same kind of different as me

I've had this book for over a year and finally got around to picking it up.  It was a quick & easy read.  This book is a true story, but reads easily like a fiction book.  I found the first few Chapters a little slow to get into while the setting and characters were developed, but once I was into the plot it was an easy page turner.  I loved the writing style, consisting of one Chapter at a time from the view point of each of the authors/ main characters.  Same Kind of Different as Me is the true story of an ex-con homeless man, and a wealthy art dealer and how their lives came to cross, and eventually a friendship was built.  I enjoyed the honesty on behalf of each of the authors, especially regarding their initial opinions and misconceptions about each other, and about the Lord.  The book beautifully displays how God worked in each of their lives, using each other to draw them both into a deeper relationship with Himself. 

Shannon

Fried Rice

Fried Rice

I had some brown rice leftover from dinner last night so I whipped this up as our dinner for tonight.  Fried rice is always best with day old rice, so anytime I have leftover rice from dinner the night before I turn it into fried rice for lunch or dinner that day.  Any leftover meat would also be great in here, whether it be shrimp, chicken, pork, or beef.

-3 Tbsp vegetable oil

-2 cups day old cooked rice

-1 small bag frozen peas, corn and carrots mix

-2 scallions, sliced

-4 cloves garlic, minced

-6 eggs, beaten

-6 Tbsp soy sauce

-2 Tbsp sugar

-2 tsp sriracha sauce

-1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Cook frozen vegetables in microwave or on stain according to package directions and drain.

 

Grease large stir fry pan with 1 Tbsp oil.  Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Pour egg mixture into pan and cook over medium low heat, moving the eggs around with a spoon as they cook. Cook until they reach a soft scramble then remove eggs from pan and set to the side.

 

Heat remaining 2 Tbsp oil in the pan over medium high heat and add rice.  Let the rice cook for 2 minutes in the pan, then stir and let sit another 2 minutes. Stir in scallions and garlic, cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in cooked, drained vegetables. Whisk together soy sauce, sugar, sriracha and ginger.  Pour soy mixture over rice, stirring to combine.  Once mixture is well combined and heated through stir eggs into the rice/ veggie mixture, remove from heat and serve.

 

32 weeks

Here's what is going on with Noah this week according to babycenter.com;

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.To accommodate you and your baby's growing needs, your blood volume has increased 40 to 50 percent since you got pregnant. With your uterus pushing up near your diaphragm and crowding your stomach, the consequences may be shortness of breath and heartburn. To help relieve your discomfort, try sleeping propped up with pillows and eating smaller meals more often.  You may have lower-back pain as your pregnancy advances. If you do, let your caregiver know right away, particularly if you haven't had back pain before, since it can be a sign of preterm labor.  Assuming it's not preterm labor that's ailing you, you can probably blame your growing uterus and hormonal changes for your aching back. Your expanding uterus shifts your center of gravity and stretches out and weakens your abdominal muscles, changing your posture and putting a strain on your back. Hormonal changes in pregnancy loosen your joints and the ligaments that attach your pelvic bones to your spine. This can make you feel less stable and cause pain when you walk, stand, sit for long periods, roll over in bed, get out of a low chair or the tub, bend, or lift things.

As for me, no changes at all this week.  Still eating the same things, still feeling good, but a little tired, and having a little back pain here and there, but nothing significant.  I'm still a little more tired than normal, and LOVED sleeping in over our 4 day weekend.  Noah continues to move with force, catching me off guard at times.  Most of the time we can feel exactly where he is in my belly (almost always on the right side), and we can feel firm little body parts that he moves when we poke at them enough.  He either sleeps at night when I sleep, or I sleep deep enough that I don't wake up to him moving.  He still loves music and gets very excited during worship services.

Shannon

Squash, Potatoes, and Onions

Squash, Potatoes, and Onions

This dish is one of my favorite things that Jeremy's Mom (and Grandma) make.  It is very simple, but for some reason I just can't get enough of it.  If Grandma Lou was making it she would use fresh veggies from the garden, and maybe even throw in some carrot ribbons and a dash of cinnamon, but the ingredients below are how Jeremy's Mom tends to make it.  This stuff is delicious, but probably not the best photo worthy food, because it's best when it's cooked down and all mushy.

-a few Tbsp olive oil
-2 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
-1 onion, sliced
-2 yellow squash, thinly sliced
-2 zucchini, thinly sliced
-salt, pepper, and sugar to taste

Heat olive oil in deep skillet, over medium high heat.  Add potatoes and allow them to brown while slicing onion.  Add sliced onion on top of potatoes and allow mixture to cook while slicing squash and zucchini.  Add squash and zucchini to pan and stir to combine.  Season with salt, pepper, and sugar to taste (I probably used 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1 Tbsp. sugar).  Continue to cook until all vegetables soften and begin to caramelize (turn brown).  (You may need to reduce heat to medium, or cover at some point depending on how your veggies are cooking and your taste preference).

Shannon

3 years ago today...

Today is our 3 year anniversary (woohoo!!!!).  We are being boring, and working today, and will probably end up celebrating with a relaxing evening at home.  We did however take a 4 day weekend, and will spend the next 4 days celebrating, relaxing, and enjoying time to connect with each other.  No real agenda, other than to not have lots of commitments and to enjoy our time.  We tend not to be over the top in our celebrations, but to really enjoy the simple things, time together, a dinner out, long walks holding hands, and good talks where it feels as though we've touched souls.

Over the years (and through wise words spoken to me by friends) I've learned to not put so much pressure or such high expectations on a particular day, event, or celebration.  I've learned that often I tend to idealize things in my mind, and then end up disappointed if things don't go as well as I'd planned.  I've learned that expectations add stress and pressure.  I've learned that often the most meaningful times are the unplanned ones, that happen along the way of living life.  I've learned that while romance can include flowers, candles, and wining and dining that it doesn't have to.  That lasting romance is experienced through our commitment to each other in spite of the ups and downs, through unconditional love, and through our marriage staying centered on the Lord.  So here's to our celebration of love, life, and marriage.  I leave you with the script from our wedding, I love going back and reading our vows and the Scriptures read at our wedding.

Jeremy and Shannon today is an exciting day of celebration, joy and a bit of stress. Marriage is designed by God to provide a safe place of love, comfort and adventure.

Eclesiastes 4:12  A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.


Genesis 2:24  This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.


Today, two individuals are becoming one. Jeremy and Shannon are entering a covenant of marriage saying, “We are walking this path together. Divorce is not an option. We are committed to God and each other.”


Ruth 1:16  But Ruth replied, "Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.


Earthly marriage is a great prelude to the main event of history. Human love and marriage provide us a picture of a future event. One day, Jesus Christ promised that he would return for His bride “the church.” Through a relationship with Jesus you receive not only an invitation to the wedding but a reception dinner that is truly other-worldly.


Paul in the book of Ephesians blends his conversation about marriage and the church.


Ephesians 5:22-33  You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything.  And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife. No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his body, which is the church.  And we are his body. As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one." This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.


Jeremy, Paul’s words here give you a clue to a happy, meaningful marriage. Love your wife the way Christ loved the church…selflessly. Shannon, you are not off the hook. You are to respect your husband. Women need to be loved. Men need to be respected. Couples that forget this, endure marriage they do not enjoy it.  Love and Respect.


The vows affirm the covenant relationship between a husband and a wife.


Jeremy, repeat after me: I, Jeremy, take you Shannon, to be my wife, my friend and my life-partner for the rest of our lives. Before God, family and friends I pledge to you my life. I will be faithful to you in sickness and in health, in good and bad times, in times of joy and well as in times of sorrow. I promise to love you as Christ loves His church.

Shannon, repeat after me: I, Shannon, take you Jeremy, to be my husband, my friend and my life-partner for the rest of our lives. Before God, family and friends I pledge to you my life. I will be faithful to you in sickness and in health, in good and bad times, in times of joy and well as in times of sorrow. I promise to respect you and follow your lead.


In the church, baptism is the outward sign of an inward commitment to Christ. In the marriage, the ring is an outward symbol of fidelity. The rings do not make you married. They let others know that you are.


Do you, Jeremy, give this ring to Shannon, as a visible symbol of your fidelity to her.


Jeremy, repeat after me:  Shannon, I give you this ring, as a promise of my fidelity and as an expression of my love.


Do you, Shannon, give this ring to Jeremy, as a visible symbol of your fidelity to him?


Shannon, repeat after me: Jeremy, I give this ring to you as a promise of my fidelity and as an expression of my respect for you.


I now pronounce you husband and wife before God, family and friends.  Jeremy, you may now kiss your wife.  I present to you Mr. And Mrs. Jeremy Mangerchine.

Happy anniversary Jeremy! I love you more than ever! I love our life together! I love serving, seeking, and growing in the Lord together! I love the man that you are... a leader worthy of following. I love the woman that you make me. May we always put the Lord first in our lives, and may we always put each other next, above all others!

Shannon

31 weeks

Here's what is going on with Noah this week according to babycenter.com;

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.Have you noticed the muscles in your uterus tightening now and then? Many women feel these random contractions — called Braxton Hicks contractions — in the second half of pregnancy. Often lasting about 30 seconds, they're irregular, and at this point, they should be infrequent and painless. Frequent contractions, on the other hand — even those that don't hurt — may be a sign of preterm labor.

As for me, Noah is moving all of the time, and getting stronger/ bigger and more forceful in his movements each week.  Several people have told me within the last week that his position has visibly dropped and he is sitting lower.  Quite frequently by belly becomes disfigured now, and you can see and feel firm little lumps in areas of my belly that must be little parts of Noah's body.  Everything is still good, but I get a little less comfortable as each week goes by... I find myself getting a little more sore in my hips and back each week.  I've also been fairly tired lately, and am struggling to stay awake at my computer at work some days, and it's not from lack of sleep, because for the most part I sleep well at night around my frequent visits to the restroom.  My new favorite food has become Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning.  This stuff is amazing on hamburgers, roasted potatoes, and just about anything else.  Most frequently I've been enjoying it on sliced raw cucumbers, sliced tomatoes, and popcorn.  I even put some in the veggie dip and cole slaw that I made this weekend, it's salty, spicy, zesty, and just plain perfect!  And I've really been LOVING the Iced Passionfruit Tea Lemonades from Starbuck's... they are so light and refreshing!  I still haven't really experienced any super "weird" pregnancy cravings though... I've heard of people eating pickles with pixie sticks poured on them and super strange combos like that.  For the most part I just love all things meaty, salty, and cheesy... pizza (but I don't eat it very often), sausage (again, I don't eat it so often, but when I do it is bliss!), pickles, sushi, and chicken salad with cranberries.

We've completed our pre-registration paperwork at the hospital, have 2 prenatal classes down, and 1 left to go.  Noah's room is mostly ready for him, I'm just waiting for my 2 baby showers (in September) to get the last few things and then will need to wash all of the cloth diapers, bottles, sheets etc. and have them ready to go.  My doctor's appointments are currently on Wednesdays, every two weeks, and everything continues to go well.  This little guy will be here before we know it!

Shannon

Quick & easy veggie dip

Quick & Easy Veggie Dip

This dip was a complete accident... I had a completely different veggie dip planned to make for this veggie tray using curry powder and tarragon vinegar, but when I checked my pantry I was horrified to find that I was out of curry powder... a tragedy!  Fortunately I was able to creatively whip up something else that worked out quite well, and can easily be modified to incorporate different herbs or flavors.  You probably have all of these ingredients on hand, and could whip this up at a moments notice.  And it's not just for veggies... Jeremy and I joyfully snacked on Wheat Thins dipped in this concotion.  You could always use fresh parsley and herbs for this dip, but I don't always have those on hand.

-1 cup light mayo
-1 cup light sour cream
-1/2 Tbsp sugar
-1 Tbsp dried minced onion (but raw grated onion would be fine also)
-1 Tbsp dried parsley
-1 tsp seasoning salt (I used Tony's seasoning)
-1 tsp garlic powder (or 1 clove minced garlic)
-1 tsp dried oregano
-1 tsp dried basil

Whisk together all ingredients.  Chill for at least 2 hours prior to serving, but for best flavor allow to chill for 8 hours for the flavors to combine.

Shannon