To Move or Not to Move

Brent and I have been in L.A. for about 2 years. We have a charming little one bedroom apartment with wooden floors, colored tiles in the kitchen and bathroom, plus a we can walk to downtown Culver City and Brent walks to work everyday.

I was recently offered an opportunity to manage a 16 unit apartment complex about a 10 minute drive away from our current apartment. The complex is in West L.A. The advantages are a dishwasher (first time in our married life to have one of these puppies), two bedrooms, and a considerable reduction in rent. The disadvantages are a newly opened skateboard park right in front of the complex (this is Cali and every boy skateboards!), the apartment lacks the unique edge our current place has, and my time would not be my own. I would be expected to be on call 24/7.

I managed apartments when I was at Oklahoma State. I know I can do it, yes it will be challenging with a newborn and all but most of us are capable of a lot more than we give ourselves credit. On the other hand, I am totally fine with creating a little baby nook in our 1 bedroom apartment and staying here. I know people all over the world make a one bedroom work with a baby.

We believe God gave us this opportunity but after really looking at it we seem to not be as excited as we should be. We ask then why did God put this in front of us? What is he trying to teach us? Is this in line with our goals and his plan for our lives?

Let us know your thoughts. I'll keep ya posted.

Sweet Tooth!

The month of July has been dessert month! I can't get sweets off my mind. We have done a pretty good job taking care of my cravings. Brent always says, "It sure is hard to stay in shape when you're married to a pregnant lady."

Homemade Butterfinger Ice Cream for 4th of July. This is a family tradition on both sides.

Homemade Old Fashioned Strawberry Pie

I never realized that strawberry pie could be wrong but it can. Brent and I went to Marie Callenders for a fresh strawberry pie. Little did I know that they were going to bring us cold whole strawberries dripping in a super sweet jello type syrup sitting in a cold pie shell. It was so gross! I didn't know at the time but what I was really craving was an old fashioned COOKED strawberry pie. After a little internet research I was able to combine a

few recipes to get exactly what I have been wanting. Below is the recipe I used adapted from rareandbeautifultreasures blog. You gotta try it! Brent never eats fruit desserts and he loved it. For all you single's out there: My Grandma Jean used to say, "You can't get married until you bake a pie."

Old Fashioned Strawberry Pie

5 cups fresh strawberries

Called for 1 cup but I used only 1/2 cup sugar (was tart and not too sweet)

Called for 5 tbls flour but I used 3 1/2 tablespoons corn starch

For Crust:

Betty Crocker Double Crust Pie Shell

Bake in 425 oven for 50 mins-1 hour or until golden brown/berries hot & bubbling

Topping:

Whipped Heavy cream with a little vanilla and sugar

Grandma Wilma's Strawberry Shortcake

This is something my Grandma Wilma always makes us during the summer. She uses Bisquick but for a little healthy twist I used

whole wheat pancake and waffle mix from Trader Joe's.

It is wonderful!

Don't forget to whip up some fresh whipping cream for the top.

3 years of marriage

Brent and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary with a trip down to Costa Mesa, CA. We booked a 4 star hotel on priceline for a great rate. We love getting away even if it is just for a night or two. We ate out a lot, saw Toy Story 3 (so good!), shopped, and just hung out together. We talked about our future; the dreams, hopes, and desires we have for our life. We know the baby will change a few things for us but we are excited to share all the adventures with him.