Rachel's Better Than Take Out Chicken Lo Mein

2 Cups Chicken broth
1 lb chicken breast
1/4 cup white cooking wine
1/2 cup soy sauce
5 teaspoons cornstarch
Vegetable oil
5-6 cloves of minced garlic
1 piece of crystallized ginger, minced
1 can water chestnuts
1 small zuchinni
1 small yellow squash
1 can bamboo shoots
1.5 pkg mushrooms
1 red or yellow pepper
1 shredded carrot
1 lb thin lo mein noodles

First, prep all of your vegetables. Shred the carrot with a grater (or buy it shredded). Slice the squashes, and cut the slices in half. Drain the bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. Cut the pepper into medium-sized slices. Toss together with the mushrooms in a bowl and set aside in the fridge.

Next, cut your chicken into strips. You want 1-2 inch strips. Its easiest to do this if the chicken is still partially frozen.

Next, boil your chicken broth in a sauce pan. (I used 2 cups of water with 2 bouillon cubes). Take 1/3 of the mixture and pour it into a pot. This pot needs to be big enough to eventually accomodate all the vegetables and all the noodles. Let the part still in the saucepan sit aside while the part in the pot continues to boil. Drop your chicken strips into the boiling broth. let the chicken cook, stirring occassionally, for about 8-10 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

Start boiling your lo mein noodles in a seperate pot. make sure to stir them, as they stick together very easily.

Next, make your sauce. Combine the white wine, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a bowl on the side. Stir until they are smooth. Pour the smooth mixture into the saucepan with the cooling broth.

Pour a thin layer of vegetable oil into the pot you were cooking the chicken in. Add the minced ginger and garlic into the oil. Stir, let cook 30 seconds until the oil is infused with the flavor of the garlic and ginger. Add the bowl of vegetables to the saucepan. Stir until all the vegetables are coated with the oil. Cook at medium heat until the vegetables are cooked, but still slightly crisp.

Add the cooked pasta and chicken to the vegetables and stir together. Cook for three minutes.

Add the sauce mixture and cook through.

Serve and enjoy.

This makes a LARGE bowl of lo mein and would be a perfect accompaniment to Mama Beaver's homemade egg rolls.

The Wedding

Of course I forgot to take my camera.

Olivia, Julius and I went to my friend Aven's wedding today. Aven is a lovely young woman who has overcome much in her life to come into her heritage as a woman of God. She is fun, beautiful, and strong. I met Aven when the Fichtners bought Servant's Heart over four years ago.

I have actually known her husband Justin for longer. He and I worked together at Servant's Heart years ago. His mother was the assistant manager when it was the old store, and I loved her very much, and have always had a good estimation of Justin's character.

To see two good people like that meet and fall in love; it makes me so happy. There's no soap opera about the romance, just a good old-fashioned love story.

I don't think I can even put into words how happy it makes me. Aven was a beautiful bride today. The ceremony was lovely. There was so much happiness in the room. It's not just "weddings make me happy", though that's true, and I always enjoy a wedding, regardless of the circumstances. But this was special. I feel... like its an affirmation of everything that is still good in the world. My feelings are too big for my heart and my smile is too big for my face.

Here's what made me happy:

Their vows written to one another - heart-stirring.

"Mr. and Mrs. Justin Shupe"

Beautiful Aven.

Olivia asking to sit next to Nina... then asking if she could move next to the dance floor during their first dance because she wanted to "see the whole dress"

Seeing Abby - Seth Friederich's little girl who was born a day before Julius - in person.

Seth stealing a chair and bringing it to the head table so he could eat with his wife and daughter.

The father-daughter dance: Chuck methodically getting all his ducks in a row so he could make his way over to beautiful Lisa and ask her to dance (she smiled so beautifully).

The mother-son dance: Nancy's five boys (a sixth not being present) all hovering to dance around her - Nina and her three wonderful young men... Julius snuggling against his mommy for his own mother-son dance.

The "Servant's Heart Girls" throwing a fiver and a couple singles into the basket for the dollar dance so we could all dance with Aven at once... love in a circle :)

What a beautiful day.

It's easy for me to be so whole-heartedly happy about weddings, when I have my darling Chief who loves me so truly.

Failure or just overly analytical?

A boy came to my door.

He's the one who mows the grass.

He said he sprained his arm and he wanted to know if I had anything for it, like a wrap.

I didn't have a wrap.

I found a large icy hot patch that was supposed to be good for pain for a strain or a sprain. He said "that's fine" and shook his head - I guess he really wanted a wrap. he just kinda stood there.

I told him I was sorry I didn't have a wrap, did he want the patch?

He said that's fine and kinda slowly walked away.

He didn't go to the other neighbor's houses.

Should I have offered to take him to the store for a wrap?

Should I have walked him to the other neighbors houses and asked them?

Or was he just kinda checking to see if I had something and it wasn't a big deal?

Did I miss something? Or was it just a random thing? Is God trying to tell me to be more decisive? Is he try to tell me to be sensitive to others needs? To not rely on Lee to make decisions for me? If Lee hadn't been playing his game, would something else have happened?

I just wish I could have helped, and I feel like maybe I missed something...

Laundry Day

Nan and I have been going to the laundromat together about once every two weeks. I am enjoying it. I leave Boo home with Dad so I can have his seat for extra laundry room! The other two enjoy going to the laundromat with us!

This is the same laundromat that Nan and Pap went to their whole life. To go there, we pass the church they were married in, one of the apartments they lived in, and the funeral home that Pap was memorialized in.

The New Job

Monday, around lunchtime, Lee received a call that he had been accepted for a full time help desk position at a computer consulting company in our area. He will be working third shift (a good thing) helping people make their computers work (another good thing). He will also be dresing up, working in an office, and not making pizza. This is an answer to prayer - not just my prayers, but everyone who has been following the interview process, especially my Mama, who was sitting at God's knees going "pleasepleaseplease". This is a BIG step forward for us. The job includes paid holidays and sick days, and insurance for the whole family. The pay is nothing exorbitant, but it is more than we are currently making together.



If we wanted to, I could quit working and we could get by, but I have decided to continue working one day a week, to help offset the cost of insurance. It takes a big chunk out of his check, but it will be very good to have real coverage for the whole family. I also would like to keep my foot in the door where I work, because I love the people I work with and care about the business. I think I can work one half-day a week and still have plenty of time to be a real full-time mom with all that entails - homeschooling first grade and kindergarten next year, taking care of the house, and being a devoted wife. Lee will really need my support, and sometimes that will just mean keeping the kids away from the hallway so he can sleep.



This is a big deal for Lee. I am very proud of him.



Lee has also asked me to take over paying the bills when he starts the new job. This is a big step for me, for reasons that I won't detail here. I think it will work out fine, though. I think I understand our relationship well enough that it will be good for us both.



While Lee is in training, there will be two weeks where I can't work at all.... isn't that sad??? A vacation for me!

Sickies

We have been sick all week, starting Monday and running right on through. At first it was Julius with the sniffles, then by Wednesday Lee and I were both laid up. Friday I had a fever, Saturday it was Lee. We are getting near the end. Praise God that the two big ones really didn't get sick, and even Jules didn't get much more than the sniffles. The other two could still get it, I guess, but I should be well enough to nurse them by then, if they do.

Friday we took a dinner down to Aunt Jenny and her family. Unfortunately, I was too sick to see the baby - so sad! I didn't touch or breathe on any of the food or go in the house, so hopefully Jenny's clan won't get sick. That would be terrible. I would feel so bad.

Today is the Feast of Pentecost, but I am took sick to go to church. I can't speak at all and I am hacking, etc. Other unmentionable symptoms have decided to take advantage of my weak state. OY!

Lee passed all his classes this semester.

I passed all my classes this semester.

Now I'm going to go curl up in a small ball.

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent all day Saturday and Monday at Jackie's house. Jackie is Lee's sister. She and her fiance, Danny, just recently bought a house together. They are very excited about raising their boys - my gorgeous nephews - in a good house in the country. I am so proud of them. Jackie is such a good mom and a good worker.

Lee and I have spent a few good pockets of time with Danny and Jackie, and we always get along with them well. We feel relaxed around them and enjoy their company. It is very important to us that our kids have time to play with their cousins. Also I just wuv my neffie poos.

In addition to Jackie and Danny, our cousin Jamie was their with her kids. Jamie is Lee and Jackie's first cousin - the daughter of their dad's sister. Jamie is a single mom with four kids. She really loves her kids. She is nursing her fourth baby. She never nursed before, and she is planning for her daughter to be her last baby, so she persisted through the Hell that is the first few weeks of nursing. That is awesome! Anyway, Jamie's kids got along very well with our kids, too. Her oldest is 8 and he and Boo got on very well today.

Jackie was telling Jamie about my wrap, and how helpful it has been for me. I had my home made wrap in the car, so I got it out and showed her how to work it. Jamie picked up on how to wrap it right away. I figured anyone who can make it through nursing can figure out how to wear a baby, so I left my wrap with her (I still have my Moby and my swimming wrap, so its no sacrifice!) She just emailed me to tell me she got it to work and that she likes it. YAY.

Lee's mom and dad were there, today, too, as well as my other sister, Amber. Unfortunately, Amber left early because she and Lee got into a bit of a tiff and she became very insulted . Once she gets angry, she usually doesn't back down or come back at all. She's gone. After Jackie asked them to stop snarking at each other, Lee didn't say a word, but it was too late - everyone else was yelling. I took my kids out of the area and down to the basement - we prayed for Amber, that she would feel how much we all love her, and that we would all learn to be more gentle with our words. At some point, I could hear that she was banging things against the house, and then Jackie's soft-spoken, easy going fiance yelled at Amber and told her that it was his house and she needed to get out. So she did. I was very impressed with Danny.

I love Amber very much, and I don't want her to be unhappy. I am praying right now that God will come into her life and move her in a big way. I doubt we will see her again for awhile.

At the same time, Dad left. He doesn't like the fighting, and sometimes it feels like he wants to leave, anyway, like it is hard for him to stay around. We probably won't see him again for awhile, either.

But that was actually pretty early in the day. After The rest of the day was peaceful and pleasant. We ate a lot of food, drank a lot of drink, and let the kids frolic. I got to sit for a long time talking to Mom, Jackie, and Jamie. We talked, mostly about kids and work. I busted out the Avon books and we talked about makeup and whatever gadgets or colors of eyeshadow we can't live without. Oh, and kids. Did I mention we talked about all the kids? It felt good. The whole weekend felt good.

Family is nice. God, bless my family and help me to be an instrument of Your Will in their lives, in whatever way I can.

Julius's Birthday