March 19th, 2014

There are so many great mommy articles out there on the web.   But the following one is really, REALLY good. Please read. Thank you Stephanie from our group, for sharing.

http://faithandcomposition.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/mom-unmasked-embracing-authenticity-in-motherhood/

Wise Words

True! Keep up the amazing work, mamas.

Hehehe. True, too! I think I would also add three-year-old. :)

A Beautiful Mess

Brought to you by my kitchen counter. The catch-all for everything! Today's bounty boasts some hand-washed dishes, a marker box, a pile of boxes to be recycled, toys and socks. :)

Something Yummy

 The kids and I have had some fun (and actual success) in the kitchen recently! That's huge. :) We enjoyed the following healthy snacks.

Yogurt Muffins (with added blueberries)

This recipe is from the cookbook "How To Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman.

1 T oil

1 C white flour

1 C whole wheat pastry flour

1 and 1/4 C yogurt or sour cream (I think the secret for us was using whole milk baby yogurt! Ours was strawberry but any kind would work)

1/4 C sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 egg

1-2 C blueberries, if you wish

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ing. together. Gently blend together. Bake at 375* for 20-25 min. Makes 12 muffins.

Walnut and Dried Cherry Bars. We loved these! Could substitute almost any nut, or dried fruit.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/walnut-and-dried-cherry-bars-recipe.html

March 5, 2014

Well, this day my blog post happens to fall on Ash Wednesday! Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, or the 40 days preceding the beginning of Holy Week, leading up to Easter Sunday. Often people either GIVE UP something or DO something during this time, to remind themselves of the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. I think there are so many great things we could do. But, to be totally honest, trying to attempt doing something special during this supremely busy time of mothering little ones feels a little overwhelming to me. But then I got to thinking----aren't we ALREADY sacrificing, daily, so many things, as we live into our calling as moms??? Showers. Sleep. "Sit-down" meals. Going to the bathroom alone. :) Breathing in one minute of quiet when someone is not yelling "Mommy!" at you? The list goes on and on. So it is my prayer during this season of Lent that we offer up these daily small (and yet they aren't!) sacrifices to the Lord and remember him in all these things we are already doing.
  "I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good." Psalm 54:6

Wise Words

In light of our topic on marriage last week, I appreciated finding the following quotes:

This came from the Facebook page for "Focus on the Family" with the caption: "Never underestimate the power of your God-given love for your husband or wife. Love heals, restores, & covers a multitude of wrongs."

From the "Conscious Parenting" Facebook page. I like how it could apply both to a relationship between spouses, and between parents and their children.

A Beautiful Mess

Brought to you by my lovely "Leaning Tower of Laundry" :)

Something Yummy

Thank you to Mary from our group for sharing the following recipe with us! (She brought it to our Feb. 13th meeting--delicious!)