• /
    • Archives / October 2011

Archives For October 2011

Eating Real

October 11, 2011

Every autumn I anxiously anticipate when the stores set out the bright orange and yellow bags of candy corn. Oh those sweet little nuggets of sugar. I fully believe I survived on those one quarter in college. But not this year. Two weeks ago we dramatically changed our diet. While we were on vacation our sweet little two year old threw the worst tantrums we had ever seen. I don’t even want to describe them. But the fits included inflicting pain on herself which crushed my heart. I was determined to do whatever need be to keep her from doing that ever again.

Two of the parties we had gone to that week handed out handfuls of candy. One through a piñata and the other had a candy table. Both times our toddler ate and ate and ate. Stuffing her cheeks and pockets with chocolates and sugar candies. So I am convinced that was the main source of her horrific outbursts.

I got online and began looking for healthy eating tips. Years ago we had begun The Makers Diet. I still swear by that diet but it’s a little rough for a toddler. I then came across 100 Days of Real Food. Honestly, it’s very much along the same lines as The Maker’s Diet. Take out the sugars and eat the foods that God created, not the foods man has created. Keep all the nutrition that was created for our bodies.

I was pleased to discover that this blogger lives in the same city as us and shops at the sames markets. Not only that, she gives meal plans that even walk you through the grocery stores AND gives you the total price you’ll spend at the end of your trip. That was all I needed to hear. I was sold.

And so two weeks ago we began our journey with 100 Days to Real Food. To my great surprise my children loved most every single meal! They enjoyed the grocery trips and the drives to the farmers market. Their favorite, I believe, is all the fresh fruits. My favorite is that I only have to make one meal. No peanut butter and jelly ‘if-you-don’t-like-it’ meals.

So occasionally I’ll be posting our review of her recipes. First up is the Granola Cereal.

I was hesitant to try it only because the word ‘granola’ makes me think of Grape Nuts for some crazy reason. The first batch I made….ruined. Please, be wise and read all of the instructions in any given recipe. I thought the oven was supposed to be set at 475 and it was supposed to be set at 250. I was thinking of a different recipe at the time. So fifteen minutes into the baking smoke was filling my kitchen. The house smelled distasteful for a good day or two.

When I remade the recipe it was the sweetest autumn smell. The look of the granola was just as tantalizing. We’ve eaten just out of the bag. We’ve had it as cereal with vanilla almond milk. And my favorite, we paired it with plain greek yogurt and honey. I honestly did not want to eat it at first because plain yogurt is so…bleh. But it was delicious! A treat for the taste buds!

Follow this link to view the recipe: Granola Cereal

 

I look forward to sharing more recipes and even some of our own ‘real’ recipes. Consider trying this new/old way of eating. It’s saved us lots of money! It’s saved us many fights at the dinner table. And we’re able to teach our children how to eat correctly and to support local farmers. We’ve just begun but I believe we’re on the right path to health.

Blessings!

In Recipes
 permalink

Rag Curls

October 10, 2011

This past weekend was Crazy Hair Night at AWANA. The girls were so excited and we had so much fun thinking about what kind of crazy things they could do. They put headbands on backwards. Stuck ponytails straight into the air. We even went to the store and looked at the spray in hair colors. However, we decided to go the old fashioned route. Taking from Laura Ingalls Wilder we tried our hands at rag curls. I received so many comments on the girls hair that day/night that I wanted to post some instructions. This is very photo heavy but I hope it helps you to understand how fun, safe and easy this is {no big scary, hot curling irons}! First – the finished product.

Here is a photo from last year so you can get an idea of what her hair is normally like.

Pretty straight. She’s got some lofty curls but clearly nothing like when we rag curled it.

Now, you’re going to see a bunch of different photos. They were all taken over three days. The first night when the actual curling was done. The next day for the big reveal. The day after I had my daughters pose so we could get some good visuals to go along with the instructions.

Let’s begin!

First thing you’re gonna want to do is cut up an old clean t-shirt. The pieces we cut were about 1 inch by 7 inches. Or the length of your hand.

Cut about thirty of them. I went hog wild and cut the entire shirt knowing we’d use some and lose some. Plus with this many girls we can always use extra. These do not have to be perfect. Any size will work.

Now you’re gonna want to start a movie. This whole curling thing can be a kind of long process. Especially the first time around. Once you get the hang of it it won’t take as long. For three kids it took one Prince of Egypt and part of The Lion King. It is best to start with a wet head or you can do what we did and use a bottle of water to spray on each section.

Take a section of hair. Whatever size you want. I haven’t tried it but I assume you’ll get different looks based on how big a section you work with at a time.

Make sure you get it wet. Then add a little poof of mousse. This will help the curl to hold the next day.

Work the mousse into the hair. Get it all the way from the roots all the way down to the tip.

Take a piece of your fabric and place it underneath the strip of hair.

Take the end and wrap it around the fabric. This gets tricky when the hair is uneven but don’t worry too much about it. When it’s all curled up you won’t be noticing the tips all that much.

Next you’ll curl it under, up to the scalp.

Once you get to the top all that’s left is to tie it off. And trust me, it holds! Don’t double knot it.

And that’s it! Once you complete the entire head it’s time to go to bed and let time do its work. Here are some photos my dear husband took the night we first rag curled.

Below you can tell it was getting late and the little ones were awfully tired.

Good morning! Time to wake up and take those rags out! If you’re anything like me, when you take the rags out you’re gonna be kinda disappointed.

It looks pretty but certainly wasn’t what I was expecting. So I nervously spread my fingers and raked my hands through her hair. And boy did it poof up!

I then quickly attacked it with lots and lots of hair spray! {later that evening we sprayed it with glitter because, after all, it was crazy hair night}

Here are photos of the other girls. Again, both have hair similar. Straight yet slightly wavy.

I hope you take the time to try this. I have yet to put a curling iron on my daughters hair and would like to stay away from doing that as long as possible. This, on the other hand, was a fun change up for them. They’re talking about trying it on each other without Mama’s help. And just so you know, this can be done without mousse. It just won’t hold as well. Here is a photo from when I tried this about four years ago without any hair products. I also made the curls much looser.

Have fun and happy curling!

Blessings!

 

 

In Tutorials
 permalink

Careless Words

October 6, 2011

{I would love to give credit for this photo but I can’t find where it’s from. Got it from Pinterest}

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
{Matthew 12:36-37 ESV}

There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
{Proverbs 12:18 ESV}

A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
{Proverbs 15:4 ESV}

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

{James 3:5-10 ESV}

Can you tell where I’m struggling? Pray for me?

Blessings!

In Scripture
 permalink

Half Past Eight

October 5, 2011

~ A poem by Karen Ehman. A reminder of just how quickly the days fly by ~

Dear Lord, where has the time gone? It’s already half past eight. It seems just a minute ago the clock read one or two.

Just a while ago, my child, you were so tiny, so fragile, and there was so, so much to do: midnight feedings, endless rocking, learning to do all a new mother must do. I was scared. So were you – your tiny fingers curled around mine – but we learned together, you and I, and the clock kept ticking.

Every tick, every tock, passed slowly, I thought then. I couldn’t wait to see you talk, then to walk, but each day seemed an eternity. And then your personality began to emerge. You cooed “dada” and strung together random words like a priceless string of pearls. What queen could buy these treasures?

First steps: “Oooohh” – Boom! – “Get up and keep going, honey!” First dresses: “Mommy, I pretty!” “Yes, you are, my sweet.” Your first pony ride: I walked so close. You clung so tight. Before too long you begged me to let go. “Okay, honey, but just for a moment.”

Everyone from doting grandmas to complete strangers told me how very quickly time would fly, but for me it seemed to march slowly on.

The clock soon struck three. Peter was there. And Flopsy and Mopsy and Cottontail too. So many hours spent with them, curled up in that old oak rocker. We left only briefly, to visit with others. Do you remember? Pooh and Piglet, Papa Small, and Curious George. They were our gang each afternoon before I lay you in your bed. You were too big by then for your crib. And besides, a new baby bundle of brotherly clue had taken over that corner of your room. “Shhh…baby’s sleeping. We’ll read one more and then off to bed, my lamb. It’s nearly half past three.”

The cuckoo clock cheerfully announced the arrival of four. With it came many new adventures. Your first trip to the dentist (you were very brave), staying all night at Grandma’s (how many cookies did you eat?), and Sunday school, birthday parties, and on and on and on. No sooner had the cuckoo tucked back in and shut his wooden doors when the chimes rang out five times.

Is it five already? Where has the time gone? The chimes brought with them lace and frills and everything pink. We then spent our afternoons chatting over tea. Pooh and Piglet still visited at times, though not quite as often. For the most part they were replaced with a newfound friend. Remember? She met us in the old oak rocker faithfully each day. It was Laura. And Mary. And Carrie. And even that mean old Nellie Olson. Oh, how you loved their world! Your curls were replaced with two long braids; your pink with gingham blue (it was Laura’s favorite too). You wore that old bonnet strung down on your back and would answer only to “Half-pint.” “Pa called Laura that,” you’d insist. So we churned butter and baked biscuits and I learned to answer to “Ma!” (What happened to “Mommy”?) No time to question. Just look at the time…

Six…and then seven. Maybe they were right. Time marched more quickly. You no longer needed me for books. Now you could read by yourself! And often you did as that baby bundle of blue turned into a toddler who simply adored his Big Sis. So we journeyed to the library and got reacquainted with Peter and friends. You introduced them to your brother, who now occupied your lap. “One more time, sissy, please, just one more!” he would plead. “Okay,” you’d answer. “But just this once, brother. It’s getting very late.” Oh, darling, if you only knew.

And now here we are at half past eight. Who knows what you’ll be at the stroke of twelve? The stork came again. Again he brought blue. “Two brothers. How wonderful!” came your reply to the news. This one came to rest happily upon your left hip. And there he remains perched as you now go about your day. Mixing dough in the KitchenAid (what happened to your plastic play stove?) and answering the phone (what about the toy one with the curly cord you dragged behind you all those years? Where is it now?)

You’ve come so far, my baby. From scribbles on scrap paper mailed to loved ones far away to now answering emails (will you show me how to use it sometime?); from ribbons and smocked dresses to bobbed hair and bell bottoms. Sometimes I feel as if I’m peering into a mirror from long ago. “Your whole life is ahead of you!” strangers say to my girl. But not for me – for me time speeds by.

Help me make the most of this hour, Lord. I can never live it again. Just look at the clock on the wall. I’m afraid for this mom it is getting very late. Slow the time down, dear Lord, please.

It’s already half past eight.

Blessings!

In Encouragement, Family, Parenting
 permalink

Are You a Pharisee?

October 4, 2011

The weight of this post has me finding anything to do that would keep me from sitting and writing. That, my friends, is what we call ‘obeying the enemy’. So through conviction I write to ask: Are you a Pharisee?

Are you always judging those around you? Sizing them up? Comparing what they’re wearing? How their kids are dressed? What car they’re driving? How often you’ve seen them in church? {Mark 7:5; Luke 5:30}

Are you a tattletale? When you see a brother or sister in sin do you go to them lovingly and help guide them back or are you quick to gossip and tell others about their failings? Pointing out their sins for all to see. {John 8:3-4}

Are you a lover of money? Do you enjoy the best of things? Do you believe that life will only get better if you or your spouse gets that raise? Are your thoughts consumed with money? {Luke 16:14}

Do you obey the laws but forgo grace? Are you sure to be at church every Sunday morning bright and early wearing your best clothes? Do you hold small group so everyone can see your finely kept home? {Luke 11:43}

Do you spend countless hours thinking about how you appear to others? Do you wear nice clothes at all times in case you run into somebody at the supermarket? Do you spend a healthy amount of money on your hair and makeup? Do you spend more time worrying about how others perceive you than how God does? {Matthew 23:25}

Do you go to church and listen to the preacher only later to find a way to justify your own thoughts and actions? {Luke 19:39}

Take heart dear one. You’re not alone.

We have all been Pharisees. We all have struggled with pride. But we have hope! We have at least two amazing examples in the New Testament that we can look to. We don’t have to continue this life of judging.

We look to Paul and Nicodemus. Both Pharisees at one time. Both drawn to Christ. The first slowly and through teachings. The second instantaneously without hesitation. Both saw Christ. And both lives were transformed. But just because they stopped judging others does not mean that people stopped judging them. When you choose to obey Christ and live for Him there will be herds of people ready to jump at you. In John 7:50-52 we see the Pharisees mocking Nicodemus for standing up for Jesus. And there are many accounts of Paul being abused for his faith. Can you even begin to imagine how judged he must have been? Once a killer of Christians and now a follower of Jesus himself.

Are you willing to set your pride aside? Are you ready to stop playing the ‘modern Christian’ and start being real? Find brothers and sisters who can help encourage you because this road is not meant to be walked alone. And capture your thoughts. When we spend our entire lives judging it’s a hard cycle to break. Pray and seek His grace. You were made for so much more than nice clothes, fancy cars and fine foods. We were made to bring glory to His name – not ours.

Blessings!

In Encouragement
 permalink