Questions and Answers: All Kinds of Stuff

Quite awhile ago I was asked if I would ever consider doing some
question and answer posts.
Putting it out there, many, many of you responded.
Well one thing most who know me up close will agree on, I am never quick.  
I try.  Truly, I do.  
But I have two gears I run in.  
Slow
and
Slower still.
Over the next while {how’s that for vague?} I am going to attempt to answer some of the questions.  {Remember, think ‘slower still’.}
Let’s start with some random questions people had…
Question:
How did you teach your kids to swim?
We have had a pool or access to one for the better part of the last 25 years, with the exception of living in Colorado and there we had a hot tub.  For those who would love to talk with their tween, teens and olders….I would strongly suggest a hot tub, if possible.   We bought ours after losing our home to the fire at a ‘scratch and dent’ sale.  It was one of the best investments we’ve ever made.   We would sit out many a starry night and talk about everything and anything with our kids.  
And there is nothing like a snowy day and taking a break from school to sit in the hot tub and laugh and talk and make some fun memories with the littles while it snows and blows around us.  
As for swimming, the years we’ve had a pool, we have had one of the bigger kids teach the littler ones.  While here in Arizona Graham and Emma taught the younger ones to swim. Graham and Emma learned from Tyler when we pastored in Virginia.  Not sure who taught Tyler.  Probably Dw.  I’m not a great swimmer myself, but I do love that my kids know how to swim well and enjoy it immensely. 
Question:
Do you remember blogging about several little boys who were kidnapped from an orphanage…because of child trafficking…that was one of the first posts I remember reading on your blog. I’ve often thought about them and wondered if they were ever found?

It’s so sweet of you to think of those precious street boys who were part of the feeding program.
 
You’re referring to this post I titled: Kidnapped! which was published in August of 2009.  I remember we were living in the rental house after our fire and I called for a day of prayer and fasting to bring the boys back.
It grieves my heart to say that they were never found.  
The horrific part was that one had the trauma of it and was able to run from them.  He said that one was a woman!  Can you imagine?  God made women naturally as nurturers…yet one woman was part of this despicable deed done.
Who can imagine the heartache of everyday life for a street boy?  And although I’ve already said it several times, my heart was broken in so many pieces this past trip as we ministered to the street boys.  
Question:

Do you have any easy meal ideas that feed lots of people that are quick
to make? 🙂  We all need new ideas for this.

First, I have to tell you that I always give my family two choices for dinner.

Yup, I do.
Choice One:
Take it.
or
Choice Two:
Leave it.
We have had a general rule of thumb at our house…if one complains about what is being served, we politely remove their plate and say, “See you at the next meal.”  
We have only ever had to do that once {many, many, many years ago} but the story has been passed down from the older kids and no one has ever wanted to see if we still will practice it.  
I have had it up to my eyeballs with people, young or old, complaining about food being served.  We all have sat next to kids at gatherings who are belly-aching, “I didn’t want ham, I wanted turkey.”  
How we wish we could pack that person up and take them to the street boys and let them walk a mile on the souls of their feet.   Probably wouldn’t notice if it was ham or turkey next time around, right?
We believe that thankfulness is a key to happiness in life.  And truly, we all have so much to be thankful for.
Okay, here is the good ol’ standby that we eat at least 2 times a week:
{Wait for it…}
Bean burritos
In a perfect world, I prepare the beans from scratch.  However my world is definitely not perfect….hence we buy the super-duper giant size can of beans which enables us to make about 24 burritos.  A couple days later we use the other half of the can and again make 24 bean burritos.  
Oatmeal 
We eat lots of oatmeal over here, which packs a nice 5g of protein per serving.  We put almonds on our oatmeal and almond milk or fruit and always a dash of ground flax seed.    
Rice
We eat quite a bit of rice {brown is our favorite, with its yummy nutty flavor}, and we saute vegetables to put on top.   The great part of that is that depending on the vegetables, every time there is a different flavor or crunch.   
We don’t eat a lot of meat. 
We like using the crock pot and often throw a whole chicken in with vegetables in the bottom served on rice.  We like to concoct different spices for the top of the chicken and Savannah has recently mastered the spices so well that it resembles rotisserie chicken. Yum.
We do eat a fair amount of pasta dishes, often with vegetables over the pasta. 
I have a few recipes that our favorites, but will have to post them at another time.
Trust you are enjoying your Saturday.  

6 thoughts on “Questions and Answers: All Kinds of Stuff

  1. I like bean burrittos but don't like canned refried beans. I started purchasing canned pinto beans that are whole beans. I dump the whole can (liquid and all, but you can remove some of the liquid if it is too runny for you) in the pot and start warming. I use a potato masher to squish the beans. I like them much better this way, closer to home made taste. It only takes a minute or so to squish the beans.

  2. I am a family of one. Just me. But I eat burritos of every variety a lot, too. Bean, meat, veggie, squash, fish or egg and bacon. I always make extra, especially of the egg breakfast ones (that I will most often eat for dinner, by the way), wrap them in plastic wrap, and freeze. Then they are easy to pop out of the wrap and into the microwave for a minute. Quick meal in 60 seconds. Not sure if others do this too so I thought I'd pass along the tip.

    KK @ Preppy Pink Crocodile

  3. Great, I was having password issues so if you get two messages from me I'm sorry.

    First of all, love the dinner rules. That's pretty much what I do although I will admit sometimes mine will still quip over what there is at that point they are reminded it's that or nothing.

    Okay so here's the question I've had in mind for a while now and just haven't asked….

    You always refer to the street boys. There can't possibly be only boy orphans, where are the girls? Are there homes that take them in but not the boys?

  4. Linny, I echo your comments about the hot tub. Being in the hot tub with our youngest daughter and our new Czech daughter (exchange student) this summer allowed me to get to know our newest much faster. Being in there with my husband makes him a captive audience and we've hammered through many topics while soaking. It's great for a marriage and great for connecting with our kids! Julie

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