Taking Time

One of my very favorite things these days:
Walking at a toddlers pace.
I hold the tips of Jerushas fingers, guiding her as we go. Step by step. Slowly. With many near topples.
My heart races as I think of making it across the parking lot without inconveniencing someone trying to drive through it. Races as I think of getting to the car to leave, to run the next errand, to move, move, move. But then I can physically feel my heart pace, blood pressure, and racing mindset slow. I breath deeply and recall the time.  The time is walking with my toddler and it is one of my most favorite times in the world. I may have more children and get to walk this slow pace year after year but I will never have Jerusha be eighteen months, and sixteen days old, holding my hand, and walking through Hobby Lobby again.
The thought continues as we go her pace up and down the stairs to do laundry. Again while I wash dished waiting for her to slowly rinse. It carries on throughout my days, and although sometimes I simply must hurry as things need done, I'm now on the look out for times I can stop, step back, and join Jerusha's beautiful pace.
So today I'm going to walk at the pace of a toddler and take time to slow down and notice the little things. ❤️

Jerusha testing out a chair at the beginning of out Hobby Lobby excursion. 

{Foodie Post No. 5} Pumpkin Spice Scones

Today I had a hankering for scones.
Probably because we're having some nasty rainy, miserable cold weather and making scones meant running the oven (HEAT) and I'd of course have to have a nice hot cup of coffee or tea with them.
I headed to the kitchen and turned the oven on to 350 then poked around my fridge to see what sort of scones to make.
I found this yogurt that I'd gotten for 49 cents and turned out to be kind of nasty.

Normally I would use heavy whipping cream in scones but I know my mother-in-law uses yogurt and her's always turn out yummy. (NOTE: this yogurt does not have the fruit mixed in, I just used the unsweetened Greek yogurt part in the recipe to come;))
I also had a mostly used up can of pumpkin in the fridge so that settled it; Pumpkin Spice Scones.

I grabbed several spices from the cubbard. 

Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, black pepper, chili powder, and vanilla. I know a couple of those seem odd but trust me, they work. Branch out and be more adventurous with your spices. There are some amazing combinations out there to discover!

I used I used about 2 cups of flour, 2 Tbsp of sugar, a sprinkling of all the spices (heavier on the cinnamon), and about 1/2 of Baking Powder but between you and me, I actually didn't bother measuring. 

Next was the 1/4ish cup of yogurt from the yogurt cup (minus a few bites I saved for my daughter who was begging for it) and the 2 or 3 Tbsp of Pumpkin Purée. I also splashed some milk in which ended up being too much so I had to add a little more flour..

 Mini chocolate chips. I would've preferred white chocolate I think but miniature semi sweet is what I had.

 Turned it out on some flour and tried to carefully shape it.. It was still a little sticky for "carefully shaping".

 Once I got it in the general shape of a circle I floured and knife and cut it into baby wedges. (Re flouring the knife between cuts).

Next it was onto the pan and into the oven; but not before a dollop of butter and generous sprinkling of sugar. Generally I'd use whipping cream on the tops but again, I don't have any.

I set the timer for 8 minutes and quickly washed up my dishes

 Obviously I had more dishes to do than just the ones created by operation scones ;)

 The timer went off and I added 4 minutes because they were still looking pretty doughy.
While waiting I whipped up some glaze. Powdered sugar, cinnamon, a little chili powder for color, and maple extract.

 Then I accidentally added too much milk so had to add twice as much powdered sugar; turned out perfect.

                              

 Waiting on the scones to cool a bit...

 Plated and trying to get a nice picture..

"Mommy, you're done." She wasn't quite so eloquent but I knew that's what she meant ;)

We then tried about a million selfie attempts but Jerusha was extremely uncooperative. 

Eventually we gave up and dug in. This is the look of a mommy giving up on selfies. 

The scones were yummy but pretty cakey. 

Pumpkin Spice Scones

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

2 Tbsp Sugar

Generous dash of Cinnamon

Dash of Nutmeg

Dash of Ginger

Dash of Black Pepper

Dash of Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Vanilla Exteact 

Sift together. 

3 Tbsp Pumpkin Purée

1/4 cup Greek Yogurt

Splash of Milk

2 Tbsp chocolate, or white chocolate chips or pieces 

Gently mix and pat into disc.cut into desired amount of wedges. 

Transfer to pan. 

Dot with butter or brush with cream. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 12 minutes. 

3/4 cup Powdered Sugar

Sprinkle of Cinnamon

Sprinkle of Chili Powder

1/4 tsp Maple Extract

A little bit of Milk

Wisk into a glaze and drizzle over scones 

Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee, or tea! 

Own Your Own Path

This morning after nursing, Bible reading, diaper changing, forcing a my poor baby to breath through her inhaler, then fixing and feeding oatmeal I read an article.
This article reminded me who I am.
I am a wife and mommy but first I am a child of the One True King and I am doing His work here on earth.
Sometimes it slips away, amidst the day to day messes, the whining child, crying baby, skipped lunches, sometimes I forget that what I do is important.
I am raising a generation for service to God.
It may not be the glamours missionary life I once dreamed of and idolized as the most important way to serve God. It certainly isn't the home-business I once would have dreamed as a picture perfect life. No, it is the life of a regular family. A husband who works hard sacrificing time away in order to provide for our every need, a wife who stays at home and wipes snotty noses and spit up on the hem of her shirt, and of two girls who are going to be raised in the joy of the Lord.

I am where God has put me and I embrace that. I love the life he has given me, I want for nothing. I know we are following in His will as our life can be held against His word and be tried and proven. Are there things for us to work on? Yes. Are there changes He may show us along the way? Probably. But today we are where He has chosen to put us and with hearts soft and ply-able He will continue working in us, accomplishing His will through us.

God has given us such a beautiful life.
I read a question on the internet today which asked 'if you died tomorrow what would you regret about your current place in life' it was supposed to be a motivational question, to inspire more sacrifice, more service but for me it actually did the opposite.
If I died tomorrow what would I regret?
Nothing.
Not one little thing.
I absolutely am in love with my life.
My identity is found in what Christ is doing through me and I have confidence that my life is bringing Him honor and glory. I believe God is not only watching as I start the laundry machine, clean up a spill, blow raspberries on tummies, and all the other parts of my day, but that He is guiding me through it all. Just as I know He is guiding my husband. We are the work of His hands. He has written our story and I love watching it unfold.

Join me in owning the path God has set you on.
I am a wife, a mommy, a keeper of the home and I own that and give God the glory. It's the path God gave me and it may be similar to many but it is also entirely unique and one in a million.
Who are you?

And now, just because I'm so blessed by him and can, I'm going to take a moment out to shed a little overdue praise on the husband in this picture.
Wesley, my Wesley. He's a dreamer, oh how he dreams. He has the lottery won, invested, and a new home built in one castle in the air. He owns and runs a burger joint in another. Leisurely taking trips around the world in others. He dreams, who doesn't? There's nothing wrong with dreaming as long as it does't get in the way of doing. It may be that not one of those dreams come true, who knows. What I do know is this: Wesley takes care of me, he takes care of our girls, and with not one word of resentment. He does his job away from home well which provides monetarily for us but that doesn't stop him from providing the leadership we need as a family. Wesley has embraced his role as our provider and leader doing the Lords work daily, enabling me to serve here at home and I will forever be grateful. Because he is following God's way of training our children I can correct Jerusha's misbehavior in his absence and know we are unified, because he is following God's plan in providing I could take poor raspy Eowyn to the doctor last week and not worry about how much it may cost.
Thank you for putting our needs above your dreams, for gladly bearing the cross put before you and for choosing to serve our Lord and savior with such joy. I will forever love you and learn from you. <3 Haley

My Fear of Money

This past weekend my husband bought himself a watch for $91. It's a good watch. I wasn't mad at him for the purchase. You may remember that for his last birthday I got him a watch, I researched them for days before making my choice. I know the watch he bought is a good one, better, in fact, than the one I got him. It's a $400 watch that he got on sale, combined with coupons, for $91. I'd call that a win.
BUT still, I wandered around the store looking at over priced items trying to ignore the fact he was buying himself something. He asked if I was okay with him buying a watch and I shrugged a I-don't-really-care-do-what-you-want-yes, because I didn't want to tell him no, it was a good deal, but, I so wanted to tell him no and I wasn't sure why.  
Because you always buy yourself nice things? But he buys me nice gifts, too sometimes. Because you spend more on you than you do me? But the less we spend the better so please don't waste money on me!
Then all the way home I quietly pondered how I felt, actually, I tried to figure out how I felt.
Was I mad at him? No.
Was I disappointed in him? Maybe?
Why? Because that money could go towards buying a new car...?
I didn't exactly hear myself complaining about spending money on Red Lobsters shrimp fest two hours earlier.
Then I found it. I found the word that perfectly described how I was feeling. Jealous.
Jealous.
I was jealous because my husband can spend money on himself and I can't spend money on myself.
Not because he won't let me, no, I know he would, but because I won't let myself.
And ever since I've been trying to figure out why.
Because when I was 12 and spent $20 on a BB gun only to first have extreme buyers remorse, I'd wasted money on a toy, and later to have a friend leave it out in a field to be bush hogged over?
 Have I traumatized myself from spending money? Is that even a thing?
I keep thinking about it. I've looked around our house to see what I own. What is the most expensive thing I've ever bought myself?
I bought a laptop in 2012, at $3?? It is by far my biggest purchase. Since then? $64 dollars on two pair of maternity jeans. How on earth did I justify that? Because I was excited to be pregnant and equally tired of squeezing into regular jeans and Wesley was with me and assured me it was okay, an investment, I'd use them several times in the years to come, hopefully.
Since I've been married I haven't even bought myself a pair of new shoes, just used ones from goodwill.
I spent some money on plants and gardening supplies but that was to grow food for my family, that doesn't count, right?
Besides those maternity jeans I literally can't think of anything that I've picked out or purchased for myself that didn't come from a garage sale, out of goodwill or off of a clearance rack at Walmart or Kohls.
This isn't normal, is it?

I'm not writing this post to brag at how low maintenance I am. Trust me. I don't like being this way. I don't like having a twinge of disappointment every time my husband buys himself something. I don't like being moody afterwards and not being able to explain to my husband that no, I'm not mad at him,  I'm just confused.  I don't like feeling irresponsible if I buy two used shirts at goodwill that, God forbid, weren't the half price color of the day. I don't like this.
Whenever I shop I feel a little guilty if I spend even so much as $5 to get myself lunch, if I didn't eat we could save that money, we could pay off the house faster, we could buy a car, put it towards remodeling the kitchen.

Do I love money? The love of money is the root of all evil.
I don't think I love money. I don't want to be rich.
This isn't normal. It can't be. Or do any of you, my readers deal with issues like this? Do you have any in sight on what causes a person to be so afraid of spending money? Is it something lots of us actually go through and I've just never discussed it with anyone?

{Foodie Post No. 4} Jalapeño Cranberry Jelly

So, remember my garden? My little "pot garden"? I had planned to use my "Foodie" thread to post ways I've used my produce.
WELL.... my tomato plant has produced one tomato and it started to rot before it was even ripe.
I forgot to water my spinach enough times that it went from young and tender to tough nasty looking stuff.
I never got any avocados on sale so the cilantro went unused; I have since let it die.
The basil is growing well but I haven't taken pictures of the meals I've used it in thus far.
The bell peppers have done pretty well and been used on Italian sausages.
My other plant was jalapeño. I'm not sure why I planted them because although I like the spice my 18 month old can't really handle it so I rarely cook super spicy food.
The Jalapeño plant is of course the plant that has produced and thrived despite my neglect in the watering category..
So, finally I have used some of them, only six, but that is a start.

I got this recipe from over here. I haven't checked any of their other recipes out but this one seems to be good.

INGREDIENTS
8 cups Cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 cups Sugar
2-3 Jalapeños, chopped (I used 6 because mine were small and I wanted to err on the side of too spicy)
1 teaspoon fresh grated Ginger

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large sauce pan. Bring to a gentle boil and continue boiling until the cranberry skins burst. Crush the fruits with a potato masher until uniform in texture. Boil hard for one minute longer or until the mixture thickens.
2. Prepare your canning supplies. Bring the temperature of the glass jars up by processing them in hot water for several minutes, and heat a few cups of water in a small saucepan for the lids.
3. Skim off any foam and ladle the hot jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace.
4. Place the lids and bands on top, screwing on the bands just until fingertip-tight. Place the full jars back into the boiling water and process 10 minutes.
5. Remove from the water and place the jars on a towel. Let the jars cool. The seals should suck down (you should hear a popping noise as they do). Makes 6 eight-ounce jars.

Ingredients (minus the sugar.. because I forgot about it)

christmas colors in a pot :)

waiting for the cranberries to pop

...still waiting.. isn't it pretty?

Once they popped I used my potato masher and made it into a uniform consistency 

see? The potato masher..

putting the rings on the jars

Wesley was waxing creative and wanted to do reflective water pictures ;)

after they had processed and I was about to pull them out

beautiful colors and yummy jelly

I tried a creative picture.. cool?

I didn't think to taste my jelly before I put it all into the jars but I licked the spoon and pot so I got a smidgen of a taste. I think it will be good on crackers and maybe with cream cheese or even on toast.

I have a small problem with hoarding jelly so here's to hoping I open, or gift this before I die.

And I'm serious. I hate using up my jelly. I have Raspberry jelly in my cabinet that I canned in 2010 and some pear butter from '11... 
I will have to give at least one of them away to my mom because I hadn't saved enough cranberries from last holiday season so she supplied me with the extra bag I needed. :)

That's all for now because I'm being an irresponsible "mommy blogger" and leaving the care of my children to my sisters :P

~Haley

Weekend Adventure: Michigan Trip

Two weeks ago...

We'd all been fighting illness; Bronchitis, Bronchial Pneumonia, and Laryngitis, but we still decided to proceed as planned and head to Michigan for the weekend.

My grandparents live on a lake in central MI and my family was planning on spending Friday and Saturday there then head over the South Haven on Lake Michigan to well, first of all see the lake, and to visit with my uncle, aunt and cousins who were there on vacation, we we had decided to join them.
In our own car though.
My family would have to own a school bus now if they wanted to be able to haul around themselves plus the four of us ;)

Albeit short we enjoyed a fun, mostly relaxing, trip.
We went on a pontoon ride around the lake, we went tubing and Wesley went for the first time, and undoubtedly the most memorable part of our visit with Grandma Jan and Grandpa Larry was our attempt to find "The Pines".
A few trips ago we went to "The Pines", a local area of woods that mommy had gone to as a kid. It is one of the coolest places I have seen. Pine trees stretching as far as the eye can see. There's no undergrowth due to the density of the trees themselves so it makes for a beautiful and comfortable picnic area or just somewhere fun to take pictures and monkey around for a while.
Well.
This trip we had a little difficulty finding the pines. No one could remember exactly where they were so we ended up at this little sand "parking lot" with a trail leading off into the woods. We hadn't come prepared to hike because we didn't remember having to in the past. Well after fighting off mosquitoes and deer flies, lugging children, suffering through fits of coughing, shuffling in sandals along a sandy trail, and going in a loop, we found a tiny patch of pine trees that resemble wherever the authentic pines are. We called it close enough, took pictures, and enjoyed the small patch.
Here are some pictures of the pines:

These are some pictures of tubing; I believe the first is of me giving the thumbs up of survival and the second of Wesley heading out.

 Also, there are some random pictures.

We left Sunday morning and headed over to South Haven. It was our first time seeing Lake Michigan and it was very neat. 

I'm Feeling 22

Yesterday I turned 22 and for the first time since I was 19 I think I'll claim it.
For some reason I've been stuck at 19. When anyone asks my age a big '19' pops into my mind and I've had to catch myself and often correct myself "nine-er-twenty-one, right? Yeah, twenty-one." I think I was stuck there because it's when I got engaged, married, and found out I was pregnant with my first child. A lot happened. It was a defining year.
Now, I feel like I'll remember that I am twenty-two, though. I'm not sure why it stands out to me but it does. Maybe Taylor Swifts catchy "I'm Feeling Twenty-Two" (a song I don't even know but as I have a T.S. fan for a sister I have heard it a time or two), maybe its because I'm finally looking around at my life and realizing there's no possible way to claim 19, or maybe it's simply because it started with such an awesome and memorable day.

Things that make me feel 22:
I feel like I've been married to my best friend forever, so, I can't still be 19.
I'm a mommy of two..
I'm finally beginning to feel like an adult; I answer the phone, occasionally make necessary phone calls, write and mail checks for bills, took my daughter to the doctor, go shopping with a baby, and feel like I may be doing a decent job keeping house.
I successfully run our household and haven't stepped too far into insanity on weeks when my husband is out of town for work.
Yes, I'm twenty-two.

My twenty-second birthday was memorable, if not only for the fact I am beginning to feel my age.
Wesley was home in the morning and I knew he'd be back for dinner.
The girls were sweet and fun most of the day.
My out-of-state sister texted me a happy birthday message.
A friend stopped by to visit in the early afternoon.
Wesley came home and took care of the girls while I grilled steaks and zucchini for dinner.

(and before you frown and shake your head thinking "shame on Wesley for not doing the grilling" realize that I think I know what I'm doing when it comes to charcoal grilling so in spite of the fact I bought the grill for Wesley's 23rd birthday I enjoyed using it more than I would have enjoyed entertaining the girls for another hour; it was a  nice break)

While waiting for the grill to be ready I opened my gifts. Wesley had thoughtfully picked out a card and gift from the girls to me, as well as ones from himself. 

I love both of my cards, and each gift given is special and it makes me warm and fuzzy inside thinking of the one who gave them and the thought behind them.

Meet Arlen, my beautiful blue-eyed 

husky that was a gift from my girls:

This gift from Wesley I am super excited about. I've always loved traditional polaroids, everything from the science behind them, to watching the picture form, to the fact that I never order digital prints and this way I'll actually end up with a hard copy of a picture! 
Now the only hang up will be actually taking pictures, each picture is so precious because you can't just delete bad ones. Every picture counts and I'm a little afraid that I won't take pictures because I'll be afraid of wasting a precious piece of film.

Here are the first two pictures taken. 

I now realize that I didn't even take either of them because I wanted to be in them! :o :P

Wesley also got me the one gift I requested: a new glass water bottle as the plastic spout on my other one had cracked. He picked out an awesome one that I have enjoyed using today.

Thank you, honey, (wow, I called you honey, I must be getting old) for the wonderful gifts. They're all perfect and even more so because you put thought into them and "wasted" money on making me happy. <3 I love you, not because you did great but, you certainly did do great ;) <3

My birthday evening didn't end there. 

Dinner was eaten and although I over cooked the steaks just a tad, they were still good. Then we waited until 9:30, the ETA of my family coming home from Oklahoma,  and we headed to their house for cake which my mother had prepared in advance. Don't worry, it tasted fresh as ever because I always choose the same Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake for my birthday ;)

We stayed until 10:30 listening to stories from their trip, discussing birthday presents, and sharing in the joy and love of a big-awesome-crazy-family. 

I'm so blessed to have each and every one of those who celebrated with me. From my mommy who went through 9+ months of pregnancy only to have to go through the terrors of labor to deliver me (not to mention put up with me for the rest of her life), to the siblings I grew up with and the ones I'm watching grow up, to my honorary sister Shay who puts up with not only my brother but my entire crazy-annoying-family; I love you all and felt honored to stay up past bed-time to get to celebrate with you. Thank you for making me feel loved and making the first day of being 22 absolutely perfect.

I am so in love with my life and blessed to begin another year of this awesomely beautiful bubble I get to call mine.

~Haley

(I know that once again I am incredibly behind in blogging. Hopefully I catch up but if not you can always hope that I at least post again before eons go by.)