Carmel Apple Pork Chops
Heat oven to 350*
Marinate 4 pork chops in 2x apple juice to soy sauce (I just did this for the day)
Saute' one peeled, cored, sliced apple and 1/8 tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg in 1 stick of butter. Add one can of apple pie filling and heat through. Let simmer for a few minutes. (You can just do the filling or just a bunch of apples with apple juice to thicken up the sauce. This was easier and I added the one apple for crunch.)
Place pork chops in baking pan, cover with sauce. Bake, covered, for 35 minutes.
Uncover, sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans (optional) to taste.
Bake another 15 minutes and serve! I served with baked sweet potatoes and just poured some of the sauce over the potatoes. So delicious! I actually detest pork chops, but there was a terrific deal on them at Costco, so I have been experimenting. This was the yummiest, most tender pork chop I have ever had. Happy cooking!
My family has a Christmas Eve tradition of driving around to look at lights. My mom's big excitement on those adventures is when folks leave their blinds open so we can peek inside. I used to roll my eyes ever-so-dramatically whenever she became excited about that. Lately I have realized: Gasp! I am the same way! I love to survey my neighbors lawns when out on a walk with Liz and gather ideas. I really love to see glimpses in houses (without being the creepy peeping neighbor) to get an idea of different decorating styles and such. I am fascinated when fellow bloggers or Facebookers post pictures. After appreciating the subject of the photo, I usually am poking around the edges to catch a glimpse of the surroundings. So, I thought, as un-fancy as my house is (I am in desperate need of home decor advice...and moolah to furnish any creative ideas I may happen upon) I am going to share my favorite area. I have shown the shabby state of some rooms in the past, simply to show before and after pictures, but today I am sharing my living room and kitchen. They are connected and this is where we spend most of our time.
I also wanted to share because I don't think I have really convinced my husband how much I love and appreciate our house. Too often he hears that I would like to change this or that and I would like to change the layout of our house. However, I love our house. I love the location. We are about 20 minutes outside of the city. It's not far, but the few miles of farmland you have to drive through (including the oh-so-fresh cow farm) to get to our neck of the woods can sometimes make the drive feel very long. But how often can one say that they get to drive past golden wheat fields, bright green corn fields and a CASTLE on their way home? Yes, I said castle. My husband has learned, if it's on my blog, it's true. So here it is: I love my home. I am so appreciative to Deech for working so hard for us to live here. And I am proud to show pictures of our favorite rooms.
This weekend while we were away at the conference, my parents stayed with Liz. She was definitely living the high life! We came home to this fun sandbox. It's been too cold and wet here to play in it. We set it up Monday night and tried to let her play, but the sand was too cold, so we took her inside for a cookie instead!
Nothing too exciting to post about. I am antsy today because we have an ultrasound in less than 24 hours. Our 20 week appointment has arrived quickly this time! We are hoping this baby cooperates as well as LiZ did so that we can tell if we have a "he" or "she" to expect. The hard part is...we aren't going to share that news until the baby is born! This will be HARD! My husband really would like to keep it a secret, so I am willing to stay hush hush. I think I will be happy I did when we have more to share in August than measurements.
Ultrasounds always get me tied up in knots. I have had many, many bad ultrasounds. Even though I only lost 2 babies, I had many ultrasounds for the 2nd one before we knew that there was no longer a beating heart. I hate the moments in silence where you're trying not to be too excited...I get sick thinking about it. So far all has been very good with this baby. After taking progesterone medication with Liz and now this baby, we believe that my earlier difficulties were hormone related. However, my parents lost 4 babies after my sister and me, and I am afraid to see that repeated.
BUT. I trust my God. He gave me a unique experience to trust Him through my pregnancy with Liz. One conversation with my Dad opened my eyes. I was expressing my fears over that pregnancy very early on and my Dad told me God would never waste a chance to teach me to trust Him. I went quiet and agreed, already resigning myself that God would teach me that lesson through more loss. To me, double lines on a pregnancy test meant a D&C in the near future.
My Dad, in his wonderful, patient wisdom, stopped me and said, "Sometimes God like to teach us through joy." It sounds so simple, but that statement was huge for me. Yes, God definitely leads us through darkness and hard times. That's life. That is the world since sin entered it.
BUT. God also longs to give us good things. To fill our lives to the fullest. To do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.
I trust Him. I trust Him and love Him if we hear glowing reports tomorrow. I trust Him and love Him if we hear heart wrenching news tomorrow. I trust Him and love Him because He has never failed me and never will.
Another encouragement while I was pregnant with Liz. My mother-in-law reminded me of these verses and also reminded me that if God makes a promise to us, it is ours to claim. Here are His promises to us concerning fear and worry:
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7.
Those are our promises to claim. Never be afraid to take God up on His Word.
