Reunion and Mom update

I've been quite busy lately so this is a short and basically to the point update.

The reunion last wkd was wonderful! I got to see my cousin, Kristin (she is married to Jadae's cousin - Jason) she is pregnant with a baby girl - due in November. They live in TN and its been a while since I've gotten to visit with them. It was rather chilly and rainy. They had karaoke; which I did not participate. I will be the first to admit that I cannot sing on key, any key whatsoever.

Josh and Sara and our new niece, Corinna, came to town for that wkd! It was also nice to see them. We only get to see Josh a few times a year. We sure miss him. Here is my in-laws with all of their grandchildren minus Xzavier (he was in Michigan with his mom). This is the best shot. All of the others Malachi was sobbing (he was awaken from his nap and a bit insecure).

After the reunion all of us ladies (my sister-in-laws, and Angel- my oldest niece) all went to the thrift store. Thrifting makes me a happy women. I love thrift stores and can spend a fortune there.

This Friday my mom and I took my brother, Harrison to move into his dorm room. He is a freshman at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University. I can't believe he is that old already. I know that he is going to love dorm life. It looks like this semester he will not have a roommate. I miss the dorm life atmosphere. I only got to experience it the year I lived in Texas. I miss the school atmosphere, but not the stress of the work.

Yesterday Jadae and I celebrated our 4th anniversary (which was actually on the 27th). We went to a all-you-can-eat Chinese Buffet. Then to the Bookery (Christian bookstore) and got a couple's devo, a devo for me, and a Mom's and son Bible story book. The book for Malachi is really cool- it writes the Bible stories from the perspective of the children (ie, Abraham and Issac- from Issac's view), then has a part after the story that talks about what it means to be a Man of God. It also has a spot for mom's to read to help their son get a better and clearer picture to help their sons turn into godly men.

My mom's results came back from the biopsy on the tumor that was on her lung. The news is bittersweet. It is not lung cancer, Praise God! But is is cancer. Her breast cancer is back. She will have surgery, chemo, and radiation again. It is good-bad news situation. We basically knew that the cancer was back. But it was still hard to hear.

Update on my mom and Life

It was determined that the noudle on my mom's lung is in a place where they can do a needle biospy. Praise God that there is no need for a surgery yet! With this biospy they will rule out any other cancers. If there is no other cancer then they will work on the mass on her breast. The doctors are quite sure that the cancer is back.

This really depresses me. But my mom is a fighter. And Jadae has only had peace about the stituation since the breast cancer came the first time.

Please continue to keep my family in your prayers.

The last few days were quite busy for me. We got a new to us washing machine. Ours broke a couple of weeks ago. Boy was I ever glad to be able to do laundry!!! And to use cloth diapers again! Although we are not using them right now because all the disposibles gave Malachi a diaper rash. (you shouldn't use diaper rash cream on cloth diapers)

My brother Harrison spent the first part of the week with us. Thursday morning I took him, Malachi, and my 4 month old neice, Ariana , to the thift stores across town to get Harrison some pants for college. He leaves to go to MVNU next week. I cannot believe that he is that old now! Then we went to the bank and back to my house.

A short while after we got home Scarlett (my 3 yr old neice) got dropped off for me to watch. I was cleaning the house in the meantime to get it ready for Jadae's brother and his family who were coming down from MI for the wk.

After I took Jadae to work Malachi and I went to Krogers. They were having a Mega Buck sale and a Triple coupon weekend! So I really stock up! I watched Scar again in the afternoon. Then we had Jadae's family over for a cook-out at our house last night.

And today is the BIG family reunion!

Homemade Tortillas

I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight. I decided that I wanted to make Pizza Quesadilla's. We did not have any tortilla shells or anything else that I could substitute (I have used buns, biscuits, and English muffins before)for it. I found a recipe for homemade Tortilla's.

The recipe was so simple and easy.

Here is the recipe that I used (makes about a dozen)

4 cups Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoon margarine or butter
1 cup (or more) warm water



Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and margarine in a medium bowl.

Gradually add water and mix until the dough is smooth (use your clean hands to knead). If dough is too sticky add flour, too stiff add water.

Roll dough into balls (about 1 1/2 inches). Set on a plate and cover with a clean towel for 10 minutes.

Use a rolling pin to roll the balls flat. Approx. 6 inches in diameter. If you want the picture perfect circles you will need to use a knife to cut off the excess dough.

The flatter you roll the dough the more like tortilla-like it will be. The thicker the dough is the more like gordita it will be.

Cook tortillas one at a time in a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Turn over when several bubbles appear. You may want to flatten the tortilla after it is flip to ensure that the other side cooks better.

The tortillas will be hard at first, but after they cool off they will be easier to bend. I believe that they freeze well, but I would not know- no left-overs!

My family loved them!!! I read that once you try them you will never want store-brought ones again. I agree!

Will I like it?

Jadae and I will be celebrating our 4 year anniversary next week (Thursday). We are still trying to decide what to do.

As of right now we will probably be going out to eat then catch a movie at the dollar theatre. We were thinking about getting a night away, but simply cannot afford it.

Every since I saw that they made a movie out of My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I wanted to see it. I loved that book! (If you want to buy it Amazon has it for around $11- click on one of my links and it will lead you directly to Amazon.com)

But I know that Jadae really wants to see the Star Trek movie.

Do you think I will like it? I do not like sci-fi all that much. So I am nervous about being bored out of my mind doing it. What do you think?

BTW...Summer colds just are not fun at all!

My Mom

December 13th, 2007- My mom found out that she has Breast cancer. It was consirdered a stage 3 due to the size of the lump. She had surgery Jan. 2rd to remove the cancerous tumor. And also had chemotherapy and radiation. Last summer was her last treatment. Since then she's had no problems until recently.

Three weeks ago she found lump. She saw her doctor and he expressed concern about the size and the way the lump felt. She went to Riverside on Monday of this week for an MRI and got the results today.

The MRI was undetermined so they will have to do a needle biopsy to see what is going on. The MRI showed a module on her lungs. She has to go tomorrow to our local hospital to have a CAT scan done to see exactly where it is located and to determine if they can do a needle biopsy or if they will have to do a biopsy through surgery.

I am afraid right now. I am trying to trust God but it is hard. I hate to see my mom going through this.

Please pray for God's healing, peace, and wisdom.

Also, there may be a chance that the lump may be from her Neurofibroatosis.

Homemade Beef Jerky

This past weekend was the all church camp-out! My church has a lot of land, including a wooded area, which is where the campground is located. The campground is somewhat rural with only one hand pump for water, but there are electrical posts scattered throughout the campsite.

My family left on Thursday for a long weekend there, even though it did not officially start until Friday. There were a few other families who also decided to show up early, including my mom and step-dad and my younger brothers.

Earlier in the week Nick (my youngest brother) and I made home-made beef jerky. Typically I tend to make it spicy but this time I decided to make it sweet instead so I used honey. Now that I thought about it I could have added some brown sugar.

Here is the basic recipe

3 lbs of meat (I typically get some sort of butt roast- but London Boil, brisket, and flank steaks work well also)

2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

2/3 cup soy sauce (I always get the reduced sodium type because it reduces the saltiness)

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke

Optional

2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp Hot Sauce

3 Tb honey

Now you may need to double the recipe depending on the amount of meat you brought.

I have learned that it is so much easier to cut the meat into slices when it is slightly frozen. You don't want the meat too thin because it increases the chances of burning it and you don't want it too thick because it will not dehydrate as well. I tend to cut my pieces about a little less than 1/4 in thick. Make sure that you cut away all the fat that you can.

I mix my marinade up in a freezer bag (I taste a bit before I add the meat too determine if I need to add something else) and then shake the meat up in it. Let it set overnight in the refrigerator.

Place one oven rake at the highest level and the other oven rack (wrapped in tin foil to catch drippings to avoid a mess in you oven) on the lowest shelf.

Then you poke toothpicks through the top of the meat and hang them from the oven racks so that the pieces of meat are hanging down (see picture above)

When all pieces are done turn your oven on to the lowest setting and leave the oven door open ajar. You do not want to shut the door because then it would bake the meat. Leaving the door ajar allows moisture to escape.

You know that the jerky is done when the meat is still flexible but mainly dry. If it breaks in two then it was overdone.

*Warning*

Because this can take any where from 4 to 7 hrs until it is done "cooking" I tend to get up WAY early in the morning to get it in the oven. I then go back to bed to get more sleep. by doing that the beef jerky should be done before noon

This is so much cheaper than store brought beef jerky. It will last probably about a week and a half (I am not sure exactly how long because it is always gone within days). It will not last as long as the store brought kind, but it will not have all the preservatives, artificial flavors, or MSG'S.