Thankful for food Thursday!

We are going to be picking apples this week, so I have apples on my mind.  Here is a recipe you are sure to enjoy and something a little different for little tummies in the morning! 

Apple Puff Pancakes

6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
2 apples - peeled, cored and sliced
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions:

1.Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

2.In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to blend eggs, milk and vanilla. Add flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon; mix just until blended. Set aside. (May add 1/2 cup of oats to this)

3.Melt butter in a 9x9 inch square pan. Arrange apple slices in the bottom of the pan, and pour the batter over them. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top.

4.Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until puffed and lightly browned.
 
*I double or triple this recipe and put in an appropriate size pan.  Also great to make the night before and just stick in the oven in the morning.

An update~ kind of

Not much on our circumstances to report.  No job or job prospects as of yet.  It was a week ago today my dear husband lost his job.  A week ago, we really thought our world was crashing in and we were it total despair.  Today, a different story.  God has done some amazing things in our hearts and given us more peace and joy than we have EVER had.  We made a choice not to blame God but look to Him.  To seek God's way, not our way.  To put our hope in Him, not our circumstances and most of all to trust Him with EVERYTHING!  It's amazing how when we are stripped of all that we have, that we can truly, whole heartedly surrender!  Realizing how much we look to circumstances in our lives instead of our God to supply our EVERY need was an eye opener to say the least.  My husband has been searching and finding God's heart and although no clear cut answers as far as what the world would consider answers for us, he has a joy knowing that it is not up to him but up to God to show him the way.  In that, I can rest knowing that God is for us and my husband is allowing God to direct is path. 

So, the prayers you are all saying ARE working and they are reaching heaven!  Thank you!  We are giving God the glory and are even able to thank Him for this trial knowing that this is what legends are made of and someday we will share this with our grandchildren and we can tell them how faithful our God is! 

A song by Jeremy Camp says this~

I will walk by faith, even when I cannot see.
Because this broken road, prepares your will for me.

The trials we go through are only a preparation of God's will in our life.  Bring it on!  I can't wait to see how it all ends up!  I will be keeping you posted! 

Giddy-up

Not a care in the world!
That's how it's supposed to be when we allow God to take over!

More than that...

I must admit sharing our wonderful news yesterday was a cleansing of my soul.  AFter the week we had, I had to share something good.  This baby is so much more then what it has been in the past.  Don't get me wrong, EVERY ONE of my pregnancies has been a joy and a miracle in my eyes.  But this time it is more than that. 

On Wednesday my husband lost his job.  I can't even begin to explain the emotions I have been through in the past couple of days.  I know God is my provider and I know the verses in the bible that tell me He cares for me and I DO believe them.  However, it has been very hard to feel anything but what my flesh feels right now.  I have been fighting my fleshly fear and worries with scripture and He has been so faithful to bring my heart peace.  But seeing my husband broken, our bank account with already nothing left, our babies faces and wondering where the food will come from and how we will pay our mortgage, does get to a person!  I am to walk by FAITH and not by SIGHT.  God has been reminding me of that hourly!  I am not to concentrate on the things I listed above but to put my faith in the one who looks at that list and can erase all of it and turn it into good.  My hope is never to be in my circumstances, but to be in HIM!  I am believing that! 

So, this baby is a promise of our future.  That He is thinking ahead, that He has not left us and the guarantee that He does love us!  What greater promise of a future than a child growing inside of you!  I can't see this little one right now as it is being knit together in my womb, but I KNOW that it is there!  I go by FAITH not SIGHT!  God has used this little one and it is only 10 weeks old, to change me and mold me into more of what He desires me to be.  TOTALLY dependent on Him!  Not in a paycheck, my home, or my comforts! But to the one who has given me life and life to the little babe growing inside of me.

This is not easy for me to always "feel", but just as David did when running from King Saul, I know who my God is and I am determined to trust in Him and I will NOT be moved or shaken! 

If you could please lift our family up in your prayers as my husband searches for a job and we learn to put all that we have in Christ's hands, I would appreciate it!  I know it is through the valley's that we can appreciate the mountains, but it is sometimes very lonely in the valley!  WE WILL climb up the mountain and take in the view again, but for today, we will trust Him in the valley too!

Foto Friday- this leads to this...

Two people in love and asking God to lead in every area of their lives INCLUDING family size...

Leads to this...

 

for the 12th time...

A break..

Last night we were hit with the most dreaded, annoying, feared, thing I experience as a mother with many children.  THE STOMACH FLU!  I can't tell you how much I loathe it!  So for a time I will be out of the blog world.  I will return when things have settled down and I am sure you will get to hear of our experince.  Or maybe I will save you from all of it!  That would be kind of me wouldn't it!  Until then, have healthy, sick-free days!  Oh, and we could really use prayer if you think about it!  Thank You!

Sleeping baby

There is NOTHING sweeter to me than a sleeping baby!
I could sit and watch for hours and hours and never get bored!
It is very rare I can get to a camera and take a sweet picture like this before he wakes.

So...

I will just enjoy the moment and savor the peacefulness of...

 

My sweet baby sleeping.

Out of MY mouth!

I know being a mother brings about many things that you thought you would NEVER say or ever thought you would NEED to say.  Being a mother of 8 boys, 7 of them 9 years old and younger, I have stayed awake at night thinking about the shocking things I have said during the day!  Here are a few:

• Why did you put play-dough down your brother's pants?
• Is that potty or water in your dump truck?
• Where did  that screw come from and why are you holding that screw-driver?
• NO, you cannot eat that cookie covered in dust and whatever else that is!
• I suppose you can just tear off the green stuff on the corner of your sandwich and eat the rest! But I would make another one if I were you.
• The ceiling fan IS NOT to throw socks at!  OR balls!
• Why is there dirty toilet paper in your bed?
• Don't tie your brother up to the doorknob!
• No, the dog does not eat fish, that is just what her breath smells like.
• I don't know why the garbage man pulled up his shirt and shook his belly while you were looking out the window at him, but you can't do that! (That really DID happen!  And I would have called the company because I was appalled however, my husband laughed so hard after hearing about it and told me to lighten up.  Still not sure about that one!) :)
• It is not right to stick your toes in your brother's mouth!
• You have cleaned off 3 of your brother's plates, I think you have had enough!
• Honey,  that is not water coming out from that cow's tail.
• You can't wear your mud boots and shorts when we go to the store.
• We don't potty at the park by the slide!
• Yes, I heard that one and yes it does smell really bad!  No, I'm not proud of you!
• Get that snake out of grandma's house!
• No, I really don't want to see the dead, bloody, deer that you shot hanging in grandpa's garage.
• If your dad weren't home on weekend's and mess up all the manner's I have been teaching you during the week, maybe we could accomplish something!  (Said in a loving tone of course!)
• Why is the remote outside under the grill?
• You CANNOT put water in the gas tank of the lawn mower EVER again.
• Don't tear off the legs of bugs!  That is not nice!  It can still walk without it's legs?  Are you sure?
• Next time, you don't need to use the WHOLE bottle of shampoo for your hair!
• You can't play slip and slide in the tub!  You might hit your head!
• It's kind of like diapers for mommies.  No you can't try it on and please don't stick them to the wall again!  They cost lots of money!
• It's NOT okay to EVER eat something that your brother asks you to close your eyes and open your mouth for!
• Yes, that is the noodles that you had for dinner that came out of your tummy into the toilet.  I know it doesn't taste as good as it did when you ate it earlier.  No, you don't ever have to eat it again!

I must just laugh because if I didn't I would have to sit down and cry at all the things my boys come up with!  I love being a mom!  But I wonder what I will say in the coming years if these things have come out of my mouth in the past few days!!  SCARY!

Foto Friday- Before and during

It is no secret we have bunnies, and LOTS of them!  It is true what they say!  They multiply like crazy!  We can identify with them! :)

The kids bring them inside to jump around on occasion and we caught this one in action!

Before the leap...

during mid- flight

 

We thought that was a great photo moment!

Hope you have many great photo moments this weekend!

Thankful for food Thursday!

I always have browned hamburger in my freezer that I cook right after I buy it, put it in freezer baggies so when I need it for a recipe like this, it cuts the time WAY down!  We usually make homemade fries and have fresh veggies and fruit.  Brown beans are also a pleaser with these sandwiches!  Enjoy!

Yummy Sloppy Joes (yes, they are sloppy but oh so worth it!)

Ingredients:


1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
3 teaspoons brown sugar
salt to taste ( leave this out)
ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, and green pepper; drain off liquids.

2.Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
 
It's that easy!
 
*This recipe makes 4-6 servings.  I double this for our family!

What I am doing- Wednesday

What I am doing, Wednesday:

• Going to Amish store
• making 100 + cookies
• making lunch
• make dinner (any good idea's?)
• take care of a 15 month old with fever
• pray nobody else gets it
• laundry (when don't I do that)
• fold laundry
• put laundry away (least favorite chore EVER)
• get house in order (happens at least 10 times a day)
• make dentist appointments (that is always fun with 11 kids and 2 adults)
• get ready to pack for this weekend
• find time to play with my kids
• take a long nap 
• read a good book
• go shopping for new clothes just for me!

Okay, the last 3 I was daydreaming, but thought I would make a mental note and just enjoy at least typing it!  :)

Terrific Tuesday

My Manic Monday has ended and...

this is why my Tuesday is so TERRIFIC!

How could you look at that little face and...

not just want to explode with terrific-ness in your heart?!

It is worth all the Manic Monday's in my life past, present and future! :)

Manic Monday

definition of manic:
~affected with or marked by frenzy or mania uncontrolled by reason: synonyms; unbalanced,frenzied

"Just another manic Monday. Wish it were Sunday, that's my fun-day.  My,  I don't have to run-day, it's just another manic Monday!"

I think that was sung by Belinda Carlisle when I was young.  I never really fully understood the words until I became a mom! 

I always have these great plans for the weekend and then the weekend comes and...the last thing I feel like doing is the "great" plans I had planned!  I'm not sure if it's because my husband is home for 2 whole days so my frame of mind changes or I just get lazy, but for whatever reason, my Monday mornings always are WAY to manic!  This weekend was no exception plus add in the factor that I have been sick for 3 weeks!  I finally went to the ER last night and found out I have bronchitis.  So, my Monday has been even more manic than normal!  Good news is, my cough is already a touch better so I am on the mend, however, I have so many things I need to do and just don't have the energy.  Which leads me to the joys and ONE of the reasons we homeschool!  FLEXIBILITY!  Our school for today?  To accomplish all the things we did not complete over the weekend!  Otherwise my entire week would continue to be manic! Now, after the work is done, they can play outside and then afternoon naps for the little ones (maybe mom too) and games for the big kids. 

I am a person that does not like spur of the moment change!  I have my plans and that is how I fly!  But God is showing me that MY plans are not always best and if I check with Him first, I may not always feel like Mondays are so manic!  I am learning to go with the flow and beginning to realize that if my house does not get clean when I want it clean or somebody calls for the family to come over and play (which did happen this weekend) I can just toss my hands up in the air and remember everything will be there when we get home!  It's not everyday, a family of 13 gets invited to someones house!  Those are things that matter!  A messy house will get messy again but friendships need to be cherished and built moment by moment!

My manic thoughts are still there of all the things I need to do, but what I do with those thoughts is up to me!  I can let them control me or I can give them to God.  So instead of feeling frenzied and unbalanced, I can feel peace and give all that I have to Him!

Going to work on this and hoping that this will be the last MANIC MONDAY I have for a while!  On to a melancholy Monday afternoon and a TERRIFIC Tuesday! :)

Foto Friday

We are back into the swing of things this week!
We take learning as an everyday occurance and don't sit and have school for hours a day.
We don't have lists of assignments, tons of folders, workbooks or papers.
If I wanted that for them, I would have sent them to school.

But...

our kids are learning volumes

about helping, cooperating,

sharing wisdom, sharing ideas, creating, and learning about God's creation

and how to work together!

Those are really the life skills we all need to learn over and over!

Have fun this weekend enjoying whatever it is you are doing!

Thankful for food Thursday!

The only chocolate I like is dark chocolate in a house of milk chocolate lovers!  So, chocolate not being my favorite of desserts, (sigh, I know!) my taste buds like something a little different.  These are delish and even my chocolate fans of the family eat these up! :)

Incredibly Delicious Lemon Bars 

Ingredients:


1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups white sugar

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 lemons, juiced

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.

3.Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/12 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.

4.Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. For a festive tray, make another pan using limes instead of lemons and adding a drop of green food coloring to give a very pale green. After both pans have cooled, cut into uniform 2 inch squares and arrange in a checker board fashion.
 
*Use lime for a key lime flavor!

God's voice

Since I came to know God years ago, I have had a personal relationship with Him where I hear Him speak to me and try to obey.  When I was young I knew I loved Him and I always felt He was there but I can't ever remember Him speaking to me with that still small voice.  But I actually think it was me not listening!  I don't like the "once saved always saved idea".  It does not make sense to me but I do know that once you come to know Christ in an intimate way, His voice becomes so evident IF you listen and get to know Him.  Because of that I know that I am saved and where I will be spending eternity. 

Now, is that based on all of my works that I do here on earth?  If I am "busy" enough serving Him and praying and reading my bible enough, and all kinds of other lists, I will go to heaven?  No!  The only way I am saved is by His blood.  Yes, it is my decision to surrender and obey, but NOTHING I do will save me!

1 Peter 1:18-19~ Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot.

 Yes, there are definitely things I will WANT to do because I desire to please Him but my salvation is not based on those things.  I have had times in my life where God has spoken to me to go and tell someone that Christ loves them and that they are not alone.  He has spoken to me and told me to give all that I have to a lady I did not know including my FAVORITE bible!  We did not have much and I only had $40 in my bank account but at that time, that was A LOT because it was all we had!  I had a hard time with that one and God gently spoke to me that I should put my trust in Him and He would reward me 100 fold.  Well, I did obey, (not so I would be rewarded, God just knew that I needed that reassurance).  So after talking to my husband about it, we took the money out of our account and gave my favorite bible to this lady and months later after forgetting about being rewarded, my husband got a job with EXACTLY 100 times more that what I gave to her.  $4000 more then our previous income!!  God does want what is best for us and I am convinced that if we would ask Him more, our lives would turn out way better then they are without asking Him! 

The enemy, Satan is so occupied with trying to keep us from hearing God that we get so "busy" we don't even take time to listen!  That is his goal!  If we are busy, we can't hear.  If we can't hear, we can't obey.  If we are not obeying, our lives will be a mess and our spirit will be empty searching for peace with things that cannot satisfy!  So, why do we settle for the world, when we can have peace and joy and have it abundantly?  We are just trying to do it on our own. 

I have lost things before and will say a simple prayer and ask God to help me find it.  Within minutes, I usually have it in my hand.  I have been 9 months pregnant and ask God on the way to the store to please help me find a close parking space.  A car will be backing up at the time I drive in the lot!  I am not saying we treat God as a good luck charm or a musician to get what we want.  What I am saying is that He DOES care about the little things and the big things in our life because He cares about us!  It says in the bible, "we have not because we ask not."  It also says to, "pray without ceasing".  So that tells me that God desires us to bring all that we have and all that we are to Him!  I always tell my children that we are all one choice away from going the wrong direction and our eternity could be in jeopardy!  However, if we are listening to that voice, and He does promise His sheep will KNOW His voice, then we will be living our life for Him and although we will make mistakes, He is merciful and knows our hearts.  Sin is NOT our problem!  It is our lack of relationship with Him and the absence of listening to Him that causes us to suffer!   I get so tired of hearing about how sin is destroying our lives!  Although sin does destroy us, it is because of lack of Jesus in our lives that sin is a problem!  We need to hear of what relationship with Him does to us and how to listen to His voice!  Not that we will NEVER sin because we allow Jesus in our hearts, but sin will not overtake us if we are turning to Him and following His voice. 

God, please allow me to follow and listen to your voice!  Thank you for not giving me a list of rules that I have to do to be saved but saving me by your precious blood!  Help me to realize daily that it is not sin that is my problem but the absence of you in my life that causes me pain!  May I always allow you to radiate through me by loving others the way that you love and others will see you in me!!   Thank you for being a perfect shepherd and the privilege of being your sheep!  Amen!

Labor Day thoughts

Cool ~ rainy ~ sunshine ~ still doing school ~ dad is home ~ making cookies (200 to be exact) ~ no joke! ~ lots harder than I thought ~ kids love cookie dough ~ so does mom ~ grilling out for dinner ~ grilled chicken is my favorite ~ homemade french fries are too ~ taking a trip to an old railroad bridge with the family later today ~ my house is a mess ~ don't care ~ okay, really I do care ~ not going to do anything about it now ~ I have sugar and flour all over me ~ don't care about that either ~ really I don't! ~ I want another baby ~ really I do! ~ feeling like I need a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit to blow over me ~ maybe that was my problem last week? ~ I am ready for fall ~ can't wait to make apple pie ~ already have Christmas presents bought ~ lots more to buy however ~ glad we only give each of our kids 3 gifts for Christmas ~ I love holidays ~ I don't like to "labor" on Labor Day ~ going to go take a nap!