zach n kali

Working with a government organization definitely teaches you patience. Either that or it will drive you absolutely batty. This self-proclaimed control freak is stuck somewhere in the middle. It's 9:45 and I'm sitting here waiting for my 9:00 appointment with the Department of Child and Family Services. I have two options: 1)seethe internally until the social worker gets here, at which point I will put on a smile and assure here that no, of course it was no problem at all that she was 45 minutes late and didn't call! Or, I can take a deep breath, realize that her being late is not affecting my schedule at all - I don't have anywhere else to be and this would be the perfect time to tackle those dishes! I can be grateful that I have a flexible schedule and have the opportunity to be a full-time foster mom. Not everyone has this luxury, and if I can make the social worker's job a little bit easier by being flexible, then that should be reason enough. I know which atti

I love feeding people, especially those who are "fun to feed". The type who take a bite and close their eyes, who say, "Oh my gosh!", who go back for seconds and thirds. The type who keep eating even after they're full because it's just so good. I'm married to one of these, and M is becoming one too. After each bite of food he has recently been saying, "mmmm" and he claps his hands in between bites. Ok, so maybe I'm reading in to it, but it makes mealtime more fun. This is one reason that I have been trying to discover and create gluten-free recipes that are delicious - I want to continue to feed family and friends and have them love to eat, but without having to make two separate dishes. My first steps into the gluten-free world were not particularly pleasant. The diagnosis of Celiac Disease was a major bummer. But over time, I'm learning the tricks of the trade and I love it when people say in astonishment, "This is glut

Most of the time I find myself so thankful to be where I'm at. I love being a stay-at-home foster mom and feel so blessed that God has called us to minister in this way. I catch myself watching my little boy when I'm supposed to be doing something else and finding myself so deeply in love. He's not doing anything particularly amazing or meeting any new milestones. He may be looking at his books or lying on his back talking to himself. But I cannot believe how much I love him and how blessed I am to have him in my life. And then there are days like today when I am very aware of how my life turned down this road. Days when I feel trapped in my own home because I lack to strength to go down a flight of stairs. Days when I pray that Baby M won't drop his bottle because bending over hurts so much. Days when I wonder why in the world God decided to use the pain of fibromyalgia to turn my face towards him. His ways are not our ways, that's for sure! Lord, coul

I have met my mortal enemy. Did you know that cheerios have the ability to multiply by 5 as soon as they hit the ground? And they will hit the ground! Based on my recent research, and by that I mean breakfast, 2% of all cheerios on the highchair tray actually reach M's mouth and the rest... well, hopefully we'll find them all when we move. These things bounce like rubber balls and end up everywhere from the kitchen floor to Baby M's pajamas. When I lift him out of his chair it's like a meteor shower of cheerios beneath him. And they crunch! You know the feeling you get when you realize you've stepped on a snail? That's how I feel when I hear the crunch of a cheerio beneath my foot. If any of my former college classmates could see me now, crawling around on the floor in my pajamas, they would definitely think, “Wow! She's gone far!” Ok, well maybe I haven't “gone far”. But I'm right where I want to be, cheerios and all. It's 8:30 in

I love having people over for dinner. I love the conversation, the warm feeling of being with friends, the laughter, and of course, the food! But I of all people know that there are many of us out there with food issues, and it can be intimidating to cook for us. Fortunately, it's not as hard as it sounds! Last night Zach and I were invited for a lovely dinner with family friends. Everything was delicious and gluten free! I was very impressed and so appreciated the time and effort that Carolyn put in to making a gluten-free dinner for me. I thought I would share some of the things she did to help you feel a little more at ease inviting over those with food issues, specifically the gluten-free ones. She served two wonderful salads - one with green beans, chickpeas, and onions, the other with mixed greens, cranberries, nuts, and what I think was feta. On the table she had several different salad dressing to provide options as well as to make sure that one at least was glut

Being gluten-free can sometimes get you into a dinner rut. Being gluten-free, meat-free, and fish-free can REALLY get you into a dinner rut (doesn't that make you want to invite me over for dinner!). In our house, the turkey burger wrapped in lettuce has become a staple. A very boring one. So I am constantly experimenting in order to bring some life to this rather dull dish. Tonight's attempt was a steamed turkey burger with colby jack cheese, mango chutney, and carmelized onions on a bed of spinach. In the past I have had a love-hate relationship with mangoes. I love the flavor, but have never successfully cut one. Even after Zach's aunt gave me an awesome demonstration, I had forgotten it by the time I needed to cut one. My favorite mango story is that when I bought one for the first time, I had never cut one. I've eaten them off of buffet trays and in fruit salads, but have never prepared one myself. So I asked my husband, who knows everything, if he kne

After years of talking about it, Zach and I finally got to go to Zion National Park last weekend! Anyone who has ever been camping before knows how much planning is involved, and for those of us with a chronic pain disorder, this includes planning as to how you are going to pace yourself and keep your pain levels from increasing. Unfortunately, this did not make my to-do list. We had a fabulous time eating, camping, and hiking with our good friends. But 12 hours in a car, sleeping on the ground, and hours and hours of hiking takes a toll on your body, and for me this resulted in several days of excruciating pain. The hard part is that sometimes the effects aren't immediate and while you think you're fine, you may be in a world of hurt later. After the first day home of sucking it up and letting my pride and can-do attitude stand in the way of asking for help, my wonderful family came around me and gave me a day of rest. Just as important as the actual day of rest, how

The concept of mindfulness is the idea that wherever you are, you are there one hundred percent. It doesn't matter if you are catching up with a friend or if you are sitting and quietly having your devotions or commuting on the freeway. Sometimes it's easier than others - who doesn't have 18 things on their minds at one time? But what I'm finding is that when I take the time to focus my energy completely 100% on where I'm at, I find myself in a place of pure contentment. When you are completely involved in the task at hand, you can't think about how you wish things were different or how much work you have to do. I focus on how soft Baby M's hair is. I listen to his laugh. I realize how lucky I am to be sitting on the floor with him reading a book. And suddenly I find that I don't want to be anywhere else in the world. I realize that I have few precious hours with him and see that they go by so fast! My baby is turning into a little boy right befo

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have just had a near death experience. If you think that it was from a toxic spit-up burn or from falling down the stairs while carrying a baby and the other 65lbs of things they require, then you would be wrong. I just had an encounter with the Ghost of Diapers Past. Those of you who do not have children may think that changing a diaper is the grossest thing ever. You would also be wrong. There is a smell so bad that I feel it could literally kill you. Your eyes water, your lungs shut down, and your stomach turns. That is the smell that comes out of the diaper pail when it is filled to the brim, and you leave it open a second too long. I, like Ebenezer Scrooge, am taking my encounter with the Ghost of Diapers Past and using it for the greater good. I am sharing my experience so that you do not experience a similar fate. Empty it before it's too late. Always put the diapers in with lightning speed. And remember that once you have experienced so