A Real Egg

This photo is not color enhanced.

Sometimes I am taken aback (really! ;-) by how ORANGE many of our egg yolks are. Our girls eat a fairly natural diet; in addition to their organic feed they get scratch grains, veggies and garden trimmings, bugs, snails, and even grass and my flowers when they escape from their yard.

It's hard to find an egg from the store with that kind of color.

Sewing & Sweet Faces

I finally was able to get some sewing done last week and (after a few re-designs) completed this skirt for daughter. This is her very favorite fabric - discovered almost five years ago - which she has had three dresses made in, and then outgrown. :-( This time instead of a dress, I decided to make a skirt, secretly hoping that it would take her longer to outgrow it.

Below are three of my favorite people

Aren't they so handsome all dressed for church?
I actually think H is standing on his toes a bit in order to be just as tall as J - how cute ;-)

I so love this skirt and how it turned out! I can't wait to make more with the fabric we got,
and try some hem variations, too!

Look at those faces.

WHO could resist them?

My Favorite Place

Lunch with my Wonderful Boy

J has been working with Mr. Smith for two weeks on the bathroom remodel at church.

He's so intense!

It was such a gorgeous day today!

MMMmmmm . . . . toasted tuna sandwich from Subway

What a funny face :-}

I've really missed him not being home and I have been thinking that if this is a taste of what it will be like when he goes to college, then I am going to be one proud but sad momma.

Happy

Bathroom Beauty

This is a before picture of my very unorganized bathroom counter. A few years ago I had the wonderful idea to set the basket in the corner in order to corral all of the items I use on a daily basis. It worked wonderfully . . . . for a while. Then at some unknown moment in time, the basket simply became a catch-all for anything and everything that we were too busy to put away or throw away. What an unattractive mess!

It has really been bothering me lately and I've been trying to think of more organized and attractive options for my stuff and this space. I had thought of a small shelving unit with cute baskets I could pull out when needed, but couldn't find what I had envisioned.

Today during a random stop by Tuesday Morning I found something I hadn't thought of, but was perfect - something practical and beautiful! After dinner, husband became engrossed with an editing project at the computer and I seized my chance. Daughter and I snuck my finds into the bathroom and quietly closed the door. After about an hour of cleaning, sorting, and organizing I now have a new, pretty bathroom to greet me each morning - - - -






Most used items (toothbrush, facial scrub, face cloths, and brush) are in the top box.

Next are cosmetics and nail polishes.

Third is all of our hair accessories: scarves, bands, barrettes, ribbons, etc.

And the bottom box contains blow dryer, curling irons, curlers, and extra brushes.

I'm smiling!

***Updated 2/12/11 to add: It has been over a week and my bathroom is still nice and clean! Everything in its' place - although a few items might have migrated from one box to another for convenience! I'm STILL smiling!

2011: A NEW Year!

I've always been comforted in scripture by the never-ending mercies of the LORD. Every day, every hour, moment by moment we have the chance to start fresh RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. The beginning of a new year is that same feeling multiplied. What is it about simply turning to a brand new page in a brand new calendar that makes me feel like I have a chance to really change? Like somehow today is different than yesterday was.

Hope - Hope in Christ and his promise to finish what he has started in me. Paul talks of forgetting what is behind and reaching forward - pressing on! - to what is ahead. Remembering that the Lord's mercies are new every morning - Great is his faithfulness.

Not too coincidentally, the chapter that I am currently reading in Born Crucified is on discipline. We are soldiers for the Lord and must bring our bodies into submission in order to successfully face the trials that WILL come our way. This was a good thought: Salvation does not mean that we will be placed in a soft and comfortable baby carriage and be wheeled into heaven. We need to work, to harden our flesh both physically and spiritually, deny its wants and pleasures no matter how innocent they may be if they interfere with our service and usefulness for the Lord.

This is all culminating for me into the resolve to finally get fit this year (off to a good start with almost 20 lbs. lost so far), resolve to train my children, by the Lord's grace, to be more disciplined in their own lives, to love more, to pray more, and to take the time to laugh more; to seek out ways to put more "hands" and "feet" into my walk with Christ, and gain a little more control over my tongue - both to not speak those things that are not edifying and to DO speak the things that are needful.

I sometimes feel very limited in my sphere of home, chores, cooking, and schooling, but I know that this is a season which is coming to an end sooner than I realize. May I serve wholeheartedly now, while I am able, and be tested and tried so that I am able to be of even greater use when the time comes - - -

I welcome your prayers -

Born Crucified

I've been reading this book for several years. Years? Yes, years. It is rich, rich, rich in self-examination and reproving truth and so, as sinful and selfish as my heart is, I am only able to read a paragraph or two, small snippets, at a time.

Tonight's reading was no less an appeal to lay down self (die) and live for Christ, the only true life worth living.

"The purpose of the Cross of Christ, as all His teaching, was to set self aside and to bring our hearts and wills into harmony with God. The whole of redemption is to save man from himself and from his wicked pride and self-exaltation. It is the power of the Cross to work in us the blessed will of God. 'Such a claim does the Cross lay upon our hearts that, though our deepest attachments be violated, and what we love more than anything else in the universe, namely, 'self', be crucified, we give our consent. We cry out: 'Spare nothing, O God, in me that would keep me from merging my life with thine in an everlasting union of love.' Here lies the supreme glory of the Cross, and the reason why it is, as Paul says, 'the power of God, and the wisdom of God.' It disposes us to die to 'self'. That is why it saves. It gets the consent of our wills that we be detached from ourselves and attached to God. Any other kind of salvation would necessarily be fictitious."

The last line was truly a Selah moment for me. (Thank you, Brother Barba)

Any other kind of salvation would necessarily be fictitious. Any kind other than less of me/more of Him, none of me/all of Him, my weakness for His strength, giving up my unsettled thoughts for His perfect peace. Stepping out, reaching out, speaking a word or life when Pride would have me stand still, don't touch, be quiet.

Detaching from the idol of self and attaching, clinging, cleaving to God in Christ.

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

If you've never heard of this book before then may I point you HERE where you can read the entire book on-line, or you may find it in e-book format from Christian Book Distributors or Amazon.

Best Triple Ginger Cookies

Posted especially for my Heritage family who enjoyed these cookies at church this morning!

I was never exposed to ginger (except the powdered stuff) as a child, and as a young grown-up I didn't try it because it sounded strange. A friend made a gingerbread cake many years ago, with fresh ginger in it. I raised my eyebrow but tried it because she also made some scrumptious lemon curd to go with it. Being a lover of all things lemon, I gave it a shot. From that first bite ginger became of wonderful friend of mine!

This is a great gingersnap recipe which I use as is, except that I load it with fresh grated ginger and chopped candied ginger, too, to make them over the top good! As I frequently do, if I go to the trouble to make something wonderful like this, I usually double it so that there is plenty to share. I think my friends appreciate that :-)

Grandma's Gingersnaps (from Betty Crocker)

1 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup molasses
1 2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. each salt, ground cloves, ground ginger
fresh grated ginger and chopped candied ginger, at least 3/4 - 1 1/2 cups of each, depending on your taste

additional sugar

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Melt short. and butter in small saucepan over low heat. Allow to cool 15 minutes.

2. Mix shortening, molasses, sugar and eggs in large bowl until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredients except additional sugar.
(You can bake cookies now or refrigerate the dough for later)

3. Put additional sugar into small/med. bowl. Shape dough into 1 in. balls; roll in sugar. Place about 2 in. apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool 1 - 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Makes 4 to 5 dozen cookies.

For Extra special cookies: melt three 6 oz. packages of white chocolate/baking bar with 1 T. shortening. Dip half of cookie into chocolate and place on wax paper until chocolate is set.

Enjoy!

Thai Coconut Chicken

This is from a Gluten-free cookbook I have. Really flavorful - it was gone in no time and one of the children even wrote "It's Really Good!" on the recipe page. ;-)

Thai Coconut Chicken

1 green chili, seeded and roughly chopped
1 sm. onion, roughly chopped
3 (+++) cloves garlic, chopped (I added at least 1/2 a head - we LOVE garlic)
3 cups fresh cilantro
2 tsp. Thai fish sauce
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1 stalk lemongrass (now available at Raley's!), roughly chopped
grated zest and juice of 1 lime
2 tsp. superfine sugar
1/2 in. piece fresh ginger root, roughly chopped (again, I more than doubled this because we LOVE ginger, too!)
4 skinned boneless chicken breasts
1 TBS peanut oil (I just used veg./olive oil)
2 cups chicken stock/broth
1 can coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
roughly chopped cilantro for garnish

1. To make the curry paste, put chili, onion, garlic, cilantro, fish sauce, turmeric, lemon grass, lime zest and juice, sugar and ginger in food processor and blend until smooth, scraping mixture down when necessary.
2. Cut chicken into small pieces and season lightly. Heat oil in large saucepan and gently fry for 5 min. (You want to sear the chicken on the outside but not fully cook it.)
3. Put chicken stock and curry mixture in a separate pan and bring to a boil. Cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes.
4. Add chicken and coconut milk to curry stock and cook for about 20 minutes until chicken is very tender. Garnish with cilantro and serve with fragrant rice or rice noodles.


Yummmmm- delicious!