Pancakes!

I've had a pancake obsession for some time. I ate them constantly when I was pregnant with Kevin and it's one craving that did not go away. I found a recipe that was simple and delicious but since I was eating them so often I wanted to make them a little healthier. So I tweaked it some. I'll give you the basic way to make it too. 

3/4 cup milk

2 tbsp. vinegar

1 egg

1 1/2 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. butter, melted

1/2 cup quick oats

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

chocolate chips, blueberries, etc. 

Combine milk and vinegar, let sit for five minutes. Heat a pan over medium low heat. 

Combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

Combine milk mixture, egg, honey, and melted butter. 

Add liquid to dry ingredients while whisking. Really, use a whisk; it incorporates more air into the batter.  Let the batter sit for about five minutes. Believe me. Check out the difference. It gets...almost fluffy. 

Spray pan with cooking spray and measure out pancakes. The recipe will make 6 normal sized pancakes so use discretion with measuring :) 

When bubbles appear in the pancakes add your chocolate chips or blueberries or whatever you are putting in them. Let cook another minute. 

Flip and cook for two to three more minutes. 

Dish out and "cover" with butter. 

Then syrup. Although I should point out that this is a my sized portion of syrup. My husband uses about three times as much. And drinks the extra. *shudders*

If you aren't feeling as healthy, replace the honey with 2 tbsp. sugar; add the sugar to the dry ingredients. And you can use a cup of all-purpose flour in place of the oats and whole wheat flour. The pancakes will be firmer this way. I personally prefer the slightly nutty taste from the whole wheat and oatmeal.  And I feel better about eating them multiple times a week too! 

These freeze and rewarm famously! All this pancake talk has me wanting pancakes so I warmed some up in the oven. I will not tell you what time of night it is in Kentucky as I'm eating pancakes. That would be embarrassing. 

Friday Favorites

Right now, as you are reading this (at least if it's after noon), I am out of town on a getaway with the hubby! 

Think DollyWood. I LOVE roller coasters and I intend to ride some. (I did mention we were going alone, right??)  

And we're eating at Outback. I also love bloomin' onions! I intend to eat one. Well, maybe I'll let my husband eat some of it too. :) 

We haven't left overnight since before we had Micah. We've had several trips semi-planned and usually Micah has gotten sick. Once we canceled for a work emergency for Justin. (And no, going to the hospital to have Kevin did not count.) I'm excited to go with just the hubby but I'm a little nervous leaving my baby too! Micah won't even notice we're gone because he'll be having so much fun! 

Marriage is important. I want to keep our marriage a priority. I want our children to know our marriage is a priority. And if that means I have to suffer through food and amusement parks, I'll try to manage! 

You'll see pictures later! Any of you ever been to DollyWood?

(And I seem to have a parenthesis problem.)

Also, I was called to jury duty. Unfortunately I won't be able to complete this because of a childcare issue but I would be honored to. We are fortunate to live in a nation where we are allowed trials and trials by our peers. God bless America! 

And for your viewing entertainment...

And last but not least....Happy Birthday to my Daddy!! Your card is in the mail :) 

Live in the Yeses (Yes's?...Yes(s)?..never mind)

Occasionally I met people who are all about their standards. "We don't do _______."  "We don't ________________." It doesn't matter what it is, they probably don't do it! And they are probably going to tell you all about it too. I run far, far away when I see those people. Or at least hide behind something. Usually there's a kid hanging out and they see me anyway. 

You try hiding with two kids, a purse, and a diaper bag. That's like four people by squeeze mouse standards. Or sardines, as I learned it's called in most places. Anywho back to the story. 

Standards are important. Wanna know what's not important? Letting everybody know what your standards are. You don't have to announce them; people are smart enough to figure them out by watching your life. Sure there are some things I don't do. There are some things you don't do. Everybody has things they don't do. Why live there? Know why you don't and then focus on what you DO. Make a big deal of what you love instead of bashing what you hate. I could be so focused on what I don't do that I miss out on doing all the things that I do.

 (Did that make sense? Read it again. Then just pretend.)

Nobody is attracted to a life of rules. No one is attracted to a Christianity of rules. Although it might be easier to have a checklist of "I don't do these" to qualify good Christians. Yes, God has standards and guidelines. He's not a suggestion God. But God gives us far more to DO than to NOT DO.

• We are to love. It's not that we "don't hate."
• We are to serve. It's not that we "don't seek to be served."
• We are to share the Gospel. We aren't asked to spend time pointing out all the problems with other religions. Not that there's not a place for that. But I want to be more concerned with telling someone about Jesus than telling them why Islam is wrong and never telling them about Jesus.
• We are to honor our bodies as God's temple. It's not that we "don't drink, smoke, or chew."

And it works beautifully. If I'm busy loving, guess what? I'm not hating. If I'm busy serving, then I'm not focusing on what others can do for me. And for that matter, it's that I wear skirts. It's not that I don't wear pants. But that's an entirely different post. (And I don't care what you wear. Really.)

I want to show my children a life of joy serving Christ. Yes, they will learn our standards but I want them to know there is far more to the Christian life! I want them to hear, "Yes, we love those people because Jesus loved them!" "Yes, we help those people because Jesus said to help them." "Yes, we take care of our bodies because it's the only one we have. Because we represent Christ. Because it's God's temple." 

Obviously with my children it's a little different. We will teach them that alcohol is bad; that immorality is bad, etc, etc. But that's not what I want other people to remember about me! Jesus did condemn the Pharisees. Jesus did clean out the temple. But that's not what most people knew about Jesus. They knew He healed. They knew He loved and cared. They knew He didn't care if you were a known sinner or a religious leader He wanted you to come to God.  He had the perfect balance between the two sides because He was God. Also it was His job to point out sin in other's lives. That's rarely my job.

I want people I meet to know that I want them to know God. That I would rather tell them what Jesus can do for them than judge them because they live with their boyfriend or drink alcohol or smoke or have tattoos.  If they will meet Jesus He can change their outside to what He wants it to be. But cleaning up the outside won't do a thing for a person when they stand before Christ one day.  What really matters is the heart.

Looking at the DO side brings me joy. Focusing on the DON'T side often leaves me feeling defeated. Which would attract you most to Christ?

(And please, this is not a call to dismiss standards; none of ours have changed. There is balance to everything. But my standards are for me and our family. I'm talking here about relating to other people. There is definitely a place for proclaiming the truth about sin, but it is rarely when meeting someone at Toddler Time or the grocery store or the doctor's office.)

Kitchen Experts

No, the title is not referring to me! I made a bread recipe (from Pinterest!) and learned the niftiest trick from Julia Child. She's the kitchen expert. Whenever I've shaped my bread loaves I've always had problems with them being.... unusual. I used the usual techniques of rolling the bread dough out and then rolling it up from one side to the other. Julia Child did things a little differently. 

Roll the bread dough into a rectangle. 

Fold into thirds. 

Keep folding. 

Plop into greased loaf pan. Perfectly shaped bread loaves. That was easy, wasn't it? 

I think there's a reason some people make a name for themselves in their field. Genius! 

Friday Favorites

8 Months Old

Sweet baby. 

He makes my heart stop. 

He makes his brother laugh. 

He makes his daddy smile.

Children are like superglue for families. 

They bind us together in unexplainable ways. 

Relax, It's Just A Bad Day

Sometimes you have a bad day. 

I don't know what causes your bad days. But I know some things that cause mine. 

Sometimes bad days are caused by short nights and busy days. No time to rest, breathe, focus. 

Sometimes bad days are caused by doctor's appointment with three-year-olds who are terrified of the doctor. Everything associated with the doctor- gloves, band-aids, thermometers. 

Sometimes bad days are caused by milestones. Or rather, unmet milestones. A three-year-old who doesn't talk much. Or isn't potty-trained. 

Sometimes a bad day is a fearful day. Fearful of the future. Fearful of the job being done. Fearful of what's not being done. 

Sometimes a bad day is a worrying day. 

But bad days don't have to take over. 

http://www.thethingswesay.com/take-a-deep-breath-its-just-a-bad-day-not-a-bad-life/

• Take a deep breath. Pray. Jesus can handle it; He always knows. 

• Slow down. All of that...stuff doesn't have to be done now. Probably none of it does. Take a nap. Read with the kids. Go on a walk. Go to bed early. 

• Refresh yourself with Scripture. God's Word is full of encouragement. He already knows and is walking ahead. 

All of those things you've purposed? That you decided matter more than anything else? Don't change those. You may not feel it right now but they still matter. A quote I've always remembered says, "Don't doubt in the darkness what you believed in the light." 

Evaluate and if you need to change a method, change it. If not, keep on. Even if it's not showing results.  Even if you're falling on your face more than you're walking. Even if it's a little strange to everyone else. 

Speak truth to yourself. Remind yourself that you'll feel better after you slow down and get a good's night sleep if you're tired. Remind yourself that milestones were developed with the average child in mind and not one that had a metabolic crisis when he was five days old. 

Celebrate the small things. You can rejoice in the work you've accomplished. The smiles you caused. The progress your children are making. 

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. Ps. 68:19

And when in doubt of what to do forget what you feel. Forget what other people might be thinking. Just do what God would want you to do. Don't know? Ask Him; read His Word. He's not hiding. 

He's always there.