Sweet Leftovers

OK - so I know you are all falling off your chairs now because I am posting two days in a row, but don't be shocked. I am loving our week at home and enjoy sharing it here with you. Today, I wanted to share my great idea (I am quite certain I am not the first to do this, but it is the first time I have done it quite to this extent!)




In spite of the fact that my children did not get baskets full of candy from us on Easter morning, there still seemed to be lots in the house (thanks to loving grandmas!) So...today I had my older boys help me sort the loot. Fruity candy went into the candy jar to go in lunch boxes one piece at a time. All chocolate got unwrapped and tossed into a bowl. Then we chopped and cut it up (even the four inch crispy bunny!) and used the chocolaty pile instead of chocolate chips in our favorite cookie recipe. The results were sweet. Sweet! I also remembered that I had a partial half-gallon of vanilla ice cream (Edy's Slow Churned) in the freezer, so I made four ice cream sandwiches. Those will go with a meal tonight to friends from church who just had a baby. Fun!


It makes me giddy to take something of which I'd rather not have in my house and turn it into
a) a fun project and
b) a tasty treat


Enjoy your day. May it be as sweet as ours!

Caramel Monkey Bread

3 tubes biscuits, each biscuit cut into fourths
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Heat cream, brown sugar, and cinnamon in saucepan over medium heat. Place biscuit pieces in greased bundt pan. Pour heated cream mixture over biscuits. Bake at 400 degrees about 20 to 25 minutes. Immediately invert on a plate to serve.

Yummy, Sticky Goodness

We are thoroughly enjoying our spring vacation here. Ten of our twelve feet get to stay cozy in our warm beds a little longer in the mornings this week (sorry, Dad) and we are delighting in eating breakfast in our pjs and rolling through our days sans schedule. Today we started with a mound of sweet biscuity perfection and I thought I'd share. The original recipe was found in an old issue of Simple and Delicious, but I couldn't find it today so I made this one up. Was it as good as the original? I think here a picture is worth a thousand words (words best left unspoken while our mouths are full!) Mmmmmm!

It's No Secret

I love comfort. If you know me at all, you know that I love to have my toes in the sand or tucked under me in the cozy corner chair. You know that I like to have a book in my right hand and a tea in my left (iced and sweet in the summer, hot and creamy the other nine months). I read books over and over if I love them because I delight in returning to the fictional places that please me. I enjoy studying my Bible with lovely piano or cello music quietly playing or in the simple stillness of my screened in porch on a crisp morning or hazy afternoon. Movies that transport me and food that excites me...these are the things I enjoy. My husband who loves me and likes me and my children who trust me and teach me...these are the people I enjoy. I have friends who understand me and I know I am blessed. All these things and people and experiences add layer upon layer to my comfort. They are good things. They are blessings. I am thankful for each one on many levels. However, I know for certain that I love them too much. I love comfort. The Bible says to live is Christ and to die is gain. Die to self. Take up your cross and follow me. The first shall become last and the last first. In this world you will have trouble. Scripture is riddled with reminders that we will not always have comfort in this world, not if we belong to God. We are reminded to sacrifice our own comfort and set before us instead the purposes God has for us, which may call us out of our comfort zones and into the faith-requiring unknown. Praise the Lord that the steps of faith are into a future that are not unknown to the all-knowing Righteous One in heaven who holds my hand!

Still...I confess that I know that I love comfort more that I should and it often keeps me from stepping out in ways that I should and moving not out of guilt or obligation but out of obedience.

Pray with me as I ask Him to show me how to strike a balance between, on one side, the peace that fills my heart and leads me into a series of wonderfully quiet days (yes - even with our busy lives we enjoy a good measure of restful quiet and simple pleasures) as well as the joy that leads to utter contentment and simple satisfaction, and on the other side, the sadly selfish pursuit of only those things that please me. I want to be content only in the things to which He has called me and I want the discernment to know when to step off the porch and into the uncomfortable places that require my total reliance on God.

Isn't it fun?

Isn't it fun when there is so much snow outside that large snowmen can be built without depleting the snow supply on the ground, leaving plenty for a full afternoon of sledding?

Isn't it fun when your mom lets you have a pajama day, even if you plan to play outside, and she helps you stuff your pjs into your snow pants?

Isn't it fun to come in and discover that you had completely forgotten you were in your jammies?

Isn't it fun when your children have such a good time together that they are reluctant to come inside, even for just-delivered fresh, hot pizza? (half pepperoni, half Hawaiian)

Isn't it fun to see hot chocolate mustaches on four faces at the kitchen counter?

Isn't it fun to squeeze four kids and their sleeping bags into one bedroom so they can continue their day together?

Isn't it fun to kiss soft cheeks, brush back blonde curls, tuck in small feet, and know that these four special people are yours?

Isn't it fun to anticipate the return of a traveling husband and know he missed you as much as you missed him?

Isn't it fun to watch one more "bonnet movie" stretched out on the couch with a cup of tea?

Isn't it fun to have this super day called Saturday tucked in at the end of each week?

...trust in... the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 1 Timothy 6:17

Prayer Privilege

With four kids in the house, the necessity to take turns doing things is ever-present. While there are plenty of things we can do together as a family, such as setting and clearing the table, cleaning rooms, unloading groceries, taking trips to the library, and going to the park, there are others that are simply best taken in turn. Taking the dog out at 7:00 AM, toting the laundry to the laundry room, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning toilets, getting the mail - these are things that are best served with some kind of rotation. Oh - and feeding the fish must be on that list as well. Everyone wants to feed the fish, but that could be disastrous! ;0) The point is, in a busy family, there are many hands to make light of the work, but also many jobs to do. Ours is a family who works together, but we also love to play together. We enjoy our movie nights (Anne of Green Gables with pizza anyone?) and our Saturday afternoon piles of books and puzzles and games (with warm cookies and milk. Mmmmm). We love our church family and nobody complains about piling in the SUV on Sunday mornings. Our collective hearts desire the comforts of home or the fun of a trip somewhere when we'll all be together. One of the places we gather is around our table and we love that, too.

Back to taking turns, I have to admit that the kids are not pushing each other out of the figurative line to take the dog out or empty the trash. They are willing, but it is sometimes a grudging willingness. They are, after all, works in progress just like the rest of us! Sometimes the argument is about who has to do it, sometimes about who gets to, depending on the task.One thing I don't really mind them "fighting" over - and I use the term loosely and kindly - is mealtime prayer. When the time comes to hold hands and bow heads, they ALL want to be the one to pray. What a treat to see our children truly desire to go before the Lord in thanksgiving for His provision and petition for our needs and hopes. When the older boys pray, they do it with deliberate words that reveal things about the kind of day they've had, and they tend to be concise. When our daughter prays, she tends to be a bit long-winded, as though she is afraid of missing things or people. She prays this way at night before bed as well. She prays for people in Africa she's never seen and she prays for kids in her class and her brothers around our table. Sometimes she remembers to pray for the food! Our youngest prays as most three year-olds do, with one eye open, wandering the table, then settling on mom or dad, who help him through the words. He is quiet for these brief moments, so we have to strain to hear him. He is sweet in his thanksgiving for his family and hearing his little boy voice say the powerful name of Jesus is priceless. He usually needs to be reminded to say "Amen."

When the adults at the table pray, we are mindful of our daily bread, understanding in a way the children cannot, that our every need is truly met by the Father. We are thankful for His abundant provision and humbled by our blessings. We pray simply for things and people about whom our hearts pour forth much more than our few words express. We are also very aware that we model for our children the grateful hearts that pause before a loving God to thank Him for His ever-presence in our lives and in our home.

"I will spread out my hands to the Lord in prayer." Exodus 9:29

Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!

December is one of those months that can catch us off guard. There are so many things to do and see. We have attended kids' concerts and programs. We have shopped and wrapped. We have eaten ourselves silly and played games, even sillier, with our friends. It has been fun and I have worked hard to keep the busy hustle of the world at bay as much as possible. There was a week or so that was extra crazy, but the final two of the month we are blissfully enjoying in the comfy quiet of our home and in simple fun with our kids.

Some say Christmas is all about being together with family. Christians say, no, no, it is about Jesus, and of course it is! However, there is great merit in the together time of this special season. Our friends and our families bring us laughter and refreshment and often some much needed encouragement (and tears, I know, sometimes tears...). Christian family members sharpen and encourage our faith. Non-believing ones remind us to be bold in our witness and diligent in prayer. There is also much to be said for simply reconnecting with the ones with whom God has blessed us. During Christmas we catch up with each other and we remind our loved ones that we are there for them and they for us. If your family is like ours, you have loved ones who are excitedly anticipating great new things this new year and others who are prayerfully hoping for less change and more stability.

We are praying for jobs and good health and restoration for many we know. We are thankful for God's continued provision in our own household.

As we look ahead to 2010 (even writing that date feels like an entry in a sci-fi book!) we pray for God to continue His work in us. We know that He may choose things for us that we would never choose for ourselves, but we pray for His hand to be continually upon us, holding us up, guiding us on the path He has laid out before us.

What will your new year look like? As we finish out these last days of December, my prayer for you all is that you will join me in purposing to hug my kids more, especially the big ones, and take more time to hold my husband's hand. I want to hold my busy schedule with open hands before the Lord each day, asking Him to edit is as He sees fit. I want to want what He wants. Will you join me in asking Him for that?

December Dawning

Can it be December? September days were full of freshly sharpened pencils and shiny new two-pocket folders. Fresh, tart-sweet apple cider washed down our October days and cups of frothy hot treats accompanied our many days at the soccer field. Our fall went sailing past us on the ever cooling winds of the changing season. But November seems to have escaped me altogether! Have you seen my Veteran's Day? My National Peanut Butter Month? ;0) I blinked and we seemed to have leaped right off the neighbor's doorstep (trick or treat anyone?) right into our seat at a heavy laden dinner table! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Were you, like us, more stuffed than the turkey when the last drip of gravy was swiped off the table!

In spite of my apparent daze last month, we have landed in the precious month of our Savior's birth and I don't intend to miss a thing. The kids eagerly opened their first advent treat yesterday. They, like me, wish to savor every delectable minute of this special season.

How will you purpose to enjoy these next weeks? Will you carefully read your way through the book of Luke (did you know there are 24 chapters? Perfect for one per day until Christmas!) Will you open a special advent calendar each morning, counting down the days until the much anticipated 25th? Perhaps you will use your December weekends to go on a Christmas light tour, do some shopping, walk about your neighborhood caroling, hailing the newborn King! Whatever you do, may I challenge us all to make our plans carefully, choosing wisely the things that will bring our families together, and will point everyone to the One whose miraculous birth we celebrate? Join me in a slow, steadfast resistance to the bustling pace of the world around us this Christmas season!

Christmastime is here. Let's keep our eyes on the heavens, glorying in every precious snowflake on our faces, each sent by the One who drew us to Himself through His perfect Son.

Comfortable Hush

I am whispering so as not to disturb the peace. This week we have had a blanket of germ induced rest, a respite from the clamoring world at our door. It is not as strange as it sounds. We have cleaned and disinfected with the rest of the world, so you will not find a Q on our door, although quarantine is precisely the state in which we have found ourselves. We have had sick kids this week, which resulted in cancellations and hibernation, all to our general quiet and comfortable hush. My calendar for September and October looked like an old fashioned newspaper, all black and white, smudgy in spots, busy with text and crammed with information. Those papers of old were great for sharing information and keeping one up to speed, but sadly lacking in readability, or visual appeal. Many a day in October I could be found rifling through the drawer searching for the elusive fine point white board marker so I might squeeze yet one more tiny reminder on a reluctant, albeit accommodating, calendar square. Please don't misunderstand. I blame nobody for the whirling pace of fall. It was one blustery day after another and the constant traipsing and traveling in most cases could not be helped. Also, please don't think that I was secretly excited to have sick children. Those of my friends who know me best, know how I crave peace and, like my friend Jane, consider nothing better than staying home for real comfort. However, I do not relish feverish brows or wracking coughs and I snuggle my children, as do the rest of you, praying for speedy recovery. I must admit to thoroughly enjoying our collective sigh when the answer to, "What do we have going on today" was a simple, "we're staying home and staying in our cozies." Life will return to normal, and I use the term loosely. The soccer schedule is winding down to a quiet din and for a moment we pause and breathe before the holidays inch their way onto church and school schedules. Christmas party did you say? Choir concert? What's that you say? Family get-together? I'm sorry. I can't hear you over the hush of chapter books and board games, lego creations and long naps.

Radical Transformation

The leaves are turning. I love autumn, with its colorful dance and crisp revelry. Like peacocks displaying their finery and vying for attention, the maples dazzle with their fiery reds, daring the other trees to match their display. The gold and orange and even purple that greets me when I step outside reminds me yet again that nothing in God's creation is stagnant. Creation is constantly changing, drawing our attention to God' handiwork in new ways. The season we're in also reminds us that the grass withers and the flowers fade but the Word of God stands forever. He alone is eternal. He Himself is a fixed point, and yet He is constantly working and making changes in us. Jesus turned water into wine, death into life, slave into free, lost into found, stranger into son. He is able to transform my life for His glory like he transforms the bright greens of summer into the varied and vibrant hues of fall. However, unlike the leaves, which eventually fall and die, the life that Jesus gives is an abundant one that is eternal, that never fades. I praise Him for this glorious, glowing season and thank Him for His redemptive work on the cross, transforming me into one whom He calls His own, and clothing me in His finery.