Pork Chop Bloopers

Eric and I have enjoyed a very relaxing 4 days in between respites. It has been a great chance to recover and be together while we prepare for our upcoming schedule. It seems like it's been a while since we were just able to hang out together every day and not have a million errands and things we're trying to get done. We did a little apartment decorating, ate ice cream, watched movies, and I finished part of my scrapbook while Eric played video games. If only the weather would cool off more so we could go enjoy some outdoor activities. That will come later.....

One of my favorite things to do for Eric when we are home is make yummy dinners for him and make the table look nice like at a restaurant. I had not done this for a while so on Saturday night we got some pork chops out of the freezer and I looked up a Rachel Ray recipe under the "Romantic Dinners" heading to find something that sounded adventerous and yummy. The people that had just stayed in our apartment left us some strawberries and asparagus so I was hoping to find something that would put these components to use. Sure enough! There was a recipe for pork chops with strawberries and I could just make the asparagus on the side. We agreed that it sounded unique and possibly tasty. The following picture shows the result of our meal of "Columbus Pork Chops", asparagus, and bread.

Eric was very pleased with this meal! We thought it was very yummy. I will post the recipe on our recipe blog if anyone is interested. It's very easy to make!

Unfortunately, we had one little blooper with the pork chops. After dinner when we were cleaning up I started cooking the last two pork chops so we could have them for left overs the next day. You start the process by searing them in the skillet and then putting the whole skillet in the oven for 10 minutes. I put them in the oven and forgot to set a timer! We started watching a movie and then just went to bed. I woke up the next morning to a funny smell and realized that I never took the pork chops out of the oven! The following picture shows the result:

Fortunately, my nice big skillet is not ruined and nothing caught on fire! Thank you, Jesus!

Praises: We have had a great couple days off and we have had a much easier month so far than September was. We are also coming up on a big break and the Adler parents are visiting which is very exciting for us! We have also been able to see how God has used us to bless the people we are working for and with. We are thankful to be working with awesome co-workers! One couple even bought us a Coldstone gift card to show their appreciation for us.

Prayers: We are about to spend 5 days at the toughest house in GAP. The parents are new to us this summer and all of the kids are new to us this summer as well. All of the kids are struggling with behaviors and this house is frequently visited by the cops. There is also a set of twin 1 year old girls who will be keeping us on our toes and possibly prolonging our desires for our own children. (Well....possibly.)

Please also pray for a set of house parents who just said good-bye to two little boys who have been in their care for 3 years. They were adopted into a permanent home leaving behind their long relationship with these parents as well as their 13 year old sister who is up for separate adoption. It is a bitter sweet time for them.

We miss and love you all!