WayfaringStrangers

Behn and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary yesterday. We had a great day! My parents kindly offered to take the kids for the day and we toyed around with different ideas- go to the beer festival? Hike? Day trip to Fredericksburg? Explore a local garden? See a movie? In the end, guess what: we stayed home and worked in the yard all afternoon! It was so relaxing (and FREE) and we got lots of work done, side by side. We had dinner at the Irish pub, got some ice cream, and picked up Patrick. Graham had his first sleep over at Nana and Pop Pop's. And that was our anniversary. It was nice. Marriage is funny. You hear all this stuff about how stressful events will take a toll on your marriage. Taking on grad school? Try to keep the fire burning! Having a baby? Make time for each other! New job? Rough waters ahead.  Moving? Watch out! This year we had no  major life changes: no baby, no move, no school, no new jobs. But this has been the hardest year in our relationship....

We decided not to buy meat this month, trying to save a little extra money on the ol' grocery bill. So far it's really made a difference and if I think about it, it's not because I'm just not buying meat, it's because I'm also not buying extra ingredients that I use to make meat dishes. My mom asked me what we've been eating. My answer: "Rice and beans, rice and beans, pasta, salad, rice and beans. And cereal." It's been a little boring at times. Then I made a great dressing for a salad and thought, "This would be awesome over some rice and black beans!" So this recipe was born. Try it. Enjoy! You will need: Rice Black beans Any other veggies you want to add (red peppers, green onions, etc) Dressing: 6 oz. plain yogurt (can be Greek...doesn't have to be) 1/3 cup minced cilantro 2T mayonnaise 1/4 cup half and half 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 1 teaspoon cumin 1 T lemon juice 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepp...

I'm tired and listless. It feels like it's been a long week. I'm trying to let go of guilt regarding not mothering well...yelling, complaining, being downright cranky. I know I am covered in His grace. Repeat. I know I am covered in His grace. I think it will be a quiet summer, as it seems now. "Do you have plans this summer?" everyone asks. "No, not really." I think we will have days where we go to the park. Or find some water. Days of taking walks in the humid air. And letting boys stay up an extra hour to catch fireflies. We can do local things, like visit the lighthouse or walk through a new park or stroll in L-town (the only quaint town around). I can slow down and bake bread and listen to bluegrass music, we can work in our gardens. We should find an outdoor concert. We can spend time with our lovely family here and enjoy dinners together. If we are really brave, maybe we will go to Washington D.C. I hope we make it to Delaware at s...