Have Mercy!

"Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

When I was younger (a lot younger!) I used to play that game "Mercy" with my brothers. It's the game where two players face each other and grab their opponent's opposite hands and interlock fingers. Each opponent attempts to bend the other's hands back and inflict pain by straining the ligaments and tendons in the wrist. When a player can't stand the pain or overpower the opponent, the player cries out "Mercy!" As the youngest sibling with three older brothers, who do you think always lost??

Now I rarely play that game now, but my cries for mercy still exist. Merriam-Webster defines mercy as "compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject of one's power". Are we not all offenders in the eyes of the Lord? Do we not fall short according to His commands? Don't my four sons send me over the edge? Yet by His mercy He withholds the punishment I deserve for my less-than-perfect antics (Romans 6:23).

Many times this whole "mercy" thing has brought me to tears. Playing the game with my brothers often led to straining and cracking joints followed by tears of pain. But just a few days ago the tears I shed were a result of God's mercy upon someone else. A friend who had been in my daily prayers for a few years opened his heart to Christ. The Lord spared my friend and waited for him to accept Him. God's mercy exuded in His longsuffering and once again I was reminded why His faithfulness is as great as Jeremiah claimed it to be in the book of Lamentations.

So while mercy is not anything we deserve, but definitely desire, know that the Lord is much more compassionate than my older brothers, and He is more than willing to bestow His compassion upon us if we just ask. And we won't even have to get our wrists bent way back to receive it.

Sweet Memories

It's been a few months since my last blog entry and I realize it's because, frankly, my life is boring. Busy AND boring, hence the lapse. Then I also realized that I spend a lot of time searching for recipes online and am always interested in other people's food stories. So, I decided to fill in the gaps between exciting bloggable moments in my life (all eight of them) with blogs about my own food adventures. Although some some of these events happened a while ago, one thing about food that never spoils is the experience that goes with it.

Last summer my aunt came to visit from the Philippines. It had been 14 years since we last saw her and 15 years since my mother passed away. Of her 2 month stay in the U.S. she spent a week with me and Justin and the boys. Usually, when relatives come visit from the Phil., they bring gifts called "pasalubong". But she brought with her much more: a pair of extra helping hands, memories and stories of my mom, and a whole lot of baking expertise! She taught me how to make ensaymadas (pic), a Filipino brioche topped with butter and cheese. I had only eaten the ensaymadas they sell at Goldilock's Bakery and Red Ribbon BakeShop, which I think are pretty darn good. But making them from scratch resulted in the best ensaymadas I've ever had! Was it because of the fresh ingredients? Maybe. Or the fact that I made them myself (ok, with help)? Perhaps. But for certain they were made sweeter because of my time to chat and learn and bake with my Tita. Now I've only made these two times, and that was when my aunt was here. But I do have hopes of making them again soon so I can once again participate in the delicious, highly caloric, memory-evoking experience that they are.

"Hey, Bert!"

If anyone ever asked me how I know God exists, I would answer with a list of all the wonderful blessings in my life: Jesus, a faithful husband, awesome sons... and eyebrow threading. I believe that God created eyebrow threading just for me and that all this time other people get to benefit from it.

If you knew me any time before 1991 you knew that I had eyebrows that gave Bert from Sesame Street a run for his money. And it didn't help that I grew up with three older brothers who offered no aesthetic advice to me whatsoever. So it wasn't until I was almost 20 years old that I finally started plucking my eyebrows, which shed a new light (literally, since my hairy eye awnings were trimmed) on the way I thought I should look. To this day I am still in awe that Justin chose to date me during my pre-plucking days.

But it wasn't until very recently that I discovered this miracle from heaven that is eyebrow threading. My first visit was only a few months ago to a place recommended by a friend whose sense of style I trust - plus the place only charged $4.99! I thought I had been doing a decent job with the tweezers myself all these years, but the large amount of time the threader spent on my face made me think otherwise. She broke the thread at least 4 times. She also used scissors (I didn't know eyebrows needed to be CUT, too - maybe just mine?) and I have a feeling she would have used the electric clippers if she had them. Then I think she raked my face to finish the job, and had to sweep the floor when she was done.

But I must admit that the result was amazing. My eyebrows had shape! They were sleek! They were clean and organized! They didn't make me look like I was surprised all the time! They gave my face a whole new look, and at $4.99 +$1 tip I can afford to go back again and again!

So now I can keep counting my blessings... one eyebrow hair at a time.

For the Love of Chocolate

Yes, I know Valentine's Day was over a week ago, so I figured I should delay no longer in sharing about one of my greatest loves: See's Candy dark nougats. I received 1/2 lb. of these babies from my husband on Valentine's Day. I had to restrain myself from devouring the entire box that first night, and I'm glad I didn't immediately eat the whole thing for the following reasons:

-The next few days with my kids made me want to drink myself silly and hide in a corner never to be found. But seeing as I don't drink and whisking myself away to a remote location would be considered child abandonment, I drowned my frustrations in prayer and a few pieces of dark nougats. When Justin came home, he'd check the chocolate box to gauge how bad my day had been. Things got better with around 4 pieces left.
-Following those trying days, I noticed my face start to break out. Stress related? Possibly. Chocolate related? Definitely. Oh, my boys have stressed me to the outer limits before. But Valentine's Day comes once a year and, with the arrival of my favorite candy, so do pimples like the ones I had. Just when I thought my problems had been solved by the mass consumption of what I consider heaven in chocolate form, I began to resemble my 7th grade school picture. I don't even want to THINK about what my face would have looked like if I had eaten all of it that first or second day.

So I am pleasantly surprised that I still have two pieces of dark nougats left one week after Valentine's Day. They are tokens of how much my husband loves me, and a reflection of how my vanity has motivated my restraint. And, as long as they last, they will be reminders that it is better to be zit-faced than to leave my children at the curb. Ah, the things I do for love.

The Morning Dance

Like many of you, I look forward to my morning cup of coffee. Unlike many of you, I have four sons who also have their morning needs so, more often than not, I don't get to enjoy my coffee freshly made, nice and hot. I have a mental schedule of everything I need to do for them in the morning and somewhere at the end I have "eat breakfast" listed for myself. If I told you this schedule your eyes would probably pop out of your head, and if I told you what has to happen daily I'm sure your head would explode.

Well, today is momentous because not only did I get to that "eat breakfast" part for myself, it worked out like a beautifully rehearsed sequence of events. First, I heated up the water for my coffee (I use a French press). Then, while the water got hot, I washed out the press (I have a bad habit of not washing it after I use it) and scooped into it the coffee grounds. I sliced my bread and put it into the toaster oven. I turned on the stove to heat my pan. The water boiled so I poured it into the press and set the timer for exactly 4 minutes. I scrambled my eggs (whites only) and put it into the pan. I poured milk into my coffee mug and put it in the microwave to heat (1 minute 15 secs to be exact). I cooked the eggs till they were done and turned off the oven. "Ding!" went the microwave to indicate the milk was heated. I put two teaspoons of sugar into my mug of hot milk. "Ding!" went the timer, so I poured the pressed coffee into my mug. "Ding!" went the toaster oven and out came my toast. It all came together, my exquisitely choreographed meal of the morning.

Now with one son on the potty, another running laps up and down the hallway, another reading the numbers 1-100 at the top of his lungs and another asking questions related to equivalent decimal numbers, the morning dance is gradually turning into noontime freestyle. But I certainly relished my 7 minutes of order and trust that I will get through the afternoon's mental list with the help of another cup of coffee - even if it is lukewarm.

Mr. Potato Head

[*WARNING: The following blog entry contains detailed descriptions of bowel movements and bowel movement products and may not be appropriate for those with weak constitutions.]

I am having the darndest time potty training Jed - I started in August and he's only mastered peeing in the toilet, and even that is only when he's reminded to go or I catch him dancing around trying to hold it. Everyone knows children learn by example so I tried that whole "oh read this book and use the baby doll and the baby doll potty and show how the baby goes and doesn't need a diaper anymore and he'll learn by the end of 24 hours" thing. Um, NOT! That was one of the most tiring days of my life! But, I do agree with him "learning by example," so I have let Jed watch his older brothers poop in the potty. And, yes, I let him watch me go, too (sorry if that's tmi), but that hasn't been working, either.

So, enter Mr. Potato Head. No, no, I'm not talking about what almost comes out of Jed every time I sit him on the potty. No, Mr. Potato Head has become Mr. Incentive. Jed got MPH as a gift at Christmas, and seeing how excited he was to play with it, I (being the cool mom I am) put it way out of his reach on top of the fridge and told him he couldn't have it until he pooped in the potty. So, weeks went by, until finally it happened. I don't know who screamed louder in excitement between Jed and me when Jed let out a big one in the toilet, but MPH got to come out of his box and Jed had a grand time playing with him. But, since we all know good things don't last forever, MPH has had to retake his spot on top of the fridge when Jed decides to let the poop out in his underwear and all over Lightning McQueen. There are even days when Jed hasn't gone and I want to say to him "Look at Mr. Potato Head! I want YOU to make something that looks like THIS come out of your body and drop into the toilet!" But I don't. I get REALLY close, but I don't.

Today was a good day. Jed went poop in the toilet this morning. MPH has been out and about all day and I really pray he gets to stay out of his box and off the top of the fridge tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that. And for weeks after that. Because, friends, I still have to potty train Jack, and Mrs. Potato Head wants to come down off the fridge, too.

Top Ten 2011

Top Ten Reasons I Will Start Blogging Again:

10. Twitter only allows up to 140 characters per tweet which is SO not enough.

9. This is the 3rd year in a row I've vowed to "start blogging again" so why break tradition?

8. I can now turn my back on my kids long enough to type at least two sentences.

7. I love to write almost as much as I love to talk, but since I'm with 4 boys aged 9 and under most of the day, I have better conversations with my keyboard.

6. How many husbands do YOU know who want to stay up all night listening to their wives vent?

5. I'm one of the few who doesn't play "Angry Birds".

4. I need to shamelessly plug my new side business: greaterlovecrochet.com

3. My sons have lame baby books (if any at all) so I reason that they can come back to this blog to see what they were like as babies.

2. Typing makes me look AND feel productive.

1. The whole world should know how hard it is for me to potty train my children.