Family, Friends and Food! These are my passions. #1 Love God and #2 Love others & I'd like to add enjoy good food while loving on others:)
Here's our families list of good food spots in central Iowa. I'm sure there are a ton of other places as well but these are our favorites. We tend to prefer local places instead of chains, most of the time. Please let us know what your favorites are.
Adong (Vietnamese food) located on 5th and High
Pho (soup- we typically order chx or beef) (when we get sick we want chx pho-it's amazing) add sprouts, hot sauce, lime and yum.
Egg rolls-yum and Shrimp Spring Rolls (rice paper- not fried spring rolls)
Lemon grass chicken (I believe its #59)
7C is a delicious vegetarian dish
Centro downtown
Centro salad! Pizza is good, any bread they serve is delicious! Our kids like the kids Alfredo. The Kill Bill is Matt's go to dish here (It could serve 3 people) it's served with portabello fries- these are AMAZING and served with a delicious dipping sauce.
South Union Bakery (next door to Centro, only open for lunch, owned by the same guy)
Any sandwich. The bread is GOOD
Nut Pob (Thai Food) South side
Chicken Laap (diced chicken with jalapeno's and cilantro)
Good egg rolls, spring rolls and crab rangoon
Also popular here are papaya salad (I don't like papaya) and Angry fish
Manhattan Deli On Ingersoll
This place is delicious! Order any sandwich! The Manhattan is amazing. Great prices and I usually split the sandwich with someone although theres no need to with these great prices. (My favorite deli- sadly I just found out about it several months ago while I was back in January but it's been around a long time)
Smokey Row Coffee Shop
Great atmosphere! Good coffee, tea, shakes, desserts... They even have games set out so you can hang around and play.
Ohana's Valley West area
dinner and a show. Scallops, steak and chicken are all delicious. The sauce served on the scallops is scrumptious.
Georgio'z in Colfax
Our all time favorite pizza! Supreme is Matt's favorite (it might be called something other than supreme though) The girls and I like a pizza that has skinny in the name- it has chicken, tomato and feta on it- YUM! Cute place too.
Smoky D's BBQ right off of 80
The nacho platter, you choose what bbq meat you top it with, is enough to feed a large family. Their sandwiches are good- I'm partial to the turkey. Matt loves their mac and cheese side. The ribs are good. We would go there after church and get a large sandwich and one kid meal and it would feed us all!
Latin King east side but fine dining
Chicken Spidini! Get either the Chicken Spidini Salad or Dinner. The dinner comes with a side of pasta:)
Green Briar Johnston
fancy atmosphere. Matt loves the gun powder crust prime rib, says it's the best prime rib ever.
Van Dee's Ice Cream Johnston
Cutest little ice cream stand with great ice cream- different flavor every week!
Cactus Bob's BBQ (next door to Van Dee's Ice cream stand)
Just about everything on their menu is good. Again, I'm partial to the turkey sandwich.
Nick N Willy's Jordan Creek area
good pizza
Bravo Jordan Creek
This is a chain but their food is good! I'm a sucker for a good salad. Pasta, fish, bread and salad are good here.
PF Changs Jordan Creek
Again, another chain but you can't go wrong with Chicken lettuce wraps and the Great Wall of Chocolate.
Noodles in Valley West Mall
While we're on chains I'll add Noodles. My brother had us eat here in Colorado several years ago, we were hoping one would come to dsm. We moved away and Noodles moved into Dsm.
El Chisme Valley Junction
I think everything here is good. Mexican food plus pizza and stellar calzones. Sauces are amazing.
Chef's kitchen
I love the kids cheeseburger, and yes they will allow adults to order the kids burger (at least they did).
Be sure to get a cookie from the cookie jar on the bar before they're gone!
Flying Mango
Good BBQ but I think the restaurant is a little cramped. Worth it though.
Nick's by Valley West Mall
Consistently good food
Goldies in Prairie City
Voted Best Tenderloin in Iowa. It's a cute small town dive.
CJ's bagels in Ankeny
Berry bagel and cream cheese frosting! My mom bought me a dozen of these the day I had Trinity and brought them to me at the hospital. I have such a sweet mom!
The Radish in Grimes
YUM! Matt and I have only ordered a few dishes here- once we had them we had to get them the next time! The lasagna-served with both red sauce and alfredo sauce-AMAZING!
My favorite: The almond encrusted Chicken Finger Salad with Honey mustard and Ranch (both homemade) on the side. YUM! Wish I was in Iowa right now to go get dinner. GREAT DATE SPOT!
I'm sure I'm leaving out some amazing places but here's the list Suzanne:)
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sense of Humor
I'm frequently asked what brought us to Miami, my initial response: God has a sense of humor! I've known since the time I was 15 that I would like to work with kids coming from not-so-great situations. Before we were married Matt and I agreed that we would eventually (in God's timing) love to do SOMETHING to help children coming from various backgrounds. We even decided we were done having our own children to save room for our future children, ones we knew God was saving for our family.
After almost 15 years of having this desire on my heart I was starting to question how God would want to use us, if he truly still wanted to use us. After laying it all out in earnest prayer God then started flinging open doors so that we would move to Miami and care for many of his beautiful children! I wish I would have kept better track of all the children we've been blessed to care for! From what I do remember we have been blessed to care for more than 25 children in our home here. From the tiny newborn baby addicted to drugs to the 10 year old...... God has shown me to expect the unexpected.
While I always wanted to help kids I always thought it'd be through adoption. I always thought foster care would be too difficult on my heart. I couldn't imagine pouring myself into a child then having them go to another home/ back to a parent. I love these kids SO much!
Here's 2 of the most painful stories so far: After loving on and caring for the most difficult 4 year old I've ever met we saw improvements in behavior, a birthday and pure joy come from this sweet child! We were shocked to find out he would be going back with his family (from the information we had it looked like he'd be going up for adoption soon). I loved this little guy so much! For 8 months I was able to love on him, now I trust that God is watching over him and reminding him what it means to be a gentleman.
For an entire year we were blessed to care for a 1 year old little guy! He turned 2 in our care and was all boy! He's going to be an NBA star someday, he thinks he already is:) God placed his grandparents in the picture to care for him and his older brother. After fighting for a year to be able to take their 2 grandsons they were able to get them just before Easter! We didn't have the pleasure to care for his brother but I hear he's just as sweet as our guy but had been through so much he needed very high level therapeutic care. God answers prayers!!!! Just before the grandparents came to pick up the boys the 4 year old learned how to walk!!!!! HUGE milestone for this little one! God answers our prayers!!!!!!!!!
So God has yet to do what I expect but SO much more. I've lived through many kids moving on to where God wants them next. I'm learning to be a little more flexible (I'm slow).
Life Lessons: (This is where God gets to show off his sense of humor while teaching me to grow)
Well that was one long post. Thanks for hanging in there til the end. Perseverance! May God bless you with His sense of Humor and allow you to laugh today.
After almost 15 years of having this desire on my heart I was starting to question how God would want to use us, if he truly still wanted to use us. After laying it all out in earnest prayer God then started flinging open doors so that we would move to Miami and care for many of his beautiful children! I wish I would have kept better track of all the children we've been blessed to care for! From what I do remember we have been blessed to care for more than 25 children in our home here. From the tiny newborn baby addicted to drugs to the 10 year old...... God has shown me to expect the unexpected.
While I always wanted to help kids I always thought it'd be through adoption. I always thought foster care would be too difficult on my heart. I couldn't imagine pouring myself into a child then having them go to another home/ back to a parent. I love these kids SO much!
Here's 2 of the most painful stories so far: After loving on and caring for the most difficult 4 year old I've ever met we saw improvements in behavior, a birthday and pure joy come from this sweet child! We were shocked to find out he would be going back with his family (from the information we had it looked like he'd be going up for adoption soon). I loved this little guy so much! For 8 months I was able to love on him, now I trust that God is watching over him and reminding him what it means to be a gentleman.
For an entire year we were blessed to care for a 1 year old little guy! He turned 2 in our care and was all boy! He's going to be an NBA star someday, he thinks he already is:) God placed his grandparents in the picture to care for him and his older brother. After fighting for a year to be able to take their 2 grandsons they were able to get them just before Easter! We didn't have the pleasure to care for his brother but I hear he's just as sweet as our guy but had been through so much he needed very high level therapeutic care. God answers prayers!!!! Just before the grandparents came to pick up the boys the 4 year old learned how to walk!!!!! HUGE milestone for this little one! God answers our prayers!!!!!!!!!
So God has yet to do what I expect but SO much more. I've lived through many kids moving on to where God wants them next. I'm learning to be a little more flexible (I'm slow).
Life Lessons: (This is where God gets to show off his sense of humor while teaching me to grow)
- Try to be Patient (I'm so not patient)
- Be slow to speak (I've found very nice people here and some NOT so nice people-sometimes I need to bite my tongue instead of giving a piece of my mind)
- Be slow to anger (When people are more than an hour late or just mistreat others for no reason I tend to get REALLY upset at how inconsiderate they are- I'm slowly learning to let things roll off my back...........slowly)
Well that was one long post. Thanks for hanging in there til the end. Perseverance! May God bless you with His sense of Humor and allow you to laugh today.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Weaker?
God is teaching me so many lessons lately (well, always but they seem to be sinking in more lately)
Here's the verse that started this process 1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner........ okay the verse goes on but I'm gonna stop right there for a minute. I use to have a really hard time being called the weaker sex! Weak? I was a single mom, went to school full time, worked full time and tried to make good decisions, weak? I felt pretty strong! Well, I'm pretty sure God wasn't talking about weak in the sense I was thinking. (His ways are higher than ours - not always something I can wrap my brain around)
These past few months have given me a glimpse at what I believe God was talking about when he called wives the weaker partner. I am emotional! If left to myself I will make some stupid decisions based on my emotions- NOT a good idea, I know but nonetheless what I would do. My sweet, smart husband grounds me (in the sense of being logical when I'm being emotional). He follows the command to treat me with respect by not telling me I'm being stupid but lovingly just listens to me and my feelings. I'm blessed beyond belief to have a husband that follows God's commands.
Back to our verse.....Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
God made us both in His image, He also made women last- you save the best for last, right!?!? :) God made us all wonderful. I thank God for my logical husband who leads our family with honesty and integrity. May you be blessed today, whatever life has for you today.
oh yeah, another thing God has taught me is that the "weaker" sex needs to be taken care of. Not that we can't care for ourselves but what woman doesn't enjoy their husband pampering and caring for them? What a bonus to be "weaker".
To end my nutty post for the day is a quote from our morning: After serving peanut butter toast one of the 5 year olds says "There's nuts in peanut butter?" She was very excited and yet surprised by this realization. so cute. kinda like my response to be the weaker sex. Have a blessed day
Here's the verse that started this process 1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner........ okay the verse goes on but I'm gonna stop right there for a minute. I use to have a really hard time being called the weaker sex! Weak? I was a single mom, went to school full time, worked full time and tried to make good decisions, weak? I felt pretty strong! Well, I'm pretty sure God wasn't talking about weak in the sense I was thinking. (His ways are higher than ours - not always something I can wrap my brain around)
These past few months have given me a glimpse at what I believe God was talking about when he called wives the weaker partner. I am emotional! If left to myself I will make some stupid decisions based on my emotions- NOT a good idea, I know but nonetheless what I would do. My sweet, smart husband grounds me (in the sense of being logical when I'm being emotional). He follows the command to treat me with respect by not telling me I'm being stupid but lovingly just listens to me and my feelings. I'm blessed beyond belief to have a husband that follows God's commands.
Back to our verse.....Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
God made us both in His image, He also made women last- you save the best for last, right!?!? :) God made us all wonderful. I thank God for my logical husband who leads our family with honesty and integrity. May you be blessed today, whatever life has for you today.
oh yeah, another thing God has taught me is that the "weaker" sex needs to be taken care of. Not that we can't care for ourselves but what woman doesn't enjoy their husband pampering and caring for them? What a bonus to be "weaker".
To end my nutty post for the day is a quote from our morning: After serving peanut butter toast one of the 5 year olds says "There's nuts in peanut butter?" She was very excited and yet surprised by this realization. so cute. kinda like my response to be the weaker sex. Have a blessed day
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Blessings
Blessed!
Once in awhile I'm reminded of all the blessings that I have that I take for granted. We are SO blessed! We have our health, our sanity, beds to sleep in, blankets to keep us warm, air conditioning and when we need it, heat. I have a loving husband, wonderful children, food, friends, family..........the list just goes on and on!
Most of all I have a loving God who cares for me!
thousands, maybe millions of children are living in slavery, extreme poverty, or extreme circumstances- beyond anything I could ever fathom. I'm overwhelmed at the thought of the need that is out there. I'm reminded of the starfish story (if you haven't heard it google it), I'm supposed to help one child at a time. I trust that God brings us the children that we can help and in turn they bring such joy to our home. Seeing these children bloom and learn is an amazing thing to watch! Lord, what else would you like to do through me? I'm open, willing and ready!
God has taught me over the years that trying to be a blessing to others ALWAYS turns into us being blessed! God is AMAZING the way he works this out! Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured in your lap. For the measure you use, it will be measured to you." I feel like it's so unfair, I'm blessed beyond what I should be!
This post is for me to always remember to be thankful, for me to also remember those that need our help. What are ways you can think of for us to help ALL these children in need?
Once in awhile I'm reminded of all the blessings that I have that I take for granted. We are SO blessed! We have our health, our sanity, beds to sleep in, blankets to keep us warm, air conditioning and when we need it, heat. I have a loving husband, wonderful children, food, friends, family..........the list just goes on and on!
Most of all I have a loving God who cares for me!
thousands, maybe millions of children are living in slavery, extreme poverty, or extreme circumstances- beyond anything I could ever fathom. I'm overwhelmed at the thought of the need that is out there. I'm reminded of the starfish story (if you haven't heard it google it), I'm supposed to help one child at a time. I trust that God brings us the children that we can help and in turn they bring such joy to our home. Seeing these children bloom and learn is an amazing thing to watch! Lord, what else would you like to do through me? I'm open, willing and ready!
God has taught me over the years that trying to be a blessing to others ALWAYS turns into us being blessed! God is AMAZING the way he works this out! Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured in your lap. For the measure you use, it will be measured to you." I feel like it's so unfair, I'm blessed beyond what I should be!
This post is for me to always remember to be thankful, for me to also remember those that need our help. What are ways you can think of for us to help ALL these children in need?
Friday, March 9, 2012
Communication
As I was getting ready to write this (or trying to figure it out, like I said I'm a technological IDIOT) we had unexpected visitors. Sabine and I were so happy to have 2 boys that left last month stop by to say hi! Great way to brighten the spirits, to see that the kids are doing well. To keep communication with the kids as they leave is really important to me, if it's possible. This momma seems to be doing a good job with her 4 sweeties!
And onto daily communication. I give A's to a few people around here for truly being wonderful with communication. If you have good communication in your life be thankful, it's vital.
A big barrier to communication for me is the language barrier. I had a very nice Cuban man trying to give me information in English, vital information. This man was telling me where to take 2 small boys for day care. I could not understand him so after he'd say it several times I'd write down what I thought he was trying to say and he'd nod as if I was correct. So I wrote down Wall Grubb Learning Center, the man nodded. Well, there's no such thing as Wall Grubb! hmmm...... Praise the Lord that he always helps us when we are in need! While getting the clothes out for the boys I found that the 2 year old had a uniform, with the name of the day care on it! Hallalujah! Wall Grubb?? World to Grow. The sweet man was trying to say World to Grow!
Since I try to keep parents as up to date as possible I wanted this man to know his kids were okay after he left them in our care but I didn't dare call, thought texting might be a little easier on both of us:) Happy Day, the boys are back with their Poppy after 24 hours with us.
Am I saying I'm typically great at communication, no way. Just saying I've seen a dramatic increase in my frustrations with communication over this past year. Actually Matt and I had our first mis-communication about dinner this week. I was sick and I was sure he said he'd make dinner, he thought I was making part of the dinner-I wasn't. First dinner miscommunication betewen the 2 of us for the year:)
Happy Communication............
And onto daily communication. I give A's to a few people around here for truly being wonderful with communication. If you have good communication in your life be thankful, it's vital.
A big barrier to communication for me is the language barrier. I had a very nice Cuban man trying to give me information in English, vital information. This man was telling me where to take 2 small boys for day care. I could not understand him so after he'd say it several times I'd write down what I thought he was trying to say and he'd nod as if I was correct. So I wrote down Wall Grubb Learning Center, the man nodded. Well, there's no such thing as Wall Grubb! hmmm...... Praise the Lord that he always helps us when we are in need! While getting the clothes out for the boys I found that the 2 year old had a uniform, with the name of the day care on it! Hallalujah! Wall Grubb?? World to Grow. The sweet man was trying to say World to Grow!
Since I try to keep parents as up to date as possible I wanted this man to know his kids were okay after he left them in our care but I didn't dare call, thought texting might be a little easier on both of us:) Happy Day, the boys are back with their Poppy after 24 hours with us.
Am I saying I'm typically great at communication, no way. Just saying I've seen a dramatic increase in my frustrations with communication over this past year. Actually Matt and I had our first mis-communication about dinner this week. I was sick and I was sure he said he'd make dinner, he thought I was making part of the dinner-I wasn't. First dinner miscommunication betewen the 2 of us for the year:)
Happy Communication............
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Blast from the past
My sweet boy that left almost 4 months ago used to ask me to sing to him at bed time. Every night I would sing to him and he would laugh hysterically at me. This little man was my tough guy...... a tough guy with a huge heart! That sweet boy will forever have a piece of my heart. And that sweet giggle will be etched in my mind.
From the beginning. In March of 2011 my family moved from Iowa to South Florida to care for sweet kids while they are in the foster care system. When we arrived we had 12 kids in our home. Today we have 5 of those original 12. We have been so blessed to be able to be a part of these little ones lives.
Amazing people and crazy people here in South Florida! We are blessed to work with some amazing women! We see them as family and they bring joy to our home.
Common sense. Common sense is fairly common in Iowa, not so much here in South Florida. Example: today I had someone knock on my door and ask for a child that was in school. She had her sister, that she picked up from school- the SAME school that her sister attends. When asked why she didn't pick them BOTH up, like usual, she didn't really have a response except one of us would have to go get the other child from the school she was JUST at. I would like to say this kind of stuff is rare but sadly it's a daily thing.
Communication. I've always had good communication with people, at least I think I have. After coming here I questioned whether I had ANY communication skills! But after talking to others I found I wasn't the only one having these troubles. Well I was called a gossip for asking if others were having trouble with communication. I'm trying to deal with this with a good attitude, a positive attitude. Being positive doesn't come naturally to me.
Communication. Have you ever had a school communicate to you the night before a concert on what to have the children wear? yeah, that was new to me. oh but wait, they call the morning of the concert and tell you to not wear what they said last night! To wear the exact opposite. Confusing!
Overall our home runs amazingly smooth, with amazing little ones learning, growing and amazing us. I would like to use this blog to document the funny, smart and wonderful things that the kids say and do. Seeing the kids have light bulb moments have been so worth all the craziness that goes on outside of our home.
We appreciate your prayers, there are many things we need prayer for that will never be published but we serve an amazing God that uses all things for His glory!
From the beginning. In March of 2011 my family moved from Iowa to South Florida to care for sweet kids while they are in the foster care system. When we arrived we had 12 kids in our home. Today we have 5 of those original 12. We have been so blessed to be able to be a part of these little ones lives.
Amazing people and crazy people here in South Florida! We are blessed to work with some amazing women! We see them as family and they bring joy to our home.
Common sense. Common sense is fairly common in Iowa, not so much here in South Florida. Example: today I had someone knock on my door and ask for a child that was in school. She had her sister, that she picked up from school- the SAME school that her sister attends. When asked why she didn't pick them BOTH up, like usual, she didn't really have a response except one of us would have to go get the other child from the school she was JUST at. I would like to say this kind of stuff is rare but sadly it's a daily thing.
Communication. I've always had good communication with people, at least I think I have. After coming here I questioned whether I had ANY communication skills! But after talking to others I found I wasn't the only one having these troubles. Well I was called a gossip for asking if others were having trouble with communication. I'm trying to deal with this with a good attitude, a positive attitude. Being positive doesn't come naturally to me.
Communication. Have you ever had a school communicate to you the night before a concert on what to have the children wear? yeah, that was new to me. oh but wait, they call the morning of the concert and tell you to not wear what they said last night! To wear the exact opposite. Confusing!
Overall our home runs amazingly smooth, with amazing little ones learning, growing and amazing us. I would like to use this blog to document the funny, smart and wonderful things that the kids say and do. Seeing the kids have light bulb moments have been so worth all the craziness that goes on outside of our home.
We appreciate your prayers, there are many things we need prayer for that will never be published but we serve an amazing God that uses all things for His glory!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)