A New Perspective

This past Saturday, I went over to a friend's house and watched the Thrive Moms Retreat. The theme was "Warrior" based on Ephesians 6. 

I was excited about some girl time away from my toddler but, I hadn't really had time to prepare my heart and mind for anything more than a casual conversation. 

The week prior had been kind of tough on the home-front. I had been struggling with letting the little things get under my skin and then I would get angry with my sweet boy. I was finding myself getting very upset with him for stepping on my foot and causing me a small amount of pain or getting upset when he would stand near me and say, "Mommy, mommy...etc". I started to realize that I was being very unrealistic and ungrateful with an almost 2 year old. This made me very sad and concerned about my heart. I prayed that God would help me to have the self control that I needed so that I could handle these miniscule frustrations.

This retreat came at a fantastic time....

Heidi Weimer spoke about the "battle" we as moms face. The question she asked was "What is the battle?" She gave a few answers but the one that I knew the Lord wanted me to hear was, "the battle that we face is the one against our sanity (as moms)" She went on to say that "if Satan can get us to blow up and get very angry, he has won the battle." 

DING! DING! DING!  

The light bulb went off and I knew that God was telling me that I need to listen up to what else this awesome woman has to say because, the answer I was praying for just a few days prior was about to be revealed in the next few sentences... Heidi said, "We must choose to let the little things go," because, if we "are wasting our time dealing with and getting frustrated about those small things, we can't deal with and learn through the big things." 

Wow! I needed that. I needed to hear it put so plainly. 

She then went on to give a few examples in her own life about some of the bigger things she was referring to. She has 11, yes ELEVEN, kids. If she focused on all the little things and got irritated because it took 30 minutes to get shoes on one kid, she would go crazy by hour two of her day. Instead, she suggests that we focus on the important battles that have deeper roots, possibly even spiritual ones. 

She went on to say that God is our peace. In rough times, in easy times, He is the only One who can comfort us and give us a peace that passes all understanding. He is in control of our lives and knows the plans He has for us (Jer 29:11)

Heidi also said "God is not calling you to be a perfect mom, He is calling you to point your kids to a perfect Christ." 

Towards the end of her speech, we re-read Ephesians 6:12-13. She then pointed out that God calls us to continually put on the whole armor of God, throughout the day. Pray, repeat scripture and worship so that when you are attacked with the little things, you have the armor to fight it off.

I left my friend's house with a new perspective. I'm not going to tell you that I will NEVER get upset with the little things again but, I can tell you that I am going to try my best to show my child(ren) the love of Christ and that He is the only way I can get through anything. I want them to see Christ in my life. Praise God that He is in control and not me!

Change

Wow! A lot has changed since I last posted on here. In the year and a half since my last post, we have bought a foreclosure and renovated it to be liveable, I have lost all of my baby weight plus some and there have been some fantastic spiritual changes in my life as well.

First off, if you're reading this and wondering whether we decided to go with the paleo lifestyle, I am happy to report that we did not. However, we have changed our eating habits to include a real food diet based on the Weston A Price Foundation studies. We aren't anywhere near where I'd like our family to be but, to be successful, you have to take baby steps and we are for sure doing that!

As far as the spiritual changes I mentioned above, I have begun reading my Bible everyday and being faithful with that. I also have been praying on a daily basis. That is a huge accomplishment for me because a year ago, I was rarely reading and only praying when I needed something. God has brought some amazing people in my life to learn from and be blessed by. He has been teaching me some amazing things about motherhood and choosing friends wisely.

Our house is an entire post/topic in itself. Short story, God certainly showed up and blessed us more than we could've ever imagined. Before we bought the house, it was a occupied by reckless teenagers who never took care of it. We patched 18 fist size holes and puttied MANY knife holes (knife throwing contests surrounding a stick figure). Thinking on it, our house reminds me of our lives before Christ and what Christ can do with our lives once we start living for Him. Our lives could be a complete disaster and He looks at us with love and sees us for our real beauty and potential. He sees our future and the awesome ending He has in store for us and longs for us to come to Him and surrender all to Him.

I will post more on these individual topics one day but for now, I felt God calling me to revive this blog, AGAIN. But this time, all for His glory and not for my own gain.

To Him be the glory.

New Diet?

In the last post, I talked a little bit about doing the Paleo diet. Let me tell you a little bit about where this idea is coming from. My husband has been the same weight for a couple of years. He has been very frustrated because no matter what he did he never fluctuated more than 2-3 lbs. I have been gaining weight since I graduated high school in 2008. About 1 month ago my husband did a detox for 10 days. He lost about 10lbs. Since then we decided to change our eating habits. We are moving towards a paleo type diet. We are limiting the number of starchy foods and fast foods we eat. We also eat vegetables with EVERY dinner and lunch. I have tried to limit our sweets intake and we have limited the amount of hot tea we drink. So far since starting this lifestyle change, my husband has lost a total of 15 lbs and I have lost 11(not including baby weight). My husband doesn't really enjoy wheat flour so for now we have just limited our white flour intake. I am hoping that we can continue with this lifestyle and NEVER go back to our old ways. I would like to see our kids really enjoy fruits and vegetables more than sweets.

Do you have any suggestions for our family? How about favorite recipes?

Baby, Life and Changes Part 3

So your probably wondering what the changes part of the series is all about. Well, it's about the changes we have decided to make as a family and the ones I have decided to make. My husband and I are going to change the way we eat. Less processed junk and more natural foods. I eventually would like to have a paleo diet but right now we as a family are no where near ready for that big of a change. We have decided to get outdoors more. More hiking, camping, geocaching etc. we want our kids to enjoy the outdoors more than being inside.

On a personal note, I am making a personal decision to become more involved in the community and with my friends. I also want to commit to being more involved in my spiritual life. Reading more, praying more etc. I'm going to exercise more often. We just got a jogging stroller so that I can run with the baby. I would like to do another 5k and actually run the whole thing instead of walk and run. My husband was a really big encouragement to me during that race and it made me feel so good knowing that I could complete a 5k. Another change I am going to make is to be more organized and less messy. I hate that I get our house clean and then I mess it up again really quickly. I also would like to get rid of stuff that we have. I feel like I have so many clothes and other stuff that I don't use, don't know I have or can't find. That has got to change!

I am hoping that you all will give me tips on any of the above and also encouragement. I will be posting more about all of this stuff as it comes along.

Do you have any tips for me on getting organized? What about recipes or tips on going paleo? Are you changing some of your habits this year? What are they?

Baby, Life and Changes Part 2

So part 1 I talked all about our newest member of the family. Part 2 is about what happens next.

When my husband and I got married, we decided that I would be a stay at home mom. So I definitely looked forward to the day I would become pregnant. Well that day came and I was so excited to tell my employer that I would no longer be working for them. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my job and my co-workers but, I had been looking forward to being a mom since I was a little girl. So we decided on a date for my last day and I thought I would be a lot more sad than I actually was. I had a little over a month to prepare for the baby and man did I have a lot to do! (Don't wait until your 9th month to start working on the nursery.) For the last month of my pregnancy I mostly slept and ate and ate some more... :) Then our boy was born and I had something to do during the day. It is so wonderful. I cleaned a lot before he was born and got organized and I am slowly getting back into that (2 months later). I was not prepared for how hard the sleepless nights were/are. (I really enjoy my sleep.) We are blessed with a really good baby. He is just learning to talk and laugh and, despite what the doctor says, I believe he is teething at 9 weeks. We started cloth diapering at 1 month old and I really enjoy it. We are also using cloth wipes part time. I am trying to use more natural products rather than ones filled with all kinds of chemicals. So far, 2 months into it, I am REALLY enjoying being a stay at home mom. Don't get me wrong, I have some days where I want to pull my hair out, but most of the time it is truly wonderful.

Baby, Life and Changes Part 1

So it has been quite a while since my last post. In the last year, I have had a baby, quit my job and began a lifestyle change. I'm sure you want to hear about all of these things so I will start with the first thing...

Baby: Let me start this topic from the "top". October 31,2011 I found out that I had some very large ovarian cysts. Endometriosis runs in my family and it was only a matter of time before I would get it. So the next step was to monitor the cysts and get rid of them (they were causing a lot of pain). So Feb 9 I had surgery to remove them. 4 weeks later I had an ultrasound to see how I was healing. When they looked at my ovaries, the Doctor saw 2 cysts bigger than the ones they removed. So I went to a specialist and they recommended I go on a drug to suppress the production of estrogen in my body for a while. My husband and I prayed about it and didn't feel real comfortable with that option. I was scheduled for a pre-op appointment toward the end of May. On May 26 I took a pregnancy test and found out we were expecting. That was an AWESOME feeling. This little child would help my body heal and get rid of the cysts. So, they monitored my cysts in the beginning and saw that they were going away. Fast foreword 9 months... On Jan 29 we welcomed our sweet boy to this world. When they were delivering the baby, the doctor noticed that my cysts were completely gone. I was so happy to hear that. My husband and I cannot be more excited and happy about our new status as parents.

Stay tuned for Part 2 and 3...

Changing Life, Changing Blog

Hey all!!!!
I'm back. Since the last post I have ran my very first 5K and went on vacation. I really enjoyed my 5K mainly because my husband did it with me. It was the most fun I have had in a while.

My cute new skirt. (sorry for the bad iPhone photo)

Me after the 5k.

I'll be blogging more often and creating more things. I have made a really fun skirt and enjoyed the whole process. I will be creating more things and I'll post pictures.

Tell me what you have been up to lately? Creating? Cooking?

Blood Orange Italian Soda

I had never had a blood orange before so I decided that I would try them and also try making Blood Orange Italian Soda. I found this recipe for the soda and went out and bought some blood oranges. Well they sat for a couple days because I became really busy with work and home stuff. So one day my husband said lets make some! So while I did the dishes he made the soda.

 First cut the oranges in half and juice them.. (we also strained the pulp to maximize the juice amount)

 We used a strainer...

and a homemade paper towel strainer. You don't have to do this, but if you want to minimize the amount of pulp in your soda you should at least use a strainer.

Next, make the simple syrup. I stirred until the sugar was dissolved and then took the pot of the burner.

Once that is done you can combine all ingredients and chill. Then taste and adjust the flavors as needed.

Ingredients:

9 blood oranges medium to large
1 c simple syrup (1c water & 1c sugar)
1 bottle of Italian mineral water (about 1L)

That's all you need. It is sooo good!

Shrimp Parmesan

My husband and I have been eating a lot of chicken. David doesn't mind at all. Me on the other hand, I get bored with it and get bored with trying to make it exciting for me. One of David's favorite meals is Chicken Parmesan so I decided to change the meat and make it the same way. Man, that was a great choice!!!

The shrimp I bought were the large shrimp. They were frozen, uncooked with tails. So the first thing I did was to thaw them out and then take the tails off. Next thing to do is dry them. I put a paper towel on a plate, put the shrimp on the towel and then put another paper towel on top of them and press it dry.

They don't have to have every last bit of water off them but they need to be dry enough so the butter will stick to them.

Next, prepare your butter and your bread crumbs.

The best bread crumbs to use (my opinion of course)

Take the bread crumbs and the cheese and combine in a bowl. Also make sure you have your cookie sheet ready. I lined mine with aluminum foil for easy clean up.

 Put the shrimp in the butter...

And then into the bread crumb mixture...

then onto your pan.
Once you have a full pan put it into the oven at 450 for 5-6 minutes. Not much longer or the shrimp will become rubbery.

Once they are done you can put them on top of pasta or eat with veggies. You can even put a red sauce with them and enjoy.
It was late and the hubs was hungry so we just ate with some pasta and of course more parmesan!

Ingredients:
Shrimp 16 oz large shrimp
1/2 c Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs
1/2 c Parmesan Chesse
1/2 c Butter melted

Enjoy!

Surgery Can Be Fun

Well sometimes in the right circumstances. This past Thursday I went in to have some large cysts removed off my ovaries. I was not too excited about the actual surgery but I was excited about all the pampering that I would receive from my wonderful husband in the days after. I have not been doing much cooking or crafting because of it. I have played a ton of Lego Pirates of the Caribbean on the PS3. and that is about it. I am itching to get some crafts done so I may work on some tomorrow. It all depends on how I feel. I do have a couple photos to share with you from the day we were at the hospital.

My husband always likes to makes silly faces.

I hope you all are doing well and having fun. Tell me about some of your crafting adventures or cooking adventures.

Giveaway

My favorite online handmade jewelry store is having a giveaway. Check it out at thevintagepearl.com! I am having surgery tomorrow so I will be out of commission for a little bit but I will be back with some yummy foods for you to try! :)

5k

Sorry I haven't posted in a little bit. I have been extremely busy. David and I were trying a bunch of different restaurants this past weekend for Triangle Restaurant Week. It was fun and we tried a bunch of great food! I have decided to sign up for a 5k this April and I have been training for that. I am extremely excited to see my progress for that. I think my biggest set back will be my surgery (more on that to come). I am hoping to at least be able to run half of it. I am training using the Couch 2 5k program and I am enjoying it very much! I like the Christian Indy version and find it to be helpful to worship as I am working out. It definitely helps the time go by much faster. So keep me in your prayers for this new goal I have for myself. I am very much excited and am enjoying the exercise very much! (We'll see if that changes) :)
I will be putting up another post either this Thursday or Friday. When I get the chance.
Next topic making a meal plan and sticking to it!

The BEST Apple Butter You WIll Ever Have!!

I enjoy trying new recipes and also making things with fresh and local ingredients. I made apple butter and it was gone in the next 2 days. I bought a 1/2 bushel of seconds apples and peeled and cut and cooked them until they turned into DELICIOUS apple butter. I use this recipe. She is simply the best! :)

The thing in the middle is an awesome corer!

First get your dutch oven or crock pot out and gather your tools. I used a corer, knife, peeler and a cutting board.  

 If you start peeling horizontally it works better and you can get more peel off of the apple.

Peel a bunch at a time, it goes faster.

Core the apples.

Punch out the core

Coreless apple ready to cut.

I then cut the apples in half and then chopped them into small sections.

Add spices and let simmer on low or warm for a LONG time!

Finished apple butter

I then canned the apple butter to give away to family, friends and coworkers. I ended up with 36 half pint jars. If you have any questions about he process of the apple butter or canning you can email me.

How to Prepare Peaches and Peach Sangria

I know peaches aren't really in season right now but I have had these photos and decided to post them!

First thing I suggest is to buy seconds. Don't buy the pretty peaches. Look for seconds at your farmers market. Seconds are the peaches that have a little bruising or blemishes. They are the best for this recipe. The first thing you want to do is to make sure that you go through your box or lot of peaches that you bought. Any peaches that have mold or spots just cut it off and use what's left of the peaches.

Then Score the peaches so they are much easier to peel. You don't need to peel the peaches if you cut them.

We made X's on the ends.

Place the peaches in boiled water for 30 seconds and then into an ice bath.

Peel the peaches and then set them aside and do a bunch at a time to make the process go faster.

Then slice them....

Find your favorite cobbler recipe. We haven't found a good recipe. Any suggestions would be great!! 

To make the sangria:
Take your favorite sangria or wine and add the peaches. Let soak for a few hours and let cool. Enjoy!

Learning Lesson from Lentils

My husband liked the Lentil Soup so much that he asked me to make another batch. But this time he wanted me to use the ham bone that we had. So I tried it. Made the exact same recipe but added the ham bone in first and the liquid and then the lentils and a ton of water because I also made a double batch. Well I should have only made one batch of this because the ham that we bought had a sweet glaze on it and that went into the soup and did not make it taste like lentil soup at all. Here are the photos anyway.

I only added water to the soup because I really wanted to taste the flavor of the ham. Well I ended up adding 6 total bouillon cubes to the soup to reduce the sweetness. 

I added the Lentils and the water and let that cook for about 30 mins and then added the spices and let that cook until the meat falls off the bone. About 1-1.5 hours. Season to taste.

Advice: Don't use a sweet ham for soups.

Chef John's Bison Balls and Rice

I have been wanting to make something with the bison meat I have in my freezer for a while but not sure what to make. I was browsing foodwishes.com and thought I would try his version of bison. This was a really good meal with rice. I also poured the sauce over the rice and it was so good. The spice was great with the orange marmalade. Thank You Chef John!

I have more photos but Chef John's video is way better than my photos. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to You!

Today I My Daddy's Birthday! Happy Birthday! Enjoy Your day. Thank You for sharing mom on YOUR Birthday!

You have been such a wonderful influence in my life. I greatly appreciate all that you have done for me/ with me in my life. Thank you for being so loving and caring. I am so thankful that God chose you to be my dad.

I miss you daddy and I wish we were closer. I enjoy all the time we get to spend together. Happy Birthday!

Time To Get Crafty!

Well this is my first post on the crafty side of things, so here goes.... I found this website from a pin on pinterest and I have really been interested in making my own letters but not willing to pay the $3-$5 for the letter. I was so happy to find the website. I decided this afternoon to make one and place it on a really cute mirror I got at my FAVORITE thrift store. I am not going to walk you through all the steps since Jen does it on her blog.

My letter before the yarn

My letter on the couch (I'll post pictures on the mirror once I get it on the wall)

Razzleberry Pie!

My favorite pie of all time after Pumpkin Pie is... you guessed it.... Razzleberry Pie. I was feeling "healthy" a couple weeks ago and so I bought some blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. Well I only ate a few and they sat in my fridge. The last time I did this the berries went bad. I wasn't going to let that happen this time so.. I found a recipe for my favorite pie and made it. It was so much better than the Mrs. Smith's brand at the store. I was so happy!

I got the recipe from here. I modified it a little and didn't use strawberries because I didn't have any fresh ones on hand.

They tell you to put slits in the pie crust for the steam to escape and I always see people do cute things with theirs so I felt like being creative and did a teacup shape on mine. In the picture it is sideways. This pie was so good my husband even liked it!

Sorry!

Sorry Blog readers. I have been so busy preparing for my mom's arrival that I haven't been able to blog. I do however have a bunch of recipes for you and I will be posting them tonight. I also have something yummy in the oven right now that I will post about as well. Thanks for your patience.