The Birth of Eva Luree

April, 2013 was the longest month of my life. I thought I had experienced long months before, but not until the last month of my first pregnancy did I realize what l-o-n-g truly meant. Many women who had gone before me into the harrowing occupation of motherhood had warned me, but there is nothing to prepare you for childbirth like childbirth. Just a couple days before my month ended, I finally read a book that referred to the very last segment of pregnancy as “the labor month,” and I thought, “YES, exactly.” To start our birth story accurately, I need to start way before the birth even began, and give you a brief history of our pregnancy and the choices we made as we started our family.

Last Spring, when Frank got the full time job with FedEx in Corvallis and we moved (back) to Oregon, we decided to start “trying” to start our family. I was 31, and had been diagnosed with endometriosis ten years prior, so we weren’t sure how long it would take or if it would take. It didn’t take too long at all! We started trying in June and had a positive test by the end of July. WOW! Here we go... I didn’t feel pregnant for several weeks, but around week 7 or 8, I started feeling sick, nauseous, all day long most days. I tried everything to keep the nausea at bay, but nothing seemed to work. People kept telling me it would be over by week 12, then week 16, then week 20... by week 26, I finally started having “normal” days again, thank the Lord. One morning (probably around week 18), Frank walked into the bathroom after I had my normal morning dry-heave-into-the-sink-with-no-results routine. I looked at him and said, “I’m not sure I can do this again, just sayin.” And he looked at me with the most confused, disappointed look on his face. The woman he married who wanted 4 kids had been replaced by a dry heaving, gagging, puking hot mess. Pregnancy was hard for both of us. Between weeks 26 and 38, everything calmed down and life was good again. It was fun watching my belly grow, and we drove people crazy with our decision to not find out the gender. We also enjoyed our regular visits with our midwives, Carol & Julia.

Before we got pregnant we had talked about choosing natural child birth. We each had a sister-in-law who chose natural child birth with their children and had fabulous experiences all 4 times. Early on in our pregnancy we netflixed the film “The Business of Being Born,” a documentary by Ricki Lake (Don’t let that turn you off. If you haven’t seen this, we highly recommend it and considering the options you have when it comes to giving birth). Watching this eye opening film solidified our decision to have a natural-as-possible experience. We drove an hour and a half to Bella Vie Gentle Birth Center, northwest of Salem, where my nephew Henry had been born. It was beautiful and the entire staff seemed amazing, but it was an hour and a half away. In fact, our home is 20 minutes from any medical facility. And given the fact that it would have taken Frank at least an hour and a half to get home from work, we decided the best possible scenario would be for me to stay home and have everyone come to me for the delivery. Our 2 hour interview with Bella Vie led us to another consultation, much closer to home, with Carol Severson, who has Mid Valley Birthing Services, based out of Albany. We got along with Carol right away. I felt very comfortable with her 30 plus years of experience, her personality and our shared faith. She had a couple girls working with her who were working on their midwifery licenses, one of whom, Julia, started conducting many of our appointments and we got to know her very well. We had Julia and Carol out to our house for dinner to talk about our birth plan. Julia came back for dinner a couple times to teach us more about natural birth techniques and breastfeeding. Her specialized care for us parents-to-be was an incredible blessing. Julia has two toddlers herself, so her recent experiences combined with her midwifery training made her an excellent resource. Being able to build relationships with Carol and Julia was essential to our positive home birth experience.

About a month before I was due, Julia gave me some nitrazine paper, in order to test any fluid I might notice as we got closer to the birth. The paper would turn a certain color if the fluid was amniotic, letting us know my bag of waters had broken. (Most women don’t experience a sudden gush, but more a slow leak.) On Easter night, I tested some fluid I noticed and the paper turned dark bluish/purple, like it would for amniotic fluid! We had an appointment scheduled for Tuesday, so Julia gave us the run down on what to do and not do now that my water was leaking. She said it was likely we would be having a baby that week.

By Thursday, April 4th, I had been experiencing contractions off and on for a couple days. Combined with my leaking fluid, we decided to try some natural techniques to induce labor. My contractions picked up, and Julia came to our house. We were all hopeful that our baby would be born that night. After about 7 hours of regular contractions, Julia checked me and I was only dilated 2 cm. I was exhausted so we all agreed to go to bed and see where I was in the morning. At 6:30 am, I hadn’t had any contractions since falling asleep and waking back up around 4:30. Julia packed up and left and I was extremely disappointed.

For the next two and half weeks, I had contractions off and on. Sometimes they last several hours, sometimes they went as fast as they came. I was no longer leaking any fluid. (Which probably means my sack tore, and healed itself.) By Tuesday, April 23rd, almost 2 weeks past my due date, I was very tired and extremely frustrated. The baby’s head was down, I had been 2 cm dilated for 2 weeks. I felt stuck. My mom, Frank and I met with the ladies at their office and when Julia asked how I was doing, I lost it. I just started bawling, expressing my frustration and confusion and concern. Was something wrong with me? They both calmly explained (for the 10th time) that if something was wrong, they would know. My blood pressure was perfect, my weekly urine tests were normal, and the baby’s heart beat was healthy. They conducted an exam, during which Carol stripped my membranes. My mom and I went to lunch at a Thai restaurant and then got pedicures.

Two hours after the pedicure, mom and I arrived home and I flopped into bed, exhausted. I felt a contraction almost immediately after lying down. About 5 minutes later, another one hit. And then another one. After all the false starts, I was afraid to be hopeful, but still, something felt different. Frank came home from work, and we relaxed, going to bed early. No matter what I did, the contractions didn’t stop. Hope grew. At 12:30 am, I woke up, still feeling contractions regularly. They were stronger than anything I had experienced all month. I decided we should call Julia. She arrived 45 minutes after we called her. I contracted throughout the early morning, as I kinda slept off and on. She rested on the couch and came in to check my heart rate, blood pressure, and baby’s heart rate about every hour. At 4:30 am, I was dilated 5 cm!

Around 8 am, everyone was up, eating breakfast. I felt good. The contractions were still coming and I knew my baby would come that day! Finally! Around 10 am, my contractions started slowing down. Julia had Frank and I take walks outside in the sunshine and she had me take black & blue cohosh (herbs) every half hour for a couple hours. They picked back up, and at about 2 pm, on my way to the bathroom after a contraction, another one hit. I had to brace myself in the doorway. It was strong and sudden. By the time I walked 5 steps to the bathroom, another one just like it hit. And then another one... the tide turned, and I was finally in transition. From that point on, I labored mostly on our bed, trying to find comfortable positions to labor in. I’m not sure what time everything happened after that. I remember Frank lying next to me telling me I was “doing good” the whole time. I remember my water bottle constantly being held up to my mouth (thank God for Camelbaks!). I remember one of the midwives rubbing my feet through contractions, which felt so good!

I know at one point, they decided to break my water. Right after that, I heard Carol say, “I think this baby is trying to turn on us.” I looked down at my belly, where she was looking and saw a huge slope to the left. The baby looked like it had bunched up on my right side. Carol was calm and confident as she explained to me what I had to do. She had me turn onto my left side, and lift my right leg as high up and close to my chest as I possibly could. I labored in that position for what felt like forever. The contractions felt 5 times stronger. Every 20 minutes Julia dropped little herbs that tasted like sugar under my tongue.

I had snacks when I felt hungry during labor. I rested when I felt like I needed it. I drank a lot of water. Sometimes I felt nauseous, but I never puked. I stood and “danced” with Frank through contractions at one point. Sometimes I just pushed all my weight into him as I waited for the contraction to stop. He held me through the whole process. Frank was an amazing birth partner and I felt so blessed to have him in the room with me almost the entire time. (He had to eat once in a while!)

Finally, around 9 pm, the pushing started. I was on my knees at the foot of our bed, on the floor. Shortly after I started pushing, Carol had me lift a knee and put my foot on the ground, so I was in a half squat position. That was much more comfortable. I had my arms wrapped around Frank’s shoulders. Julia and Carol were beside & behind me, my mom was on stand by, next to Frank. Carol switched places with Frank, so he could catch the baby with Julia. Then Carol needed to monitor the baby’s heart rate, so my mom stepped in. She and I each wrapped an arm around the foot of our bed, and wrapped our other arms around each other as I pushed through each contraction. At some point in this process I thought to myself, "I would take drugs now!" (It would have been too late.) I also thought, "I can’t do this any more!" I declared that thought out loud at one point after a painful push. I remember reading that specific phrase signaled the third stage in emotional labor, and that it usually meant the baby was almost here. But in the moment, after almost 30 hours of labor, I was pretty sure that baby was not coming out! And then, all of a sudden, after another painful, hard push, I felt the best, most amazing and relieving feeling of my life! The next thing I knew, a dark red, slimy, crying little baby was in my arms, and everything in the world changed.

“Oh honey, oh honey!” was all that could come out of my mouth as I held this squirming, crying little person. Frank and I just stared at our baby, in total shock. I have no idea what else was going on in the room. And then a voice came from over my shoulder, “Is it a boy or a girl?!” In all of our commotion of delivering the baby, Frank and I didn’t even think to check the gender. It was the furthest thing from my mind. I just couldn’t stop staring at this little being that had just come out of me! We then discovered she was a little girl, and I said, “It’s Eva! Hi Eva!” It was wonderful to meet my daughter for the first time.

We moved from the floor to the bed, where I held Eva as Frank cut the cord, and we enjoyed our first moments together as a family. I was exhausted and elated all at the same time. It was the hardest and most beautiful experience of my life. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions about our experience or natural childbirth/home birth, please feel free to ask me! Below are some of our favorite pictures from the birth. Enjoy!

Much Love,
Frank & Alita

Eva Luree Batham. April 24,2013. 9 pounds, 4 ounces. 21 1/2 inches.

Unemployment, Starbucks & Mr. Chambers

Unemployment and lots of time at Starbucks waiting for the hubby to get off of work are good for the blog.

Unemployment and Starbucks typically don’t go together, but hubby got paid today (YAY!), and I have a lot of internet stuff to do, along with other errands in the big city (of Corvallis) so I’m nursing a tall Americano for all the free wi-fi I can get! (Another YAY!)

One thing I am loving about our new life in Oregon is my occasional morning car rides into Corvallis with my man. While we were packing in Austin we unearthed our audio books, a wedding gift from Eric, in New York. This large collection includes one of my favorites, “My Utmost for His Highest,” by Oswald Chambers, read by Michael Card. This morning we were reminded (read: convicted) that the main reason we don’t experience spiritual growth is because we don’t deal with the conflicts that are blocking us from God. Whether we don’t take time to spend in the Word, or we have unresolved conflict in relationships, we simply cannot grow without confronting these things. Simple, yet utterly difficult to conquer sometimes.

Frank thought it wasn’t very nice to be that convicted on his birthday. ;)

In other news, I thought it would be important to let the “world” know that I have a job interview a week from today with the Kidco Headstart in Lebanon, Oregon. They need an Administrative Specialist & a Family Advocate, and I have applied for both. Prayers gladly appreciated. We also have about two weeks remaining before we get to move into our new house, which is actually a very old house, built by my Great grandfather in 1919. If I could make our enthusiasm jump off the page, it still might not be enough to explain to you how excited we are to get into that house and make it a home for our family! I also can’t wait to take photos and start the decorating/renovating process, and sharing that here!

Happy, Happy Friday everyone!

Much Love…
the Bathams

This goofy photo was taken almost exactly 2 years ago, on my first visit to Texas after we started dating.

Texas, New York, Oregon

Sorry to disappoint any of our beloved fans (I know you’re out there!), but the end of April didn’t prove to be a good time to write a blog… apparently the end of May or June didn’t either. But JULY! July is a different story! Let’s catch up on the buzz of the next 3 months and MAYBE next time I’ll be a little more quick on the blogging uptake… maybe… we’ll see… ;)

If any of you have ever lost a close family member or friend, you will know why the end of April didn’t give me a chance to write a blog. On April 24th, we lost a very good family friend, which resulted in an emergency trip for myself to Oregon for about 10 days to be with my surrogate family, the Brocketts, during their (our) time of mourning and loss of our dear, dear, Cody.

The world will never be complete again without Cody Brockett. We do have the hope of seeing him again, for all eternity. And its that hope that keeps his family and friends going these days.

Have you ever had to jump from a time of mourning to a time of rejoicing very quickly? A week after coming home from Oregon, Frank and I flew from Austin to NYC to celebrate our first anniversary with family and friends on Long Island and Manhattan. It’s weird how life goes on. And it’s even more strange to me how quickly we can adapt from tragedy to celebration. My heart still ached while we were on vacation, but I must admit we had an absolute blast together, visiting with Frank’s cousins on Long Island, seeing the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, eating cannolis and pizza, laughing and resting. It was glorious. On Manhattan, we reveled in true NYC glory, staying on the Upper West Side (I feel slightly cooler not only saying that, but knowing exactly what that means) with Brandon (Corey) & Bess Knox in their cute apartment with a killer view, experiencing what it’s like to order breakfast to the front door, walk to the subway to get anywhere we wanted to be and basically, partying like rock stars. ;) Corey & Bess were excellent hosts! Absolutely cannot wait to visit them again, and be able to return the favor ourselves someday!

Dinner in Little Italy with Corey & Bess.

No sooner had we returned from the big city, when we were faced with some big decisions to make. Frank was applying for manager jobs with FedEx all over the country, but he also found a job posting in Corvallis, Oregon. It was a part time courier position, but with more guaranteed hours per week than he was getting in Austin. And it was in Oregon. And it was in the part of Oregon that we had been praying about living in. And he won the bid for the job. He won the bid. I was in shock (and perhaps, still am a little bit). After a year of trying to get better positions in Austin, he put in for a job in Oregon and POOF! Got it, like magic. We waiting a week or so to hear back on some manager jobs and then realized, this is it. Some manager jobs fell through. One never has replied to his resume. The door was wide open in Corvallis, so we put our little trailer up for sale, packed up a Penske with our meager possessions, hitched up the Katie car and headed to the great Pacific Northwest. (It sounds a lot easier now than it felt over the last few weeks!)

Needless to say, the last 3 months have been a whirlwind for these Bathams. A great loss, a wonderful celebration, (can you believe its been over a year now since we said “we will”?!) and a huge move. Life is rarely comfortable, but thankfully it is tremendously exciting. Sometimes I imagine what it would be like to be comfortable: money in the bank, a beautiful home, two nice cars, no death, no debt and then I think, I would probably be bored to death! ;) I’ll take my transition, my parents’ RV as a roof over our heads (for a couple more weeks), a dented up car that needs her oil changed, and broke as a joke! After all, Life is Good & God is even Greater, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.

What’s going on with you? What challenges and joys have you experienced these last few months?

Much Love,
Frank & Alita

Catch UP!

What have the Bathams been up to?! Our blog certainly hasn’t been “buzzing” lately… for over 6 months, actually! But this is not representation about what we’ve really been up to. Truth is, we are actually buzzing so much we haven’t had time to stop and buzz about it!

So, just in case y’all are curious, I thought I’d break down our buzz by months, since I don’t really feel like writing a bazillion blogs to catch up. Here are the briefs instead:

October 2011 was when all the craziness started happening! Frank went to Oregon for a week to go to deer camp with the Tombleson family. Frank had a blast road tripping from California to Southern Oregon with my brother, Adam. They didn’t get even see a deer, but they did see a bear, which thrilled Frank to death. Another huge highlight was having my best friend, Talla coming for a visit from Portland! We tried to show her the best of Central Texas, which included hot tubbing, a coffee shop hop around Austin, shopping, and a tour of the capitol as well as downtown Austin. On Frank’s day off, we went down to San Antonio, which was a first for us to Oregon gals. We toured the Alamo & went on the River Walk on a beautiful, sunny, warm Fall day. It was truly glorious!

November 2011 was an interesting month of transition for us yet again, as I decided that working at the Boys & Girls Club was not my cup of tea. The compensation wasn’t worth the drive, nor the headache of the job, so after six weeks of working there, I resigned and came to work at the RV park as a work camper, meaning, I work 12 hours a week in the park office and our rent is paid! This job also provides very flexible hours, so I was free to make a trip out West to visit friends and family and launch my Mary Kay business! I had my first party at Shawn Waite’s home, where I did 10 facials and sold a LOT of product! I truly love Mary Kay and the opportunities that I have received as a part of this awesome company. I love that I can travel for my job, I love that I can work anywhere and with anyone, and I love the products themselves, and how beneficial they are to all women. (If you are curious about this career opportunity or in using Mary Kay’s awesome products, no matter where you live, please contact me!!) We capped off November with a Thanksgiving celebration at the Batham homestead with the family & Frank’s best, Corey & his wife Bess and Corey’s family. Great eats, amazing food & lots of memories made. <3

In December, we were very excited to celebrate our first Christmas together. Frank worked a lot, delivering joy & happiness all over Austin, while I settled into my job at the RV park. For Christmas, we got each other small gifts to fit in our stockings. On Christmas Eve, we had a fondue dinner (a tradition I started with my family a few years ago) and then opened our stockings on Christmas morning, before going out to Frank’s parents for the rest of the day. I absolutely love spending time with my husband, and Christmas was no exception. He is an excellent gift giver. I am definitely going to have to up my game this next year! ;)
We rung 2012 in out at the Batham homestead. We shared a sweet New Year’s kiss as the ball dropped on the television, along with Mom & Dad, Tim & Vet, and Michael & Harmony. After a rousing evening of snacks and Settlers of Catan, we drove all the way home, exhausted & excited about what the new year could hold for us. Considering what the last year and a half had been like, we really couldn’t wait to live another year together.
The last week of January, we got to make the long awaited trip to Oregon & California for our “Tombleson family Christmas.” Our tour included stops in Salem, Prineville & Modesto, California, visiting friends & family, eating lots of yummy meals, and building a fence for Adam & Becca’s back yard! All in all, it was a successful trip, although it didn’t really feel like “Christmas”- we made the best of it!

February… February… what happened in February?! Pretty uneventful, I suppose! And this blog is already long enough, so I won’t keep you much longer! ;)

March 2012! I do not understand how time can literally move so quickly sometimes, but March this year was one of those months that flew by hardly without notice. Honestly, the most important thing that happened this month was that we started eating differently and working out regularly, a pattern we hope to continue for the rest of our lives. I mean it. We cut calories & fat, started walking and doing strength training. I have already lost a size, along with 10 pounds and Frank is looking good too (if I do say so myself!). Most importantly, we FEEL better, which speaks for itself! In addition to that excitement, four babies were born into our lives this month as well! My best friend Jenn, in New Zealand and her twin sister in Seattle both gave birth to baby boys on March 1st. My brother’s wife, Becca, gave birth to Audrey Kate on March 4th, and Frank’s brother Michael & his wife, Harmony gave birth to Ivy Celeste on March 15th! Hard not to want to have a little bundle of our own with all these little ones around us, but I think we can manage for now! ;)

And now it’s April 18th! Can you believe it?! I have two weeks to write another blog…stay tuned! Hopefully the buzz will continue in a timelier manner! ;)

Much Love,
Alita & Frank

monday morning madness

Written at 10:11 this morning.

Today is normally Frank’s day off, but as usual, they asked him to come in. No problem for us, we love the automatic time and a half for every hour he gets on these days. However, yesterday started earlier than normal and was busy as usual, and I would have enjoyed cuddling with my sweet man for one morning this week, but nonetheless, duty calls and we answer! (Actually, the alarm goes off at 5 am and he gets up and goes to work…) I wake up at 7 and its cold in our little home. I know the furnace was set to come on, but clearly it did not. It surely is not 73 degrees anywhere in our 31 foot length of living space and I search for slippers and pad down to the commode. I race back to the warm quilt in my empty bed and attempt to nestle into a slumber to no avail. At 7:30 I call Frank. “Honeeeeeeeeey!” Click. I really hate AT&T and their awful, call dropping service. I call back and we check in about the furnace and work for the day. Sounds like he may get some good hours. After we hang up, I get distracted by face book for a minute (or ten) until I can’t take it anymore and decide since the furnace isn’t coming on, I may as well just be cold outside, taking a walk.

It’s a beautiful Texan morning, albeit colder than most mornings I’ve experienced here so far. (And by far, much warmer than it is back home in Prineville this morning!) Speaking of home, I decide to text my father, who I believe can fix anything, about this annoying furnace situation. He starts firing back a few questions like, do you have propane? (haha! We do-- but still, good question!) Hungry, and in an effort to keep the healthy kick going this morning, I start some oatmeal and coffee for breakfast. I decide to cook my oatmeal in the microwave because it will be faster, so I follow the directions and start trying to find the owners manual for our trailer on the laptop, in hope that some more light will be shed on the furnace situation. After a few minutes, I got up to retrieve my oatmeal and discovered an oaty, goopy mess all over the microwave. Great. The paper towel is literally cooked onto the rim of the bowl. Awesome. Guess I will be cooking the old fashioned oats the old fashioned way after all!

The owners manual won’t open on the computer because the file “may be in use in another location or is corrupted.” Again, awesome. The oats are simmering as dad calls to do some more “hands on” trouble shooting. I start fiddling with the fuses, noticing there’s a read light on next to one of them. As I try to pull the fuse out, the red light turns off and the furnace turns on. I touch the fuse again and the red light comes on and the furnace turns off. Hmmmm… After a few more minutes of searching for a pair of pliers, taking a bite of oatmeal, then hunting down a screw driver, grabbing another bit of oatmeal, then fetching the flashlight, another bite of quickly cooling oats, the furnace starts working correctly. Dad encouraged us to have our batteries tested anyway, just to make sure there isn’t anything wrong with them. We hang up, I finish my oatmeal, and sit down and decide to write about it. My morning now seems a bit silly to write about after having done so, but I think there is something comforting in knowing that we are not alone in our Monday morning madness. I have no idea why Mondays need to be difficult for most of us, but they live up to their reputation all to often, don’t they?!

fall photo shoot

We had a little fun on Sunday with the iphone. I realize we haven't posted many pics lately, so we played catch up for ya... ;)

Happy Fall from Texas!

Much Love,
Frank & Alita

Exciting News!

The Bathams are a buzzin! Some crazy transition has come up in the last week, and we’d love to share it with you. We are both so excited about what this buzz means, and before you go there-- no, we’re NOT pregnant! ;)

As you probably know, Alita was hired to work at the Boys and Girls Club at the beginning of September. To say the least, the last month has been difficult as we strived to transition to a new schedule of Frank working at 6 am and Alita working all afternoon, as late as 8 pm. The club Alita was hired to work at is about a 30 minute drive from home, without traffic. Combine that with the low pay and stressful environment, and the transition that was exciting at first spun into a difficult, profitless venture for this newly married couple.

We talked a lot about our options, weighed the pros and cons, and consulted with God about our difficult decision. Alita struggled most with starting a job and quitting it so soon, especially after three months of trying so hard to find a job! But it didn’t take long to see a better opportunity presenting itself in a two-fold plan.

Part one: throughout the month of August, Alita worked at the office for the RV park a couple hours a day which resulted in only paying for our electricity at the end of the month. (MAJOR blessing!) Alita spoke with MJ, the park manager and she agreed that having Alita around 10 hours a week would be a good thing. Rent paid. Sigh of relief.

Part two: the same week Alita accepted the job at the Boys & Girls Club, she also signed an agreement to become a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant. She thought she could do both jobs part time and make a pretty good income. But the hours and stress of the BGC didn’t allow for much time or mental energy to focus on Mary Kay. After comparing the jobs side by side, Alita & Frank knew that Mary Kay would prove to be a much more profitable business over time. In addition, Mary Kay allows the flexibility that seems so imperative to our schedule right now. Mary Kay is a job Alita can take anywhere the we end up. And the income potential is exponentially higher than just about anything else she is qualified for.

Needless to say, Frank and Alita are extremely excited about the potential this endeavor holds and your support would be much appreciated! Alita’s Mary Kay website is: www.marykay.com/alitab.

Much Love,
Frank & Alita

PS- To receive an email outlining more details about this job opportunity, please email Alita at alita.batham@gmail.com.

Alita's Curry

Cooking always makes me feel better. Lately I haven’t been able to cook much because of some circumstances that will thankfully be changing soon! (More about that news in a blog to follow.) Last night I had the time to create something, which is one of my favorite ways to cook. I like following recipes, but there is something about creating something off the top of you head that is fun, especially when it turns out well.

I had some coconut milk and chicken broth in the fridge that needed to be used. I also had some broccoli, carrot and onion that needed to be consumed as well. I picked up some boneless, skinless chicken thighs to complete the creation and I was off and runnin’!

I started out by sautéing the chopped chicken thighs in a little olive oil in the cast iron skillet on medium high heat. When they were browned I, sprinkled a little curry powder over them and let it cook in, then I removed the chicken from the skillet, lowered the heat to medium and threw in sliced onion and some crushed garlic, along with about a cup of sliced broccoli and half a cup of sliced carrots. (Next time I’m throwing in a chopped red potato and some sliced mushrooms… mmmhmmmm!) As the veggies cooked, I sprinkled more curry powder (about 1 teaspoon), cayenne pepper (just a tad bit) and 1 tablespoon of corn starch over them and stirred it in, until the veggies softened.

Next, I poured the chicken broth over the veggies (maybe a cup? A little less?) and brought it to a simmer. Then, I poured about 1/3 cup of coconut milk into the skillet and stirred it in, letting it all come back to a simmer. I threw the cooked chicken back in the mix, along with a couple cranks of sea salt from the salt grinder. After a taste test and a little more curry, dinner was deliciously ready!

I think it would be fun to come to your house, open your fridge and pantry and see what I can come up with. Who’s up first?! ;)

AUS-tin

My last post has inspired some great conversations among friends and family here in Austin. As Frank and I have talked more about what it's like for me to drive in Austin, another subject has arisen that I must write about, especially for those of you who don't live here.

To put it FRANK-ly (hehe), Austinites need "hooked on phonics" when it comes to pronouncing words. How would you pronounce the word, Manchaca, for example? Maan-cha-ka, correct? Not in Austin. If you were given directions by a local, he or she would tell you to "turn on 'Manshack'... and they would be referring to Manchaca. If I were looking for 'Manshack' (don't forget your Texan accent when you pronounce that, with emphasis on the first A!) as I was driving in my car, I'm not sure I would turn on Manchaca-- would you?

That's only the beginning! I started a list on my phone, just so I wouldn't forget to tell you:

A couple weekends ago we went to New Braunfels, TX for the day. It's an old German town south of Austin. We talked to a local outside a coffee shop while we were walking around who suggested we head up to Green, TX. That's what he said. But as we were driving home, we saw an exit on the freeway for Gruene, TX. If you know anything about phonics and/or the German language, I need not explain more. ;)

Then there's Burnett, TX... before you open your mouth, though, here's how it's pronounced: Burn-it. And we can't ignore Buda. The first time I saw that, I wasn't sure how to say it. The phonetics are not as easy to assume on this one. Don't worry, the good folks of Texas have figured it out for us. It's 'Bue-dah,' just in case you needed to know. (And if you're in Oregon, you want to know, because there's a huge Cabella's in Buda... of course!) ;)

I'm sure there's many more... I'll keep you posted as I stumble upon them. There's really never a dull moment here in Texas! ;)

Much Love,
Alita (& Frank)

Driving Miss Austin

What started out as a post about Texan culture shock ended up being a list of what it’s like to drive in Austin, and how that in and of itself is a shock, especially to this small town girl. Whenever we're in the car together, at least one of these comes up or becomes an annoyance. So we bring to you: “Top 5 Austin Driving Rants”!

1. Lack of road signs. We live in a city full of busy streets, highways and freeways. I’ve noticed the city or state or both (most likely) love to play tricks on drivers by not signing “turn only” lanes until you are turning. Nor do they clearly mark which road is which. The other day I was looking for 71 East and all I saw were signs for 71 West, until I was driving PAST the exit and finally saw “71 East”!

2. More than one name for every road. You will get confused in Austin right quick if you don’t know that Hwy 71 is also Ben White Blvd., or that Loop 1 is also known as “MOPAC” or Hwy 183 is sometimes Ed Bluestein Blvd. but then it’s Bastrop Hwy, until it changes into Lockhart Hwy… Pick a name, people, pick a name!

3. Stop lights on 65 MPH roads. Really?! I’m just gonna rant about this one: If Austin isn’t asking for more accidents, I don’t know what they’re up to. Some of the major highways around here are loaded with stop lights and side road entrances AND 65 MPH signs. Frank tells me you’re supposed to look ahead and watch the light to turn yellow. (Duh.) Do you know how hard it is to stop without getting rear ended when y’all are trucking down the road at 65 miles per hour and all of a sudden a light turns yellow? It’s crazy ridiculousness. I’ve never seen anything like it, except maybe in Kenya, but at least they don’t bother with the traffic lights over there!

4. Passing techniques. One of the first times I was driving with Frank in Texas, someone was following us really closely, so Frank just pulled over on the shoulder, maintaining his 60 mph speed, and let them pass. After they went by, we pulled back over. The car in front of us put on his hazards for a few blinks. At this point, I was really confused, until Frank pointed to the Hazard light button in our car and said, “This is the ’thank-you’ button,” and smiled at me. I just looked at him and said blankly, “where I come from, that’s the hazard button and you only use it when you’re pulled over on the side of the road and you‘re in trouble.”

5. Longest stop lights ever. Seriously. I’m guessing the camera sensor technology hasn’t hit it big here in Austin. That, and the length of stoplights feels about twice as long as it has other places I’ve lived. Granted, I haven’t lived in the “big city” for a while, but sitting at a light feels excessively long here. That, or I could just always be anxious to get to where we’re going…. Nah, they’re too long! ;-)

Much Love,
Alita & Frank

You Know you Live in an RV when…

1. “Honey, could you empty the grey tank?!” is a phrase often heard from the shower, usually followed by, “it’s pooling around my ankles, please hurry!”

2. You often wake up to the sound of squirrels foraging on your roof.

3. Your “garage” is the storage area in the rear of the vehicle.

4. Your whole house shakes when you walk.

5. Running your AC and your Microwave at the same time trips the breaker.

6. You are constantly shifting your plates, cups and bowls when the AC is on to stop the symphony in the cupboard!

7. Washing your house is as normal as washing your car.

8. Brushing your teeth together involves rotating in and out of the bathroom.

9. You have to buy dissolvable toilet paper.

10. It takes an hour or less to clean your whole house!

Cling to Love

It is a beautiful sunny, Friday morning here in Austin. Today will be the 52nd day in a row the temperature climbs above 100 degrees. Frank is out there delivering the world on time and I am sipping on coffee, writing and thinking about all the things I have to do today. Fridays are my “busy” days. Menu planning, & grocery shopping are on the agenda, along with my daily chores and spending time with my wonderful husband when he gets home. Lately, a couple hours every day have also been taken by a recent opportunity to help reduce our rent.

A few weeks ago our RV park manager, MJ, approached me about filling in at the office for when they need a “back up.” MJ is waiting for a liver transplant and Christina, her right hand woman, is going on vacation tomorrow. MJ is hoping that her phone will ring any day with hope-restoring news for her so I get to be on stand-by for now in case that happens and Christina isn’t here. So for the last couple weeks I have been working in the office for a couple hours each day. For each hour I work we get $8 taken off our rent. Last week I worked 10 hours, which saved us $80 off our rent! I am praising God for this opportunity and praying that MJ gets a liver SOON. She is a light, this woman. Quite endearing. She makes this place what it is and we appreciate her so much.

In other news, I applied at the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club yesterday. Rumor is that Boys and Girls Club are opening 4 new locations in Austin soon, thanks to a large grant. Again, please pray. Frank was hoping to get a full time route at FedEx this month, as a couple were scheduled to open up this week. Instead, those routes were split into part time routes and added to other drivers’ current routes. That day he was out looking for jobs in and around the same area FedEx is based. We are planning to go down to a one car family as soon as we get some paperwork from Oregon so we can sell my car next week. Frank is planning on riding his bike to work and letting me take “Katie” to work when I get a job. We may soon become very familiar with the Austin public transit system!

I need to apologize to our regular readers of the Buzz. I didn’t think my last post seemed negative but I have had a lot of notes of concern come to me since I wrote it. I am thankful for everyone’s encouragement; it means so much to me. Life has been an adjustment and frustrating in some ways lately, but it would be wrong of me to not give recognition to the fact that we have been provided for, one way or another ever since we got married. Our bills get paid every month and we have food in the cupboard. We are still giving a little bit each month, because we know that we are not poor, by the world’s standards. For every time we’ve given, we’ve probably received at least twice as much back. This isn’t why we give, but the contrast is so stark to me.

My Great-Aunt always says, “My mother always said, when poverty flies in the door, love flies out the window.” Now I love my great aunt and her many proverbial sayings, but after much thought and time, Frank and I are coming to believe that while that may be true for some people, it won’t be true for us. When poverty creeps in, we need to cling to love. Our love isn’t an arbitrary feeling that can so easily be tossed out the window, rather its what motivates us each day to keep giving and serving one another and cling to our Father God, who is the author of Love. No matter what our circumstances are, we are to continue loving. So we love each other, our neighbors and our community. Not because we feel poor, but because love is more important than poverty.

Reality

"It's not what you know, it's who you know," could never have been more true than it is right now. I feel like an alien in a foreign land. We have been in Austin for about 2 months now. I have probably been actively looking for a job for 6 weeks. I haven't had one interview. Without an inside connection or at least a familiar resume, I feel like I'm swimming upstream with one arm tied behind my back. I've never been a strong swimmer.

I can only think of two times in my life I was hired "cold," without knowing someone who got my foot in the door. Now, when I need a job more than ever, I don't know enough people to find one. Thankfully, FedEx has been giving Frank decent hours, but every 3 weeks there seems to be a bad week for hours. This has been one of those weeks.

Honestly, I'm feeling discouraged. I don't want this blog to be a downer, but I also don't want to hide the truth from y'all either. I need a job desperately and Frank needs more hours. There are two full time routes coming up in August that he will bid for. We appreciate your prayers. I also appreciate your hints, tips & leads. It's been a while since I had to look for a job. With so many people looking for work the job market has become more competitive and I've never been one for much competition.

Much Love,
Alita & Frank

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

Ham Steak with broccoli & Yam fries (I thought this was a sweet potato, but I was mistaken... still very yummy roasted with some olive oil, s & p and paprika!)

This was my first attempt at chicken fried steak. I served it with egg noodles and green beans. Frank said he preferred the lightness of the noodles compared to traditional mashed potatoes.

He really like it! :-)

French dips with a packed veggie salad... yummo!

And finally, we just had this last night... A salad every man would dream of. Steak, potatoes & bacon over a bed of red leaf lettuce with homemade blue cheese dressing. To. Die. For. (Recipe is from Real Simple Magazine, August 2011)

Alita's Kitchen

Apparently the key to a man’s heart is through his stomach but I won Frank’s heart a long time before I ever cooked for him. Still, it’s good to know that I could have used my cooking skills as a back up plan!

One of the reasons I couldn’t wait to get married was to start planning menus and meals and cook for my husband (I have never been known for being politically correct… no time to start now!). I love cooking. It relaxes me, especially when I’ve planned ahead and know what I’m making that night. I love trying new recipes. I love the look on my husband’s face when he takes that first bite and looks up at me. I do think he is an easy man to please but I trust if it wasn’t good he wouldn’t look at me that way. So far, 7 ½ weeks into our marriage, he says I haven’t made a dish that disappointed him yet.

What am I cooking? (I knew I should have taken photos!) Here are some recipes that worked wonders for our hungry stomachs these last couple months! My favorite cook book so far is “Betty Crocker’s Cookbook Bridal Edition.” My sister in law, Yvette, gave it to me before we were married and it has awesome recipes. It also has a lot of good cooking and baking basics and tips. If you aren’t a cook, this is a good book to use as it is simple and helpful!

Pecan Crusted Fish Fillets (Crocker, p.314)
We had a two pound bag of pecan halves left over from our wedding so we’ve been coming up with some creative ways to use them. This recipe is one of the best by far!

1 cup finely chopped pecans (not ground)
¼ cup dry bread crumbs (I used a slice of potato bread)
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 pound sole, orange roughy, walleye pike or other delicate fish fillets, about ½ inch thick (I used tilapia)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
Lemon wedges

1. Mix pecans, bread crumbs and lemon peel in shallow bowl. Beat egg and milk with wire whisk or fork in another shallow bowl.
2. Cut fish into 4 serving pieces. Sprinkle both sides of fish with salt and pepper. Coat fish with egg mixture then coat well with pecan mixture, pressing slightly into fish.
3. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add fish. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 6 to 10 minutes, turning once carefully with 2 pancake turners, until fish flakes easily with fork and is brown. Serve with lemon wedges.

I served this with cilantro lime rice: 1 cup rice cooked in rice cooker, mixed with the juices of 1 lemon (the one I grated the zest off of for the fish) and 2 small limes, and about 1 cup of finely chopped cilantro. I also drizzled some asparagus with olive oil and grated garlic and pan fried it for about 5 minutes until it was heated through and slightly browned.

Indonesian Peanut Chicken (Crocker, p. 288)
This is a simple dish with a delicious Asian flavor, combining many of my favorite ingredients. Frank LOVED it! (It’s even better the next day.)

3-3 ½ pound cut-up broiler-fryer chicken
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped (½ cup)
1/3 cup peanut butter
¼ cup chili sauce
½ teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 cup water
¼ cup chopped salted peanuts (I used dry roasted.)
¼ cup chopped red bell pepper

I also served it with extra ground peanuts, chopped lime and chopped cilantro.

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet or 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook chick in oil about 15 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides. Cover and cook over low heat about 20 minutes or until juice is not longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Remove chicken from skillet with tongs.
3. Drain all but 1 tablespoon drippings from skillet, heat over medium heat. Cook onion in drippings, stirring occasionally, until tender; reduce heat. Stir in peanut butter, chili sauce and cayenne pepper. Gradually stir in water, stirring constantly, until peanut butter is melted.
4. Add chicken. Spoon sauce over chicken. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 5 minutes, spooning sauce frequently over chicken, until sauce is slightly thickened. Serve sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with peanuts and bell pepper. (OR: Make rice or noodles (I used whole wheat egg noodles). Cover bottom of serving dish with rice or noodles. Arrange chicken on top of rice or noodles. Pour peanut sauce over chicken, garnish with red peppers and peanuts and serve. I didn’t do the extra step of boiling the sauce with the chicken in it and it still turned out really well!)

Another wonderful wedding present was “Taste of Home’s Complete guide to Baking.” I am more attracted to cooking than baking, but this book is a dream of beautiful photos and delicious, easy recipes. It even has some savory baking dishes that I can’t wait to try. In the mean time, I’ve discovered a Southern must have:

Pecan Squares (Taste of Home, p. 69)
I have actually halved this recipe both times I’ve made it and it still serves plenty!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
¾ cup butter, softened
¼ teaspoon salt
FILLING:
4 eggs
1 ½ cups corn syrup
1 ½ cups sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ cups chopped pecans

1. In a large mixing bow, combine the flour, sugar, butter and salt until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I used a pastry cutter to do this.) Press firmly and evenly into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
2. For filling, combine the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla in a bowl. Stir in the pecans. Spread evenly over hot crust. Bake 25-30 minutes longer or until set. Cook on a wire rack. Cut into squares. Yield: 4 dozen.

We have a propane oven, so I only need to bake the crust about 15 minutes, especially a half size. The first time I made these I over-cooked them a bit because they still look soupy in the middle after 30 minutes. Take them out anyway. They will firm up as they cool down. Enjoy a taste of the south!

So what’s on the menu next week?

African Stew & Greens with Rice

Ham with Sweet Potato Fries & steamed broccoli

Lasagna with green salad

Chef Salads

Round Steak Stir Fry & Brown Rice

Loaded Baked Potatoes with green beans

For recipes, email me: alita.batham@gmail.com!

Honeymoon Days

It is nearly impossible to believe a month has passed since our big day! Everything about our wedding day still feels so fresh in our minds. We remain basking in the glow of the love that our family and friends poured out for us over the weekend of May 15th. There is no better way to start a marriage than with the incredible support of friends and family. Thank you, again, to those of you who participated in making our wedding week and day so memorable and special!

You may be thinking we've fallen off the map over the last 4 weeks. We have been busy moving across the country, unpacking, settling in and getting used to each other. Frank has gone back to work at FedEx after his 2 week wedding vacation and Alita has been making the trailer a home and starting her job search. We've enjoyed spending time with Frank's family and making a ton of new friends at Austin New Church.

We'll leave you with a couple photos of our cozy abode. We're looking forward to building a deck on the outside and planting more grass and flowers and possibly some garden plants in the future.

Much Love,
the Bathams

Moving Day

Two weeks ago today we moved our cute little home into its new spot. Our day began with church and "dinner on the grounds" (commonly known as a potluck in Oregon territory). We then said good-bye to good friends, Joseph, Kayla & Lucas Carlton who had come down from Longview to visit for the weekend. Then the afternoon's adventure began!

We packed everything up and hooked "Sydney" up to Frank's dad's truck.

After a while of working on the truck's lights (which weren't consistently working) we were finally on the road to Austin!

It took us a good hour on the back country roads to get to our new home. Frank and his dad, along with a little help from a couple of our new neighbors got the trailer backed into the spot.

Frank has been living in it now for almost 2 weeks and loves it! He really enjoys being a couple minutes from work, and coming home every night to a little workout gym, swimming pool and hot tub. Needless to say, I can't wait to join him! Two weeks to go until we can finally make our little nest together!

a meaningful gift

Getting married is so much fun, for many reasons of course! One being, the creative gifts that people come up with. I have been so impressed with a shadow box of our wedding invitation & engagement photo, a photo collage that spells our last name, and the most recent one came in the mail today from my Uncle Don.

If you know my uncle, you may be groaning right now with the anticipation of what he has come up with. He is my quintessential unique uncle, who walks to the beat of his own drum. Every family needs one. I have more than one, but we'll save those details for another time. ;)

Uncle Don thoughtfully and lovingly sent me a framed photo of my grandmother's high school graduation photo from 1942, along with her favorite cook book, "Woman's Home Companion Cook Book," copyright 1945. The book was most likely purchased as a wedding gift for my grandmother. It is filled with food stains and handwritten notes, as well as every section tabbed by my highly organized grandmother herself. I love it! My Grandma Dorothy (Tombleson) was the last of my grandparents to pass away in 2005. I am sad to not have any of them alive today to celebrate with Frank and me, but it is so special to have something that she cherished and used to raise her family as I embark on my own journey into marriage & family.

Much Love,
Alita

Home Sweet Trailer

As we prepare to merge our lives into one, we are also making the decision to "live like no one else." Inspired by Dave Ramsey and his counterparts, along with our personal convictions to be wise stewards of our finances, we have devised a plan to live in a 30' camp trailer for the first two years of our marriage to accomplish our mission to be debt free.

Surprisingly, many people have been very supportive of this plan. I anticipated a lot of wide-eyed responses laden with warnings about the stressors of marriage and living in tight spaces. I am looking forward to the challenge of living in a small space, along with being newly married. I figure if we don't know any different, it might not be as difficult. I'm sure there will be days when we will be really tired of it, but I also know the end result is by far worth the means. I'm especially looking forward to indulging my type-A side with clever organizing ideas and keeping everything clean & tidy. There will be no room to "let things go" in this space!

Stay tuned, I'm sure the "buzz" will be dotted with several posts about our life in our beloved miniature home!

Much Love,
Alita

A New Life

For many years now, you knew Frank as "just" Frank, or Alita as "just" Alita. Now we'd like you to get to know "Frank and Alita." Our long distance relationship & engagement has made it difficult for our friends to know "us" so we'd like to give you that chance as we begin our lives together. The most fun part of the journey? We'll be getting to know "us" even better ourselves!

So join us as we explore what it's like to be married, to live simply while we pay off debt, to try new recipes, to find fun things to do in Austin, and to grow in our faith as we grow together.

Thank you so much for your love and support of us as individuals so far. We can't wait to make trips to visit our friends and family all over the country in the coming years!

Much Love,
Frank & Alita