My Easter Story

I grew up Protestant. We mainly protested against Catholics. So, of course, when I finally hit my rebellious years in my twenties, my husband and I were drawn toward Catholicism. It helped we lived (and still live) in a primarily Polish and Italian area, where most people are Catholic. It also helped that Ben's parents were going through a long, yucky divorce that fueled our anger toward what we had grown up with. Oh, and that the church we had become leaders at (young adults Sunday school, teens Sunday school, youth group band leaders, small group leaders, etc.) had become so "Seeker Friendly" we weren't benefiting Spiritually at all. Anyways, after toying with the idea of joining the Catholic church and intermittently attending Mass for a year or two, we finally decided not to join. Mainly because our reason was to spite others (parents included, sorry...), and we realized that was a bad reason to join. We remained churchless for about seven years. We weren't Godless, however, and grew a great deal during this sabbatical. There are a few things that we took, however, from that experience of dabbling in Catholicism.

The biggest lesson I learned was that it is very likely that there are just as many "saved" people in a Catholic mass as there are in a Protestant congregation. Take that either way you want. I didn't realize how many awesome Catholic Christians there are out there. What's nice about them is that they don't have the same annoying hang-ups that we Protestants do, like our tendency to be Pharisaical and judgmental. They have different ones and that was refreshing. I'm only gonna pick on my own kind for now. Overall, I had a good experience, learned to stop hating Catholics for no good reason, recognized some differences that won't keep me from loving my fellow Christians in the Catholic Church, but doesn' t make me want to join them, and finally realized that perhaps everything I grew up with wasn't all that bad after all.

It really took me all this to just say, when someone invited me to do Lent with them last year, I was open to it. Why not? Jesus suffered for 40 days and 40 nights, I can suffer a little in remembrance. I gave up TV during the day. Doesn't sound like much, but being home all day with a little guy when it's too cold to go outside, it was something to me, and I had been feeling a little convicted about watching so much TV. I was religious about it and when Easter came I was surprised to feel actual relief and thankfulness. Such a little sacrifice for 40 days with Jesus' resurrection as a finale was overwhelming. What a humbling reminder of how much I need that grace and forgiveness.

Even more powerful was my experience this year. I had morning sickness when Lent began so I had the sneaky idea that I'd give up desserts and chocolate. I couldn't eat anything sweet anyways! Totally made me sick. Thankfully, my morning sickness went away a couple weeks later, and then I had to tame my overwhelming desire to compensate for the month of sickness by eating everything in sight. If you've read our family blog in the past month or two, you'll see it's filled with tons of recipes and pictures of food. That's how I coped with not being able to eat my sweets, eating everything else that sounded good. I was being pretty strict at first even though my "sacrifice" was pretty broad in scope. Then I heard that many Catholics take Sundays off or just offer a sacrifice of prayer when they "screw up". The idea of grace is a familiar one that I've revelled in for many years now, and since it resonated with me I gave myself a little grace. Sundays I'd have a treat, just not chocolate or cake. Only ice cream or cookies. Not both. I wasn't cheating too badly! OK, occasionally I had to offer up the sacrificial prayer in lieu of being faithful to the fast from sweets. Well, here it is, Easter is upon us, and I am more humbled than ever.

Wednesday I blew it. Not with the sugary stuff, but my temper. About three weeks ago Z drew all over our leather ottoman with ink pen. I panicked, Googled "ink on leather", tried a little hand sanitizer on it, the ink came up but so did the leather's color, I reached for the fancy cleaner kit that came with the couch set and found....an insurance policy for the leather! I called, it doesn't expire until December this year. I didn't even remember we had it! I was so thankful! We completed the claim forms, were totally up front about everything, then Wednesday, I got their response in the mail. They wouldn't help us because of the color loss that happened when I tried to clean it. Now, without rabbit-trailing too much: The area that Z scribbled on is 19.5" x 10" , the area I attempted to clean with a Q-tip is about a half inch square. I was infuriated! I ranted and raged around the house like a mad woman for about a half hour after I called the insurance lady and yelled at her. She was not helpful. Thankfully, I only called Ben in the midst of this and no one else had to suffer from it. I deescalated and told Ben I was going to be OK and even called the lady back and apologized to her for my rudeness. I'd like to blame hormones, I always would like to blame hormones, but I had been sane all day until then.


It just reminded me of how I tried to cut out sweets as a sacrifice to God, then took the first opportunity to rationalize cookies, ice cream, birthday treats, etc. Here I'm supposed to be a new creation in Christ, meaning, I can turn to Him in everything and not lose it like I'm lost. I know where to go, I know what the Bible says to do, and I find every rationalization that fits my circumstances when I need to. What's worse is I'm super proud of myself when I occasionally do things just right (like return kindness for evil).

I sheepishly asked God to rip out all my stingy pride, hateful greed and anything else that keeps me from loving others, knowing His answer might be painful. Right now, I'm just feeling like a wounded soldier that got hurt from running the wrong way. I'd really like to get it all just right, like I did last year for Lent, but I'm ever so grateful for this picture that screams to me of my need for a loving Savior that makes everything just right in spite of me.

Gettin' Wiggy!

We had some beautiful weather this past week and we took full advantage of it! There was still snow from the great blizzard of 2008 the weekend before, but that didn't stop us from taking an hour and half walk one day, just Z and I, without the stroller! We were almost home when Daddy came home and wanted to play outside with Z too! Boy was he tired that night! The next few pictures are ones Ben took during their time playing outside...

Ben and I have been just smitten with this little boy, lately.

Here, Ben said Z saw an airplane in the sky, leaned out of his car and waved, "Hi"!

This is from Friday night when Mommy was working, Z helped Daddy do the dishes. After this, he thought he got to help every time there was water in the sink and was very disappointed when Mommy wasn't as fun as Daddy.
Looking up to Daddy...oh, and wearing his shoes.Family Bed
I just wanted to share with y'all what our gianormous family bed looks like! It's almost more than the camera could capture. Ben and I sleep on the King size bed that's at the bottom. Z (seen in the distance) sleeps on the far side of the full size mattress that's next to it. Both beds are on the floor, ours doesn't need a boxspring, but his does to reach the height of ours. We have single down comforters on all three so we can crawl out of our respective spots when needed (I'm up 1-2 times a night these days!). We've found that Z sleeps better in his own bed, but likes to look up and see if we're around when he wakes up at all hours of the night. It's also easier to comfort him when he needs his bottom patted back to sleep. Just thought you'd like to see a bed that was almost 11 feet in width! Money for Nothin'!

Yes, you too can get coupons like this! Here's my third installment of "Money for Nothin'". Our good friend, Matt O'Brien, shared this one with us a good year or two ago. He said that all Hanes products were GUARANTEED for life! He realized this from reading the back of the package, who'd have thunk it!? Turns out, if you buy, or better yet, have already bought any Hanes underwear (boxers OR briefs) or socks or really anything else they might sell, and it has a hole in it, you're in luck! We've sent back packages of holey old underwear and socks twice now. The first time Ben weighed the package at work, they sent him a mailing label then we got a package of socks in the mail and a check for the underwear! The second time, Ben called them and they said they didn't even need the old holey stuff mailed and that they'd send us coupons to replace them. Sure enough, you can see the picture to prove it! It's so happy! If you aren't so fortunate as to have already holey underwear and socks in your dresser drawers right now, don't panic. You can just make a point of buying Hanes brand the next time you're in the market for socks and undies! Tee hee! For more info on how to get your Hanes goods replaced, I found this on their website:

For questions regarding a purchase you made at a retail store or to arrange the
return of a Hanes® product you purchased at a retail store:

Contact Retail Customer Service:
1-800-994-4348
Monday-Friday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Eastern Time

Becca's Favorite Things

These, my friends, are called "SmartWool" socks. The ones above are two of Ben's, I realize the picture is misleading, Smartwool socks come matching, I just wanted to show you two examples. You can learn a lot about them on the SmartWool website, but I'll summarize for ya. Made from fancy Merrino sheep wool from New Zealand, they keep you warm when you need, cool when you need, dry all the time, and stink free! They're also super soft and comfy. I especially like how snugly they fit. Mine are longer. Secretly, I sometimes find myself thinking, "We must be rich! Ben has four pairs of SmartWools, I have two and Z even has a pair!" We were given at least three of our pairs. They're not your economical Hanes as they go for $10 for a pair of footies up to $22 for boot socks online. We've found them cheaper at climbing stores like Appalacian Outfitters, but that was a long time ago, when I was working, so maybe their prices went up. I believe Ben's business partner at the airport, Eric, found SmartWools on ebay in bulk before. Anyways, I found myself thankful for my SmartWools this week and thought I'd include them in Becca's Favorite Things.

Not among Becca's Favorite things this week: VOIP! (Voice over internet Protocol). There's some voice over internet phone services that may be just fine, but we have not been happy with VOIP the carrier. We're thinking of switching to Vonage. Any bad experiences out there? We've had no working phone for six days out of the last two weeks. Again, if you need to contact us, call our cells or e-mail us! Thanks!

A big meal!

This slideshow has pictures from this past weekend, playing in the snow and enjoying time with our former foster daughter, Kim, her son, Tristan and my cousin who lived with us for a year, Jamie. Jamie is still in the Navy and will be for at least three more years. She lives on a small ship on the East Coast. Kim also lives near Norfolk, Virginia and was able to catch a ride with Jamie to visit. She starts a cleaning job tomorrow and otherwise stays home with her 9 month old. Her husband, Paul, works for the Navy on a different ship in the Atlantic. Below are pictures from our yummy dinner we had Saturday night. So sorry to our friends, Matt and Molly who were to join us, but were prevented by the blizzard we had.

As a side note, our VOIP (voice over internet phone) isn't working...again. Not happy with them at all! It's been down for four days now. We're looking at our alternatives. So, if you need to reach us call our cells or e-mail or something. Thanks!

This is Bulgogi. It's a Korean dish we'd order in a lot when I was a kid living in Maryland. I found all the ingredients at the Oriental Food store in Canton. We buy special beef there that is sliced super thin, marinade it in half a jar of "Assi" brand, "BBQ sauce for beef" aka Bulgogi sauce for 24 hours. Ben grills the beef (yes in a blizzard), then I add it to steamed veggies which Jamie helped chop, toss and add a little more sauce. We serve it over rice. Truly a family favorite. The girls always ask for this or my coconut chicken when they come home to visit. I just looked through all my old posts and I've never shared the latter recipe. Definitely, someday I'll do that! It's sounding yummier the more I think about it!

English oranges. This is my mom's recipe:

8 juicy oranges
2 c. sugar
1 c. water

Peel 2 oranges with sharp knife. Cut peel into thin matchsticks. Simmer matchsticks for five minutes in boiling water, drain. Pour cold water over. Peel other oranges, seed if necessary. Chop pieces in half. Put into serving bowl. Slowly heat sugar and half of water. Boil until like syrup. Pour in rest of water. Bring to boil again. Allow to cool. Stir frequently as it cools. If it hardens, add a little water and reheat. After syrup has mostly cooled, pour over oranges, stir. Add half the matchsticks, stir. Decorate with other half of matchsticks on top.

I'm not a big fan of rice pudding, I prefer tapioca. However, if I'm gonna have rice pudding I want it to have coconut milk and heavy cream in it! Yum! I found several recipes for Indian Rice pudding, or Kheer, before finding this one which I've made twice and definitely deem a winner! Thanks for making it for us, Jamie! You were such a help!

Finally, we have my favorite cookie, I think of all time! Perhaps that's a tough call, but still, these are a must to try especially if you like coconut! Check out this Easy Chocolate Macaroons Recipe!

at the bottom of the page.

Well, it was a lot of cooking and baking for one meal, but it was fun and super yummy. I think we'll just have left over oranges and sloppy joes tonight. I'm storing my energy back up to make some fancy meatballs for spaghetti. Recipes welcome!