DIY Easter Basket

This year, I wanted Blake to have a very special and very cheap Easter basket.  Sure, there are very sweet and very cute versions out there to buy....but uhhh....well I'm cheap.  And crafty!!

Here's what I came up with:

Super simple transformation, I know, but I really like how it turned out.  The perfect Easter basket for my little gentleman!

All I needed was a $5 white basket from Walmart, some .69 cent black buttons, 1/8 a yard of $2 black silk fabric (so .25 cents there) and some black ribbon I had left over from another project.  I used the same technique I described in this tutorial to make the black bowtie (but I cut the fabric a bit larger because I wanted a big one) and then hot glued everything together.  My total cost was about $6, but you could do it even more on the cheap if you used a $1 basket from the Dollar Store.  I considered doing that, but decided to spring for a nicer basket that I could use year after year. 

And we're done!  I really like it.  Sometimes simple transformations can make a big difference!  

Heart on the floor, American Idol style

I just watched Colton Dixon sing "Everything" by Lifehouse on American Idol, and oh.my.gosh I wanted to reach through the screen to pinch his cheeks and give him the biggest hug.  What a witness!  I also realized in that moment that I have officially arrived as a mother, because my first thought was seriously

His mother must be so proud of him!!!

I'm sure she is.  I mean, seriously.

But in a bigger, broader sense of the moment, I was just really pumped.  I mean, this kid is 21 years old and does he ever have his act together.  Holy smokes.  I just did the math, and I've got six years on him and yet my palms get sweaty in church when I contemplate whether or not I should raise my hands up in worship while singing.  Yep.  It's true.  

And then I see this kid, totally transparent and vulnerable, standing in front of a crowd of screaming fans, performing in front of three iconic 'judges' who will be critiquing his every move, having his performance broadcast all over the country to an untold number of fans....and I can't help but think wow, he just gets it.  It's not about him.  He was singing to God.  He was responding in obedience, out of love.  He ended his performance on his knees, voice almost a whisper, heart on the floor...giving all he's got in worship to his Savior.

Love it.

Being a transparent witness is haaaard.  It requires a whole dang lot of pure, hold-nothing-back courage.  Courage to stand on that stage and just be real.   Courage to let your palms sweat, to let your knees knock and your voice shake.....because it's worth the risk.  

It's hard because that kind of faith just isn't popular.  It makes people uncomfortable.  But dang, isn't that the point?  When God told us to pick up our crosses and follow Him, he wasn't talking about some little flimsy floaty ring for the pool.  This world is full of hard stuff.   Walking through this life in step with our Savior is hard work.  And those crosses we're lugging around?  They're heavvvy.  They're definitely uncomfortable.    

But the burden isn't ours to bear alone.  We get to drop them at the foot of the cross.  The weary trudge through this life is worth it, because the reward is eternity.  And so every step out in faith, every time you boldly declare the grace of God, is an opportunity to use your life and your story as a witness for Him. 

Having a relationship with Jesus is not about having something to believe in.  It's about falling in love and not being afraid to show it.  Because when you love somebody, when you really love them, you are just busting to tell somebody.  To shout it from the rooftops.

So tonight, I was pumped by Colton's example.  Because I want to spend each day just bursting with enthusiasm for the love I've come to know from my Savior.  And I want to end each day, breathless and spent, kneeling on the edge of the stage before my Lord, hands raised and head bowed.... giving all I've got out of love for the God I serve 

Pinterest Challenge: Food Edition

So for this week's pinterest food challenge, I decided to go with some good 'ole homemade bread.  Yum.  I have fond memories of my mom making delicious loaves of homemade bread growing up using a bread machine, but since we don't have one, I had to start from scratch.

The recipe I had 'pinned' (literally like a year ago) was titled 'Miracle Bread' and toted an impressive start to finish time of only one hour! 

It was so delicious!  And so easy.  Here's the recipe (I halved it, because I didn't want to eat wasn't sure what to do with four loaves of bread).

Here's what you'll need:

10 1/2 c. white bread flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. salt
3 rounded tablespoons instant yeast
3 T. liquid lecithin (I didn't have lecithin, so I used 1/3 c. oil as per the suggestion in the original recipe)
4 c. hot tap water

Mix dry ingredients. Add lecithin (or oil) and water. Mix for 1 minute and check consistency. If dough is too dry, add a little more water. Dough should be very sticky. Mix for 5 minutes. (Do not add flour to the dough after it has finished mixing.) Spray counter and pans with Pam. Shape loaves, place in pans and cover with a dish towel. Let rise 25 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

I decided I wanted to make whole wheat, which is just a tad bit different: 

For whole wheat bread, use the same recipe only with whole wheat flour; replace one cup of the hot water with applesauce, and add 1 additional tablespoon lecithin.

Note: When making the whole wheat, I added about 1/2 cup extra of hot tap water....my bread dough was way too dry after the addition of the applesauce

And that's it!  One hour, start to finish, and your whole house will smell like homemade bread!  YUM!  Check another pinterest recipe off the list... 

A Man After God's Heart: 2

(If you missed it, I posted here about my decision to post these verses weekly for Blake.)

Be strong and courageous!  Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9  

Buddy, daddy and I pray this for you every single day.  You were made to be courageous, to stand strong and go boldly in the direction God leads.  There will be times in your life with it's not easy, when you're afraid and unsure, and in those moments I want you to remember two very important things:

1. You are never alone. Not ever.  You are a son of The King, and His love will reach you wherever you are.  Rely on that, feel it with every fiber of your being, and in it find the courage to be the man you were created to be.

2. Your daddy and I love you more than life.  More than life.  For as long as we live, daddy and I will be there.  We will forever be your number one fans.  We will walk beside you, encouraging you to dream big and walk boldly, because we already know how special you are.  You are our miracle, the little one we waited a long time for, because God knew the exact moment he needed to bring you into the world.  You were created with such purpose.   

God has big plans for you, little one, and daddy and I pray that you will forever have the courage of your convictions.  We can't wait to see all that you will do and become, and we can't wait to see how God will use our precious little boy to further His kingdom.

I love you B, and I couldn't be more proud to be your mama.  

Finger Foods: Banana Pancakes

Lately, I have found myself entering into the foreign waters of baby finger foods.  We've been doing puffs for a while, but B was really seeming ready for something more, so I did what any self-respecting SAHM would do....I whipped out my laptop and checked Pinterest for some ideas.

And boy did I ever find some!  I decided to make some individual banana pancakes for B.

They were super easy!  I just sliced up a banana, dunked it in pancake batter, and then cooked them up like you would a (very tiny) pancake.  The verdict?  B loves them!  I cut them up into tiny little pieces and he smashes them with his hands tries his best to get them from the tray into his mouth.  Self feeding is still a work in progress.  We'll get there!

The Jump

This morning, as I was getting Blake's bottle ready, I heard a news story about the latest YouTube video to go viral.

It's a video of a 14 year old girl about to make her maiden voyage down a ski ramp and off her first jump.  I was totally mesmerized by the video, so much so that I over warmed Blake's bottle and had to start over (oops). 

Here it is:

Man, I love this girl's heart.  Such courage!  Just looking down that jump ramp makes my heart skip a beat.  I'm the girl that skis the bunny slope over and over because I hate the thought of racing down an incline.  What can I say?  My skis always cross and I end up doing an impressive face plant.  Yes that really happens.  Once, a five year old even skied up to me and asked if I needed help.  Yes, that really happened too.

Maybe that's what made me pause initially when I saw this video.  I was seriously impressed with her courage.  But then, after I'd fed Blake and plopped him down for some floor play, I went back and watched it again.  And again.  I think it was on the third or fourth viewing that I realized what I really, really liked about this video.

I love that she named her fear.  She acknowledged it.  Her voice shook with it.  She allowed herself to be paralyzed by it for just a minute.  And then, there....she.....went

I found that incredibly powerful.  And I also think it's a really good metaphor on faith. 

I have to admit, there have been a handful of times in my life when I've found myself standing at the top of that proverbial ski ramp.  And I've looked down and been absolutely petrified by the sheer intensity of what lay before me.  Dang.  It seemed like a long way down.  Standing at the top, it looked insurmountable.  Like there's no way in heck my skis wouldn't cross and send me tumbling head-first off the side of the ramp.

But it's in that moment, when you're standing at the top of the ramp, that you have the opportunity to name your fear.  To stare it down. 

And then, to just....let it go

In the video, once Zia gets to the bottom of the ramp you can just hear her whoopin' and hollerin' and celebrating her victory.   She did it.  That feeling of absolute euphoria was her reward.

As believers in Christ, we are in a unique situation as we stand at the top of that ramp.  We are absolutely assured of the euphoria to come.  A life lived for Christ will be rewarded with an eternal life in Heaven.  Fear is a tool of the enemy, but it doesn't have to make us weak.  Rather, we can use it to make us strong.  Because our reward is assured.  Every step out in faith is a step forward in obedience to the Father.  And this life?  Well it's kind of like the trip down the ramp.  It's fast, it's terrifying, there are a few moments when your skis start to cross and you're doubting whether or not pushing off from the top was realllllly such a good idea.....but then you reach the bottom.  And it's euphoria. 

I think Zia's example was a good one.  Her voice trembled.  Her fear was palpable.  But she didn't let that stop her, and her reward was great.

The next time I'm standing at the top of that ski ramp, I want to use her example.

I have no doubt my voice will tremble.  I have no doubt that my palms will be sweating and I'll be envisioning what I'd look like catapulting off the side, turning myself into a giant snowball.  Not pretty.  I might even give myself a moment to absolutely sweat it out.

But only for a moment.

Because I know that taking that leap of faith will ultimately be for my good.  And so I'll slowly inch my way towards the edge, because I know that the fear doesn't have to cripple me.

Because I know that my faith will grow when I reach the bottom unscathed

And because I know that what lies at the bottom of that ramp is worth the risk it took to get there. 

Because if it wasn't, my Savior would never have asked me to take up my cross and follow Him.  

Sometimes, my cross might look like that ski ramp.
 
So, in the words of little Zia......

'here goes.....something'

Something great.

Pinterest Challenge: Food Edition

Raise your hand if you are guilty of letting your mouse do the clickin' when it comes to pinning recipes on pinterest.

Raises hand.

Guilty as charged.

And seriously?  I think I've pinned about 1,000 recipes.  And I've made none of them.  None of them! 

(okay, I've made a few desserts...)

So I decided to mix things up a bit and challenge myself to actually make one of the recipes I've pinned at least once a week.   Hence the title.  It's a food based Pinterest challenge!

The rules of my own little game are simple.  It has to be a recipe I've (a) pinned (b) never made before and (c) is healthy.   And then once it's been made and eaten, I have to post about it! 

I'm pretty excited about this because I have definitely pinned some delicious looking recipes that I can't wait to try out.  I'm also excited because it'll introduce some variety into the old go-to recipes that always seem to creep their way into our weekly dinners. 

And I'm also excited because I made my first Pinterest Challenge dinner tonight!  It was delicious.

I made home cut spicy sweet potato fries and feta stuffed turkey burgers.  Yummm

Let's start with the fries, shall we?
 

The first step is to cut up your sweet potatoes.  We almost always have these on hand because I make them for Blake.  For this recipe, I used two pretty good sized sweet potatoes.  After washing and peeling, you want to slice them into about 1/4 inch wedges.  We like our fries a bit thicker cut, so I'd say mine averaged closer to 1/2 inch wedges.  Personal preference!

Once you've got them all cut, you'll want to preheat your oven to 400 degrees and then combine them in a big mixing bowl with the following ingredients:

1T chili powder
1T cajun seasoning
2 tsp olive oil

Once you've mixed them pretty thoroughly, spread the potatoes out in one layer on a baking sheet.  Pop 'em in your preheated oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or under tender!

See?  So so easy!  These were delicious.  My husband is a lover of all things spicy, and he was raving about these guys.  I think next time I make them I'll cut up a bunch of my sweet potatoes in advance to freeze, and then just dethaw however many I want to make. 

Also, for all you moms, this is a great way to serve sweet potatoes as a finger food to the little humans in your life.  Just save some of the fries to bake up un-seasoned, and they make an absolutely perfect addition to the high chair tray at dinnertime.  They are mushy and soft and dissolve in baby's mouth...but are big enough for them to pick up!  

Once I had those babies in the oven,  I started working on the feta turkey burgers. Here's what you'll need:

1 pound uncooked extra lean ground turkey breast
1 T fresh oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
7 Tbsp feta cheese, crumbled
4 hamburger rolls (we used whole wheat)
1 cup lettuce (we didn't have any on hand, so I omitted this)
2/3 sliced red peppers
1 (small) can sliced olives

In a medium bowl, combine your chicken, oregano, garlic powder and feta; divide mixture into four balls and then press them into patties.  Broil patties for about 7 to 8 minutes per side, or until done.  Serve each burger on a bun with lettuce, peppers and olives! 

And you're done!  Dinner on the table in 30 minutes (most of that is just cooking time!) 

It was delicious. 

Adam was pretty excited about this new challenge, because it means some good eatin' for my man. 

Oh, and Blake had some fun adventures at dinner too.  Here's a snapshot of our foray into self-feeding:

 

 That would be avocado all up in his business.  He loved it, and despite how it may appear, some of it even made its way into his mouth!!