Christmas Gifts

It's so easy for me to get wrapped up (no pun intended..hee hee) in worrying about what to get my family for Christmas. I am not the most creative person in the world so that can make it a bit of a challenge. Today as I was thinking about everyone and what to make/buy, I realized that it's easy to lose sight of the whole reason we have Christmas to celebrate. Last night, all three of us went and bought a tree. It brought so much joy to us. Jubal and I had so much fun decorating it. As fun as it is to decorate and get in the "spirit" of Christmas, that's not the real reason. This morning on my walk, God reminded me that He sent His Son as a beautiful newborn boy. He IS the reason we celebrate. It's amazing to me that such a little bundle could bring the world freedom. It's easy to forget and get caught up in the materialism during the holidays. Let's take time to thank Him for what He did and focus on the real reason we celebrate this time of year.

Good gravy

Wow...it has taken me a long time to make time to blog again. I haven't written in so long that I forgot my password to get into my blog...hee hee...
But, here I am and I am so happy to be back. I don't know if anyone is even reading this anymore so I will give it a try. If you are there, I would love to hear from you.
So, I have entered into my 2nd and FINAL year of the associates nursing program. You just don't know how great that is to say. I am praying I make it to May with flying colors and another diploma in hand. Since my last entry, I have grown a lot, cried a lot, and stressed a lot. Through it all God has been the best Hope and Joy. He is so good.
I also have to give major props to my hubby and son. Stephen has been so amazing. He has endured my freeking out moments and my many hours of studying. It means so much to me to have his support.
Well, I am going to log off. Hopefully I have at least one "fan" left out there in cyberspace.

A lot to say

Wow. It's been a long time since my last post...blush....but ya know? What's a nursing student/mom/wife/employee supposed to do? Hee hee.....
I figured since I had a moment I would say hello and see if anyone is out there, still reading my blog. Hmmm..this should be interesting...
So, a lot has happened since I last wrote an entry. First of all, God has been so incredibly good and faithful to my sweet family. I am so thankful for Him and His hope. He is truly amazing.
I completed my first semester of nursing school. It was so challenging, probably the hardest thing I have ever done, besides giving birth to Jubal. But it has been so incredible. I am learning so much about our bodies and how to care for the sick. One thing I learned, among many, is that I am a darn good shot giver. It's kind of freaky but I like to give them too. Don't tell anyone.
Another adventure is that we became a statistic in the unemployment realm. Stephen got laid off from his job a few months ago. For reasons we don't quite understand yet we have so much peace and have seen God do some incredible things. That leads me to his new adventure...drum roll please......Trips for Kids. God told him to do it and he is. What an amazing talent my husband has. I am so proud of him. You can follow his journey and find out more on http://tripsforkidswnc.com. It's very exciting to see how God is using and will continue to use my very own hubby in our community. He has also been the biggest support in my effort to complete my nursing degree. I couldn't do it without him. He is quite a cute stay at home dad if I say so myself. I love it.
Jubal is growing like a weed. He has lost a couple of teeth, gotten glasses, and is quite a little guy. I am so happy to be his mommy.
So that's about all I have to write now. I hope that I can post some more entries here and there. But I am not making any promises. ;)

New Adventures

So blogging friends, I may not be back for a while. Life has taken on a new adventure called nursing school. It's going to be busy and full of learning (and reading) ;0).
I hope that I will be able to write an entry here and there but I don't know if it will be very often. Thanks so much for reading my posts. It's been fun. Have a great rest of your summer and be encouraged: God loves you so much!

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeazy

The Farmer's Almanac published some great ideas using lemons. I thought I would make a blog post out of it. Fun stuff.

• For a sore throat or bad breath, gargle with some lemon juice.
• Clean discolored utensils with a cloth dipped in lemon juice. Rinse with warm water.
• Toss used lemons into your garbage disposal to help keep it clean and smelling fresh.
• Use one part lemon juice and two parts salt to scour chinaware to its original luster.
• A few drops of lemon juice in outdoor house-paint will keep insects away while you are painting and until the paint dries.
• Remove scratches on furniture by mixing equal parts of lemon juice and salad oil and rubbing it on the scratches with a soft cloth.
• To make furniture polish, mix one part lemon juice and two parts olive oil.
• To clean the surface of white marble or ivory (such as piano keys), rub with a half a lemon, or make a lemon juice and salt paste. Wipe with a clean, wet cloth.
• To renew hardened paintbrushes, dip into boiling lemon juice. Lower the heat and leave the brush for 15 minutes, then wash it in soapy water.
• To remove dried paint from glass, apply hot lemon juice with a soft cloth. Leave until nearly dry, and then wipe off.
• Rub kitchen and bathroom faucets with lemon peel. Wash and dry with a soft cloth to shine and remove spots.
• Fresh lemon juice in rinse water removes soap film from interiors of ovens and refrigerators.
• Create your own air freshener: Slice some lemons, cover with water, and let simmer in a pot for about an hour. (This will also clean your aluminum pots!)
• Fish or onion odor on your hands can be removed by rubbing them with fresh lemons.
• To get odors out of wooden rolling pins, bowls, or cutting boards, rub with a piece of lemon. Don’t rinse: The wood will absorb the lemon juice.
• Save lemon and orange rinds to deter squirrels and cats from digging in the garden. Store rinds in the freezer during the winter, and then bury them just under the surface of the garden periodically throughout the spring and summer.
• After a shampoo, rinse your hair with lemon juice to make it shine. Mix the strained juice of a lemon in an eight-ounce glass of warm water.
• Mix one tablespoon of lemon juice with two tablespoons of salt to make a rust-removing scrub.
• Before you start to vacuum, put a few drops of lemon juice in the dust bag. It will make the house smell fresh.
• Get grimy white cotton socks white again by boiling them in water with a slice of lemon.
• Clean copper pots by cutting a lemon in half and rubbing the cut side with alt until the salt sticks. Rub the lemon onto the metal, rinse with hot water, and polish dry.
• Suck on a lemon to settle an upset stomach.

Some Randomness

I made black bean burritos for dinner and I love roasting sweet potatoes to put on them. When I opened the oven to check on them, I thought it looked so cool so I took a pic. Am I wierd?

I also got some fun boots at a yard sale last year for 50 cents. What a deal! I wear them to work out in the yard and to take after the chicks.

Speaking of chicks.....

They are turning out to be quite pretty young ladies. At least I hope they are ladies ;)

Garden update

Here are some pics of our growing garden. We have had some issues with a few tomatoes and peppers getting some brown spots on the bottom but it doesn't seem to be spreading too much.

This pepper plant is new for me. They are purple peppers. I can't wait to try them out.

The yellow squash with the green tip is supposed to be acorn squash. We'll see!

I am so thankful for all this food and praying I get enough tomatoes to can this year. If not, that's what the farmer's market is for ;).

This is an Amish paste tomato. They make the best tomato sauce....yum!

Do you have a garden this year? How is it going?

Honesty

The more I walk with Christ and the more I fall in love with Him, the more the truth of God's word makes sense. I see the compassion and care Jesus has for me. For a long time I viewed God's word as a bunch of rules that I had to live by in order to be close to God. **sigh** Thank God I no longer have this at the forefront of my thinking and living. Trust me, I still struggle with it at times, but God is graciously showing me when I do so that I can give it to Him. What a freeing thing!
A very powerful truth in scripture is being honest. Not only being honest with others but being honest with ourselves. I truly believe that when we honestly look at ourselves, our need for grace and love from Christ, we can accept our faults and move on. God's grace becomes more beautiful to us. When we accept our faults and know that they are covered by Precious Blood, honesty becomes a lifestyle (among other things). Our defenses come down, our pride washes away, and we are more willing to face the truth of who we are and how we relate to others. We even look at others in a totally different way. Being offended becomes less and less and insults do not overwhelm our thinking. I used to feel that I had to be perfect in order for God to know that I loved Him. I would have so many excuses for my sin instead of owning up to it. Silly right? In writing it looks that way, but I think it's such a common mindset in so many believers. After I grasped that there is nothing I can do or can't do that earns the right to be God's child and walk in His grace, I don't feel the "need" to offer excuses to make myself feel and look better. Excuses can be forms of lying. God detests lying lips. He is glorified in honesty. What if more believers knew they were safe in God's grace and began to open up more and share struggles, fears, sins, temptations, as well as victories, answered prayers, and hope. I think American churches would change for the better. I think people that have questions about who God is or even people turned off to God would see Christianity differently. There would be more healing and less judgement.
My challenge to you: share yourself with people. Be open and honest the way God wants you to. Let God permeate your thoughts and let Him help you become the honest person He wants you to be.

Things that make you go.....eeeek!

This is what I stumbled on last night after Jubal got out of the tub. I ain't gonna lie, it made me squeal. I love having a boy ;).

Life

Life is a big journey. I love that. I love that there are times that are so hard that I just don't think that I can make it one more second. I love that those are the times that draw me closer to Jesus. I love that in those times, I rely fully on the grace of Jesus. I love knowing that Jesus is shaping me more into a vessel that He can use to share His glory.

I love the beautiful, happy filled times. The times that don't seem like they can get any better. Times where I just feel like running through a flower-covered field and raise my hands as high as they will go, and joyfully yell at the top of my lungs. A place where I can tirelessly dance like there is no tomorrow.

Life is full of those times. I am so thankful for them. I am so thankful for my Jesus who loves me no matter if I am going through a very difficult time or a very exuberant time. He loves me. He has paid an incredible price for me. There is nothing beyond that. There is no next level. I don't have to prove myself to Him. I don't have to be perfect. I don't have to wallow in my guilt of sin. I don't have to be judgemental. I can freely be myself, freely love, and freely forgive. I can share my struggles, I can freely admit when I am wrong and know that God loves me no less. I can walk in the present. I can freely share what Jesus has so sacrificially shared with me. There is so much more to life than wasting my time thinking I am better than someone else; pointing my finger at actions of people that make me uncomfortable. I can freely love them the way God wants me to. After all, I am no different than they. I was made by the same Creator and I need His grace. The same Jesus died for me and forgave me. His love is a gift. A gift that I receive with open arms. This gift has been so graciously given and for that I am so thankful.

Reusable Snack Bags

I found a great tutorial from We Wilsons Blog. It is super easy and takes only minutes to make. If you are looking for ways to cut out plastic and trash, this is a great way to do it. You can use a cotton/cotton combo or you can use PUL/cotton fabric combo to make the bags waterproof. I don't have any PUL in my stash so I just used cotton. These will be great for pretzels, chips, crackers, dried fruit, etc. I couldn't believe how easy they were!

Here are step by step directions in case you want to try one or many.

1)Cut out 2 rectangles of desired fabric and desired size. A sandwich bag has a good basic measurement.

2) Put right sides together and sew short ends together.

3) Turn right side out. Iron

4) Measure velcro the same width as the top and bottom of rectangle. Sew each strip on side of fabric that you want on the inside.

5) Fold rectangle in half inside out. Sew sides together. Trim excess.

6) Fold right side out and you are done! Easy peasy.

**Note: I do not recommend using the sticky velcro. It's not good for sewing machine needles.

A homemade rainforest

Jubal has a project in school that he has been working on for the past couple of weeks. He had to pick out an animal, write about it, and make a visual for it. He will presenting it in his class this week. He has been so excited about it and we have had so much fun preparing it. He picked the sloth and we made a miniature rain forest habitat. He had to research the habitat, foods, a description of how it looks, why or why it wouldn't be a good pet, and an interesting fact. Simple and fun. Here is a picture of how the little project turned out.

If you are looking for something fun and educational to do this summer, this is a great idea.

Lentil soup with a twist

I found this incredible recipe on Cookbooks 101. It is so delicious. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Another good soup to add to my collection..... Serve with Naan or wheat rolls and you have a yummy and easy meal for the fam.

Coconut Red Lentil Soup

1 cup yellow split peas
1 cup red split lentils (masoor dal)
7 cups
1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 tablespoons fresh peeled and minced ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons butter or ghee
8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced (you can also use a yellow onion)
1/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
one small handful cilantro, chopped

Give the split peas and lentils a good rinse - until they no longer put off murky water. Place them in an extra-large soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the carrot and 1/4 of the ginger. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the split peas are soft. You may need to add a little water throughout to keep it from getting too thick.

In the meantime, in a small dry skillet or saucepan over low heat, toast the curry powder until it is quite fragrant. Be careful though, you don't want to burn the curry powder, just toast it. Set aside. Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, add half of the green onions, the remaining ginger, and raisins. Saute for two minutes stirring constantly, then add the tomato paste and saute for another minute or two more.

Add the toasted curry powder to the tomato paste mixture, mix well, and then add this to the simmering soup along with the coconut milk and salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so. The texture should thicken up, but you can play around with the consistency if you like by adding more water, a bit at a time, if you like. Or simmer longer for a thicker consistency. The thicker this soup got, the more I liked it.

***I made a couple of adjustments to this recipe. I used all yellow split peas and I added the curry powder to the onion and butter mixture instead of toasting it first. I also added 1 veggie bouillon cube after the peas were tender. The soup turned out great.

Our new girls!

Well, after a few failed attempts, I finally purchased more chickies. They are so funny and pretty wild from being free range with the previous owner. **It was a hoot watching Stephen and I round 'em up to get them in the coop the first night we had them**. America's funniest home videos anyone? We named them Daisy #2, Chicken Little #2, and Bacon #2. Fun.
Here are some pictures!

Texas is doing great too. We put a collar on him that has a high pitched beep and it has been a success. Sweet.

12 beautiful years

I am a little late but hey, better late than never right? It's hard to believe that this past Sunday, Stephen and I celebrated our 12 year wedding anniversary. The coolest part of the whole celebration is that it truly feels like a celebration. I am SO IN LOVE with him it's incredible. It's a love that has gotten stronger through the fun and hard years that we have been together. I wouldn't trade it for anything. He is my best friend and have I mentioned that I love him? I praise God for what He has done in our relationship. It has been one incredible adventure and I am looking forward to many more chapters to it. Stephen is my hero and I am so proud to be married to him.

Here we go!!!!!

Last weekend our little family went camping and cheered Stephen on in his mountain bike race. He did great! Jubal and I managed to dodge some lightening and sheltered ourselves from the downpour while waiting at one of the rest stops. On the other hand, Stephen had the joy of riding in the glorious weather. Thank you, God for keeping him safe.

We had to cut short our camping trip because of the weather but we still had a great time. It was nice to come home to our cozy home and soft bed ;0).After we got unpacked and settled down for the evening, I ventured to open our little pile of mail. One letter stuck out to me. It had AB Tech on the envelope along with the word Admissions stamped on the front. Interesting. I was thinking maybe I forgot to turn something in with my nursing school application. I opened up the envelope and began to read it. Here's what it said. "The evaluation of all records pertaining to your application to the competitive allied health programs at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College has been completed. Following is the final outcome of your application to the Fall 2010 program:

Associate Degree Nursing: ACCEPTED INTO PROGRAM!!!!!!!!!"

I had to read that sentence a few more times before it dawned on me that I was accepted. Praise God. I am in. I am so excited/nervous/preparing/dreaming. I am so thankful that God has opened this door for me to walk through. For those of you who prayed, thank you. God is good. I am so excited. I will start in August and that's all I know so far. I meet with my advisor in a couple of weeks.

It's crazy to think the one career that I never thought I would be doing, I will be going to school for in a few short weeks. God is so incredible.

Hopefully I won't be using needles as big as me. I don't know if I could handle that ;)

Try this again

Well, friday night my chickies met their demise. Poor chickies....they tried so hard to run away from that big black fluffy dog. Yes, that would be my dog Texas. I was really mad at him for a couple of days but now I am better. Instinct bites sometimes. Oh well. Will try to find some more girls to add to the unlived in coop. I will post pictures when we get them. Hopefully they will last a lot longer......

Here they are!!!!

These are our precious chickies! They are so precious. We started with 3 but unfortunately lost one over the weekend. Hopefully the other 2 will live for a long time. So far so good....
Their names are Chicken Little (black one), Daisy (smaller red one). Bacon was the other red one...may she rest in peace ;).

Pics of the coop

The chicken coop is complete! Hooray! Just a few more finishing touches and the chicks will have a wonderful home. Pics of the chicks coming soon!

Hard workin' boy

So cute!

Happy Spring

I found a fun and super easy recipe to celebrate the spring season. Here it is!

Bird Nests (makes 1 dozen)

1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup shredded coconut
Handful of M&Ms or similar candy

Melt chocolate chips according to package. Mix in coconut. Spoon onto wax paper. With spoon make a small indention. Place 3-4 eggs on top. Let set.