Ruby's 5th Birthday Party!


We finally had Ruby's Birthday Party on Sunday, even though her actual birthday was Wednesday the 17th. It went really well {I think!}, and we even had everything set up and ready to go by the time people walked in the door! :) Let me just say that I'm NOT an event planner, but it all came together ok!


Daddy bought her some PINK flowers!

Watermelon Punch {Recipe here}

My talented sister ran a little nail salon for the girlies. They enjoyed it! 





This was my first attempt at a homemade cake {not from a box} and using natural ingredients for dye. I used a recipe for a healthiER birthday cake {here}, and it turned out ok. It tasted really good, but it fell and was VERY dense. I'm not sure what I did wrong, so I'll try again sometime. If we had just renamed it a blonde brownie cake {like my mom suggested}, I would've nailed it. :) But it looked good, right?? 

I tried to dye the cake itself pink with beet juice, but even though it went into the oven slightly pink, it didn't come out that way. So if you're thinking about trying to dye the actual cake, it's not worth it. We used a recipe for Quick Vanilla Buttercream {which is heavenly and soooo worth it if you're looking for an easy, natural frosting recipe}. I did mash up some beets and used 1 tablespoon to get the light pink color. We were hesitant to put in more for fear it would taste like beets. I was a little disappointed it didn't achieve the brilliant, deep pink I was going for, so next time I'll try finely grating an actual beet instead of using ones from a can. 

Present time. She's been waiting for this!!












Her little friend Aubrie {from preschool last year} was able to come. She was very excited! These girls were two peas in a pod. 
I didn't get any pictures of the tall guests, I realized, but she had lots of friends and family come to celebrate with her. Thanks to everyone who came--she was blessed!!

Quick Strawberry Chia Jam

There's nothing quite like fresh, sweet strawberries. They taste like summer! My kids can't get enough of them during the warmer months. And now that they are in season, it's a perfect time to buy lots of them and make some jam. You will find it fairly easy and painless and oh so much better than anything from the store. I always double or triple my recipes, because I figure if you're going to all the trouble to make something from scratch, you might as well make it worth your while. This recipe will leave you with extra to put in the freezer. 


Quick Strawberry Chia Jam
{Prep time: 5 min, Total time: 35 min, yeilds 32 oz.}

2 lbs. {32 oz. or 4 cups} fresh Strawberries, chopped
1/3 cup honey 
1/4 cup Chia Seeds 

Place the roughly chopped strawberries and the honey into a saucepan and cook over medium heat. After the strawberries have started to soften and release their juices {5 minutes}, add the chia seeds and stir. If you don't want to use chia seeds as a thickener, you can use a chopped, sweet apple instead for the natural pectin. Continue to cook the strawberries, stirring occasionally, until they are soft enough to mash with a potato masher {another 5-10 minutes}. After you have the berries mashed, turn the heat down to medium low and continue to simmer, stirring/mashing occasionally, until it thickens into a jam {about 15 more minutes}. Remove from the heat and allow the jam to cool. It will continue to thicken as it cools. 


Once cool, spoon jam into 2 pint size mason jars {or 4 half-pints, depending on how much you will use at a time}. You can get plastic lids online or from Walmart--I think they're easier and more convenient then the metal ones for regular use. Stick one in the fridge {will keep for 1-2 weeks} and one in the freezer for later {will keep for a few months}. 

The jam is especially tasty with some butter on a whole wheat biscuit. Mmmmm.... This recipe doesn't say to, but they come out much better if you use whole wheat pastry flour.


And enjoy! Your Saturday mornings will never be the same. ;)

God Can Use the Underdog


I love a good underdog, dont you? We watched How to Train Your Dragon last night, & I was reminded again how much I love that movie. If you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend it! Hiccup, the main character, is a complete failure by normal Viking standards, especially his father's. That doesn't stop him from trying, though, and early in the movie he manages to capture Night Fury, the most ferocious dragon alive. And that's just the beginning. Killing your first dragon was everything in their culture--it's what made you a true Viking. But Hiccup decided to do something that no Viking in all of history had ever done before {no spoiler alert here}.


 Or take Melissa d'Arabian, the winner of season 5 of The Next Food Network Star. I remember being instantly drawn into the show by this regular, stay-at-home-mom of four who was up against professional chefs left and right, competing to win her own show. I was ecstatic as chef after chef was eliminated, and yet she remained. She was by far the underdog, and at face value she stood the least chance of winning. But win she did! She had a natural gift and talent in the kitchen that far surpassed even the professional training and experience she stood up against. She now has her own hit show called 10 Dollar Dinners and has published a cookbook, among other things.

So why do we root for the underdogs? I think it gives all of us regular folks HOPE. Hope and a belief that God can use regular, ordinary, messed up people, like us, to accomplish great things in His name. And He has a history of doing so, as recorded in the Bible:

"Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossip, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Abraham was old,… and Lazarus was dead. God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the CALLED!" {Anonymous}

Each and every person that God chose to use mightily was largely unqualified in some manner, often in the most vital way pertaining to their calling. A great speaker who stutters, a very old man who's supposed to be the father of all nations... You get the idea. That's the irony of God's plan most of the time. He can see what we can't. He just requires obedience, & He will take care of the rest. And besides, if we had it all together and were already the perfect candidate, where would be the need for God? God intentionally uses the underdog to magnify and bring glory to Himself. To remove any doubt whatsoever that it was God at work.

Do you feel like an underdog in some area of your life? Underdogs tend to have some things in common. They all:
  • Are up against overwhelming odds and would be the least likely person to succeed.
  • Have been made to believe that they are a failure and don't measure up.
  • Don't fit in. They're outsiders.
  • Must persevere through obstacles in the face of opposition, often at great personal cost. 
But underdogs also:
  • Have unique gifts and abilities that are largely unrecognized or unappreciated but that set them apart from the rest.
  • Were created for such a time as this, for a specific point in history.
  • Have a way of looking at life differently that requires bravery and stepping out in faith.
  • Have incredible resolve, drive, and endurance.

 "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." {2 Cor. 12:9-10} 

Could it be that God wants to use you mightily as an underdog? Take time to ask God where He wants you to step out in obedience today. It might just be the last place you would think!

Cooking Inspiration

Have you watched The Chew this week? I try to catch it a couple times a week if I can. It's the one "non-kid show" I get to watch during the day, and let's face it, there's a limit to the amount of Barney, Cat in the Hat, and Dinosaur Train one can tolerate. 

I've been inspired by a lot of their recipes this week! Here's a few of my favorites:





It would only let me use the first picture, so you'll have to use the links to check them out for yourself! I'm going to keep some of these tasty recipes in mind when I do my grocery shopping next week. :)

What new recipes have you tried lately?

Stop And Smell the Roses


I do my thinking in the shower. Or late at night. Or both, as the case may be tonight. Those are the few, still, small moments when I'm undisturbed, alone, and free to just stand there and soak in the day. I came across this picture today during my online perusing, and I love it! I consider myself a right-brained person, so immediately I was drawn in by the colors, the details, and the flow, as I poured over every inch of the picture {zoomed in, of course}.

I love beauty in all shapes and forms: colors, details, smells, tastes, joy, inspiration, creativity... The list goes on. And if I love it, search for it, seek it out, and study it, how much more does God, the Creator Himself? I love that one of His names is Creator. THE Creator. The One after whom all others aspire to but never quite achieve His brilliance, majesty and design. We can only capture bits of what He's already created or do our best to replicate it.

Imagine Him painting the sunset across the evening sky. Waving a hand over the hillside to create a blooming field of poppy's. Guiding the tide in and out on a white sandy beach, all the while forming a myriad of tiny stones out of shells and glass. Forming the Grand Canyon, the Caribbean, and Mt. Everest. Knitting together, miniature piece by piece, a tiny human body in a mother's womb, knowing exactly how each and every part will function down to it's very last day on this earth. Putting a mind inside that tiny body that is made up of a billion different attributes, making that person as unique as a snowflake. One of a kind.

Have you stopped to enjoy the beauty of God's creation? It's so easy to get busy, stressed, and distracted and completely miss it. I'd encourage you, as the saying goes, to "stop and smell the roses." I think that's what God wants for us. Slow down and enjoy the beauty in your day. Get inspired. Find joy. Be renewed. Ask God what He wants from you on this day, and just do that. Let go of all the "ought to's," "should do's," expectations and constraints you've put on yourself and just be. Take a walk with a toddler. Sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee. Really enjoy it. Listen to some great music and dance. Step outside, bask in the sunshine, and breathe in the fresh spring air. Find beauty and soak it in.

LIVE. Really live. Don't settle for just existing, going through the motions.

And seriously, STOP. And. Smell. The. Roses. Don't hurry on by today.