Tuesday, January 3, 2012

It's been too long!

Where do I begin...

We moved. And I LOVE our new house.
We sold our old house. It was almost painless. who knew.
The kids are only getting bigger and older.
Chris and I are in a better place.
Keegan had his eye surgery. And it went great!
And my dad has become one of my best friends. I love it!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Simple. Easy. Muffins.

Muffins;
they instill a sense of home, warmth and love.

These muffins are simple way to get into baking muffins from scratch. Once you start baking muffins, nothing is more fun than making up new recipes and adding new interesting ingredients.  Especially when you have kids that will eat anything as long as it is in a muffin.

Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large bananas, mashed
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup butter, melted
(notice NO oil - but I still substitute a little applesauce in place of a little of the butter.)

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
  2. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.
  3. Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.               
With this recipe I find that I don't have to bake them for as long as they suggest. Also, feel free to be creative! I added canned peaches this last time. So yummy!
Yummy add-ins:
Raisins
Dried cranberries
Canned pumpkin
Canned peaches
Mashed sweet potato

I was going to take a picture of my muffins but I only had 2 left over from Bible study and my husband I finished them off.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Updates

Nine months ago my second child was born.  Four months ago my mom passed away.  And in 12 days I am moving my family into the house I grew up in.  I have never had so much change in my life in so little time.  Change is good, but sometimes too much change makes you feel lost.  I am finally finding my way through this tangle of emotions.
In a year that I feel like I have cried more, matured, and apologized for my craziness but I am waking as a stronger, better woman. 
I have made commitments and stuck to them. I have found new passions.  I have found new friends, loved more, laughed harder and felt the compassion of true friends. And I like to straighten my naturally curly hair. 

We are going through the short sale process.  It's a bit like a Brazilian wax done very, very slowly. It leaves you feeling vulnerable, it's painful and embarrassing.  And in the end...you're left with nothing. (Note: I've never had a brazilian wax...but I can only imagine)

I guess I have learned more about life in 2011 than I have in the last few years.
When you are on your knees defeated and feeling alone, God will be there, even if you have forsaken Him. 
False friends will show their true colors and true friends will always be there.
Remember to leave a legacy.

Time for bed....tomorrow always comes early.

A Fresh Start

I have been married to my best friend for ten years. I have two sons - two and a half years old and nine months old.   I love my friends, family and Jesus.  But I needed a place to share my joys, my triumphs and my defeats.