Happy Spring

It's spring and life is among us!

"I have loved you with an everlasting love." ~Jeremiah 31:3

I have been on vacation and I will write about that, but this week I got some great news from someone I've never met. You see, I've been sponsoring a child in Haiti for 12 years now. She was small when I picked her sweet face off a table of hundreds of other sweet faces and now she is a teenager. Her name is Rose Danielle. Because I have a hard time making choices when I am faced with too many options, I decided to go with a girl who shared my name. We have corresponded multiple times a year over this whole time. She would draw me pictures and I would send her photos and bookmarks, but now that she's older, there isn't so much drawing, but much more writing. She has gone through family deaths, and most recently the earth quake that about destroyed her home. I remember hearing the news that my Dad's friend was killed in that earthquake, just traveling through the town for one night, and wondering if the girl I'd only ever seen in pictures was still alive. Alas, I got a formal letter saying she was, but everything was a shambles. She wrote to me later about it, and I told her we were praying for her. 

Her last letter which was neatly written and translated told me that she had been baptized earlier that week! I know that this is a common occurrence among Christians, but for some reason, I almost cried at this news. Out of happiness and joy that not only has she shared with me many verses, but now she had made the choice to publicly share her faith. It was like a proud parent moment. I am so thankful for the chance to be a part of someones life like this. I may never meet her this side of heaven, but man, she is one of the first I will be searching for. 

I am studying the book of James in the bible right now. The most recent verse that just hit me is in chapter 2 where he warns against showing favoritism to the rich and treating the poor badly. He also says in verse 5, "Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised to those who love him?" My first thought went to Rose Danielle. She has taught me in so many ways despite her situation to never take my faith for granted. To trust God even when horrible things happen. She did this as a small child when she wrote to tell me her father died. She said, "But God will be with me." She gets excited to write and ask me if I know what a papaya and a mango are. It has been made clear to me that I should never ignore those whom this world would suggest have no hope. The fact that I can make it possible for a child to have food, an education, and learn about the bible each month for the price it costs our family to eat out once astounds me.

 It's amazing and wonderful and I thought I would share.

Compassion International is the organization I sponsor Rose through. Check it out.

Snack Ball Extravaganza

About 2 weeks ago on Pinterest (my current wonderful problem), I came across a recipe that has had us and those we've shared it with, raving about how great it is. My kids go right to the fridge after naps and ask, "can we have a snack ball?" I love telling my kids funny names for things because they don't know the real ones and they'll say it unit they figure out it's not the "real name." Well, the real name was Energy Bites. My kids don't need any more energy than they all ready own, so telling them they're eating it may just be their excuse to exert more of it in our home. So snack ball it is. I changed a few things about the recipe, but I will post a link to the one I used to begin with:
http://gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/

No-Bake Energy Bites Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
• 1 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Method:

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed.  Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like.  (Mine were about 1″ in diameter.)  Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Makes about 20-25 balls.

Ali’s Tip:

Substitution ideas can abound for just about any of these ingredients!  Feel free to substitute in your favorite nut butter (almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.) for the peanut butter.  And you could also add in some wheat germ in place of some or all of the flaxseed.  I would caution, though, against substituting agave nectar for the honey, as the honey’s thickness helps hold things together.

Some other fun substitutions for the chocolate chips (or an addition to them) could include:

• chopped dried fruit (apricots, dates, raisins, etc.)
• dried berries (cranberries, cherries, etc.)
• chopped almonds, pecans, or sunflower seeds
• other chips (butterscotch, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, etc.)

Update: Many of you in the comments have asked about substitutions for other ingredients.  The joy of these bites being “no bakes” is that this recipe is super flexible.  If you end up needing to omit one of the dry ingredients (such as coconut or flax), just add in some extra of whatever other dry ingredient is remaining (for example, the oats).  If you feel like your energy bites are too dry, just add in extra honey or peanut butter.  Enjoy!!!

Source: Slightly adapted from Smashed Peas & Carrots.

That is the recipe I started with. 

The first time I made them, I did not have any flaxseed, so I used more oats and they were amazing. The next time, after my trip to the organic food store when I  DID have flaxseed, they were ALSO amazing. Both times I added Craisins. I also bought mini chocolate chips because it made them easier to form into a ball. The kids help me with this recipe and they have fun making the balls, but I will say, it is more like "smashing them together" instead of rolling them. I used part raw honey as well. I also do not toast my coconut before and it's just fine. I usually have to use my freshly washed hand to "stir" all ingredients together before putting them in the fridge. A Kitchen Aid may also work :). So, if you're wanting a great snack that's not processed and fills the tiny tummy, this is it. Adapt it how you want and use often. I've already made 3 batches because my husband (whose tummy is not so tiny) loves them too.

The Specs. All of them.

As some of you know, via Facebook, I ordered glasses online this month from Zenni Optical. I had seen a friend's glasses and complimented them, only to have her inform me that she got them online for less than $30. Naturally, being the bargain hunter I am, I had to check it out after my updated eye exam. I was floored at how well the glasses were priced and the fact that I could get 4 pairs for a ton less than I ever paid for one pair in the store made me just plain happy. I obviously was unable to try them on myself, but I did go through about 80 pairs trying them on my virtual face shape they provided for me. I was fun. I wanted to branch out a bit since it was only costing me about $12, I got a huge pair, a black pair, a tortoise shell frame and a clear frame. They came in the mail last Tuesday and I have finally worn all of them to get a picture of each. I was actually trying them on in the car after Andrew brought the mail on our outing. The kids were excited to see what each pair looked like and they even think the 80's pair looks good. It's not something I did to be serious in any way. If I wanted to do that I would have gone back to the store and spent hours in there and then a few hundred dollars and actually have had my feelings hurt if someone thought they were any less than amazing. These glasses, however, I could have picked up at Claire's for all anyone knows and for the price, it was worth seeing if I could pull off the up and coming trends I'm seeing around. Anyway, it's been great, and if you're a 4-eyed person like myself, it's worth checking into. I will get my old glasses filled with my new prescription eventually since I really do like those still too. Then, like most things in my wardrobe, there will be variety.

These pictures are all taken with my computer's camera, so that's why they're pretty much terrible quality, but it's what you do when the kids are sleeping and the husband is working. Say Cheese!

Fastnacht Day!

Yesterday, being the day before lent, some friends invited us to their traditional Donut Day. I cannot believe we've lived here almost 4 years and this is the first time I've heard of this amazing occasion. Their family gets together every year and makes donuts of all kinds to enjoy. Many people did this in the past to rid their homes of yeast, lard, sugar, and butter the day before fasting for lent. You can check out the two articles I've posted to learn more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrove_Tuesday

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasnacht_(pastry)

The kids helped roll and cut the dough and I got to help shake the toppings on them once they were done in the frier. I'm not going to lie, this event, next to deep fried halibut, made me want a frier of my own. We had a really great time learning this (new to us) tradition and hopefully we can carry it on. There's never a wrong reason to want to dedicate a whole day to making donuts, right? 

Some were chocolate donuts, we filled the ones with sprinkles, and the others are made with mashed potatoes in them. That makes them healthy in my mind!

Here's a recipe I found for potato donuts. Also known as Spudnuts.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Mashed-Potato-Doughnuts

My friend also posted about the day in her blog, which you can check out at:

http://lkreitz.blogspot.com/

Have a wonderful day!

Always blessed to capture life.

This is one of Andrew's co-workers and his fiancé. They will be wed this June and I was excited to be able to take their pictures this winter to celebrate their engagement.

I got to capture my friend's pregnancy with the first one, now pictured, then she had a little girl a few months ago. Her boy was great through the whole session. I think maternity pictures are so special, especially when there are older siblings involved.

And here she is. So beautiful. 

These two cuties were my most recent session. Their 

story is such a blessing to me. I have known their parents  

from church and a through a common friend. They were adopted

last year by this couple and their smiles tell it all. It was a 

domestic adoption that has a very neat story. Their birth mother ended up nearby the home church of my friend.

The pastor there knew my friends were trying to adopt and contacted

them after the mother had shown up at the church saying she needed better care for them. And here they are, in our small town, in a loving home, with wonderful parents. My friend asked me to get pictures for her husband for Valentine's day that could be framed for their wall. It was a great time of getting to know this family and their story as I took their pictures.  

Flash Back!

Walking through Target today was like walking into a time tunnel back to 1989. I could not help but laugh at the number of neon things I saw as we strolled around in our giant red cart. Ella was super fascinated with the sheer brightness of the colors and wanted all things neon pink. I broke down and got her and I matching dresses that look like something I would have worn in third grade. (They were on clearance) So fun! Now it just needs to warm up.

There were friendship bracelets for sale. I mean, back when I was about 10, I made a bunch of them and sold them for about 5 cents at my "garage sale" in the driveway. Here, they're asking $4.  

Check it out! Peter wanted the bright green plastic piece of jewelry and I had to tell him I think not. I try not to smash creativity, but I draw the line at my boy wearing bangles. 

Is this really happening?  I am getting old enough to say, "Back when I was your age..." and "I guess it's really coming back!" 

Something about my intended quick trip to the big red store took me back to shopping for jellies while holding my mom's hand and picking out just the perfect pair. Trust me, Ella would have come home with some if they'd had them in her size. Alas, I will check back. 

Hearts

Hangs over the stove and I love the brick in the background.

This past week I have been having a lot of fun with hearts. We did some fun painting projects and I got to use lots of glue. Michaels was having a sale on scrapbook paper and since I'm not really a scrapper, I decided that special projects could still warrant the ability to purchase the very fun parchment. I saw an idea on Pinterest that met my fancy since I have lots of old books I bought at a library sale years ago. This is what I made with my goods. Now, I will say, in order to make a valentine project, one may want to choose books that would have appropriate words. By this I mean, do not choose books from 1956 about a war on Indians. I actually had to proof read my pages after cutting them since there were very un-politically correct words like "savages" all over them. Mostly huge sections on people dying and being buried by homes. This posed a giant problem for me and I was up until 11pm working on this banner. 

Choose something more along the lines of Pride and Prejudice.

If you are my sister or you married my brother, or you married Andrew's brother, or you are Andrew's sister, you will be getting one of these in the mail soon! 

All I did was cut out the page, made the V in the paper, glue the heart on, fold the paper over some yarn and staple it. Simple. Happy Bannering!

Up High...

Down Low...

Little boy! Hold out that heart!

As you can see, I had a bit of trouble getting #3 to do what I asked with his handprint heart. Oh well. He's trying. The kids had a lot of fun getting paint all over their hands and making these hearts. Just two little prints side by side, help upside down, makes a heart shape. Another idea follow through from Pinterest. 

This is as original as they come. 

Ella gave me this heart today and told me, "I made this for you. It's for THUMBODY special. Get it? Those are my thumb prints!" We laughed together and I told her I loved it and I would hang it right on our cabinet so Daddy could see it too. She's pretty proud of it and so am I. (It explains why her thumb was stained the other day ;)

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.
Psalm 28:6-8