July 26th in Tahoe

It has been 7 years this day that we said, " Goodbye" to our son, Nathan. Every year on July 26th we have made it a tradition to leave town & do something together as a family. This year we went to Tahoe. God provided a wonderful place for us to stay & activities for us & it was so nice & relaxing. This was the view from our cabin:

Attempting Archery

 Ehrman Mansion, Sugar Pine Point State Park

 Fun at the Beach

 A momma duck & her babies walked right up to the girls. The girls were so excited:)

500 Pound bear my husband saw crossing Donner Pass Rd! So bummed I missed it!

It was a fun & relaxing trip. I feel blessed & refreshed. Of course there were some hard times too. My husband & I thinking about our son, crying & missing him. He will forever be our son & we will forever miss him.
But one really neat thing that I feel was a gift was the butterflies that were around our family during this trip. Butterflies have a special meaning to us because they symbolize new life. So everytime we see a butterfly it reminds us of Nathan. Outside the balcony everyday were butterflies flying around in circles at the sliding glass door. Then when went to the beach, One flew right up to my face & grazed my face. It was so neat. I think it was a kiss from Nathan (or maybe God:). Just a sign that He loves us & is here with us. Then I opened up my Jesus Calling devotional later that day & this is what it said:

"As you listen to birds calling to one another, hear also My love-call to you. I speak to you continually; through sights, sounds, thoughts, impressions, Scripture. There is no limit to the variety of ways I can communicate with you. Your part is to be attentive to my messages in whatever form they come. When you set out to find Me in  a day, you discover that the world is vibrantly alive with My Presence. You can find me not only in beauty & birdcalls (& butterflies) but also in tragedy & faces filled with grief. I can take the deepest sorrow & weave it into a pattern for good."

So encouraging! Just what I needed that day!:)

 

Power Foods Recipes- Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

On a family night out to B & N I found this amazing cookbook with whole food recipes. I was not able to get it that day, but just about every single recipe in this cookbook I wanted to try, so I saved & came back to get it later.
I have really been passionate about finding healthy whole food recipes. If it is gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, or raw I am very interested in trying it. Although, it does need to still taste good ;)

My hubby & I do our grocery shopping bi-weekly, so I used this cookbook to meal plan for 2 weeks & I feel healthier already!

This is one of the things I made with this cookbook:

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

This was my first time roasting my own peppers. It is super easy & you don't have to worry about preservatives or any other added ingredients. I adjusted this recipe a little.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

3 red bell peppers

2 cups of garbanzo beans (I used the dried ones & then cooked them with water in my crockpot for 3 hours)

whole wheat pita, toasted

1 garlic clove

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cumin

1 cup of vegetable broth

1 TBS balsamic vinegar

1 TBS fresh lemon juice

2 tsp grapeseed oil, plus more for drizzling

salt & pepper to taste

Wash peppers & place them in a rimmed pan & drizzle oil over top. Place in a 400 degree oven & roast until blackened all over. Turning when needed. Take out of the oven &

transfer peppers to a bowl with a lid & let sit & steam for 15 min. Using paper towel, rub of skins, & then remove stems, seeds & ribs.

Place peppers in food processor. Add beans, garlic, vinegar, oil, lemon juice, paprika, cumin. Blend. Stir in salt & pepper.

Serve with toasted whole wheat pita & carrot sticks.