Overnight Glycolic Peel & Delaine's Taco Pizza

A word to the wise......when you get advise from a non expert about glycolic peels beware!
A glycolic peel is 'a deep, intensive skin treatment focusing on the resurfacing and renewing of the epidurmis'- Simply put, the peel creates an induced sunburn (minus all the rays) and your face peels leaving shiny new skin with reduced fine lines....................
YES YES yes yes yes yes!!!
The woman at beauty supply lowered her voice and leaned in just a bit as she was getting ready to share her knowledge on the peel......'It says to only leave it on for 1-3 minutes before rinsing BUT you can actually leave it on over-night for amazing results'
In my desperation I ignored her next comment 'although we did have a woman come in here that had left it on overnight and it really burned her skin- but I am sure her skin was just sensitive'

I could not wear make up the first day after the glycolic peel and I pulled the all nighter together- I think it burned down to the layer of skin that holds all of your black heads- I kid you not when I woke up in the morning and marched to the mirror for the results. most of the black heads that fill my face (which have been in place since 6th grade...I swear it was the wet & wild foundation mixed with the aqua net hair spray mist in the air that cemented into my pores) were poking out of my pores so that I just had to wipe them with my hand and they fell out...........the burn on my face (and especially around my eyes- I guess you are supposed to keep it away from your eyes......seriously!! That is where I have the most wrinkles- Why would I keep it away from there) lasted for several days and seemed to peel an unusual amount- I also had to wear burn cream for a few days.  If you look close you can still see the burn marks under my eyes and the bag of fluid under the burn mark under my left eye.
All in all I would do it again (I bought a whole bottle of it- probably 20 uses) but not leave it on over-night.  I don't have sensitive skin so I am guessing that it is just strong enough that following the directions on the bottle would be smart :)

Totally switching subjects- My friend Delaine gave me the following recipe......It was night 3 of New dinner recipes.  Thank you so much for the suggestion Delaine, I have made it several more times since you gave the recipe to me- My family loves it! 
Taco Pizza
1 pound lean ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated Pillsbury pizza dough
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used colby and monterey jack cheese)
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced black olives
4 green onions, chopped

Directions: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef in a large skillet, over medium-high heat. Drain grease. Add taco seasoning to the ground beef according to package directions.

Unroll pizza dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I used a 10x15 inch cookie sheet). Let dough sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Press dough over the bottom and up along all 4 sides the of cookie sheet. Bake pizza dough for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven.

Place refried beans into a microwavable-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir well and then spread beans evenly over the top of the warm pizza crust. Top with the cooked ground beef mixture, sprinkle with cheese and then add the tomatoes, black olives and green onion.

Return to oven and bake another 5-7 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Picture compliments of this site

The Recipe Binder traveled over the Pacific (Night Two of New Dinner Recipes)

The first glance at my recipe binder is not a pretty sight......dis-colored, smudged, food grimy stains, bulging at the seams...........
It has sat on my counter when the bowl and beaters did not match- absorbing the flecks of liquid (or mashed potatoes) that were sent flying.  It has been opened and shut hundreds of times as new recipes were crammed in leaving the binding flimsy.  It has sat on 8 different kitchen counters as we moved over the years. When we moved to Hawaii, I could not bear to put it in the container with the rest of our house hold goods to be shipped across the Pacific so instead packed it in my luggage.  It's been 38,000 feet in the air, it's made it's way through airports......It's sat in rental cars, hotel rooms, and a cruise ship (we took an Alaska cruise just before moving to Hawaii- It was in the same luggage that went to Alaska and then off to Hawaii)- Besides my Bible, I have never hauled a book/binder around with me more!

The recipes inside are precious- Some coming from Matt's family, some coming from my family, some coming from friends, some from Pampered Chef, Taste of Home, Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman), or cooks.com.....For the most part, the recipes that make their way into this book have been personally tried and deemed delicious by my family.  Night 2 of some new recipes I tried this past week is now added to the recipe book- It was so good I passed it on to my sis and her family as a meal (except I substituted the 7 up biscuits for Buttermilk Biscuits).
The Broccoli Cheese soup is creamy and a wonderful way to end a winters day.  The 7-up Biscuits (found on Pinterest) are easy to make (plus a nice addition served warm with the soup).

ENJOY!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 1 whole onion, diced
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 4 heads broccoli, cut into florets
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups grated cheese (mild Cheddar, sharp Cheddar, Jack, etc.)
• 2-3 cups diced ham (Steph added- not in the original recipe)
• Chicken broth, if needed

Directions

Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat, and then add the onions. Cook the onions for 3 to 4 minutes, and then sprinkle the flour over the top. Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute or so, then pour in the milk and half-and-half. Add the nutmeg, and then the broccoli, a small dash of salt and plenty of black pepper.

Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the broccoli is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in the cheese and allow to melt.

Taste the seasonings and adjust if needed. Then either serve as is, or mash with a potato masher to break up the broccoli a bit, or transfer to a blender in two batches and puree completely. (If you puree in a blender, return the soup to the heat and allow to heat back up. Splash in some chicken broth if needed for thinning.)

_________________________________

7UP Biscuits

 

2 c Bisquick mix
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c 7up
1/4 c melted butter
Preheat oven to 450º

 

Cut sour cream into your Bisquick mix, then add 7up - it will make a soft dough. Now sprinkle your counter with a little Bisquick mix then add dough and pat it out.
Melt butter and pour it into a 9" square baking pan. Cut your biscuits up and arrange them in pan on top of melted butter.
Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

I Want to remember...UPDATED

2 things: UPDATED
I want to remember that today my sister Jodi was induced with their 5th child (name to be announced after his birth- but from what my inside sources tell me their daughter Sienna choose the name). Jod was induced at 38 weeks (today) because the history of LARGE babies.  After her doctor did some testing to see this little guy's size it was determined he was following the lead of his 3 brother's before him........BIG!  When I sign off tonight, she (J) has been laboring all day and progressing at a snail pace (poor thing) but being a trooper about it all- Thank you Lord for Epidurals and an even bigger Thank you Lord that the result of labor is a precious baby!  Hang in there sis he is almost here.....UPDATED BELOW THIS PICTURE

Jodi

Very soon after I posted this my sis had her baby- The following text was sent out announcing the birth:
'Please say Happy Birthday to Toby James.  He is beautiful, he is healthy, and Jodi is holding him contentedly.  He will give his brothers a run for their money at 22 inches long and 10 lbs. 14 ounces.  Praise the Lord.  Thank you for your prayers, they were most definitely heard!'

 Also want to remember that today our Ellie is 18 months old.......Ellie you are such an amazing blessing, a gift from God, and a joy
Really quick, a few mile stones this month are:

• you say 'toot toot' when anyone around you (including yourself) farts
• you give knuckles to your dad and brothers
• given the chance you will eat bar soap while in the bath
• you choose riding on your daddy's back over riding on your horse hee haw
• your shoe size is between a 3 & 4, you weigh just under 20, and you are 29 inches high
• anything citrus gives you diaper rash
• inspired by your Auntie Molly (who's twins are about 6 weeks younger than Ellie and can say please and thank you) mommy taught you to say 'please' and 'thank you' (I also thought I was being all 'up with current parenting' by teaching Elle's to sign language the word 'please'- come to find out I taught her to sign 'more'- Sorry Christy W. we are not signers over here......but if a child ever needs nursed until they are at least 2 years old look me up...........bahahahahahahaaaa!!!

Night 1 of New Dinner Recipes

The positives of having the ache, fever, chill, headache flu is that while confined to either your couch or bed one can still accomplish things (where as, while having the stomach flu, making it to the toilet IN TIME consumes the entire sickness- hogging any other accomplishments that may come from being checked out of every day commitments for a day or two...).  All Thurs. afternoon and most of Fri. I found myself in the fever, chill, headache flu predicament-   By Fri. morning it was time to multi task- Along with letting the flu virus finish it's course I decided to recipe plan a weeks worth of new dinner recipes (something I have been meaning to do for awhile but could not seem to find the time to do).......
We tried the first one today and it was delicious and easy- I will share each one as we try it (want to make sure it is good before passing it on)-
I found this first recipe on Pinterest from a blogger named  Pineapple Grass.......... We had it today after church and it was YUMMY!

Buffalo Chicken Stromboli

Serves 4, or 2 very hungry eaters. I sliced into 8 strips to serve at a party.

I used shredded chicken instead of turkey, and a premade pizza dough. This is a fantastic stromboli. LOVED it!

Dough:

I used a canister of premade pizza dough, but the blog linked above has a recipe for homemade, if you prefer

Filling:

1 lb. boneless chicken breast

1/4 cup red hot sauce (I used one that was not hot but still had spice)

2 T. butter, melted

1 cup diced onions

3/4 cup bleu cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella

Oil, Parmesan, and fresh parsley for topping

Cook chicken on a grill, in a skillet, or by poaching. Once chicken is cooked through, shred or dice into 1-2″-1″ cubes and combine with Frank’s red hot and butter. Increase the amount of Frank's if you prefer a spicier dish.

Pre-heat oven to 425˚ with a baking stone (if you have one).

Role out pizza dough into a 16″x10″ rectangle with the 16″ edge parallel to your body. Leaving a 1″ border, spread chicken over dough (drizzle a little of the extra Frank’s over the chicken-about 2-3 T). Sprinkle Onions, Bleu cheese and mozzarella on top of that (the amount of cheese is really up to you). Beginning with the side closest to you, begin to roll the stromboli away from you. When finished, seal each end edge and the long edge by pinching the dough. Cut three-four slits in the top and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh parsley and Parmesan  Slide onto baking stone (or sheet tray) and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the filling begins to bubble out and the crust is golden. Let cool slightly before cutting.

10 lb New Born Babies, Howling Dogs, & Christmas Caroling

What's in my head

• I keep thinking about Christmas lights and what is the best stratagy for lighting the outside of our house next year.....buy them the day after Christmas at an amazing discounted rate or (like I talked about in my last blog post) HIRE THEM DONE- or should we put them up at all??
• My sister Jodi is about to give birth to her 5th child- An average weight of her children at birth is over 10 lbs (I think the highest delivery weight for one of her kiddo's was 10 lbs. 8 oz.)- by the size of her stomach this pregnancy I am guessing this will be her biggest baby yet- She has 3 boys and 1 girl.........This pregnancy she is carrying a precious boy......................Jod, I am guessing he will weigh 10 lbs. 11 oz. and be 22.5 inches long with a birthdate of Dec. 23-
• Ellie and I went Christmas Caroling with our Church this past Sun. There is something so special about riding on a wagon (sitting on hay bales) behind a John Deere wishing people 'Merry Christmas' and singing them Christmas songs about Christ's Birth- 
• Lastly- It's been a struggle with my dog Oklie since Ellie has been born- Oke has struggled remembering that she is not the baby anymore in our family....she used to sleep with us, but over the past year or so we decided that she needed to sleep in her own bed by our bed.  It has been off and on but lately somewhat constant, she will get up in the night and either paw at the side of our bed or walk around in our bedroom (which wakes us up)- Late last week, after being woke up by her at 1 a.m. it was obvious that we needed to try something different.  My mom had an extra porta crib- Oke's bedding went in it, along with her water bowl and the whole thing went down stairs at the very farthest end of our house (on the other side of our TV).  After putting her in it and shutting the lights off (leaving her a night light on) I made my way to bed.....I shut my bedroom and covered my ears with my pillow when she started howling and figured the howling would stop eventually and she would get used to her new 'bedroom'- It ended fairly quickly and a full nights sleep for Matt and I followed.......In the morning I was walking by the boys bedroom and saw that they had brought the porta crib she was in up to their room and she was sound asleep in it.  I asked them about it when they got up- Eli said he could not stand hearing her howl and figured she just wanted to be by somebody so he brought her to their room- that is where she has been every night since!  Very cute!!

Hope you are all having a wonderful Tues.

This is my sister's last baby (Caleb) at 3 days old- He weighed well over 10 lbs at birth.......
OUCH!

Remembering Pearl Harbor

I wrote this post Dec. 7, 2012

Today, the 71 years would read 74 years, but other than that all would stay the same.

Remembering Pearl Harbor

71 years........

December 7, 1941

My family and I were able to make a trip to Pearl Harbor in 2009

Talking to the Veterans who had survived the attack was sobering

The quiet ride out to the USS Arizona was done with an unspeakable reverence

Standing on the memorial platform that over looked the sight and reading the soldiers names who had lost their brave lives was heart wrenching

After the visit to Pearl Harbor we made the 24 mile trek to

 National Memorial Cemetery (also known as Punch Bowl).....To me, the look and 'feeling' was a lot like that of Arlington National Cemetery only land wise, much smaller. The respect shown at all three Memorial's brought tears of thankfulness for our brave soldiers who risk their lives daily for the freedom of our Counrty. 

For those who have given their lives, you have not been forgotten- Nor will you be.

Thank you soldiers.

Thank you soldiers families.

 I am proud to be an American!

' In these gardens are recorded the names of the American's who gave their lives in the service of their country.......'

Pearl Harbor

Punch Bowl National Cemetery

Just Random

10 Random Thoughts

1. I was walking with Ryan a week or so ago- As we rounded the first corner in our subdivision the house on the corner immediately stood out........the Christmas lights looked amazing- they were on the house and in the yard....simple red and white lights that did not dangle but were fixed on the house. Two red and one white was the pattern- It reminded me of a ginger bread house. As I walked in awe by it I also noticed a small sign in the yard that read the name of a professional 'Christmas light' company-Outstanding Idea!! No digging around in the attic only to find the lights and spend most of the day untangling :(- I wonder how much having your house professionally lighted costs?
2. In an effort to learn more about making Jam, I was reading an article on the different types of berries that make a good jam and came across a Tayberry.......... 'A tayberry is a hybrid of a blackberry and a raspberry. Originally from Scotland, tayberry plants have large, sweet berries.' ............hummmm......I did not know that!
3. Laying on my night stand open faced and faced down indicating the last page I read is the book 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.' The book's name brings a smile to my face and makes me think of you Kelly W. and us sitting around the kitchen in the big house at Kipu Kai discussing books we have read :)
4. I have a longing for my boys to shoot a turkey, de-feather it before they bring it home, and I will cook it for them- In my vision of longing, I see all 5 of us sitting around our table eating something tough and stringy but being completely proud of it none the less.....Here's to my wild side :)
5. Ellie started saying 'Thank You'.....it comes out as 'tank-eeewww'
6. My sister in law Liz is one of the most beautiful people I know both inside and out- She has courageously battled and been victorious over an eating disorder- In her battle the Lord has taught her several truth's and given her incredible insight into the roots of where eating disorders began for her- If your interested, here is the link to a post she 'posted' today: The not so airbrushed truth- I love you precious Liz a beth and admire God's strength in you!
7. Every Christmas the same song takes my breath away and brings tears to my eyes.....'Mary did you know that your baby boy has walked where angles trod- when you kiss your little baby you kiss the face of God'
8. My cousin Becca is looking to re-home her maybe pregnant rabbit- If your interested PM me and I will pass the info on to her- On a side note, I wonder how many babies the maybe pregnant rabbit could possibly have? (hee)
9. Speaking of rabbits- I bought (at Goodwill) an adorable off white sweater originally from Banana Republic- It has a soft expensive feel to it so I flipped the tag over to see what it was made out of- Angora Wool
10. For a BEAUTIFUL listen click here........

Hope you are all having a great Thurs,
Steph





Lizabeth and I

Beard vs. Christmas Tree

When it comes to Christmas tree's, I would head on down to the local lot and buy our tree then decorate it so that when others either came into my house or drove by they would oooohhh and aaaaaahhhh over it's perfection
I also need to add that last week my husband did not shave for several days with his mind set on growing a beard like the guys on Duck Dynasty

I knew the battle needed to be carefully chosen.........both would not be won
I choose the battle of the beard
This past Sun. my clean shaven husband loaded up the fam to go search the mountains for the perfect Christmas tree- He promised both wonderful family memories and a tree with character (which means lop sides, sparse,and some rare abnormality :)
I also made him add to his promises that he would not take us four by'ing as we headed into the mountains or on a family 'hunting' trip because his practical mind would see it as accomplishing 2 things at once (the dead deer hanging out the back of the truck and the Christmas tree hanging over the top of the truck onto the windshield.......no thank you........but on total side note it makes me think about the movie 'Australia'- the part where Nicole Kidman is admiring the kangaroo hopping along side the vehicle she is in- you hear a shot- the next scene shows the dead kangaroo on top of the vehicle and a look of horror on her face)
It was a wonderful family time........

There it is :)

 



I will add more pictures of both our Christmas Tree hunt and our family tree decorating later- For some reason my blog will not upload anymore pics-



Just a glimpse to be Thankful

As my boys have gotten older the glimpses of what life will be like very soon seem to come my way more and more often- The moments when we are all together, even in one room, seem to be coming farther and farther between........No longer does mama call all the shots for her kiddo's but instead work (for my boys) and everyday commitments seem to get their say too. 
I hold those moments that the 5 of us are together, all doing the same thing, closer to my heart.  I tuck the mental images away and even go as far as to take out my camera so that the image can live outside my head

Thanksgiving morning, it was just the 5 of us at home, getting ready to head to Matt's family's house for our Thanksgiving meal.   Ellie was up from her nap, Ryan and Matt had finished peeling the 20 pounds of potatoes, Eli had made his way into the living room by this point and I was finishing up cleaning the kitchen. 

I don't know who got down on the floor first- I am guessing that Elle's dragged Hee Haw her horse over by her daddy and got on......her daddy probably got off the couch and down on the floor by her first, encouraging her as she rocked back and forth- Her brothers probably followed suit........hearing the laughs I walked into the living room and stood by- Watching, letting my heart absorb the scene- Feeling the beautifulness of  my family.....

Thank you Heavenly Father for my family.  Please forgive me for the times I forget to appreciate and instead grumble.

.

Em, Elle, and Duck Dynasty

Heather snapped a picture at our Church's annual Soup Supper last year of my niece Em and Elle....
She snapped the same pic this year.........precious!

My boys have a new favorite show (I'm not getting what they see in it but hey...each to their own right?)- We had some good laughs when we made this on their (Duck Dynasty) facebook app tonight!

Thank you Heather for these pics!!

17 Months Old

Dear Elle's,
You are almost a year and a half old!  You weigh just under 19 pounds and are 29 inches long.  You have 8 teeth (4 uppers 4 lowers) and wear a size 12 months clothes (certain name brands still 9 months). 

Some things you like to do are:

• You love riding Hee-Haw your horse- which stays, for the most part, in your pink play house (that you really like playing in).
• Picking out my shoes every morning and wearing your own shoes (especially your boots)
• Buckling and un-buckling things.  The buckle on Ryan's lanyard will keep you occupied for a half hour.  You will sit on the ground trying to figure out how to put it together- once together you will come hold it up for us to 'un-do' and then try to put it together all over again.
• Playing with pots and pans 
• Helping  'cook'
• Coloring

New things this month:

• Started saying 'socks'
•  If your high chair tray is not on your high chair you can now climb up on it and then climb up on to the kitchen counter (YIKES!)
• plugging in and unplugging things (this is not always a good thing)

Favorite Foods:

• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
• Still loving your sour cream and ketsup
• The baby food that is squeezable (it's awesome!  they can hold it themselves and squeeze it into their mouth- the price is not so awesome)
• Hamburger or Meatloaf

Happy 17 month Birthday today Elle's- We love you!!

Already multi-tasking!  Riding Hee Haw while looking at a card :)

From the high chair to the counter- Gotta keep the tray on!!

Posted this one just because it is so cute- this girl loves her daddy!!

Tell Ellie I love her...From her birth mom Heather

Tell Ellie I love her!

 

Dear Elle's-  Mommy talked to your birth mom Heather last night for a bit.......We talked about how she is doing (which is good!) and how our family is doing (which is good also), We talked about how big your brother Caiden is getting (your birth mom Heather, who is petite just  like you, is able to fit into his socks and he is only 4 years old!!).  When we were just about done talking (we were talking back and forth private messaging each other on facebook) she said.........tell Ellie I love her!

 

It is such a blessing having an open adoption and being able to share with you these sort of things......

 

Love,

Both Mommy and your birth mom Heather

 

 

Caiden, Ellie, and Heather (June 2011)

 



22 Months & 333 Blog Posts

This is my 333 Blog Post written over the course of the last 22 months-
Almost 1 for every day of the year :)
When we began our adoption process in June of 2010 I put together my very first blog post- It featured a bit of information and some pictures of our family- We figured the link would be easy to access and pass on to potential birth mothers.  I really thought that would be the one and only post and the blog would be deleted as soon as we adopted.........I did not post again on my blog until Jan. 2011- to which I only posted 1 post...Breakin' in the new year.  By Feb. 2011 a personal decision had been made that I would try to blog about living in Hawaii- Since then, 331 more posts have been written and here we are almost 2 years later!

Hope you are having a wonderful Tues.......And to my friend Janelle, if you happen to read this
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

A picture from my first 'official' blog post in Jan. 2011

The Dock at their Lake House

A few day's back we received a 'we've moved' photo card in the mail from my  Uncle Reid and Aunt Anne- Along with announcing their new address is a picture of my Aunt Anne and Uncle Reid with their children/grandchildren.....In one of the pictures they are standing on the dock at their lake house with the lake behind them- When I saw this particular picture It started me thinking.........

 

This afternoon I went fishing on my computer to see if I had saved an e-mail that I sent to my cousin Rebecca (My Aunt and Uncle mentioned above's daughter in law) in Dec. of 2010.  Matt and I were 9 months in to our adoption process (no prospective baby but we were in the 'waiting for placement' profile with both our adoption agency and our attorney in Hawaii).  Becca was about 2 months pregnant at the time I sent this- What I did not know at this time (nor would I know until we were matched with our birth mom Heather in April of 2011) was that our birth mom was also 2 months pregnant with Ellie at the time :)

 

___________________________________________

 

   Sent: Fri 12/17/10 7:36 PM
 

no baby news..just saying 'hi'

Becca-  Thank you so much for every text, call, prayer, word of encouragement, etc... you get the deep side of adoption w/o words being spoken- you know how to be on a journey with a friend and do all the right things without even being asked- Thank you! I pray God's complete blessing on you as are you are carrying His precious creation- 

A couple of nights ago I had the most vivid dream (I am not one of those people that believe dreams tell the future- I am just telling you this one cause if it actually happens- then to God be the glory)-

We were sitting on Uncle Reid and Aunt Anne's dock at their lake house next Sept. (2011) it was only the 2 of us- sitting on chairs facing the water- tears (of joy) streaming down our faces, not saying a word- in a front pack sleeping on you was the most adorable little boy and on a front pack sleeping on me was the most adorable little girl :)

________________________________________

 

Like I said above, we were matched with Ellie's birth mom Heather in April of 2011

Our Ellie was born in June of 2011 (almost a month early- Heather's original due date was 1 day later than Becca's)

Becca's Claire was born 3 weeks later in July (Becca had a girl....smile)

While we did not get a picture on the dock at my aunt and uncle's lake house we were able to snap this pic right after our girls were born............

 

July 2011

 

Hair Bow Boy's

I heard the laugh's all the way down in the kitchen (my boys were up in Ellie's room on the second floor)....... They had found Ellie's Hair Bows :)

Never Forget You Have a Beautiful Voice!

We just finished up a Ladies Bible Study at my church- 35 or so women meeting together each week, for 8 weeks, to learn more and grow in the Lord.  In my heart of hearts I believe that one of the most beautiful sounds on this side of heaven is women gathered together sharing what the Lord is teaching them, sharing attributes of the Lord, sharing different back grounds but a oneness in Christ.......Week after week I was blessed to hear these precious women proclaim the goodness of the Lord...........The Lord honored the commitment that each one of us made to attend this study with a fresh insight into who He is- He honored our open hearts to Him and to each other with a pouring of His Spirit that filled us all in a unique way.....individualized yet consistent with His sameness ('I am the same yesterday, today, and forever' declares the Lord- Heb 13:8). 
May we as Christian Women never forget our beautiful Godly voices......The voice God gave us specifically to proclaim HIS goodness-
To the 35 ladies I just shared Bible Study with...
Sisters, Your voices were So So So beautiful before our Lord!

Love you all,
Steph

Stirring with a big girl spatula

Elle's usually plays on the kitchen floor while I am cooking- For the past few weeks she has tried to mimic certain things I do in the kitchen (put on an apron, mop, stir in an empty bowl that she will get out herself).  Last Sat. night Ryan was making Apple pie (thank you for the apples Becky) and I was making Buttermilk Biscuits (they are really good if your looking for a recipe)- 

Ellie got out an apron just after I started and stood at my feet holding my leg- she wanted up to see what I was doing.......

As she watched I started wondering if she was old enough...........

We 'put on' her apron of choice (one my friend Val made for me)

Got a chair from our dining room table

She stood on that chair on the very tips of her little toes so she could reach the bowl filled with biscuit mix

I gave her a tea spoon at first and showed her how to stir

She would stir for a bit and then try to eat some of the flour mixture

Realizing that she was catching on fast I switched out her tea spoon for a big girl spatula :)

She loved it

Such precious memories

Home School Learning Lessons for this Public School Sending Mama

When the other mom came over my direction I started internally praying 'Please Jesus let me be a peace maker in this situation' ........I knew what was going to be one of the first questions out of this precious ladies mouth
'Do you home school?'
No, my boys go to public school.........
This mom gave me a thoughtful look and I really wanted to explain where I was coming from.  I know she is a passionate home schooling mama who adores her kids- I also know that I am a passionate public school sending mama who adores my kids........We had a common denominator though- We both Love and Serve the Lord.
In the past, I have been in conversations with passionate home schooling Christian ladies and by a lot of my own doing, it's gotten ugly- things like
your kids are going to be socially retarded
well your throwing your kids to the wolves
They've got to learn to function in the real world at some point, better it sooner than later
I choose to protect my children and be a 'hands on parent' not just send them off to school...
so on and so on until the division between us is icky

I, not glorifying the Lord one bit but instead ranting my opinions-

It's been a conscience humbling effort on my part- to submit all of my thinking, including my opinions to the Lord- Let Him sift through them and set me straight...this topic (the type of schooling you choose for your children) has been one the Lord seems to keep bringing back around- He wanted me to learn a thing or two (probably a million things in regard to this topic :) ......

With her thoughtful eyes looking at me I softly explained (instead of my usual heated & loud passionate voice) 'You know, something the Lord has really been showing me is that it does not matter where our kids are going to school- whether it is public, private, or at home..........what matters is that we are doing what He has called us to do- If He has called you to home school then AMEN and do it for His Glory.........If He (the Lord) has called Matt and I to send our boys to public school then AMEN and may we do that for His glory also!!  Instead of trying to convince eachother that one or the other is the 'RIGHT' way let's talk about what we are teaching our kids to do for the Lord...How are we teaching them to live for God in the enviornment they have been placed in?'

Her eye's got bright and she told me an amazing story of how an extra curricular activity her son is involved in, he was able to influence those around Him in a Godly way-
I explained how one of my sons has been able to invite a friend who is not a Christian to youth group....

CHRIST WAS OUR COMMON GROUND- NOT OUR SCHOOLING STYLE!

We ended the conversation on a pleasant note and the day went on.........

'And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus'

Waimea, Kokee, & Kauai Coffee (2 years ago)

In Nov. of 2010 We had lived on Kauai for a year and a half.  During that year and a half we had heard quite a few of our guests say how beautiful the Waimea Canyon was- For us on the mainland it would be a smaller version of the Grand Canyon.  The first Sun. in Nov. we decided to make the hours long trek from where we lived (a ranch just outside of Lihue) and take a look for ourselves........
After seeing the canyon (it is BEAUTIFUL) we continued on up the mountain to Kokee- Another first time sight for us......If your looking for a camping type (you can rent cabins) and 'outside of the box' adventure on the Hawaiian Islands Kokee is the place to go!! (for more info click on the link (Kokee) above that is hi lighted).
After checking out Kokee we drove back down the mountain and stopped at the Kauai Coffee Company (Coconut Caramel Crunch...yes please!)- When you first walk up to the coffee company they have a tree with thick green leaves.  I'm not sure how long ago the tradition started but on most of the leaves visitors have carved their names- Ryan, Matt, and I joined the tradition of leaf carving....