A New Year!

Hello mamas! I have missed my last couple of posts so here we are now and it is the end of January. I have been so inspired by hearing from our mentor mom, Judi Little, and speaker, Barbara Everett, in the past few weeks so I am sharing a bit from them below, under "Wise Words!"

Wise Words

Judi encouraged us to pray that God would lead us in a "New Year's Renewal."

In the  Message, Romans 12: 1 & 2 says: “So here’s what I want you to do: take your everyday, ordinary life…your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life, and place it before God as an offering. Fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you and quickly respond to it. God brings the best out of you: He develops well-formed maturity in you.”

She said "We can make all the resolutions we want but we can’t change ourselves. But when we willingly offer our lives to God, He will change us." Amen to that!

Barbara Everett spoke on "Loving the Little Years." I have very choppy notes (because she spoke quickly and was so intriguing!) but here are some highlights to the best of my ability:

• Don't get defeated by negative "self-talk." Look in the mirror each morning and tell yourself "YES YOU CAN, AND YOU WILL."
• Our bodies are tools, not treasures. They will never be the same after pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing. Accept it.
• Don't fall into the myth of needing to "find ourselves" apart from our children. They are forever a part of us and we are being refined through our journey as moms. 
• When you are presented with new problems, praise the progress of the old problems you don't have anymore.
• We are the boss of our children, and God is the boss of me.
• God is my Boss. "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." John 15:11

A Beautiful Mess

This is Rose's washer. :) Her husband restored it to perfect working condition!

If I could actually take a picture of the entire inside of my house right now, I would. Just visualize parts and pieces of toys LITERALLY strewn from room to room because I have three mini tornado children. Hey just doing our most important job of playing!! (But we do need to work on cleaning up somehow....) :)

Something Yummy

Rose shared the following links for us:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Pepper-Steak/Detail.aspx?evt19=1http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/blueberry_pie/http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Maries-Easy-Slow-Cooker-Pot-Roast/Detail.aspx

And here are two yummies from breakfast at our last meeting!

Hillary's Fritata:

1 cup artichoke hearts, sliced (frozen, canned, or in oil)
1 cup zucchini, chopped
2/3 cup onion, chopped
2/3 cup red bell pepper (can use roasted if you want)
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz cream cheese, torn into small chunks (can substitute reduced fat kind if you want)

Sauté artichoke hearts, zucchini, onion, bell pepper and garlic in oil until tender crisp. Combine the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a bowl and beat until blended. Add the vegetable mixture, bread cubes, cheese and cream cheese and toss gently to combine. Spoon into a greased 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until light brown and set. Cool 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Double the recipe for a glass 9x13 inch rectangular pan.

Rachael's Pasta Salad:

The salad is very easy: favorite pasta(i used rotini), favorite veggies 

( I used tomatoes, olives, cucumber, bell pepper and green onion) and I added ham but it taste great w/out meat. Then you mix all that with a bottle of Italian salad dressing and I add Parmesan cheese ( about a 1/2 cup), let it sit in the fridge overnight before serving. You can tweak this recipe with many different veggies, boiled eggs, cooked bacon, diced chicken, etc.