Discouragement to Gratefulness

This Christmas was full of surprises.  I planned to blog about all the many ways you could incorporate Christ into your celebrations.  I planned to bake our annual birthday cake for Jesus. I planned a lot and got very little done.  We had the stomach flu go through two weeks in a row, and then respiratory colds.  Two of my children were baptized, after making a profession of faith.  That was a great blessing! Things were very busy, and I spent a lot of nights up too late trying to finish making the adorable monkeys I was sewing for my kids. I entered Christmas feeling discouraged by all I had not got done.

Isn't it great that the God we serve does not look down on us and say "well you really failed this one".  It's great that God gives us grace and that in reality we can celebrate his birth everyday all year through as HE is the greatest gift on the earth.  Though I started out discouraged I will not end that way, for I know I can continue to celebrate all that God has done. 

I'm going to celebrate by going back through the devotions we missed on the names of God during Advent season. I look forward to continually challenging my kids in their faith and spiritual growth as they live out what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  I'm excited to find new tools to help me do that, new object lessons and make new memories as we explore God and his awesome power together.  I'm going to keep on praising and thanking God that he came to earth for us, as a baby and went to the cross and died and rose again as a man, that we might have forgiveness, that we might actually have life.

There is so much to look forward to and more to be grateful for.  I am so grateful that I have three relatively healthy children, colds are nothing compared to the struggles and diseases that so many watch their children go through.  We have a place to live and food to eat. We may only live in an apartment, but praise God it's a nice one, and we have a roof when so many do not.  I'm grateful that my husband can work hard so I can stay home and raise our children. I know many who are out of work.  I am blessed beyond measure, my kids were here with me, I could see their faces and watch their eyes sparkle and hear their little voices.  I could hold them even when they were sick and throwing up, I could hold them and feel the warmth of their little bodies snuggled in close to me.  I am so blessed when I know there are so many that have empty arms this season, and long to see their children and hold them in their arms once more.  I have a husband, who loves me and who is filled with integrity. I am blessed that I am not a widow or a single mom struggling to provide and care for children alone.  I thank God for my many blessings.  I am so thankful that God got my attention, he saved me, rescued me from my sins, took me out of my brokenness and made me into the woman I am today.  I am forever grateful.  God is good. I have found that when I praise the Lord and stop and thank him and see all my blessings, there is no longer room for discouragement.


     Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
                                                Psalm 106:1

Celebrating Christ at Christmas

I love Christmas.  I love seeing lights through out the neighborhood.  I love decorating trees, and I love singing Christmas carols.  In fact I love it so much that we put our tree up before Thanksgiving this year and we have the radio on to Christmas music whenever we are home. 

Yet I struggle with Christmas.  I get drawn into toy isles at the store and drool over all the things I want to lavish upon my children.  Then I come home and see that they have more toys than we have room for and they don't need any of the things that I thought were so amazing only hours earlier. I find that at Christmas time I have many inward battles over staying in budget or buying the things that look so cool for my kids. I can easily get sucked into the commercialism of Christmas, but I don't want to.  This year we have decided that we are not buying gifts for our kids, now before you all think I am horrible, let me tell you, we are making gifts. I am making them each a monkey stuffed animal.  Monkeys are very loved in our house.  My husband is making them gifts too. My kids love to make things and love seeing the time that goes into making gifts, so I know they will be appreciated.   Birthdays can be all about them and the fun gifts they get, we will be buying things for that, but I want Christmas to be about Christ and his birth, about love and sacrifice.

A few years ago when money was really tight and we really couldn't afford to buy gifts we started some traditions that our family has loved and has carried on.  Not only did being broke show the importance of celebrating what Christmas is really about, but it also allowed us to see God provide in amazing ways. My husband ended up winning a drawing he entered at work and got an amazing maker kit with cool color pages, the designs showed up once you started to color on the paper.   My eldest daughter opened it up on Christmas morning, she then spent hours coloring, it was a gift that truly suited her.  Of course it would, God provided it.  Then a friend ended up with two of the same ball blowing toys and gave us one.   Our son opened it on Christmas,  he too loved his gift and spent hours playing with it.  How amazing it is to see that, in spite of our lack of financial ability that year, God provided a gift for our kids to open on Christmas morning, a gift that matched their desires.  God is so good at providing for our needs all the time and even our wants.  He is the best gift of all.

The year it started.

We love to celebrate Christmas remembering that He is the best gift. So on Christmas eve my husband and I hide 6 pictures around the house. They are numbered and they have the story of Christ's birth.  I got the pictures from Christian Preschool Printables. The kids try to find them  by playing the hot cold game. They have to find them in numerical order, as they do we read the story of Jesus birth.  Then we go to the table and have cake for breakfast, we put three candles in it, for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.  My kids love this. Of course the cake is glutten free. The food coloring is India Tree natural colors and we enjoy every bite. 

We then enjoy the day celebrating Jesus and we slowly open presents, remembering that Jesus is the best present of all. Some years we also make a pizza shaped in a Christmas tree.  We have fun all month preparing for Christmas with baking and making fun things to give as gifts to others.  I like instilling in my kids the joy of giving and the joy for Jesus all year, but especially at Christmas time.

How do you make Christmas a Christ centered celebration?

Prayers from the Mouths of Babes

My children amaze me and challenge me and stretch my faith and my heart every single day.  Yesterday after dinner my four year old son was running around being playing super hero.  We've been going through this Super Hero series that I found and love.  So as he is playing he keeps saying, "I'm going to be a wise super hero."  My heart rejoices at his words and I think Amen, son.  I desire you to be a wise super hero for God.

At bedtime he was his usual rambunctious self jumping around and flipping on his bed while I read the Bible stories and answered the many questions of his older sister.  We were in Joshua and I read that they were getting ready to march around the city, I hear him in the middle of his jumps and tumbles say, "Oh the battle of Jericho, the walls are all going to crash down, and Joshua is going to win."  Again I smile inside thinking yes, that's right.  You are listening.

As we turn off our lights and start to say our prayers he is still jumping and playing on the bed behind me.  Then I say it's your turn.  I expect him to quickly rant off, "Thank you God for momma and daddy and my sisters, Amen," like he normally does.  This time he jumps up, lands sitting, bows this little head and folds his hands and sighs this deep sigh.  Then very seriously he says, "God help me to go to the right place, help me to go to the right place.  I want to walk by Faith, God, and not by Sight.  And God when I grow up please make me into a wise super hero.  I want to be Wise. Amen."

I sat there staring at him, repeating his prayer over and over in my head so that I could remember and record it to keep forever.  The sweetness, the heart felt desire, the truth in that prayer.  I saw that scripture was embedded in his heart and that his desire is to serve the Lord.

This is my little four year old who last month officially asked Jesus into his heart and tells us regularly he wants to be baptized. This is my little boy who if I lay next to at night and sing to, he'll start to tell me Bible stories, and be in awe of God and how Daniel was safe in the Lions Den or how Shadrack Meshack and Abindigo were in the fiery furnace.  Though his all time favorite is David and Goliath.  When he's having an exceptionally hard time with something we'll say, "You want to be David and throw some stones, knock down that giant."  He'll pretend to swing his sling around his head and throw the stones and say things like "Leave me alone fear" or "Go away satan, you can't make me angry anymore."  He'll even say things like, "I will share", "I will obey my mommy and daddy".  After throwing his stones, he'll feel so much better and be his sweet self once more.  Every day he amazes me and makes me stop and ponder in my heart asking God what will you do through my son?  At the same time he is all boy and tries my patience and makes me ask God if anything I'm saying is sinking in. 

Right before falling asleep he said, "I want to have a dream tonight of God crushing satan under my feet."  He likes to sing Romans 16:19, but I thought to myself wow, that dream might be a little scary for a four year old.

This morning while driving to school he says, "Mom I had a dream last night.  There was this dragon and it was following me, but God had a plan and it was a good plan, and then the dragon was crushed under my feet, and our family went up into heaven and the dragon went into hell."  Okay I have read him kids Bible stories and filled him with the word, but I have never read him Revelation!!!  I sat there thinking, wait, he doesn't know this is in the Bible and he's telling me exactly what the Bible says, that God will defeat the dragon.  I had to find my cell phone and call my husband and tell him this immediately.  Then I looked back in the rear view mirror at the tiny, brown hair, brown eyed boy still 5 point harnessed into his seat, and told him that his dream is true, that it says that in the Bible. God will defeat the dragon, he does have that plan and he's right it's a good plan.  He smiled wide and his eyes sparkled.  I wanted to stop time and just hold him in that moment and rejoice with him over God's good plan.

Yummy Strawberry Cake

With a family full of allergies and a home-school co-op with more allergies, I have to come up with new inventions at times in the way of food.  I find it incredibly fun trying out new "science experiments" of taking a base recipe and making into something completely my own.  So today I present to you a homemade Strawberry Cake, gluten free and dairy free!!! 

My inspiration was a little girl turning 5 who has a dairy allergy. We all wanted to celebrate together. With my family's gluten problems, I had to come up with a cake we could all eat.  I like testing things on kids. If kids don't like them, then they don't really taste good as far as I'm concerned.  So this one wins--one of my students had two pieces in a matter of seconds! I hope you enjoy too.

Before Mixing anything I had to prepare my ingredients. I again used raw, unbleached, unrefined sugar, so my first step was to blend it down in my husband's coffee grinder. 

My next step was to take 2 1/4 cups of gluten free oatmeal and pulverize it in my food processor so it was flour and set aside. 

Last I pureed the strawberries, thus the sticky stuff would be in there last.  I used 1 cup of frozen strawberries, slightly thawed, and pulsed them in the food processor until they were a smooth puree. You will use half in the cake and half in the frosting.

• 1 3/4  cups  raw sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vanilla coconut milk * if you do not use vanilla then add vanilla to your recipe.
• 1/2 cup strawberry puree
• 2 1/4 cups oat flour (pulverized)
• 1 c. coconut butter (not oil)
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  zanthan gum

Frosting...

• 1 cup of coconut butter (not oil)
• 1/2 c. strawberry puree
• 5 T vanilla coconut milk
• 1/2- 1 cup sugar you grinded up. 
• 1 Tablespoon of pure cranberry juice (not cocktail)

Preheat oven to 350° F / 176° C

I did two rounds. 

1. In a small bowl mix the eggs, 1/2 c of puree, and milk with a fork.
2. In your mixing bowl mix up dry ingredients.  add the coconut butter, the batter should become crumbly. 
3. Pour in wet mixture.  Beat for 1 minute, scrap and beat for 30 seconds. 
4. Pour into two well greased pans.  Our trick is to coat in coconut oil, freeze the pans for a couple minutes to harden the oil, then cakes won't stick.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool for 10 minutes or more before putting on cooling racks.  Cool completely before frosting.
7. While cooling, make the frosting.  Pour all the remaining ingredients into your food processor with the remaining 1/2 c of puree.  Blend well, and then frost the cake.  
8. Tada! You are done: a strawberry cake with no artificial colors or flavors, and gluten, dairy and nut free.  

If you aren't allergic to dairy I think the cream cheese frosting would be divine on this cake as well with strawberry puree folded in.  Check out my last post on the carrot cake for the cream cheese frosting recipe.  

Carrot Cake YUMMY

I made a carrot cake for my Hubby's birthday and wanted to share the recipe with you.

My husband loves carrot cake. With a gluten allergy he can't eat carrot cake--just look at it and dream.  So I decided the time had come to experiment with my new love, gluten free oatmeal, and make him a cake for his special day.

I used raw, unbleached, unrefined sugar. It has more of a brown look (it does not have the molasses extracted from it, and it has an excellent flavor and tests good). It is lumpy so my first step was to blend it down in my husband's coffee grinder so it didn't make the cake or frosting lumpy.  I used this in both the cake and frosting instead of regular sugar or powdered sugar.

My next step was to take 2 cups of gluten free oatmeal and pulverize it into flour using my food processor. Most gluten free flours contain rice, which my son can not have, or they smell awful and give shoddy results because of all the fava bean. What is the point in cooking a cake if  you can't enjoy the batter, I ask you? There is no point. None. You must be able to lick every utensil clean at the end and take little tastes here and there. How else will you know that it is exactly what you want? You cannot do that with fava bean flours. If you do, I promise you will need a trashcan close by!  

• 2 cups  raw sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups coconut oil
• 2 cups oat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 3 cups freshly grated carrots

Frosting...

• 1 stick of unsalted sweet cream butter (organic if possible)
• 1 brick of pasture cream cheese (organic if possible)
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugar you grinded up.

Preheat oven to 350° F / 176° C

I made two round cakes.  One of mine fell apart. I tried to flip it too soon.  It will make two round cakes.

1. Cream sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl with an electric beater or stand mixer. Add oil and vanilla and beat just until smooth.
2. Add in oat flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt,  beat until blended.
3. Stir in grated carrots and nuts. Pour the batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
5. While cake or muffins are cooling place butter, cream cheese and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until smooth. Add sugar and beat until smooth and creamy.
6. When cake is cool frost. 

Make sure it's cool before you try to flip it out of the pan.  I tried to flip it out onto our cooling rack and it broke apart. One my children and I devoured it. The other we decorated for Hubby and ate it later. It is super good! You may decorate it with lovely nuts like I did or whatever your creative mind likes.

Sickness and Tears

 Oh how I'd like to cry today.  This past week was a crazy week, filled with events that didn't follow the routine I had in mind.  Monday went fine, it was a beautiful day.  After school while driving home I longed to stop and unload the kids to play in leaves at the park.  I wished I had my camera with me to capture the beautiful colors of the changing trees and to capture the smiles and dancing eyes of my kids as they oowed and awwed over autumns arrival.  Unfortunately I didn't stop and we didn't partake in the beautiful day.  Instead we raced home, got overly busy in life at home, tried to race to dance only to realize by the time we arrived and paid to park it would be time to leave so we skipped that.  That evening my oldest complained of a tummy ache, the night was filled with kids waking at all hours and by the next morning my oldest was throwing up.  We spent the day using our many homeopathic treatments. like a compress with ginger, and coconut oil on her tummy another with activated charcoal and coconut oil and peppermint oil.  I gave her arsenicum album and then called the herbalist and gave her pyrogenium which made her stop throwing up.  Her sickness lasted about 11 hours all together, but wow did it wear me out.  The other two never got sick, but school was canceled the rest of the week.

The days got colder very quickly and the wind came up so strong that all the pretty changing leaves have now dropped. We tried to go take pictures and instead of the beautiful fun event I envisioned it was a freezing, quick event.  I piled up some leaves said jump to each kid quick took a picture and got them re-bundled up in multiple layers, then with freezing hands and faces we got back in the car and blasted the heater. So much for owing and awing.

We tried to do school at home and visit with my mother in law who came in for a couple of days.  It was busy and crazy and I noticed my kids acting up more and more.  Bedtime has become harder and harder.  We read, we pray, we turn off the lights and sing and rub backs, and then we leave the room, used to be fine, but it's not anymore, now there are fits and tears and jumping over the baby gate and getting hurt...it wears me out to the point of exhaustion.  We try laying by them, we try more songs, apparently I'm the only one that they want.  I'm with them all day, and they only want me.  Daddy tries to sing, to rub backs and all he gets is screaming and tears.  I don't get it.  I should feel blessed I know that I'm so loved but right now I just want to cry myself and say no.  I want time to myself, to blog, to read to pee alone.  In the moments I have to remind myself I'm not the only mom going through this.  I have to remind myself that they will grow so fast and before I know it they will be sleeping through the night.  OH please let that come quickly.  A whole nights sleep and sleeping in on top would be a dream come true.  Then I also think what if they're not feeling well, maybe they are getting sick too, or maybe the total change in routine threw them for a loop or maybe....  I analyze too much.  I think do I let them scream it out, do I co-sleep, do I lay by them until their out, although when I do that the minute I get up they wake up and we start all over again.  You'd think by this time I'd know what I'm doing, I mean I did it twice before, but apparently your third doesn't follow any of the rules the others followed. 

So I'm off, off to rub more backs and wipe more tears and pray diligently that they sleep tonight. 

Homeschooling

This year we are in a daily co-op.  I teach Spelling to Write and Read to my preschooler and others in his class.  I teach Math using Singapore Math to my son's class and to my first grade daughter's class.  I also teach poetry to all the kids.  I sit in with my toddler and do preschool with her as well.  All the teachers are moms and we are working together with the Classical approach to home schooling.  It is so exciting to see my kids learning and growing daily.  Last year I met with a co-op one day a week and tried to do things on my own the rest of the week.  It didn't work well for me.  I was distracted by food, and dishes and laundry and I didn't feel like my daughter was getting all she needed.  I still desired to home school her but I wanted more structure so this is exactly what we needed.  We go in the morning from 8 to noon and then we're done with SWR, math, science, history, Bible, poetry, art and music.  We come home and can play and learn in other fun ways. 

With the preschoolers I'm trying to "Prep their Senses" to help them to hear words and sounds differently.  We have been working on rhyming and syllable counting. I made a file folder game.  It has 4 animals attached to the file folder, you then have a bunch of food cards and you feed the animals the foods that have the same number of syllables.  The kids LOVE it. It's great to hear them chatter like a monkey as they feed it ice cream and then count out the 2 syllables.  I'll be attaching it soon. 

Welcome

After months of wishing I had a blog it's finally here. 

Who knows what will become of this little adventure.  I really wanted to have a spot to share the things I learn about myself, my kids, natural healthcare, feeding a family with multiple allergies, and what Jesus shows me through each day.  I hope I can reach out to others in the process.  We'll see what happens. Today I'm just happy that I finally have a spot and a name.  Tomorrow we'll work on the look.  One thing at a time.