Recipes...and randomness..

Well, I did have a new post written in my head the other day. I have this love/hate relationship w/ food during pregnancy. I'm past the "hate" stage...and things are smelling, sounding, and tasting great right now...and probaby will for the next 6 months...which I'm sure will help in me acquiring the "round"shape once again. :) I was going to post some recipes that I've made the past couple of days from fresh garden veggies. But, let me remember which ones I was going to post. Hmm... Did I ever mention I love summer b/c of the food? I should've posted this right away when I had the enthusiasm and the "recipes" on hand...Ok, I think I remember now...

Garden Pizza:

Bread dough for 1 lg. pizza (I make a double batch in my Bosch mixer and freeze the dough--then thaw overnight)

Zuchinni sliced very thinly

Onion, sliced very thinly

Mushrooms, sliced

Mozzarella Cheese

Cherry Tomatoes

~Saute Zuchinni and onion in olive oil till caramelized, sprinkle w/ sea salt and pepper. (garlic would be good too)

~Spread dough out and spread spaghetti sauce in a thin layer

~Sprinkle zuchinni and onion mixture over the dough, then mushrooms, fresh cherry tomatoes, pepperoni, mozzarella, and basil & oregano.

~Bake at 425 till it's as crispy as you prefer. Yum!

On a different note, I love Trader Joe's...I really hope Champaign gets one sometime. (It's a health food store, of sorts, w/ lots of fresh foods, "healthy" snacks, samples!!, herbal teas, organic and foods w/out a 3 pg. ingredient list, great breads and cheeses, etc. Oh, and it's not extremely over priced) Anyway...my Mom gave me this boxed Trader Joe's Organic Vanilla Cakemix. I have had a craving for that cake, for some reason. I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to bake it...it's been in my cabinet a long time! Well, I couldn't wait till Madeline's B-day to bake it, so we had it as a special treat on Thursday night. I made it sound very special to the kids, and after the house was tidied up, and supper was in the works, they helped me whip it up--smashing...I mean, cracking the eggs, and all! Then, I suggested they go out and see if any blackberries were ready. They all went out w/ their buckets...I love watching them march outside from my kitchen window. They were busy beavers and happily came back in w/ a full quart of big, black ones. Samuel, being the oldest, proudly presented me w/ the fruit of their labors. William mainly eats all that he picks...his shirt and mouth were definite confirmation. Madeline is generally a good helper...although she eats her share too. So, they helped me make a blackberry sauce to go w/ the cake. I just poured a little water over the berries and cooked them. I added stevia to sweeted it, and thickened it a little. Well, let's just say we ate the whole cake (it was an 8x8), almost in 1 sitting...it was so delicious and "healthy", right?

I think I was going to write down another actual recipe...maybe for the veggie/bean salad I made--who knows. I really should be napping right now. Justin and I are planning to catch a quick date tonight. I'm cracking up that I wrote a whole post about food. We have a busy week planned, so I should sign off and go get organized. :) Happy Week, ya'll! Oh, and remember to pick up one of those cake mixes if you're ever at Trader Joe's...definitely get's a 5 star rating from the Goff Family! :)

Fun w/ Friends over the 4th

EDIT: I take the time to upload pictures, then I click "Publish" before writing anything. The last post was our fabulous 4th of July, celebrating William's 3rd Birthday and visiting w/ our dear friends, The Marquez's. They are our infamous "gas station" friends we met while both families were travelling through MN about 17 years ago. My Dad noticed a Christian bumper sticker on their van, and asked Joe (their dad), while fueling up the car, "So anyone gettin' saved down in South Carolina?" 3 hrs later we pulled out of the gas station as friends...and now they feel like family to us. They even call my parents "Uncle Chris and Aunt Mary"--I think it's a Southern thing. :) Now that their "kids" are grown-up, we have fun visiting w/ them, listening to their stories (they are world travellers and have been missionaries to Paraguay...and well...lots of other places too!), and comparing parenting notes, doctrine, and whatever else...oh, and LAUGHING!!! It's crazy how we go 3ish years between visiting/talking w/ them, then we just pick up right where we left off...w/ a couple of extra kids in the mix too. :) This time, Daniel & Faith were on their way back home from a camp in Colorado.

The Grillers...

My gorgeous Mom...



All the single portraits credits go to her :)

Last time they came, 1 only had 1 kid, they had 2...now look! :)

















Madeline's 1st experience w/ fireworks...

Max and Isaac put on a great firework show for us. We're afraid the chicken's will be too "stressed" to lay eggs...hopefully not, otherwise, they're goin' in the pot this fall. :)
He.is.adorable!



Yay, Justin! //Tired me...


Andrew liked the chips...surely "Aunt Megan" had healthier choices than that?? ;P



Watching more fireworks...

Goff Children: Announce...

Their new sibling due at the beginning of February! Yes, we're excited! My "baby" is almost 2, and she's not a baby anymore. In a lot of ways, life has gotten a whole lot easier now that these 3 are a bit older--it was a little crazy there for a while! I'm curious how this transition will go, since my youngest will be 2 1/2--I'm guessing a bit easier, but who knows?! I'm happy Justin will be off work when the baby comes...so he can be in charge of pre-school and kiddie entertainment. (I haven't showed him the lesson plans, yet, though :)

PTL I have felt well, for the most part. There have been a few "yucky" days. I'm SOooo thankful it's been better this time 'round. It's funny how I don't realize how much I actually do around here, until it doesn't get done. (ie--I'm sick:)

My theme for this pregnancy is "Thankfulness" (thus, no complaining--or at least, minimal:) In my last pregnancies, I think I was shocked into this whole motherhood business. Wow, it's definitely a whole body experience and there are definitely lots of opportunites to complain. While I don't think you have to be un-realistic, or not answer honestly when someone asks how you're doing, I'm finding out that motherhood is a great privilege and I should be concentrating more on what I'm thankful for, rather than how I "feel." So my purpose, is to thank the Lord when I'm feeling great and when I'm not feeling so great, when I have energy AND when I have none. I suppose that why the Psalms talk about the "sacrifice of praise"--it really is a sacrifice when praise is the last thing on the brain. I've decided when I feel like complaining, I should, rather, thank the Lord for "suffering" and pray for this new little one. It's really a simple thing, but hard for me to do. I do forget that there's lots of Mom's who would love to have 1 baby, or have 1 w/out complications or extreme all-day sickness, or would like more, but husband doesn't want more.

We are hoping to find out whether it's a boy or a girl. It seems like the votes vary. One day all of us think it's a boy, then, like last night, everyone was thinking girl. It's hard for me to comprehend another Goff baby--one unlike Samuel, William, or Madeline. One w/ strengths and weaknesses, talents yet uncovered, his/her own personality, and yet, a baby that the Lord knows and is fashioning. Yes, exciting stuff. You can cast your votes on boy or girl. The baby is due right around my birthday, so we'll see. Also, any traditional name ideas are welcomed. That will probably be in the discussions here soon. :)

Wow, 4 sounds like a big transition--seems like way more than 3. :) Didn't I just have Samuel?? Well, we'll be shopping for a bigger vehicle. We've squeezed the 3 carseats in...can't squeeze anymore in. I'm sure Dave Ramsey would be proud. Ha! Now off to look for used, low-mileage surburbans--I'll let you know how that search goes. :)

Well, so there's some newsy news, of sorts...as well as my afternoon ramblings about babies. I should probably be taking a nap, but, it's getting too late.

Have a great week, ya'll!

William's 3rd Birthday Party

This boy had a birthday this past weekend!

More pictures and details to come...