Seafood Lasagna

Saute 1 bell pepper, 1 onion, 3 stalks of celery, and some green onions in a stick of butter for about 20 min.

Add crawfish tails, shrimp, and crab meat (imitation crab meat is fine.)

Also, add cream of mushroom soup

Now you have you MIX.

Take a 9 by 13 pan and begin by putting the lasagna noodles down, then the MIX, then mozzarella sliced cheese, then noodles again, MIX again, and top with grated cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 min.

A very easy recipe (that you can even make ahead of time) with fairly pricey ingredients. So you might want to save this for a special occasion.

EnJOY!!!

Family Reunion

Alf is the oldest of four!

Things began to get exciting when Alf's brother, Ronnie, called us a couple years ago to tell us that he was going to turn himself in, in hopes of eventually having family again and living a somewhat normal life. We had not heard from Ronnie in years (maybe five or more.) The last time we had seen him was at his five yr old daughters funeral. Alf would occasionally look in the obituaries b/c no one we knew had heard from him.

Having contact with him now, Alf continued conversation with him. During his time in jail Ronnie would call to keep us posted on court stuff, share with us things he was learning, and would sometimes have a few needs. We did what we could to let him know we love him and would try to encourage him. His time was shortened so now two years later he is a free man. He has his girlfriend, a three and a half yr old daughter they share, and his girlfriends eight yr old daughter - neither of them allow him much personal space:)
We would hear regularly from other family members how Alf's sister and half brother (Theresa and Jerry)were doing. We never looked in obituaries for them:) We knew they were around taking care of each other, they simply did not have much to do with family.....for a looooong time (maybe seven years.) The last time I saw her was at their grandmothers funeral.
For Alf and I, moving back to New Orleans has not been to just plant a church. It has been to reconnect with his siblings again. B/c of facebook, Jerry and Theresa found Alf and we immediately jumped on the opportunity to see them since we now live near them.
Tomorrow will be a week that Ronnie has been out of jail. So one evening this past week, we had the privilege of having him (and girlfriend and kids) and Theresa over for dinner. (Jerry chose not to make it in fear of being late to work.) It was a good time. We sat around talking about how other family members were doing and listened to Ronnie and Theresa reminisce about some of the past (like when they were 13 and 15, Ronnie stepped in to help Theresa from getting beat up by a group of girls.)
The kids had a blast on the slip-n-slide outside, playing basketball, eating sugar cookies, etc.
I hope that this is the beginning of many more evenings with them!
It has been interesting to hear all of their perspectives of childhood. They all grew up together in one house but have very different views of how life was. A lot of it has to do with the age differences, some of it has to do with choices made. Ronnie, his girlfriend, and I had a brief time of talking about how Alf's life panned out and why he is not in many of the memories that Ronnie and Theresa share.
Why God chose to pull Alf away from it when He did, we do not know. We live in HOPE and FAITH that God, as he has been doing, will continue to show His immeasurable love and do more then we can ask or imagine in this life. May I trust Him in every step. I love Alf AND the family that came with him:)

Look! Look! Look!

It came, we saw, and it flew away. It was beautiful.

Receiving End

I have been on the receiving end this year, in many ways. These particular pictures are of the boys enjoying a camp that took place at a park down the street from us. The group that did the camp was from Alabama. They came here to do mission work. Little did they know that they would minister to someone in ministry. They were such nice people and glad to do it. The boys had a fantastic time and made friends with a little boy that lives near by!

As I was benefiting this day from mission work, my husband was out facilitating another mission team in town. During the summer, fall breaks, and spring breaks you start to notice "church buses"on the streets or large groups in restaurants around the city.
It is an amazing change that has taken place in this city, post Katrina.

Caterpillars and Zinnias

When watering the bushes last night I found some pets for the kids! Having done a little homework, I just need to keep them fed and clean their poop and with time we shall see butterflies (fingers and toes crossed).
Athan named his caterpillar - Athan. Guess what Aiden named his caterpillar? Yep.

The simple pleasures of our backyard this summer. I decided to plant zinnia seeds for the first time and was successful! (dont ask me about the vegetables I tried to plant:) Anyway, here is a bouquet I picked for my sister-n-law....

Mother's Day

I love being a MOM to these two boys!

book, book, books

We are wrapping up our school year (three weeks left!!!) And before I pack away our books I thought I would record for myself some of the wonderful books we read this year. Feel free to look through the list and one may inspire you to sit down and read to your child.

Missionary Stories with the Millers by Mildred A. Martin. What a wonderful book! I would recommend this book to any family. It has a bunch of really short stories of different missionaries from all over the world that encounter very adventurous and challenging obstacles to overcome. God is in all of it! (each of the stories is based on an actual happening from the lives of real people.)

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater. This book at times really got the boys giggling. A very unrealistic event that is fun to imagine.

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald. A lady that lives in an upside down house that the children are all attracted to. Mothers in the neighborhood seek Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's advice on ailments such as there child hates taking baths, or eats way to slow. Mrs Piggle Wiggle cures them all!

A Child's History of the World by Virgil M. Hillyer. A Fantastic book to read with your child! It is such an easy read. It is a lot to read (600 pgs) but it is a survey of the world's history where you can refer to it and fit it into further historical studies. It really brings those stories told in sunday school more of a reality (I loved that the most)

Charlotte's Web by E.B.White. Must I say it? This one is one of the first we read and it captivated them. Almost made us cry...almost:)

Follow My Leader by Garfield. This was a great book to educate the boys on what it is like to be blind. A great story of a boy becoming blind as a child, getting a blind dog, and thriving in the world despite his obstacles.

Greek Myths / Usborne. I was dreading this book at first, even joked with Alf about taking care of this one. It proved me wrong. We even acted out some of these stories and had a blast doing them. I think our favorite was the Myth of Icarus and Daedalus. It allowed for wonderful imagination.

Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. It took some time to get into this one but so glad I trudged on. I may have learned more from this book then the boys did:) How to help your kid think for themselves, to work hard, and the value of responsibility.

The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong. Making dreams come true.

Lastly, many of the science and history books came form Usborne. Highly enjoyed the beautiful pictures and the amount of information that was covered.

Almost forgot! Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I had the privilege of helping my five year old learn how to read this year. There are not many things in life that top that! What a joy it was. If I can do it, you can too!