Garlic Lime Marinade

About a year ago, Ross and I found the best chicken marinade and I decided I needed to share it with you! We found a new product called McCormick Recipe Inspirations. It's a packet that includes pre-measured spices and herbs and a collectible recipe card. By adding just a few of your own fresh ingredients, you’ve got inspiration to make a memorable meal any night of the week. (Okay, that last sentence was taken from here. I don't write that well!)

The McCormick Recipe Inspirations are found in the spice aisle and they have several varieties of recipes. The card we bought, Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas, came with spices for the marinade and all we had to do was add the chicken and peppers to make fajitas. Here's a picture of the package:

We love this recipe so much and have made it several times. We've used it to make fajitas and also just to use as a marinade for grilled chicken.

Here's the recipe for the marinade, I hope you enjoy!

Garlic Lime Marinade
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. minced onions
3/4 tsp. oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. cilantro leaves
1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/4 c. lime juice
1/4 c. orange juice
1/2 tsp. salt

Our First Garden

We put in a small garden this year and are enjoying watching our few plants grow! We talked about doing this last year, but it just didn't work out. We're both not big on eating typical garden items, but there are a few things we like, so decided to try it out. Ross built a 4'x4' frame that we filled in with dirt and plants:  4 cucumber plants, 1 green pepper plant, 1 strawberry plant, 1 raspberry plant, and several green beans seeds. As of today only 3 have sprouted. Our garden might be small, but we are proud of it!

Backyard Shed!

Ross and I have been planning on putting a shed in our backyard since we moved in almost one year ago, and last Saturday that plan became a reality! We found a shed at Lowe's that seemed perfect for us. I think it's 8'x10', not too big, not too small, just the size we need for our lawn mower, tools, and miscellaneous items from our garage. We bought the shed (that came in a kit) about a month ago and it has been in our garage ever since. We couldn't start building it until the concrete pad in the backyard was poured for the foundation. This process took a while due to all the rain we had at the end of May, and also the Joplin tornado. The company we hired (just a local mom-and-pop business we found on Craigslist) spent a lot of time in Joplin helping with the recovery efforts, and they were just a little slow and worked on their timeline, definitely not ours! 

The foundation was finally poured on May 31, and last Saturday, June 11, was the first day we (well, more like Ross) had free to really work on it. Ross started putting some of the pieces together throughout the week, and then had Bryan Short and my Dad come over to complete it. All in all, it was a pretty smooth process. Ross started working on it around 10am, took a lunch break, and finished around 5pm that afternoon. He was so GLAD to be done! Sunday afternoon we loaded the shed up with the items from our garage, and were happy to find that we still have room in the shed for more stuff! Good job, Ross!

Back corner before the concrete was poured.

Thanks for your help, Bryan!

Thanks for your help, Dad!

The final product! Good job, Honeys!

The ROCK Isn't Going To Move

When we were in Hawaii we hiked a trail to a waterfall. At a few places along the trail, we had to cross a creek bed by stepping on rocks. The rocks were somewhat slippery due to the water running across them, and some rocks were big, some were small, some were close together, some were spread out. The kind of layout where you had to be strategic and think through which rock you were going to place your foot on each time you took a step. You had to make sure there was another rock in place to make your next move.

I did not like crossing on the rocks. I was afraid my foot wouldn't stay put on the rock once I placed it there, and in turn lose my balance and fall into the water, camera and video camera in tow.

Ross was very good to me when we crossed the creeks. He held out his arm for me to grab for balance and took the cameras from me a couple of times so I could cross without dropping them in the water. There was one thing he did, though, that really stood out to me during the hike. At one point when I was trying to cross and worrying about the rocks he said, "Don't worry, the rock isn't going to move."  

I thought about that a bit and realized he was right, the rock wasn't going to move. I thought about it a little more and realized how true that statement is in relation to Jesus. Several verses in the Bible talk about Jesus being our ROCK.

• He is the ROCK, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just.  Deuteronomy 32:4

• The LORD is my ROCK, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my ROCK, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  Psalm 18:1-3

• Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my ROCK of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.  Psalm 31:2

• My salvation and my honor depend on God ; he is my mighty ROCK, my refuge.  Psalm 62:7

• Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the ROCK eternal.  Isaiah 26:4

The word rock takes on several different meanings when describing the Lord. The ROCK is a hiding place. The ROCK is a foundation. The ROCK is a source of support. The ROCK is a place of rescue. And most importantly, the ROCK will not move. Just like the rocks I was stepping across weren't going to move, the Lord isn't going to move. He is there at all times, no matter what, ready to hold onto your foot and guide you on your path, whether it be something as simple as crossing a small stream, or crossing a giant ocean, the ROCK will not move!

So Pretty!

I LOVE this picture from Hawaii!!!