Here's One for the Recipe Book

It never fails.

I always need a little sweet something to follow up my lunch or dinner.  Ok, more like lunch & dinner.

You know that feeling you get after finishing a meal and you just need a little something?  Or a big something and you start rummaging through the cupboards to find something... anything you or the kids may have stashed away.  Eater candy, Halloween candy even??

Clearly my sweet tooth rules my life at times, but after having lost 20 pounds and completely changing my diet, I didn't want to fall back into the same - old, same - old, to satisfy my craving for sweets.

My sister-in-law, and fellow foodie, passed this recipe to me.  Are you ready??


Chocolate pudding!! {healthy style}

I made this batch to serve one, but feel free to double or triple it for a larger batch.

Ingredients:
One ripe banana {I mean really ripe.  This is where some of your sweetness comes from}
One ripe avocado
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
2-3 tsp. cocoa powder
agave nectar, to taste {you can also use honey, cane sugar juice, etc.}

Chop banana and avocado and put in a food processor.  A food processor is the best equipment for this, as a blender would just make a giant mess.

Add vanilla, cocoa, cinnamon and sweetener.  Pulse until you have the consistency of, well, pudding.

VOILA!!  There you have it.  Super easy, super good, super healthy and it shuts that sweet tooth down like nobody's business!

Y'all would love this recipe, but I think toddlers might especially enjoy it.  Get it into them before you feed them the other pudding and they just might like it even more.  All my kids liked it but you could probably guess that my teenager had a lovely comment that referenced baby diapers.

Nice.

 Oh, those boys!

Let me know if you try it - I'd love to hear your feedback!

Blessings,
{K}

Spring Has Sprung...

I'm so smitten with Spring it is ridiculous...

 

May all your weekend wanderings lead you right to Spring!

Embracing the Perfectly Imperfect

Playing this role of a lifetime without a script is no easy feat!!  What mom can pull that off?

When I was a, shall we say, less seasoned mom, I thought I had to be the perfect mom who raised perfect children in a perfect home.  Often times I looked around me and saw other moms who {I thought} had it all going on.  There was one in particular.  She was amazing.  She was a super mom in my eyes.  I would leave after having spent time with her and feel like there was just no way I could ever be as good as her.

I would go home and ask God to make me better... make me more like her.  I would try to be more like her with my kids and do you know what?  I was miserable.  They were miserable.  Trying to be someone else with MY kids just wasn't working!

Then one day I re-read the story of Mary.  You know, THE Mary - mother of Jesus.  And it hit me right between the eyes.  Even she, the mother of the Savior of the World, didn't meet the standard of Super Mom I had set for myself.  She knew about as much about parenting as I did when I first found out I was expecting.  Only I had the benefit of about 10 more years of life experience than she did.  All she had was a willingness to follow where God led.

That's it.

Well, I had that.

Right then and there I laid aside my measuring stick of perfection and the insecurities that came with comparing myself to other moms.  And I felt free.  I was held to no one's standard but my own.

Over time I began to see my perceived weaknesses as strengths:

*I am not the most flexible mom in the world, but give me a tad bit of notice and ample time to freak out over my newly rearranged schedule, and I'll happily change what I'm doing.
*I don't always have an organized devotional time with my kids, but I pray mightily for them every day when I am on my treadmill. {And their spouses and children and on and on...}
*I may not always keep my mouth closed tight when facing stressful situations, but I am good at apologizing and asking for forgiveness from my kids.
*I may not be able to sew a stitch, but I know a certain Gram who happily stitches away.
* I love to bake... and that alone should be enough, don't you think??

There is much room for growth in my parenting - God and I work on it daily.  But I have learned to embrace the perfectly imperfect me.

And while I still fall short at times, I have finally accepted that being me, fully me, as the mom I am, is far better than trying to be an imitation of someone else.  I have the qualities my kids need in their mother.  Plain and simple.  I am enough.

Every morning I lift a prayer to the heavens and ask God to help me be the best mom I can be to my kids.  Present, attentive, flexible and carrying a plate of cookies {that always helps!}  How about you?  Ever struggled trying to be something you are not?  At home? In the work place? I'd love to talk it over here if you'll share!

Blessings,
{K}

Daily

Because He's Always Right Here

The phone rings and she asks how today is going.

And I have to smile because truth be told, it's not been the smoothest day.

There are crumbs on the counter and floor and there are piles of laundry waiting on me and there is a situation at school that just won't go away and it is sitting so heavy on my heart today.

But I grin and say it could be worse.

Wherever we are, there is always hard and messy and a bit of ugly.  But there is also great joy and laughter and gladness.  It's a mix of the ugly/beautiful.

But I'm determined to count blessings and not worries so I go back and number the ways He whispers love over me and mine and I see that daily bread is truly the way to live; just enough, just for today.

 

 

 

 

 

I saw God before me for all time.

Nothing can shake me.

He's right by my side

I'm glad from the inside out... 

Acts 2:28 {MSG}

 

My Girl

 

Dear Sweet Girl,

Today you are twelve.

Twelve.

How is that even possible?

Seems like it was just last week when I fed you in the

early morning hours, you all washed

in moonlight, and I felt for the second time that overwhelming feeling 

of this is how it would end for me.

Right there, right in that rocking chair,  I would

die of love.

And now, twelve years later,

you are no longer a fragile newborn.

You are my Willow-Girl.  

So strong and beautiful and full of courage

and strength and tender compassion.

With a heart of gold, 

an ever present awareness of others

and a work ethic like I've never seen,

 you amaze me.

Indulge me in a moment to list just a few of the reasons you are so lovely?

1. freckles that span the bridge of your nose

2. your manners

3. your willingness to leave your comfort zone and try new things

4. hazel eyes just like your dad's

5. you never, ever quit

6. gratitude always and absolutely pours out of you

7. you are always up for something fun

8. your cheerfulness

9. your enthusiasm for all things pink and sparkly

10. your giggle

11. your bathroom is the cleanest, most organized room in our house

My list is endless really... 

I could go on and on about the wonder that is you!

But instead I'll do this...

Happy birthday to you Sweet Girl - 

you are so loved!!

XOXO,
Mom

Good Friday

  If you remember from my last post, I crypticly {is that a word?} told you about fasting this week for the purpose of being more in step with Passion Week and the events that took place thousands of years ago.

I am doing a Daniel Fast.  You can learn more about it here.  I heard of this years ago but never felt called to try it.  Let's face it, food is a huge comfort to me and I'm not a girl who likes being out of her comfort zone.  But, because my word for the year is 'yes', I jumped in with both feet.  Ok, maybe one foot.  This fast is supposed to last for 21 days and I'm only doing it for seven, but I'M DOING IT!!  And six days into it I'm still alive to tell about it!

This fast is similar to eating vegan, but with more restrictions.  No solid fats, no fried foods, no sugar or sweetener of any kind, and only water to drink.  Basically you are allowed fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and water.  Super healthy.  Super hard.

I'd be lying if I told you it wasn't that challenging and I breezed right through.  Day four was tough.  I wanted sugar or a carb of any sort and I feel asleep on the floor right after dinner,  which was salad and brown rice with roasted root vegetables.  Yesterday was much better and I feel great.  And as an added bonus, I have lost the remainder of weight I set as a goal for myself this year.  No, I didn't share about that here, but suffice it to say I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror a few months back and KNEW something needed to change.  I came into the fast having lost 16 pounds and now have lost a full 20.  Praise God!!  I'll post more on how I accomplished that later.

The part I've found to be hardest is setting aside time to pray three times a day.  For cryin' out loud, I struggle to do it once a day!!!  But I've studied in the book of John all week {love it!} and we are headed to our Good Friday service at noon today as a family.  Though today commemorates a dark and tragic day in history, Sunday's coming.  Oh, is Sunday coming...

What I've taken away from my study time this week is God's completely unfathomable love for us.  It blows my mind!! How He could love a bunch of messes like us and offer up His only Son as atonement for all our sins is nothing short of unbelievable.

 He is the Redeemer.  He is the Atonement.  He is The Perfect Sacrifice.  He is Who He Said He Was.  He is the man who made light in the dark of a tomb.  He is Alive!!  

And make no mistake about it, sweet sister, He rolled the stone away from your tomb, too.

Easter blessing to you and yours.  Go and celebrate the risen Christ!!

Blessings,
{K}
ps - yes, I am on a video kick lately! :0)

When Fasting Leads to Fullness

In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks.

  I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, 

nor did I anoint myself at all, 

till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

                                  Daniel 10:2, 3

Because I don't want Easter to sneak up on me.

Because I want to be fully present.

Because I want to feel the weight of the cross,

the weight of my sin,

and to pick up my own cross,

deny myself,

and follow hard after Him.

That my eyes would be firmly fixed upon the cross.

Denying myself is what this fast is really all about.

Taking the foods I love and crave and can't seem to do without

and putting them in their proper place

will help me focus on the events of the week.

No meat, no dairy, no solid fats,

no sugars or any sweeteners of any kind.

That's sure to be the hardest.

I'm seeking to be a Daniel,

to not eat from the king's table.

To make myself available for prayer three times a day to read Scripture

and press into His story,

 yes, 

this must be the focus of my week.

I sit in church on Sunday morning and I realize the cries of , "Hosanna, hosanna!"

are the cries of, "save us, save us!"

It is not a cry of praise as I once believed.

And I think I could be one of them,

crying out to be saved

instead of crying out my praise.

Why is it always easier to complain?

The story climaxes this week

 and I want to be full of praise for the One

who took it all, who gave it all,

and conquered the grave

forever.

Blessings,

{K}