a baby boy

Austin and I have two nephews on his side of the family (and another neice or nephew on the way). While we’ve been visiting with his entire family, I have  been able to bond with the two boys with more concentrated time spent with them. These boys are great kids. Samuel, the oldest, is 3 and inquisitive, silly, mechanical and loves his younger 1 year old brother, Caleb. Caleb is very social, smiley, talkative… calling for mama or dada, reaching  his hands upward asking in sign language to be picked up. It is SO sweet.

This year I am remembering the manner in which my Lord first came to meet those whom He would save. What a vulnerable way to enter his life calling. As a baby, he was completely dependent upon his mother Mary to provide to meet his every physical need. He reached out for his mama to pick him up, asked for his sippy cup, cried when he was sleepy or got knocked over by his brothers. It is a comforting thought to me to remember the humanity of my Savior.

He came to live here on the same earth on which we trod, dealt with the same struggles that we tossle with daily, felt the same emotions that run through our veins. But He was perfect. He was the perfect Son of God who came specifically to live an exemplary life and then die because you and I don’t live a perfect life. While the consequence of our imperfections is death, Jesus came to take our blame and die in our place. His death restored a lost relationship between God and man. Because of His death in our place, we can now live in relationship with God and spend eternity with Him.

During this season, I remember that a little baby boy came to this earth to die for me, for which I am so thankful. Merry Christmas!

Updated Laundry Room

We were having a design dilemna and a storage issue in the laundry room. Unfortunately, I don’t have the before pictures of a shelfless wall or a cluttered entry… just imagine it differently. But, I do have afters. So ta-da!

There are a few little things that need to be finished or rearranged, but we are loving the transformation.

cake mix cookies

I had nearly forgotten about this little treasure of a recipe idea (courtesy of my very creative sister-in-law) until I saw cake mixes on sale for 78 cents or something like that. I don’t know why I didn’t buy more than one box of devil’s food cake mix… but I definately am glad to have bought at least one because Austin and I enjoyed warm-fresh-from-the-oven-chocolatey-goodness on one of the first cold nights here in the Holy City. So I will share this easy cookie recipe with you faithful readers, all of whom probably know it already.

Ingredients
1 boxed cake mix (I prefer a chocolate cake mix)
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup or so powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Combine cake mix, egg, oil, and water until all ingredients well incorporated. Use about a tablespoon of dough for each cookie, and roll each drop of dough in powdered sugar. Place each cookie about 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Content

Until recently, I had not admitted to myself that I am a discontent person. I have always been happy enough with my possessions, never really thinking that I could be considered discontent for other reasons, like having friends, feeling organized, getting out of the house, having fun things to do with my husband, among other things. Despite my ungracious attempts to pin my discontentedness on something Austin may have been doing, he graciously let me in on the secret that I do not practice contentment a lot of the time. In fact, my mother noticed it, too.

My main source of discontentment in this last year became that I wasn’t feeling close to God. I may have attributed these feelings to not being able to go to church on a regular basis, having to work a lot of Sundays. Oh, how it bothered me that I had an irregular work schedule.  But the real reasonI felt so icky about my relationship with God I can link to my lack of disciplined time spent in the Word. Sure, I may have been reading it daily, but not digesting it.

God has struck up a conversation with me lately. I’ve been challenged through the Newlywed Sunday School class at our church to be listening as God speaks through His Word. We’ve been going through A Couples Guide to a Growing Marriage by Gary Chapman. So far (we’re in week 3), I’ve found his suggestions to be realistic and practical as far as building communication with God, and my husband. This week we’re learning about forgiveness… but anyway, back to the main idea.

I don’t have it all worked out, but the past couple days, I have felt content with  my life. So I have thought it a good idea to make a list of the things in my life right now that I count as blessings. Plus it is almost Thanksgiving!

1. Days off: the ability to sleep in past 6:12 am. But in the case that I am up at 6:12, Coffee. Need I say more.
2. The fact that my life does not look like a lot of my patients’ lives. I do not suffer from chronic illness, Thank You Lord.
3. The fact that I live 4 blocks or so from work, and Austin and I can walk there.
4. Home cooked meals, whether it is Austin or me doing the cooking, I love sitting down at the table with him.
5. Our community group. New friends, and somewhere to be on Sunday nights.
6. Good preaching: Buster Brown at ECBC.
7. Family that prays for us and loves us.
8. The ability to pay our bills. Thank you Lord for providing for us in this economy.
9. Living in a beautiful city. I love crossing any of the bridges in town and being able to juxtapose the ocean landscape and the city skyline.
10. Voicemails, Phone calls and skype chats with many of the people I love.

The Lord has truly blessed me, it is true.

PIE! and other things fall-ish.

We laughed with our friends at a halloween extravaganza party on Saturday night. Dressing up like Tom Sawyer and Huckelberry Finn, Austin and I were the only ones to dress up! Although we didn’t get any good pics of us dressed up, Austin was sure to get some of the pumpkins being set on fire.

Last night, we hosted our community group for the first time.

Austin made two delicious pies yesterday for our community group while I cleaned. I did not know he was such a skilled baker… A man of many hidden talents. He made an apple pie and a crustless pumpkin pie for our gluten-allergic friend. I enjoyed the apple pie so much, I even had a piece for breakfast today!

I rearranged our fall decorations before our friends came over, lighting the candles on the dining froom table perhaps a bit too early, so as I greeted those who arrived first, I found the centerpiece in flames as I passed it from the kitchen to the front door. This is what remained.

Here’s for you  momma:

Happy fall!

up and back again

We spent the weekend with Heath and Krista, returning to our anniversary trip spot: Mt. Pisgah. Although it was cold and snowy, we definately enjoyed our drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping to take in the barely visible views of the scenery through the fog and snow. We did manage to get some good pics though. We wimped out on staying another night in the snow and happily returned to H&K’s apartment to play Sequence and watch the Count of Monte Cristo until we fell asleep on their comfy couch. After a big breakfast of waffles, bacon and eggs and some football watching, we met Abram for lunch to return his beloved XBox that we’d been hoarding the past couple months. Well now we’re back home, and the temp has dropped significantly. It’s starting to feel like fall, and our mums are thriving.

Mom’s here!

Momma hitched a ride with some folks coming down from Ohio and ended up on my front step… well kinda. But it don’t really matter how she got here, she’s here and I love it! We have been getting a lot of quality time together, much needed I’d say.

So far, she’s helped me to get organized in many ways, helping me with laundry that has sat untouched, waiting to be hung up… helped me get my checkbook balanced… set up a filing system for bills.

We’ve made cookies, cinnamon rolls, calzones… We’ve been shopping… And we still have more fun planned!

It’s so good to have her around, she brings a warmth and a calm that I’ve missed for a while. It feels like home whens she’s around. Now I better stop before I get too misty. Love you momma!

Oh Allergies…

I write this after a couple days of sniffling, sneezing, snot-dripping. I thought I left you, allergies, back in Ohio and Indiana. But you plague me here in South Carolina. You sneeky devil, you. I thought I wouldn’t be bothered by you since you didn’t show up this past spring, but like a bad habit, you returned reminding me that I am not unstoppable.

‘How could I think I could pick up an extra day of work this week?’ You make me ask myself.

Oh, but allergies, I have news for you… at the market they sell local honey AND pollen. I’m thinking that I will kick you to the curb and take stock in the honey company, rather than the tissue/cough medicine folks.

So take that, at least for now you’ve got me down, but not for long. I don’t expect to see you again in the spring.

My blood

is just boiling over from this video i heard about and found on the internet about ACORN!!

If it doesn’t make your blood boil then there is something wrong with you…please watch these videos…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtTnizEnC1U&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNYU9PamIZk&NR=1

They are encouraged to call their underage sex slaves exchange students… This breaks my heart….

Life without internet…

… means I don’t post for a month. Interesting how dependent we become upon internet. We’ve been without the net since our neighbors moved out August 10th or so. I felt so disconnected, not knowing what was going on in the world, or with friends. While we’ve been reconnected now since Monday, I haven’t had a chance to update since then.

A recent point of interest and fun… We spent our anniversary in Asheville, NC. What gorgeous country it is up there. I think we’ll return once the leaves have begun to change.

Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Our hike, the first day in the wilderness.

Our campsite.

A pause in the ascent.

Shining Rock: beautiful white quartz.

Our descent. Switchbacks like these made me whimper.

Another beautiful view. The rain was coming.

Enamored by the beauty of creation.

Wild blueberries. We were watching for bears.

The walk up to Biltmore.

Gorgeous architecture.

Gardens designed by the man who also designed Central Park.

A stop at the North Carolina Arboretum with a special focus on the Bonsai exhibit.

It was a great to escape to the mountains.