Chicken Lombardy

This is easy enough for a weeknight dinner, but elegant enough for company!

Chicken Lombardy

1 8oz. package sliced fresh mushrooms

2 T. butter, melted

6 skinned and boned chicken breasts

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup butter

3/4 cup Marsala

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

2 green onions, chopped

1. Cook mushrooms in 2 T. butter until tender. Remove and set aside.

2. Cut each chicken breast in half, lengthwise, flatten using a rolling pin or meat mallet to 1/8 inch thickness.

3. Dredge chicken pieces in flour. Cook chicken, in batches in 1-2 T. butter over medium heat, 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Place chicken in a 9x13 , lightly greased baking dish, overlapping the edges. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken and butter. Reserve pan drippings in skillet. Cover chicken with mushrooms.

4. Add wine and broth to skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken. Combine cheeses and green onions; sprinkle over chicken.

5. Bake, uncovered at 450 for 12-14 minutes or until cheese melts.

I served this with a side of steamed green beans and pasta.

15 Weeks....

Guess who slept through the night last night...

We are so proud of her!!! We have been working on getting her schedule and feedings down and last night she slept through! She is 15 weeks old today and I can't believe how much she has grown and changed.

She is right on track with where she should be developmentally and physically given that she was 7 weeks early. We have to gauge her sleeping, eating, playing, etc. by her corrected age, which is 8 weeks. So for an 8-week old, I would say that sleeping through the night is a BIG accomplishment!

Summer is officially here for us. Mike is out of school so that means lots of time with him and playtime with Anna Claire. We have several trips planned for this summer so she will get to experience her first road trip before too long. We will be going to Ohio for my niece's graduation, traveling to Virginia so she can visit her Papa and Didi in their new house (the whole family is going to be there and it is going to be so much fun!), and a trip down south to Georgia and Alabama to visit aunts, uncles and cousins. She enjoys being in her car seat so I'm not too worried about how she will handle it.

By the way, I made these brownies that my sister posted about and they are so easy and oh so good!

Pretty Girl

Just a few pictures to share....

She started to get upset with me towards the end of our photo shoot.

Thank you for praying for my friend Monica--I talked to her yesterday afternoon and they are truly overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, support and prayers for their family. Please continue to pray.

All To Familiar

Please pray for Monica and Jim--Monica is a friend of mine who I have recently gotten to know after she and her husband moved down to TN.

Monica was 24 weeks pregnant and found out on Saturday that her sweet baby's heart wasn't beating.

Duncan Thomas was born on May 19th. This is all to familiar for me and it tears at my heart to know what she is going through.

Lord, please begin healing their hearts. I pray for courage and strength as they walk the road of grief. I pray their minds and hearts would be set on you and that peace and rest would come. Thank you for Duncan Thomas and his life.

Lunch with a Real Life Friend

Yesterday, I had the amazing opportunity to have lunch with Jennifer from Smelling Coffee. Several weeks ago we realized that we lived closer than we thought. One of us lives on the east side of the city, the other lives on the north side, so we met in between at Noshville Deli in downtown Nashville. It's such an interesting moment when you have a blog friend who turns into a real life friend. We fell right into conversation talking about how we met our husbands and raising children to when we came to know the Lord. It was as if we were long time friends who were catching up.

Jennifer is the real deal. What you read on her blog (go and visit!!!!) and who she is in real life is the same thing and it was so refreshing. She is a step ahead of me in the seasons of life with her marriage and children and I feel like I can learn so much from her!


She brought Anna Claire The Princess and the Kiss by Jennie Bishop, and tile coasters for me! Anna Claire woke up just in time to get her picture taken.

Jennifer is beautiful, encouraging, funny, loving and warm and I can't wait to have lunch with her again soon!

Baby Shower - Take Two

Before Anna Claire was born, the ladies in our church had planned a baby shower for us on February 15th. Since she decided to arrive a little early, on February 10th, they offered to postpone it for when she was out of the NICU and the threat of colds/flu were over. So, yesterday, was the rescheduled shower for us. I've never been to a baby shower where the baby is actually there to celebrate too!! Anna Claire did not lack for attention. I think I held her for the first 10 minutes and then from there, the ladies took over.

They outdid themselves with the decorations. Everything was a shade of lilac, which is the color of Anna Claire's room. Emily was sneaky too--she downloaded a couple of pictures from my blog and framed them for the table! Someone shared a devotion about being a mother, what it means and what it looks like, it was so encouraging and really made me anticipate the years to come with Anna Claire.

Anna Claire received some very special gifts too--her first tea set (thanks Emily!), a quilt made by the pastor's wife (thank you Nancy!), her first pair of jeans (thank you Melissa--we can't wait for fall!), homemade crib shoes (thank you Addie and Sophie!), and clothes, clothes, and more clothes. She is going to be the best dressed baby girl this summer for sure.

How cute is this picture???

To all of the ladies at CBC--thank you for making yesterday so wonderful! Anna Claire and I had a wonderful time. As I sit and reflect on the day, I am so thankful for each and every one of you and for the influence you have had and will continue to have on our family. I couldn't ask to be surrounded by a more godly and beautiful group of women.

PS. Thank you Vicki for taking the pictures!

Mother's Day 2009

"She'll Call Me Mommy"

Dear Father, My Guide,

I walk into the room and my daughter jumps with great excitement. Her eyes dance and her feet kick. She watches my every move with tremendous delight. I look into her bright blue eyes and realize that I am the one she'll be watching for a very long time. I am the one who will teach her how to act like a lady. I am the one who will model godliness and grace.

When I call her name she turns her head to remind me that I am the one she will listen to. She will learn about caring and attitude and love from the inflection of my tones and from the choice of my words. She will laugh a little like me and cry about the things that make me cry. Then one day she'll say to herself, I cannot believe it, I sound just like my mother.

In my mind, I imagine the person I want her to see when she watches me. That person is a God-fearing woman, tender and strong. A woman who laughs easily. A woman who loves endlessly. A woman I am still striving to be. I know that my child watches me, Lord. She makes me want to be that woman even more.

The responsibility is great, and the years are few. I fall on Your mercy and ask for divine intervention and assistance. For the sake of my children, let me be a mother whom they can call "blessed." Because little eyes and little ears hear, I commit to continue praying and growing. In Jesus, I am able.

AMEN.

Her children arise and call her blessed. Proverbs 31:28

Taken from Prayers for New Mothers by Angela Thomas Guffey

Happy Mother's Day to all of the women in my life who have been called Mommy, especially my own Mommy! I arise and call you blessed! I love you!

Ambiance

My husband has been working so hard these past few weeks between end of the year stuff at school and coaching. With going on very little sleep and putting in 12 hour days, I wanted to do something special for him to let him know that his hard work does not go unnoticed. When he walked in the door last night, I had a candlelight dinner ready for him. We enjoyed a relaxed dinner together as we caught up on each other's days.

I made Beef Lombardi (YUM! Thanks Emily for submitting it for the church's cookbook, Mike loved it!) and Green Beans Caesar, and a fudge pie for dessert. The beans are so easy to make, turn out so pretty and are so good!

2-9oz. packages of frozen green beans (I use fresh, about 1/2 pound)

2 T. olive oil

2 T. white wine vinegar

1 T. minced onion

1/4. tsp. salt

1 clove garlic - crushed

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 T. bread crumbs

2 T. grated Parmesan cheese

1 T. butter - melted

paprika

Cook green beans 10-15 minutes. Drain. Toss beans, oil, vinegar, onion, salt, garlic and pepper together. Pour into ungreased 1 quart casserole dish. Mix bread crumbs, grated cheese and butter. Sprinkle over beans. Sprinkle with paprika. Cook uncovered in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Serves 6-8.

For today, think of a creative way to show how much you appreciate your husband. Have a wonderful Thursday!

For the Love of Reading

Anna Claire got her first piece of mail the other day! It is a copy of The Little Engine That Could.

When I found out I was pregnant one of the first things I knew I wanted to do after she was born was register her with this

In 1996, Dolly Parton started the program in hopes of sharing the love of reading with families in her home county in East Tennessee regardless of their income. What started then, has now spread throughout the entire state of Tennessee and into Missouri and South Carolina (places where she operates businesses). Each community (education system, local government, civic organizations and non-profits partner for this) is responsible for paying for the books, the shipping, promoting, etc.. This isn't limited to Tennessee, so if you are interested in getting your community involved, visit the site to learn more about how to get books into the hands of children in your community.

The amazing thing about the library is that EVERY MONTH until Anna Claire is 5 years old, she will receive an age appropriate book! That's right, EVERY MONTH!

If you live in Tennessee, visit the Imagination Library to sign up!

12 weeks!

I really can't believe that Anna Claire is 12 weeks old today! They say time flies when you are having fun--it sure does! I've been keeping up with her baby book pretty well, but realized that I need to document her birth story as well. So it might show up later this week.

My Mom, Dad and Grandmother came down this weekend for a visit. I came across a picture of "Mimi" holding me when I was just a few months old. I had it touched up and framed for her for Mother's Day. We wanted to make sure we had a picture of her holding her great-granddaughter the same way.

Because of his work schedule, my Dad hasn't gotten to see Anna Claire since she was in the NICU. He waited a long time to do this! She has waited too!

And just for fun...

Monday

For Today
Outside my window-- it is a dreary Monday morning. The sun is supposed to come out today.

I am thinking-- about cleaning the house this afternoon. Maybe...maybe not....maybe...

I am thankful--for a great weekend with my family. Lots of laughter and loving on Anna Claire.

From the kitchen--TONS of leftovers--ribs, chicken, brats, strawberry shortcake and potato salad.

I am wearing--my flannel pj's. It was cold last night.

I am reading--The Passion of Mary Margaret. I know...still.

I am hoping--the next month flies by so that it won't seem so long in between visits with my family.

I am creating--a lampshade for Anna Claire's room. Well, actually, my mom did 99.9% of it. I just have to find some ribbon to finish it off.

I am hearing--Anna Claire making baby noises while she sleeps in my grandmother's arms and my dad typing on his computer across the table from me.

Around the house--there is luggage ready to be loaded into the car.

One of my favorite things--is that Anna Claire has started to smile regularly!

A few plans for the rest of the week--well if the rain holds off, there will be some walks outside, softball games (the team heads into Districts this week) and then Mother's Day next weekend.

Have a wonderful Monday!

It's Morning!

We made it through the night...ahem...I made it through the night without having Anna Claire in the bassinet! I have to say that it might have helped that my allergies have been acting up and I have been wiped out the past couple of days. And no...it's not the swine flu.

She did so well in her crib. She stayed on schedule and woke up with a happy face this morning. I even got a smile out of her at 3:00am! What joy to see that little face looking up at me. I told my husband this morning that she seems so independent now. Is this what it is going to feel like, when 15 years from now, she is going to ask me to drop her off a few blocks from the mall?

Papa and Didi (my parents) and Mimi (my grandmother) will be here this afternoon. We are so excited to have them come and visit for a couple of days. There is an actual move that is going to happen--my parents are moving to Virginia in June so this will be one of the last times they get to see Anna Claire before we go out to visit them in July--Anna Claire's first road trip.

Thank you for all of your encouraging comments! I hope you have a wonderful and blessed weekend!