Beautiful Grace: Time Flies

Friday, August 1, 2008

Time Flies

As this weekend faces me I begin to think about my son. It seems that only yesterday I brought him home from the hospital. In a few days he will be 9 years old. I watched this morning as he reached into a top cabinet to get a glass down. These are small things and seem unimportant to some, but they are milestones to him. They tell him he is growing up and becoming a man. These moments are ours for only a little while, and then they are gone. Time flies so quickly.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says this about time, "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-- A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.

Time is a precious thing to God. He created a specific time for everything to take place. It is a comforting thing to know that the Creator of everything has time in His hands to mold and do with as He chooses. We rush around and try to control time. We have our daily planners, pda's, date books etc.... We schedule everything by our own convenience. I am so blessed to be reminded that I can plan until I am purple with polka dots, but the Lord is the one in control. It is God's time schedule not our own that we should go by.

Look at what Ecclesiastes 3:11a says, " He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart.." We need to see God's time frame for things in our daily lives.

Did you know that the word time appears 625 times in the word of God. God is concerned with time just as we are. Make every second of every day count for the glory of God. Treasure the short time we have to be about all the God has laid out for us to do.

May you be blessed by God's treasure of time today and always.

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Baby Updates

Here is a new update as of 11-20-08
Just realized I hadn't updated this in a while. Well our due date came and went. Still no little angel yet. We are all trying very hard to be patient. This is of course very very hard. Everything looks great. The home birth supplies are all ready to go, and the midwife has her bag packed. She seemed really excited on Monday when we went for our vist. She thought it might be this weekend. Oh how I hope so. This experience has been amazing! The midwife has been special from the very beginning. She explained everything to us. I mean everything. She wanted to be sure we were comfortable and confident. She gave us diet, exercises to do, and herbal suppliment advice to make our labor beautiful and much easier. I can't wait to be able to sleep in my own bed after Nehemiah is born. There will be no whisking him away from his mommy or daddy as soon as he is born. I will be able to nurse him right away. No bright glaring lights, strange noises, nurses poking and proding away at horrible hours of night... etc... Just peace. I don't think God could answer our prayers any better. I of course will write about the birth experience once it happens. I thank everyone for their prayers and love
God Bless
Jamie

Good Food

To find past recipes please go to my food site : http://foodfromtheheart77.blogspot.com/

Quick and Comforting Home Made Chicken and Noodles

This is a super and quick no hassel way to make some warm comfort food for your family this fall and winter.

You will need:
3 or 4 chicken breasts - I use the frozen ones from Aldis. You can change the number needed based on your family size or how much soup you would like to make.
3 or 4 cans of Chicken Broth
1 or 2 Carrots peeled and sliced
3 to 4 stalks of Celery sliced
1 Med Onion chopped medium
Real Butter: Don't skimp and try to use the fake stuff, it will taste awful
Heavy Cream: If you can get the good stuff from the Dairy please do so. It tastes so much better. If not don't fear the stuff from the store will do a fine job as well.
1 Tsp Celery Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper and Salt to taste
1 Tbs Cumin
1 Tsp Thyme
1 Tsp Rosemarry
1 Tsp Ground Sage
1 splash White Cooking Wine : you can get this at Wal-Mart. The wine part cooks out leaving you with a really nice background flavor. You can also leave this out if you are using a non stick pot. I use stainless steal and this is used to deglaze the pot. Chicken broth will do the same thing. I prefer the stock.

Begin by chopping all of your vegies and getting a little Olive Oil hot in the bottom of your soup pot. Once the oil is hot place all the vegies in. You will want to sweat the vegies until the onions are a nice brown color. At this point I add my seasonings. While the vegies are browning nicely I cook the chicken in the microwave. (that's right the microwave!!) Once cooked I cube the chicken and add it to the pot to get some of that yummy brown carmelization on it. At this point if you are using stainless steal to cook in you can add the splash of cooking wine or even some of your broth to deglaze the pan. This is simply getting all the yummy bits of color off the bottom of the pan. Now you can add your broth and a little water if you need it to make enough broth. I put the lid on and let that simmer for about 30 minutes. While the soup is getting happy on the stove I begin the home made noodles. You can used packaged ones if you are in a pinch for time, but please try the home made ones. They are super easy and so very worth the little ammount of work.
Home Made Noodles
This is not a science!!! don't panic
I take about 3 cups of white all purpose flour and put it in a bowl
3 egg yolks
ice water to moisten and bind
stir all of this up with a fork until you get a chunky dough that will stay together if you squeeze it. If you get it too wet just add more flour,and if you get it too dry just add a little more water. (super easy) Next flour your surface and kneed the dough a few times to bind it and smooth it out a bit. Now, roll the dough out to the thickness you like. I flour the surface of the noodles to keep everything from sticking and to thicken the broth of the soup.

Cut the noodles and plop them in the boiling broth. They take no time to cook. Mabey a minute or two if they are thin enough.
Now that the noodles are cooked and your whole house smells incredible you can add the butter and cream. This really puts a special touch to the soup and can't be beat. I use about 3 tbs of butter. Let this melt in and then pour in enough cream to give the brotha pretty creamy look. Not too much a little goes a long way.
Beleive it or not I can have this on the table in aprox 30 to 45 minutes. It looks and tastes like it has been simmering all day. ( No one needs to know how long it took) It you finish the noodles off like my family does you can take the leftover soup and add a little more chicken broth and make some easy baking mix dumplings and extend the soup another day or so.

The Home is Warmth and Beauty : Household Tips

Soothing Smells
The home is a place of refuge from the outside world. Nothing is more claming and soothing than a pleasnt cool or warm fragrance in your home. Choose a cool sent for the summer and spring months. A pretty floral is always nice. Look for light sents, nothing too heavy. Try using sented oils or a strong candle instead of room sprays. These fizzle out far too quickly, and the candles and oils last much much longer. For fall and winter I like to choose a warm fragrance. Cinnamon or some type of fragrance that reminds me of baking is always nice. Again go for the oil or the candle. Try this the next time you want a soothing refuge in your home .

Streak Free Glass and Mirrors
How many times have you used expensive glass cleaners only to have ugly streaks every where. Well I have the remedy. Take alcohol and tap water and mix in a spray bottle. I use about a 2 to 1 mix of the alcohol to water. This works good for me, but I don't believe that it is an exact science. You will be amazed at how great all the glass and mirrors in your home will look. Not to mention how much cheaper rubbing alcohol and water is compared to Windex and the like.
This comes from my favorite sister in law.

Today's Crafty Idea

Home Made Bath Salts
So easy you'll wonder why you haven't tried it before

You will need:
Sea Salt
Epsom Salt
Bath Product Coloring
Bath Fragrance Oil

Mix 1/2 cup of both salts into a container with a lid. Shake the container to mix the two well. Now if you have chosen to add a little color to your salts than add the desired ammount to the salts. Shake like crazy until all the salt is colored. Now you can add your fragrance. Add as much or as little as you like. This is not science. Once it is all combined you can add it to a pretty container with a lid.
Now go run a bath and jump in and relax!!!!

Good Books We Have Read

Across Five Aprils: About a 9 year old little boy during the time of the Civil War. Excellent Book!!!
Eragon: This is a fantasy book. We had to do a good bit of damage controll on this one. We read it for literature class. Amazingly written with exceptional literary skill. It was written by a young man who was homeschooled. He began the book at 15 (when he graduated high school) and finished it by age 16. It is about a young man who finds a dragon egg and becomes a dragon rider to save the world from the evil Galbatorix. There is magic, witchcraft, etc... so be very careful if you choose to read this to your children. We were able to pull many positives from the book and explain the bad things quite clearly.
Number The Stars: A great book about a young girl in Denmark during WW2. A great intro into the history of this war. Worth the read and it has some interesting facts about the book and the war at the end .
Pilgrims Progress: There is also a verson for younger children that is easier to understand. We read both. This is an incredible book. It is the second best selling book next to the Word of God. Truly a must read.
Sounder: This book is set in a time when racisim abounded in the south. It is about a young African American boy and his family as they struggle to make it after his father is arrested for stealing food. It shows the young boys struggles with anger and many other life issues as he awaits the return of his father. A wonderful book. Boys will love it!
Talks To Boys by Eleanor A. Hunter: This is a book of classic teaching on virtues and values for sons. We highly recomend it.
Tom Sawyer: This is a good classic and when discussed helps children see the things not to do in their young lives. My son likes to use Tom as an example of things that are foolish and what not to do.

Movies To Watch With Your Children (May Contain Language and life situations)

Amazing Grace: This movie is rated PG, but has thematic material in regards to slavery and mild bad language. The only other down fall we found was the low cut dresses of the time. It is a true story of William Willberforce and his quest to end slavery and the British slave trade. John Newton, a reformed slave ship captian and the man who penned the beloved hymn " Amazing Grace" urges him to see the cause through. It is an inspiring story of how a man's convictions and faith in God can change the world.
Mr. Bean's Holiday: This is a good funny movie. If you like physical comedy than Mr. Bean will have you rolling. We only found 1 bad word in the entire movie. (da**) It is said in Russian , but there are subtitles. Other than that we laughed until we cried.
Radio: This is a true story about a mentally handicaped young man in the seventies. Who finds a friend and mentor in the local highschool football coach. This movie contains some mild bad language, but has a good life lesson. It will make you laugh & cry .
Remember The Titans: This movie is a true story about a football team in 1971 in Alabama. Racial tensions are still very high and when a white coach is replaced by an African American one the team is intergrated and tensions fly high. The two coaches overcome their differences and lead their team to become champions. It is full of heart and spirit. It is rated PG, but has some language and tough racial situations.

Beautiful Grace

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Friday, August 1, 2008

Time Flies

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The Home is Warmth and Beauty : Household Tips

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Movies To Watch With Your Children (May Contain Language and life situations)

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