Crying

I am very blessed. I have a healthy beautiful baby boy. As a newborn Joshua slept through the night at 5 weeks and worked well being on a schedule which made my day very predictable. He didn't really cried. We even have a video if his first bath at the hospital and he hardly made a peep. When he did cry it was because he was tired or hungry. He never really had a fussy time of day. So I just have one question.... WHAT HAPPEN??? I guess they forget to tell you that crying will be all the time now. Maybe other first time moms have thought ahead and knew this was going to happen. Well I didn't think about it. Now it's "mommy I'm crying because I'm up; mommy I'm crying because i'm hungry; mommy I'm crying because you put me down; mommy I'm crying because you walked away; mommy I'm crying because I can't crawl fast enough; mommy I'm crying because you took that cord away from me; mommy I'm crying because I was trying to stand up but fell down; mommy I'm crying because..." you fill in the blank. I'm sure you can think of many more things. Please don't think I am complaining. I love my son and I wouldn't trade him for the world and I know that other people have much worse situations then I do. I know that his crying is his only was of communicating but that doesn't mean I enjoy the sound of it. So until he learns how to talk I guess I'll be communicating through crying.
On a sweeter note the other day I was watching TV and something was really sad so I was crying (ok more like sobbing) and I was holding Joshua because he had just woken up from his nap. He was cuddling against my chest but then he looked up at my face and I could see that he was processing what my face was doing because I don't think he has ever seen me cry up close. After his careful inspection, he reached up his tiny hand and placed it on my cheek. It was like he was trying to comfort me in his own little way. What a sweet little boy I have.

Lost and Found

The other day Josh was running on the treadmill and all the sudden shouts "holy crap" and hold up his left hand. I thought he was going to fall or had hurt himself. Nope. He wasn't hurt; he had just realized that his wedding ring was no longer on his finger. SAD! He has worked so hard and has lost so much weight that his ring had become very lose on his finger. Just the other day he was changing the sign at church and felt his ring slip so he knew he needed to get it resized. Now it was to late. After looking through his pants pockets and a few other items where the ring could have been, we came to the conclusion that it was lost. Josh had run 5 miles the day before (or maybe it was that day) and there was a good chance that he had lost it on that run. I had to come to the realization that it was gone and no matter how hard I wished it wasn't it was not going to change the fact that it was. I wasn't mad at Josh. He didn't lose it on intentionally or because he was being careless. It was lost because he had lost weight. I guess it's a catch 22.
Then last night I was going to give Joshua a bath. I went into the bathroom to start the water and what do I see? Something round... something shinny!!! THE RING!!! Whod'a thought? Josh had given Joshua a bath on Friday night and I guess thats when it came off. I was so excited I couldn't stop smiling! I put in on my ring finger and kept twirling it around. I couldn't decided if I should call Josh and tell him or If I should wait to surprise him when he got home from JR high YG. I decided to surprise him. I quick make up a little scavenger hunt so he would have to work for it. I sent him to a few places around the house before he got is last clue which led him to our wedding album. When he opened the first page there was the ring. The look on this face was priceless!
There was so much joy in finding this gold ring. It got me thinking about the Parable of the lost coin. Luke 15:8-10
8"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' 10In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
It amazes me that the joy that I felt for finding the ring is nothing compared to the joy God feels when someone comes to know Him. He treasures us so much more then we could ever imagine. How awesome is that?

Much better

Tonight I decided to make One Pot Spaghetti. I had made this dish one time before but (surprise) I messed it up. This time I made sure to read every ingredient and step very carefully. Tonight I was able to make it all by myself and it turned out delicious. One of the best thing about it is that it only dirty's one pot. I really hate having a dirty kitchen but I also hate doing the dishes. What a vicious cycle we have.
I thought maybe you would like the recipe for ONE POT SPAGHETTI. hope you enjoy.
ingredients
8 ounces ground beef or bulk pork sausage
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms or one 6-ounce jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1 clove garlic, minced or 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 14-ounce can chicken broth or beef broth
1-3/4 cups water
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 ounces dried spaghetti, broken
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
directions
1. In a large saucepan cook the ground beef, fresh mushrooms (if using), onion, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain.

2. Stir in the canned mushrooms (if using), broth, water, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Bring to boiling. Add the broken spaghetti, a little at a time, stirring constantly. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, for 17 to 20 minutes or until spaghetti is tender and sauce is desired consistency, stirring frequently. Serve with Parmesan cheese. Makes 4 servings.

A cooking Embarrassment

I have never clamed to be a good cook. And I have never really had the desire to become a good cook. For the first two years of my marriage the majority of our meals were eaten out and Josh usually made those that were eaten at home. Since moving to Winnemucca and having ZERO chain restaurants in town, I had to learn how to cook something. I am afraid to try and cook something because I am so nervous I am going to mess it up and leave us without a dinner. Luckily Josh has been cooking his own dinner (chicken and Rice) every night so I thought I would start cooking. If I messed it up, I only messed up my dinner and I could live with that.
While making my shopping list this week I wrote out what I would make each night for dinner. Monday night: Summer Chicken Pasta with Mushrooms. They only ingredient I couldn’t find was cooking wine, but other then that I was good to go. AND I’M OFF… I started by browning my chicken and cooking my pasta. I was doing just fine getting my onions, garlic, and tomatoes ready. By that time Josh was home and he was taking a little interest in what I was making. I needed to add some chicken broth but when I went to my cabinet I found, not chicken broth, but cream of chicken. NOT THE SAME THING! When I realized I didn’t have chicken broth, I was ready to give up. I was all annoyed that my first attempt had failed right after I started! I went into the fridge and grabbed a jar of tomato sauce ready to throw it over the chicken and call it a day. JOSH TO THE RESCUE!!! He wouldn’t let me give up. We searched through the cabinet to see if we could make anything work. Josh, being the super hero that he is, found a can of chicken noodle soup. He strained out the noodles and caught all the juice in a measuring cup. MY HERO. Thanks to his inventiveness my dinner was saved and it was super yummy. I look forward to making it again with all the correct ingredients.