Merry Christmas!

Another Cookie recipe

Jubal and I made these yesterday and they are superb!! They remind me a lot of the molasses cookies at Starbucks; that's how yummy they are.

They are easy to make and fun to make with kids. Jubal had a blast.

Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

2 C flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 C sugar

3/4 C butter, softened

1 large egg

1/4 C molasses

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix flour, soda, spices, and salt. Set aside. Put 1/2 C. of sugar in a seperate shallow bowl.

Beat rest of sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Beat in egg and molasses. Gradually add dry ingredients until well blended and dough is soft.

Pinch off dough and roll into balls. Roll in reserved sugar. Place on baking sheet and bake 10-15 minutes. Cool 1 minute and transfer to cooling racks.

Enjoy!!!

Little Shepherd boy

What a sweetheart!!






Proud Parents

Recipe #3

A coworker of mine brought in some cookies that were absolutely scrumptious. So, I got the recipe and I will post it so you can try them out. The interesting ingredient is the cornstarch. It makes the cookies just melt in your mouth. They are really easy to make too.

Canadian Shortbread Cookies

1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 cup soft butter (salted)

Sift together the cornstarch, icing sugar and flour. Blend in butter until a soft smooth dough forms. Shape into 1" balls and chill 30 -60 minutes. Place 1 1/2" apart on a cookie sheet and flatten slightly with a floured fork. Bake 300' for 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool.
Makes about 24 cookies.

Peppermint bark

Here is a recipe that my friend used last year for Christmas gifts and it's really good. If you like peppermint and white chocolate, you will love this candy.

2 pounds of white chocolate, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
12 large candy canes
1/2 tsp peppermint oil

Line an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet with parchment, and set aside.

In the top of a double boiler, melt white chocolate, stirring constantly. If you don't have a double boiler, use a metal bowl set on top of a pot of simmering water.

With a chef’s knife or meat tenderizer, cut or pound candy canes into 1/4-inch pieces.

Stir pieces of candy canes and peppermint oil into the melted chocolate. Remove from heat, and pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet; spread evenly. Chill until firm, 25 to 30 minutes. Break into pieces, and serve. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

*recipe from Martha Stewart's website.

I love to make gifts for Christmas. It's fun and usually very inexpensive. People enjoy getting homemade presents. I know I do. I will be posting some recipes that make great presents. Hopefully it will get your creative juices going and into the gift-giving spirit.

The recipe below is for delicious little cookies called Peppernuts. They are a little time consuming but it makes a huge amount. Plenty for multiple gifts. Beware: they are addictive.

1 Cup sugar

1 C butter or shortening, softened

2 eggs, well beaten

1/2 C light corn syrup

1/2 C honey or molasses

1/3 C water

6 2/3 C flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Mix all ingredients. Doungh should be stiff. Roll into long slender rolls, 1/2 inch in diameter.

Place on greased cookie sheet; seperate layers with waxed paper. Chill for 1-2 hours. Cut into small round pieces, place on cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees until brown.

Note: They will be hard and crunchy but oh so delicious.

sacrifice

What do you think of when you hear or see the word sacrifice? Does it mean anything to you?

I wonder what it meant to Abraham when God told him to lay his precious son (that God had promised and that he and Sarah had longed for for a long time) on the altar. I wonder what went through his mind when he climbed up the mountain. I wonder what he was thinking when he told his servants that he and Isaac would be back after they worshipped together, knowing that he was going to kill his son. The scriptures don't record Abraham bargaining, or pleading. It records obedience early the next morning. To the point of binding up Isaac, laying him on the altar, and getting out his knife to kill his own son. Abraham's faith astounds me.

I can relate a little bit to Abraham. I have had a dream for a long time. Just recently, God has asked me to give this dream back to Him. To lay it on the altar, sacrifice it and let it go. He didn't say why or how or anything...just.... let go. I am in the process of slowly opening my hands, loosening my grip and walking up the mountain. It's one of the hardest things I have had to do in my life. Yes, I believe there will be sadness for a while but I know that if I step out in faith and do what God has said, He will be faithful and guide me, one step at a time. I can learn a lot from Abraham.

Have you ever experienced sacrifice in your life? If so, I would love to hear about it and how God helped you through it.

A fun little project

This year Jubal and I made a fun and easy little banner to take with us to our family Thanksgiving celebration. It turned out really cute. Unfortunately, I don't have a camera to take a picture of it but I did post the picture I got the idea from (http://www.familyfun.com/). We changed it a little bit and we used construction instead of stock paper, since we already had it. Jubal and I enjoyed making it together and it was fun getting outside and being creative with what we found. The project is so versatile that if you feel like doing something different for Christmas, this would be a great craft to do. It's also very stress free for mommies....even better!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!

Getting back to normal...hopefully

Hey blog friends. I realize that it's been awhile since my last post. Things have been a little crazy around here. Jubal was sick 2 weeks ago and the not feeling good drama lasted a few days. I was too tired to post anything then.
Then last weekend, our house was broken into, some things were stolen, including our digital camera. Needless to say, life has been a little unsettling the past few days and I haven't felt much like blogging. The times that I do want to blog, I need my camera and then my motivation disappears. I am not all that sad that our material things are gone (although I do miss our camera a little bit) but I am sad that our sense of safety is not as strong as it was. I keep reading/remembering different verses in Scripture of God's protection and those get me through.
It's been a few days and I am starting to feel better. My heart isn't racing as much when I open the front door.
In the midst of all this, it could have been ALOT worse. God is good and He is watching over us.

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess His name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead, our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever, Amen.

Hebrews 13:15-16;20-21

A cute website

Yesterday I was looking for a good granola bar recipe on the internet. As I was looking I came a cross this really cute website called Joyful Abode (http://www.joyfulabode.com). It is full of great domestic creations like recipes, and sewing patterns/ideas. The author's blog is really cool too. For those of you that have the time and enjoy learning how to be more "homemakery", I highly recommend this site to you.

PS. I will be working on the granola bars in the next couple of weeks and I will let you know how they turn out. They look so yummy.

In the Paper...

Quilt Baby (soon to be Modern Baby Co.) made it into our local newspaper.
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008810260315
New and exciting things will be happening in the next couple of months and I am really proud to be working for this company. I will keep you posted on all the changes.

For those of you who are tired of all the media exaggerations and the presidential candidates that are hard to trust: http://www.factcheck.org/
Let me know what you think!

What in the world just happened?

Last weekend, we went out to eat and on our way home encountered something crazy. As we were driving, we saw a man walking quickly up the road talking on his cell phone carrying a gun. I don't know what it was, I just know that it looked like one you see in the movies. What in the world? So Stephen stopped the van, backed up into a long driveway so we could get out of there. As we were backing up, we noticed a car behind us with people scurrying around. So pretty much we were in between whatever was going on. We got out of there fast.
I have been wondering what happened and then Stephen found the article in our paper. http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881014092
I feel a little better knowing it was an undercover cop and not a rascal. Either way, God protected us during a sticky situation. Whew! I think I have stopped shaking.

Highlights

* Watching with pride as my determined hubby finished 4th in a 6 hour mountain bike race

* Listening to Jubal laughing and having fun with other children

* Seeing the joy and fascination on Jubal's face as he holds a starfish

* Crab hunting at night with the fam

* Seeing Stephen and Jubal being silly on the beach

* Cuddling with my handsome husband by the campfire

* Experiencing a magnificent sunset

* Feeling the presence of my Creator

* Hanging out with some dear friends and their precious kids

* Coming back to a cozy home

(Highlights of some great days on vacation with my family)

Now that's what I call....

A huge clove of garlic!

A friend of mine gave me a few bulbs of garlic from a garden he works in. I didn't really think much about it until tonight when I tore into it to use on our pizza. I started pulling the skin away and realized that this massive bump in the bulb was a whole clove, not 3 or 4. This is the biggest clove I have ever seen.

A few fun facts about garlic:

1) Can be used to get rid of poison ivy

2) Helps keep fleas, ticks and flies away from pets

3) Encourages healthy blood pressure and cholesterol

4) Boosts the immune system. We eat more garlic in the winter to help ward off those yucky germs that are rampant during this season.

5) Keeps mosquitos away from humans

6) If you feel like having some alone time, just eat some garlic....

Fun times

We had a great weekend. Stephen participated in the Bridge to Bridge ride. He rode 106.7 miles in 6 hours and 28 minutes. He is a machine! I am so proud.

We also went camping for a couple nights. We ended up buying a new and bigger tent so that we can all sleep comfortably. It is so nice. It feels like a mansion compared to our other one. It was really cool because the night before we bought it, we were talking about possibly getting a bigger tent. The next day we were hanging out in Boone and found this high quality tent for 40% off the regular price. What a blessing!

This thing is as big as our house ;)

Helping daddy with the campfire

Then we hiked around Linville Falls Monday morning. It was so nice being relaxed and enjoying the first day of fall with my family.

I hope everyone is enjoying the fall season!

Let the pictures speak

"No more training wheels for me!!!"

Proud Daddy!!! (Proud mommy is taking the picture ;)

A New Chapter

Well, I succombed to the "career world" this weekend. (In addition to full time mommy) I am officially working as a CNA (certified nursing assistant) in a retirement community. Part of me has felt guilty because I am away from my family for quite a chunk of time. Yet, my wonderful husband is supportive and he will get to spend some awesome quality time with Jubal, which they both really enjoy. The other cool thing is that I only work every other weekend. That is truly a blessing for me.
Thankfully I am going through a training period with a fellow CNA buddy but I have had to polish up on my training from school and clinicals....1 1/2 years ago. I dove right into my responsiblities yesterday with some much needed assistance. I was really overwhelmed but God gave me the grace to get through the day. Today was a little better and I actually got to spend more quality time with the residents. I really think I am going to enjoy serving in this capacity and I know it will get a little easier with more practice. (Changing adult briefs is a lot harder than changing a baby's diaper ;0).
Here are a couple lessons that I have learned already that I would love to share.
#1 - Elderly people are wonderful. Even though society views them as useless, they are actually some of the smartest people. They have so much experience and knowledge and it's great hearing their stories.

#2 - Live life to the fullest. We never know what will happen tomorrow.

#3 - God is good even when we don't understand. I worked with a handful of residents that just lay in their beds and have a hard time communicating. Either they are really sick or have mental disabilities. Even among all the questions of why these things happen, I see the image of God and know that He loves them so much.

#4 - Family is so important. Cherish them.

These are just a few lessons that I have learned this weekend. I am sure I will be learning more that will pop up here and there on this blog.

Thanks for reading!

Bittersweet Blessing and a wonderful grandma

Last week I got a call from my dad. He left a message asking me to call him back on his cell phone. At first I got a little worried. It's kind of a rare thing for dad to call and leave a message like that. So with a fast pulse and shaky hands I called him.

He answered his phone and immediately asked me a question, "Do you want grandma's van?" It took a minute for my brain to process what he asked.

"Are you serious????"

"Grandma wants to give us her van?"

"Yes. The doctor has told her not to drive anymore and she wants to give it to you."

As we continued the conversation, I learned that it only had 16,000 miles on it.

Praise God!!!

For a few days I was speechless. God works in such incredible ways. Our Honda has 250,00 miles on it and we were prepared just to drive it into the ground.

I feel sad that grandma is losing this part of her independence yet I really admire her courage to so lovingly and willingly give us her new van. She could have easily sold it to make a little extra money for herself.

A few days have come and gone since I picked up the van in VA and I have feelings of humilty and gratitude. I am so blessed to have a grandmother who gives so unselfishly. As long as I can remember she has been that way. Even though she makes just a few hundred dollars a month, she is one of the most giving people I know.

What a testimony to me and my family.

I pray that I can have that kind of attitude and giving spirit.

What about you?

BUSTED!!!

Jubal and I got to meet a VA state police officer yesterday. No, I was not taking Jubal on a field trip either. Bummer.
Oh well, at least Jubal thought it was fun.
Good thing I have a part time job.

Our annual tradition

We have a fun tradition in our family that happens every year....

Blueberry Pickin'.

Every year at this time we drive about an hour on the Blue Ridge Parkway to a place where we can enjoy the mountains and many acres of wild blueberries. This year we got close to 5 gallons total. Now we can enjoy the delicious consumption of this blue fruit all year long. Hello Antioxidants!

First Day of School

Jubal started his first day of PreK 4 this morning. It's so quiet in my house now...the reality is sinking in. Yet, I know he'll have lots of fun. Have a good day!

What a little turkey!

Free Keens?!?!

I am so excited. Jubal and I got keen shoes last week for a really good deal....FREE!!!!

Thanks to lost and found at Camp. This summer was my introduction to the Lost and Found at camp. After the campers leave, the stuff that is left over gets taken to Goodwill after the staff goes through it. I had so much fun going through everything. It was like Christmas. Granted most of the stuff is too big for Jubal but I got a few things for him that he will grow into in the next couple years. It's a great feeling when I can find such a good bargain ;).

Some wise advice from a young friend

Last weekend Jubal and I had the privilege of travelling to VA and spend some time with my folks. While I was there I met with a dear dear friend that I have known for a long time and I would do anything for her. We had not seen each other in a little over a year but we have the kind of friendship where we just pick up where we left off. Not going into much detail, she is going through a lot of hard stuff. She is a few years younger than me but I always learn so much when I am with her. Her maturity is far beyond her years to say the least. As we were sitting on her couch, she was sharing some things that God is teaching her through her earthly pain. One thing she told me was no matter what, don't believe the lies that Satan throws at us on a daily basis. But dive into the Truth of Christ and hang onto it. Don't let go even though it gets painful sometimes. This life is a learning process and God is using it to help us get to know Him better.
This advice is really settling in my heart. I think so many times that I let things bring me down, big or small, and I focus on the hurt that it brings me. Instead, it takes a lot of courage to rise above and hold onto the truth of God's word and His unconditional love. One powerful way to practice this is to memorize verses in the Bible and make them a part of your everyday life. Recite it, meditate on it, and believe it. It has the power to set us free from so much bondage. It may not always make our circumstances better but I know it helps our perspectives become eternal instead of temporary. I want to close with a passage that has been so dear to me in recent days and I hope it encourages you as well. It's from Psalm 25:1-7.

" To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God.

Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.

No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame,

But they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.

Show me your ways, O Lord,

Teach me your paths;

Guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love,

for they are from old.

Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;

according to your love remember me,

For you are good, O Lord."

Slacker

So I am officially calling myself the Blog Slacker. I am sorry to my diligent readers for not posting in so long. Hopefully I will once again get on a roll soon. I hope everyone is well and having a good close to your summer.

There's a sale

My boss at Quilt Baby decided to have an end of season sale. There are some really cute things for pretty decent prices posted. If you have a little extra dough and want to buy a special gift check out this wesite: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=39825. Click on Sale Items and browse away. She will be adding more items in the next few days. Enjoy!!!

Omnipresence and Truth

"God is not somewhere else. God is right here. It is God's world and God made it and God owns it and God is present everwhere in it."

"Truth is everwhere, and it is available to everyone."

"If it is true, if it is beautiful, if it is honorable, if it is right, then claim it. Because it is from God. And you belong to God."

"So as Christians, we are free to claim the good, the true, the holy, wherever and whenever I find it. We live with the understanding that truth is bigger than any religion and the world is God's and everything in it.... Why would we ever be surprised when truth turns up in strange places?"

*(Quoted from author Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis. Chapter 3)

Velvet Elvis

I just finished reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. I had never heard of this author/pastor until just a few weeks ago. I was a little hesitant going into it but after reading the first chapter, I was really captured by the words in the book. It was a refreshing book for me in my journey as a believer in Christ. So over the next few days, I would like to share some of the things that really made an impression on me. I highly encourage you to read this book if you can.

It's okay to ask questions.

This is the first thing that encouraged and challenged me so much. Sometimes I feel like I have to have the answer to every question in my faith and life. I have even felt guilty sometimes when I had questions to things that I didn't understand. Questions bring freedom and they allow us to draw closer to God. After all, many people that are mentioned in scripture asked God questions. Mary, David, even Jesus, to name a few. It's okay. That's one way we can grow more intimate with someone, specifically Christ.

Beware...lots of pictures!

We had such a fun weekend as a family. Saturday we went out to camp to go sailing. This was Jubal's first sailing trip. He was so cute. He even decided he wanted to sit on the front of the boat. Stephen said he did that as a child too...how sweet ;).

Like father, like son

Sunday after church, we headed down the Blue Ridge Parkway to a little spot with some fresh cold, really cold, mountain waterfalls and swimming holes. Stephen and Jubal caught a salamander and watched some peep out of their homes while I tried to brave the cold water.

One of the waterfalls


Awww.....

Our cold feet

Mariposa!!!

Cool tree on the trail

We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful area.

No Fear

Where Stephen works, there is a massive zip line that goes down into the water. I am not sure how high it is but it's pretty high. (It made me squeal when I did it last year.) Anyway, we have been talking to Jubal about doing it since last year and he just kept saying "I am too scared. I will do it when I am older." Hey, at least he is honest. No pressure from us.
So today we came to see Stephen at work and while we were walking to his office, Jubal says so matter of factly, "I want to do the zip line today. I am not scared anymore." Honestly, I didn't know what to say. So I said, "Sure if that's what you want to do...Are you sure?" "Yes mommy. I am not scared."
Jubal said the same thing to Stephen when he got off work. Alright...go for it!
Standing at the end (across the lake) I waited for him. I was wondering if he would really do it. My heart started beating hard...I don't know who was more nervous, me or him ;). Then I see Stephen jump off the platform but didn't see Jubal. I thought maybe Stephen was showing him how fun it is. Then all of a sudden, I see a little figure coming down the line...it's Jubal!!!! Holy cow!! He did it! Then I start wondering how he will react when he hits the water. He hasn't been too fond of getting splashed in the face until recently. Hmmm....
There he goes. He did it. He's in the water. How cute! How fantastic! I am soooo proud of him. He had a little smile on his face as he and daddy swam to shore. He didn't say much for a while. As we walk along the lake I asked Jubal if his heart beat fast when he jumped off the platform. He said, "I didn't really feel it but it's beating fast now."

Easy as 1-2-3

I have never had much success with homemade spaghetti sauce so I usually cheat and buy it in a jar. Until now.......
I got a cool little cookbook from our local library titled The Clueless Vegetarian. It has some really easy and practical recipes and I really like it. And to my pleasant surprise there is a really yummy and easy tomato sauce recipe too. So I tried it last night and it passed the family test and Jubal and I even had it for lunch today. Here is the recipe for those of you looking for a good tomato sauce recipe. It can be used for lasagna, pizza, or anything else you can come up with. You can also make a big batch of it and freeze it for later use. If you are a gardener and/or canner, fresh (or canned) tomatoes from the garden are perfect for this recipe.

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed (more if you like garlic)
1 carrot, finely chopped (optional)
1 stalk celery or small green pepper, finely chopped
8 C. chopped fresh tomatoes or 2 19 0z. cans of diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 C chopped fresh basil

In a large sauce pan heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is transparent. Add carrot, celery/green pepper and continue to cook 6-8 minutes. Dump in the tomatoes (if using canned tomatoes, don't drain), tomato paste, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer. Stir occassionally and simmer for 35-45 minutes or until sauce is thick. Add extra seasoning to taste.

Some cuteness at the Janes house

I wanted to post a few pics of some cute things that have happened at my house over the past week.

Even though Jubal is growing out of the nap stage, he still needs one here and there. This is a picture of Jubal sleeping after he spent a few days with grandma. Texas missed him so much that he wanted to take a little nap with him (after Jubal fell asleep of course ;))

These next pictures are of a little girl that I got to see born a little over 2 years ago. Her mom is expecting baby #2 so I offered to watch big sis so mommy could get some rest. She and Jubal got along so well and were so funny eating homemade popsicles.

That's it for now. I am sure I will have more cuteness moments to blog in the near future.

Look for some cute and precious things in your life and I promise it will bring a smile to your day.

Beginning our summer harvest

Our little garden is growing pretty well and since we have had quite a bit of rain in the past couple of days, the plants have perked up and have little veggies growing. Our potatoes however are ready to dig up so I went ahead and got some out of the ground yesterday. I used a different kind this year (Red Pontiac) and they look really good.

We have also frequented our secret red rasperry patch near our house and have been able to pick enough for jam, freezing, and eating on our cereal.

I am exciting about the beginning of our summer harvest. It's really yummy so far!

More pics

Here are some more pictures of the digging. I wanted to get some more of the big ditch but I didn't want to get too close and in the way. Thankfully they are pretty much done in our yard and they will start digging up the road on Monday. I was able to plant some of my perennials back in the garden so I hope they are happy now. Lots of watering is in store. Hopefully we will get some rain this weekend.

I have been impressed with the workers. They have been very respectful and nice about this whole thing. I guess that pitcher of cold sweet tea I made helped ;).

Focus

Amidst all the crazy stuff going on in our front yard, I took some time to relish in what God has given us and the beauty He has created in our back yard. I just love sitting on our back deck and relishing in the sounds of all the birds and looking at God's creation. It's a peaceful place. We are so thankful for it.