He is risen, just as he said!

"A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world." John 16: 21

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said." Matthew 28: 6

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16: 33

"But these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:31

Bad Friday

This is what today should really be called, or worse. There quite frankly wasn't much good for Jesus during this horrible day. I want to take these few minutes to remember what Jesus endured for Me, for You, as we remember this most treacherous, terrible day for Him that loved us so greatly!

Betrayal by a close friend

Despised

Rejected

Humiliated

Mutilated

Stress to the point of sweating blood

Forsaken by his Father

Filthy with sin

DEATH

At least for me, sometimes I gloss over all these happenings, which four faithful historians described in such clear detail for us. We think of Easter as a day of celebration and Life, which it is. But it is only because Jesus Died first. Really, truly DIED.

How his disciples must have felt, not knowing (although they had been warned) that he was going to rise again. What despair, what darkness must have filled them to the brim! For two more days!

Growing up, the Good Friday service at my home church was one of the most powerful services of the year for me. When we think of all He went through because He loved us THAT much, it humbles me beyond the ability to express.

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down;

now scornfully surrounded with thorns, thine only crown;

O sacred Head, what glory, what bliss till now was thine!

Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call thee mine.

What thou, my Lord, hast suffered was all for sinners' gain;

Mine, mine was the transgression, but thine the deadly pain.

Lo, here I fall, my Savior! Tis I deserve thy place;

look on me with thy favor, vouch-safe to me thy grace.

What language shall I borrow to thank thee, dearest Friend,

For this, thy dying sorrow, thy pity without end?

O make me thine forever; and should I fainting be,

Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to thee!

Bernard of Clairvaux, 12th century

A yummy reminder...

 This week I was reminded of some people I love very much simply by making a very humble dish: home made oven baked fries. (see below for this simple and tasty treat).

I don't know if this ever happens to you, but me, being slightly obsessed with food, tend to relate any food I like to a memory, a place, a person, a particular joy...

In potatoes, oil, butter, and salt, I was reminded of my sister Rebekah and her dear hubby Josh, one of my closest friends ever Blonnie, and my brother -in-law Matt. So let me briefly introduce you to them:

Matt  is currently stationed in Hawaii serving our country in the Navy, and right now is God-knows-where doing God-knows-what for God-knows-how long. So please pray for him. He has a sweet fiance' and family that loves him and is praying for his Safety and Health.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Matt holding his two (at the time) nephews.

Next up on my sweet memory list is Blonnie, one of my dear friends from college, who now lives in Hawaii with her Army husband Joe. After spending four years eating with her, I can safely say that I have a pretty good idea of what she likes to eat. And now that she is also eating gluten free, any time I find myself eating something yummy without wheat I think of her.

 This is from Blonnie's wedding over a year ago...haven't seen her in person since. Have GOT to remedy that soon!!!

And last but not least, meet one of my sisters:  Rebekah and her handsome husband live in Chicago, and it is her birthday today! Happy Birthday to you Weeebekah! (as when I was young that is, sad to say, how I pronounced her name!) Last year I got to go see her for a sisters reunion over her birthday,  which was wonderful! We ate out at an absolutely wonderful rib joint, and had french fries and ribs till our sides were bursting with joy and fat.

 This is from our trip last summer: Luke and auntie getting some real bonding time in =: )

SO WHAT'S UP WITH THE FRENCH FRIES? You ask.

Well, it's really quite simple. All of these dear folk love them (who doesn't), and Rebekah gave me the salt: if you look closely, there is Black Hawaiian Salt from a delightful spice shop in Chicago generously sprinkled on them.  

Sometimes it can be the simplest things that can bring a smile to my face...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oven Baked Home Fries

4 medium Russet potatoes, cut into 10-12 wedges each

1 TB. oil

1 TB. butter, melted

1 tsp. kosher salt, OR black Hawaiian salt

Soak potato wedges in hot water for 10 minutes. Dry with paper towels, and then coat evenly with oil and butter on a large sheet pan. Roast for 25-30 minutes or so at 450, tossing every 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with salt and serve. Serves 4. Enjoy!

Sunshine on a cloudy heart

Today is supposed to be happy. I have two beautiful children and a husband that loves me. I have a God who created me and loves me so much he gave HIS son to die for my sin so I can be free...in this life and the next.

When I think of how much I have to be thankful for, I sit in awe. And yet,

"Each heart knows it's own bitterness, and no one else can share in it's joy." Proverbs

You know those days. Out of the blue (or sometimes not so out of the blue) come depressive thoughts. Loneliness, even if one is surrounded by people. Tiredness, even when you've had sleep. Jealousy, even when you're content with what you have. Sick children, even when it seems like they just got over being sick. Frustration at mundane duties, when yesterday they did not frustrate in the least.

Into such a day as this, Jesus came through the voice of a child to me. As I was sitting eating breakfast whilst Evan is crying for no good reason (at least to me), complaining inwardly how lonely and tiring life can be, Luke pops out (in between coughs) in a cheerful voice:

Rejoice, baby Evan, Rejoice

I kid you not!

Silly me for ever forgetting, even for a moment, that Jesus knows my heart, and he knows how to bring it joy. 

Each and EVERY day.

"I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart

Where?

Down in my heart!

Where?

Down in my heart to stay!"

Rachel Ray... with kids

I was recently catching up on some Ina Garten and Rachel Ray at my dad's house ( I'm such a cooking show-aholic that yes, I have him record some of them so I can fill up my food-loving cup once in a while).

First I must say that I truly miss some of the "Great Masters" of the nineties...I grew up watching Julia Child, Jaques Pepin, and Marianne Esposito. I must be frank that some of the Food Network shows are a bit too flashy and celebrity infested for my taste. It is only food, and though I ADORE food, sometimes the over dramatization, crazy language, and nausea inducing camera movements get on my nerves. But when you're desperate, you're desperate.

So there I was watching a 30 minute meals show with Rachel Ray, and she whips out some chicken appetizer with Thai dipping sauce, couscous with raisins and curry with a quick shrimp-curry-coconut-peanut dish and shredded lettuce on top and you know what hit me? There needs to be a disclaimer on these cooking shows:

"Time frames are only for those who have no children around, and does not include clean up"

Seriously Rachel Ray (or anyone on FOOD Network) I'd like to see you make a three course meal with 27 ingredients AND little children hanging all over you, one hungry toddler whining, er, nay I say,  yelling 'RICE PUFF, Please, RICE PUUUUFFFF mommy!' and the other just plain crying for lack of undivided attention. (I'm sorry Evan, but mommy has to eat sometime...) If she could make a nice 30 minute meal under THOSE circumstances, she'd have my respect for life. 

As it is, the only show I've seen with a child involved was Jacques Pepin with his 30 some year old daughter. Enough said.

Nonetheless, I have found it possible to cook with my children because of two inventions, well, two inventions and one necessity. Most days, I cook, eat, and clean up with the help of these things:

Did you know homemade playdough takes less than 10 minutes to make WITH children? And it's average lifespan of distraction is about 30 minutes?? It's a miracle.

Bouncing baby = happy baby = happy mommy

And on very special days, like today, when BOTH of them are taking naps at the same time, and God gives you a healthy dose of inspiration (or just the joyful prospect of cooking in peace)...Good food happens:

Tuscan Sausage and Potato Soup

Chicken pot pie with Butternut squash and Green Beans 

( I think cooked rotisserie chickens are my new friend)

Cut up tons of stuff for taco salads

And a lemon bundt cake.

Just so we're clear, this NEVER happens. But I think I really need to be much more of an afternoon-nap cook than I have been. It's so much more efficient and less stressful. And when dinner time comes, no whining for rice puffs can happen if there's a delicious meal at the ready. 

Hope I've inspired you to cook or bake something delicious for your family today...

"Life's a drink. Drink it up."  Cheers~

Out of the mouth of babes...

You know those days when all you want to do is, oh I don't know, get dressed? Brush your teeth? Eat? Lofty goals I know. But amidst crying, whining, poop, floors so crunchy I wonder how the mice haven,t found us yet, disciplining, tripping over you name it, sometimes it seems like quite a feat to do these simple things not only for myself (and let's face it, sometimes they don't all get done everyday) but also for my children.

Yet it is into these snowy, sleeting spring days that God meets us. Not in some amazing, extraordinary life lesson, necessarily, but in that still small voice. The whisper. The moment (and I mean fleeting moment that you have to grab onto for dear life sometimes) of peace he brings into your life so that you can say with unmistakable confidence "Yes, he does care for me!"

Today that still little whisper came in the form of a song. Often, as it turns out, the songs I find myself humming and singing are praise songs I learned when I was a child. You would think I would remember and sing all the new songs from worship team we've been learning, all the amazing songs I learned in choirs in college that we spent hours pouring over, or humming the latest great hit from the radio. While these songs DO pop into my head quite often, they don't knock nearly as much as the hymns and little 'kids praise' songs I learned over 20 years ago. The super simple words, or the super simple melodies with deep words I didn't understand at the time, but now can glean great words of encouragement from...

So here is the song I find myself singing this afternoon. 

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven, 

To his feet your tribute bring; 

ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,

Who, like me, his praise should sing? 

Alleluia, alleluia! Praise the everlasting King.

Fatherlike, he tends and spares us; 

well our feeble frame he knows; 

in his hands he gently bears us,

rescues us from all our foes. 

Alleluia, alleluia! Widely as his mercy goes!

Angels, help us to adore him;

You behold him face to face; 

Sun and moon bow dow before him,

dwellers all in time and space.

Alleluia, alleluia! Praise with us the God of grace!

Henry Lyte, 1834

So here's to teaching my children songs about Jesus starting NOW, so that when they are older these words will not depart from them. For "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." Ps 8:2 I don't think any of us will ever fully understand the power of praise!
Andree' Seu, a writer for WORLD magazine, puts it this way: "This is heaven's secret weapon- a child's worship. Those of least account in the world (have the power to) hamstring principalities and powers with a song, ...God is 'enthroned on the praises of Israel' (Ps.22). His presence with joyful rule in your life awaits your decision to speak out words of thanks and worship - on your bed, in your car in the shower, against your foul mood..."

So with whatever your day holds, may your thoughts be drawn to words of praise, uplifting your spirit and bringing a smile to your countenance.

Happiness Homemade

What a great title for a book! Here are some encouraging words from it that I wanted to share to brighten your day. For whoever you are, wherever you are, we all crave a beautiful home.

"Our time here is short. 

We can pass through this life but once. 

As we pass along, let us make the most of life. 

The work to which we are called does not require wealth 

or social position or great ability. 

It requires a kindly, self-sacrificing spirit and steadfast purpose. 

Our sphere of influence may seem narrow, 

our ability small, 

our opportunities few, 

our acquirements limited; 

yet wonderful possibilities are ours 

through a faithful use of the opportunities of our own homes. 

If we will open our hearts and homes 

to the divine principles of life, 

we shall become channels for currents 

of life-giving power. 

From our homes will flow streams of healing, 

bringing life, and beauty, and fruitfulness..."  

Ellen G. White

Thus our homes can become a little piece of heaven on earth.

What's been going on in your home? I'd love to know~ My home is always open to calls, visits, and skyping =: )

Sending a little homemade happiness your way~

I'm Flying!

It will never cease to amaze me that no matter how your day, week, month, or year is going, a part of a song can all at once transport you back into another world. You know what I mean. For me, this happened absolutely out of the blue last week when I thought I turned on Winnie the Pooh for Luke, only 5 minutes later to hear the music of Peter Pan, the Broadway musical, ringing in my ears. (The wii must have been hooked up, since we get netflix through that). Anyways, after hearing the end of

Tender shepherd, tender shepherd
Let me help you count your sheep:
one in the meadow, two in the garden
three in the nursery, fast asleep.

Listen here if you care to go back 20 years when this was made (or more)!


I decided to sit down and enjoy a musical that I seriously had not heard of or thought of in, oh, 15 years, and yet I could still remember most of the words. Scary!

I'm flying (flying, flying, flying)
Look at me, way up high, suddenly, here am I
I'm flying

Never mind Peter Pan is a girl! As I watched  I had my sisters and brothers there with me, long ago, watching and singing along in our living room with me. Seriously, I skyped my sister in Seattle to watch a smidgen with me =: )

What musicals did you grow up with? What songs make you magically 15 years younger?

Cheers~

Highlights of January

Some people hate January. It is always the sicky, cold, icy, dreary, long, dark month after the happy and festive December month full of family and friends.

This January was particularly full of colds and coughs and tired, cranky, teething children as well as a tired, cranky momma, who uttered shallow but nonetheless heartfelt prayers of "help, Jesus, help" just to drag herself out of bed.( It did not help either that Ed started a new job, which we are very thankful for, but the downside is he works til 7 every night and Saturdays too...boo!)

But amidst that month were some wonderful glimpses of sunshine, which you can peruse below. I was especially excited to see some friends I have not gotten to see in far too long. Friends from college days, and gung ho (how in the world do you spell that) musicians to boot!

We'll start with the cutest little guy first...Evan is now 6 months and has a tooth! And he loves to bounce as you can see:

My dear friend Kelly (who sings like an angel) came to visit me right after Christmas. Luckily her mother-in-law lives 5 minutes away so hopefully we'll get to have visits every now and then =: )

 Two friends from Houghton (that I haven't seen in almost 4 years), Lily in the middle, and Chelsea on the right, met me at an Olive Garden in Collegeville before going back to North Carolina where they are both studying for masters degrees in voice. How wonderful it is to sit and chat for two hours eating white chocolate raspberry cheesecake and talking about music, school days and old friends, music, God, and more music!! What a treat:

 This sight is enough to warm my heart several times over on the coldest of winter days:

 I was trying to get a picture of his tooth, but this is the best I could do:

 At the end of January, after Ed came home noticing how 'sharply' guys dress at Worley, I decided to take matters into my own hands and go buy him clothes (since he didn't have the time to do it). I hit the jackpot! Not only did I buy him 5 whole outfits that match, look nice, soft, ON SALE, etc., they FIT him AND he likes them! Check out my handsome other half:

 This is what Luke and I did (emphasis on I, although Luke dictated to me what to draw) one particularly dreary cold day - we made cards. Although I must say I cannot draw worth beans, so I pretty much copied from one of our favorite little kids books called "Barnyard Dance" (thanks to Rebekah!)

 And yes, when there are not nice walks outside, and no playgrounds to be had, and no friends available for playdates, and too much snow and ice to make anything outside the door possible, we watch movies. (What did people in the olden days do without WordWorld and Pooh????) I need to tell you, much to the chagrin of my husband, that these boys even enjoy Pride and Prejudice because there's so much dancing!

Now that February is almost over, I've got to now think about posting about some of the highlights of this month....I'll get to it eventually. Right now a snack and some baby crying is calling my name. Until next time...

Hey, only one month from Monday until the first day of Spring...We can do it peoples!

The dreams that we dream really do come true...

Ok, you don't have to sing the Cinderella song, but listen to this:

Last winter I got onto this kick of entering some recipe contests online. I saw that a winner of a recipe contest in my Food Network magazine was a mother of four, and over the last ten years or something won thousands of dollars from winning recipes in contests. "Shucks," I thought, "I can do that!"

So last March I started on what I thought, in the back of my mind, would be a fruitless effort.

It takes a while, you see, to find the right kind of contests (Miracle Whip contests, hot sauce contests, no thanks!), enter your recipe, read over, rewrite, etc. But I did about 10 I think. I just made sure to only bother with the ones that had substantial prizes, so that IF I would happen to win one, it would be worth the hours I spent typing. (None of your piddly $50 prizes, or year's worth of flour tortillas for me, I'm going for the big bucks).

Months passed. Never thought one nanosecond about it.
Until..

Wednesday of this week, Luke was being quite awful. And by quite awful I mean I was on the verge of tears by the time Ed came through the door. The mail had piled up over the last couple days, and I never got around to it until Ed got home. When lo and behold, I get a Taste of Home envelope, a magazine, and a little scrap of paper saying "Thank you for entering our "Citrus" recipe contest. We have awarded you second prize and your winning recipe is located on p. 33. You will be receiving a check shortly."

That's it. No warning, I didn't even know what recipe I entered that won, so I turned to page 33 to find out, and there it was! 2nd Prize: $300!! For my Best Lime Tart ( I think I had a more creative name than that, but I'm not going to complain. They could've called it poop tart for all I care!)

 Here's where to find the recipe at a grocery store near you!

I feel like Jo in Little Women when she finds out she won "5 whole dollars" for her first story, or Anne Shirley when she first found out her book was being published. Not that it's a cookbook, but it's a start.


If you would like to try your hand at entering that favorite recipe of yours, check out these recipe contests.
It couldn't hurt.
Or if you want to come visit me for your own taste of my Lime Tart, you're more than welcome. Cheers!

Ode to my husband...

My husband is a rare find. Handsome, hardworking, knows how to have a good time, handsome, LOVES playing with the boys, handsome, loves learning, goes to the grocery store for me, adventurous, makes breakfast for me, handsome, ....

Recently I've been overwhelmed by indeed how wonderful he is, and how much I have learned from him, and how much more I still need to learn. He just started a new job in which he works longer hours and has had to work the last two Saturdays, and even though he's probably more tired and overwhelmed than I can imagine, he comes home and shovels without complaint, runs to the grocery store for me without complaint, reads Luke at least 8 books before going to bed, and tells me he loves me everyday. Did I also mention he's handsome as anything I could ever dream up?

If I had to do all the work he does, being tossed into a job full of unrealistic deadlines, and all the home stuff he takes care of, and only getting 6 hours of sleep sometimes, I would be a wreck. A very cranky wreck. I'm the one that has it 'easy' in comparison.

So my goal? Cherish every minute I have with him. Stop complaining about how tired I am looking after two little boys. Help him. Show my appreciation more. So many times I find myself comparing my worth to his in our little family, who does more, etc. SILLY! God made man and woman on purpose, and it does take two, doesn't it? One thing is for sure, I would NOT have such a wonderful life if it wasn't for him.

Luke is "done, bath!" He even knows how to let the water out. Time to go!

Have a wonderful day, and remember with me to cherish the family and friends in our lives~

some more lists...

As I've been catching up on some of my favorite blogs, they are so very similar to what I've been thinking about...lists.

How much i hate them...

How much I can't live without them.

I am the kind of person that needs to write a list of everyday things just to get them done. And if I do something that's not on the list, I write it in JUST so I can cross it off and feel some sense of accomplishment. I know I'm not alone in this. I get it from my father, who at any moment can pull a torn off piece of envelope from his chest pocket and cross off something that's been on there for 2 months.

the point of lists is to do the things on them. it's so funny to find lists from long ago, and see what got done and what didn't. But I like getting things done.That's why my favorite lists are grocery lists that say 'milk, eggs, butter,' and daily lists that say 'breakfast, lunch, dinner' because these things ALWAYS get done.

The lists like 'take shower, read Bible, vacuum' get done, sadly, on a much less regular basis.
Then there are the mental lists that keep me from resting even when I've been sick for 3 days.
Then there are the lists I write for my husband. Lists of things to give to my mom the next time I see her. Lists of people to write letters to. Lists, lists, lists. Can't live with them, can't live without them.

Here, though, are some that YOU dear reader can help me accomplish.
1. Have people over for dinner at least once a month (please feel free to invite yourself, as I sadly don't get around to making meal dates half as much as I should)
2. Praying for specific needs of people (again, please let me know if you need prayer for a certain situation)
3. Playing piano...just for fun, just for me and my musical soul. (You can help me do this by simply asking me/reminding me to do it.)
4. Be more open and flexible in my schedule to help others when they need it.

And as my past experience suggests, short lists have a higher percentage rate of getting accomplished.

As I sign off, my list is: make Evan stop crying, blow my nose, take medicine, ... And take time to truly REST on this Sabbath. May you be in better health than this household is =: )

Celebrate the Family

So two things hit me square in the face this Christmas season-

1. How much I love the family I married into. I am really, truly, completely blessed that my husband is wonderful and comes from a wonderful family that I thoroughly enjoy. This is a good thing too because I spent a lot of time with them this Christmas, and enjoyed every minute of it! I love all you O'Connells out there! And congratulations to my 'little' brother Matt for popping the question to this awesome young woman named Leah. Can't wait to call her my sister too =: )

2. How much I MISS TERRIBLY my family, especially as this was the first Christmas I can remember being so bare of my own Diamantopoulos clan. I DID, however, get to see JD and Sarah and their adorable girls in early December (see below), and I DID get to see Peter and Laura on Boxing Day, and I WILL see my sisters in the end of this month, so it's not as bad as it seems. Still, change is strange. Fun side note: it is now possible on this amazing thing called Skype to view 6 different families in 5 different states in one awesome hour =: )

 

Ellie on the left was born in March, and Penelope is a little older than Luke.

                                                  See what I mean by MISS TERRIBLY!?

Hope you had a good Christmas season too. Isn't it a comfort to know that God sent His angels to shepherds (poor, cold, and lonely) and Wise men (rich, comfortable, smart) alike? No matter who you are He came for YOU. No matter what you've been through He lives for YOU. One of the songs that really touched me anew this year (probably because I just had a baby boy) was "Welcome to our World" by Michael W. Smith:

"Tears are falling, hearts are breaking, how we need to hear from God!

You've been promised, we've been waiting; Welcome Holy Child!"

May your heart welcome HIM. 

 These were the brothers that were home for Christmas

Happy New Year!

Something I am truly happy about...

Don't expect this to be 'deep' or anything. But sometimes something that could be frustrating, annoying and bothersome turns out to be not so. You know when an appliance breaks, it always (following Murphy's Law) has to break when it's the day before Christmas, or the husband isn't home to help deal with it, or there's no money in the savings to fix it or buy a new one...Well, my friends, the God who created the universe and set the stars in motion ALSO cares about our every need and has shown His providence, amidst all his other more important tasks, in our refrigerator needs.

It could have been a lot worse, but it went so smoothly I wanted to post about it.

Our old fridge has had some problems for a couple years, and suffice it to say, it decided to officially die the day Ed went on a business trip for 5 days. No biggy, there wasn't much in there and I have an extra $10 yard sale fridge downstairs. So leg exercise went in for the next week until he got home. Then I searched before Thanksgiving for a good black Friday sale and found one at Sears for cheap! PLUS First Energy/ MetEd is doing this appliance program where they'll haul away your old appliance AND pay YOU $50 bucks, and if you upgrade your appliance to an energy star rated one they'll pay YOU $50 bucks. Total cost for brand new fridge? $400! Amazing!

(That seems like a ton to me, but have you shopped for fridges lately?? Normally they are Mucho bucks!)

All this to say we have a new, beautiful, clean fridge IN OUR KITCHEN that WORKS! I'll tell you what, I won't ever take my dear white fridge for granted ever again. And now on it's white walls I'm gathering all my Christmas pictures. So if you send me one I will look at you everyday, just so you know =: )

P.S. there are only two circumstances in life that will ever warrant my refrigerator being this clean. 1. when my fridge dies and all the junk needs to be removed and it needs to be cleaned so awful smells don't ensue whilst I wait for it to be picked up, and
2. When I get a new fridge and it COMES THAT WAY!

What can you be truly happy about today? Even if it's a simple thing, remember God loves bringing pleasure to His children in big and small ways. Cheers!

good things for moms...

Somehow I happened on some sites today that brightened my day. There are few companies out there that embrace the stage of having little babies, and these two websites definitely do that. If you click here and enter promo code "candie" you will get 100 % off what looks to be a very comfortable and gorgeous baby sling. And if you click here and enter promo 'seven' at checkout you will get a 'free' and beautiful nursing cover. You still have to pay the 10 bucks in shipping, but hey, you can't even buy cool fabric like this for $10!

Little things that make me happy. So if you are a nursing mom or know a nursing mom or soon-to-be nursing mom, I'd check out these sites.

Cheers!

Simple things

...that bring pleasure to God.

Simple. Not easy.

To change how we live, we must first change how we think.

So here's a few challenges I have laid down for myself. Perhaps you will join me?

~ Don't just think about people, pray for them~

I certainly think about tons of people all the time, but how often to I pray for them? Even short, simple prayers? I'd be loathe to answer that right now. But what a better world this would be if Christians everywhere prayed as easily as breathing.

~Do to others what you would have them do to you~

11 words to sum up a life goal. Starting with my husband and children.

~ Wag more, bark less~

Enough said.

And since I heard somewhere that three is the magic (or maximum) number for the finite human brain to really grasp new ideas, I'll stop there. And if you're like me one of these statements is enough to keep me on my toes for quite some time. But how I long for MASTERY over my thoughts to become prayers, to practice the sweet kindness I crave others to give to me, and to complain much less and have genuine excitement for life much more!

I'd love to learn what your favorite sayings/verses are~

Until next time, Happy December!

Happy birthday Luke!

Last Saturday my Luke turned 2. Hard to believe, but I'm sure the day he turns 21 will be tomorrow ( I know you older ladies can attest to this fact). But for now I plan on cherishing his jibber jabber as much as I can.

I know it's hard to tell with newborns what their personality will be- we're still trying to figure Evan out- but so far I can say for certain that Luke is a mix of Edward and me. Here's what I mean:

He is cute (Ed...duh!).
But he looks like my baby pictures...and the blond hair he obviously gets from me.
He loves to talk (both of us).
He gets easily frustrated (me).
He loves to read and learn (both of us).
He loves to help out (Ed).
He loves to eat chips and popcorn (this is a hard one =: ).
He has a happy spirit, and an infectious laugh. I'll let you decide who he gets those traits from.

We love you Luke!

For his birthday, Ed and I went in together to create a masterful "cakketwuck". Not the most professional, but we had fun together, and at least we didn't pay gazillions for it~ To relive the celebration, simply click here.

Be thankful.

There is a difference I believe in giving thanks, and being thankful. The former is done easily enough in words or a kind gesture, but the latter is a state of being. That is what I am trying to work on. I don't want to just give thanks at dinner, or only thank Jesus for dying on the cross for me during communion, or thanking God when I happen to see a beautiful sunset.
I want to BE thankful. Always. In the good times and the not so good times. For whatever my day may hold, I am told to be thankful for it is God's will. And I don't know about you but it seems easy to be thankful for the big things in life (like salvation, family, a good job, good health, etc.) but often times I am not even close to being 'thankful in all things ' in the daily humdrum of life.

So as I make scrambled eggs for breakfast for the 800th time, I will be thankful for my electric stove.
As I wash my dishes, I will be thankful I can just turn the faucet on and water magically comes out- hot OR cold.
As I change on average 10 diapers a day, I will be thankful for the convenience of disposable diapers.
If I burn my pork chops on the stove, I will be thankful I have other options for dinner in my pantry, and that I don't have to go out and butcher my own pigs.
As I get stressed about doing a rushed afternoon of errands without the kids, I will be thankful that I don't have to sheer the sheep to make the yarn to make the clothes. And that I don't have to take care of a horse to get me to all these places.

And you know what else I'm thankful for? CD players that play relaxing music whenever I want.

I could go on and on, but you get the picture...

As much as I love reading books and watching movies based on the 'olden days', I am SOOO thankful for the modern conveniences that too often we take for granted. I don't want to spend my time complaining about the little things when I can, simply (with the full knowledge that this task is NOT so simple), BE thankful in all circumstances.

So what can you be thankful for?

Even youths grow tired and weary!

You know those days. Your hands and feet ache for no reason. You feel like you haven't slept in five days even after 8ish hours. The dishes loom like evil monsters on your counter. The toys have multiplied from 50 to 2000 on your floor, daring you to see if you can walk over them repeatedly without tripping. The poop in the diapers smells worse than normal. The snot doesn't stop dripping from little noses. Oh, and there's nothing ready to eat. YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT YOURSELF.
 But lest you think God is not on your side and there can be no victory over these mundane trials, this is what happened to me on such a day:

1. An unexpected call from a very dear friend and mentor.

2. An unexpected care package from one of my best friends in the whole world.

 3. An unexpected visit from the best mom-in-law ever dropping off some daily bread =: )

And to top it all off,

4. Wonderful parents who babysit so Ed and I could have an awesome date night at a Hibachi grill, where they not only cook the food fresh in front of your face with fun tricks and flare, but they CUT IT UP for you so you don't even have to use a knife!!

  So if you find yourself too, like we all do at times, overwhelmed by the trials that face your particular life (little and large), be encouraged that Jesus knows our every weakness, and he knows EXACTLY what we need to have our joy and zest for life renewed. He is our #1 encourager and provider of ALL good things!

  "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength..."

And here is a little something to make you laugh via my Dad. You will enjoy this and hopefully laugh as much as I did.  Paul Zerdin Ventriliquist

Oh and a few pictures of the cuteness that I wake up to each day:

"Luke, what does a fish do?"

Until next time...As one of my favorite Rich Mullins songs goes: "Peace to you~ peace of Christ to you!"

"Bears. Beets. Battle Star Galactica."

If you haven't seen the episode of The Office where Jim impersonates Dwight, you're missing out! These three 'B's'  are things that Dwight loves of course. Unlike him, however, I do NOT like beets (bears and Battle Star Galactica I can handle). Here are some of my reasons:

#1: They look like dirt.

#2: They taste like dirt.

#3: They may resemble a rat on your counter:

Nonetheless, when beets are forced on you by your local community produce co-op (which is wonderful except for the main fact that you do not choose what produce you get each week), and you do not want to just throw them in the trash, and you can't find anyone else who likes them either, you go to allrecipes.com and look up 'beets' and see if anything would make this humble vegetable worth eating. 

So this is what I did about a month ago when beets starting making a regular appearance in our produce share. And low and behold, I found a Chocolate Beet Bundt Cake recipe that is absolutely delicious. 

"CAKE! EVERYBODY LIKES CAKE!" - Donkey

"I don't care what everyone likes! Ogres are NOT like cakes." - Shrek

So I read reviews on it just to make sure it wasn't chocolate cake that tasted like, well, dirt, but all the comments were positive enough for me to try it. Long story short, I have made it three times now and anyone who has tasted it cannot tell at all that there are beets in it...just tastes like amazingly moist chocolate cake. 

Me being me, I have altered it somewhat, so here's my version. So if you happen to find yourself with edible rats on your counter this fall, now you know what to do with them!!

Chocolate Beet Bundt Cake

1 cup butter, divided

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

4 eggs

4 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped fine

2 tsp. vanilla

3 TB. cocoa

2 1/4 cups unbleached, all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

4-5 beets

1. Clean beets and cut ends off. Wrap in foil and roast in a 400 degree oven until tender, about an hour. Cool, peel, and process in blender with a little water until smooth. Add enough water if needed to make about  2 cups. Reduce oven to 350.

2. Melt chocolate and 1/4 of the butter in the microwave on high for 45-60  seconds. Stir to smooth.  Let cool slightly.

3. Beat the remaining 3/4 of the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat several minutes. Add vanilla, chocolate, and beet puree. Beat until smooth. Mix together all the dry ingredients and add in 2-3 additions, beating on low speed, until combined. Scrape down bowl and beat another 30 seconds or so until smooth and thoroughly combined. 

4. Spray a 10" bundt pan with cooking spray. Spread batter into it and smooth with a spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a rack and cool completely. 

All this cake needs is a little powdered sugar or a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you're good to go. Freezes beautifully as well. Enjoy!