"Let me see that casserole!"

Jon and I always sing (to the tune of "Let me see that Tootsee Roll") this to each other whenever I make this delicious enchilada casserole. Enjoy!

2 cans cream of chicken/cream of mushroom soup

1-2 Bell Pepper chopped

1/2 Onion chopped

2 small cans of diced green chilies

1 pkg of tortillas (you'll probably only use about 5 or 6)

1 pkg of Shredded cheese

2-3 cubed/shredded chicken breasts, cooked (you can use the cubed chicken in the can, about 2 cans will work. I like to grill two chicken breasts and then shred.)

1 can sliced black olives (optional)

Saute the bell peppers, onion, and green chilies (with juice) in sauce pan. Add creamed soup and chicken pieces. Heat through. Layer casserole dish with torn tortilla pieces, then casserole mixture, and top with cheese. Repeat layers until all casserole mixture is used. The more cheese you use the better! Bake at 350 for 45 min to 1 hour.

Now let me see your casserole!! To the left, to the left......now dip baby, dip.....with tortilla chips!

Month 7

Wow! Lots seems to have happened. Current stats for baby girl are as follows: 13lbs 15oz, 26.5 in long, and finally fitting into 6 month clothes! She is maintaining her 5% growth so the doctor is happy. She received her final round of the flu shots and later that day developed a very runny nose. The next day her nose was even worse and had a bit of a temp, however after one dose of Tylenol she was fine. She was a little cranky but mainly just sleepy. Day 3.....a tooth had broken through! The left bottom incisor. The right one seems to be close behind. Here we go, down the road of teething.

Hadley's sitting up by herself, which now gives us the freedom to put her in high chairs in the restaurant or the shopping cart. She's not real interested in tummy time anymore since she can sit on her own. This prevents her from practicing her crawling. Although, while on her tummy she does show signs of trying to move to get stuff but her interest quickly wanes and she's on to something easier.

We tried the nursery at church for the first time this past weekend. It didn't go well, as was expected. In our unsureness (if that's a word) of how to do this whole thing we handed her over too quickly and walked out the door. She was screaming by the time we walked out the door. About 10 mins. later someone came and got us out of church to tend to her. Our dear friend Kacy was working hard to calm her down and almost had her calm by the time I got there. I ended up staying in there for a while with her so she could get used to all the other babies and adults in the room. She played fine for about 30 mins. so I decided I'd try to leave again. I guess she lasted for a few minutes more and then started crying again. Kacy took her outside and she calmed down and actually slept for a few minutes. Poor girl! It's hard because she usually naps during this time but I know there's too much going on for her to do that. We're going to keep trying but I think we'll gradually leave her this next time instead of rushing out.

Jon and I did ok with it. Yeah right....we were pretty anxious. We have a lot of work to do ourselves. We will keep trying though.

She's still a good eater. I need to figure out what foods come next and if I want to take the time to make them myself or just start buying commercial made food. Big thing about making my own baby food is the meats are a little involved so she hasn't had a taste of any of those. I'm sure it's not a big deal but I want her to at least try them out. She loves our Christmas tree and anything she can get in her mouth, most notably technological devices. She's into saying "mamamama" or "dadadada" a lot but of course doesn't know what they mean. That about does it for this month. I know these next few months are going to be busy for her and we look forward to it all!

Her cute little hat!

She likes to sit up in her bouncer now, and lean over the side. It might be time to put it away!

Asking new questions

This thought came to me as I thought about those around me who are going through personal struggles. I'm sure it's not a new idea by any means but one I hope to keep close at hand. Sub-conscientiously when I go through a tough time my initial reaction is: "what did I do to deserve this? I must have done something wrong, where did I mess up?" I take a lot of time to figure out why I'm receiving a "consequence".

I suppose there's a lot of theology/philosophy around whether God gives us trials to endure, etc. I'm not quite sure where I stand on that. I don't believe God punishes us, but I do believe there are natural consequences for our actions. These consequences can manifest themselves physically, mentally, or emotionally.

However, this rephrasing of my question comes in those situations that are just hard to explain why they're happening, except that we are imperfect humans living in an imperfect world.

Drum roll please......

Instead of asking, "Why is this happening?" What if we started asking, "God what do you want me to do as a result of this situation?"

I believe for me and maybe other people, this would take the victim role out of the situation, like we are entitled to have a great, easy life, as well as help us rise up out of the hurt, sadness, anger, etc. We start to focus on what we can learn and perhaps that's what God wants out of that situation. Maybe we're not receiving a consequence for the past maybe God is preparing us for something else in the future.

Your thoughts, experiences?