Life Begins at the End of your Comfort Zone.

For those of you who know or for those of you who don't know....

Richard and I are going to

Haiti

April 1st - 8th

We can't even begin to describe how excited we are to go on our 1st international mission trip. We will be staying at a missionary compound in Gressier, Haiti and working in the surrounding areas doing whatever tasks need to be done along with about 20 or so people from Journey Christian Church.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere so traveling there with people we don't know to well, being asked to do whatever at any given moment, and not knowing the language is definitely out of our comfort zone.

Whether you came across this blog post by accident or you are a friend, we ask you to pray for us. We are praying that God stretches us. We are praying that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus with the little time we have there. We are asking Him to open our eyes and ears to allow us to come back and share things with others to give Him the glory. We are also praying for the safety of our group as we travel. Interesting fact is that our compound is only 18 miles from the airport but due to poor road conditions it will take around 2 hours! That van ride should be fun!

We've already seen God work around us as we are preparing for our trip.

My anticipation is rising and I can not wait for my world to be shaken.

A country who needs our love

Dance Party coming to Haiti !!!!

Lucky Day

We had such a great day yesterday!

First we headed to the Lucky Clover Hill Elementary 5k race that our teacher friend Kristen invited us to. The weather was awesome and running around Woodlake was gorgeous. I do not consider myself a runner because I can not get my body and mind to like it and enjoy it. However, for some reason, my mind knows the difference when there is a finish line to cross at the end of a race. I was very proud of my time yesterday 29:42 :). My husband on the other hand is a natural athlete. He ended up winning the entire 5k with a time of 19:45! (Of course he said he wished he would have done better.) 1st Place with over 400 registered is very impressive. After the run our friends Shawn, Sarah, and their little girl Mady came out to post activities. Clover Hill had face painting, tattoos, a magician, chick fila, flying squirrel mascot, and much more!

                

After the race we rode up to Magnolia Green with the Rupperts to check out their new house! Well, they are building it so we got a tour of the same model house. We are so happy for them and can't wait to see them in their new home this year!

Richard won some Lucky Foot money so we decided to head to their store and pick out some running shoes. I guess you could say I felt inspired after the 5k. Since I have a small foot the store had to order my size 6.

After some R&R, lunch and showers we met up with some friends at Hardywood Brewery. The weather was great in the sun so we grabbed a pitcher and sat on a blanket listening to the tunes of 1. the pimp van and 2. the Atkinson Band. It's crazy how Richmond seems so big to me but all day long we ran into people we knew! What started off as hanging out with 2 couples ended up hanging out with 4!

Quickly, the sun was set and the temperature dropped! The Reynolds tagged along with us and we had dinner at Thai Diner Too. Ok, so God wasn't done with us yet. During dinner we ran into Phil's boss. Richmond.. getting smaller and smaller. Dinner was so yummy but my mouth was burning even from the medium heat! Anyone who knows my hunny, knows he got his dinner 'Thai hot', crazy boo. When it came time to pay, we were consumed by generosity when we found out that Phil's boss paid for the whole table. How nice is that!? This man didn't even know us! Small acts of kindness seem so big to the receivers.

Since we didn't have to fit the bill for dinner we all took a vote and Cold Stone Creamery won. We all splurged and got the Love it size. I recommend the Peanut Butter Perfection :). As we were sitting there a group of 3 guys came in, gathered our attention and told us they were about to try out for the XFactor. They simply said, if you like us clap, if not just go back to eating your delicious ice cream. Man, they were really good. I tried to whip out my handy dandy iPhone but only caught a little bit of the serenade. You can find them through Facebook or YouTube: vathegroup.

Overall, it was a fabulous day. Filled with memories that I will never forget. My heart was happy by the end of the day. I credit that to the abundant blessings from God.

Super Bowl Spice

What do I love most about the Super Bowl?

          The Food. Imagine that?!

Oh, wait... and the company, commercials, and then the football. If you know my husband he likes spice. His favorite condiment is Tabasco. We buy it by the gallon at our house. I've come to"respect" his tastes buds but I occasionally make him taste one bite of my homemade meals before covering it with the heat. One of our favorite appetizers is Buffalo Chicken Dip and we always follow the Franks Recipe . As the Super Bowl was approaching he begged me to make the dip Tabasco Style, substituting the Franks for Tabasco! Who out there knows the difference in the heat? Whew. So, since we were in mixed company I decided to bring both. Franks Buffalo Chx Dip and Tabasco Buffalo Chx Dip.

I also wanted to bring something else to the party so I decided to keep with the spicy theme and make Jalapeño Popper Pull Bread. Oh, so good!

We had a really good time eating, drinking, and watching the good sport with some of our closest friends.

Strawberry Lemonade Cake

I wanted to do something special for the ladies I work with for Valentines this year, so I decided to bake. Bake a cake!! One of my coworkers is gluten-intolerant so I made it my mission to find a cake that was gluten-free. Low and behold, Pinterest was to my rescue ta-da. And let me tell you, it was a hit. Half of the cake was gone before lunchtime.

Here is the recipe: ((and just FYI, I used all off-brand items))

Strawberry Cake with Lemonade
for the cake:
· 1 1/2 - 2 cups fresh strawberries
· 1 package (15 ounces) yellow gluten-free cake mix (conventional cake mix would work too! I just used Betty Crocker — inexpensive for a GF mix and it was delicious)
· 3 tablespoons strawberry Jell-O (half of a 3-ounce package)
· 1/2 cup vegetable oil
· 3 large eggs
· 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350. Oil two 9" pans. Mix cake mix and strawberry jello in a bowl. Rinse and cut off green tips of strawberries and use food processor to pulse to a purée (need about 3/4 cup). In another bowl mix purée, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Slowly add wet mix with dry using an electric mixer. Pour evenly into pans and cook 18-22 mins. When done, let cakes completely cool on wire racks before icing.

for the lemonade frosting (the best part, if you ask me!)
· 2- 8oz. packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened to room temp.)
· 1 packet (0.23oz.) of Kool-Aid Lemonade
· 1- 7oz. container Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
· 1/3 c. powdered sugar
· 8 oz. Cool Whip Topping (thawed)

Mix cream cheese and lemonade with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add marshmallow creme and sugar and mix until smooth. With a spatula add cool whip to cream cheese mixture until well combined. Ice cake when they are completely cooled.

Pittsburg

Two weekends ago we headed to Pittsburg, PA to visit our friends Webb and Rose Estes. We had a blast! Unfortunately, the drive was long and foggy. Friday night we chitchatted for a little bit but soon went to sleep so we could be well rested for the weekend. Saturday, Rose made an scrumptious breakfast, French toast (my favorite)!

After showering we headed to view the city by the famous statue "Point of View". The piece depicts George Washington and the Seneca leader Guyasuta, with their weapons down, in a face-to-face meeting in October 1770, when the two men met while Washington was in the area examining land for future settlement along the Ohio River. (Which obviously happened)

Pittsburg is a beautiful city with their rivers and yellow bridges! Next, we ventured down to the city shops. It was crazy packed with vendors trying to sell their produce and Steelers football products. Later, we went to a restored church that had been converted into a brewery. Don't worry, it was de-sanctified first :) We tried 8 different beers and ate lunch.
Let just say, when we got home some of us needed a nap. Others of us played the board game Ticket to Ride.

Sunday we headed to church and listened to a great message from a series called Advent Conspiracy, then came back- packed a lunch and took the train to Hienz Stadium to watch the Steelers football game! We had such a great time. Great seats too!

Unfortunately, our trip was cut short due to a death in the family. Instead of staying through to Monday, we left to make it back in order to attend my grandmother's funeral. Overall, our trip was incredible and we were so blessed to have enjoyed the city of Pittsburg with our friends!

Sweet Potato Apple Fritters

Welcome fall.

I recently strolled across a similar recipe for these and decided to try them out tonight. I'm terrible at throwing things together but this time I think I impressed myself!

Here it goes:
1 cup of cooked mashed sweet potato (about one potato)
1 apple peeled, cored and shredded
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup of sugar (or sugar substitute like Splenda)
1 large egg (or equivalent egg substitute)
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of salt
Optional: sprinkle some pumpkin pie spice in there.. Go ahead its *fall*
Serve with: honey, maple syrup, or powdered sugar.

Heat 1 Tbl spoon of butter / or generously spray a large skillet with cooking spray on medium heat. Drop spoonfuls onto the skillet making sure they don't touch. Give them a little press to mash them down a little bit. Cook 3-5 minutes on each side until golden. (You might have to repeat this step until the mixture is gone: about 10-15 fritters)

*(After mixing everything in the bowl, I started cooking them on the stovetop and it is quite amazing how some smells automatically trigger a memory. It must have been the 'frying' of the apples that made me think of my nanny. She has long entered the gates of glory but I felt her right beside me as I was whipping these tasty treats up in the kitchen. I miss her so much but I am so happy that God gave me a little piece of her in a fond memory tonight)* Hope you get something sweet out of making these for yourself, enjoy!

UVA

   One of the best things about fall is football! One of my favorite things about fall is - hanging out with friends during football!! This weekend we headed to Charlottesville with Justin and LeighAnne for the UVA vs. Maryland game. Richard and I went to a small college so we never experienced tailgating, dressing up in school colors, piling into a big station, and watching decent teams play football.
   It was so fun. Anyone who knows me wouldn't be surprised how much I love dips. Tailgating is a great place to bring out the finger food! Even though the weather was a little chilly we had enough food and drinks to keep our energy up for the game.
   It was the Cavaliers versus the Terps. Kickoff was at 3pm and everyone was shouting Go Hoo's!! Unfortunately we walked away defeated 27-20. Before we headed back to Richmond Leigh Anne suggested stopping by a local place for sandwiches at Durty Nelly's. I grabbed one called the Jefferson and it was so good. Surprisingly, the combination of turkey, bacon, coleslaw, and 1000 island dressing was really good!
   I was pooped when we finally got home but it was definitely worth it. We had a great time and we are so blessed to have friends that invited us. I hope we have many more times like yesterday.