Hardest Thing. Ever.

Well, today is day one without Crockett. Only 51 more to go. Time is going so slow already. I am so ready for August 17. I don't even think I was this anxious for our wedding as it approached. (Ok, maybe I was. It's been a while.) All I know is that I am absolutely without a doubt being carried by a strength not my own. There is no way that Becca Thompson kissed her husband and walked away on solid legs (with a solid stomach.) I know for certain that my Savior emptied me and filled me up with him in that moment. My mom has always said that God gives grace for the moment and not a moment too soon. She was absolutely right. The entire anticipatory wait for Crockett's departure to the military I have not been able to picture that last departing moment when we would see each other for the last time for 8 weeks. Now I know there is a reason I couldn't imagine it; because I could not do it. I received grace in that moment where God gave me the strength to do what I was not capable of doing. My God is AMAZING! The past 36 hours have been incredibly surreal. There are moments when life seems normal. Like an average day where Crockett is golfing with friends or at a BYX event or work and will be home later. After I said good-bye to him I drove to my sisters where I stayed the night. We went to the movies, went shopping, watched Netflix, played with my nephew... all normal things I would do while Crockett was busy. Even spending the night at her house wasn't a stretch. I have had a few girly sleepovers throughout our marriage. And up until 9pm last night Crockett had his phone, so it wasn't until today that I got a taste of the small moments that stole my breath and my heart ached for my best friend. The little things that would make me think to tell him would remind me that I can't just text him the silly things anymore. I wanted to say, "I'm getting Jess to watch the Bolivia special of Top Gear!" and a thousand other things. Crockett is the one I tell everything to. The big stuff, the little stuff, the silly stuff. All of it. So I really missed our inside jokes today. It's not like I can just randomly text other people, "I just peed in a bathroom that WASN'T McDonalds on a road trip!!" and have them understand the significance of it. So I've decided these small moments will be the hardest, but I am so grateful for the closeness I'm already feeling in the most refreshing and wonderful relationship ever. My Jesus has been so present throughout this entire journey so far and I'm at peace knowing that he isn't going anywhere. He has already begun teaching/reminding me so much. I have more to be thankful for than I could ever deserve. Here are a few.
- Not many men are worth crying over. Mine is one of them.
- My husband is brave and courageous in the name of his Father and loves me more than I could possibly understand.
- No matter who or what comes into my life or for however long, he/she/it is a gift from God. Not something I deserve, but simply a gift from my Father who loves me so much he wanted to bring me joy through the gift. Crockett and our marriage are two of those many gifts.
- I desire my husband. I desperately need my God.
- My God is able to do ALL things. Even the things I cannot fathom. His grace is sufficient and will meet me in my need on time, every time.

Crockett & I after he swore in under the Coast Guard symbol.

Inside-out Chicken Pot Pie

Tonight's dinner was fantastic! A definite hit. There is only one alteration I will make next time: double or triple the filling! Here is the recipe I found in All You magazine and tweaked a bit.

Ingredients
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
4 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 can mixed veggies (14.5 ou.)
3-4 chicken thighs, cooked & cut into bite sized pieces (more if you really like chicken!)
1/2 tsp salt
1 can Pillsbury biscuits

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Whisk cream & flour in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat. Saute onion for 3 minutes.
4. Stir in broth, veggies, chicken, & salt; bring to a boil.
5. Stir in cream mixture; continue cooking, stirring until mixed well & thickened.
6. Transfer mixture to a 13x9 baking dish.
7. Arrange the uncooked biscuits on top, drizzle a little cream over the top of each biscuit if you have some left over.
8. Bake until biscuits are golden brown, about 18-20 minutes.
9. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Successful Shopping

Today I spent a gift card I'd been holding on to for JCPenney. Have you been in there lately? Things have changed. I liked it very much, and I landed quite a score today. I am quite pleased with my new things. :)

 "It's Wine o'clock"

 "Blasted Silver"

This was my first time to do the cracked polish and I love it.

Next week's pay check:

To DIE for! (and surprisingly comfy too!)

This changed the way I do dinner.

So I tried a new dinner idea: frozen crockpot meals. I spent Sunday evening gathering all my ingredients and had everything ready for the whole week. It took a while to package everything, but it has made the rest of the week a breeze. 

First, I gathered all the recipes I wanted to make for the week.

Then I chopped everything up and put all the ingredients for each recipe into a labeled big, ziplock bag. (I put the date, any extra instructions, like serve over rice or add a cup of this, and the cook time.)

Then I put them all in the freezer.

 labeled bag

frozen Teriyaki Chicken

 frozen Chicken Tortilla Soup

So Monday morning I pulled a bag of frozen ingredients for Mediterranean chicken out of the freezer and dumped it all straight into the crockpot, set the temp on low and when I returned 8 1/2 hrs later this was awaiting me:

Mediterranean Chicken

It was delicious!! I think I'll never use the oven again. :D

I'm excited about this because:
1. It's super easy and I'm lazy busy.
2. This will be great when Crockett leaves because it will be hard to cook for one person and I can have leftovers for a few days (I love leftovers).

Here are the recipes I tried. I've only made Mediterranean Chicken, but it was great. I'll update as I make the others. (Update: The Teriyaki Chicken was great too! Next time I will add more chicken and carrots and less pineapple and onion.)

Teriyaki Chicken

 med - large bag of carrots 

(I used fresh, whole carrots and peeled/chopped 5.)

red onion in large chunks

2 cans pineapple (undrained)

4 garlic cloves

1 cup teriyaki sauce

(I used HEB brand marinade.)

 bag instructions:

add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce and cook low 8 hrs or high 4 hrs, serve over rice

Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cooked chicken (cut into strips or cubes)

1/2 onion

1 cup frozen corn

2 green onions

28 ou. can tomatoes (undrained)

1 cup chopped veggies

(I used a can of mixed veggies.)

4 garlic cloves

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp crushed red peppers 

(I omitted this.)

salt to taste 

(I added about 1 2 tsp.)

bag instructions:

cook on low 8-10 hrs or high 6 hrs

Mediterranean Chicken

3-4 pieces of chicken

(I always use thighs.)

1 bag of frozen artichoke hearts

1/2 jar of green olives (drained)

28 ou. can tomatoes (undrained)

bag instructions:

cook low 8 hrs or high 4 hrs, serve over rice

I also am planning on doing Savory Chicken, but will add that recipe when I get to my computer. I'll also post the links to all the awesome sites I got these recipes from because they have a lot more. The recipe for the soup was the only one not specifically designed for freezing in advance, but since it is a crockpot recipe I imagine it'll work just fine. I'll let you know!

Happy Cooking!

- B