A Sneak Peek: Sunday

Today we started a 3 week series in Sunday School on "How To Behave In Church."

Be glad 

(Psalm 122:1 - I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.) 

and sit still.

(Psalm 46:10 - Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.)

We need to prepare our hearts so that we may get the most out of what the Lord has for us. We need to Respect, Reverence & Awe the things of the Lord.

Brother Majors gave an illustration for the "sit still" point that was so good. He said we can liken our lives to a lake. Just like when the wind is blowing and creating ripples on the water, the storms of life can create "ripples" in our life and create unrest.  When the lake is perfectly still you see the reflection of creation, and when our lives are still and at peace people see the reflection of our Creator. 

It's been rainy here this weekend and cold downstairs so I decided to build a fire today to warm things up a bit.  There wasn't any kindling because we haven't had a fire in a while, so I decided to make some myself. Can't be that hard can it? Maybe if you're used to chopping wood. =) It took me a while to cut up one piece of wood and all the while I was having visions of 'Loves Enduring Promise' where the guy swung an ax into his leg. *shiver* 

Josh is in El Paso, TX this week. He flew over yesterday to help out with the Juarez Outreach. Monday through Friday a group of men will be going into Juarez, Mexico to hand out John & Romans and holding afternoon services (they also had an evening service tonight). Please be in prayer for the safety of all those involved because Juarez is known as "the most violent zone in the world outside of declared war zones." Please pray that those who would seek to do harm would be blinded to their efforts, and that hearts would be open to the Gospel.

Blessed

That's what I've been.
The Lord continues to provide for my needs in ways I never even imagined.
He uses others to be a channel of blessing.
He never ceases to amaze me.

Genesis 18:14 ~ "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?..."


Philippians 4:19 ~ "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."


Psalm 28:6 ~ "Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications."

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

Teamwork

Thought I'd share some Charlie & Gauge cuteness!

Dynamic Duo

There are some things in life that are meant to be together...cranberries & oranges are one of them.

Normally I make Cranberry Orange Scones, but I thought I'd try a muffin recipe and I hit the jackpot! These muffins are SO delicious! If you have the ingredients you need to go make these right now. If you don't, you need to go get the ingredients so you can make them. =)

Cranberry Orange Muffins

2 cups of flour

1 cup of sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp orange rind

3/4 cup of fresh orange juice

1 cup of dried cranberries

1/4 cup of canola

1 large egg

Coarse raw sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a muffin tin with cooking spray.

Place the dried cranberries and the freshly squeezed orange juice in a small sauce pan and heat over medium heat for 5 minutes. This helps plump up the dried cranberries.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and orange rind together until well mixed. In a separate bowl, add the orange juice, cranberries, canola oil, and egg and mix together. Pour this mixture into the dry mixture and stir until combined.

Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle a bit of course raw sugar on each muffin top. Place into the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for a few minutes. Enjoy.

Happy Mothers Day!

A Virtuous Woman

Who can find a virtuous woman,

For her price is far above rubies;

With his heart her husband trusts her,

And her children bring her joy.

*Chorus* 

They will rise up,

And call her blessed;

They will thank her for understanding.

Many daughters have done wisely,

But she excels them all.

They will rise up,

And call her blessed;

They will praise her for all her wisdom.

Many daughters have done wisely,

But she excels them all.

In her heart is nothing but kindness;

On her lips are blessing and goodness.

She is gentle, kind, and tender;

All her family sing her praise.

*Chorus*

Worldly favor surely passing;

Outward beauty quickly will vanish,

But the wife with inward beauty

Is a jewel beyond compare.

*Chorus*

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.  She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life." ~ Proverbs 31:10-12

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday to the best mom a girl could ask for!

You are such a blessing to me! You are such an example to me of what a woman/Christian/wife/mother/friend (and more!) should be. I love that we get to spend so much time together! I love you!!

A Sneak Peek: Saturday

Today was a day for yard work. The strawberry bed has been neglected for a year at least, so hopefully now that we got the bed cleaned up and more plants in there we'll harvest lots of strawberries! We also cleaned out more raised beds getting them ready to plant. Word has it you're not supposed to plant until the snow melts off certain mountains...so far they still have snow on them.

I did not work out today (gasp!), but that's only because I plan on taking the weekends off. I'm not opposed to going on a walk or something like that...I just don't plan on doing my regular workout.

I got a FREE full-size Suave product! A little bit ago they had this quiz you could do to see if you could tell the difference between Suave products and salon products. If you got so many right, you got a coupon for a free full-size bottle. Score!

Saturday has been nominated as my dad's day to cook. ;) He made Pioneer Woman's Chicken Fried Steak and it was delicious!

Maggie & I just finished a game of Scrabble that took f.o.r.e.v.e.r. and a day. I am happy to report that I won! It was a close game...6 points difference!

Now I need to go make Cranberry Orange Scones for tomorrow. Yum! 

I hope you all had a great weekend, and have a wonderful day in the Lord's house tomorrow!

A Sneak Peek: Friday

Not much to report from Friday. 

I worked out...day 3! I wasn't feeling well that morning, so it wasn't until later on in the evening that Maggie & I exercised. It was a bit chilly downstairs so we had a fire going, and I tell you what...working out with a fire going is not easy. ;)

I watched some clips from the Royal Wedding. I love how they still use carriages, the women wear hats, etc. Speaking of hats...did you see the Princes cousin's hat? Light pink with a ridiculous bow?! Haha It reminds of something that would come out of a Dr. Suess book! I guess it's to each his own when it comes to fashion.

Yesterday was a big day for Omak. McDonalds reopened after being closed for almost a year. =) Last July they had a kitchen fire and while they were closed they took the opportunity to remodel and 'modernize' it. It looks really nice from the outside! I used to not be a fan of McDonalds, but it's growing on me...especially when you don't have very many options. It was definitely a hopping place yesterday. Someone (I won't mention any names) had the idea to go there for dinner, so Josh & I waited in line for half an hour! The line was backed up all the way to the road and into the turning lane! Crazy!

A Sneak Peek: Thursday

This morning I spent my time with the Lord out on the swing. It was a bit chilly, but it's so peaceful out there if you can get past the dogs chasing each other and fighting over a toy. :)  I really wish I took a picture because it was really pretty out.  Oh well...another time!

I worked out! That makes two days in a row! Woot woot!

Braxton came over today. Seems like he's talking and doing more things each day. :) He's been able to go up the stairs for a while, and now can go down the stairs 99% of the time. He had a bit of a tumble down the stairs today, but thank the Lord I was there to catch him. He's also able to open the door to the deck which probably isn't the best thing. :)

It was hailing for a little bit this afternoon! It melted almost immediately, but it was crazy!

I don't think I've ever played Scrabble until last night and I really enjoyed it. I think I'll be going through a Scrabble phase. Haha.  We don't have a Scrabble board, but I think we're going to have to change that! 

We had church tonight. Tiffany & Braxton came...yay!

A Sneak Peek: Wednesday

Maggie & I worked out this morning. This is something that I REALLY need to get into the habit of doing. Good habits are hard to form. Is it just me or does it seem like when you're starting to get into the habit of it somethings happens that totally throws you off kilter? I guess I need to learn to jump right back in. 

We went into town today to do a few things and I saw this when we were in Walmart. Seriously? I mean no disrespect to the royal family, and I probably would watch the wedding if we had cable...but a mini wedding cake??? Come on...

Now I'm off to catch up on some e-mails and have some Easter candy..errr...uummm...carrot sticks. =)

A Sneak Peek: Tuesday

We didn't do anything terribly exciting today. 

We did, however, put the swing together!

I made Tostadas for dinner. I love anything taco...taco salad, tostadas, taco pizza, reg tacos...mmmm!  Tostadas are so easy and quick too. Just layer all of your favorite taco fixings on the tostada - refried beans, beef, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, cheese - whatever sounds good to you. We put black beans in our beef mixture which is always yummy. Sometimes we'll make chicken tacos and add guacamole to the toppings. Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE guacamole?! 

I'm linking up to Erica's Tasty Tuesday.

A Sneak Peak: Monday

My parents, Maggie & I took a trip to Wenatchee. Yay for shopping! Our main purpose in going was to find a patio swing, but of course we had to look at other things too! My dad was such a good sport about it too! We were getting ready to leave and he asked us if we wanted to stop at the mall first! Yes please!

We did find a swing, and I can't wait to get it put together! We had one at our other house, and I just loved sitting out there feeling the warmth of the sun and listening to the sounds of nature, reading a book, talking to whoever was out there with you, or maybe even taking nap. It's so peaceful!

There was a hurricane simulator at the entrance of the mall, so Maggie and I decided to give it a try! It got up to 80 mph! It sure was windy!

Oh, and no trip to Wenatchee is complete without making a stop at Sonic! Yum!

A Sneak Peak: Resurrection Sunday

We are surrounded by bunnies, eggs, etc at this time of year, but what do any of these things have to do with the true meaning of Easter, or as we like to refer to it...Resurrection Sunday. It's easy to get caught up in the things the world promotes as the meaning of "Easter", and I'm not here to say these things are wrong but we must always keep our focus on the true meaning - Christ's Resurrection! I'm so thankful for my salvation and the fact that Christ died on the cross for my sins, but I find myself even more thankful for the fact that He rose again! If He didn't then my life would be in vain. Everything I live for would be a joke. As I've heard it put before "Christ would be another dead founder of another dead religion."

1 Corinthians 15:14 - And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

But He's not dead. He is RISEN! Praise God!!

Luke 24:1-6 - Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: ...

We had a great Resurrection Sunday as we sang praises to God, were blessed from the preaching of His Word, fellowshipped with fellow believers and had our first Lord's Table as a church.

After church we came home and while some took naps others stayed up chatting. That evening we went to the Majors for dinner and played games!

Here is one of the songs we sang on Sunday. Go to Maggie's blog to watch the other one!

Tasty Tuesday?

Tonight I made Chicken Pad Thai for dinner. Unfortunately it wasn't very tasty. Normally I really enjoy Pad Thai, but this recipe just wasn't very good. :(

I'm linking up to Erica's Tasty Tuesday.

Because of Calvary

Maggie & I sang a special this past Sunday.

I've just recently picked my flute back up again. Unfortunately I'm kinda squeaky in the video, but the more I play the better it'll get. I'm really surprised how fast it's all coming back to me though...it's only the Lord! This was also the first time Maggie sang while playing the piano! =)

We also had another baptism! Meet Kimmie! We met her when BBC came over here this past summer for the campout/outreach.  She already had a testimony of salvation, and then this past Sunday she followed the Lord in baptism...which also made her a member of the church. Our little church is growing slowly but surely!

Meet Braxton!

Today Braxton, Lilly & Olivia came over. Here are some pictures from our day!

Bubbles!

Lilly, Braxton & I went outside to play with chalk while Olivia took a nap

Look! There's people in the window!

The puppies joined us =)

This is too cute!

Lilly playing with flowers

Braxton taking Charlie for a "walk"

Dad decided to get in on the chalk fun!

Olivia joined us after her nap....yup! we were out there that long...it was nice out!

Lilly & I played Checkers when we came back inside. It was a close game...she's definitely getting better!

Let's just say this didn't last long before pieces kept going into a certain someone's mouth. ;)

Lime Cooler Bars

I'm linking up to Erica's post on Tasty Tuesdays. I just happened to make a new recipe today! It sure was tasty too!

Photo by: Taste of Home

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

3/4 cup cold butter, cubed

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1/3 cup lime juice

1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Additional confectioners' sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour and confectioners' sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pat into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan.Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, lime juice and peel until frothy. Combine the baking powder and remaining flour; whisk in egg mixture. Pour over hot crust.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Cut into squares.

Doughnuts or Donuts?

Either way you choose to spell it, I've been on a quest to make them...of the baked sort. Have you ever heard of baked donuts? It's new to me too, but it's sounds better than having to deal with oil and a fryer. I've not had the best history with frying donuts...:) If I mention making donuts, everyone runs while reminding me of the "Donut Fiasco"! LOL Here's why...

When I was around the age of 13, I had the great idea to make donuts. I had never done it before but I figured how hard could it be...just follow the directions, right? I put my pan of oil on the stove and put a lid on it. When I came back to check on it...FLAMES came shooting out of the pan! It scared me soooo bad. Thankfully my parents were home and my dad came to the rescue. He grabbed the pan and took it outside to put out the flame. Unfortunately, his hand got burnt pretty bad. That made me feel even worse. So as I'm sure you can imagine, if I mention donuts everyone sees flames! I do have to say though that I have made donuts since then with a fryer (that we had at the time but I didn't find out till later) and no hands were burnt in the process. ;) 

Back to the baked donuts. I searched the internet for different recipes and I found many different ones. Some required a special pan and others you roll out the dough and cut out the donuts.

Attempt #1 - Since I didn't have the special pan, I opted for the cut out donuts. Here's the recipe I used...we were not a fan of them though. They were more like bagels and tasted very nutmeggy, but that was my fault. It called for freshly grated, and I wasn't even thinking that the measurements would be VERY different when using dried. My bad. 

I made a green glaze for St. Patricks Day, but also did a cinnamon sugar coating. I guess I didn't take pictures of those.

I decided to get a pan to try the other kind. There are donut pans but Walmart only had a mini bundt pan, and I figured it would work just the same, plus they'd look all fancy, plus I can make mini bundt cakes sometimes. :)

Attempt #2 - I found several recipes that were almost exactly alike. I tried this one and this chocolate one.  The regular ones were good. Not as moist as I would have like them to be, and after sitting out over night were very dry. The chocolate ones were better, but I'm not sure if I'd make them again. They're just not quite what I'm looking for.

I still have a recipe or two that I want to try. I'll be sure to let you know if I find a winner.

Do you make donuts? Baked or fried? What's your favorite recipe?

So true...yet hilarious!

A Sneak Peek: Saturday

Not much to report today. We went on outreach this morning. I think I only talked to one person. The area we've been going in has a lot of 'No Trespassing' signs or hardly anyone is even home.

After that we came home and that's where we've been. We watched the first 3 episodes of Lark Rise to Candleford. So far it's really good. 

I need to get going to bed. We have an early morning and a long day ahead of us! 

Before I go I have to share this with you. Have you heard of Brian Regan? He's a comedian that's hilarious! Anyways, he talks about donuts at one point in his act and I was reminded of it today when I got a half sprinkle donut! :)