Seven Years Ago Today...

... I married the most wonderful man in the world.

Our wedding day was, and still is, the best day of my life. I am so thankful that God knew exactly who I needed and when I needed him. There are so many things to love about CDK: he's intelligent, creative, artistic, sensitive, loving, a good listener, caring, and the list truly does go on.

We've been through a lot together, good and bad, but the one constant is that I've never doubted his love for me or my love for him. And we don't do this on our own, God designed this marriage, and He orchestrates all that takes place within it. I am in awe of how God teaches us more about Him through marriage and I plan to keep learning for at least another 60 or so years!

I love you CDK!

Father's Day Follies

We're in our house now, so hopefully I'll return to blogging more regularly. We had a pretty normal move, you know, boxes, trucks, pizza, extreme exhaustion. But thanks to friends and family we were able to share the chaos. I don't want to do this again for a LONG time.

Since both of our families helped with the move, were in town, and it was Father's Day, we decided to treat them to lunch. We tried for reservations at both our dad's favorite restaurant, P.F. Chang's, but nothing was available till 3:15. Then we tried another place, but they weren't taking reservations. So we decided we would go before 12 to a local Mexican place that usually seats you pretty fast.

We arrived and there was a small line, but not too bad. So we waited. Well it ended up taking about 30 minutes to be seated because of our big party and the weird way they seat people. We sat down and one person from another table said they waited an hour for their food. I thought, surely not. Well we waited, and waited, and waited. Then I noticed another family, that was seated before us get up and leave, with no food. After waiting over an hour, with only chips and salsa, CDK asked our waitress to check on our food (who by the way was the bright spot in the day - thanks Courtney for great service!). Our food was still 15-20 minutes away from being ready. So with NGK well past her nap time and the rest of us frustrated we tipped the waitress and left. My parents headed home and CDK's stopped back by our house for Wendy's. So much for the wonderful Father's Day lunch.

Later that evening we went to Target. We were in the store about an hour and then left and drove a few blocks down the road. I ran into a restaurant to grab some food and when I came back out CDK told me to look on top of the SUV. Our moon roof was shattered. We didn't know what happened and were racking our brains trying to figure out if we caused it. We looked again and found a tennis ball-size rock lodged in the luggage rack. Someone had thrown a rock in the parking lot (or from the hill above the lot) and shattered our moon roof. It was really frustrating. We know someone must have thrown it because we would have definitely heard it if it hit while we were driving. So we filed it on insurance and it will be over a week by the time it's been fixed.
And to top that off, the day before our neighbor backed into CDK's company car and left a huge dent in the bumper. When it rains it pours!

A New Addition

We are proud to announce that we have a new house! Yeah! We really can't wait to move into our new place and we're so thankful for what the Lord has provided us.

Here are a few things that we are REALLY looking forward to after four years:

• No train in our backyard (or mosque)
  
• SPACE
• A dishwasher
• A disposal
• A laundry room
• A garage
• Seeing all our stuff again

We're moving in less than three weeks, so if you don't hear from me for awhile, you know why!

It's Almost Boring: A Product Review

I decided a while back I would try to make NGK's baby food. So I bought a couple of recipe books and was trying to read up on the subject before getting started. I decided we would need to purchase a steamer because it was listed as the most nutritious way to cook the foods and almost all foods could be steamed, then pureed. While my mom was visiting we were in Williams Sonoma and ran across the Beaba Babycook. It was literally like a moment on television when a spotlight shines down on something and you hear the heavenly chorus singing "Ahhhhhh". I was way excited. This product was a steamer, blender, defroster, and food warmer all in one. It wasn't long before I was sold. Noticing the heavy price tag ($140.00) I knew without a doubt I could go home and find it online cheaper. So I left the store excited about this new product and anxious to find a deal.

Well I guess Williams Sonoma had one of those TV spotlight moments when they became the ONLY American store carrying the product. Not only could I hardly find the product, when I did find it it was only in Europe, and definitely not cheaper. I was a little sad, but a few days later we realized we still had some money left over that was given to NGK when she was born. So we decided to invest in this contraption.

This week I made my first batch of summer squash for NGK to freeze. As I sat there and watched the squash steam for 15 minutes I turned to CDK and said "This is almost boring." I cut up the squash, put it in the steamer, then removed the steaming basket, and put the food in the blender, pureed it, and was done. I couldn't believe it was so easy. And then all I had to wash was the steaming basket and the blender. Now it doesn't make extremely large quantities. The steamer held one large squash (cut-up), but I filled up about eight ice cube compartments. I made three batches, so I have a good amount of squash frozen. I haven't used it for the warming and defrosting function yet, but I'm still sold. I highly recommend this product and I think we will get our money back quickly since baby food is about .50 a jar. And the homemade stuff should be better for her.

Well I guess life is pretty boring when the highlight of your week is making baby food. Oh well, I had fun, and that's what counts!

Opening the Box

I'm convinced that God placed children in our lives to teach us more about Him and to simplify, and mature, our faith. NGK continues to teach me new things everyday.

A couple of weeks ago she was fidgety and not happy, so I decided to open the Cabbage Patch doll that she got for Christmas. I thought a new toy might do the trick. As I sat there and opened it in front of her she was more fidgety and "demanding" to play with the doll. She couldn't seem to wait the 30 seconds it was taking for me to open the box to get her hands on the doll. In my mind I was thinking "NGK, just be patient. If you'll wait just a few minutes I'll give you what you want and you'll be happy. If you only knew that I know what's best for you and I'm not going to keep it from you."

Not a mili-second after that thought came across my mind, I stopped cold and realized, how many times God must say this to me. "KLK, just be patient. If you'll wait for my timing, I'll give you what you need and you will be happy, in me. If you would only trust that I know what's best for you and I'm not going to withhold it from you."

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

WalMart Episode 2: The Way to Save the World

My WalMart series will now include more than just conversations. That's why I'm giving each episode a title. So, welcome to the second installment.

I recently saw a large ad in a magazine about all the thing WalMart is doing to be environmentally friendly. I was quite impressed and not only is this a positive step, it's a good PR move for an organization that is so large and doesn't always have good PR.

I bought five WalMart reusable shopping bags for a $1 a piece. As I paid for them the cashier put them on the bag carousel and began to load my groceries in them. She was very particular at arranging all my groceries in the bags, being careful not to smash anything and put the cold items all together. I was impressed and appreciative. I even wondered if WalMart had trained their employees on how to pack the bags.

On my next trip I took my bags in with me and decided I needed to purchase two more so all my groceries would fit. I put my five previously purchased bags on the conveyor belt first and then the two news ones. I explained to the cashier that I already owned the first five and was purchasing the other two. As I was unloading my groceries he asked if I wanted the two new ones in a bag. Figuring he didn't want to pack the groceries around the price tag that was holding the bags shut I said that was fine, whatever was easier.

After unloading all my groceries I pushed up to the counter and what did I see - all my reusable grocery bags stuffed in one plastic bag and all my groceries being put in plastic bags. I thought about correcting the employee, but decided it would take too much effort. I guess next time I'll explain to the cashier what the bags are for. So much for saving the world WalMart!

Aren't You Lucky

Wow, two posts on hayk in the same day! That's unheard of. I was tagged by Amy, so I thought I would chime in while I had the time.

Jobs I have had in my life:
1. Concession stand worker at the Baseball fields
2. Church office secretary
3. OSHA Monitor at a chemical plant (lots of fun stories)
4. Assistant Director of Constituent Relations

4 Movies I’ve Watched More Than Once:
1. Once
2. Return to Me
3. Little Miss Sunshine
4. Old Yeller

4 Places I’ve Lived:
1. Amman, Jordan
2. Longview, TX
3. Waco, TX
4. Fort Worth, TX

4 TV Show I Watch/Watched:
1. The Office
2. LOST
3. Alias
4. Survivor

4 Places I have Been:
1. Jerusalem
2. Interlaken, Switzerland
3. Sur, Oman (talk about some good fish)
4. Beirut, Lebanon

4People who email me regularly
1. CDK
2. Traci
3. Mom
4. Robin

4 of my favorite foods
1. Mexican - Ninfa's fajitas rank at the top
2. Arab - specifically matlubbi and fetah de jaaj
3. Pizza King Pizza
4. Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate Ice Cream

4 Places I Would Like to Visit
1. South America (only continent I'm lacking besides Antarctica)
2. New Zealand
3. Italy
4. Some exotic island location with the straw huts out over the water

4 Things I am Looking Forward to in the Coming Year
1. Buying a home
2. Watching NGK discover and learn new things, and her calling me "mom"
3. Finding out what church will look like
4. Learning how to be "mom"

4 Friends who I’m Tagging
(I think everyone I know has already done this!)
1. Traci
2. J at Herd of Turtles
That's all I've got!