Chick-Fil-A for dinner

We've really been missing us some Chick-Fil-A. Really. It's the ONLY thing I have craved and actually cried over not having. But cry now more!! I found a recipe for Chicken Sandwiches that come pretty close to the original. I altered it a little (when do I EVER NOT alter a recipe?!) to make it work for our family - mainly turned it into strips not sandwiches.

Here is the recipe:

I know lots of us are from the south and REALLY miss Chik-Fil-A. DebbieM sent me this recipe for a copycat Chik-Fil-A recipe for chicken breasts, but you could use it for chicken nuggets, too. Debbie's notes:

"I used regular Sundrop oil (couldn’t find peanut oil, but I know they have it here!) I used 4 chicken breasts (cut a little of the skinny side off.) You can definitely make more than that! The salt in the flour mixture sounds like too much. It was really OK. It was not too salty. The powdered sugar was a surprise!! I used a thermometer to see the oil temp. Sadly, mine doesn’t go to 375 so I had to guess if it was right. I double dipped the chicken like it mentioned. That was a good idea…make it very crunchy.

When I put the lid on the pressure cooker, it would not close all the way. It still was good and definitely kept the oil from spraying all over the place. I cooked for 4 minutes. Oh, there was plenty of flour mixture and milk/egg to fry more. I really wished that I had made more…they were good!!"

3 cups Peanut oil

1 Egg

1 cup Milk

1 cup Flour

2-1/2 Teaspoons Powdered sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Pepper

2 Tablespoons Salt

2 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved

4 Plain hamburger buns

2 Tablespoons Melted butter

8 Dill pickle slices

Mix together the egg and milk. Place the filets in this mixture, and let

sit for at least an hour.

While the breasts are sitting, mix together the flour, sugar, pepper, and

salt.

Once the sitting is done, dredge in the flour. (For ourselves and our

favourite customers, after the first dredging, we would put them back in the

milk bath for a few seconds, and re-dredge! This is not company policy,

however!)

Place the Peanut oil in a deep fat fryer, and bring up to a high heat.

Once up to 375 F., gently drop into the oil, and let cook until golden

brown. (This is for those of us who do not have a pressure cooker. If you

do, follow the note below!)

Note: Chick-Fil-A actually uses a Pressure Cooker to cook the Filets in. If

you have one, use the peanut oil according to the instructions for frying in

it. Desired heat is 400 F. Place chicken in it and put the lid on. Cook for

about 3-4 Minutes. Be VERY careful removing the lid…you have to make sure the steam is released.

Lightly butter the buns, and grill until heated through. Place two

pickles on each bun, and place a hot breast on each!

SO, I cut my 4 breasts into strips. Keep them thin. I double dipped mine too - like she suggests. Here is my suggestion on that: double or triple your flour mixture (I doubled mine and it was just barely enough). Divide your tripled amount into two bowls. That way you will have a fresh mixture to dip into when you are half-way through your strips. The first bowl gets a little chunky and won't stick to the chicken if you don't do this and you are double dipping. If you choose not to double dip you may only need one bowl - I dunna know. I used peanut oil. It was my first time :) It smelled a little bit like peanut butter which was not a turn on, but perhaps if you live in the states and not in Asia you can get some really great peanut oil that might work for you. I know Chick-Fil-A uses peanut oil. I used a regular old frying pan with lots of oil to fry them up. Each batch took about 8 minutes.

We'll have to try the sandwiches some night too, cause I think the buttered bun and pickles would just make this meal perfect! Also, some of that AWESOME honey roaster bbq sauce that they have - if someone could ship me some of those I would be a VERY happy pregnant woman :)

How the belly muscles weaken with each baby....

12 weeks with Hannah

14 weeks with Jacob

12 weeks with #3

first trimester - OVER!

I am 12 weeks and 3 days along now. I feel every bit of it too! Thankfully I am not nauseous AT ALL and only a little tired. I don't require a 2 hour nap and a 7:30 bed time anymore, although I def sneak in that nap and go to bed at a reasonable hour, most of the time.

I want to post my most recent picture but before doing so I need to clarify something: Please know that I totally realize that in the two previous pictures I look anything BUT pregnant! I did not take those to show you the pregnant belly, but just to show where I came from and what my ultimate goal is when this is all said and done next year....!! Those were just "starting point" pics.

Okay, so here is it. You should notice some changes. BTW, I "suck it in" in each of these pics to show what is really there.....

In other news, our Christmas was wonderful. Different, but good. We enjoyed having just the four of us together for a slow relaxed morning. Two of our most treasured packages did not arrive in time for Christmas morning (we are actually STILL waiting) so that put a damper on things, but we still enjoyed our time celebrating Christmas as a family. We had Grandma's coffee cake and bacon for breakfast while chatting with the entire gang in NY. We ate kraft macaroni and cheese for lunch, then made an apple pie, took naps, and cooked chicken cordon bleu for dinner. We ate the pie while wrapping up our day with a family movie night.

Here are a few pics of the fun:

Is it almost vacation time?

January 26 can't get here soon enough. That's the day we leave for the beach. Lately I've been feeling like I am SO over this whole study language 40 hours a week thing. Honestly, it's not been 40 hours a week. At least not for me. I basically go to class, review, prepare for the next class and sleep in between. I just don't have the energy to do much else. And I am losing interest. It's hard to stay committed to such a long term goal. Usually my goals are semester oriented. Not so when you are learning one of the world's toughest languages.

In other news, take a look at this cute little catepillar....

Adorable, huh?

Yeah, adorable. Except that this is where I found him.....

That would be my dinner. Or what was left of it anyways. This little guy was not alive. He had been washed in soapy water and boiled until he was stiff and lifeless, left to rot on my final piece of broccoli. Now, I wasn't exactly hungry for dinner tonight. This definitely convinced me to be done.

And apparently our son can recite the names of his classmates. Keep in mind that each child has about three names...He also speaks to them in the local language when playing with them. This does wonders for encouraging us in our language learning....He's gonna have to be our translator!!!

Here's a photo of Hannah looking oh-so-interested in her Christmas performance. She knew every word to every song yet didn't sing a single one. At least she looked cute in her Christmas dress....

9weeks

Amazingly enough I AM sucking it in for this picture. Someone asked me today if I had broken out the maternity pants yet - not quite, but it won't be long. For now and rubberband is doing the trick!

Don't blink...!

It occurred to me today, while standing in the kitchen whipping egg whites until they were "stiff but not dry", that this is my third Thanksgiving to be with child. While I should be thankful for that, it honestly made me a little annoyed. Why do the women always have to be the ones in the kitchen cooking up a storm for ONE meal?! AND Why do we as Americans slave all day, sometimes multiple days, to prepare and present a HUGE meal that no one could possibly entirely consume, only to be totally turned off by the multitude of leftovers at the end of the weekend?... Two answers: 1. because we want it done right, and 2. because that was the example set for us so long ago when those pilgrims prepared a meal of thanks to the Lord and shared it with their new indian friends. Awww, the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

You see, we live in a place where you actually have to choose to celebrate any given holiday. It doesn't just happen to you. In America you can't escape from it! The commercialism of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and even President's Day is EVERYwhere. Go to the store to buy bread - you are immediately greeted with leaf and pumpkin shaped cookies. Go to Starbucks for your morning latte - would you like Pumpkin Spice or Gingerbread? Go to the movies, you know - to get away from it all. Your options include Merry Madagascar. Need to buy new shoes to run away your stress? Don't even think about going to the mall! You'll be greeted with eager and determined shoppers rushing aimlessly about to the joyous melodies of I'll Be Home For Christmas and Have a Holly Jolly Christmas. You pretty much can't forget that the holidays are here, or at least fast approaching.

Here, not so. As a matter of fact, I woke up this very morning and thought: when exactly is Thanksgiving anyways? To my surprise everyone on FB was already talking about their cooking plans. Had it not been for my FB connections I may have truly forgotten about Thanksgiving all together. I am not kidding. I think it would be so easy to completely choose not to (or just forget to) celebrate any given holiday! That kinda scares me.

You see, I have kids. And they KNOW Christmas happens EVERY year. If mommy and daddy forget about Christmas and they realize mid-Feb, guess who will be putting up the tree and making Christmas cookies while the rest of you are being bombarded with advertisements convincing you of the need for a day to tell the ones you love that you actually love them?

Of course I am being a bit facetious. We will NOT forget about Christmas. (I Promise) But we almost did forget about Thanksgiving. Needless to say my usual Thanksgiving traditions are being rewritten. This year there will be no "thankful tree". Or at least not one I made. We are actually celebrating with our friends and the lady of the house has already made a HUGE tree and pasted it on her front door. The only difference between hers and mine is that hers is made from felt and fabric. Mine is usually made from the largest stick like branch we can find in the yard (which we do not have), and hand cut construction paper leaves (which we also do not have). Since she is hosting I just didn't think it right to bring our "thankful tree" and show her up in her own house. Right?

For this joint meal I am contributing Cranberry Pinwheel Bread, Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Rosemary Potatoes and a Swiss Cake Roll (no, not that kind...) One of the joys of being pregnant this time of year is the ability/privilege to eat whatever and how much ever appeals to my ever growing belly. For that, I am thankful.

So, tomorrow is the day. I'm sure I won't forget for my tired body will remind me, even if the world around me does not.

Here we go!!!!

Official 4 weeks picture - taken the day after we found out. Well, two days after I officially found out....Basically, I'm just bloated....

See why I wasn't so sure about the positiveness of this asian test?! it's SO light! And at 6am it was VERY light, esp in the flouresence of my bathroom. I couldn't figure out if it was positive or if that line was already there to begin with.

You....

A few days ago I wrote a post about your sister. About a week or so ago I wrote one about your brother. Now it's your turn. The only problem is, I don't know anything about you. I didn't even know you existed until yesterday. As a matter of fact, you may have never existed in the first place had it not been for your daddy's wisdom and sensitivity to our Father's leading in his life. It didn't take long for my heart to open up to this idea and fully surrender to the possibility of you coming along. About 2 weeks later, there you were. And now, three tests later, we know about you.

At first I didn't tell your daddy :) I wasn't confident in the asian test I bought for about $0.45, especially since the line was so faint. I wanted to treasure this moment and ponder these things in my heart before I shared it with everyone else. My first response was complete shock! I've never gotten pregnant that fast, esp if we weren't exactly trying. Then I was overwhelmed with gratitude and humbled to my knees. It occurred to me that this was a blessing and a gift completely from Him. I immediately began to thank Him that His blessings and gifts do not depend on the status of our sinful hearts. They also don't depend on the actions of a righteous heart....We don't have to be "good" to have blessings, and blessings won't not be, just because we aren't "good". I think I am humbled so much by this gift of YOU, because I know the status of my own heart...

"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love..."

...And if we are ALL honest, we would all admit that is the status of all of our hearts, at one time or another. And none of us deserve blessings of gifts, especially not the greatest gift of our Savior. That's why it's called grace....

Little one, right now the only evidence of your existence is three progressively darker lines on three different tests. However, I feel a few more evidences that others do not notice: My body is no longer my own! You have taken up residence and you are quickly making yourself comfortable. My head is spinning, my stomach is growling and queasy all at once, and I am oh.so.tired. This is the part of this whole experience I wasn't sure I wanted to do again. But now that I am here, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I know that what is happening in me is going to make you strong and able to survive on the outside. Then you can make your own evidence of your existence by putting your mark on this world.

There are so many things I do not know. I don't know if you will be a boy or a girl; I don't know if you will like to be swaddled; I don't know if you will wait a full 9 months before your appearance; I don't know where we will put you in this apartment!; and I don't know how long our Father will allow us to have you in our care. That may sound weird, but your daddy and I have always recognized that each little one He's given us is only for a time and for His glory. We know that we are being entrusted with your life and with your heart for the purpose of glorifying Him. We take that seriously, and are again humbled that He would choose us for such an important job.

So many people are learning about you for the first time from this blog post. It won't be long before everyone who loves us begins to love you. And it won't be long before we experience that ever-amazing miracle of a parent's love being extended to yet another little blessing. As a matter of fact, I think it's starting already.

Sweet baby, I don't know much about you, but I know that you are being created for a purpose and for His glory. I know that He already knows you. I know that He already has plans for you. And that's enough for me.

"You knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be."

Hannah

About a week or so ago I wrote an entry about your little brother. I'm not sure why I wrote on him first...maybe because I knew writing about you would bring up all kinds of hidden emotions is this mother's heart.

Hannah - your name means "grace". Anyone who knows you knows that you are NOT graceful as far as your movements go. You love to climb, jump, swing, balance, and occasionally fall. Had we known what a gymnast you would turn out to be we might have aptly named you "Pocahontas" which means "a playful, frolicsome little girl". I'm glad we weren't privy to that information because I actually quite like the name "Hannah" and it's actual meaning, "favored one". You love to read the story of Hannah in the Good Book. God looks on her with favor and grants her desire for a son. I pray that as you grow and learn more about our Lord you will also feel confident enough to ask Him for your desires and He will grant them, with favor.

When I think about the fact that you are almost 6 years old, it just about blows me away. I remember when I was 6. I loved to read a little book called "Danny and the Dinosaur"... YOU read it to ME last night! Really?! When, and how, did you learn to read? I'm amazed at the contents of your little mind. I'm even more amazed at the contents of your little heart. You care about people. You are always asking me to help you pray for your friends who are sick or sad at school. You take care of your brother and get concerned if he stays too long on the elevator and the doors begin to close. I pray that your heart will always be soft towards others and the God will use that to lead you to His suffering people.

My favorite time of day is when you are all tucked in your bed and we have our "talk time". I hate to admit it, but there are nights that all I want to do is get you in bed so I can begin my long to-do list. But it's nights like those, when I actually SKIP this "talk-time", that I remember with regret that you will never be this particular age again.... 5 years, 10 months and 3 days old.... I've missed one night of your precious life just so I can move on with mine.

Forgive me, my princess, for not taking every sweet moment to savor your innocence, to reach into your heart and plant seeds of righteousness and thirst for godliness, to listen to your words as you rattle off the concerns and joys of your day. It's during this time that I learn of friends who are sick, silly 5 yr old quarrels at school, and fears I never knew you had. It's during this time that you told me once that you were going to wait until you were 11 years old to let Jesus into your heart because that's what Mommy did....

Speaking of wanting to be like Mommy....oh, honey. If you only knew the depths of this dark heart, you wouldn't say it. Your mommy is not all that and a bag of chips. I hope you can see that. I hope you will see that I mess up. And that God forgives. I hope you will see that we do not have to be perfect to be loved. You told me that you wanted to be a "mommy" for our fall festival tomorrow night. I think it is wonderful that you like my job so much that you want to dress up as a "mommy". I guess that says something.... but I pray everyday that you will want to be more like Jesus. I pray everyday that I will be more like Jesus, so that as you look at me and strive to be like me, you will in turn be looking like Him.

I feel privileged to have been given a daughter. Especially as a first child. You hold a special place in my heart and in our family. I have so much to share with you as you grow older: things to teach you, things to tell you, things to try with you! We are the only ladies in this house. I hope as you grow up we can always be friends yet maintain that precious mother-daughter bond.

Some things I love about you: I love it when you first wake up and walk into the family room rubbing your eyes and asking me if it's time to get up yet; I love it when you come up with some great new fantastic creative idea and you try and try and try to get little Jacob to go along with it; I love it when you ask me to read with you; I love it when you purposely tickle me just for attention; I love it when you look around a crowded room trying to find me and then your worried face turns to pure joy when you finally find your target; I love it when I sneak into your room late at night, crawl into your bed, wrap my arms around you and you moan and move all around until you get all snuggly again and drift off to sleep. That is the time when I lay you before my Father and sing this song:

"Give her one pure and holy passion. Give her one magnificent obsession. Give her one glorious ambition for her life: to know and follow hard after You. To know and follow hard after You, to grow as a disciple in Your Truth. This world is empty, pale, and poor compared to knowing You, my Lord. So lead her on and she will run after You. Oh, lead her on and she will run after You.

You are precious, treasured and favored in my sight. I love you, my princess.

a weekend to remember - no, not the marriage conference

This past weekend was probably the BEST one we have had since arriving here in K-Town. It was FULL of friends, fun, food, and fellowship. 6 months ago I would have never imagined myself spending the majority of my weekend speaking another language with a sweet family that lives just steps away from our apartment.

We had our friends J and S over for dinner on Friday night. I decided to cook a traditional american meal that was simple and easy - roasted pork loin, mashed potatoes, carrots and yeast rolls; chocolate cake for dessert. The moment they arrived at our front door David decided to ask me what I was serving. When I told him he said, "Aren't they muslim?! Muslims don't eat pork...!" What could I do?! As far as I knew their parents and their grandparents were muslim but they had told us they were not practicing muslims - I assumed that meant they could eat whatever they wanted. I held my breath as we finished praying and passed the food around the table. To my relief they both took ample helpings of everything, including the pork.

Hannah and their little girl.

We ended up spending most of the evening speaking in their language since S does not speak english. It was a big stretch for David and I, but we had fun and decided just to take chances and enjoy this opportunity. Our time with them was such a success that they invited us to join them on Sunday for an afternoon at the park! We of course jumped at this chance! With all the rain we have had we've been aching to get out and enjoy the sun - esp with new friends who need Him....

A beautiful mess!

Sweet gifts from our friends - tea!

On Saturday we spent a lazy morning at home before heading out to get haircuts for the boys and spend a little time at the local playground.

Hannah and I snap a picture once we realize we are dressed alike...

We met some American friends (whom we just HAPPENED to run into a few months ago and learn that they live in CANTON!!!) for lunch at Chicago Coffee, and then took Hannah to a birthday party in the afternoon. At 5pm our house, scratch that, APARTMENT filled up with 23 foreigners as we hosted Game Night!!! I've been really missing this part of my life - being able to host friends for a night of fun and games. We had SO MUCH FUN!!!!! As a matter of fact, the cool crowd stayed until after midnight....! We played Settlers and Cashflow. I didn't win either one, but I had a great time just being with my friends. The kids played together ALL evening, munching on sugar and snacks. We had three different games of Settlers going at once :)

On Sunday we joined our friends a a local international fellowship where the kids actually got to go to their own separate classrooms with David and I sat in with the adults. We rushed home after that to change clothes and head over to J and S's apartment for lunch. She served us a fantastic meal of noodles and wild mushrooms. We left for the park shortly after that.

The park was about a 30 minute drive north of town. They have a car so we piled in and made the trip very easily. It's basically a huge park with lots of beautiful trees, plants and flowers. It was over run with people today due to the nice weather, but we were able to find a nice, quiet, partially shaded spot to set up "base camp" (as they called it). They literally rolled a huge suitcase up the hill and opened it up to reveal a tent, blanket, two pillows, ground covering, 6 tea cups, a tea pot, loads of snacks and two liters of water. Serious stuff. We knew we would be staying a while.....

Heading home from the park

The mountains that surround our city

You can wear whatever you want to the park - esp if you are on the wedding photo express van that drops off about 6 brides and the husband's-to-be for a full day of wedding photo extravaganza!

more brides

one more bride....

...and I'm not exactly sure what she is wearing....surely not a bride.

Family photo op!

Hannah made a tee-pee

More mountains

part of our city

Watching S make tea

Beautiful baby.

This little girl helps out the family by carrying her sibling in a traditional baby carrier

beautiful leaves

our friend S taking pics of the leaves

The park was the first sign of fall that we have seen here. Leaves were falling and crunching under our feet as we walked. Many of the trees were turning bright yellow and red. People we taking pictures left and right. Apparently there was a photography club picnic happening in the area we were in. The photographers were captivated by the beautiful leaves and focusing entirely on them. That is until these two blonde haired, brown eyed american "piao liang" kids walked in. Suddenly it felt like the papparazi had followed us in! They were everywhere! And they aren't shy about it either. Seriously, this happens all the time. People will just jump in next to our kids, wrap their arm around them, put up a peace sign, and snap a photo. There's no telling how many shots of our kids are floating around this great country....I'm sure we'll see them in some advertisement someday.