Carnita Cravings

Our Carnita in the crockpot

It is an exciting time at our house again. It is not Christmas or someone’s birthday. And, if is not even close to a vacation. It is time for carnitas. As I searched Wikipedia briefly, I wonder if what we are eating is really “carnitas”. It refers to them as “little meats”. Our is kind of little, but it is definitely cooked in its own juices. Since we use a pork shoulder butt, there is PLENTY of its own juices to cook in. We don’t claim to make the best carnitas, but we have developed a following within our household. Thanks to our exchange students, it also seems to play well in China and Korea.

Besides cooking the meat slowly (we put it in before and let it cook slowly all night–it will probably cook 12-15 hours before it is all done), their are a few spices. Cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and garlic are something found in every kitchen. After adding a couple of finely chopped onions, the real key is the jalapenos peppers. The original recipe I started with mentioned only a small amount of some other pepper. But, being in Texas with a bounty of jalapenos, it just seemed right to include them. Today’s batch included 14 or 15 of them finely chopped. The real secret here is convincing your exchange student who is craving this spicy, yummy taco-ish meal to step up and prep the peppers to be chopped. (Cutting off the stem and halving the peppers is not bad. It is using the spoon to scrape out the seeds that becomes slightly dangerous. Eye rubbing is not permitted for quite a few hours after preparing the peppers for the carnage unleashed by the food processor.) Once all ingredients are all piled into the nearly overflowing crockpot w/ a 12 hours setting on “low”, we can all go to bed knowing the craving will only accelerate as the time for dinner eventually arrives.

At this point, I am anticipating the meal more than the others. I have pulled the bone out of the meat. I have tried to separate the meat into small little pieces that can be completely saturated by the juicy porky-ness. The jalapenos are nearly “dead” in the vegetable sense of the word. They have released nearly all of their flavors into the juices that are completely infusing the pork……excuse me, but I think drooled. Once dinner time arrives, there is one more step that precedes consumption. As I was looking for carnita recipes way back in the spring, this is the step that hooked me. After pulling the meat out of the crockpot, the meat is placed on a cookie sheet. After making sure the meat is separated nicely, the meat is put under the broiler for 5 minutes. The sheet is then pulled out, and the meat is turned over with more juices drizzled over it. After being broiled for another 5 minutes or so, it comes out an irresistible crispy. It is served with regular taco sides, and in this families humble opinion, it is pretty awesome. Our Chinese exchange student said carnitas and tacos are her favorite things she has eaten since being here.

I try to have a “message” or insight at the end of my blog postings. I am afraid this one might fall short, but I will still try….. It doesn’t matter what food your make or what you like to eat! A meal at home with all gathered around the table is a good thing. And, when this meal is something causing all the saliva glands of all of the household members to work overtime, then chances are the conversation will be special, too. As our kids age, it is memories of these type of meals that will help make their own families stronger. And, selfishly, I hope it makes them want to call home someday and ask, “So, are you making carnitas soon?”

The carnitas post-crisping

Board With Life

Prior to our home being invaded by our exchange students, there was this blank wall. As we anticipated having to maintain reminders and schedules for two additional young ladies, the board seemed like a good idea. It is mounted right inside the back door. It is visible (at least partially) from our dining area, and it is magnetic. All of these things would seem to be all of the ingredients necessary to keep us organized–making sure the board performed its assigned function without any argument.

Unfortunately, we did not factor in the need such space would create in our local “artist”. They have felt inclined to show off for us in a number of ways. And, as a couple of the images illustrate, they felt the need to take a few different English names and write them in both Korean and Chinese. Having a tub of colored markers readily available also makes it more difficult to maintain “board” integrity.

Although, many things don’t work out the way you plan, it does not mean it does not work out like it is supposed to. I do believe in serendipity. I wish I opened myself up to it more often. I look at this board and the humble plans I had for it. I wish I gave serendipity more latitude–not because I think I am a secret genius capable of solving the world’s problem somewhere in my subconscious mind, but because I believe in a God who tries to nudge me into action much more frequently then I let Him.

Ancient Chinese Secret

Even though the picture may give a clue to the “secret”, the question remains, secret to what? Well, we will get there!

While traveling in China last year (good fun while at a good value), nearly every hotel had a hot water maker similar to the one shown. And, being we were in China, the tea bags were available with a variety of flavors available. Somewhere during the middle of our (my wife and I) trip, I commented to my wife, “Boy, this would be something I would not mind having at home.” The trip ended and since the last water heater was not able to fit into our luggage (not really), it remained on my Christmas list. By my own admission, I am hard to shop for. Thus, almost everything on my list ends up being wrapped and stuffed under the artificial Christmas tree. (If you need me to say directly I got the heater, “I got the heater!”

I enjoyed it during the winter and spring, but as we moved into summer, the “teapot” spent nearly all of its collecting dust on our counter. That is until about 3 weeks ago….our exchange students arrived. It did not take them long to practically adopt the teapot as their very own. (They also made it nearly impossible to keep coffee/tea mugs clean.) Remarkably, they just heated the water w/o tea when they drank it. And, drink it they did. Specifically, our Chinese student drank the warm/hot water almost exclusively. Her claim was drinking the hot water would cure her of the cold she caught in New York prior to arriving at our door. She had to promise me for a couple days that the cold/cough could be taken out by hot water before it happened. When it did, she got some satisfaction out of getting better w/o our “wacky” (I don’t think she used this word–my interpretation of her actions) western medicine. Because all water must be boiled in China before drinking, the logic seemed solid for drinking hot water, but would drinking hot water allow a skeptical American to dodge an extended illness?

Since I really had nothing to lose, I decided to give it a shot. I attempted the “hot water” challenge for 2 days. (I began this attempt 5 days ago.) During that time I drank coffee, tea (in bags I drank green tea and other varieties from Trader Joes, and loose tea brought by our Chinese student–two pinches in the bottom of the cup—MAN, does it expand as it rehydrates!) and the plain hot water. Drinking hot water might seem fine when you just crawl in from the desert and mumble through cracked lips, “Water”. But, drinking hot water while an ice maker drops a load inside the freezer seems just plain wrong. Regardless of how disconcerting this exercise may have felt, for two days I held firm. I did have the occasional sweats that are sometimes a part of being sick. I was not sure if they were regular sweats or sweats induced because of the oral enemas I was subjecting myself to. (It just seems weird using this word in this context because it summons up some childhood memorie. Having those memories while in my adult body is certainly no where near any “happy place” I would describe for anyone!)

As I look back over the illness, I am not quite sure how to evaluate my recovery. I do have a couple of lingering symptoms, but I think they are part of my “normal” recovery pattern. The real question still remains: Does drinking hot water shorten the length of the viruses reign in your body? Is “hot water” a mass hypnosis technique conducting on the entire Chinese population? Is “sweat tea” and “Coke” a product cleverly engineered by big business to make us all smile and/or speak southern? Regardless of the outcome, it doesn’t hurt to try out a few “secrets” from other cultures. If it doesn’t kill you…..something else will. But, you will get a few cultural experiences along the way.

Impatient Motorist

In a parallel dimension – somewhere – an impatient motorist hears a siren blaring. To avoid having to stop for the ambulance, she tries to outrun it. Succumbing to the pressure of her husband, she pulls into a driveway to allow the ambulance to pass. As the ambulance prepares to pass it stops and it blares even louder. It also honks its horn–something is wrong with how she is parked. Is she still in the road? What has she done wrong?

In frustration, she pulls back on the asphalt and continues driving south on the tree lined country road. The sirens stop and the ambulance pulls into the very driveway she was parked in.

A small headline the next day read, “Ambulance Arrives Seconds To Late to Save Victim”. Our driver felt very badly. Her vehicle now bears a bumper sticker stating, “I don’t speak SIREN, I only speak HORN”

This is entirely fictional–unless you choose to believe any of it. And, then I will tell you what is not.

Exchange Student Fried Rice

A great experience was had the other night. (As I write this on Monday, it happened last night.) With less than 2 weeks in America, our Chinese student was convinced she could make fried rice for dinner for us. We were not sure if the ingredients from Kroger would give her enough spice to be pleased with her creation. (There was minimum Asian spice options at Sprouts, and the local Asian market is still on our “to do” list.) We had a few unknowns. Despite these, we/she persevered!

She decided to make two separate batches of fried rice. Our jambalaya from earlier in the week convinced her smoked sausage would be an excellent ingredient in whatever she would attempt to create. This doesn’t rule out shrimp-fried rice, but it was not to be created this evening. Her ingredients and any applicable back story:

Smoked sausage: (listed above) We love this stuff! When you buy the 3 lb package at Sam’s, it is always good to have multiple ways to use it.
Rice: At home in China, her parents have a rice maker. She was a little skeptical I could make adequate rice in a pan w/ a lid on the stove. Fortunately, the goal was achieved. (The fact we misjudged the amount of rice necessary was a very small point!)
Celery: She did not precook this at all. She probably only included a couple of stalks for both of the varieties.
Carrots: Probably only 10 or so carrot nubs (what I call the small little carrots that are demanded by all children when they pack their lunches. 😉 She boiled them for a little while before cutting them into little pieces.
Eggs: Prior to starting the frying process, a couple eggs were cooked and readied to be dumped into the fried rice. (So, they were fried before being fried.)
Green onions: Cut and in a separate bowl. These were added at the end. Earlier in the week, after having a bit of Mexican food, she had mentioned using cilantro in the fried rice. Having established a baseline rice, we can now consider creating some mutations.
Soy sauce: Not much, but the garden variety of stuff is probably fine.
Lee Kum Kee Chile Garlic Sauce: This stuff added great flavor, although I am not sure if its spiciness may have created some chaos once it entered my body. Very flavorful, but…..???
Ketchup: We just used standard Heinz. It probably amounted to a couple of tablespoons. She told a story of how for one week in China all she ate for all of her meals was ketchup fried rice. (I believe there was also some protein [shrimp or sausage?] with it.) When her mother found out, she scolded her.
Lee Kum Kee Oyster Flavored Sauce: This sauce/seasoning did not go in the ketchup flavored fried rice. It may have just been her choice.

Tools

Wok/pan: She claimed my wok was too big. So, we used our indoor pan-not the one claiming to be a non-stick.
Heat source: When I got my wok, I got a outdoor burner to use it on. It can easily get to over 400 degrees if necessary.

Results

Good meal: Both types of rice were very good. The ketchup version was good, but I probably enjoyed the other version better. It had a little more heat and flavor. And, even though I have confirmed with our Chinese student that they have ketchup in her refrigerator at home, it still seems sooooo American. Something without ketchup is certainly more exotic and interesting.
Warmups for school lunches: The next day, all remaining rice ended up in somebodies lunch. The little plastic containers were all packed full, and stowed away until the appropriate school lunch time arrived. To my knowledge, all who took the rice ate it cold the next day.

Future Meals….?

Since having this meal, we have discussed what other items we might make fried rice with. We had some pork the other night that was being considered for fried rice, but it ended up in pork and noodles. (We had never made pork and noodles before, but we were assured by our local fried rice consultant it was the better choice.) However, if we did the fried rice w/ pork, she thought the addition of spinach might be a good touch. When she first arrived, her often hear comment was, “Chinese….we eat everything.” And, I suppose if you have the capacity to eat everything, you should know how to accompany it. As a corollary to “eating everything”, there is “wasting nothing”. I am sure if we didn’t have spinach available, she would have come up with something else to throw into the wok w/ the rice and pork. There will likely be a seafood, beef and/or chicken fried rice before the final votes are cast on “best” fried rice.

As with all of the many experiences the exchange students have provided, we just sit back and watch and lend a hand when asked. To come this far from their family, they have to have a spirit of independence. It only seems logical we try and encourage their independence. Since we are not native to their countries, anything they cook us is going to be judged very much in their favor. Although we may have ideas on Chinese or Korean food, our daily interaction with them and how and what they eat gives us a much fuller picture of what life is like around their dinner tables when at home. Our palates can only become richer from the experience! Our teenage daughters cannot help but be more open to foods from other cultures. (In the past, there have been occasional reservations.) And, our refrigerator and I (official member of the leftover police and the excessive plastic container detectors) are grateful for other options as we effectively reuse our food overages in creative and tongue-pleasing ways!

Year of The Taco

After another busy day of 6:00 AM cross country practice for my girls (one middle schooler, one daughter, and one exchange student), a full day of school (depending on which girl, it was double full because of all the brain work translating into Chinese or Korean) and then another after school run for the high schoolers, I picked up the girls to head home for dinner. Since they have only been here for 3 weeks, we do still have some “new” things to make for them. And, little did we know the simplicity of Tacos would be such a big score!

After dealing with the over excited flavor pouring our of the ranch dressing bottles, the avocado chunks, and the actual folding of the soft taco, they really liked them. With minor modifications, they both had a second taco that disappeared nearly as quickly as the first. Although we had more soft tacos, they chose to make LOTS of little mini spoon tacos. By this I mean, they scooped out a little bit of meat, put some lettuce on their plates, and then sprinkled some cheese on it prior to scooping it onto their spoon. (They have adapted to knife and spoon much better than I would have adapted to chopsticks.) It was somewhere during there 4 or 5 spoon taco where I asked, “What year this is?” (The implication was in the Chinese cycle.)

With some thinking, she recalled, “It is the year of the horse.”

After responding to each of our requests for what animal our birth year was assigned, She gave an abbreviated story about how the order of the 12 animals that formed the Chinese Zodiac. She didn’t seem very clear on a good bit of the story (She could not recall all 12 animals in order off the top of her head. Our Korean student tried to help recite them in Chinese, but was scolded by our Chinese student as she said, “That is not Chinese.”) She only recalled the first 5 or 6 animals that crossed the finish line. And, the rat won because he was on the oxes back.

Besides being educated in the Chinese Zodiac, I did my PeeWee Herman laugh. Meal times are so much fun. Whether it is tacos or Korean BBQ or just grilled vegetables, all of the teenagers are wonderful to engage with us and contribute so well to the conversation. They don’t finish eating and think, “If I don’t talk, I can be done more quickly.” They recognize what knowledge can be transferred in post-dinner conversations. They are well-mannered enough where they will not jump up without being excused. So, I don’t care if it is 2014, the year of the Horse, or the Year of the Taco, it is a great year to share our culture and to absorb one of the many other cultures that make this world so amazing.

Waiting Room Etiquette

As I got an oil change this morning on my wife’s car, I had my Kindle by my side. I had nothing really pressing that needed read, but since the maintenance light was turned on on the dash, reading here was just fine. (This was the place we always come, so they had our license plate and all of our info in their system.) As my cell phone rang and I immediately stepped out of the door to prevent others from having to listen to my call, I realized people standards vary on how they interact with those they share the waiting room with.

You should leave the waiting room when you are on the phone: Two other customers also received calls and stepped out of the waiting room. I had no way to judge them or what is going on in their lives because other than minimum interaction with the oil change staff, I did not hear their voices. However, if a person chooses to stay in the waiting room and talk to the staff of her mother’s rehab center about her mother’s depression and how the move has been so hard on her, then my brain gets filled with information that would otherwise be private. I really prefer not to know about all of the challenges that people face if I don’t know your name first.
Where to sit: This is a pretty obvious issue. In almost NO cases should a person sit next to another person. To help clarify this point, I will sometimes put my extra items on the seat next to me. Since I was on the edge, I only had one seat to protect. As a person sits in the middle, this strategy is not always as effective. Corners are also good. Just as in Tic-Tac-Toe, there are good starting positions and better places to put an “0” if an “X” is already present. If TV viewing is a must, the rules are slightly modified. However, if you don’t like woman’s talk shows, you better have a book or a smartphone.
Talking with fellow waitees: I have talked to others before, but this happens quite a bit less than half the time. If someone is reading a book and I catch the title or if I see a religious symbol of some type, I might say something. If the response is unenthusiastic, I am not married to the idea of engaging in a conversation. At the moment, I cannot think of many/any times a fellow waitee has started a conversation with me. If so, it was likely based on the person eavesdropping on me attempted conversation. So, something in my failed conversation served as a catalyst for the “new” conversation.

I am sure there are other rules that apply, but I intersected with none of them today. A little advice during checkout,,,if you say “yes” to any of their recommendations (rotate tires, change bulbs or change filters), ask for a discount. I used an expired coupon today and received $20 off of the air filter. Saving money almost makes knowing the problems of my fellow waitees mother worth while….

Our Grill’s New Job

Our grill has been a standard in our house for a number of years. While living in Ohio, we have used it in January and whenever it seemed appropriate. (When you are hungry for something grilled and weenies at the fireplace is not enough, you have to choose the grill!) Our first Texas grill went through a couple of cooking surfaces before we realized we could do better and cheaper over the long term. Our grill has been friendly with chicken (with many different glazes and configurations) for a number of years. This year our grill became an herbivore. (Depending on the night of the week, it is a vegetarian.) Yes, it has had a few skewers of chicken and veggies on it before. As the pictures shows, it is meatless with only a little olive oil to give it a slight feeling of being manly.

Our grill did not become a “sometimes” eunuch over night. It has been a gradual process. A process that began accelerating in the spring. My daughters, specifically my oldest daughter, wanted to eat better. However, since we like our hamburgers, brats, mac n’ cheese, and other comfort foods, it was not enough for her to make this resolution for just herself. She began discouraging us (If you knew this daughter, discouraging is a mild word. Buying something like a few gummy bears at Sprouts would make her throw every form of guilt she could at you. And, if I was at Walmart and came home with a couple packages of knock-off Oreos, she would give me the “Do-you-really-love-me?” treatment. When I say persuasive on this issue, it is only scratching the surface of what goes on. She is the “anti-catalyst” for sweets entering your mouth and any enjoyment that might happen afterwards.) from participating in sweet things. She does still allow slight caloric sins, but compared to most teenage girls, she is very disciplined in this area.

Although we had visited Sprouts prior to her being possessed by this creature with mild-to-severe “allergies” to sugar, the girls became much more excited about these visits in the spring. Once we were bored with Sprout’s offerings, we had to mix it up a little bit. Although Trader Joes is not as convenient, we have wondered there a couple of times to allow her to seek out various ingredients. (They also have the black mango tea I like.) With Whole Foods opening up close to our home, the variety of healthy-food shopping options makes it almost impossible for us to “not” find certain ingredients she needs for her various health food mixes, smoothies, and/or other concoctions she believes will give her body the respect it demands. And, now, with the arrival of our Asian exchange students and their desire to maintain multiple appearances of fruit (strawberries, raspberries, melons etc) and vegetables at every meal, it appears we are locked into this “healthy” cycle for at least another 9 months.

If vegetables would immediately be flavorful, we would not have had to invite the grill to our pseudo-vegetarian party. As good as baked beans can be and as bad as microwaved corn can be, it seemed crazy to NOT invite the grill sooner. We suffered through endless zucchini-ish veggies mixes sauteed on the stove. We ate bland green beans, and if we were lucky we might get a sweet potato or two. Broccoli with cheese sauce may be yummy, but it does not scream healthy. With our vegetable past being less than cordial, we just needed to break down and let the grill convince us it could create “happy” flavors in the veggies we offered it.

In the image above, there are eggplant(we have grilled w/ and w/o the skin. The skin is not good to eat [our Asians liked it], but it does hold the eggplant “meat” together very well.), red peppers (previously, we only grilled to include in our hummus) , zucchini and yellow squash. (We also do onions, but none present on this night.) After flipping a few times and dabbing in olive oil, they usually come out pretty well. The heat is down all the way when cooking. After dabbing with the oil, the fire sometimes starts licking its lips in anticipation of a sacrifice. A shuffling of the grills contents usually brings the fire back into submission. We are still fiddling with the thickness of the zucchini and squash. If cut to thin, they burn fast. If too fat, they are a little on the mushy side. A couple of evenings ago, we cooked up 6 small zucchini, 2 squash, 1 onion and 1 pepper. Nothing was left at the end of the meal.

Whatever my daughter(s) motivation for pulling/tugging/shoving us down this pathway, I am glad we have all jumped on it together. (With my wife doing a pretty particular diet, she does not always actively participate in our recent meals with the higher vegetable percentage.) As a significant birthday awaits me later this year, I am glad to be able to gain awareness and a pathway to healthier eating. (I am still convinced we didn’t eat badly before. We are just eating better now.) As I continue to enjoy my family and look forward to what a long life might offer, I will gladly modify any corner of my life that needs sandpaper. I guess I will go to Whole Foods and see if they have a sandpaper squash….

Introduction To Korean BBQ

After church Sunday, I had a very busy day. My wife and I took a walk; I drove my 2nd son to his “ride” that would be driving him the 3+ hours back to college; I picked up my daughters friend to spend the night; I tried to stop at a B&N to get my daughter and her friend both a book they needed for school, but had to reserve two copies at another store; I drove home to pick up my other daughter and son before heading to the larger and better stocked B&N, AND after picking up a couple of ingredients from Walmart (not the ideal place-we will plan better next time) and helping cook outside with the wok, we ate Korean BBQ. It was ALL worth it!!

After skipping the arrival of our exchange students and the alternating meal cooking by our exchange students of which a Korean meal was now scheduled, our adventure began Friday night at the Super H-Mart. As I review our purchases of the evening, the most critical purchase was the beef. (Some Krogers stock the BBQ sauce.) Although the kimchi was a close second, the thinly cut beef is not very easy to find in most butcher departments. (The Sprouts butcher told me yesterday they don’t have the slicer to do it. So, future Korean BBQ feast may mean a bit of a drive before hand.) All agreed the beef was excellent. The kimchi experiment needed a little work, but not all cultural experiences turn out perfectly.

While the beef was being marinated (the key was definitely in the sauce. The other vegetables were good when cooked in the wok, but it was the meat flavor that sealed it), our Chinese student made “egg pizza”. It involved egg, flour, and the extra chopped green onions. The taste was good, but the second one was MUCH more presentable.

The kimchi pizza was a different animal! After the kimchi was chopped, flour, an egg, and a “special” mix from our market purchase were added. Once the mixture reached the right consistency, they were dropped in a pan. (She called them pizza, but I think “pancake” is a better illustration) In her nervousness, I think the pancakes were rushed through the cooking process. The flavor was good, but an after dinner re-frying, made sure they were all cooked through and fully edible when it came time for warmups.

I don’t know if our exchange students enjoy our game/challenge of them cooking us meals. Beyond the pictures we are able to take and send/post for their parents to see, it provides a very rich cultural experience for our whole family. (We had friends over for the Korean meal, so it even expands out beyond our walls!) I believe both or our students helped their parents when at home more than did the actual cooking. Whatever they present to us is heavily complimented while possibly dripping a little sarcasm. Even when they are “forced” to eat our takes on American food, it is such a blessing interacting with them. They like more veggies and shy away from too much bread, but they like flavor. We welcome flavor of all types of all countries at our table. I am not sure what dining awaits me the rest of the year. It is likely to be full of new flavors and, if I am lucky, fewer calories. Serendipity is grand!

Prepping all of the vegetables

Something made by Dawn–I think she called it egg pancakes…??

Marinating the meat

Cutting the kimchi

Jenny cooking the meat

Conversation While Cleaning the Wok

As we did a little Korean cooking this weekend in our wok, the need to clean the wok for that meal and for sins in previous cleaning was scheduled with our Chinese student on Sunday afternoon. She has such a great heart to take the lead in this task, so even though I had done yard work already, I was glad to find out proper wok maintenance from an expert.

As we used a green scratchy pad and a little “soft” soap to clean the wok, we did quite a bit of talking. She told about her experiences with the exchange student process. And, she informed me she was not very interested in attending the orientation weekend with the other exchange students this weekend – her mother would not sign the paperwork to grant her permission. I am sure I volunteered some other info on our family as well. As the wok got shinier, our conversation got deeper.

“Is your son a Christian?”, she asked. (This question surprised me a bit. Culturally, she is not any religion. She has been willing to participate in the parts of our life that actively make us Christians. We hope all areas of our life reflect our faith, but she has actively participated in church and attending Christian school with my daughters.)

I replied, “He has chosen not to be right now.” (Of course, this is a disappointment to us, but we are working on understanding why this is so. We are trusting God to bring him back in His time.)

“That is odd. I thought he would be a Christian if his parents were Christians.”, she stated.

I replied (I don’t remember exactly, but it went something like this), “He went to a Christian school for 13 years. And, once he graduated, he decided it was not important to him right now. He still has a good heart, but he does not see the importance of many of the things his mother and I believe. He knows Jesus died for his sins (I tried to make sure she had some knowledge of this. I did not want to over explain. I wanted to answer her question w/ the hope I would give her enough to think it over further. She is almost certain to think something over before she speaks.), but he is not interested in that right now. We hope he chooses to make the decision to follow Jesus again. It is his decision to make to follow Jesus – his mother and I can’t make it for him.” (Due to any language and or “Christian-lingo” words, I may have had to state or restate the above in a slightly different way.)

There was additional back and forth to clarify a couple of details – I didn’t take the reigns of the conversation. She asked, and I answered. Based on knowing her 2.5 weeks, she is a thinker. She will have more questions, and when she does, I hope and pray I am able to provide information to allow her to continue to be curious and ask questions.

Walking Down Life's Road With Andy