Happy to Be Stuck With You

I married my high school sweetheart at the ripe young age of twenty. Five years later here we are with two beautiful children and on the verge of buying our first home. I am not going to pretend that it has all been easy or act like we have some sort of fairy tale life. We have faced our share of relational hardships, especially financial hardships, and many times when it certainly would have been easier had we chosen a different path. I also am not naive in thinking that our troubles are over. We have a long road ahead of us but both of us plan to be walking it together, even the pitfalls.
 I can't count the number of times that people have looked at me wrangling my two crazies with concerned eyes and furrowed brow and told me "I could never do that." Or those times when I have had to cancel a night out because of a sick little one and I have heard  "I could never give up my life that way." I have even had a woman tell me straight out to wait until I turned 25 and I would realize that I have gotten myself stuck and would do all I could to get out. Well I am now almost 26 and I am still all in. When did a vow become a trap instead of a promise?
Our society has this intense focus on independence and each person being important in their own right. "I just don't know what I want right now. I need to figure out who I am before I can be with someone else. I need to find myself." Along this journey to find ourselves we are losing something vitally important; the ability to make a real and lasting commitment.
People are waiting longer and longer to get married. Current statistics say 27 years old for women and 29 for men with a projected addition of two years within the next forty. The desire for a masters degree, the perfect career, or even just time to go out and party, have far overshadowed the desire to settle down and have responsibility for anyone but ourselves. Even once the marriage threshold is crossed couples are waiting long into their thirties and even forties to have children. What used to be a blessing and a sign of prosperity is looked upon as a nuisance, simply something that cramps our style and costs money.
Now I am not claiming my path as the path for everyone. Some will not meet the person God has for them until much later in life. My point is that a majority in America are spending their twenties not even looking. The idea of spending the rest of their lives with someone and being tied down is a terrifying one.
While this fact saddens me, it fits perfectly into the current dogma of society. There is no putting other's needs before your own. There is only what makes "me" happy.

Don't get me wrong marriage is hard. It is is an act of refinement. A decision to love someone else, sins and all with the understanding that no, they will not always "make you happy" should not be entered into lightly. I love my husband very much, he is my best friend and my confidant. He has held me crying and comforted me on countless occasions and he is an amazing father to our kids. He is also the person who can most easily and quickly get under my skin. And the kids? Well they need you almost 24/7 from the time they are born. being a Mother or Father teaches you to put aside your own needs and desires for the sake of a crying grasping little person who, let's face it, doesn't know how NOT to be selfish yet. (that's part of our job)
It makes sense that in a society so focused on the me and the I and the happy and the easy that both marriages and kids would be petering off.
But what are these lives being sought after in reality? A life devoid of struggle, or a life were struggles must be faced alone? A life where money isn't an issue, or a life where the legacy you leave is a simply paycheck. A life of freedom, or a life devoid of real commitment?
While I could be spending my twenties stocking away savings and partying the night away. I am spending them hugging, holding, and caring for all the needs of two little people, and snuggling, sharing, and praying with my husband. It is not giving up my dreams, it is allowing my dreams to coincide with what God has planned. This way requires a lot of patience, a lot of struggle, and a lot of prayer, but I know that it is a life making a mark. God's path is different for every person but I am urging you to consider that his paths are often drastically different then what the world would have us see as right. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart usually means a shift in OUR desires once we are focused in the right direction, up. No matter what path he has for you, you can be certain that it will not be the easiest, but it will absolutely be the most rewarding. And at the end of the day I wouldn't trade what I have for anything. If this is stuck, than I am more than happy to stay stuck for the rest of my life.

Sous Chefs: Gnocchi

I don't usually post recipes but the kids and I had some much fun with this one I had to share. My favorite food to this day is Gnocchi (italian potato pasta). Not just any Gnocchi, home made gnocchi. The delicious and satisfying dumpling like pasta never fails to put a smile on my face and fill my stomach. Growing up it was my choice for every birthday meal. My Mom is an expert Gnocchi maker and I have used her recipe for years. Yesterday, faced with three extra peeled potatoes, I decided to try a few variations. Here is the recipe I came up with by mixing and tweaking the many available out there.

Kosher salt

3 peeled potatos

3 to 4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup  Parmesan cheese (freshly grated is best but I didn't have any on hand yesterday)

1/4 teaspoon  nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

minced basil to taste

a few sprinkles of oragano

1/4 teaspoon black pepper (I used freshly ground but you don't have to)

1 cup all-purpose flour (and a bit more for dusting the pasta and flouring the table top)

1. Pre-heat oven to 425. Cut the potatoes into quarters. (my sous chef Beanie helped with this part) Spread a layer of salt over a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes until soft.

2. Grate potatoes with a hand grater or food mill if you have one available.

3. Pile potatoes in a mound with a hole in the middle. Add all ingredients aside from flour. Use your hands to gently mix the ingredients try to avoid kneading.

4. Add flour a bit at a time mixing in between. You may need slightly more or less flour depending on the size of your potatoes. 

Dough is ready when you can roll it between your fingers and it stays in an oval shape without breaking apart or sticking drastically to your hands.

5. Divide the dough into 5 or six parts and roll out into what my sous chef Belle would call a snake. (about half inch in diameter) Then cut the "snakes" into small half inch to inch pieces. 

When you are finished they should look something like these.

Unless your sous chef is Belle. They they'll look like this.

6. Boil some water. When it reaches a rolling boil put the gnocchi in. Let boil for a minute and a half after gnocchi have begun to float. 

7. Drain and serve with your favorite marinara sauce or pesto. (mine is my grandma's recipe but I have to get permission before I publish that!)

Nothing will ever compare to those wonderful Sunday afternoons eating gnocchi at our big dining room table where everyone is talking and laughing at once. But this recipe seemed like a winner when my very picky son exclaimed...

 Yes! I actually DO want some more!!