Happy Father's Day

so i forgot to post this..... which is sad. but pregnancy brain is a real disability people. i forget all the things all the time.

Happy Father's day to all those Dad's and Single mom's putting in the time and making it count!  We had a great time celebrating Dan and Dad Liss.  Dan's sister, Jen, made an excellent meal for us including T-rex sized steaks for the men, summer salad and his mom made cheesecake.  We played a little bocci (spelling?) ball and madlibs enjoying each other's company.

 I didnt get a lot of pictures (sadly) but know that we had a lot of fun!

I did want to give a shout out to the 2 most important "Dad's" in my life.  

My husband, Dan, you are God's gift to Judah and I and have taken on the "dad gig" with all your energy, love, compassion and mad climbing skills.  I know it is a "God thing" that you and Judah have so quickly formed such a solid bond as father and son.  He loves you so much and you connect with him in so many ways.  You make me a better parent and I am so thankful for you.  I pray that you continue to grow closer as we near the turbulent teen years and I am confident that Judah is learning from the best as he grows into a man.  You are, after all, Judah's tangible evidence of God's answer to his prayers and he has not been disappointed!   I am so looking forward to watching you fall in love with your little girl this fall.  She is going to fall so hard for you too!  You have made us a complete family and you work hard to lead us, following after God.  I love you all the ways. 

     

 My Dad, you have always been a constant in my life.  Even when it was that we were constantly not getting along in those crazy teen years of mine.. you never gave up on me.  You have always expected the best from us and implored us to lean on God for all our needs.  I have watched you and Mom live a God centered life and seen you persevere-- always putting your trust in His plan for your life no matter where it lead.  I cant imagine all of the sacrifices you have made to raise 5 kids on little to no salary but we never wanted for anything.  I love seeing you passionately sharing God's word both in the pulpit or at Ponderosa.  You have the best laugh, especially when you are feeling mischievous.  You are affectionate and you love us most by how in love you are with mom and putting her first-- that's where it starts!  I love you so much!!    

Genesis 18:19 – “For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”(NIV)

PTL

Praise the LORD!!

We had our 24 week Level 2 ultrasound yesterday where the main focus was making sure the heart had formed correctly.  It is a pretty in depth ultrasound that lasts about 30 minutes or more.  There is a lot of pressure on the belly as they move the wand around quite a bit to be able to see everything in detail.  

The technician kept saying things like, 
"Your baby rocks!", 
"wow, just beautiful." 
"check out that beautiful heart!"
"so pretty"
"yeah you have an awesome baby in there."

These are things we were pretty sure about already, but it was such a reassurance to hear that everything was checking out just fine.  The baby was very active and moving around - she even looked directly at the camera, smiled and waved it seemed...

Thank you so much for each and every prayer!!!  Our God is such a good God and His hand on this little life is such a beautiful thing to behold.  We are getting so excited to meet little Baby Liss.  But also very much wanting her to stay "in the oven" as long as possible -- so continued prayers are appreciated.  With the diabetic concerns as well as having a history of preeclampsia, it is likely that they will want to induce around 38 weeks.  Which makes due date closer to my birthday (9/17).  Not all bad... but i am just remembering the horrific disappointment of being induced twice with Judah because he wasnt ready yet!  I really appreciate the super sensitivity of the doctors, but I also am like, PEOPLE!, God has got this.  Simmer down! :-) 

I am rambling... so without further ado--- meet the 24 week cutie pie

this is her looking at the camera and waving... precious!

A car story

Classy Flo

This is our newest family member, Flo.  She is a classy broad who reminds me a lot of the smooth rides and slow jams (Kenny G) experienced in the good ol' Bowman Caprice.  

I wanted to share a little story about this car because it kind of gives you a glimpse into some of the lessons God has been teaching me.  

Some of you might remember sexy Alejandro, my little Kia Sportage SUV I bought in 2011. Alejandro was a car that I could "afford" but definitely put a dent in the monthly budget. He was sleek, sporty and fun.  I totally deserved him because I am a hard working HR Professional and have climbed the corporate ladder so I could afford nice things. Right??  

¡Alejandro!

Since marrying Dan, who is a financial wizard, we have worked hard to be good stewards of our funds and have paid off a large amount of debt (mostly from me) acquired previous to marriage.  But we still felt like we could do more to further Christ's kingdom if we had less tied up in our own stuff.  We wanted to be able to give more freely to missions, local causes, or just lend someone a helping hand.  When Dan suggested we sell my car last summer, I actually didn't hit him!  I know, I was shocked that my reaction was, "yeah, Ok."  We determined that if we sold it now, we could actually walk away with nothing to owe and then be a 1 car family until we could save for a used car we could buy out right.  This was all God working on my heart because I am not usually one to leave comforts and shiny things behind.  That is why I am usually hard to buy for at Christmas because when I want something, generally I just buy it! (*See the large amount of debt we paid off as a result of these impulses)  It was actually quite easy for me to say good bye to Alejandro (and his hefty monthly payment).  I felt a peace about it and was excited to be able to free us up and take some of the worry/burden off my husband.  When we went to the dealership to find Alejandro a new home, we were amazed at how God worked out those details too.  They offered us more than we initially planned!  

Some benefits of a 1 car family means I get a mini date with my husband to and from work.  We definitely had to increase our communication since coordinating demanding schedules and soccer games is a challenge with 1 vehicle.  It was a pain once in a while, but for the gain, it really was nice living more "simply". 

Enter Flo.  As we prepare for Baby Liss to join us this fall, we started to do some research on used cars in the area.  We still had a few more months to save for what we thought was the amount we could get a decent used car.  One day, a friend from Dan's work texted him some pictures of a car he knew was for sale.  It was being sold by a family at our church whose elderly mother was no longer able to drive.  The car was 12 years old with all the bells and whistles from 2002 (leather seats, climate control, CRUISE control! <-- we have missed this most!). And in addition to the *MINT* condition (seriously, 3 layers of floor mats - Dad would be jealous), the little old lady had not even surpassed 17 thousand miles!! She said she only drove it on Sundays to church and hadn't driven since 2008.  WHAT??  And for a very good price that just so happened to be the amount we had in the bank... PROVISION!  Thank you Jesus!  Dan can even fit in the back seat so this will be a much better fit as we add a baby carrier (AND ALL THE BABY THINGS!) to our lives. 

Flo is far above what we had imagined in that she is a great, great car, in excellent condition, for what we would have paid for a crappy newer base car with 100K miles or worse.  It is like luxury- especially after spending months in Hank (Dan's Ford escort with CRANK WINDOWS!)    

Good ol Hank

Perhaps we will grow a garden....

A few weeks ago we took the plunge and planted a small vegetable garden.  Dan built a 4 x 4 raised garden bed with scrap pallet wood.  We were given some compost dirt and also added some additional topsoil.  

We planted:

• Tomatoes
• Green, Red, Orange bell peppers
• Jalepeños
• Yellow Hot peppers
• Cucumbers
• Romaine 
• Zucchini
• Judah's bean sprout

We are completely clueless and have not done the necessary research.  I tried...I really tried to pin the most helpful websites and blogs on the subject but I am a hands on learner.  Reading how to do something does nothing for me.  I need to see it, touch it and then do it myself.  Dan was a little frustrated with my lack of planning as we operate quite a bit differently (SHOCKING!).  He is logical and pays attention to details... so when starting to actually plant the little seedlings, he is all reading the directions on the plant tags that say you need to plant them in rows of such and such feet/inches apart, etc.  Well you see the number of plants above and can see that a 4 x 4 box is not very big... Needless to say Dan had to surrender to my way of doing things which is - throw them in the ground and hope for the best!  

Judah was SUPER helpful.  He also had the chance to plant his little baby bean sprout he had started growing in class.  It is probably the only plant that will survive...

Garden Accomplished!

Here is out a couple of weeks because we have received very differing information on how often to water the stupid thing.  We will see if anything makes it.  At least it is colorful and cute with the little "cages"!

Be Still My Soul

<In You I Rest>

This song has been on my heart for a couple of months.  It has been my prayer and when sung in church, I can scarcely make a sound.. just mouth the words and weep as I beg the Lord to wash over me and quiet my anxious soul.  

Since finding out in late January that we were expecting it has been with cautious joy waiting to see if we would make it through the first trimester.  

Last year we were in a similar place-- twice.    

No one really talks about miscarriage and so when it happens, you are completely unprepared.  The loss, grief, and sadness is almost more than you can take when just a day before you were giddy and planning nursery themes.  No one tells you that they are quite common and many times without reason.  You blame yourself and go over in your head what you did wrong.  But mostly you grieve because a precious life was lost.  

So I find comfort in this song and in the knowledge that my God holds the world (and my heart) in His hands.  That He is by my side, comforting me and assuring me of His faithfulness.  I am sad for our loss but His Joy is renewed every morning and today I get to see my little one who is growing strong as we near the 20th week at our doctor appointment.  

God has blessed us so much with each other, Judah, little lemon, our families, our home, food and resources to give to others.  He has never given us a reason to doubt His vast love and grace that He covers us with each new day.  

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

In you I rest, in You I found my hope
In you I trust, You never let me goI place my life within your hands aloneBe still, my soul 

Your promise revives me;

    it comforts me in all my troubles.   Psalm 119:50

I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. 21 It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. John 16:20-22

A couple of my favorite Pintrest recipes

I am a little addicted to Pintrest. Ok, maybe alot.  I love it for some many practical reasons but also because it is like a never ending giant magazine of ALL THE THINGS!  

I really use it most for finding good (and easy!) recipes.  In fact I try most weeks to incorporate one or two of the thousands of recipes I pin.  These are a couple of my favorites that came out pretty well and some of the adjustments I made.  I hope you enjoy!

Cilantro Lime Chicken - crock pot!

1.5 - 2 pounds of chicken breast or tenderloins
Juice of 2 limes
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 (16oz) bag of frozen corn (or canned)
2 minced garlic cloves (or like 5-10 if you are Cuban or Crazy awesome)
1/2 red onion, chopped (or any onion on hand)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp of cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Optional additions:
2 Chiles in adobo, chopped with a little of the sauce (canned)
1 tsp Smoked paprika

Place all ingredients in slow cooker, give it a stir and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours

Serving suggestions:
-Over rice
-flour or corn tortillas with taco fixings of avocado, sour cream and shredded cheese
-over quinoa
-make into burritos
-over nachos

This recipe always makes a ton so I freeze some, and then use it during the week with the different serving suggestions.  It also can be added to quesadillas or one time i re-heated it in an oven casserole dish with crunched up tortilla chips and cheese on top.  YUM!

The chicken comes out so flavorful! This is one of those dishes that just tastes so good and is great to come home to after a busy day.  

credit from Pintrest: http://octobersmorning.blogspot.com/2012/10/freezer-meal-exchange.html?_sm_au_=iVVPnkkTj5Lj6ZDP 

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

Click above for the easy recipe link.  This was super easy, and tasted really good.  I like not having to sit over a pan or pot and take a load off my feet when i get home from work.

And for DESSERT!!

Banana GUILT FREE Ice cream

This is probably one of my favorite pinterest discoveries because I am craving Ice cream ALL THE LIVE LONG DAY. But I really cant have it or should have it as much as I want it! This recipe you will have to try in order to believe just how much in texture and taste this tastes like ice cream-- or at least like a yummy Frosty!

Chocolate Peanut buttercup Guilt free  (Dan's fave)

1-2 Frozen bananas (sliced) per number of servings (For the Liss group I cut up 4-5)

2 Tablespoons Cocoa powder 

2 Tablespoons of Peanut butter (optional or any nut butter you have)

A little milk (depending on what kind of blender you have)

Put all ingredients into your blender or food processor. I used my ninja for this recipe and had to add a couple splashes of milk to get it to the consistency I wanted. 

There are so many variations you can do with this recipe.  Just bananas and....

• Chocolate- cocoa powder (you would be surprised how the sweetness of the bananas make's this "Sugar free"!
• Strawberry- frozen/fresh strawberries
• Any type of Fruit - like mangos!
• My favorite is Cocoa and a tiny bit of cayenne cause i am SPICY 
• Use extracts of mint, almond or vanilla 
• Possibilities are endless!!!!!

Play around with this recipe and let me know what concoction of loveliness you come up with!

Follow me on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kjloca

Let's go ride a Bike!

A couple of weeks ago Dan and I attended the wedding of the Great Bobby Jones.  It was beautiful and we had a good time.  We decided to make a "date" out of it since it was an early afternoon wedding.  Dan made reservations at a restaurant we have been wanting to try and we also planned to see a movie.  One of the funny things about our "short" courtship was that we really didn't have too much time to do classic date things like, Movies.  I think we have only gone to 2 movies together at this point.

Anyways...

On our way to the wedding, we were starving for lunch so we stopped at this little hole in the wall.  Weezys?  It was a cute little diner/bar and had really good food.  We were a bit over dressed... 

Trying to take a picture on "Route 66" is
difficult with a foot height difference

  After the wedding we had some time to kill.... so like any old married couple we headed to Target. 

We had a lovely "fancy" dinner at Andria's where we actually were not overdressed.  I had the scallops and Dan had a steak.  It was a cute little house converted into a restaurant and had excellent food.  It was hard to not be distracted by the older people sitting beside us as there was this one obnoxious woman saying things like, "If my baked potato is not steaming when it comes out i will send it back, you hear?" or after her friend opened her birthday gift, "That is a really nice gift, but you know what is the best gift? my Venetian glass earrings my daughter had flown in from Italy."   Gag!

 After dinner we had some more time to kill before the movie, DIvergent was playing.  So we did what any other old married couple would do... we went to Walmart! :-)
We have been looking for a bike for me since last summer and havent found one that met both of our requirements.  Dan's- a bike that shifted and I was tall enough to actually ride. And Mine- super cute and retro!  We actually found THE BEST BIKE at Walmart that night and to my surprise Dan had the bike rack in the trunk for just such an occasion.  

how else do you exit a store with a bike?

Don't I look adorable?

I am really enjoying my "new ride".  It makes me happy when I see it all bright and cheery.  Last Saturday we took it on our biggest adventure yet... a ride across town to the library! Family bike rides are the best. :-)  

it has ALL THE
COLORS!

teal rims and rainbows!