zone defense

Well, it's official...we have a basketball team. L-girl entered our world today. Wife and I are very greatful for this blessing from God. Mom and baby are both doing well and are healthy. I am still in awe and delirious to what just happened. I have been so wrapped up in work and busy raising 4 other children that this pregnancy has flown by. I really didn't have a chance to sit down and realize what was going on until late last night. And before you know it, our baby was out. Thanks to all who have prayed for us. We still need prayers and any spare bedrooms you could send our way.

Here are some pics...

little T-Rock

My mother has been going through old pictures and scanning them to disc. She emailed me this one and said it resembles my oldest daughter. That is both good and bad. It's good because it proves she's my kid...it's bad because she does look a lot like me and not wife.

This picture is great because it reminds all of us of how our parents would try desperately to keep our hair combed and look "formal" for things like soccer pictures. You can see where some of my hair appears wet which means that my mom probably just licked her palm right before the picture and plastered her spit on my head...not knowing any better, I probably thought this was a normal thing...was it?

First Dutch Oven Success

Today I was fortunate to be off of work due to President's Day. Wife and I are going to still be working as we are getting the house ready for the new baby. This morning I thought it would be a perfect time to try a breakfast Dutch Oven recipe. It was a success and I didn't burn anything. I'm such a nerd that I bought a cheaply made DVD from Cabelas and got some great tips on Dutch Oven cooking. This recipe is from a website on-line (http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/~papadutch/dutch-oven-recipes.htm) and it's called "Mountain Man Breakfast". I don't claim to be a mountain man in the suburbs of DFW, but I have seen a mountain and I am a man so I think I'm qualified to make this.

Mountain Man Breakfast...I cut the recipe in half from the website to serve for 5-6 people.

1/2 lb. of bacon
1 medium yellow onion
3/4 cup of sliced mushrooms
1/2 green bell pepper
2 cloves of garlic; minced
5-6 medium potatoes; sliced
6 beaten eggs; salt and pepper to taste
1.5 cups of grated cheese...you can never have too much

Heat 12" Dutch Oven (I use a 10"...another example of being shorter than recommendation...):, using 20 briquettes on bottom to heat. Cut bacon into 1 inch slices and brown. Add onion, mushroom, pepper, and garlic and saute until onions are translucent. Add potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cover and bake using 13 briquettes on top and 7 on bottom. Bake for 30 minutes. Add eggs and bake another 20 minutes stirring gently every 5 minutes. Cover with cheese and put lid back on until cheese is melted. Serve with salsa.

a random blessing

Tonight my wife and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary. We invited my parents to go to eat and then to the Mean Green basketball game with us and the kids. Dinner was great and my cousin, who also just graduated from UNT, was able to be our server and it was really nice seeing him. Wife and I are very blessed in that our children do behave very well in public places. Tonight was no exception and they were pretty quiet and did not misbehave. An older couple sitting beside us came up to wife and I during dinner and thanked us for our kid's behavior and they said that they were very impressed with how the 4 little ones acted. It was a great compliment and wife and I are very proud of our children. The greater compliment was that after the older woman finished speaking, her husband came over and handed me a $100 bill as a gift for the kid's savings. I couldn't believe it and I was very very humbled. What a random blessing from a very generous couple. Right after that, I turned to wife and said..."that's what we are going to do as soon as we can." I can't wait to have the financial freedom that we can give so unconditionally as that couple. There's no telling what their story is/was, but praise God for them and I pray that they will be blessed in return.

same ol' sheeeeeeeeeit

this post is random and intended to keep my vast readers (you 3 know who you are) up to date.

• I am working on my taxes and I wish we were getting back more money
• wife and I are going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and I'm extremely excited about it. This is going to be great for us and our future.
• our 7 year anniversary is tomorrow
• My friend, Kelly, and I built a garden to grow salsa veggies
• it's cold this weekend
• I went to the gym once and ate a salad this week
• oh ya, we are having a kid in less than 2 weeks
• I looked at my wife with those "eyes" the other night and she blew a fire ball out of her mouth at me and hissed...I guess she wasn't in the mood
• our printer broke so I can't print out my tax return
• my oldest son thinks he is a chicken
• I'm getting into Dutch Oven cooking and am getting ready for a great camping season
• so far, I've burned everything I've tried to cook in the Dutch Oven...damn