Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Pumpkin muffins

My friend Susannah shared this recipe for pumpkin muffins with me on Facebook. I made them last night for my Ladies Bible Study Brunch which was held at my house today.  I made mini muffins and we could not stop eating them.  Fortunately I hid some for the brunch today.  They are very easy and delicious.



Pumpkin Muffins
 3 c. sugar
1 c. oil
3 eggs
2 c. pumpkin
3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
Blend sugar and oil. Beat in eggs and rest of ingredients. Mix well. Bake in muffin pan at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.






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Friday, August 26, 2011

Always in our hearts!


Amy Elizabeth

You will forever be in our hearts! 
Our memories of you are many and precious!
We love you and anxiously await the day
we are reunited with you in heaven! 

Amy wrote this when she was applying for a college scholarship.
As a person with Cystic Fibrosis I never stop. Whether it is clinic visits, hospital stays, doing treatments, taking medicine, or time out to cough, there IS always something demanding my time. It could be easy to get worn out and irritated with the reality of daily routine. Yet, as I look at my life, I realize that I have tried to make those times the best. Having C.F. has made me a positive thinker, given me a heart of compassion for others, and made me want to live life to its fullest.
Cystic Fibrosis can easily drag me down, but I have tried to make it a positive in my life. I think about what it would be like if I could not see, hear, or walk. This allows me to realize that I have a lot to be thankful for, even if that sometimes means being thankful that I only have one lung infection instead of two. I also have fun proving doctors, family, and friends wrong. I show them that I can have a lead role in a three hour stage production, play softball, leave the country for ten days and still deal with C.F. Another positive aspect is that through my many hospital stays and attendance at C.F. camps I have made lifelong friends. When I focus on the good, it helps the bad not seem so bad after all. I feed off of the encouragement I receive from others. So, when I wear a smile on my face, I wear it in my heart as well. I am always going to have those down days, but I try to look ahead and focus on all the good. Being able to think in a positive way has not only helped me overcome struggles in my life, but has also helped me to be there for others in their time of need.
Helping people is something I cannot get away from. I am drawn to people in need. Part of this may be that I know what it is like to be different. This can affect the way people look at you, which in turn affects the way you live. I have learned to be happy with who I am and how I was made. Once I learned to love myself, I worried less about me and could focus on others. I want people to feel happy and loved. They need to know they have a purpose in life. I often find that the best the thing I can do is be a listening ear. Doing that also makes me feel needed. I consider it a blessing to have a heart of compassion. I believe that it has made me a better friend and someday will make me a better wife and mom. No one deserves to live a painful or lonely life, and knowing that my life brought hope into someone else's gives me great encouragement.
Having a life-threatening disease has caused me to live life to its fullest. I want each moment to matter and each day to be a day of accomplishments. I do not ever want to take life or the joys it brings for granted. I often enjoy the simple things that not everyone takes time to notice. The times spent with family and friends are treasured in my heart. I do not want to miss out any life-changing experience, or any adventures it holds for me. Life is a wonderful thing, and when you know that it may not be as long as others, you do not want anything to take away the joy of living it to its fullest.
The trials of dealing with Cystic Fibrosis have helped make me a better person.
God has helped me find hope in each day and turn my sorrows into joy. And as I find this hope, I am able to see more clearly the purpose for which I was created.



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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Homemade is the best

I've been craving homemade biscuits.  Yes, I know we can buy good frozen biscuits but there is something satisfying to me about mixing the flour, shortening and milk, rolling it out, cutting the pretty circles of dough, and then watching them rise and brown in the oven that a store bought biscuit will never replace. I learned to make biscuits from the best biscuit maker — my mother-in-law. So this morning I snuck out of bed to surprise Jim with biscuits and homemade strawberry jam. Stacy made strawberry freezer jam last week and gave us a jar. It is the same recipe my mother used every summer. After my butter melted on the biscuit I spread the strawberry jam on it and took a bite! Lots of memories of my mother-in-law and mother filled my mind as I pictured both of them in the kitchen lovingly preparing these foods for their families. Then I thought of Stacy and how special it is that she is carrying on with some of the recipes she remembers her grandmother's making. I have a happy heart this morning.






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Monday, August 22, 2011

First Grade...First Day


Thoughts of being a little girl and my first days of school have been swirling around in my head this past week as I have heard Moms talking about getting their children ready for school and as I have talked to Colette about her going to first grade.  I loved preparing for school.  My mom would take me shopping for school clothes, which meant dresses and black and white saddle oxford shoes.  We would make a special day of it by riding the bus downtown.  I always loved the smell of new crayons and liked having new pencils.  I walked to school, walked home and back for lunch and then walked back home when school was over.  I love remembering those fun, carefree days.

Today Colette dressed in her new dress with matching shoes.  She had her school supplies and a picture for her new teacher telling her that she loves school.  She will eat lunch at school and I will be there to pick her up this afternoon when school is over.  I look forward to hearing all about her first day in first grade!  Such a big event in a little girl's life!  I am thankful to be a part of her life!







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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Trusting in the Lord

I love how God speaks to me in so many different ways! Last week my friend Joy sent me a card that arrived just when I needed the reminder to Trust in the Lord! When I opened the card I felt as if the Lord had sent it to me telling me in times of trials I am to not stop trusting Him. It was like a warm hug from Him.

Then a few days later I read Streams in the Desert and this spoke to my heart:
"the richest qualities of a Christian often come out under the north wind of suffering and adversity.  Bruised hearts often emit the fragrance God loveth to smell."

Today God once again spoke to my heart through this same devotional:
George Mueller speaking to the captain of a ship as they were traveling through a thick fog, speaks of his faith in God. He needed to get to his destination to preach and was trusting God to lift the fog. 
"My eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God, who controls every circumstance of my life."

Then later today I read this devotional my friend Jennifer wrote.  Her blog is Heart to Hear 
Be sure to go there and read the remainder of this devotion. 

"More than able. God spoke those words to my heart during worship Sunday. It is so easy to slip into a mindset of seeing our problems as mountain-sized in comparison with the small strength we have to meet the crisis. But God is not a man that He should be perplexed by our difficulties.  He is more than able to handle whatever we face. Not only is His strength enough, He says it is actually perfected when we are weak and unable to stand on our own. (2Corinthians 12:9)"...


 Are you in a time of suffering? Does it seem like you are in a dense fog? Does your problem seem so large that you see no way out?
I am trusting God, keeping my eye on Him and believing He is more than able and will act on our behalf. Will you do the same in the midst of all you are going through?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him,and he will make your paths straight
 Proverbs 3:5-6



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Thursday, August 11, 2011

Peeps!

Jim and I flew to Maryland for his niece's wedding.  While there we saw the cutest store!  PEEPS !











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