What in the...?

Every now and then I'll do something that makes me feel like a rotten homemaker. I know people make mistakes and I can't expect to be perfect, blah blah blah, but when I do something stupid, it makes me
feel---well...really stupid! This has happened to me twice already this week and it's only Wednesday!! On Monday, I decided to make Sloppy Joe's for dinner. I was careful to follow the recipe, but for whatever reason I left the burner on too hot and while I left it to "simmer" it turned into a charred mess in my pan! Looks like we're having left-over Chinese and and egg sandwich for dinner tonight. Oops.

Well, yesterday at work I got this great idea to make pumpkin bread for the first time ever. On my way home, I even went to the grocey store to make sure I had all the ingredients. Again, I followed the recipe perfectly. I even created my own brown sugar-butter-pecan mixture to sprinkle on top. Ambitious, right? When I poured the batter into the dish, I thought it looked a little full, but I figured it wouldn't rise very much. I was wrong. Not only did it rise, it overflowed all over the place. Fortunately I thought to put a cookie sheet underneath so I didn't have a mess in the oven (the one smart thing I did). Not only that, but when it was finally "cooked" it was really just an over-flowing, 325 degree, 9x5 dish of a brown dough-like substance. My husband, trying to be sweet and supportive, still offered to eat it. He's obviously crazy, and I didn't dare let him for fear it wouldn't even digest in his tummy.

I guess what this new wife can take away from this week's disasters is to enjoy the small victories, like remembering to iron Josh's work shirts before 6:15am, and laugh at the big screw-ups. Let's hope my home-making skills will get better by the time our kids are old enough to know the difference!

PS. Now I'm kind of craving pumpkin bread, so if anyone has a good recipe that is not going to overflow in my oven, I'd love to have it!

The DeClercq's are back in town!

Over this last weekend, Josh and I got to spend an amazing three days with one of the coolest families I know--mine!! My parents, my younger brothers, and my grandmother drove down from the "hecka cool" Bay Area for my older brother's graduation from graduate school. And if you'll indulge me, I'd like to take a moment to brag about Adam.
Over the last couple of years he's finished his B.A. and simultaneously worked on (and now completed) his master's degree in Education from Biola, on which he received highest honors (3.9 gpa or higher). He's in his second year as a high school English teacher and water polo coach, and he's doing a great job with a challenging group of students. He and his wife are even considering doing some missions-related work by taking a teaching position at a missionary school in Germany. We're all very proud of what he's accomplished in his life and we're even more excited for the opportunities he'll have in the future. All of these things are purely by the grace of God, and it has been an amazing thing to see Him bring all these events to fruition. So, as much as I can brag about Adam, I know that our boast is in the Lord and in His merciful kindness and for that I'm so grateful.

Here's the whole fam after the graduation

I just thought this was a cute picture of my parents!

The handsome graduate and his lovely wife

All my best men!
Joshua, Dad, Adam, Joey(17), Ricky(21)

Here's just a cute picture of me and my own very handsome and wonderful husband.

A reason to celebrate

We have great news! My very diligent and hard-working husband has been promoted to Branch Manager for Enterprise's Palmdale office! He's put so much of himself into this company and this promotion is much deserved. The Lord has provided for us once again, and it's my prayer that we wouldn't forget to use this new position to His glory and as an opportunity to grow His Kingdom. I am constantly amazed by the realities of God's promises. He truly does have a plan for good, even when our faith falters and our trust is weak. "For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things...to God be the glory and praise" (I don't know the verse address, but I remember the Joel Weldon lyrics!)

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y-NIGHT!

I think most women sometimes wish their men were more spontaneous. I'll admit that I've been one of those women. I wouldn't generally describe Josh as the kind of guy to "fly off the seat of his pants" or whatever, but on Saturday, he surprised me by buying tickets for a John Mayer concert that he saw online that afternoon for that night. Being huge John Mayer fans, we try to keep up on when he's having a concert, but I guess we let this one slip through the cracks. We scrambled around to get the tickets in time for the 8:15 show and get out the door early enough that our beloved LA traffic wouldn't make us late. Thanks to Ticketmaster and my sister-in-law for letting us use her printer to print the tickets, we had an awesome night listening to a truly excellent musician.
Moral of the story? A little spontaneity goes a long way. Oh! And if you're not a Mayer fan already, you're missing out!

Love after 60 years

In October, Josh and I went with Josh's parents to his grandparent's house in Wisconsin. They live in a small farmhouse, in a small town, surrounded by farmland and the occasional Amish community. Though it was a bit shocking for this California city girl to imagine living there, I was impressed with the lush scenery and golden trees. I had no idea Wisconsin was so beautiful.

We had a wonderful time with Josh's family. It was the first time I had met anyone on his mom's side. We spent most of our days with his grandparents, Grandpa Maurice and Grandma Pearl, who have been married for over 60 years. We had the privilege of sitting around the table with them for hours, hearing how they came to know the Lord, looking at old pictures and hearing stories about how they grew up and how they raised their own children. Every now and then Grandma would reach over and squeeze Grandpa's hand and he would pass her the most understanding, affection-filled look. It warmed my heart to see such a mutual respect and love for one another after so many years. It was so encouraging to see how the Lord is able to preserve such a sweet relationship that a newlywed couple like us can be blessed by it. They are living proof of God's grace and I am honored to know them.

And so it begins!

So, Josh said that if I enjoy reading other people's blogs so much, I might as well create my own. Up until now I thought it would be fun. Everybody else's are so entertaining, creative, and even sometimes convicting. However, as I sit down now, my mind has drawn a blank. What do I have that is creative or entertaining? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Well...here's to my first blogging venture.