only this pack on my back!) for months and months. I went from knowing zero about packs to knowing a pretty decent amount. I have tried them on. I have researched them online. I have read backpacker magazine and compared.
Then it happened.
Well the back story is we almost bought a Gregory pack, which is a super nice pack but didn't have as much space per weight as Drew wanted for me. He is hardcore so I just go along! (plus it wasn't that pretty...) We were looking at the basic brands REI (we are loyal to them most of the time for gear) carried and then after looking at a backpacker magazine all about packs I started looking at this other brand...and prettier brand. It just so happens (I think this is how it went down... Drew might have looked it up first and then the magazine etc etc) that this is the exact brand Drew's pack is! So then he started looking at the packs in this brand. They are really nifty with front pockets and a top pocket (this is helpful) and they are mostly really pretty! yay! They even had one that was almost pink... but it was too small. We were undecided b/c they cost a little bit more and REI didn't carry them, thus no change of clearance!
So, Saturday Drew was very gracious to me and took me out to the Summit (outdoors shopping center across town) because they have the only DSW in the area and I needed some new black flats (my favorites being two years old from payless and while still comfy and cute, useless for the foot!). I also never make purchases alone unless I am really sold on a item so I knew going alone would be useless. So we finally...finally picked out a cute pair and were off to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, which is also at the Summit. Then, alas, the factory was gone. The one time I actually went to purchase some guilty pleasure and it had just vanished. No champagne truffle for me. I was bummed... but since we were at the Summit we decided to go into Quest... which is a very pricey but cool outdoorsy store... and the sign out front read CLEARANCE! perfect.
We went in and found this SUPER COOl coat and lots of fun other clothes for other fun activities that we didn't need. Don't worry we didn't purchase them. We did find Drew a nifty water-proof (not resistant like those bag thingies) rain jacket that he has been wanting (maybe needing... but probably not) for a while. Then we went to look at shoes, mostly ugly and packs. We had looked here already before while researching but hadn't noticed the brand we now were looking for b/c we weren't looking for it before. haha. There is was! They carried it!
I found a REALLY PRETTY ONE (pictured above) and we wanted to try it on since it was the right weight/space ratio for me. TOO BIG. Well the guy walks into the back to find the smaller size. The downside of this pack was that it wasn't women's specific like we had been looking for, which shifts the weight slightly in some areas. Not a huge deal but not ideal either. The guy comes out with the smaller size and it just happened to be a men's pack that had been customized to fit a woman! (that's the non-technical way of saying it). HURRAY.
So I tried it on and liked it just as much as the other packs (it helped that it was really pretty and nifty). Then to my utter shock and surprise Drew bought it for me! After all our searching my pack was found. It was a pretty penny but we still had birthday and Christmas money that never got spent, so it's okay. I wanted to wear the pack around our next stop (Barnes and Noble) but Drew didn't think it was a good idea. So I wore it as soon as we got home instead. We also got a backpacker salt and pepper shaker thingy! Isn't my hubby wonderful?!
The whole reason we are going through all of this is because we want to be in God's creation more. We want to rejoice in God's splendor that He has graciously given us and experience it hands on! We are young and yet we live in a pretty mundane schedule most of the time... with a lot of our time going to school and work. Drew already has all the gear for camping and so he has had to catch me up on a few things (sleeping bag and backpack mainly) and off we go! As soon as it warms up a little we are hitting the trail with our backpacks on and granola in hand!! It's so fun because this is also an area where I learn to submit and trust my husband. If you know me from the past, I am not really the athletic or outdoorsy type. Since being married to Drew I have biked 60+ miles in one day, started running, gone hiking, gone rock climbing and now camping! I don't know anything about anything and so he teaches me and guides me all along the way and it is such a joy for me to follow him and a joy for him to teach me and lead me. It's neat.
We also might be embarking with our packs on a little longer of an adventure an ocean or two away. hmmmm more to come!

Picnics and Popsicles

Growing up in Texas, I was under the impression that Texas is the only state that can begin with warm rain have a beautiful sunny day at lunch and end with snow. That is just not so. I've experienced more weird weather here in Kentucky than I ever did in Texas. Though Texas did have some strange weather it is usually hot or warm and muggy (well atleast in that college town!!). I am weird, though I don't like frozen toes... I do love cold weather. I especially love brisk sunny days because it is easier to be cheerful on those days. On those days I feel totally myself with a book, cup of hot constant comment green tea and a blanket (and a husband). I love hot drinks but I just cannot stand to drink them when it's hot outside. So by the time it gets around to fall I am dying for some hot tea! I hate being hot. I do love spring and summer though... that's why I don't say cold weather is my favorite... I just love it. Because I also totally love spring, even though I always get a sinus infection. I love having a folding chair and blankets in my car at all times so that I can go to the park and do my homework while drinking lemonade vitamin water (which I love and am drinking right now!). Okay back to the story.... yesterday it was 60 degrees and cloudy... then it rained and STORMED big time and then 30 minutes later it was bright and sunny with a nip in the wind and then by the time Drew came home from work it was sleeting... weird! but I like it.
Today we are also debuting (I think that's how you spell it) a new friend......



This is Matt and Lauren. Matt was one of the first people that we met at our awesome church. He and Drew hit it off istantly talking about bikes. Little did they know that in the not too distant future they would bike 800 miles together around the state! We also liked him b/c his girlfriend at the time, who we didn't meet until later, was from TEXAS....and our town also! She and Drew also worked at the same summer camp and had a lot of the same friends though they had never met. She and I took a class together and we all really hit it off. We were given a starbucks giftcard from a friend at the wedding and told to spend it making new friends....we spent it on them. They were our first our-age-friends to hang out with in Kentucky. We left and I said, "That was fun, I like them" and every time we would hang out with new people I always said this and now it's a staple. Any time we leave friends or they leave us we say "That was fun, we like them!" We obviously haven't met any people we didn't liked...seriously. We also shared a hotel with these two on New Years before they were married. We used to discuss who we would be friends with if they broke up, so we were very relieved when they decided instead to get married! We even biked with them on the day he proposed!!! They introduced us to our favorite restaurant, Cafe LuLu and to many friends at our church. She encouraged me to audition for the praise team and we worked two jobs together. We miss these guys a lot lately because of work, but we are hanging out THIS WEEKEND!!! YAY! We love you guys and we love seeing Christ in you and seeing your marriage grow!

New Friends

One of our newest friends from church are Brian and Christina. We actually met these two peeps in the welcome/share the peace part of our church. They were on the third row and we were on the fourth. They seemed super nice and soon after we met them for coffee at Heine Brothers. We did the typical guy/girl thing and ended up having two seperate conversations. I didn't really get to know Christina well b/c she had a friend with her who was much more talkative... but since then we have shared chicken and dumplings, bbq, tacos, chilis, college retreat and log cabin! I have especially enjoyed getting to know Christina more and more and to see some one like Brian (I have no idea how he spells it!) really seek Drew out on occassion to hang out! They came along for my birthday surprise and they both did an excellent job keeping the secret when we had dinner the very night before! "are you doing anything fun for your birthday?" haha very funny! Anyways, we love you guys and we hope to see you soon and have you back to our place... it's been a while! We have enjoyed seeing God grow your marriage and each of your lives as you become more and more transformed by the gospel in life and ministry!

Friends continued....

Today I want to highlight some of our first friends. I don't even have a picture of the lovely wife or their new baby girl! But I can show you dad and Reid! This was Reid's first apple I'm pretty sure... I gave it to him at a church festival and he thought it tasted really good! Joy and Daniel were some of the very first real friends we had in Louisville. They came and ate tortilla soup at our house as our first guests our own age. They hosted us as well. Joy was so great to have me in her home on a daily basis when I was home alone while Drew worked the first few months of our life here. She has always been such a great friend to hang out with and especially to eat Chick Fil A with! I can always count on her to support my cravings! Her son was my first fake nephew and she honored me with the title "Aunt Lindsey", which I am pretty proud of. I am now Aunt to both of her children along with many other people from our church! Daniel has also been a great friend to Drew. We used to be in community group together but now we try to catch them inbetween baby naps and bed times. This couple is such a great example of God's love and of what a godly family should look like. I honestly never thought I'd be ready to have kids until Joy let me tag along with her and get some baby practice in. She makes motherhood look easy, and young and skinny! haha. We love you guys and nothing we could say on this blog (though I am pretty sure you don't even know we have one) would really speak our appreciation for your friendship! We are glad you are staying another year!