basil pasta salad

'Tis the season for barbecues and cookouts and carry-in gatherings with loved ones.  I don't have to wonder what to bring anymore.  It's this.  An old dish I love, but even more so, de-glutenized...

basil pasta salad

1 pound fusilli pasta (I use trader joe's brown rice pasta)

1/4 cup roasted red peppers, cut into strips

1/4 - 1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped 

1/2 cup cheese (feta, or grated asiago, or grated parmesan)

You could leave it as this, or improvise, depending on what you have:

1/2 cup spinach, chopped

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup hard salami, cut into strips

thin slices of red onion 

thin slices of green pepper

Dressing:

2 cups basil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil, approximately

Cook pasta according to package directions.  While pasta is cooking, make dressing:  Add all ingredients except the olive oil to the blender.  Blend well, then drizzle in olive oil, and mix until well-blended.  Toss cooked pasta with dressing.  Add desired amenities, and toss.  Enjoy a hearty, summer-savory gluten-free dish!  Make it a side dish, and if you have any leftovers (lucky you :), it makes a yummy lunch the next day (the rice pasta is best warmed a bit).

We feasted yesterday, in honor of the fathers.  (Not pictured: watermelon and chocolate cheesecake)

We were excited to have Andy's parents with us, all the way from Brazil.  

The night before, we were pulling out pictures of our dads, to place on the table (thanks to Ang for the idea!)  

Our boys are blessed with some great footsteps to follow in.  

Fathers who love and follow after Jesus.  

Fathers who cherish their families, working hard to provide for them.

Fathers who have so much else to do, yet choose to be with their kids.

Fathers who stick it out in hard times, reassuring his wife that we're a team, in this together....even 3 months of colic.

Fathers strengthened through the hard times, rejoicing in the good!

Fathers who adore their children, enjoying the opportunity for a Father's Day backyard soccer match.

It's a fallen world, and no father is perfect.
But I am so thankful our dads taught us very young that there is a Father who never fails.  We can trust Him, no matter what.   There is a Father whose character is flawless and whose name is love.  He is a Father to the father-less, and He will never leave or forsake you.  

The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save,

He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3.17

Thank you, dads, for loving us well, for pointing us to Him.  

sweet reunions.

We have looked forward to this day since we waved our "see you later's" to them 2 years ago.  Overheard this morning in the other room was Jack practicing "Hi Grandma Becky....Hello Grandma Becky..."  
There has been *lots* of anticipation for our reunion.  

What can I say? In a car-full of boys, a lamborghini-spotting is big stuff right there!

Literally, on the edge of their seats.

Gotta love the flurry of hugs.

Also, gotta love little boys reaching for their grandpa's hand (especially if they're insisting on wearing a bike helmet :)

We are *thrilled* to have them close for a few months!!!
Miles told them "We don't have to skype with you all year!"

There’s much I’d love to share, like the fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants last-minute trip to Ikea with my love this week (big thanks to my parents for making this happen, for watching our 3 munchkins)…or, the “better than normal” gluten-free crust that has me excited for strawberry picking and fresh strawberry pies…or, my latest anthro-copy idea for curtains…or, our walls that are now primed and ready for some color-love!  

I'll get to all that.  I will.

But quite honestly, these days are a bit of a blur.  Filled with so much good, but...filled.  I so wish I could slow. time. down.  To pause all the construction and decisions about trim to linger in the moment of the boys fishing or ending the day with Bible stories on the couch or coming home the other night after zumba to this:

We may not be able to stop time.  Our deadlines and schedules press on.
But, we are learning to welcome the beauty of the moment, letting the wonder of it soak in.  

Like, our violets blooming in the middle of a pile of rocks.
What a marvelous Creator!

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful...

Welcome [beauty] in every fair face,

in every fair sky, in every flower,

and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

somebling special.

7 ¾ years ago, we were driving to my brother’s piano concert in our forest green Jeep, with our 4 month old in the backseat.  Andy had fixed me a classic “Roy’s Cup o’ Joe,” but this time I couldn’t stomach the taste.  We had to pull over so I could dump it alongside the road because the smell started to get to me too.  We were at a reception after the concert, and I was telling a friend how my stomach was in knots…while I was piling the green olives on my plate.  My friend looked at me and said "Olives are good for an upset stomach...  You sure there’s not something you need to tell us?”  [Haha, very funny...]  But, those olives did taste pretty darn good.  So, we made a stop at the Wal-Mart pregnancy test aisle on the way home...We have never been so surprised to see 2 lines in our lives!

7 years ago, we welcomed another little one into our family, Jackson Paul.
God knew we needed him in our lives - what a gift he is to each one of us!

Sunday, we celebrated another year of this boy’s life and spunk and all the ways he lights up our world. 

He chose a “Bug Party” (surprise, surprise :)  Grandpa and grandma were at the top of the guest list he wrote. 

We had a scavenger hunt, which was a hoot! 

We played What bug am I? [The kids had to guess the insect on the card above them by asking questions.] 

We ate dirt cake. 

dirt cake (gluten-free):  layer with cubed chocolate cake.  spread worms evenly on top. pour on chocolate pudding (I doubled the batch).  top with crushed GF oreos in food processor (works best if they're frozen).

Then they ran off the sugar in a rousing soccer match. (Still not sure whether the dads or the kids had the most fun with that one :)  It was a day full of his favorite things (including Papa John’s pizza). 
And, sitting around the campfire at night, his smile said it all.  

Can I say I adore him?  Is that still okay to say when he's seven?  
I'll learn something cooler for when he turns 8 - less embarrassing, more street-friendly.  But for now, I *adore* this little man!

"When I get to be a man like you (telling Andy), I'll get to drink hot coffee and sleep in the big bed with you and momma." - Jack, 8.19.2007

"Mom, if you were a queen, I'd beat up some squirrels and bring them to you for your lunch."  - Jack, 1.7.2011

loosening the grip.

Here I sit, on a misty Saturday morning in a musty ol' garage, sniffling from the years of mildew that has been locked up in this place, listening to the birdies chirping from the nest that has been built in the rafters, watching people look through our stuff, cringing at how much is stacked in this garage, wondering how at one time we thought we needed all this, recalling the following words from small notebook's post months ago... I think I get it.

Where were you when you made your big life plans?

When I was in college I spent many late nights...talking about our current lives, our classes, our hopes and dreams, and where we would go next.

The possibilities were endless and overwhelming. Where might we live?

Would we get married? 

Where would our job paths, career plans, families, and adventures take us?

No one of us ever said, “I hope I have a big house full of things that I bought just because they were on sale.”

We never talked about our intentions to own so much stuff that we would spend our free time trying to organize it all.

No one said, “I hope my future kids have so many toys that they can’t pick them up because it’s just so hard.”

Why do we trade in our goals, hopes, and plans for things that will eventually end up in a garage sale or in the landfill? We’re pulling thousand-pound baggage behind us as we go through life thinking about the next thing we can add to it! Stop doing that!

I still love fluffy white towels, knives that are sharp enough to slice, and tote bags. Yes, I love special things, especially tote bags. But I hate the idea that someone would trade in her special hopes and dreams for something that can be bought.

I like my stuff, but I am SO OVER IT. 

Give me passion, pursuits, wholeness, healing, compassion, mercy, reconciliation, audacious goals, beauty, love, grace, kindness, tender touch…

give me those instead, and 

let me not be distracted by anything less.  

- Rachel Meeks

I like the way she thinks.
I am done spending my time shuffling around stuff to make room for more stuff. I long for these boys to grow up valuing more than merely that which money can buy. I want to look in my closet and be overwhelmed with the blessing of options I have, that it doesn't matter that I haven't bought clothes in a year.  I still have a shirt to put on!

Feeling like my stuffs had too tight a grip on me, last June I decided not to buy any clothes for one year.  It's not that I was all up-to-date on the hottest trends.  It's just that I didn't need anything.  (Except one shirt, on sale for $5.  I cheated, 'cuz I needed that :)  Not buying clothes wasn't the point.  The point was that I don't like the feeling of what we own owning me.  There is a difference between buying a new pair of jeans because the knees blew out in my old ones, and just being so used to looking for deals that it didn't matter if I needed it or not, it's on sale!  I am embarrassed that there is a table in our garage sale of clothes that look barely worn when I recall sitting with the girl in the yellow shirt in a South American orphanage, because that's the shirt she owned.  


You know what? After a year, I still don't *need* anything.  A few more years of this, and I may be nominated for "What not to wear."  But that's okay.  As long as my heart has changed, until I am no longer distracted by anything less...


{I could go into a rambling of disclaimers, like how I don't mean for this to make anyone feel bad about buying clothes (please don't hear me say that - no judgment here. at all.), or to say I am so sorry if you are in great need.  There is HOPE...I have seen people in deep poverty with smiles on their faces bigger than an American with all the trinkets because their treasure is in nothing this world has to offer.}  Jesus is our only hope, and how RICH are we when we can sing from the depths of our heart "Hallelujah! All I have is Christ! Hallelujah!  Jesus is my life!"

Those are just some dreams of mine from this musty ole' garage.

tropical smoothie

For our school's out bonfire, we went to roast marshmallows and, lo and behold, not a marshmallow to be found!  I started scouring the kitchen for a substitute - we have roasted foil packets of apple slices with butter, cinnamon, brown sugar and oats over the fire before and those were a hit...but we were out of apples...

The leftover pineapple in the fridge caught my eye, along with the yogurt and orange juice, and a recipe was in the making for a refreshing summer treat. 

Tropical Smoothie

1 cup plain yogurt*

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 of a banana

1 cup fresh-sliced pineapple (or frozen pineapple)

1/4 cup coconut (I use unsweetened coconut powder)

Blend and serve.  

Drink and be refreshed!

*If you like it sweeter, add some honey or the other half of the banana, or substitute sweetened yogurt.

Also, I doubled this for our family, but we are a ravenous bunch.

Not another word was said about a marshmallow...

I love it when being out of something makes way for something even better!

findin' our groove.

These are busy days at the house.  

Andy took vacation time last week to replace the windows, all 35 of them...
He is such a trooper.  He is carrying a lot right now, and managing it all with such grace and diligence.  He continues to amaze me.

We. have. WALLS!  I have never seen a better looking wall in my life.

It's the first week of summer break!!! 

(We rang it in Friday night with our 1st annual school's out bonfire!)  

I have been reading and re-reading Joyful Parenting Manifesto.

Focusing on saying YES! as much as I can these days.  

YES! to blow-up shark pools.  YES! to eating on dinner on bikes.  YES! to riding tricycles outside butt-naked (if you're potty-training :)  YES! to chocolate ice cream cones on the blanket.  YES! to spending the afternoon in the lake with friends.  YES! to pushing them high on the swing.  YES! to another round of tropical smoothies (our latest addiction - recipe coming soon)  YES! to joining in on coloring, hunting for bugs, scavenger hunts, eating outside, lots of dirt and mess and good-ole-fashioned FUN!  

These days are still very much full of things to say NO. to.  Squabbles, disrespect, disobedience, pooping in the shark pool are a definite NO.  
But, there is so much to say YES! to...and the more you practice it, the funner it becomes!  
My grandma always said "The kids will never remember how clean the house was, but they will remember the time you spent with them."  I'm coming to realize I won't remember if the house was clean; and if I do, what does it matter if the house was spotless on June 4th, 2011?  
But how much better to look back on a summer spent saying YES!

I can hardly believe it is time to pack up these clothes.  
In 4 days, our Jack-son will be turning 7!

He has been planning a bug party for some friends (grandma and grandpa included in that list :)  So far, he has requested a bug hunt, hanging jars of bugs from string for each of the guests to take home, and dirt cake.  

Today I remembered 7 years ago today when we took our 1 year old to the zoo.  If I look at all uncomfortable, I was - it was 94 degrees and my due date (and my dear husband thought I should pose by the penguins because we both were sporting the waddle :)  

I had no idea at the time how much I would learn from this little life inside me.  He has a zeal for life and a curiosity that keeps me on my toes.  He has an inquisitive mind that wants to know how *everything* works.  He plans for ways to be generous: storing up candies and trinkets and prizes to give to his friends.  He has such a sensitive, tender-heart with a strong sense of justice.  He just melts when I kiss his forehead.  He is adventurous and wild and carefree.

And, I love my little man for all he is!

container garden

When we decided to make some garden boxes 4 years ago, I had no idea how much fun it would be!  I mean, once you step outside your back door, pick a sun-kissed tomato from the vine, slice it up with some olive oil, basil and fresh cracked pepper on it, you’re hooked.  Or, I loved how many times we would be out of lettuce, cilantro, onions...etc., and remember the organic produce growing in our backyard.  I quickly became an addicted gardener. 

We have plans for building garden boxes out of some steps we need to tear out at our "new old house."  But until we have indoor plumbing, it’s not really a priority right now...to some people :)

So, I started looking into container gardening.  I’ve been pricing out pots at all the “men's stores.”  (Including a trip to Ace Hardware in what I guess was a tornado warning Sunday – no wonder they looked at me funny when I was asking why their garden center was closed and when it would reopen – I was on a mission!)  Not wanting to go the plastic pot route, terra cotta pots seemed to be the best option.  

Until I spotted these.  

Good ole’ galvanized steel pails.  

Drill 3 holes in the bottom.  

Fill with potting soil and plants.  (I put a layer of rocks on the bottom to improve drainage, before adding the soil.)

We now have a garden!  One that can be carried wherever we go :)

I bought 6 steel pails Menards had at $5.98, which was the best price I could find.  It is enough to grow tomato, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, green bell pepper, basil, and stevia.  


I would love to do a bucket of lettuce, onions and cilantro.  But, I'll have to wait until we empty some paint cans...I think they will work fine for the rest.


We definitely need some more basil plants too, the way it disappears.  
Grilled tomato-basil sandwiches are a summer staple over here.

Eaten today in Jude's choice spot:  the entryway.