Today the Angels sang

I believe that the angels in heaven get very excited when we have things to celebrate. And today... I believe that they were VERY excited!!

About four months ago Dustin and I started attending a new church. For the last several years we have attended Central Christian Church. We really liked CCC but Dustin never felt like it was a church he could call home, and that was really important to me. Both of us really liked the pastor at CCC a lot, but had a hard time getting connected. And Dustin had mentioned several times that one of the things he likes so much about the church that I grew up in is the community and the support that I still have from the people who go there. So we started to look around, and finally found Cornerstone Christian. After the first Sunday that we worshiped at Cornerstone, Dustin looked at me and told me "I'm ready to call this our home church and get involved"!! I can't even begin to describe the excitement that I had that day when Dustin was the one telling me that he was ready to call a church home!!! YIPEE!! Since we returned from our honeymoon we have gone to church almost every Sunday (with the exception of about two times) and have joined a small group called "After I-Do". And a few of our friends have started worshiping at Cornerstone with us.

This is such a unique church in so many ways, but mainly to me because it is a lot like Southwest Airlines. People show up early and there is always a massive line of people waiting to enter the church before the doors even open. People are so excited to worship God that they show up early and stand in a very large line! Can't you just see that making God smile!! Well today, God had another reason to smile. During our service they talked about baptism and invited anyone who wanted to be baptized to go out to the main lawn and participate in a mass baptism. There was a line (again I can imagine God smiling). And one of those people in the line was our friend, Dain!! Happy Baptismal Birthday, Dain!!

I don't actually have a picture of Dain being baptized, but I have a picture of the scene!!

Pork Nachos

When we went to Hawaii we stumbled upon some absolutely wonderful pork nachos at Brennecke's Beach Broiler in Poipu. We knew that we were going to have to try to make them again. And here they were. We used the left over Kalua Pork that we made on Wednesday night for this recipe. This was really easy and very yummy!!

1. First, turn your oven on to broil. Then put some of the bbq pulled pork in a bowl, so it'll be ready when you need it, which is in a couple of steps.
2. Make the pico de gallo. Mix 3 diced medium tomatoes, 1 diced onion, 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic, 2 finely chopped fresh jalapeños, ¼ cup chopped cilantro, and squeeze of lime in a bowl. Let rest for a half-hour, at least, so the flavors can combine.
3. Mix up the Cuban seasoning in a bowl: 1 tablespoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper, 1½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon Greek oregano.
4. Now, pile an oven-safe plate as high as you'd like with tortilla chips — the more the Mexier.
5. Top with refried black beans and shredded cheese.
6. Put under broiler until cheese melts. Watch carefully — you don't want the chips to burn.
7. Sprinkle generously with Cuban seasoning and pulled pork. Streak with barbecue sauce.
8. Top with sliced jalapeños and pico de gallo. Eat and repeat — as often as necessary.

If you want to see the original recipe go here

A Difficult Day

There are no pictures for today. It has in fact turned out to be a very trying and difficult day and I honestly didn't even feel up to taking any pictures.

About 6 months ago we learned that Dustin was pre-diabetic. This in itself is a very long story, so I will try to keep it short. Intel offers their employees a monetary incentive every year to have a full physical completed. And every year, Dustin has taken advantage of this. It wasn't until this year that something was flagged. His glucose levels had been rising the past few years, but this year they were in a range that would put him at risk for diabetes. We went to our regular doctor, and he also confirmed this. We tried to get an appointment with an endocrinologist right away, but every one we talked to said that we would have to book six months out. So we also made an appointment with a naturopath and found ways to control Dustins blood sugar levels just by monitoring his diet. At this time is also when we found out that Dustin has an allergy to wheat and yeast, and this is the reason for so many of his stomach problems in the past.

At the time when Dustin was just being diagnosed we had lots of lab work done. My very limited knowledge of this disease has let me learn that the glucometers that take your blood sugar levels are never extremely accurate, but a good day to day reading of what is going on in your body. But the Hemaglobin A1C levels are the best indicator of what is going on. According to one resource we found "In most labs, the normal range is 4-5.9 %. In poorly controlled diabetes, its 8.0% or above, and in well controlled patients it's less than 7.0%." When Dustin first started on this journey his A1C levels were 6.6%. After months of monitoring his diet very strictly his levels dropped to 5.5%. I can tell you on this day we were praising God more than you can imagine and giving Him all the glory for putting this fabulous naturopath into our lives and teaching us some alternatives to medicine.

Fast forward to about a week ago. We knew that his endocrinologist appointment was coming up so we thought that he should start monitoring his levels again on his glucometer. And since the wedding and the holidays we haven't done a really good job of monitoring his diet, so we thought we should get back on track with that as well. So last week some day, he took his levels on the glucometer and it registered as a 380. This is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than any level we have ever had before, even on days where lots of sweets were consumed. Dustin rushed to the doctor just to make sure that everything was fine. He ran some more test results and said to get back to working out and watching his diet.

So today was the day we got back the test results. He got a phone call from the doctors office asking him to come in after work. (This is never a good thing). So he called me on my way to bible study to tell me the results. Dustin's A1C levels had risen to 8.9%. **Heart drops as I hear this** In the past Dustin's body had produced normal levels of insulin, but now he was producing very little **Heart drops a little more** I knew that we hadn't been great about his diet, but I also knew that we were far better than anyway we had been prior to his original diagnosis. Thankfully the appointment we scheduled with an endocrinologist six months ago is next week, Thursday, February 4th.

But oh no... the story of the bad day doesn't end here. In fact, it hasn't really started. About ten minutes after my conversation with Dustin, and while I was sitting with my girlfriends at bible study I get a text message from one of my girlfriends, Tiffany. Tiffany's husband, Donnie, was diagnosed with hypogammaglobulinemia about 6-7 years ago. This is an immune disorder, and how I understand it is that Donnie truly doesn't have an immune system. There are very very few people in the world with this disease, so very little research has been done to find a cure. If his daughter gets sick with a cold at school, he will for sure catch it and become even more sick. And because of all that he is dealing with he is constantly in pain. Okay... so back to my story. Tiffany had told me earlier in the week that Donnie hadn't been doing all that well recently and was in a ton of pain. To make a very long story short, Donnie had been prescribed several medications for the pain and for the immune dificiency. Earlier today, he had a root canal in which he was given even more drugs. Somehow the drugs had all interacted with each other in a not-so-good way and had caused Donnie to have an accidental overdose. Tiffany was there as all of this happened, and their son was able to call 911 right away. The firefighters were there in a matter of minutes and we transported to Thunderbird hospital.

As soon as I got her text I called Dustin and we headed out to the hospital. All in all he was doing okay, and very lucky. Tiffany and Donnie have been the most faithful people through all of this. Witnessing their relationship with Christ through all of them, and watching them find strength through Him was such a testimony to Dustin and I. I think it would be so easy to become disheartened and become frustrated with God, but they seem to have so much strength and faith. On the way home, Dustin looked at me and said "Wow... isn't this a great reminder that things could be so much worse." And that is definitely the truth.

We spent the evening trying to sort through all of our emotions from the day. I praise God for giving me a husband that in the last few months has become so faith-filled. Dustin was the one to keep me grounded and remind me that God will provide us strength to get through all of this diabetes stuff. We are praying for godly wisdom in understanding the road that is before us, and the journey that Tiffany and Donnie are on. We are praying for the doctors that will reviewing Dustin's case, that they will know the best approach to his situation. And we are praying for incredible wisdom in Donnie's situation that someone may find a cure or a treatment for his disease. And we are praying to see God work in all of this!!

Onion Chicken in Balsamic Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 chicken leg quarters
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Combine the stock and vinegar and bring to a boil and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened. Getting the mixture to thicken can take a very long time, so make sure to start this sooner than later. I added a little bit of Dijon mustard to the recipe to get it to thicken easier and give it some more flavor.
   
3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and reduce heat to low. Allow onion to caramelize, stirring only enough to prevent sticking and to be sure that all sides are fully cooked. Add garlic and saute briefly.
4. Increase heat to medium. Add chicken hindquarters to skillet and brown on both sides. Remove chicken, onion and garlic and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
5. Pour half of the balsamic mixture over chicken and stir in the sun dried tomatoes. Continue to heat the balsamic mixture so that it will thicken even more. Cover dish tightly and bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is done and juices run clear. Use the remaining balsamic mixture as a glaze over the chicken
6. ENJOY!!

Modified slightly from allrecipes.com

Such a great day!!

Today was by no means a fun and exciting day, but overall it was an absolutely fabulous day!! Dustin and I went to church this morning at the 9:15 service at Cornerstone and were able to worship our Lord together and with my aunt and uncle and Dain and Susan!! And after the church service we went to the "Sunday school" class that we participate in. Its called "After I-do", and it is a class for couples who have been married for 5 years or less. This class has challenged us in ways that have been such a blessing to our relationship. It helps us to approach things differently (and much more lovingly) within our marriage. It is such a reminder of how we should love each other with so much grace, just in the same way that Christ showered us with his grace and love when he went to the cross. It has been such an incredible blessing for our marriage and it has been awesome growing closer together in Christ.

After church we went to Someburros with Dain and Susan and their absolutely beautiful daughter Teagan. Teagan has recently learned how to stick out her tongue and was so cute sticking it out while she was eating!! I sware this little one could easily be a Gerber Baby!!

The end of a rainy week!!

This week gave us some crazy weather in AZ!! We had so much rain, a tornado warning, and crazy wind. The news kept saying that this was the worst storm in the Valley's history. In fact, we got more rain in one week than we typically get in an entire year. Unfortunately, I was in an office with no windows the majority of the time :( Anyone who has lived in AZ for a long enough time knows that when it rains, all you really want to do is sit inside on your couch under a big fluffy blanket and watch movies. We don't get this weather all that often, so we like to make it lazy days!!

Well... on Friday, Dustin and I decided to spend a fun lazy evening with some of our closest friends in AZ (Pat & Teresa, Dain & Susan). We had dinner and drinks over at Dain & Susan's house and played a fiercely competitive game of Farkle. We played guys against girls, and whoever lost had to make dinner for the other team on another evening. Unforunately, the girls lost :( I'm pretty sure the guys cheated, but I have no way to confirm this. After Farkle, and once it had stopped raining, we set up a firepit on the back patio and roasted marshmallows for smores!! The highlight of the evening unfortunately wasn't captured in a camera. This is when the guys decided that it would be smart to throw coins in the fire to see what would happen to them and if they would in fact melt! I can't give away the results, try it out for yourself!

Open House

Today we had an open house at my parents house to celebrate our wedding with all of our AZ friends. However... the party wasn't just a celebration for us!! It was also a Cardinals party. We borrowed two flat screen TV's from our great friends Pat and Teresa Misch and set them up outside. We had food from Someburros and from Aloha Kitchen. Ray gave us a great deal and it was by far some of the tastiest kalua pork I have ever had!! Absolutely incredible! Next time I'm at the kitchen I am going to have to ask him how he made it =) Beyond yummy!

Right before the open house started, Dustin said to me that this is going to be one of the only parties that people show up on time, and stay quite a while. And he was right. At exactly 2pm we had about 10 cars pull up with many many more following, and most were wearing their cardinals gear. Unfortunately the game didn't go as well as we would have hoped for, in fact it didn't even go good!! But we had so much fun with our friends and family that it didn't matter much to me!

That evening, I spent some time with Teresa and Susan and Dustin went over to spend time with the guys at Jeremy's house. It was a scotch and cigars type of night... and apparently a lot of fruitful conversation. This weekend really helped us recognize how blessed we are with such incredible friends!

Getting ready

Just getting ready for our Open house tomorrow!! Setting things up and remembering our special day on the beach!!

bunco

On the second Thursday of each month I meet up with some fabulous girls to eat, drink, catch up and play Bunco!! It is always such a good time!! However, if I haven't mentioned I am not the best Bunco player. I don't have a lot of luck with the dice, and if there was a prize for the lowest overall points, I would most likely win month after month. But today, I got the first traveler in the game (the pink cowboy hat was the traveler)!! I couldn't have been more excited!! GO ME!!!

Catching up

Here are two pictures... one from January 12th and one from January 14th!!

The 12th was a very special day ;) I went to the dentist, learned that I have six cavities. My first cavities EVER!! Then, I went over to my photographers house, worked on some images, and then officially started our P90X workout!! After this, I went to my doctors to have a wart on my hand removed (as you can see by the picture). This little friend, is my first friend of its type, and has been with me for about six months. I was a little sad to see her go ;) After having the wart removed, I went over to Teresa's house to spend a little bit of time with my friend, and then we went to bible study!! We just started the Beth Moore study on Daniel! I have heard that it is an incredible and life changing study. I know that God is good, and he will use this as an incredible journey in the next few months! I am so excited!!

And on the 14th there wasn't much to take pictures of, except for a lot of laundry! Why is the basket always full!!!

The things that make you go hmmmm...

Some days finding P365 pictures can be a little difficult. Either we are busy, or there is just plainly not a ton going on. But today, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a picture of this randomness. I walk outside of my office to the hall, where the waiting area is with all the chairs, on my way to lunch. There are a TON of chairs, and not one single person around. But strangly enough, there is this random helmet just staring at me....

WEIRD!!!

beautification

My girlfriend Lisa just finished her assistant-ship (I'm pretty sure that isn't even a real word) at Etch Salon. This picture is from Monday night, and she came over to my house to do my hair. And the very next day she found out that she tested out of the training program and got her own chair at the salon!! The next time I get my hair done will be in her chair at the salon in Scottsdale!!

Go Cards!!

Today was the Cardinals game against the Packer. Dustin and I went to the Sandbar after church to hang out and watch the game with our friends in the "Getatana Cabana" First of all... it was a GREAT GAME!!! I think I heard something about it being the highest scoring playoff game ever, but I could just be making this up! Incredible game and can't wait to see the next one (which incidently happens to be the exact same day and time as our Open House next weekend).

Anyhow... it was a great time with lots of fun people. We even had a little surprise visit from Joni, Maile and Kaelin. It was Kaelins first time cheering for the Cards, and her first time in a bar!! In my family, we like to start them young ;)

Photog

This Saturday Dustin took a photography course with the photographer I work with, Cristi Owen. He spent the first half of the day learning lots of technical photography stuff... f-stops, aperture, metering, exposure, white balance, blah blah blah!! ;) And then he got to practice some of his new knowledge in the second half of the day. Here are some of the pictures that he took. I'm impressed, but then again I am biased!! To see more pictures from this fun day on Cristi Owen's blog just click here...

January 8, 2009

This is a bottle of wine that Dustin bought when he went to Italy with his family in 2005. We never drank it, and it is probably bad by now, so it has become home decor!!

BCS

BCS 2010 National Championship... need I say more ;)

Project 365 - January 4th

Sometimes there is nothing better at night than a glass of wine!!

Cleaning & Getting Organized

Dustin and I spent a lot of time cleaning and getting organized this weekend. He finally had the chance to go through all the tools he got at his tool party. He got them all organized and put nicely and neatly in the garage. I am sure the organization won’t last too long. I mean... who ever heard of a clean man area in a garage!! Those two things just don’t get together (unless of course you aren’t using your tools)!! And Dustin is always using his tools!!In the process of cleaning out old boxes that were in storage from Dustins house, I came across this HORRIBLE UofA shirt that he bought when he was going down to Tucson trying to generate sales for U-Wrap. Needless to say I wasn’t very happy when I learned that he actually supported that awful university down south with his money!! So when I came across the shirt today, I quickly found the scissors and went to town destroying it ;)

Black Eyed Peas

In the McFarland family, Black Eyed Peas are an actual New Years tradition. Now... traditionally Black Eyed Peas are supposed to be ate during your first meal of the New Years to bring you good luck. When I was a little girl we would all have a bowl of Black Eyed Peas after the clock struck midnight and before we went to bed! Since I don’t live at home anymore, and hardly make Black Eyed Peas I hardly ever eat them for my first meal of the new year, but always within the first few days!! This year was by far the best batch of Black Eyed Peas that my dad has ever made!! So yummy!!

FARKLE

On New Years Day Dustin and I went to hang out with our friends, Pat and Teresa. They introduced us to a fabulous game called Farkle (notice the cup in the back of the picture). Well... we decided that although Farkle was fun, it would be much more fun if there was some alcohol involved... and this is how it evolved into a drinking game. The rules were... every time you Farkled you had to take a half a shot!! The boys were shooting tequila and the girls were shooting peach vodka (which for the longest time we thought was Peach Schnapps). It ended up being a great night, we had so much fun. This was a picture from when I gave up a very high scoring hand, because I Farkled!!

Here we go... again!!!

I have made several attempts in the last few years to blog. But typically, it is a trend for a few weeks (maybe even a month) and it fades fast. Just sitting somewhere in cyberspace as a brief chronicle to a moment in my life. Well I am hoping that things will be differenct this time around. There is so much that I would like to document in 2010!!

First, as a way to document our first year of marriage, Dustin and I have decided to take part in Project 365. We have to take one picture every day of the year. The rules are that we only have to be in one picture a month, the rest of the pictures can be of absolutely anything. We started on January 1st, and hope that this will be a really fun way remember our first year of marriage!!

Second, I made about a thousand new years resolutions this year (that can be discussed more in a later post) but one of them is to read 20 books in 2010. This may not seem ambitious to many people, but it seems VERY ambitious to me!! Last year I hardly read 5 books. My goal is to turn of the TV and read. So, as I read a book I will post my review on this blog, and hopefully this will keep me accountable. YIKES!!!

And lastly, I just want this to be a way to keep in touch with a few friends. Only time will tell if I am successfuly on this adventure, but wish me lots of luck!!