Sorry I dropped off of the blogosphere there for a bit. I've been rather busy lately, it seems.
First, the update. Things are going a lot better for me, so please - no more frantic phone calls. I appreciate it, but I assure you everything is better. I have a "game plan", of sorts, and God is helping me trudge on. Just taking it one day at a time, making sure to keep trusting Him and to stay on the straight and narrow.
VBS is going better. We had a meeting the other night that reassured me a lot. I looked at my part closer and compared to everyone else, I have it rather easy! I'm spurring myself to be as helpful as possible to everyone else and not fall into laziness. I put my nerdiness to good use and offered to make a "staff blog" for everyone to keep track of everyone else. If you can't find it or can't see it, it's because it's private. I promise you're not missing anything. All it has on it is a message and a big calendar. Nothing exciting. Over the next few weeks, I'll be doing and planning a lot more outreach, so please pray for me in that aspect. I'm excited to do the photography part - mainly because that means the hard part will finally be over! And as for Children's Church, our first class is this Sunday, so please be praying for us there, too. We'll be teaching 1st-3rd graders, which should be interesting, but luckily Matt will end up doing a lot of the teaching. I'm mainly just "assisting" (a.k.a keeping the peace - the "bad cop", if you will). It seems like our calendar for June and July is very full!
Robby's doing really well, despite all this. He continues to amaze me more and more everyday. He claps, points, and listens to directions fairly well. His favorite game is peek-a-boo, which he'll actively play with you, now - ducking his head in and out from behind a pillow or the laptop screen as you're trying to concentrate. He loves it when you tell him the names of objects and tries his best to repeat. He's starting to feed himself and loves Goldfish Crackers and cubed chicken. He's very good at pulling up to stand, but hasn't attempted to stand alone, yet. Almost there, though. He's getting rather tall, which doesn't completely surprise me. I don't know exact measurements, though. Lately, he's been teething, which stinks. He's been a drooling, snotting, I-don't-wanna-be-sleeping-just-screaming mess for the past week or so, but we're working through it. Things are starting to go back to normal.
As for repairs, a lot of you have asked about the rental car. We haven't heard a thing, which is a huge plus. I hope and pray that God has shone mercy on us and we'll never hear from them. Also, just as another minor update, my camera is currently being worked on. I received an email today saying that they "accepted" it today and their initial findings were that the repairs would be under warranty, meaning I don't owe anything. If they do open it up and find water damage, battery damage, or anything else like that, I will be responsible. Here's praying for God's mercy or provision once more! The camera should be returned to me within 7-14 business days - hopefully in time for Family Camp!
And now for the recipes!
Loaded Nachos
Okay, I think everyone knows how to make nachos - it's kind of a no-brainer. Cheese and chips, right? Finding a cheese that will melt right always seems to be the downfall of any good nachos, it seems. Well, on our nachos, we heat up some Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup (health food, of course) mixed with a little bit of picante sauce and it makes a fantastic, spicy, melty cheese perfect for nachos. Easy and cheap! Top with seasoned ground beef, refried beans, tomatoes, green onion, cilantro, sour cream, guacomole, etc. and you have some killer loaded nachos! My only big suggestion - lots of napkins. This may get messy.
BBQ Pulled-Pork
Another huge favorite in our house and is ridiculously easy. Great with soft hoagie rolls and some chips. Three good-sized chops works for just the two of us, but it can easily be changed to suit any family and any sized crockpot. Check on the chops to make sure they don't dry out. If this happens, add a little sauce or water. The juicer they stay, the easier they'll fall apart!
boneless pork chops
BBQ sauce (your choice)
Place chops in a crockpot and completely cover with BBQ sauce. Cook on high for 3-5 hours or all day on low. The chops will easily fall apart when they are done. Take two forks and shred the chops apart on a plate. Place back into sauce in crockpot, stir back in sauce, and serve on rolls or buns.
