Beauty From Ashes

Conquering Christmas Shopping

2011-11-25T19:10:00.001-05:00

As the first Christmas decorations began to grace the retail world, I knew I was going to be challenged this year.

Working 8 hours more a week than last year at this time may not seem like a leap of extraordinary proportions but let me assure you as a professional mother of 4; every single hour becomes pivotal in the battle between staying on top of it all and life getting carried away.

Although, I rarely decorate before Maria's birthday, last weekend, amidst her birthday preparation, I realized I had a brief window of opportunity to gather the Christmas decorating troops. With three teens and a wanna be teen all running in different directions on any given day, I was not about to let my opportunity flit away from me.

As I surveyed our handiwork and smiled over the laughs we had while completing our personal masterpiece, hope began to rise in me. Hope that this Christmas would not in any way feel the sacrifice of my taking on more of the world beyond my own roof and walls.

As much as I enjoyed the homey ambiance, one challenge became increasingly ominous as I enjoyed my Norman Rockwell worthy Christmas tree each evening.

The sight of her barrenness beneath her pine cone and snow laden boughs, caused a slight panic at the realization that scarcely a single gift had been purchased to date.

It really is amazing how one incredible sale and one panic stricken mother can combine forces to conquer that ever present taunting voice that whispers of unpreparedness.

Armed with a mission, a strategy, a debit card and a single lunch hour, I made my way uptown.

The strategy was simple.

Since the line up to the checkout of the targeted retail outlet began at the door, I parked the father of my children in the line up.

Equipped with his iphone, he worked on deals from the office as he progressed through the line. All the while I scurried around the store finding my own incredible deals.

The result, a trunk full of gifts giving proof that the determination of a Mother can conquer even the most annoying of whining, taunting voices!

With some ingredients purchased to begin the baking of the Christmas favorites, I am starting to wonder what all the fuss and worry was about.

I still have a whole month until Christmas Day!

No matter how crazy this Holiday season finds you, try to take time to really enjoy the reason for all the fuss in the first place.

All Things Have Become New

2011-07-17T16:45:00.004-04:00

Imagine the tearing down, remodelling, rebuilding and stretching that would be required if my Belleville home above had physically turned into my Fredericton home below...That is exactly what it feels like has and continues to take place in my entire person as I am stretched and changed to facilitate expansion.

Change, Stretching, Expansion...

It would seem these three words are not only the definition of my past year but continue to define all that surrounds me.

Change has become my norm.

Preparing to have my first child leave home for University two provinces away.

Deciding to sell our Belleville home and pursue our dream of returning to the Maritimes.

Renovating our home in preparation for listing it.

The long, drawn out process of showing and finally selling our home many months later.

Having my husband and second son leave for NB 4 1/2 months before the girls and I were to follow.

Learning to be a single parent to our girls, care for and show our home and still work full time all the while missing my boys more than I dared consider.

Coming to grips with leaving a career I had worked hard for and the future opportunities that came with that position.

Leaving the city that I had spent the most years of my entire life and that had been the only home any of my children had known or remembered.

Friends...

...and the list continues.

For every one of those transitions out, there is the adjustment to the resulting transition in to our new home, city, province and overall environment.

At times, I feel like I have whip lash from trying to look around and observe all that has and continues to transpire around me...as it is happening.

I am not certain that I am accustomed to all that is my life as a result of change but I have gotten quite used to the process of change itself.

Just when I feel like I can't process or cope with another change...I find myself in the midst of one more transition.

Transition forces me to look within and I am acutely aware that I truly am not strong enough.

If I solely relied on my own coping and processing tools...they would be sorely insufficient.

I really can't do this...YET, it is being required of me.

I have come to understand one thing for absolute certainty;

when I am weak, the One I have loved, trusted and served my entire life is made strong.

His strength is perfected in my weakness, He fills my every gap, He enables me when I feel I simply can't go on.

If He is leading me, (and the fact that He is has been made clear repeatedly), then he will make a way.

Part of His making a way...is giving me the tools that are not mine by nature, to follow this new path and to walk through the doors that open before me.

Some things that I felt I had to give up were not really, they were added to. As is the case with my Belleville friendships.

Others like my home have been replaced yet in every case I am seeing the fulfillment of Ephesians...that my God is more than able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than I dare ask or even hope.

My new home is a stark reminder of that, though we loved and remodelled our Belleville home to be all that we had dreamed at that time...our new home is so much larger and more beautiful and has features I'd forgotten I ever even dreamed of.

Since I was a little girl, I always wanted a sunken living room and had forgotten until about three days after I walked through my new home for the first time. I'd been concentrating on the two wood burning fireplaces I always wanted, the ensuite, separate closets....then suddenly remembered my long forgotten dream.

God never loses sight of our dreams.

I never thought a "job" would be a hard thing for me to give up, I knew I would work eventually in Fredericton and as pay scales were much lower in this new province, my hope was to find something close to what I was making in ON.

Very suddenly and with so much less effort than I had anticipated...I found myself in a new career, back in my roots of banking and earning significantly more than I had left behind in ON.

I never would have anticipated that one!

I am so thankful that on this roller coaster of an adventure I call life...He is my safety and security and that he reassures me with every twist, turn, uphill climb and heart stopping drop into the unknown.

I could never have designed this path, this adventure...but I wholly trust the One who has and am determined not to look at my weakness but to feel His strength in me.

Besides, I have felt the desperation that comes with feeling like you are at a standstill too long.

I'll take the roller coaster adventure any day!

Freedom for the Broken Girls...

2011-04-08T17:56:00.002-04:00

I heard this song for the first time today....and I was undone. I am sharing it here to bring hope, life and freedom to every Broken Girl who still needs to KNOW this message in the depths of their being.

Ladies in Waiting

2011-03-28T18:53:00.002-04:00

That's how we feel right now, the girls and I.

Pregnant with promise and possibility, a new life just waiting to burst forth....fully expectant.

Yet...we are waiting.

As with each of my babies, there comes a point where you feel like you can't go on any longer.

Though it may feel that way, the appointed day has not arrived.

In most physical labor and deliveries, the phase called transition is the toughest. This is the time frame immediately proceeding the birth.

In my own experience, with my final three deliveries...this phase was extremely intense and a switch was triggered in me that all but caused me to lose my mind...ask my husband...he has some pretty wild stories to tell!

Our family has been walking out a very long and drawn out transition as we move from one province to another.

It hasn't looked anything like we had thought and has taken far longer than we had hoped or anticipated.

At times this transition is a lot of work, it has been lonely, it has been frustrating and even painful.

The intensity has caused me on more than one occasion

to wonder if I could really continue .

Sitting here tonight, it might appear there is no end in sight, yet there is a calm assurance within, that tells me our time is coming.

I have learned so many truths throughout this waiting time.

I have seen the Faithfullness of my God who has led and carried me every step of the way.

I have seen His incredible favor on my children.

When Mark and I have questioned our path and cried out in desperation for clarity...He showed us immediately and with crystal clear certainty that the decisions we have made to this point have indeed been wise ones.

The girls and I have learned valuable lessons.

Not the least of which is just how strong, and how capable we are, especially when we work together.

We have learned to care for one another and to have girly fun together.

We have also learned that though we are very capable on our own....we LIKE having the men in our lives. We appreciate their help whether or not we need it and we love their company.

We miss them, need them and want them in our lives.

Those are lessons I want the girls to remember as they become young women.

They are strong and capable and they don't need a man to simply to take care of them...but to value the men that God gives them and to enjoy having them in their lives.

As I have watched God's Faithfullness to both His written Word and our prayers, I am at peace.

I know that:

as quickly as He has rewarded the obedience of my youngest child and her heart to give away some bikes, with more money than she would have asked had she put a price tag on them.

As extravagantly as He has answered the prayer of my second youngest when she asked for more than 10 people to come through yesterday's open house... and 30 came.

As He has done heart surgery on my younger son and literally created a new young man seemingly over night and as much as I see God's tremendous favor on my eldest as he walks alongside my son into manhood and his own path in life.

As I see Divine connections for my husband while he prepares the way for myself and the girls...

in all of this, I am reminded of the greatness of my God and of the wonderful plans He has in store for me too.

I am at peace knowing that it can all change suddenly, the waiting will come to an end and this transition will birth a beautiful new life.

Irish Stew

2011-03-16T10:10:00.005-04:00

This Irish Stew is what I am making to celebrate St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. I found the recipe last year and it is absolutely incredible! If you are looking for a great recipe to celebrate with or...just a wonderful stew for any time at all....this is it!

Of Course I had to change it....but only slightly. In my world, Irish Stew must have a greeen Veggie so I also added peas near the end of the cooking process. I think I'd also thicken the broth like a traditional stew in the future. (after the Veggies are added and cooked, bring the broth to a boil mixing in flour and water that has been well shaken/stirred)

Last year, I made Irish Soda Bread to serve with the stew...it is basically like a giant biscuit....very tasty as well.

This year, I found scone mixes in the

Byward Market in Ottawa, made by "Maureen's Little Irish Cottage"...and could not resist.

The flavor I chose to go with our stew is "Me Mum's Herb and Garlic".

I'll let you know how they turn out and add pictures tomorrow.

I do wish you could read the instructions, they were written as if spoken by a true Irish lass...complete with blessing the scone as you cut it to let out the fairies...just incase

Irish Beef Stew Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 pounds well-marbled chuck beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces (NOT extra-lean)
6 large garlic cloves, minced
6 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
I cup of Guinness beer
1 cup of fine red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

METHOD

1 Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Lightly salt the beef pieces. Working in batches if necessary, add the beef (do not crowd the pan, or the meat will steam and not brown) and cook, without stirring, until nicely browned on one side, then use tongs to turn the pieces over. Continue to cook in this manner until all sides are browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef stock, Guinness, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

2 While the meat and stock is simmering, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 20 minutes. Set aside until the beef stew in step one has simmered for one hour.

3 Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Tilt pan and spoon off fat. Transfer stew to serving bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. (Can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.)

Serves 4 to 6.

Crystal Lewis - Beauty For Ashes w/lyrics

2011-03-05T19:40:00.000-05:00

Unpredictable Seasons

2011-02-17T19:01:00.006-05:00

I am sitting here tonight wondering, reflecting, thinking, praying.

My thoughts return to the end of Summer which quickly led to the beginning of Autumn.

Such an incredibly Bitter Sweet time....my heart stretched to what I thought were it's limits, as my first born spread his wings and flew so very far away.

My sadness was quickly over taken by the purest of Joys.

To watch a child...your own child, grow and flourish. To watch them as their every dream begins to evolve and to take form...to observe with

such pleasure as they seem to effortlessly attract all that they ever imagined for themselves. To know that what you are witnessing is simply the beginning of the favor you prayed for over them since you were many years their junior yourself.

Fall was a difficult season, we were so busy renovating and preparing our home for the Real Estate Market, learning to live our daily lives

as a family of 5.

In the midst of all that was new to me, the start up of another school year,

another son beginning High School....the return of old homework routines; there was a new heart stretching beginning.

One that involved the letting go of old dreams....and trying to imagine, to allow my heart to visualize the new dreams that were being formed within.

In the midst of the struggles, of the tearing, of the absolute insanity that became our new pace...there was hope and excitement.

Visions of all that this next, brand new chapter would mean...my own dreams began to push their way through all that was occupying my heart and my mind.

I was able to see the possibilities...the future that God had laid out not only for my family and their greater good....but for my own as well.

I was catching glimpses of the purposes, the plans and the fulfillment of dreams that were very personal to me.

Not only to me the wife or the mother but ME....the individual.

Winter brought with it many questions.

Life was not becoming what I had imagined....or at the very least, it was taking a much slower path with far more twists and turns than I had ever anticipated.

The long, dark days of winter not only brought questions but disappointment and even darkness.

My whole world seemed to become something completely foreign to me.

Something I'd never dreamed or planned....something I had not chosen.

Yet, here I was....seemingly frozen in time and place just as so much of the nature that surrounds me had become frozen.

Hard decisions had to be made....some of the hardest I'd ever faced.

More stretching...only this time there was also a tearing within my heart....and eventually it broke.

Even in that place of brokenness and yes, pain...there was redemption.

A deeper level of vulnerability than I had known in decades....maybe a life time, began to take the place of the hardened and protected recesses of my heart.

An unveiling of all that I truly was....

and not all of it was easy to look upon.

As I sit and contemplate tonight, I am very aware that Winter is not yet over.

Most of the questions remain unanswered.

I am still very much frozen in time....even left behind, as I adjust to this incredibly foreign routine.

My family of six is now split between two provinces with many miles and hours separating us; I am adjusting to the day to day routine of three...all girls.

From the everyday of learning to cook on a much smaller scale, to the sleeplessness that tends to come when my plate is once again overflowing with responsibility.

To parent two children as the sole caregiver of their daily needs....and two others from such a distance I do not even know their daily routines.

Of course carrying in my heart the entire time, the concerns and even worries of how all of this was impacting each of my 4 children.

Learning that yes, we are indeed stronger than we knew....

and yet so much weaker and more vulnerable all at the same time.

Week three has brought us a new level of peace in our place of uncertainty.

We are learning to enjoy life, to take advantage of the opportunities that are unique to where we are at today.

To find that balance of taking care of one another, taking care of ourselves and allowing the One who has always been there for us to care for us.

Tonight, it may very well still be Winter but as I sit surrounded by darkness and contemplate where we are and where we are headed...

I hear the cool refreshing rain.

Oh there are many days of this long Winter yet to be endured and enjoyed but the rain brings with it the hope of Spring.

The HOPE of Spring.

With Spring comes color, warmth, fragrance, growth, beauty

and another season of

New Beginnings.

Oh the Possibilities...

Spinach Soup

2011-02-03T19:11:00.002-05:00

Sorry, no pictures for this one but here is the recipe as requested by Karen.

Ingredients:

3 lean pork chops

1/2 chopped onion

2-4 cloves of garlic (minced)

2 tsp. Oregano

1 pouch Beef Bouillon

1 can Tomatoes

Approx. 1 c. large pasta

(we always used fresh tortellini but used Rottini this time

and the girls enjoyed it better than the tortellini)

2-3 Cups fresh Spinach

Water

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Season Pork Chops with salt and peeper and brown in dutch oven on top of stove.

Remove pork and slice into thin slices.

Add Onion and garlic to Dutch Oven, saute until onion is translucent, add oregano, meat, tomatoes, bullion and water to fill pot 1/2 - 2/3 full.

Bring to a boil and add pasta.

Stir and lower heat to simmer.

When pasta is almost done, add spinach.

Stir in, check seasoning, simmer 3-5 min. and serve.

Missing You...

2011-01-12T00:01:00.001-05:00

Donna-Marie Aug. 25, 1946 ~ Jan. 12, 1999

Another year.

That makes 12 actually.

Another year without your smile, your laughter, your hugs.

Another year without your ear to listen to my joys and my sorrows,

no encouraging word from your lips when I need it the most.

I want to brag on my kids' accomplishments to you....because I know you would beam with a Nanny's Pride.

I want to tell you of my heart aches....because no one can comfort like a Mother's embrace.

Life has continued...tomorrow has turned into today and today into yesterday hundreds of times since I last saw your face.

Most days, weeks and months are filled with Joy now....

Most of the time I can think of you with a smile, a chuckle or a warm story.

Today is just one of those days....the other kind.

The kind that thankfully come so much more infrequently now.

The kind that hit me with such force, I am once again brought to my knees in pain.

The kind that remind me of all I have lost...

...and I MISS You.

Forever Your "Hush A Bye Girl".

I Love You Mom.

How much Growth Can 1 Year Bring?

2010-12-28T19:16:00.004-05:00

Now, I have often said my kids grow up too fast. They were all born within a couple ounces on one side or the other of 9lbs. The problem is it's like they are on some kind of Super Growth Hormone ever since. As Jonathan was first nearing the 6' mark, our pastor was concerned about him outgrowing his own ....ahem...."limited" stature. One day he asked him what his mother fed him to make him grow so fast. Jonathan's answer, "ummmm....children's vitamins?"

It would seem my children need more junk food in their diets as they all seem to be shooting up around me....literally.

I have felt like I was shrinking over the past year and now I know why!

Christmas 2009:

Jonathan is our measuring standard as his growth (at 6'6"), has slowed the most, though he felt a full foot taller when I first kissed him after not seeing him for 4 months.

Michael and Maria are almost the same height here....both approx. shoulder height to Jonathan.

June 2010:

Michael has shot up a full head, leaving Maria behind but wait! Jianna has almost caught up to Maria in the past 6 months!.

Christmas 2010:

Maria went in to over drive and is now catching up to Michael...and they have both almost passed me, (actually, if I didn't have to lift my head to see over Jianna, you'd see that Michael has slightly passed me). Speaking of Jianna, she was at Jon's belly button a mere year ago!!! At this rate, the next time we take a family picture...with the shortest in the front...it will be this 5'9" Mommy who is front and centre!

Does anybody else find this rate of growth mildly alarming?!?!?!?

Eat more Junk Kids...Your Mama's heart can't keep up to you all!

xoxo

Cookie Monster(s) Live!!!!

2010-12-22T15:49:00.004-05:00

Isn't this the greatest little basket?

This morning, this adorable little basket was filled with Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I knew I should have taken a picture....if you look closely, you will see the grease evidence on the red napkin. There were a minimum of 6 dozen cookies in this basket, I kid you not.

It was oh so cute too, the girls and I felt like Little Red Riding Hoods....just wishing we could deliver these to Grandma.

Who does this to a perfectly good cookie!?!?!?

Scavengers I tell you!

Well, since there were no grandmas within delivery range, the girls had friends over to go sledding and Mike had an overnight Gaming Buddy....and this is what is left of my sweet little basket of cookies.

Sorry Nanny.

We were thinking of you.

~~~~~

Now, you all understand why Christmas Baking must be frozen in this house if there is any to be left for Santa on Christmas Eve.

Even still, I am afraid to look in my cookie containers stored away in the freezer....I have noticed a lid or 2 sitting helter skelter on more than one occasion.

Now, these little guys....were made by my ever so artistic daughters yesterday. There is a replica of every family member including Kallie and Tutter, (our pets).

Heaven forbid that anyone dare to touch one of THEIR creations...

and yet..........

WHO ATE MARIA!?!??!?!??!

hmmm.....Jianna appears to be missing a hand as well!

Nothing is sacred in this house I tell you!

Cranberry Bliss Bars

2010-12-12T12:46:00.007-05:00

For Cake Base:
1 cup butter softened
1 and 1/4 cups brown sugar-- packed
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons orange zest
1/4 cup minced dried cranberries
1/4 cup quality white chocolate -- coarsely chopped
1/4 cup minced candied ginger
For Frosting:
4 ounce cream cheese -- softened
1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon butter -- softened
2 teaspoon orange juice
For Garnish:
2 Tablespoons minced dried cranberries
2 Tablespoons minced candied ginger
1/3 cup white chocolate chips -- melted

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a jelly roll pan.
Beat butter and sugar together for the cakebase, and add eggs/vanilla beating until fluffy.

Sift together flour, ginger, and salt and then add to the butter/sugar mixture beating well.

Fold in the cranberries, chocolate, zest and ginger.

Spread thick batter in pan and bake for about 15 minutes or until light golden.
When cake is cooled, mix all frosting ingredients together and spread a thin layer over the cake. Immediately sprinkle with the minced cranberries & ginger. Then use a cake decorating bag of melted white chocolate with a tiny decorating tip (the size used for writing on cakes) and drizzle the chocolate over the cake.
Cut into bars immediately as the white chocolate hardens pretty fast and makes cake cutting messy.

I initially cut 6 x 4 squares, then cut each square on the diagonal to make 48 triangles.

Fresh Pico

2010-12-07T22:35:00.002-05:00

This is one of those wonderfullly simple recipes that just screams "SUMMER". Mind you, looking at the photo right now....I am thinking this is going on my list of Tree Trimming Party Foods this weekend. Actually, if it wasn't 10:38 at night, I think I'd be heading to the grocery store to buy the ingredients to make it right now....Soooooo Yummy....and guilt free!!

Ingredients

8 Ripe Tomatoes
1 Med Onion
1/2 Seeded Jalapeno finely chopped
1 Fresh Lime
4-6 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 Bunch Fresh Cilantro chopped

Procedure

Chop onions and tomatoes and toss together in med sized bowl.
Add chopped Jalapeno and chopped garlic.
Sprinkle with salt.
Squeeze juice of lime into the bowl. (Microwaving the lime for 20 or so seconds will enable you to squeeze more juice)
Add chopped Cilantro, stir together.
Let set in fridge for 1 hour if possible before serving.

Chicken Enchiladas

2010-12-07T22:00:00.008-05:00

I know, on first glance, you are thinking..." what in the world?!??!?! I am NOT making that let alone eating it!'

This is just one of those times where you are going to have to do a wee bit of self talk, "Has Jen EVER posted a recipe that was lacking in flavor? Has she led me astray even slightly when it comes to taste?"

Believe me, these babies are incredible....I served them to 10 people the very first time I made them. Six of which were kids....there was not one unhappy tastebud in the bunch. In my world, if a main course passes the multiple kid test....it is worth repeating.

I served them with Fresh Pico for which I will post the recipe following this one. It's simple, fresh very healthy and Divine.

In my family of 6, only one child and myself like fresh tomatoes...ALL of my family loves this stuff and eats it by the cup full.

Ingredients

2-½ cups Cooked, Shredded Chicken
2 cups Reserved Broth From Chicken
1 Tablespoons Canola Oil
12 Tortillas (I like to use Spinach tortillas...my theory, "If it's green, it's gotta have some nutritional value")
1 Bell Pepper Chopped
1 whole Large Onion, Diced
1/2 Jalapeno, Seeded And Finely Diced
1 teaspoon Paprika
½ cups Heavy Cream
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup Sour Cream
2-½ cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated (or Mozzarella)
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Cilantro, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions, peppers and jalapenos and saute for 1 minute, just to start the cooking process. Add chicken, , and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Stir together. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Add cream and stir, allowing mixture to bubble and get hot. Turn off heat and set aside.

In a separate large skillet, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together and cook over medium heat for one minute. Pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Whisk together and cook for another minute or two. Reduce heat, then stir in sour cream. Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

To assemble, spoon chicken mixture on top of tortillas, one by one. Top with plenty of cheese and roll up. Place seam side down in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Pour cheese mixture all over the top of the tortillas. Top with extra cheese if you’d like, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle generously with chopped cilantro.

Serve with Pico de Gallo and Sour Cream

Chocolate Caramel Brownies

2010-11-28T08:55:00.006-05:00

These incredible brownies are a favorite from my years living on the Ranch.
I recently sent them to my oldest son in University who shared them with friends. I am posting this recipe in response to their requests for a copy.
I have to say, these would certainly help keep you awake for late night exam cramming.

Ingredients

1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) chocolate cake mix
1 cup chopped nuts ( Optional )
2/3 cup Evaporated Milk (canned)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
50 caramels, unwrapped
1cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

Procedure

Melt Caramels and 1/3 cup milk in microwave or over med heat on stove top.Grease and flour 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan.

In large mixing bowl, combine dry cake mix, butter, 1/3 cup milk and nuts. Press 1/2 mixture into pan. Reserve rest for top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes.

Sprinkle chocolate pieces over baked portion.

Spread caramel mixture over chocolate pieces.

Spoon reserved dough over caramel mixture. (this part is tricky...easiest way is to flatten bits of dough and place over caramel...covering as much Caramel as possible )

Return to oven and bake 15 minutes. Cool slightly.

Refrigerate about 30 minutes and cut into squares.

Better Than Pumpkin Pie Squares

2010-10-04T17:25:00.004-04:00

This is a recipe I found a few years back and received rave reviews as well as requests for the recipe when I took them in to work. I LOVE pumpkin pie and still can't have Thanksgiving without it but if you don't like or are intimidated by making pie crusts and still love pumpkin pie filling...you really must try this recipe. So, So Yummy it really is sinful that it is so easy to make.

The recipe says to cut it into 12 but if you are wanting to serve along side other desserts, cut it into smaller taste size squares.

Ingredients: 1 box plain yellow cake mix 4 eggs 1 cup brown sugar 1 can (30 oz. size) pumpkin 1 cup margarine or butter 2/3 cup milk 1 tablespoon cinnamon ( I added 1/2 tsp ginger and 1/2 tsp nutmeg)

1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Reserve 1 cup of the cake mix. Set aside. Melt 1/2 the margarine and mix with remaining cake mix and 1 beaten egg. Spread in bottom of 9 x 13-inch greased Pyrex dish. Mix together the first measure of brown sugar, the milk, cinnamon, remaining beaten eggs, and pumpkin. Pour over cake mix layer. Combine the reserved cup of cake mix, remaining brown sugar and the remaining softened margarine. Crumble over pumpkin layer and bake 45 minutes at 350 degreesF. Serve warm, or chill in refrigerator. Cut in squares and serve with whipped cream or whipped topping.

The House That Built Me

2010-08-15T11:45:00.008-04:00

The third writing in my series "The Journey Home"

(click the link above if you would like to read the first and second parts)

After having spent a couple of days reacquainting with a few of my friends from a life time ago and with this county that was once my home, a peace began to settle in.

There had been no episodes of panic, no fear or nightmares clouding my nights. In fact, I was laughing over old memories as my friends and I caught up. We talked and talked about the good times that had drawn us all together as teens. There was a tear or two at the absolute disbelief that we were actually all together after so many years...and really, it was as if a single day had never passed.

We caught up on most of what had transpired in the 22 years since and we made wonderful new memories which were more and more over shadowing the old.

Together, we visited some of our favorite places...Melmerby Beach at Midnight was pure perfection. We walked the down town streets during a street fair

complete with East Coast music.

I was completely taken by surprise at the many positive changes that had occurred in this town in the years since I had left.

George Street Bridge that crossed the East River, connecting East and West New Glasgow had a new sign erected over top and to me it was a powerful declaration:

"New Glasgow

Flourish"

... truly she had and was.

The town I remembered as struggling and sleepy was alive, vibrant and full of places and events to attract visitors and to encourage her residents to come out and celebrate all that she had become.

My heart felt full knowing that a place I had once known as home was not becoming a ghost town or a retirement town as I had anticipated...she had become more alive and more beautiful and prosperous with each year that had passed.

Having initially driven by some of the places that were once a part of my daily life and having faced some of the darkness that I had thought might still have a hold on me, it was time to venture out alone to walk the streets, to photograph some memories and to just stand on my own seeing and feeling whatever might come.

I knew I wanted pictures of my schools, of the streets, the beautiful East River that as teens we crossed via a train bridge to go and hang out at the mall.

Many a day saw screaming, running girls flying across that thing sure they would have to jump into the river to be saved from the impending trains that we always heard...in our imaginations more often than in reality. To be honest...there were a few close calls, but they could never create a barrier between us,

the mall and friendship!

There were so many places I wanted to visit and to photograph but I had still not reconciled in my mind if my old house would be one of them.

In my mind, that house held more darkness, fear and trauma than it did happiness...and it was one of the places for which I did not wholly trust my emotions. I suppose the emotions themselves were not the greatest fear by this point, it was the pain that I might feel which would bring on the emotions.

As I'd mentioned in previous posts concerning that time of my life, I had learned to push down pain and to stifle emotion...yet, I had come to learn that pushing them deep down inside and ignoring them, does not cause them to magically disappear. Pain and emotion are not to be feared and silenced, they are to be felt and released...there in lies the freedom from their grip.

This I know intellectually and had even experienced concerning other areas of my life....yet old patterns are difficult to break and there was still a tendency to equate pain with something that was bad or wrong.

I began to liken it to being a mother of a young child with a deep sliver in their hand.

That child will hide and refuse to even tell you that the sliver exists in order to avoid the inevitable pain of having the sliver removed. I know as a mom, I have on more than one occasion, been party to holding tightly to a screaming child in order to have a large sliver extracted.

I never once did this so that my child would experience more pain, in fact, I soooo wished I could do it without hurting them at all...but never the less, leaving that thing in place was likely to cause infection and even greater pain than if I became the source of temporary pain now but got rid of that foreign object that should never have found it's way into my child's flesh.

I began to realize there is pain from injury or infection and there is also pain with a purpose.

Sometimes, even willingly, we have to endure a level of discomfort or even pain, in order to be free from something that does not belong or as in childbearing, to receive something that is an absolute joy and gift.

I was unsure of my own reactions but had decided my house was something that needed facing. I had determined that I would in all likelihood take some pictures of it and would decide later if I wanted to keep or delete them.

As I drove down my old street, photographing street signs, I remembered walking by certain houses daily on the way to and from school. I saw the house that always gave out pop to the earliest trick or treaters at Halloween. A stain glass window, long forgotten, now taking me right back to those days of having been a part of this world. The house where my Youth Pastor and his wife had once lived.

Then as I approached my old house, I noticed an elderly lady picking berries from the property. I was concerned a stranger taking pictures of her home might be quite a fearsome thing to this little lady so I decided to stop and ask permission.

I asked her if she lived there and explained that I had lived in the house many years ago. She began to recollect the family she'd heard had been the previous owners and after some brief confusion it was clear that it was indeed the Pateys she was remembering.

Her name, she told me was Marie and she had read my mother's obituary in the Halifax paper 11 1/2 years previous. My mother's name was Donna-Marie....interesting "coincidence" I thought.

Marie informed me she had no problem with me taking pictures of the house and went so far as to invite me to come in. I had not at all expected this and was taken aback a bit. though I had prepared myself for many scenarios and emotions...actually being in the house was never one of them. I felt safe enough at that moment and after double checking that this dear old lady was sure she wanted to invite a stranger into her home, I followed her inside. I met Marie's 90 year old husband George, who didn't seem to so much as blink

at his wife bringing this unknown woman

into their home.

My eyes scanned the kitchen which had been redecorated but was laid out with table and chairs exactly as my mom had arranged hers. I followed Sweet Marie into the living room which was brighter now and whose walls were lined with the memories of this dear lady's life.

Memories that she began to share with me one by one.

How they had lived many years in Ontario but had decided in their 40's that it was time to come home to NS.

Then, with the wisdom that can only be learned after living an entire lifetime, this 85 year old stranger spoke my heart right back to me.

"There is just something about the Sea you know, once you have lived near her, she becomes a part of you and eventually calls you home"

As Marie shared with me her life's memories, I looked around and remembered some of my own from what seemed like a life time ago. Simple things like an unchanged light switch cover or the window reminded me of the many sparkling decorations my mom used to prepare this room for Christmas. I remembered the sectional couch that once sat where Marie's own chesterfield now was and the many, many friends who had once sat there with me and my siblings, laughing and visiting.

After I heard about Marie and George's love for music, their band that eventually had to stop playing as George could no longer hear the music, of how Marie at 85, still went down to the Seniors' home periodically to play for the residents...I thought of my own mom and how she would be so happy to know that music was such an important part of the lives of this couple who now called this house "home".

Marie took me on a tour of the upstairs.

She showed me the bathroom whose panelling she had never changed because she really liked what my parents had done. I remembered wrestling with my siblings, my pregnant Aunt Karen and my dad who won by piling us all on top of each other in the bath tub...with Karen on top to keep the baby safe.

The rooms seemed so much smaller than I had remembered them, the decorating had been changed and many of their uses had changed as well. My bedroom was now an office and was really the only room that gave me a hint of the emotion I had feared. Truthfully, it was not even that bad...I simply had a knot in my stomach and decided I did not want to be in that room.

Having faced not only the house of my youth, but even the rooms, seeing the changes and hearing the stories that now belonged here...I was able to say good bye to Sweet Marie and my house with the full realization that this place did not and never would have a hold on me again.

I walked out that door just a little bit freer than I had walked in and I was very, very thankful to my God.

I could never have orchestrated or anticipated the events that transpired that day and in all honesty, I don't believe there is another possible scenario of people who could have been living in that home, that would have made it feel like such a very safe place to be. This was no longer my house with all of the negative memories, this was Marie and George's house. A house I once lived in....a house where a lot of good times were had as well.

It was just that...a house.

I am in awe of the depth of healing and freedom that took place in that one day...yet it was the most gentle of surgeries I could ever have imagined.

My heart was so very full as I drove away...another giant had been slain and I was indeed,

"so much stronger than I knew"

"Facing the Fear"

2010-08-07T10:50:00.005-04:00

Continued from my previous post: "The Journey Home"

When my thoughts would wander back to that small town in Pictou County, a myriad of images would flood my mind.

Having left my childhood friends at the age of 10 to move to this foreign place called New Glasgow, I went from being popular and 'the life of the party', to being the new girl and an outsider.

I was teased and tormented mercilessly over any one of a number of perceived imperfections. Everything from looks, to clothes to wearing a bra were issues to be publicly and privately pointed out and made fun of. Adding to that, the fact that Pictou County in 1979 was rampant with racism and the fact that my younger brother & older sister had a knack for getting into fights, (for which I was constantly coming to their aid...or simply being thrashed for being a Patey); school became an absolute torture to attend.

If it wasn't fights to be avoided, it was being cornered by groups of adolescent boys who's hormones were way out of whack and seemed to think my existence and physical maturing was for their toying.

I have to laugh, looking back at one boy.

As I left school one day, I came across my brother being beaten up by a boy from my class...a full 3 years older. I had to help my baby brother and got involved. It wasn't long before the fight between the boy and my brother turned into a fight between me and a different boy all together, who was also from my class.

What boggled the mind of that then 12 year old girl was the fact that the very next day, this boy got up from his desk, walked over to mine and kissed me in front of the whole class.

I laugh at the immaturity of that boy and his hormones now, but I won't say I understand this male species a whole lot more than that young and very confused girl did.

School was painful but home was a different sort of torture.

Our family was full of secrets because we had been taught early and thoroughly that "blood was thicker than water".

We learned to maintain and protect at all costs the facade of perfection.

Nothing was wrong....nothing ever would be.

Maybe we thought if we protected that image long and hard enough, it would become a reality.

More than likely, shame and fear kept that mask in place.

While the whole world looked at us as something to admire, as a pillar in the church and community...there were abuses of every kind taking place behind closed doors.

Those abuses, some of which were secrets kept from all other members of this household, coupled with the pain of school, led me to become a very withdrawn and self protective young girl.

If I kept you at arm's length, you could not hurt me...who I was inside and who I was outside became very separate and almost completely disconnected.

Therefore, even if you happened to hurt my body, you could not really hurt me because I would never let you find the real me.

Burying who I really was became a coping mechanism, the mask of perfection became so much a part of me that even I could no longer separate the mask from reality.

I learned to keep my head down, my mouth shut, my emotions completely in check and a smile painted on my face.

I loathed who I was and assumed everyone else did too so I slowly but surely took on a level of perfectionism. Perfecting my surroundings and my perceived short comings brought a level of control in a world which afforded me very little control.

The stress of maintaining this unblemished exterior, the self hatred and the shame began to manifest in my prayers and fantasies.

Initially, I would think about any number of a multitude of accidents that would bring me harm but would free me from the prison within. Not long after, I began to pray nightly....for years, that I would be taken to Heaven in my sleep. As a young girl, I saw no escape, no way out...death would be a welcome reprieve.

By the age of 14, the pressure of it all became more than I could bare and my world was threatening to unravel completely. The secret had become larger than life and was no longer something I could control and push aside. The pressure was becoming so great that I could literally feel myself beginning to snap. I was being crushed under it's weight.

I could keep the secrets to myself no longer but even in the telling there was a need to preserve the family unit and to protect others more than myself. I selected my confidants with great care and my only goal was to relieve the pressure...yet keep the air of perfection firmly in place.

My sense of loyalty had become so warped that when the person to whom I first confided reacted in anger and an absolute, consuming need to protect me; I in turn became furious toward this confidant who simply wanted to help me.

It took me decades but I have since come to understand that this knight's initial reaction was one of only a very few truly appropriate reactions to date.

The circumstances that were causing me the greatest pressure and turmoil did come to an end and life returned to normal in every other aspect...the facade was firmly established and had barely been disturbed. At the time, that is exactly what I wanted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was the New Glasgow I knew, these were the images that kept a firm grip on my heart and mind for two full decades after I left that place one last time.

I never looked back nor had any desire to.

The people and events of that chapter of my life were pushed to the very back corners of my mind, some forgotten...seemingly forever.

As time moved on and the years flew by, God brought much healing and blessing into my life. I began to let my guard down little by little. I learned to first trust my Heavenly Father who had preserved me through all of it and eventually to trust others. It took a lot of years to come to a place where I was willing to let a select few catch a glimpse of who was behind the mask and many more to learn to set the masks aside.

As mentioned in my previous post, I am now at a place in my life where I believe transparency is of tremendous value to myself and to others around me.

If I were to be completely truthful, (and really, what would be the point of holding back at this point?), I get quite a kick out of seeing the reactions when I say or do something that does not fit with the contrived image of the girl who wore the masks.

I've even been known to say or do some things purely for their shock value.

Maybe in another decade or two, I won't find this such an enjoyable pass time!

Though my life had become full and happy, there was a deeper healing to take place and greater chains to be broken.

When I joined Face book, I was not looking for anything deeper than a venue to stay connected to my firstborn child...but I see now that God had other plans.

As the friends of my youth became friends of my present and my heart was knit together with a few in particular, the need to go back...to go home, became glaringly apparent.

I hadn't thought of New Glasgow as home in the 22 years I'd been gone...until my friend, (who was very much a big brother image to me), made the statement in passing...

"we'll get you home kid".

He has no idea the impact those five little words had on me.

The plans to "go home" became more and more solidified until about three weeks before I was due to leave.

I'd had a conversation with one friend, that led to a conversation with another friend which stirred up the paralyzing fear that had held me captive for so very many years.

One thing I'd had to deal very little with concerning my years in New Glasgow, was nightmares but that night a dream so real I could physically feel it, gripped my mind and heart in it's talons of fear.

I was instantly reverted to that helpless young girl of so many years ago and remained captive as such for a full day and 1/2.

My reasoning was gone, what I knew to be truth was gone, I was that frightened child and I was ready to bolt.

I knew I was in trouble and reached out to a friend from those Pictou County Days who had become like a sister to me.

I shared with her my absolute panic...she spoke words of truth to me.

I cried with the pent up emotion of that child from a life time before....she encouraged.

I argued all my fears and reasons for not making this trip and she prayed.

I could not reason or be reasoned with, but over a period of time I was able to calm down enough to know that if for no other reason, I had to make this trip to see my friend in person.

In fact, had it not been for the way our hearts had been knit together, I would have cancelled all plans of ever seeing that town again.

By the next day, the chain that bound me was broken. At the time, I thought it had only lost it's grip temporarily but I was relieved to be able to think straight and to be free from the panic for however long it might last.

I recruited a few more friends to be in prayer, as I knew the strength of that battle was an indicator of the freedom that I was meant to experience through this trip.

As one day led to another, the fear became increasingly displaced by the excitement and anticipation of the re connections and the fun that I knew were in store for me.

I began to dare to believe that the good would outweigh and ultimately redeem the pain and fear that was New Glasgow to me.

Always in the back of my mind though, was the question of how I would actually react once I was there...when I went to certain places, when I saw particular people. Would that strangle hold of panic take over once again?

The Journey Home...Part 1 "A History"

2010-08-05T17:07:00.004-04:00

I really am not sure just how many of or how long these posts will be.

They, (like me) are a work in progress.

When my Heart is very, very full and God is orchestrating a detailed renovation in my heart/life, I process by writing. This Blog is my venue and though I am very aware that it is public and open for all to read; I am truly writing for me.

One of the reasons that I pour my heart out in a public blog is that I spent much of my life hiding behind masks. Masks of perfection, of aloofness and of all being well when all was anything but well.

Now, I value transparency, both in myself and in others. Blogging publicly is part of that journey in transparency

for me.

If you had asked me a very few months ago, "Jen, where is your home?" I would have answered that it is ultimately wherever my immediate family is. This is still true, but if you were to take it farther and ask me, "but where is the home from which you grew up?"; I would have paused a moment and then told you that I was born in Halifax NS. I would go on to say that I spent my teen and adolescent years in New Glasgow, NS....but would never once have referred to it as home.

Though I spent the greater part of my most formative years in that town...it was not home.

"Home" to me is a place of safety and security, of love and of happy memories.

New Glasgow, in my mind, held little of those; in fact, it held each of the respective opposites.

For me, it was a dark place full of pain, heart ache, abuse and trauma.

Though I remembered each of the traumatic events that occurred in that place with great accuracy I had learned to block out the pain.

I have learned an unwelcome truth in that....when you block out the pain and the emotion that goes with it, you end up blocking out all emotion and most feeling. You tend to become somewhat numb.

It is a survival technique that many of us use to cope. It works to get you through....unfortunately, it is rarely a switch to be turned on and off like a light. Once turned off, it is very difficult to even locate that switch, let alone to turn it back on.

Over the years, God has orchestrated much healing in me...and I don't mind saying so myself:

"I've come a long way Baby".

It's a life long journey for me and I have learned to be just fine with my imperfections and even gaping wounds...yet ever leaving my heart open to whatever the Lord wants to put His finger on next.

One of the things I get such a kick out of, is the oh so unique ways God will choose to bring another level of healing in my life.

For a number of years as friends and family were introduced to and came to love Face book, they would in turn invite me to join this world wide phenomenon. I was already a Blogger and knew my addictive tendencies, therefore one by one, I turned down the invitations.

That all changed a few short months ago as the realization hit me that one of the most important men in my life was soon heading out of province to University.

Having raised and worked in High Schools with teens for a number of years now, I knew that I would be sadly disappointed if I thought I would be receiving the number of phone calls that this Mother's heart would feel was adequate.

If I was to stay in touch with the daily goings ons of this child who made me a mother, I would have to do it by joining him in his world...Face book.

Little did I know as I began that journey with fear and trepidation, that it would lead to some of the most incredible connections and reconnections of my life.

One by one, friends from a time and place I had taken such care to leave behind, became endearing parts of my present.

Some caused me to remember long forgotten events with great laughter. Some reminded me of others I'd all but forgotten and some, I discovered were Kindred Spirits on a very deep heart level.

As the people from my youth in Pictou County became more and more dear to me, a revelation began to take hold.

Over the years I had learned to live without regrets, to understand that I am who I am today due to the full sum of all choices and events no matter how negative.

I would often say, there are many things I would never choose to relive, but I would, in the end still not change because they led me on a path that has led me to today.

Today, includes a family that I could not be more proud of and a level of peace and joy that I would not want to be without. So, if all of the chapters of my life have been written as a succession and result of the last....who would I be if I changed even one sentence of one chapter?

As much as I have embraced this philosophy of life for myself concerning the traumas, heart ache and hard decisions; there was a huge portion of the events that formed me that I had not embraced because I had forgotten.

When I pushed aside the pain of those New Glasgow years, I began to forget the laughter, fun and love that I also experienced in that place. One was as real as the other, unfortunately, one I could remember all too well and the other had been lost.

It soon became clear to me that it was time to take back that which had been stolen from me, to "face the demons" so to speak and to embrace all of the wonder and good of those adolescent years.

I knew I HAD to go back.

It became crystal clear to me that if I was to reach this new level of wholeness in my life, it would require facing the fears that held me today as if I was that young girl of so many years ago.

God used face book and my reconnection of a couple of friends in particular to bring about a desire and a need to visit this place I was beginning to think of as home.

It is a very good thing that He knit my heart with theirs because there was a battle yet to be faced and won in order for me to make this journey.

Marvelous Monkey Bread

2010-07-18T21:06:00.008-04:00

Since I promised this recipe ages ago....I figured I'd better come good on my word.

This recipe comes with warnings...gazing at the photos for more than 45 seconds or simply reading through the recipe may cause unexpected weight gain. Mind you, if there is ever a recipe worth every single sinful calorie...this has got to be it. Do your taste-buds a favor and make this...just once...when hungry, skinny children or teens are around. Beware though, once will lead those hungry, skinny kids to beg for

more.

In Belleville, we have a wonderful store that sells a multitude of yummy baked goods and frozen foods....at wonderful prices too. This bag originally held three of these loaves of bread dough.

Use any frozen or fresh white bread dough...frozen buns (if you can find them), would involve less cutting.

I usually use 1 1/2 loaves per pan...and usually do it for sleepover parties, so I make 2 pans of Monkey Bread with this pkg.

Partially thaw the dough and cut into 1/2" cubes...approx.

(If you end up completely thawing the dough, just tear it off in small pieces and roll in to ballish type shapes~~any little helping hands are great to put to work on this task)

For each pan you will need approx. 1 c. white sugar and ....maybe 4 Tlbs. of Cinnamon.

(it's an art not a science...so add the cinnamon until

it looks right)

Since Michael is my child who begs for Monkey Bread the most, these are his hands cutting and mixing the dough.

After all the dough is coated, shake off excess sugar mixture and toss evenly in a greased bunt or angel food pan.

Just breathe through the next part, follow the directions and trust me.

Melt 1 cup of butter per pan of monkey bread..

Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar, (yes that measuring cup does say 1 c.~ I was doubling the recipe here)

Stir over med. heat until the butter and brown sugar become one.

Then pour evenly over the balls of dough.

Hey...don't say I didn't warn you.

Bake in preheated, 350* oven for 30-35 minutes.

Invert on large plate and serve warm.

After one bite, I guarantee you won't know whether to love or hate me.

Yes, they are that good.

A Summer of Change, Growing Pains and Parental Pride

2010-07-10T09:41:00.003-04:00

Summer and it's long hot lazy days has set in, only for me this year it has been missing the lazy part. It is the first summer in 18 years that I have worked outside the home which in itself has brought about much change. Mind you, for a first summer working I am pretty spoiled: 4 day work weeks and 4 weeks holidays (starting Thursday eve!).

It is a Summer of change for the Piers Family.

We experienced so much parental Pride as we witnessed both of our boys' graduations...one into High School and one into University. Both with Honors, both receiving awards for the Characteristics we value most: Kindness, respect, leadership, helpfulness.

One Valedictorian and one runner up. For 2 boys with very different personalities...the similarities are uncanny.

Both boys celebrate Birthdays this month and I am forced once again to face that my children are no longer babies that I can safely hover over and protect. They are quickly growing up, making choices, moving forward....and I may have to break into a run to catch up.

My heart is stretched as we navigate these uncharted waters, Jonathan leaves home for University in a few short weeks...in New Brunswick.

How is it as a mom, you can be bursting with pride and be so absolutely ecstatic that your child is going after and obtaining all of their dreams...and completely broken hearted because you will miss them so darn much?

My heart has never been so confused as it has this summer...the highs and lows of parenting all in one moment.

The social calendar of all of the kids has picked up dramatically this summer as well. Along with Jonathan working full time hours, he is acting in a film, (Muscle) being produced by local friends for the Toronto Film Festival. Michael and his multitude of friends coming and going, Maria and Jianna going to movies and swim dates with all their little girlfriends. Mark and I actually found ourselves home alone for a few hours last night. I believe that too is a first for us.

I believe as I look back on this summer, it will always stand out as significant. So much change, so much growth and it is not all in my children. Yes their changes are forcing me to grow up just a little bit more but I am also getting to reconnect with some friends of my youth. Friends I have had no contact with in over 20 years, friends with which God is creating some very significant heart ties. For the first time since I left for good at 19...I am going home.

Even thinking of the town of my youth as "home" is significant...it had remained in my memories a place of heartache, tears and trauma. God is redeeming those memories of the past for all of the laughter, prayers and fun that I shared with these friends. I am also believing for some incredible new memories as I set aside my fears and journey to my beloved ocean and the place I once called home.

In all of the change and growth...joys and heartache of this summer, I vividly see the hand of God and His absolute faithfulness to my family and myself.

I truly am in awe once again.

Happy Summer to all, may it be a significant summer for each of you as well.

Strawberry Shortcake - A La Jen

2010-06-24T18:51:00.006-04:00

This Blog post is dedicated to Sweet Amy who forced me to lay aside my laxidazial cooking style long enough to actually remember and write down the "recipe" for my newest cake creation.

Of course I was "Flying by the seat of

my pants" on this one, adding and mixing ingredients at whim....therefore, I make no promises that this is EXACTLY what I did.

Then again, none of you tasted the original...(unless I work with you and did not know you were following my Blog)...the rest of you will never know the differences should there be any.

Amy, the future guests of my "One

Day Tea House" may very well need to thank you for forcing me to follow the conventions of baking and document this really yummy cake.

Enjoy...and Happy Canada Day Amy (and guests)!

Cake

1 white cake mix

1 tsp B. Powder

1 tsp Pure vanilla

1/2 tsp butter flavoring.

3 eggs

1 1/4 C. water

1/3 C. veg. oil

Add the B. powder to the dry cake mix and stir. Add the rest of the ingred. and mix according to pkg.

Cook in 2- 8" or 9" round pans as directed on pkg.

White Mousse

1 cup white chocolate
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream1 tsp vanilla

Heat water in saucepan, with sugar, until sugar is dissolved. Add chocolate and melt until smooth. Set saucepan in cold water to cool mixture. Place in the fridge until thoroughly chilled. Whisk smooth. Beat cream and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Fold into cold chocolate mixture. Refrigerate until set.

Whipping Cream

Pour 500 ml. of whipping cream into bowl and begin mixing on low speed. Slowly increase speed as Cream begins to thicken. When soft peaks form add 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4C. icing sugar. (icing sugar is fine so incorporates more thoroughly, it also contains corn starch which helps stabilize the whipped cream).

Continue beating until very stiff peaks form. Watch carefully, you want it as stiff as possible without the cream starting to separate. Scrape down the bowl periodically. If you are unsure about the consistency stop the mixer and give it a stir. Always better to check it often than to over mix....unless you want sweet butter of course!

To Assemble

Place one layer of cake on serving plate. Arrange thinly sliced berries over the entire surface. Cover with White Mousse. Gently add second cake layer. Frost the entire cake with whipped cream smoothing the sides as much as possible. Arrange sliced strawberries (points out) in a circular pattern beginning about 1" from edge of cake. Fill top of cakes with over lapping circles of Strawberries.

Add a few more TLBS icing sugar to remaining whipped cream. Stir in and use piping bag and star tip to pipe borders around top and bottom edge of cake.

Arrange thin slices of Strawberries around sides of cake.

Store in refrigerator.

I Love this Kid!

2010-06-13T09:56:00.003-04:00

This weekend I have been on Chauffeur Duty.

(That in itself is a whole other blog post...

One I am fighting with myself daily NOT to write.

I think I will give you a hint though...

'cause hints are not the same as telling

and no one will bother to click the link to find out what I am babbling about anyway....)

Now, if you know me, you know I really am not a morning person.

I am on the other hand, a mom of a working teen.

A working teen without a vehicle, in fact, as a family of 6 we function with 1 vehicle.

Why spend money on a second one when we all live, work and play within a fairly small radius?

Why?

So I can have my own cute little sporty car! That's why!

(that is always my answer...but not yet)

So, My Jonny had to be to work yesterday and today for 6:30 a.m which meant I had to be up at 5:45...A.M!

The bonus yesterday, was I picked up a tea after dropping my son off, went down by the Bay in the middle of the rain, thunder and lightening and got to experience the awesomeness of God's majesty.

I went to bed early to prepare for my second unearthly morning drop off but when the alarm went...I simply could not do it. I sent Jon with the vehicle and went back to sleep...and did I ever sleep.

When I did wake up, there was a note on my floor that had been pushed under my door.

It was a mystery to me as to who could possibly have written that note. I mean, it's not signed and I am referred to as "Jen"...must have been Mark.

I also loved the part about not waking up until I was told....ummmm, too late.

Ah, a clue! I do have a child who refers to "getting up" as "Waking Up"...I wonder if that is who it could be?

The mystery was soon solved as I was presented with Fluffy scrambled eggs with Cheddar grated on top and a steaming cup of Red Rose.

As I thanked my youngest child and told her she was the best little girl in the whole world, she responded with....

"I know"

Oh Boy....here we go again! Look out Jonathan/"Sheldon"...(Big Bang reference), there's another one coming up on your heels!

Tea Cup Gardening

2010-06-03T17:41:00.006-04:00

Every once and a while, on a whim...a well intentioned, thought out whim....I decide to try my hand at gardening. All my friends tote the glorious, uplifting, grounding, self satisfaction of gardening.

All of them...except maybe "Sweet Pammy".

I, on the other hand...was born a princess...my family may not have realized it, my surroundings may not have reflected it...but make no mistake. I was born to be pampered, to shop, to enjoy the finer things in life. It's who God created me to be...what's a girl to do?

In all truth...I am allergic to dirt and all things "gardeningy". No, you have no idea!

All windows must remain closed all Spring, planting of 10 sunflower seeds last year sent me to bed with Benadryl...then there is this teensy weensy phobia of worms...

I'm lying...I can not STAND worms...they send me screaming under the covers. (It's my brother's fault...he and some other young boys chased me with worms as a child...then, I had nightmares...now, I am a wuss).

This year was different though...I have thoroughly enjoyed the great outdoors of Spring and have not paid with 14 hours of drug induced sleep for having indulged in this wondrous time of year. I am thrilled and very, very thankful. (I am listening to the sweetly singing birds and feeling the gentle breeze of Spring through my open window even now as I type...Truly a Miracle!)

My new found out door freedom, coupled with my family's love for what we call "Fresh salsa", (in reality it is Pico De Galla), adding in the idea that I might actually be missing out on some soul soothing rituals...I decided to plant a Salsa Garden.

Since I have not yet been miraculously delivered from the whole worm-nightmare-thing...I decided planter gardening was the perfect fit for me. That and the fact that weeding is a chore not fit for a princess.

I did some homework, I'm an intelligent princess after all...with a love for fine cooking, fresh food and the need to be creative. This can't be that hard right? EVERYONE posts these beautiful pictures of their lush, fruitful gardens...EVERYONE, (except Sweet Pammy), goes on and on about how wonderful it is to be one with the dirt. The absolute joys of sowing, watering, weeding and harvesting.

I WANT TO ENJOY BEING ONE WITH THE DIRT....but in a more refined sort of oneness.

I bought herbs...(seeds are still for the wonder women of gardeners), Tomatoes and Peppers and because I had been so proudly talking of my plans at work...my boss bought me a lovely little bush of Cilantro.

Ahhh...Cilantro, the miracle herb that pulls the whole Salsa/Pico together...Yummy Cilantro.

I am not simply a summer-on-a-whim-cook, I am a serious year round cook who loves using fresh herbs....fresh herbs that are so very expensive to buy and then rot because you can't use them all up in a timely fashion.

My solution: An INDOOR herb garden to enjoy year round. Simple! I have everything I need except the artsy-Jen part: a wonderful planter.

Last weekend I found it.

Actually I liked it so much, I bought two!

Bold, Bright, Beautiful T-Cup planters....the color contrasts made me so happy I just KNEW my herbs would feel happy and thrive too.

Last Sunday, I rolled up my sleeves, recruited my youngest child and got busy. We planted our Rosemary in a large planter outside as I am told it likes to grow quite tall and full...(mmmmm, Pioneer Woman Rosemary Buns). We planted my 2 VERY Happy T-Cups. One with Chives the other with that lovely Cilantro. We even went a little crazy and planted Sun Flowers. I LOVE Big Happy Sunflowers!.

Though my nails and the dirt were definitely one, I wasn't yet feeling the Love but as I scrubbed the dirt and positioned those wonderful T Cups on my sunny plant shelf in my kitchen...I had visions of amazing dishes made all that much more amazing by these delicious herbs lovingly tended by my own 2 hands...I was beaming.

My dear Gardening Guru Friend Holly wanted to see pictures of these Happy, happy

T cups...thus, this Blog Post.

Are they Not Absolutely Wonderful!?!?!

My Fairly Happy Chives...

(made our scrambled eggs taste incredible!)

T-Cups for 2!

...and...my not very happy looking Cilantro.

Seriously! They were lovely and green and firm a few short days ago...

...Until my Black thumb touched them.

Limp, Pale very SAD looking Cilantro.

HOW am I supposed to make yummy fresh Salsa with pale, limp Cilantro?

My Gardening dreams are dashed yet again...is there any hope?

Help!

A Tribute

2010-05-07T18:18:00.004-04:00

This Mother's Day weekend, I wanted to repost a story I'd posted 3 years ago as a tribute to two amazing ladies-My two Mothers-in law. I love them both and theirs is a beautiful story.

I have been asked why I believe the things that I do, how do I know that God is real...

This is only one example of the many, many ways God has shown Himself real and relevant to me. When I am asked, "How can you believe?"...my first thought is, "How can I NOT believe?"

“A Baby with Two Mothers”

Two Mothers? That could be argued, but as I see it, neither would hold the intimate place of Love in his heart, had it not been for the other. So yes the baby has two mothers.

It was 1965 in Perth NB, and a young woman, Ethelda, discovers that she is carrying a child…. Not a child she’d planned for at this time.

There were thoughts and even plans of marrying the father…but time proved that this was not the wisest of decisions. She makes the heart wrenching choice to find this child a home, but not just any home. Although she finds herself unwed, and pregnant, she does love the Lord with all of her heart, and hopes to find a home with two Christian parents, who will raise this child to truly love the Lord.

She thinks of an old friend from her adolescent days…. she’s recently been married and both she and her husband are Christian. Though they hadn't seen each other for years, contact is made and Hope and George decide that yes, they would like to raise this child as their own.
Ethelda and her mom move to another town during the last months of pregnancy. They stay with a Pastor and his wife, all the while working out the details of a quiet adoption with Hope and George.
Eventually the baby boy is born.

Too soon for one mother, not soon enough for the other; the day has come for the baby to leave the hospital.

This place of transition, where he was born from the womb of one mother, Ethelda, and carried to the arms and heart of another…Hope, who will love him and teach him to love the Lord.

Hope and George are presented with their new son, Mark Anthony. The Pastor and his wife, who housed and cared for Ethelda, while she carried this baby, are now carrying the newborn to the parents who will become his family.
Mark grows up happy and healthy; over time the story begins to unfold of his adoption.

Mark is now 23 years old and newly married himself. He and his bride, Jen, establish their first home together in an apartment building in Fredericton, NB. They quickly meet and become friends with the weekend superintendents Glen and Lisa.

Over the next year, through other sources, Mark begins to discover more and more of the story of his adoption….only to find out that his now good friend Glen was his first cousin by blood!

Mark kind of knew that was God, but after all, Fredericton, and the home where his two moms grew up were not that far apart…and not that big.

The years pass, Mark and Jen move back and forth between Ottawa and Fredericton a few times. Eventually they find themselves in a place they never imagined…marriage crisis.

Through some very God ordained circumstances, they decide to rebuild their lives in a small city near Toronto, with no connections but a church, and the desire to know God on a more intimate level than either had experienced before this time.

Early on, Mark meets a young man from the church , Steve, who helps with the move, and becomes a close friend…like family.

Eventually Steve marries a dear American girl. Mark is the best man at Steve’s wedding…and within the year Steve and his bride Jen are making plans to move to the US.

A few more years pass, and Steve’s brother Scott becomes a good friend to Mark. They spent many hours enjoying conversations about Business and God but eventually, Scott moves to Oshawa.

It’s now 2005, and Mark has celebrated his 40’th birthday…he is in close contact with both of his mothers at this point, and has worked through much of the emotion and detail surrounding his adoption.
Hope has not been to Belleville for a Christmas in 8 years, though she used to come often. Mark gets the idea to fly her up for that year. They have a lovely time, and towards the end of the visit, Hope gives Mark the adoption papers and 3 letters written to her from Ethelda while she was carrying Mark.

It was difficult for her to part with them, but she wanted Mark to read them and to understand more of what went into his transition called adoption.
Mark and Hope spend the last day of their visit calling around Belleville, looking for a Bill and Myrtle Stapley. They are the Pastor and his wife that cared for Ethelda, and carried Mark to the waiting arms of Hope. Hope had heard that they were in Belleville.

Although they worked tirelessly, in the end, they could not find them.

About 7am the next day, Mark says good bye to his mom at the airport in Toronto. As he leaves, He talks to God. He is feeling a little like he has been in the wilderness over the past 40 years, and is looking for a divine moment something similar to ones he's heard others claim to have experienced.

Mark meets his friend Scott for breakfast in Oshawa on the way home. Since Scott grew up in Belleville with the same Church affiliation as the Stapleys, Mark decides to see if he has heard of them. The conversation went something like this.

M: “Have you ever heard of a Pastor Bill Stapley?’
S: “Do you mean William and Myrtle?”
M: “Yes!”
S: “Why do you want to know about them?”
M: “She is the woman who carried me from the hospital to my mom”

S: “…. They are my aunt and uncle!”

Two of Mark's best friends, are nephews of the man and woman that were so instrumental in the transition phase of Mark's adoption!!!!

Scott proceeds to get Myrtle on the phone, (unfortunately, William died 2 years prior). Myrtle lives in Oshawa, and was so glad to speak to Mark…she said he’d made her day!

Six months later, when Ethelda came for a visit, she and Mark were able to meet up and reconnect with Myrtle...it has meant so much to both of Mark's moms.
Mark found out later through Jen and Steve, that Myrtle and Bill were at their wedding …when Mark stood as best man.

So, maybe Mark had been in a bit of a wilderness, but don’t be fooled into thinking he was wandering…there was a cloud by day and a fire by night, that took him exactly where he was supposed to be at just the right time for every divine appointment that God had planned for him since he was knit together in his mother’s womb! He was being led every step of the way.

When I think of this story, all I can think of is that song…"How can I say there is no God…?"

Only He could have woven together the threads that have become this beautiful tapestry…and that was just the first 40 years.

Through Mark’s story, we get a glimpse of what is actually happening in each one of our lives….
Most of us never have the privilege of seeing it so vividly tied together, yet God is still weaving a beautiful Tapestry through each one of us. Have you noticed that in the most difficult, even traumatic seasons of Mark’s life…God was orchestrating an incredible outcome?

Have you noticed that in any colorful work of art, it takes the dark colors along side the bright and vibrant colors to create the beauty of contrast…to make the colors come alive?

In my own life, and in Mark’s life, I look back and see things I would never want to relive….
Yet, I can honestly say, I am truly thankful for even these. They are a part of our tapestry…and they make it far more beautiful and alive…

We Need More Real Women

2010-04-29T19:03:00.001-04:00

My Very Favorite Stars:

2010-04-19T20:47:00.003-04:00

Core School of Arts, Spring Spectacular 2010

I love everything these guys are doing. The school started in our community 3 years ago as a way to bring the arts back to the younger generations.

The kids usually have no previous experience and the school teaches them some core values through music and dance. Values like: believing in yourself, trying to do things you think you cannot do, pushing forward past failure and difficulty and believing in the impossible.

My girls were a part of the school again this year and I just love watching them grow and mature in their abilities, but even more so in their confidence.

No matter their abilities, they will always be this mama's pride and joy and they challenge me to reach deeper, farther, higher than I ever thought I could.

I am in awe of their confidence at such young ages, I am deeply blessed by these 2 little girls.

Maria and Jianna, my dolly faces...love you both so much!

Jianna and Maria singing with their group...Jianna has the final solo piece.

Maria and Jianna singing "The Climb"

Unfortunately, Hubby filmed Maria's entire dance before realizing he'd had the camera on pause...thankfully, the school also does a DVD, which we ordered.

Here is Jianna's Beginner Dance Group:

Left over Easter Feast

2010-04-17T08:56:00.003-04:00

This is a little out of sinc time wise, but was so delicious, I just had to post it.

It was one of the dinners we enjoyed from our leftover Easter Feast.

A terrific mid week meal to pull together.

The Spinach salad was left over from Easter and because I did not toss the dressing into the greens, it kept quite nicely.

I happened to have a 1/2 Calabrese bread in the freezer from a wonderful bakery in Kingston.

I split it in 1/2 horizontally, spread honey mustard on it, then homemade cucumber relish. Next came slices of left over ham, and a mixture of shredded mozza and cheddar.

I used both cheeses simply because if I used 1 or the other, Someone in the house will have decided recently they don't like that particular cheese any longer...They do this to me rather often. SUDDENLY, someone doesn't like something that they have always eaten and somehow I was supposed to know this. Can you believe two of them have decided they don't like chocolate??!?! Is it even POSSIBLE to not like Chocolate?

I am not a tearably indulgent mother, so my general response is...

"I don't care if you don't like it, eat it anyway"

With 1 or 2 children, I might be more inclined to work around their idiosyncrasies...but with 4, and constantly evolving taste buds...not gonna happen.

Once topped with cheese, I baked it until the cheese was bubbly...I have to tell you, even the child who recently decided they don't like ham....LOVED this meal.

It was Delicious.

If I had leftover turkey, I'd try something similar with cranberry sauce...or possibly think open faced turkey club.

Leftover roast beef...endless possibilities.

My daughter says I could open a Pizza Joint-Pizza

2010-04-14T18:34:00.007-04:00

Having four kids and having been on unbelievably tight budgets for many of their formative years...pizza became our one take out treat. Actually, when things were ABSOLUTELY unbelievably tight many years ago, I learned to make pizza, including the crust from scratch.

It might be my mind associating pizza with abject poverty...or simply the fact that you can only eat so much of some foods before they become detestable. I am really NOT fond of Pizza anymore...unless it is really authentic tasting or some modern twist with some delectable flavor combinations.

My kids' favorite, pepperoni....BLECK!!!!

(Mind you, that has never happened with chocolate or really good cheesecake!)

In spite of all of this, a couple weeks ago, I decided to pull out my 18 year old pizza crust recipe and see what the kids thought.

The verdict was: Pizza devoured, kids went to bed happy that there was no broccoli on the menu and I was able to twist up the recipe enough to make it palatable ...OK, even enjoyable to this non pizza lover.

My last few weeks have been kind of busy and I figured the kids might boycott another homemade soup, (though we have discovered some amazing new recipes), I decided tonight was a good night to make it again.

My Maria declared that she LOVED my pizza and that I could open up my own "pizza store" after tasting tonight's offerings.

Since I have no "Pizza Joint Aspirations"...I thought I'd share the simple crust recipe with Y'all.

2 1/4 C. Flour

1 1/2 Tbs instant yeast

1 Tbs Sugar

1 tsp salt

1/4 C. oil

1 C. warm water

(now for the 'Jenisms')

A generous sprinkle of both powdered garlic and Oregano...in the crust ingred.

Mix it all together in 1 bowl, I use my Kitchen Aid...it'll mix and knead in one shot.

In the early years, I mixed and kneaded by hand...both work.

Makes 1 large pizza crust.

Top away...

Bake 400* on low rack until done-you'll figure it out.

No really, she likes it....so much she couldn't wait until it cooled down to eat.

Oh! and yes, that IS a paper plate!

Mark and Jonathan are working this eve. and I'd spent my lunch hour scrubbing my kitchen, SO, tonight, it's pizza and paper plates.

(no judgements please)

Mystery-man-Michael who loves to make it difficult to get good photos of his cute face.

(Debbie, if you're checking this out, look what's on the shelf behind Michael)

I know what you are all thinking..."eewww...GROSS". At one time, I was a non believer as well.

This is something My hubby has always done and EVERYONE says the same thing.

Then they hesitatingly try it....

"Oh MY WORD!

You have GOT to be Kidding Me!"

Two of my kids feel they have been jipped a little piece of Heaven if we have pizza and are out of the dressing.

As of yet, I have never led you astray in the area of tasty food....

You owe it to yourself to give it a try.

Many a teen have lept into the French Dressing Fold after having been convinced to:

"Just TRY it"

Really Yummy Banana Cake

2010-04-10T19:08:00.002-04:00

Do yourselves, your families, coworkers and neighbors a favor...even your enemies will love you!
You really must try this cake....Yummo!
The original recipe was slightly different...(I know you're shocked about that), one of the differences is that it called for nuts, which I personally would find VERY tasty, but if this was truly for my family, it would have to be sans nuts. Add them if you like and if there are no anaphylactic type people you plan to serve it to.
Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour,
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large ripe bananas, mashed..I used 6...OH MY WORD!!!
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Spray 9 x13 pan with cooking spray

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the eggs and oil and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened; do not beat. Stir in the banana and vanilla mix well. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Frosting:

1/4 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup flaked coconut (sweetened is fine)
3 tablespoons milk

In a mixing bowl, mix together all ingredients for frosting. Spread evenly over warm cake. Set oven to broil and place cake back in oven about 5" from element. Watch carefully as topping will burn easily. Broil until topping is bubbly and lightly browned.

Serve warm with Tea...You will be VERY happy!!!

The Fact that He IS Risen makes all the Difference!

2010-04-04T14:46:00.000-04:00

He knew...

2010-04-02T20:06:00.003-04:00

He knew, and yet...

He knew he would be mocked.

He knew He would be spit upon.

He knew He would be judged.

He knew He would be misunderstood.

He knew he would be betrayed.

He knew He would be misrepresented.

He knew He would be hated.

He knew He would be crucified....yet He opened His heart to these very ones.

He loved these very ones.

He still welcomes these very ones...

I say I follow Him, that I belong to Him, that I love Him and He is my everything.

I would give my very life for Him...but can I do what He did?

Can I love when I have been judged, misunderstood, mocked and betrayed....

Can I?

Spring

2010-03-20T16:36:00.004-04:00

I love everything about Spring.

New life, new beginnings, color, sunshine, warmth, growth the fact that we, like all of the animals come out of hibernation...all of it.

Our community has struggled, been brought to it's knees this winter.

It's been too much for many of us, for our community as a whole.

I am a pretty optimistic person, yet I found myself oppressed, wanting to cocoon this week.

Needing to feel safe and to be distracted and to retreat to my self made bubble.

Today, the first day of Spring, it's a little cooler than the incredible temperatures we had been experiencing this March Break. It's a little gray as the mixed precipitation forecast for tomorrow gathers and prepares for it's appearance....yet, it is SPRING. As I listen to the birds singing outside my window...I am reminded once again of what Spring really represents to me ...HOPE.

As tough as the circumstances of this winter have been, (the weather was incredibly mild and free from almost any snow), winter is over.

Oh, it might still feel like winter periodically in the weeks to come, but winter is OVER and Spring is here and it is time to live, to love, to grow, to change and to come out of hibernation.

It is time to allow hope to be renewed and to believe for more. To know that the best is yet to come and that those amazing days of summer we love are just around the corner.

Spring can be an interesting time of year...we can go from gorgeous summer weather one day to wet, messy winter like weather the next. Today, I am full of anticipation because I know there are some incredible and beautiful surprises that will come with the Spring even in the midst of the difficulty.

If there is one thing I have learned, it is that difficulty and tragedy are unavoidable and uncontrollable...but what I do with it, what and who I choose to focus on in the middle of it; that is what will make the difference in whether I grow stronger or weaker because of it.

Today, once again, I choose life, I choose to hear the robin sing even as the clouds darken right above my head. I choose to remember that "this too shall pass".

I choose to trust in the knowledge that My God's plans for me are for good:

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Happy Spring!!

An Irish Feast

2010-03-17T12:35:00.005-04:00

I started my day with incredibly yummy Green Pancakes prepared by the youngest Irish Chick in my house...She made an especially big one for her daddy which he promptly came home from work to eat. It was a little tricky for hubby to eat that pancake as I was determined to get my fill of "kissing the Irish" today.

Not so sure his kissing this Irish girl will give him any "luck", and I am quite sure I don't need a further blessing of the "gift of gab", but hey if we both "get lucky"....

OK, on to the recipes!!!

Oh! While in Ottawa, I picked up some Irish Breakfast Tea for the occasion as well...sipping while I blog....mmmmm tea.

Last year it was Corned Beef and cabbage for St. Pat's supper, this year:

Irish Beef Stew Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 pounds well-marbled chuck beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces (NOT extra-lean)
6 large garlic cloves, minced
6 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
I cup of Guinness beer
1 cup of fine red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

METHOD

Serves 4 to 6.

AMAZINGLY EASY IRISH SODA BREAD

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a
large baking sheet. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick
inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 30 to 50
minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture
while it bakes. Makes 1 (1-1/2 pound) loaf. Servings Per Recipe: 20.

Time to Make some RIBS!!!

2010-03-07T07:56:00.010-05:00

I am taking quite a risk here posting the directions for my Fall-off-the-bone-Ribs.

It's probably more of a risk to my husband than to me.

By teaching you all how to make your own ribs, I am fully aware that certain invites might be fewer and farther between.

I am truly sorry baby if you have seen your last Super Bowl or Play Off Party because of my recklessness.

If you know me and you know my cooking style, you already know there is no actual recipe for these ribs...I'm kind of a "fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-cook"...Baking , I use recipes, (with a twist here or there of course).

I have included lots of pictures for that reason...well, that and the fact that I want to be just like Pioneer Woman when I grow up. Scrap that, I want to BE Pioneer Woman when I grow up.

Now, if you want the traditional looking ribs, use pork back ribs...make sure they are back and not side. (For the local ladies/guys, they are on sale this week for $1.97 lb).

A little while ago, I discovered these babies...incredible value as they are almost all meat and much easier to serve and eat.

I don't buy beef ribs as the bones are huge and the flavor is not the same at all.

Whatever you decide for the cut, here is the process:

These are the ribs that came from that single package at the top...just look at all the meat!

Place them as evenly as possible on a shallow roaster with a rack.

**If you are using a rack of ribs, there is a thin membrane on the underside that you will want to remove before seasoning. The easiest way to do this, is to take a sharp knife and working from the side that the bones protrude from the most, use the tip of the knife to lift the membrane enough to grab a hold of it with your fingers. Now, start carefully pulling the membrane away from the ribs. Continue down the full rack of ribs. Next time I make a rack of ribs, I will take photos of this as it is tricky at first.

Removing the membrane will allow the seasoning to penetrate the underside of the meat as well as help with tenderness.

Sprinkle them generously with a rub, I happened to have this and it works wonderfully, but you can use whatever you have starting with salt, pepper, and garlic...add anything that will give the meat a great savory flavor. (think chicken when you are working with flavors for pork)

Now they are ready for the first stage of cooking.

Oh! I will usually add a liquid to the pan.

water, apple juice, beer,(Can't stand the taste of the stuff to drink, but for BBQ type meats....yumm!), whatever you have...moisture is key, if it adds flavor great.

I also add onion, fresh chopped garlic....again, whatever you want for flavor.

Cook them uncovered at 325* .

Timing will depend on the cut, these guys are really fast...maybe 20 minutes or so. Traditional ribs take longer, but what you want is to see the meat just starting to pull away from the ends of the bones.

When you reach that stage, cover the whole thing with foil TIGHTLY...no leaky spots.

****This is the whole key to getting them so tender they will literally fall off the bones....STEAM!!!!****

Lower the oven temp. to about 250*

Timing again depends on the cut as well as how easily you want to be able to serve them.

If you are wanting to finish them off on the BBQ you are going to need to be able to pick them up without them falling apart.

I like to get them so I can CAREFULLY pick them up with tongs, but those bones are just barely hanging on.

Start with an hour...should be just about right for "Buttonbones/end ribs".

Check them carefully...remember the steam will come rolling out so don't open them while you are leaning over the pan!

Unless of course, you are looking to accomplish a facial peal while you cook.

The bones should be quite exposed and when you lift or bend the ribs you want to see this:

NOW You have got some tender ribs.

Time for the sauce.

Here's where I deviate and no 2 pans of my ribs will ever be identical.

This is great if you think variety is the spice of life...not so much when you make an extra incredible batch that everyone raves over...and there is no way to duplicate.

Above are the ingredients I used once.

All of this is standard for me except what BBQ sauce(s) are involved.

Just depends on what I find in my pantry or fridge.

If I don't have BBQ sauce, I use ketchup adding soy sauce to the above ingred.

If you are not terribly adventurous, or want consistency, use any bottled sauce you love...my problem is I haven't found one that tastes perfect to me just as it is, so I always add some of the things above.

My girls like to mix up the sauce, probably because we just start dumping...no measuring.

Don't be afraid, you already have incredibly tender ribs, this is all for flavor and gooiness.

If your sauce tastes great when you are done throwing things together, your ribs will too.

Not sweet enough? Add more Brown sugar,

Needs a kick...maybe some hot sauce....go with what you love.

Brush the sauce on both sides of all the ribs, coat them really well.

If you are finishing them on the BBQ...still the very best flavor, I think.

Heat 'er up and carefully put the ribs on the grill.

In the winter or when we just want to keep it simple, I crank the oven back up to about 375* or so.

Bake UNCOVERED for a little while...you can also use the broiler, (just keep a close eye on them)

Remember, they are already really tender, you are just looking to caramelize the sauce and send them over the edge. Don't over do it.

ENJOY!

Also, Please don't ostracize my hubby from the guy parties just because his wife was reckless!

Ramblings and Processing

2010-02-27T21:56:00.004-05:00

I was thinking back to a time when I was probably a preteen.

I remember this realization hitting me one day:

" Not a single person on this earth sees with my eyes or looks at the exact same things at the exact same time from the exact same angle...therefore, our interpretation of a moment or day will always be different"

Yeah, I know...strange girl and even stranger thoughts for the age.

I was weird like that.

I was thinking mostly about how we physically look at things throughout our life but today, I am also thinking about it in regards to experiences and memories of experiences.

How I experience, filter, interpret and remember a given situation or period of time all play into how I feel about it.

Someone else, may have been there too, but their filters, perspective, angle are going to be different and they may or may not feel the same way about it.

So, if I were to look back to something from another time & place and my processing has led me to see it as "bad"...but someone else processed it differently and saw it as "good"...

well which is it? Which one is reality or does it simply depend on your out look?

If I can only interpret through a single set of filters...how valuable might it be to seek out other people's viewpoints? Would I gain new insight from those perspectives and therefore feel differently ?

I think on some things yes, on others...maybe it wouldn't change much at all but in either case, I have a feeling I would see a bigger picture and not simply my little corner of the puzzle.

I know this all seems so random and maybe a wee bit strange but recently, I have reconnected with a number of old friends from a very long time ago.

When they have shared their memories of things from that time and place....

I have smiled, laughed and remembered happy things long forgotten.

They also made me cry at one point because I saw a glimpse of something or someone from a different perspective. I saw the good when all I had remembered was the bad.

It's raised a lot of questions for me but mostly given me a little bigger picture of it all.

Yes, the dark corners are still really dark....but there was something bright and wonderful and beautiful in that picture too.

Since I can't change any of it, it might be nice to look a little more closely at some of those bright areas; realize how they too form my reality.

Still processing...

Further revelation:

"And I will restore or replace for you the years that the locust has eaten--the hopping locust, the stripping locust, and the crawling locust, My great army which I sent among you."

Joel 2:25
Can I be really honest and tell you that most of my life, I have hated that scripture?
I did and to make matters worse, it seemed that every other time someone prayed over me, this is the scripture they would quote. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to punch someone after they prayed over me!
Not terribly spiritual, I know, but I am just being honest.
This morning, I had another really neat experience. I was contacted by one of my many Ranchers from a life time ago. One of the girls I was a counsellor to and then developed a penpal relationship with for years.
(I still have her letters, drawings and photos tucked away with others from my ranch days)
She had such sweet words of affirmation for me and then God reminded me of others with which I have reconnected recently through the "Facebook Beast".
I only joined to be ready to stay in contact with my son when he leaves in the fall...could God have had other plans?
He reminded me of so many wonderful people, many of which I had all but forgotten, people who have shared wonderful memories.
All from another time and place...from a period of time I guess I had mostly chosen to forget. From the very years that I thought of when people would quote that scripture over me...my thought was always the same:
"He can't give me that time back, He can't change the way things were...How could he possibly restore?!?"
Is it possible, that what I am processing and trying to come to a greater understanding of...is God showing me the bigger picture in order to restore the good and the wonderful of those very years? All that was stolen and eaten through a few bad experiences?
Maybe He really is able to restore all...
He truly is a God of wonders.

Happy 8th Birthday Jianna!

2010-02-16T16:36:00.009-05:00

Today, my littlest baby turns 8...sigh....yup, I still have trouble believing there are no toddlers running around my house. Maybe it's because there were so many for so long or that 8 seems so very grown up...maybe I am having a mini-mid-life-Crisis but let me tell you, if Mark had not visited the surgeon years ago....

OK, back to the Birthday girl.

Miss Jianna got to plan the family dinner tonight and she decided on wings and shrimp...

That's IT!

For her, this would be the ultimate dinner.

We decided on Banana splits since she'd never had one and will have cake at her party on the weekend. So, wings, cold shrimp w/cocktail sauce and banana splits w/homemade strawberry topping, chocolate and caramel.

I did get her to agree to these potatoes with a bit of variation, (she is her mother's daughter after all!)

She does not THINK she likes pepper...(I'll sneak it in, don't tell her), so she wants them with chopped chives, bacon bits, shredded cheese and served up w/sour cream.

Speaking of My littlest munchkin being like her Mama...

This is Jianna's Birthday Plan all organized by category...ahhhh, a child who loves to organize!

I LOVE this kid!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Fahionista who always wishes she were older and that she lived in Paris France..."The fashion capital of the world you know!"

After we do presents, I will have to post a pic of what Maria found for her...perfect and I would never have thought of it!

One Mother's Grace

2010-02-12T18:41:00.003-05:00

The line was long but the sun was bright.

As we waited, there was time to visit with others you knew, who were all there to show their love and respect. Small talk, catching up on the details of the lives of others, there were smiles and even laughter. As the line wove inside and up the stairs and the photo tributes were everywhere, you were once again brought back to the reality of why you were there.

Those incredible eyes that amazing smile...it was everywhere. She was truly Beautiful, even when she was captured being silly, she was beautiful.

The wait was long and there was an abundance of time to observe, to reflect, to wonder.

It's been an incredibly tough week for our community. A light was lost in the most horrific of ways....every mother's night mare.

The community had been bound together by this one girl and they are mourning together...

There is a heaviness that has settled over our city...it's almost tangible.

People are reacting...sad, angry, fearful and very cranky.

I watched as a colleague, living the all too real nightmare we can only imagine, greeted each visitor with strength, beauty, grace and even a smile.

She was tired and worn, yet

I wondered at her ability to even be standing at a time when I would imagine she would prefer to sleep ...

if only to forget for a while this horror that is her new reality.

Yes, our community is hurting and in grief....but nothing near the depths of devastation of this one mother.

If only more of us could share her grace, dignity, beauty and strength as we process this tragedy and come to terms with the ways that it has changed us and our community.

I believe we could bring a sense of honor to a senseless tragedy if we would choose to follow the example of this one very courageous lady.

Please continue to pray...

this is so much more than a sensational media story for this grieving family.

Their pain will continue long after the cameras have focused their lens else where and the curious have found something new to occupy their curiosity.

A Proud Moment

2010-01-29T22:49:00.002-05:00

Jonathan, Michael, Mark and one of Jon's very best friends have been away on a University tour trip.

Jonathan decided some time ago that his university of choice was UNB in Fredericton NB.

His Dad went to this university and 2 of his grandmothers graduated from St. Thomas, (another university on the same campus).

Today, Jonathan is one step closer to realizing that goal. As part of their tour, the recruiter set up an opportunity for Jonathan to apply on the spot...

He was accepted to the faculty of Arts and will head there in the Fall to Double Major in Political Science...His first steps to becoming one of our nation's greatest leaders.

I am one Proud Mama...who can't help but feel a wee bit sad. I really like this kid and enjoy having him around.

Way to go Big Guy...the hard work is paying off.

MOM

Reasoning with a 7 year Old Party Planner

2010-01-27T18:46:00.002-05:00

One of Jianna's teachers will be leaving the school at the end of the week. Jianna really likes this teacher and on the weekend made her a card to say "good bye", (she included a photo of herself because: "I am probably her favorite student mom, because she teaches math and I always get perfect on my math tests"...she has her biggest brother's modesty, I see).

Yesterday, she decided she needed to make the teacher a poster...bright pink bristol board, bubble letters and glitter glue. (Maybe I have had SOME influence on this child after all).

Today, Wednesday...the day her brothers and dad left for a trip to NB until Sunday night. The dad that this "Oh SO VERY independent wife" relies on more than she realizes until he goes away...had to BEG him to fill my rental with gas before he left...not because I CAN'T...but it's one of those things I DON'T do. Kind of like Mark making a cake or a full course meal...it just works best this way.

Back to Jianna...on the way home from school she tells me all about the party she and 2 classmates are planning for the teacher for Friday.

THIS Friday.

It would seem the three little party planners organized the class and made sure every possible junk food would be represented.

Jianna signed me up for: a cake..."no milk mom, we have allergies in the class"

streamers

2 bags of popcorn

punch..."with Gingerale please"

and fudge

All this to be made ready in less than 2 days, while I am planning my own little party.

When I tried to tell her this was too much, she assured me that everyone was bringing this much.

Now, try telling a 7 year old that it is very possible to have too much junk food at a party.

That everyone would end up sick from the sugar overload.

That none of the moms would be happy about that.

That I simply did not have the time to accommodate her list.

That I was not willing to accommodate her list.

She assured me all I had to do was the cake...she would make the rest...ummm, yeah right!

We settled on my making the cake then I got a call from one of the moms of another one of the over zealous party planners.

Seems there was to be every kind of chip, drink, popcorn and bake good imaginable...a Disco ball and music...multiple posters and get this....

The party would be at 9:00 in the morning!

Can you even imagine trying to keep this class in order and out of the bathroom the rest of the day...let alone teach anything?

Got to love their zeal!

Oh! Last week, the three little party planners were equally ambitious about the new country singing group they were forming, making posters for, planning to have a dad video tape and post on You Tube because they would be famous because people really like country music, and they already had fans, had signed autographs, planned their costumes, picked "Fame names", decided Jianna would write the songs AND come up with a group name and LOGO..."Saddle Style".

I wrote without punctuation or room for a breath because that is how Jianna told it to me on the way home from school last week...I am going to need some strong caffeine to keep up with this one.

I Can be Bribed After All

2010-01-20T16:10:00.004-05:00

Since beginning to work in high schools almost 2 years ago, I have had countless bribes offered to me.

Usually candy, or coffee (Obviously they don't really know me!), always by students.

Today was the first day I accepted a bribe.

This one was from a teacher who just can't quite remember to pass out her detention slips consistently.

She sent me a note through a student with her apologies asking if I could be bribed.

My reply was , "YES! With Tea and Chocolate!"

20 Minutes Later, 2 students arrived at my office with the above tray.

I have to tell you, I haven't had Smarties since my kids were little and I used them to bribe them into toilet training. (For the record, it worked wonders, they were all potty trained between 18 months and 22months...and not a single one still needs the reward of Smarties when they go to the washroom!)

Now I am being bribed with the very same treat....maybe I should have used Laura Secord Chocolate on the kids!

By the way, Smarties and tea make an incredible breakfast!

No, SERIOUSLY! You should try it.

I am personally hoping the other teachers get wind of our little arrangement!

Boys and Men...Not Knowing When to Quit

2010-01-12T18:42:00.004-05:00

Is it really only 7:50?!?!?!

I am Tired AND Oh So Cranky!

This is one of those posts that is really real but not so positive

...it's just where I am at today.

For the past few days, the principals have been cracking down on some much needed follow up on some way too chronic skippers...this is Good...it means, IF we can get through to them, the detention numbers will come down...my whole job centers around attendance and detentions.

It also means the In School Suspension Room outside my office has been overflowing with some of our worst offenders. Unfortunately, it just so happens that the way the kids got dealt with has left me 2 days of only boys in the ISS room.

I have nothing against boys...I am married to one and have given birth to 2.

Boys can be fun and loving and lots of wonderful things....they also operate under a "pack" mentality.

Don't believe me?

Throw a bunch of them who might not even know each other together all day.

Someone will exert himself as pack leader early on...the rest of the day will be spent with one feeding off the next and before long, any variety of pranks and down right misbehavior begins and continues throughout the day as a way of "one-upping" each other.

They'll do their best to wear you down through any number of ways from the following list:

Silent stubbornness-refusing to accomplish any work, (my personal favorite as they are at least quiet!)

Constant bragging about any number of topics

Arguing about why they are not to blame for the situation they find themselves in.

Which inevitably escalates to trying to convince every new person within ear shot of how wronged they have been.

Demanding to see a principal to re declare the injustices that have seen them thrown into this oh-so-unfair situation.

Asking to leave for a smoke break

Asking to go to the bathroom....REPEATEDLY

Asking to go get a drink....REPEATEDLY

Asking to go to a locker, (they are to be under complete supervision all day)

Threatening to go AWOL

Actually going AWOL

Declaring they have no work to be done...(HELLO! you just skipped 17 periods in the past 2 weeks and you have NO work to do?!??!)

Complaining they don't understand the work that has been provided by their teacher

(gee...maybe you should think about getting to class once in a while!)

Asking to have a teacher come and explain something to them.

Knocking on my door to ask me how to do their work.

Knocking on my door to see if I have more power than the EA in charge of the room.

Knocking on my door to complain that they don't understand why they are in there.

Knocking on my door to make sure they will be clear of detentions after their ISS.

Knocking on my door to see if I know when a principal will be available to see them.

Knocking on my door to see if I have any candy...which I agree to give them IF they can be quiet and let me get some work done for 1/2 an hour.

Knocking on my door to see if the 1/2 hour is up yet, (never mind the giant class room clock right in front of them)

Knocking on my door to tell me they are bored, to show me their chewing tobacco, to see if I want to go grab a bite to eat with them later (don't ask!),

Knocking on my door to see if I am busy.

Writing notes and putting them up in the window that separates their room from my office.

Banging their feet on the wall that separates their room from my office....

As you can see I could continue all day...you name it, they have tried it, even one lighting his lighter while it was still in his pocket yesterday.

They will stop at nothing I tell you!

Unfortunately, tomorrow is shaping up to be just as crazy except I think a girl or 2 will be thrown in to the mix....that is another whole dynamic, (different, not necessarily better) .

By lunch time, I put a call into Hubby to see if he was available to rescue me from the mad-house for 1/2 hour or so...he was not.

After work I decided to make cookies...remember yesterday's post about not taking time to stock the groceries this week?

Making substitutions because I didn't take the time to stock the cupboards over the weekend, led to tasty...but very flat, mangled cookies....OH! and one burned pan full because I tried to accomplish way too much in my already frustrated and cranky state.

The Younger three kids and I made it through supper...Jon and Mark were not yet home...(Lucky for them).

The kids cleaned up with minimal fuss but decided to work out the issue of one's gaming being too loud, by CRANKING the sound on the TV.

The TV that is right below my living room...the living room I was trying to quietly relax in after a crazy day.

The TV that I FOOLISHLY bought hubby a Home theatre surround sound speaker system for for Christmas.

I'll tell you, the TV was not the only think that got cranked up!

I gave them a much deserved tongue-lashing and the TV has been quiet ever since!

Maybe I should try that with the kids in ISS tomorrow!

Yup! It was definitely "one of those days"...

I am sure none of it was helped by the fact that mom died 11 years ago today,

that the EA who works in the ISS room has been having to make palliative care arrangements for her father-in-law over the past 2 days, bringing back a slew of memories.

(In recent years, this has not been a bad day for me...but too many reminders this year I think)

There is also the likelihood that I am pmsing...{hence the need to make chocolate chip cookies...that my husband has just so naively asked "What Happened to these Cookies?" about and is now trying to redeem himself, (knowing full well that his timing was perfect to make him a victim of this post), by saying "they are very tasty though".}

Lord HELP ME!!!!

-I just heard from the kitchen;

"As odd as they look, they are REALLY good"

(The man seriously does not know when to quit)

No Seriously! They are all Alike!!!

My eldest son just walked in after work, at 10:58...looks at the cookies and hollers out:

"What'd you do to the cookeis?!?!"

I'm going to bed!

Supper on the Fly

2010-01-11T17:01:00.006-05:00

I had an incredibly fun weekend, (supper with friends and Emily Osment Concert with my girls), which when you work full time, translates into not quite all the necessities for the coming week being accomplished.

Our Saturday morning routine of chores was adhered to so the house should hold up for most of the week....but the oh-s0-necessary weekly restocking of fridge and cupboards did not happen.

I didn't PLAN on making my family of 6 go without nourishment, it sort of just happened.

Actually, I think I can place some of the blame on Missy Maria's winter boot's zipper deciding to break, (requiring my one window of opportunity for hunting and gathering food for the week, to be spent hunting for a pair of winter boots that my 11 year old would feel were worthy of being called her own)....that, and the fact that my dear friend Rhonda introduced me to a new blog.

Now that I think of it, it really all started with another friend (Cheryl), ooohing and awing over an absolutely delicious looking recipe she had just made.

This was relayed to me through her cousin, my friend, Rhonda, who then introduced me to the blog from which said yummy recipe was gleaned.

I spent more time than I care to admit enjoying the fantastic recipes, photography....and the unbelievably romantic love story of this "Pioneer Woman".

Monday morning reared it's ugly head and all children, (and adults) in our house were a little slow getting going after our fun weekend and late, (for the girls) concert night. All so very worth it though, as the girls got their custom made t-shirts autographed by and pictures taken with Miss Emily Osment. They were very sleepy but very happy!

Sorry, blame my rambling on my sleep deprived-over-stimulated mind.

Back to trying to plan dinner while running late, after having failed to acquire the necessities of a meal...FOOD...let alone the actual Planning of the week's menu!

As I scrambled to get out the door, I took a fleeting look in my kitchen freezer, (absolutely no time left to run down to the well stocked deep freeze). There, tucked in the back was an eye of round beef. Not terribly promising. Eye of round is one of those cheap cuts of meat that budget wise is a great idea....but when it comes to palatability and ability to even chew...well, it can be an absolute nightmare.

I grabbed it and threw it in the sink to thaw, thinking I could at least test out one of my Christmas presents, (Kitchen Aid Meat grinder attachment). Eye of round may not make a great roast or steak but it makes very lean, cheap ground beef.

As I ran to my room to retrieve my purse, hollering at children to get a move on as I did, I had a brain wave: "throw the frozen chunk of meat in the crock-pot with BBQ sauce". I am picturing pulled pork as I have these thoughts. In literally 5 minutes, the roast was in the pot with 2 partial bottles of 2 different BBQ sauces, cranked to hi, lid on, a quick prayer for a miracle and the thought that if it didn't work out, we were not really any further behind my unplanned meal for the night.

As Mark chauffeured me to school with a minute to spare, I remembered the frozen, chopped onion I kept in the freezer and asked him to throw it in when he went back to get the kids.

Because I had visions of the house burning down, (due to the ancient crock-pot) I prayed prayers that our beloved pets would escape unharmed through out the day. On entering the driveway after work, I was relieved to see that the house was intact and Ohhhhh the smells that greeted me as I unlocked the door!

I added some chopped green pepper from the freezer and some chopped garlic...one more hour and VOILA! Tough eye of round was now moist and tender enough to be pulled apart by 2 forks.

Next, I grabbed a Beautiful Calabrese bread I had frozen from a wonderful new bakery Hubby and I discovered in Kingston. Sliced it in 1/2 horizontally, piled it full of the pulled Beef and sprinkled

the whole thing with shredded cheddar.

Five minutes under the broiler, some green beans on the side....and Ummm.

Supper was enjoyed by all 6 members of the family, (an absolute miracle when we have anything but homemade Burgers), I came off looking like I'd actually planned the whole thing and wasn't just flying by the seat of my pants...and the Piers Family has survived another day without starvation! WHEW!!!

OH! There was even enough left over for 2 or 3 to have for their lunch tomorrow...all from 5 minutes of desperation!

WOW! I really have spent too much time on this lady's blog...taking pictures of food, (guess I should check out her photography tips) and writing about the development of a new family favorite as if it were an adventure story....sigh, I am a hopeless romantic at heart.

In case any of you local ladies are inspired to try this or something similar, Eye of Round is on sale this week for $2.00 or less a pound at 2 of our grocery stores.

Is This Not the Cutest?

2010-01-06T15:00:00.001-05:00

Hubby and I went on a little shopping date on the weekend.

(we needed to exchange something he'd given me)

This was one of the most fun, extravagant, completely unnecessary, Oh-So-Jen items I have seen in a while. Yup! It came home with me!

(with Hubby's coaxing-between the pink heel and the "Sweet and Sassy" imprint on the heel, he was sure it was meant for me)

So, now that Christmas is over and everyone is traditionally cutting out sweets....I am aching to make something equally extravagant that would be worthy of being served by my new "High Heel Cake Server"

I LOVE These Shots...

2010-01-02T09:44:00.007-05:00

Michael, my personal Musician...not much for having his picture taken though.

(Dad..really? Come on...)

Jonathan, I always called him my "Gentle Giant",

not so much when he plays a game...any game.

Maria...that smile lights up my whole world!

Jianna, so full of life, color and character!

Sweet Sisters

Happy New Year's Eve!

2009-12-31T08:55:00.002-05:00

In many ways, 2009 was a difficult year...yet it was also such a rewarding year.

Isn't that so very much the nature of God though?

He told us in scripture...

"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]"

John 16:33

That pretty much sums up our experience for 2009.

There was tearing, stretching, confusion, heartache, brokenness, challenge, change, illness, frustration and a whole lot of uncertainty in some areas.

Yet, in the very same moments there was Perfect Peace, Tremendous Joy, quiet Confidence, Healing, Prosperity that defied the world's economics, Divine direction, Harvest, Unshakable Faith, a Knitting of Hearts, Fresh Understanding, Great Expectation and eventually HOPE.

2009 was a hard year...but I am leaving it truly Thankful for all that it has taught my Family and I.

It was a Very Good Year!

Blessings to each of you as you complete 2009 and praying much Joy and Hope for all that He has for you in 2010!

Love,

Jen

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

2009-12-24T15:00:00.009-05:00

Merry Christmas From the Piers Family!!!

May it be a Truly Wonderful One for each of You!

The stockings are Hung...

The cookies are made...

Gingerbread House decorated,

Gifts wrapped

Christmas Morning Bread Risen and Baked...

We're Ready!!!!

Lesson From A 7 Year Old:

2009-12-18T15:48:00.004-05:00

Jianna, (in the kitchen, on her way to see me):

"Mom...Never hold the icing up when you squirt it"

Mom: "Ummm...Ok...Why?"

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

2009-12-15T19:28:00.004-05:00

If you love peanut butter cups, you absolutely must try this recipe.

A coworker brought them in a couple of times for Friday Treat days and they are incredible.

Make sure you have a steaming hot cup of tea ready for your taste test, (or if you must, coffee), milk is wonderful too.

Mark tried a melty one not long out of the oven and went on and on about the richness....then BEGGED me to let him have another.

Pretty much the same reaction from Michael, minus the complaints and with the addition of cold milk guzzling.

The girls loved helping especially since the recipe involves the rolling of balls of dough.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well.
Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.

Simplifying Christmas

2009-12-10T16:18:00.003-05:00

It seems everyone you talk to is endeavoring to simplify Christmas this year. Some it is due to strained budgets, others time constraints...for me it's been some ongoing health challenges.

As the season approached, I knew I had to approach my preparations differently.

Ordinarily, Christmas involved decorating every possible corner of my home, baking until the freezer was overflowing with goodies, fitting in as many festive goings ons as possible and shopping until I literally wanted to drop....then there was the wrapping of all of those shopping finds.

Because I knew I was limited in what I could accomplish this year, I asked my kids and hubby to tell me their one favorite Christmas recipe...then I did the unheard of, (well, for me it was unheard of)...I accepted help from a friend to do some of that baking. Some of the things that the girls love to help with and are capable of handling, we will do together once we are off for the break.

My children's desires for Christmas were pretty attainable and instead of hours and hours of shopping, I broke the lists down into short stints that I could manage, asked for help from my hubby and accepted help from another friend or two.

My daughters absolutely LOVE wrapping gifts, so we fine tuned their skills and they have done almost all of the wrapping to date. The gifts look terrific and the girls are very proud that they are the ones to have made them look so good. (We love the paper that has the lines marked out on the inside but they are also learning to measure and eye out the right size piece of paper for each gift.)

The tree decorating party is always a big deal to me and knowing that in all likelihood this is the last year that my Johnny will be home for that tradition, I could not let it go.

Mark really stepped up to the plate here. My hubby would be fine if there were no tree and certainly rather not decorate it at all...but has come to realize how important it is to me that we do it together.

We set our date for the end of November and because I had not done any of my baking yet, we bought treats.

Mark surprised me the day before the tree was to be decorated, by taking a morning off work and setting up the tree and stringing the lights as well as putting up the outside lights.

I had no idea until he brought me home from work and it was all waiting!

It really did make the actual tree decorating so much more enjoyable...and quick too!

We were done in plenty of time to head to the mall and pick up a Blue Ray copy of the newer version of Miracle on 31st street, in order to fulfill Mark's one favorite tradition.

Every year after the tree is decorated, at hubby's promptings, we all sit down and watch this wonderful movie. Just like every other year, Mark and I were wiping moist eyes at the end of it too.

Here we are just over 2 weeks away from Christmas Day...Most of what needs to be done is done and I have learned some very valuable lessons:

Most of what I have done every year...is for me. The rest of my family is quite happy with simplicity.

Needing help is humbling...but accepting it is very rewarding.

Shopping with friends is so much more fun.

My children are feeling a real sense of satisfaction in getting to be a bigger part of the preparations.

"Keeping it simple" does not mean we don't do the things we have traditionally done, but we do the ones that are meaningful and we do them differently.

Christmas is magical and special and amazingly wonderful not because of all that we do and accomplish...but because of the people involved and the

ONE who accomplished so much when He humbled Himself and came to this earth in a helpless and vulnerable state...

Hmmmm...could that be the lesson I am to learn this Christmas?

Humility, vulnerability and even helplessness were used by the God of this universe to accomplish the greatest gift ever given, yet somehow I felt I needed to be strong, capable and independent in order to make Christmas special.

I don't have to make Christmas special...He already did.

SIMPLE!

Gifts with Subliminal Messages?

2009-11-26T19:43:00.002-05:00

Is it my imagination or is my hubby trying to tell me something?

Do you remember the book Mark surprised me with not long ago..."Rebel Women of the East Coast"?

I really tried to believe he meant that in the very best light....

On Friday, I received my back-ordered birthday gift from hubby.

A beautiful camera with an extra telescopic lens, gorgeous carrying case etc...way beyond my capabilities I might add...(ummmm... HELP!!!)

So tonight I thought I would try a few of the buttons out and see if I could figure anything out...by the way, LOVE the telescopic lens!

Low and behold, I catch the NAME of the camera..."REBEL"..HHHmmmfff!!!

What IS he trying to tell me?!??!

Happy Birthday Angel Girl

2009-11-20T19:07:00.009-05:00

My first little princess came into our world 11 years ago today...She was born in the Napanee Hospital at 4:35 PM and was heading through the Tim Hortons drive through with daddy, (and Mommy) at 7:30 that same eve. Daddy's always been very proud of that, sure he would have a coffee drinker in the making if he introduced her so young.(maybe if it had been a Starbucks coffee whose aroma first passed her wee senses...)

I am proud to say, Maria is her mommy's girl. Won't touch coffee, loves painting her nails, baking, reading, has been introduced to and fallen in love with my Kindred Spirit, Anne of Green Gables over the past week, senses a baby from across a crowded mall and will turn into an owl in order to crane her neck to see it.

Speaking of malls, my girl LOVE, LOVES, LOVES to shop...shoes and clothes are her favorites but accessories and girly girl items are loads of fun too.

Oh! and after a few years of doing her best to deny it, her innate and genetically inherited adoration of PINK is finding it's rightful place in her life...ahhh, could I be more proud?!?!?!

I figured 11 was a great age to indulge her in her love for shopping, and her cake is a shopping bag from her favorite store, with Maria's choice of colors and her beloved polka dots.

On the board it says, "Maria was Born to Shop".

So with gift cards in hand, Maria and her mommy, (and our other little shopping protege, Jianna), will be found, bargain hunting and oohing and ahhing over all of the things she loves at the mall this weekend...and if it is to be a very good day, there will be babies to coo over at every turn.

Happy Birthday to My Beautiful Angel Girl...I love you so very much and love spending time with you doing the things we both love so much...maybe we'll even have a tea or hot chocolate at Starbucks...but most certainly not a drop of coffee shall pass by either of our lips!

Behind the Walls

2009-11-10T17:25:00.005-05:00

The Secret Garden was what Mary called it when she was thinking of it. She liked the name, and she liked still more the feeling that when its beautiful old walls shut her in no one knew where she was. It seemed almost like being shut out of the world in some fairy place...

Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden

My very favorite of childhood places was "The Public Gardens " in Halifax NS. I remember rolling down the hills with friends on school trips, going for picnics under the seemingly ancient tree limbs, walking the paths and making beautiful discoveries at every bend.

Years later, on my girls' first trip to NS, we met their Grandma in the Public Gardens for our own little tea party, complete with iced tea, a red and white checked picnic blanket, miniature china tea cups and tasty cookies.

From the book I highlighted in my last post, I am making discoveries about the garden of my heart. Though in my physical world I am the very least among gardeners....I am discovering I have quite the intricate garden within my heart. There are some lovely areas that are accessible to almost anyone, filled with fragrant and beautiful flowers. The paths are paved smooth and the view can be quite breath taking.

There are some very productive areas of vegetation from whose abundant harvest I am able to give to and provide for others...even strangers.

In my garden, there is a beautiful secluded gazebo, a place for me to meet with Jesus. It is surrounded by beauty and has been white washed with His blood.

I also imagine there is quite the elaborate labyrinth within my heart...filled with twists and turns that can be really quite confusing...though I find the challenge to be loads of fun.

If you look very carefully past all that has been nurtured and displayed...all that is accessible, there, in the very back corner of my garden is a wall. It is high and strong and heavily fortified, it's gate is so well hidden, I too, have difficulty locating it at times.

If you happen to get close enough to the walled area of my garden, you will find that there are a mix of fragrances that permeate the senses.

Some are sweet and hint of beautiful treasures longing to be discovered...others might be poignant and strong, the stench of which might cause one to withdraw. They speak of weeds and rotten foliage, areas left unattended, (some for many years...others, a life time). I am not sure what all is within this hidden area or how it all got there and into such a state of disarray. Mostly, I have learned to ignore this part of the garden, to walk away from this area and to keep others at a safe enough distance so as to not detect the walls that hide the imperfections of this hidden place.

Behind this impenetrable wall is my secret garden...a place to which I have been known to retreat, where no one knows where I am and which seems to shut out the entire world.

At first, my secret garden is a refuge and a place of safety and solitude. I might even decide to get busy with some of the uprooting and untangling of long neglected and over grown plantings. It doesn't take long though, for the work to seem unmanageable...for those walls of safety to become walls of seclusion and for solitude to turn to loneliness.

In this place of self protection, I unknowingly closed the gate on my Healer as well. Oh, at times He was a welcome guest, but when he tried to uncover or uproot something that was just too painful for me to bare...I pushed Him back outside the gates and declared this part of the garden "Off Limits".

As I grow in intimacy with Him, He is gently pushing open these ancient gates and is leading me to find the treasures hidden beneath the gnarled and thorny branches. Sometimes the uprootings are still quite painful, but watching His strong and capable arms work so lovingly and skillfully, enables me to go through the painful processes and to have hope for the place of beauty He is creating.

I am not sure, I am ready for this part of my heart to become a "public garden", but I am learning with fear and trembling and most importantly the leading of Holy Spirit, to risk opening these recesses of my heart to the ones He has chosen. To those who will not be overwhelmed by the stench or the work, who will look for and find the hidden & forgotten treasures. Who will walk with me, discovering all that is within, encouraging me as we go, yet knowing when the encouragement may need to become a loving rebuke. Some with greater understanding will help me to discern what is of value and needs to be cultured...and what is destructive and needs to be uprooted.

God is teaching me that I need others and that the beauty He is creating is to be shared and that there are trusted ones who will walk and commune with me. As they admire all that is good and lovely, will be willing to stop and gently pull a stray weed that may have gone unnoticed.

My challenge to you is to allow God to walk with you through all of your garden, to help you discover your Secret Garden and to lead you to those who are to walk in the inner place with you and Jesus.

A Woman and Her Relationships

2009-11-01T09:14:00.003-05:00

I was drawn to this book when it was part of an advertisement for a "Girl's Night Out" event that was coming to Maranatha last Spring. It caught my attention initially, because of the pink cell phone, (something at the time, I was working with my husband to obtain). Then the title struck me as I was in a time of reflection, frustration and even disappointment with many of my relationships.

I ended up making the decision to go to the event at the last minute and this book was given to the first couple hundred ladies through the door. The event itself was surprising and is where I bought the book "Completely His" by Shannon Ethridge, which I have referred to in recent blogs.

Shannon's book took me on a journey of intimacy with Jesus. I became excited to pursue and be pursued by my First Love, yet, in the midst of my pursuit of Him, something else began to take place. He led me lovingly and gently, to a place of examining my other relationships and discovering some very difficult truths as to why some had not been as mutually fulfilling as I truly desired.

Through some very Divine direction, (using Maria to suggest Rosemary Flaaten's book as my next reading assignment), God drew me toward the next step of my journey. I hadn't read this book when I received it and had thought it was about intimacy with Jesus, so was quite happy to begin it and to take this new intimacy with Jesus to a greater depth.

I have to tell you, I had been seeing God sovereignly connect and draw me in the area of relationships, but could not make the connection between my pursuit of Jesus and His obvious desire to have me examine my earthly relationships.

On the very day I opened my "cell phone" book, I was scheduled to meet with a friend and have a very real and possibly uncomfortable chat.

Within the very first chapter, I internally winced, thought about retreating, and finally went "Ah Ha! That's it"...over and over again.

Rosemary confirmed what Holy Spirit was revealing to me little by little for the past few weeks...

The depth of my Relationship with Him, will be in direct proportion to my ability to be in deep relationship with others.

I can't even begin to tell you in one blog how much God is impacting me and unveiling truth to me through this book. This woman understands me and how and why I process the way that I do. As I begin to grasp, then understand one truth, she moves deeper and the dots are connecting to reveal the whole picture so clearly.

I am only half way through the book...(it really must be chewed, swallowed, digested and savored slowly to allow God to do all that He is wanting to do); yet, the way that Holy Spirit is changing, healing and releasing me from some very old chains, is really quite mind boggling.

For once, I am forced to process through the Spirit's leading first and allow my intellect to catch up later, rather than to think about, process and understand prior to receiving.

He is being that sovereign with me.

I will post more nuggets from this journey in future posts, but I have to tell you, if you have questioned or been unsatisfied with your earthly relationships as a woman...you may want to get a hold of this book, it may just change you and therefore your relationships forever.

I LOVE when God lines things up just the way I need them to be, before I even know I need them...He is so very trustworthy.

Be Blessed!

Jen

Woo Hoo!

2009-10-21T18:00:00.005-04:00

Guess Where My Hubby is taking me for my Birthday?!?!?

I can't tell you how excited I am!

I had really wanted to go down to White Horse in Indiana and

take in one of their incredibly Holy Spirit led conferences and Hubby came up with the idea of doing this one with me for my Birthday.

It started out as a long shot, the kids need care, the dog

taking care of...and I would need three days off work. I wasn't even sure if protocol would be in place for me to take time away during the school year. I had built up lots of lieu time, but still...

Everything fell into place so quickly....except my request for time off. I waited patiently as my boss tried to find out if and how I could do it.

The longer I waited, the more I believed Mark and I were to be there and was so excited at the prospect, then sooo nervous that it all hinged on me getting the time. I really began to feel yesterday, that it was a Daniel request and that the answer was being wrestled out in the Heavens..I recruited some warriors and waited...somewhat impatiently.

Today it was official...My principal came to tell me that they were more than willing to support my going away but had taken so long as they wanted a fill in so that I would not lose the momentum in my position that we had worked so diligently to gain this year.

It was actually in my best interest that they took so long, because I won't come back to near the back Log! Isn't God Amazing!!!

It Really is a New Season

2009-10-18T09:32:00.002-04:00

On the first day of Fall, I posted a simple picture with just a few words on it....meaningful, to me but I had no idea how powerfully prophetic they were.

I can't even begin to tell you all that Holy Spirit is sovereignly orchestrating in and for me since that post...but WOW!

We tend to think of long hard winters as a time of barrenness...but summers have the potential to be long, hot, dry and tiring as well. It would seem many seasons have come and gone in my life with an unwavering knowledge of God's workings in my life...I can see the fruit, but it has been for the most part unseen and unfelt.

I have so longed for the times when I could see and feel Him...to be overwhelmed by His presence and His workings in my life personally.

Through pain, I was drawn to a place of desperation and it was in that place that Holy Spirit began to woo me into a place of intimacy with my groom Jesus.

I was thrilled to just get to know my Jesus on such an incredible level....but I had no idea of all that would flow from that desire, pursuit and place of intimacy.

He has brought me much needed rest, (in Him), He is continuing to show me the Harvest of good fruit in and around me, He is releasing me from some very old chains that have bound my heart more tightly than I could have ever imagined...and He is birthing a fresh anticipation in me...Hope is rising, and I so needed my hope restored.

It would seem that suddenly He is answering all of my heart's cries tangibly in front of my very eyes...and it is all so undeniably, sovereignly Him. Not all that He is doing is "comfortable" but knowing He is the orchestrator and that it is for freedom and for my greater good, makes it sooo OK.

Oh! to know His presence surrounding, filling, healing, restoring and simply overwhelming me. There is such peace in this place of Knowing Him.

What a Faithful, Faithful God we serve.

Imagine The Possibility

2009-10-10T10:43:00.009-04:00

Bridal Love vs Bridle Love ....

Think about that for just a moment.

Very different images aren't they? Having spent a couple of years around horses as a teen, I have seen the largest, most stubborn of horses controlled by a bridle. I remember riding a very strong willed horse and being coached, "don't let him get his head"...when you control a horse's head, you control his whole body.

That is not what God wants for us, He doesn't want to simply control us through our intellectual commitment to Him. He wants our heart, to the point that we give ourselves over completely to Him...knowing the fulfillment that is mutually ours in this loving relationship. He offers us Bridal love...passionate, tender, fulfilling, compete, eternal Bridal Love.

This is one of the truths that I am finally beginning to grasp through Shannon Ethridge's book "Completely His".

It's not a new concept to me, but in all these years, I have not really been able to grasp it . I got "saved" literally, at 10. All I knew is that Hell was real and I didn't want to go there. I then learned of commitment and servitude, good Biblical truths...but a very different level of relationship from the next stage which was seeing God as my Healthy Loving Father. That, for me was ground breaking. Though I have even sat under solid wonderful teaching on Jesus the Husbandman, it never seemed to penetrate my heart. I understood it....sort of, but allowing my heart to truly KNOW it was another story. I think I am starting to...it's truly life altering.

Within this concept of Bridal Love, Shannon shares a thought that I have been meditating on all week.

Is it possible that God created sunsets, the ocean, the color pink and chocolate because He knew I would LOVE them?

It caused me to think of another situation...a friend had been traveling way out west and saw a book: Pink Princess Tea Parties, She told me, she immediately thought of me because I love all of those things and bought the book to bring home to me. It was such a sweet and very unexpected surprise, (thank you Shari), but if I let my imagination wander just a wee bit, is it possible, that God, knowing I would be thrilled with such a gift, had the store carry it and display it at just the time and place that Shari would be shopping , see it and think of me? Maybe that thought verges on vanity...but maybe, just maybe, He cares for us that much.

My little girls, (don't tell them I referred to them that way please), made gifts and cards for their daddy's birthday yesterday. They knew we had purchased gifts and even cards from them, but they knew their daddy's heart and they knew what he would love and cherish, and they created it.

Could God have been thinking of me and what I would love and cherish, when He created chocolate beans and my happy flower Pansies?

For me, these are extravagant thoughts...but the more I meditate on these ideas, the more I realize my God loves me enough that it is most certainly quite possible indeed.

WOW! WOW!! WOW!!!!

I am Thankful for so many things this Thanksgiving weekend...The Love of a God who is gently wooing me into a place of Bridal Love and all of the many gifts He has showered on me from the beginning of time.

For this amazing family He has created and is raising through me...truly a miracle!

For friendships...most definitely a gift to treasure.

I am thankful for all of the beauty he surrounds me with, from the amazng Autumn colors to blazing sunsets, to the most girly of all colors...PINK.

He IS good...AND He Really , Really Loves US!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

The Extraordinary Proposal

2009-10-05T20:57:00.002-04:00

I started a new book on my lunch hour today by Shannon Ethridge, Completely His. I actually purchased it in the spring with a number of Shannon's other books, but am just discovering it's gems now. I got so excited about this particular revelation, I just had to share it with you. I have been in church most of my life and been taught on communion and the last supper countless times, but not with the understanding that only comes from knowing the traditions of the jewish people of Jesus' day.

In Jesus time, when a marriage was being negotiated and proposed, the bride to be did have a say in whether she would marry her potential groom. Once the price had been negotiated, the groom would poor a cup of wine and offer it to the bride. This was a pivotal moment, the bride could reject the cup and the groom would return to his father's house rejected...or she would drink from the cup, signifying that she was willing to receive the groom's life and was offering hers in return.

Once she drank from the cup, the groom would return to his father's house and proceed to build a room on to the home for himself and his bride, this is where the marriage was to be consummated. Only after the room was completed and everything was in order for the bride, would he return and receive his bride to himself.

Soooooo, after Jesus had spent time in the garden wrestling with God over the "price", he shared a meal with His disciples then poured the wine and offered the cup to each disciple...it was His proposal to his bride! After the disciples had received the cup accepting the proposal, Jesus told them He was going away. The disciples were upset, but Jesus said:

"Don't be troubled, you trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you so that you will always be with me where I am"

John 14:1-3

Talk about perspective! Not only was Jesus asking us to remember all that he did for us on the cross...(the price and all that it entitles us to), He was asking us to remember His proposal and our acceptance and that He is getting everything ready to come back and receive us as His bride for all eternity.

Does that not make communion an even more intimate and personal experience?

2009-10-04T08:42:00.003-04:00

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Author: Robert Frost

Lately, I am taken back to a little school in Nova Scotia, to my grade 5 discovery of this, my most favorite of poems..."The Road Not Taken".

Even then, at such a formative age, this poem held such meaningful imagery .

I remember wishing I could paint all that it brought to my imagination.

I have been pressed, it would seem on every side, by the burden of seeing a harvest in loved ones' lives that is anything but desirable.

I have questioned myself, God and others about the stark differences between my life and theirs that have at times threatened to overwhelm me.

Today, I ponder Robert Frost's poem and it's meaning as well as imagery once again...could the answer be that simple?

I chose a different path.

Beauty From Ashes

Conquering Christmas Shopping

All Things Have Become New

Freedom for the Broken Girls...

Ladies in Waiting

Irish Stew

This Irish Stew is what I am making to celebrate St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. I found the recipe last year and it is absolutely incredible! If you are looking for a great recipe to celebrate with or...just a wonderful stew for any time at all....this is it!

Irish Beef Stew Recipe

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Crystal Lewis - Beauty For Ashes w/lyrics

Unpredictable Seasons

Spinach Soup

Missing You...

How much Growth Can 1 Year Bring?

Cookie Monster(s) Live!!!!

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Fresh Pico

Chicken Enchiladas

Preparation Instructions

Chocolate Caramel Brownies

Ingredients

Better Than Pumpkin Pie Squares

The House That Built Me

"Facing the Fear"

The Journey Home...Part 1 "A History"

Marvelous Monkey Bread

A Summer of Change, Growing Pains and Parental Pride

Strawberry Shortcake - A La Jen

This Blog post is dedicated to Sweet Amy who forced me to lay aside my laxidazial cooking style long enough to actually remember and write down the "recipe" for my newest cake creation.

I Love this Kid!

Tea Cup Gardening

A Tribute

We Need More Real Women

My Very Favorite Stars:

Left over Easter Feast

My daughter says I could open a Pizza Joint-Pizza

Really Yummy Banana Cake

The Fact that He IS Risen makes all the Difference!

He knew...

Spring

An Irish Feast

Irish Beef Stew Recipe

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Time to Make some RIBS!!!

Ramblings and Processing

More Birthday Stories

Happy 8th Birthday Jianna!

One Mother's Grace

A Proud Moment

Reasoning with a 7 year Old Party Planner

I Can be Bribed After All

Boys and Men...Not Knowing When to Quit

Supper on the Fly

Is This Not the Cutest?

I LOVE These Shots...

Happy New Year's Eve!

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Lesson From A 7 Year Old:

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Directions

Simplifying Christmas

Gifts with Subliminal Messages?

Happy Birthday Angel Girl

Behind the Walls

A Woman and Her Relationships

Woo Hoo!

It Really is a New Season

Imagine The Possibility

The Extraordinary Proposal