the first day

today is our first full day of vacation
and what better way to spend it
then at the beach

thursday ramblings

A little embarrassed to admit this

but up until a month ago, I had no idea what Pandora was

thanks to millie

 i've been enlightened

i think i'm in love

Aidan's a huge fan of the disney station

we always end up playing "guess which disney movie"

and me, well I'm a sucker for the Mumford & Sons station

probably because about half the songs I'll swear I heard on Friday Night Lights

didn't they pick just the best music for that show?

well its been raining for the last three days

and the Mumford & Sons station has pretty much 

been the best compliment to the dripping sound outside

the dripping that has held us captive in our house the last few days

but don't get me wrong, as difficult as its been to stay in doors in the afternoon

it has been incredibly good for our family

I've been struggling with keeping the girls on a schedule, 

but this week has give us the opportunity to

stick to one

especially the whole bedtime routine.

before now, Aidan would be up until 9:30 or 10

but now we've eliminated her afternoon nap

and each night at 7 p.m. we get ready for bed 

and read our new favorite children's bible

oh, i just love it.

speaking of bible

went to bible study yesterday

and let me tell you, I never come out without a conviction

yesterday, it had to do with my kids

the teacher, was talking about titus 2:4

"and so train the young women to love their husbands and children"

And she posed the question, "are you willing to be interrupted for your children"

So when I'm writing my blog and Aidan wants 

me to watch her jump from the couch what's my response? 

Honestly? many times its "ok, hold on" or "not right now"

or when i'm making dinner and Haley says, "up" in hear endearing scream sort of way

Do i pick her up, or call for Aidan to turn on Elmo? Many times, I leave it to Elmo.

But I don't want my kids to think that my computer, and dinner, 

and folding the laundry is too important to be interrupted

Now don't get me wrong, there are times where they have to be the ones to wait, 

but i can make it more of the exception than the rule.

and that is what i intend to do

so here i sit, listening to the Mumford & Sons station, and the drip drip drip that holds us captive inside

attempting to blog, yet joyfully allowing interruptions from my two little ones, because they're worth it

making sense of the madness, a diary post

I think that over the last couple months

the Lord has been preparing my heart for the last few days

I've been in a whirlwind of thoughts

and it all came to ahead this morning

lets start back at the end of January

our Women's Bible Study at church decided to study through the book of Habakkuk

ever studied it?

neither had i

i blogged about it, briefly, a while ago

It talks of God's holiness and justice

His intolerance of injustice

of wickedness

but it also talks of His patience

His mercy

His sovereignty 

His goodness

and the good news that Faith in Jesus Christ brings righteousness and life

Now, don't get me wrong

I know all these things, but a good reminder is always necessary

And it was very necessary for these things to stay fresh in my mind this week

Because as we made it through chapter 3 on Saturday

one of the questions asked was

"what other images from (nature, warfare, or whatever) [evoke awe for God's mighty works]"?

ok nature...no problem

but warfare?

initially i crossed the word out

I'm not even considering that

but I couldn't stop thinking about it

I started thinking about my friend's trip to Africa and how she got to talk with a women

who had her lips cut from her face by the rebels

and still she praised God

is your response WOW?

that's the AWE

that's the AWE

He's sovereign!

He brings SUPERNATURAL COMFORT and JOY when none seems possible

He brings ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE THAT LOVE HIM

Ok, are you tracking with me?

there's more

Ok, so the weekend continues

And I had read Diary of a Crazy White Woman on Friday

and she mentions The Hunger Games

(which i read through over the last couple months)

and the parallels between The Capitol and America

and Panem and the rest of the world

ok, that messed me up

mostly, because I didn't even notice it

If you haven't read the books you're confused

in short

the Capitol is this utopia of sorts

and the people who live there are completely unaware of the

oppression and starvation the rest of Panem is facing

they're culture revolves around fashion and possessions, 

and gluttony is a completely norm

see why it messed me up?

I can't believe i missed that

it gets worse

there's a part in the book where Katniss goes to The Capitol

and in an interview gets asked what her favorite food is.

this girl hasn't tasted much flavorful, rich food

and she replies "the stew with the plums"

and everyone laughs, and chuckles

because its one of their favorites too

I LIVED THIS MOMENT ON SUNDAY EVENING

Our church was absolutely blessed by the performance of the Children of the World Choir

They are a group of 16 orphans who are apart of the World Help Organization

Who get to come to the U.S. for 10 months and tour in the purpose of raising money to drill wells in their countries which will open communication to share the gospel, 

and get more sponsers for orphans just like them

but they're not just orphans, they have names

Asmita, Ronald, Andy, Irene, Nabin, Jamaecah, Florence, Lideff, 

Madan, Wilmar, Des, Jeremiah, Fred, Roshi, Lydia, and Roxan

they come from, the Philippines, Napal, and Uganda

and the sweetest smiles you ever saw

and during the performance, one of them was asked, "what is your favorite food in America?"

to which they answered "pizza" and everyone laughed and chuckled, because we all love pizza too

And it hit me, 

so hard,

 I am one of those capitol people, 

who live in my utopia of pizza and clothes, 

completely oblivious to the world around me

I wanted to do something

do something

give money

sell my stuff

my worthless worthless stuff

I was down, a little depressed even

because I was so disgusted with my circumstances

i didn't feel blessed

I felt shame

and the verse that came to mind

I was consumed with somehow doing something to help these kids

I might not have been able to give them my home for the night

 but I was determined to spend time with them

and I did get to spend time with them briefly on Monday

some of us took them Miniature Golfing

and I think they had a lot of fun

but it wasn't over for me

God was working on my heart

it doesn't end here

I will continue to help

I will pray for each of these by name

I may not be able to see them again

but I will pray for them

over and over and over and over

But God wasn't finished with me yet

on Tuesday evening (I think)

Invisible Children launched their new campaign 

KONY 2012 on facebook

and I watched their video

their video to make Joseph Kony, very famous

to arrest him and help stop the wickedness he continues to do in Africa

so I reposted

i do want the wickedness to stop

its not fair that Kony continues to do unjust acts

and continues to get away with it

and an evil thought crossed my mind

I'm going out on a limb here, telling you

because I am beyond ashamed

this was it

i am going to pray 

but I really want to actually do something too

forgive me, Lord

for the evil thought that prayer isn't doing something

Prayer is a power

and its power is greater than anything I could ever do

for me to belittle it, like that, is absolutely shameful

And this morning, a missionary friend of ours posted 

about the KONY 2012 campaign, 

its a great post. 

Not saying the campaign is a bad thing, 

but reminding us, its not a Christian campaign. 

We need to remember scriptures like, 

Psalm 82:3, Isaiah 1:17, Deut. 10:17-18, James 1:27. 

True justice comes from the Lord (Prov. 29:26), 

and lets not get distracted from sharing the gospel. 

Lets not give more credit to the power of the media, than to the power of prayer.

Seriously, read this blog, given by a man who lives and serves in that very place; Uganda.

And in the end, everything came full circle.

 Right back to scripture

 right back to Habakkuk

there is major injustice happening in our world

some major injustice has happened to the people and kids of Uganda

some major injustice has happened to orphans

to Asmita, Ronald, Andy, Irene, Nabin, Jamaecah, Florence, Lideff, 

Madan, Wilmar, Des, Jeremiah, Fred, Roshi, Lydia, and Roxan

BUT

Hab 1:13, 

Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And you cannot look on wickedness with favor"

Our God does not turn His face to evil

He is a Holy God, He is a just God

What can I do?

share the gospel

Hab. 2:4

"the righteous will live by his faith"

live the gospel

Jam. 1:27

"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

pray for suffering, pray for the spreading of the gospel

Jam. 5:13, 16

"Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray."

"the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much"

What about the bad guys? what about Kony?

and as God said it about the Chaldeans, 

he will say it those like them, "but they will be held guilty." Hab. 1:11

And, so as much as I do want Kony stopped and captured, my hope does not depend on it.

Sure, I'll help make the man famous, and I will jump for joy at his arrest.

But my heart will sing praises even more for each soul that is reached for Christ

I will help sponser kids who live in poverty, and I will help raise money to dig wells for water

but it is with the sharing of His Living Water that my joy will overflow

And I am determined to not be like a person of the capitol,

oblivious to world around them, consumed by the things in their utopia 

Thank you, Lord for this lesson

for Your grace and forgiveness

for Your mercy and justice

This post wasn't for readers, but a preaching to myself

that it will be here for me to look back on,

when i will most surely need this reminder again.

Parents vs. Kids

ever watch Man vs. Food?
at our house it was
Parents vs. Kids


it all began with a free Saturday

we get those once in a while

no plans with friends, no church events

just a couple errands to run, and maybe a work out (for Jason)

Aidan and I did a couple errands and rented a movie

Hugo

have you seen it? 

i loved it

go watch it

and bring some tissues

anyway it was all planned out

Jason BBQ's steak for dinner

baths after dinner

put Haley to bed

pop some popcorn

and turn on Hugo

we were all looking forward to a family movie night

and just before dinner Aidan decided she wanted dinner to be FANCY

have you read this book?

its one of our favorites

and Saturday night it came to life

no fancy lessons necessary in this house, though
we all got dressed in our best
 sort of

don't we look "chic"?

that's French for stylish!

and we sat down to eat
"filet mignon"
that's French for steak
sort of

I set down the plates of steak, 

roasted vegetables, 

and mashed potatoes

And that's where it started

with a big "eww" from Aidan

now i knew they wouldn't like the mashed potatoes
and i wasn't surprised at how they reacted to the
roasted mushrooms, broccoli, and zucchini
but steak..
surely they'd eat the steak

the competition between Parents vs. Kids had begun!
and we were determined to stick to our guns


an hour later, this is where we were at

thirty minutes later it looked something like this

you're not leaving the table until that is finished



And...after two hours of
disgusted faces,
gagging,
 vomiting,
fist pounding,
 a potty accident
ALL AT THE TABLE

and staying up until 11 p.m.
despite being put to bed at 7:30

it was pretty obvious
KIDS WON

PinterTest Kitchen: baking, eating, organizing, homeschooling, AND kid-tested

Some major PinterTESTING went on last month

Hmmmm....what shall I start with first

ok, since you i know you're just dying to know what i baked

1. BAKING

seen this one?

if you're on Pinterest then I'm sure you have

and it totally got me speculating

cake in a can? 

come on

but i was curious

and i had also seen the blackberry frosting cupcake

and i just so happened to have some blackberries in my fridge

it was going to be the perfect combination

this was my first attempt

after i put it all together i realized that i had misunderstood the directions 

and put one less egg yolk than what I needed

but i figured, its just a little so its not that big of a deal

IT IS

IT'S A BIG DEAL

i realized there was a problem when my batter turned out more like cookie dough

but i kept going, thinking it would resolve itself in the oven

it didn't

and though it may look kind of cute in the picture

it was a brick

and it tasted like a brick

so i kept my own version of the blackberry frosting

cream cheese frosting with blackberries

 that's all it was...

really

and a few days later I tried again
remembering the extra egg yolk
so it made batter not dough
and got all spongy when it baked
and when it cooled I added my frosting
and a strawberry
since i had taken out my grief from the first attempt on the rest of the blackberries

it was pretty good
but don't be fooled
the recipe says it makes five
that's a lie
i only got two out of mine

but its perfect if you only want a little cake for yourself
and not a large crowd

2. EATING

To-Go Salad

Mason Jars are good for EVERYTHING
including salads

layer your salad in the jar
starting with the dressing
and ending with your choice of greens
just make sure the greens and dressing don't touch
until you're ready to eat

my only suggestion, I'd only do it the night before
don't make a bunch for the week

Chipotle cilantro-lime rice

just add
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp of fresh chopped cilantro
2 tbsp of vegetable oil

to three cups of fresh cooked long-grain or basmati rice

its pretty good

3. Kid-Tested
MOTHER APPROVED

drip-proof popsicles

worked for the pre-schooler NOT the toddler

though, I didn't use the foil-lined kind
maybe that would have made a difference

4. Homeschooling

I really needed something for Aidan to have daily practice for her writing
and when I saw this Handwriting Worksheet, i thought it was perfect
since it allows you to personalize it with your child's name
and whatever words/letters/numbers you want

5. Cleaning/Organizing

two words

tension rod

making a little extra room under the sink


"Pinterest, improving our lives one pin at a time"

                                                                           - Jason C.