Parenting from our Fears

From Raising Responsive Children by Judy Rossi

"Dr. Tim Kimmel says (in Grace-based Parenting), "Our fears determine our strategy for parenting." Therefore, we hover, we rescue, we prevent, we permit, we enable - in essence, we control - not only because we don't want our children to fail, but we don't want to be perceived as failures by others or as bad moms by our kids. When we parent from our fears, we choose to ignore, the real issues for the following reasons: our kids intimidate us; what others think intimidates us; the circumstances intimidate us; or the process associated with doing the right thing intimidates us. As a result, we parent dishonestly. Parenting toward resolution of pressing issues allows God to shape all involved. It takes courage to make hard decisions our children won't like (such as how much television they may watch in a week, or drawing a hard line on teen attire). Even if we dread a potential scenario with our children, when we choose to parent out of our faith, we don't have to be fearful of the outcome, because God will be in it."

PROVERBS 3:5-6 (AMPLIFIED BIBLE)

5Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
6In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.

Mississippi Woman, Louisiana Man

Drew and I met at the University of Southern Mississippi my freshman year. He introduced me to crawfish in college. When we lived in Baton Rouge, we loved to go to the Chimes just off the campus of LSU to eat shrimp & corn bisque, crawfish etoufee, shrimp poboys, boudin balls, and fried alligator (him, not me). So now that we've been married 5 1/2 years, I am going to try cooking shrimp etoufee "from scratch." My friend, Cajun cooking sensation, Christa (Bruises & Bows) gave me this yummy recipe. Nothing's exact, just make it work for you.

SHRIMP ETOUFEE

1 lb shrimp (raw peeled frozen work fine)

1/4 cup parsley

1 stick butter

2 stalks celery

3 cloves garlic

1 medium onion

1 bunch green onions

1/2 green bell pepper

1/4 cup flour

~ 3 TBSP Tony's Instant Roux

1 can of diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

Seasoning to taste (I used Tony's, Emeril's Bayou Blast, and black pepper)

Saute bell pepper, celery, white onion, 1/2 green onion, & garlic in butter until soft.

Add flour, instant roux & some seasoning

Stir in some broth to thin

Add tomatoes, parsley and remaining broth (to your desired thickness)

Add shrimp

Cook medium heat until shrimp are done.

Throw on remaining green onions

Serve over rice with french toast

Thanks, Christa, for helping me take my sweet husband "back home."

Katy Rodeo Parade

We went to our first Texas parade today in Old Town Katy. Andrew enjoyed watching the horses, tractors, bands, and trailers. After several minutes in Drew's lap, Andrew began venturing out for the candy being thrown in his direction. He loves "Smarties."

Andrew is pictured here (thanks Suzanne) with his Dad and his breakfast burrito.

Shipwreck Dinner

If you like ground beef and macaroni & cheese, you can't go wrong with this easy Kraft dinner.

Click on picture to get recipe.

Blue Eyes

For those of you counting, Lila is now 3 months old & still has blue eyes.