I'm Still Here!

After feeling a bit guilty for being too busy read some of my favorite blogs, let alone write my own...I was relieved after seeing I'm not the only one after checking some of those said blogs to see that they too have not updated much since I last read them! So I guess I am not the only one who has been busy lately.

So here is a quick update for those who care....

We have been visiting the library a lot lately and getting books for Caleb & True for the first time. About 25 total each visit. They usually sit for hours once we get home with them looking through them and "reading". I too enjoy sitting down and reading for hours as well during the time we have them. Thankfully we have yet to loose any despite the large numbers checked out.

Noble seems to be about ready to walk. He is letting go of things while he stands and climbing onto our fireplace. I had to switch him on his bare bottom yesterday as he was climbing onto the fireplace which made him very sad. But he has not repeated that action since...so hopefully that lesson was learned.

We have been busy looking for a house to buy with my mother the past month or so. We actually put an offer on what I thought was a dream, had a wonderful mother in law's suite attached and all. Though another buyer offered more, so it did not go through. We went to look at another property Tuesday which was amazing, though too much for our budget right now. I have been busy looking since, but have decided to fast on searching as it is making me a bit anxious. I am thinking God is wanting to use this as a tool to teach me to trust in him more...bring it on Lord!

This week Ireland and I have been making goals for her sixth grade year coming up next month of things we would like to learn. That has been a lot of fun and we are looking to make some more changes in our school days that we are looking forward to.

My dear friend Alex has been making the 40 minute trek to come visit us weekly for the past couple of months which has been such a blessing. She is due to have a new baby (second) in a few weeks, at which I will have the privilege to attend the birth Lord willing. We have so enjoyed our blossoming friendship with her and her family.

I started reading Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit today by Teri Maxwell. This should give you a hint of things I have been struggling with as of late. I think it should be titled Living Life with a Meek and Quiet Spirit as it would be appropriate...something I am desperately seeking for in my day to day routine.

Our onions are ready to be pulled out of the ground and we have harvested at least 50 cherry tomatoes so far, with many many more growing! The carrots might be ready, I think I should probably check those and the beans and the other plants are growing.

It is HOT here in Texas! Over 100 for days and days...we are supposed to get "cool" weather tomorrow and the rest of the weekend...highs in the 90's. Ooh...nice!

I do have a list of topics that I will be writing on in the future, as soon as I have a moment to spare. So please be patient, I'm not leaving yet!

That is about all I can think of at the moment. I also have not been good at taking pics as of late, so here is the only "new" picture taken recently.

This Weeks Bread

This week the bread turned out even better! I tweaked the recipe a bit and am so delighted of the light, almost sweet bread that came out of it. It even slices in small pieces easily without crumbling...yum! (Sorry, no pics this time)

I soaked 9 cups of ground up wheat with 5 cups boiling water and 1/2 cup plain yogurt.

Next day I added 2 2/3 c. hot water
1 cup honey
1/4 cup yeast
2 T salt

(Note: there was no oil used in this recipe...not sure if that's why it turned out so much differently?)

This made 6 delicious loaves! We'll see if it does the same next week :)

Success!

I finally took the plunge and made some bread today but soaked my grain first. I am so pleased with the results! I had been very nervous to try this method as I usually am when doing something new. I'm scared that it will fail and all the work that I put into it will be a waste.

Well this time at least it didn't fail! I'm sure there is some tweaking to do, but the results were still pretty delicious. The bread has a very different but yummy taste to it, it does not taste like sourdough, though it did kind of smell like it while it was baking. It is very good!

Now for those of you who are wondering why I sprouted the grain first, here is the reason. Sprouted grain is easier to digest and contains more nutrients than unsprouted grain. Some persons who are wheat sensitive or allergic to wheat (thankfully nobody in my family) can tolerate it in the sprouted form.

Since we eat a lot of bread around here, I want to be able to make the healthiest option as possible (for me to be able to do!).

So here is what I did...yesterday afternoon I ground up my Prairie Gold wheat in the Nutrimill (about 12 cups).

Then I put it in the Bosch mixing bowl and mixed it with 5 cups of hot water and 1/4 cup of plain yogurt. I covered it up and let it sit on the counter till this morning to let it soak and ferment.

It looked very clumpy and not very appetizing as you can see below, not what I was really expecting. I was thinking it would be more smooth?

This picture is what it looked like after all the kneading was complete with all the ingredients...the dough looks darker than normal and not as smooth.

Today...I added to the bowl...

1 cup boiling water
2 cups freshly ground flour (not soaked)
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey
4.5 T SAF yeast
2 T salt

Mixed that up and was surprised at how it actually sloshed liquid stuff up out of the Bosch! Once it was mixed thoroughly I covered it up and let it sponge for about an hour...yes, things were busy around here.

After the hour I added about 2 - 3 cups of flour slowly until the dough came off the sides of the bowl, then let it knead for 7 minutes. Then I shut off the Bosch and let it rest for 3 minutes.

Then the easy part...took it out of the bowl and shaped into 4 loaves and did 2 pans of dinner rolls to save for this week when I'm ready to bake those. Caleb was a big help and had a great time shaping the loaves with me (instead of cleaning his room!).

Let it rise for about an hour, then baked 2 at a time for 30 minutes each at 350.

Like I said before, the loaves have a different taste than my usual bread where the flour is not soaked...a very delicious taste! I also didn't rise as much as my regular recipe does either, so the loaves were a bit smaller. I'll see if I can figure out how to change that next time around.

Now my next goal is to make 100% sprouted grain and flour bread! That one really intimidates me as it is a few day process with the drying of the sprouted wheat that has to be done before grinding it. I'll let you know what that one is done, and if its a success or not as well!

Happy baking!

Comedy Relief

Mark sent this to me this week, so I thought to share as it made me laugh out loud!



Then there's the Homeschool Family, which I realized after watching the above it was made from the same comedian. If you haven't seen it...here it is.

Birthay Pics

Sorry this was so late moms :)

Ireland with Amy who made the delicious cake balls

The cousins

The cousins again...

Cousins and mom

Daddy giving Davis "the look"

Ireland with her gifts

Enjoying snacks

Eleven Years!

Eleven years ago today, I was a nineteen year old clueless young girl who was helplessly in love with the new baby girl in her arms. I remember being in the hospital thinking "she's mine!". At the time I had no idea of what "mine" really meant, more like mine for a time, but truly the Lord's.

Many of my high school friends came to see us, after all, I had just graduated twelve months before her birth. Many of my mother's friends and family members came as well to meet this beautiful girl with a full head of thick jet black hair and browner than brown eyes. It was a very exciting time those first few days in the hospital being a new mommy. I loved every minute of it!

The next few years were pretty turbulent due to my rebellion towards the Lord; but He kept my sweet daughter and myself safe the whole time and in the loving arms of my church family I had rejected at the time. I believe He has BIG plans for this woman in the making!

Little did I know the plans the Lord had in store for us, both mommy and daughter. Still do not know of all His plans, though looking back at the past eleven years gives me a jolt of excitement for what He has in store for us for the next!

It has been such a joy to watch sweet Ireland grow into a young lady who still loves to play hard, laugh even harder, give big hugs to everyone she meets, while learning what it means to know and love the Lord. She is an amazing big sister who loves her siblings so well. I can already tell she will be a wonderful mother by the way she is so attentive and caring for them.

I look forward to many more years of celebrating her life and seeing how the Lord will use her for His purposes and how her life will bring Him glory!

Thank you Jesus for the privilege to be her mother.

Happy birthday sweet daughter...I love you so much!

Enjoying My Man

I don't know about you, but I am married to a sinner. The thing is, he is married to one as well, if not a Bigger one! Part of my sin nature is to be more of a detective than a help meet sometimes. I am getting better as the years go by with the Lord's help, but sometimes I forget and begin to fall back into my old ways.

Well this weekend as I began to ponder how my awesome man could "possibly" be sinning while he was out fishing and shooting with the men, and began to think of ways I could ask (rather nag) to find out if he sinned in any way, I heard the Lord whisper to my heart something very special.

"ENJOY HIM...Let ME worry about his "possible" sin and let ME convict him if there is any need for conviction...my Holy Spirit is much more effective than you."

What a wonderful timely word! So instead of dwelling on the "what if's", I was able to dwell on being excited for his arrival and being able to enjoy him. Being the Holy Spirit is not my job anyways (thank you Lord!).

So I just wanted to encourage all of my lady friends to enjoy your men! Give him lots of smiles, hugs, kisses, laughter...he will enjoy it and you will too...It makes life so much better for the both of you! :)