Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Fish Tacos with Avocado Sauce

I was inspired by some yummy tacos that we had in Ouray to try a new fish taco recipe I found.  It was a big hit tonight.  Mark and the kids have requested that I make this more often.  Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it...don't be intimidated by the long ingredient list.  I had most of it on hand, and it was very easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
Fish:
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. tilapia fillets

Sauce:
2 medium ripe avocados--divided
1/4 c. fat-free sour cream
1/4 c. light miracle whip
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. dill weed
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried parsley flakes
dash cayenne pepper

Salsa:
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped and seeded
1 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tsp. lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 tsp. salt

Tacos:
8 flour tortillas (6 in.)---although next time, I'm going to try white corn cooked in a little oil
2 cups shredded cabbage

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the lemon juice, oil and garlic.  Add the tilapia, seal bag and turn to coat.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Peel and cube avocados.  For sauce, in a small bowl, mash 1/4 c. avocado.  Stir in remaining sauce ingredients.

3. Place remaining avocado in another medium bowl.  Stir in the remaining salsa ingredients.

4. Drain fish and discard marinade.  Broil tilapia 4-6 in. from the heat for 8-10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

5.  Spread about 1 Tbsp. sauce on each tortilla and top with tilapia.  Top with salsa and cabbage.

Very yummy and good for you!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Can't We All Just Get Along?

I love kid-logic.  Aidan spent the night with my parents this weekend.  When he spends the night there, my mom always lies down with him and they talk before bedtime.  Somehow, this time, they started talking about Satan and how he came to be.  My mom explained that Satan wanted to take God's place and was kicked out of heaven.  To which Aidan replied, "why didn't God just share with him?"
I love this kid!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's birthday...I won't tell you her age, you wouldn't believe me anyway, because she looks beautiful for her age.
In honor of my mom's birthday, I'd like to share a few of my favorite memories of her.  I'm betting she doesn't even remember some of these!  :)

One of my earliest memories is of my mom rocking me in a 70's gold rocking chair. She would sing "You are my Sunshine" and "Clementine."  I still sing these songs to my kids.  Thank you mom...you taught me the power of touch and affection and closeness.  Now, I cherish these moments with my own children.

Another time, I was home alone and scared, so I called my mom at work.  She told me to read the 23rd Psalm.  I read that familiar passage that night and let the words sink in and wash over me.  It was soothing to my soul.  She taught me that God's word is powerful and applies to our daily life.  Thank you for teaching me to turn to God's word in times of fear or loneliness or anxiety.  I still turn to it for comfort and guidance today.

My mom really knew how to celebrate holidays.
For Valentine's day, she would help me decorate a shoe box.  Mine was always the most beautiful one at school.

For Halloween, she decorated the house with spooky green light bulbs and fake spider webs.  Our house was always the scariest house on our street.  Once she planned a Halloween party for our friends and put witch's fingers and dry ice in the sink.

At Christmas, she went all out.  She decorated and put beautifully wrapped presents under the tree.  She would write us letters from Santa and once even had someone to pretend to be Santa and call us.  (my brother the skeptic answered the phone and declared it a fraud)

Once, she got me a cabbage patch preemie for my birthday and arranged for someone to deliver it to our front door.  (my brother got to the door first and then slammed the door in the person's face)
Mom still makes holidays and birthdays special.
Thanks for letting us experience a little magic in our childhood...and for teaching us to take time to celebrate.

My mom has always loved plants and being outdoors.  One time, she let me help her plant daffodil bulbs.  I was so excited when they bloomed in the spring that I got my camera and took dozens of pictures of them.  I now plant daffodils in my own yard.  Thanks for teaching us to appreciate nature and the beauty of God's creation.  I have learned so many lessons from a garden.


As a child, I was notorious for bringing home every stray animal I could find.  There's no telling how many homeless animals I rescued.  She always let me keep them.  I think deep down...under the "who's going to feed it, walk it, bathe it, clean up after it??" speech, she felt as sorry for them as I did.  (Oh, and she was always the one to feed it, walk it, bathe it, etc...no matter how much I promised otherwise--she's paid me back by sending a stray cat my way recently).  Thank you for teaching me the value of life and compassion for the less fortunate.


On cold mornings, mom always had a mug of hot chocolate and windmill cookies waiting for us before school.  Sometimes, she would warm our clothes by the fire so they would be nice and toasty when we slipped into them.  Now, I love making hot chocolate and windmill cookies for my little ones...I want them to feel as warm and snuggly as I did.  Mom, thanks for teaching me warmth.


Every year for Christmas, mom would buy us an art kit, or a craft kit, or something to encourage our creativity.  I still find joy in being creative.  My brother is a gifted and creative person too.  We owe this to our mom's encouragement.  Thanks for teaching us to express ourselves with creativity.  It is a source of much joy for me now.


There are many more cherished memories of my precious mom. She has been my constant cheerleader in this life.
I love you dearly mom.  You are so precious to me.  Thanks for all you've sown into my life.  I hope you have a very blessed and happy birthday.  













Friday, July 9, 2010

Things I've Heard Lately:

We are loving our vacation in Colorado.  The weather is beautiful.  It has been warm during the day and chilly at night.  I love sleeping under a down comforter in July!  The scenery is breath taking, as always. But, what I love most about vacation, is how much concentrated family time we get together.  There's no job to go to, no homework to finish, no appointments, just good, fun time together.  We are especially blessed because our kids are good travelers.  They have a sense of adventure and don't mind riding in the car all day to reach an adventure.  I love jumping in waterfalls and throwing rocks in the river with my precious family.  This year, my parents came with us to Colorado.  The kids were both thrilled about that.  We got to celebrate the fourth in Ouray with an old-fashioned parade, complete with a fly-over by an old fighter plane.  Then the kids had foot races and potato sack races in the park, and fireworks and ice cream that night.  The fireworks over the mountains are incredible. And the "boom!" echoes all through the mountains.
We also got to go to Mesa Verde and see the pueblos.  It was awe inspiring.  It makes you feel good about the human spirit, to see what can be accomplished with little resources.
We are enjoying our time together, and I can't wait to share the pictures when we get home.

With all this togetherness time, we've heard our kids say some things that I don't want to forget, and you may enjoy.  So, here are some of the things we've been hearing lately:

Aidan:  "What's your name?"
Ella:  "Ella Claire"
Aidan:  "What's my name?"
Ella:  "Bubba Claire"

Aidan:  "Daddy, I'm not good at waiting.  You just don't understand my culture."

Ella:  "Stop this car!  I want to get out!"

Aidan:  "I like traveling with you mommy.  I hope you're still alive when I grow up."

Ella:  "Slow down!"
Aidan:  "You're driving like a bat out of Hades!"

I'm sure there will be more of these to come...  :)

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Six Years...and no Seven Year Itch in Sight!

In honor of mine and Mark's anniversary today's post is all about Mark.  The first thing you should know about Mark is that he is going to LOVE that I devoted a whole post to him.  He loves when I talk about how amazing he is to other people.  :)


First of all, Mark is NOT perfect.  

He has more t-shirts than one man should be allowed, and I'm pretty sure that some of them are older than me.  There are places on his Zildjian shirt that you can see through!

He always leaves his shoes and socks in the floor wherever he takes them off.

He keeps a small pile of clothes in the corner of our bedroom...he doesn't want to put them away because he might wear them again, but they're not quite ready to go into the hamper either.

 He likes   LOVES Rush.

He brings me ice cream, candy and cokes when he knows I don't need to be eating that stuff.

He can quote every line from The Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona.

He has a small rectangle of 70's style carpet from his childhood home in our closet that he can't part with.

He is a complete glutton when it comes to ice cream, especially mint chocolate chip.

He frequently pours out my drinks before I am finished with them.


So, with all these flaws, you may be wondering how I've survived the last 6 years.  :)

Everyone always told me that marriage was hard work.  There are times that are difficult, I suppose, but overall, being married to Mark is easy.  It's easy because I always know how he feels about me.  He always makes our marriage a priority.  


He makes me laugh every day.  He supports me in everything I do.  He sacrifices financially so that I can be home with our kids.

He is an amazing father.  Our children adore and respect him.  Mark makes sure that our children are respectful towards me.  He not only teaches them how to be Godly people, he lives it out in front of them.

He loves God and tries to live a life pleasing to him; our whole family benefits from Mark's relationship with God.  

He is fun to be around.  

He is sensitive to my feelings...he always (almost always) recognizes when I'm having a rough day and steps in to make it better.  





He makes me feel cherished.

He has a heart for the less fortunate.  He is giving and generous, even when there's not much to give.




He is my greatest blessing and my best friend.  I love you Mark.  Thank you for being you.  Happy anniversary.  




Thursday, July 1, 2010

Summer Fun Week 5: Colorado Week



Okay, this week is Colorado week, so on Monday we'll be in Colorado, on Tuesday we'll be in Colorado....

In all seriousness, I'm taking a 2 week break from summer fun activities at home to enjoy some summer fun in Colorado.  I am looking forward to the cooler weather, the mountains, hiking with my family, reading books on a balcony overlooking the mountains...I'll post lots of pictures!

On a side note, check out the family fun web site if you want some really cute ideas for celebrating the fourth of July.

Happy 4th of July!