Spicy Magnolia

Link Love…and a Question

Amazingly, I’ve been able to keep up my reading spurt this year. I figure I only have two more months until I take a probable hiatus. The only downfall, if it can really be considered one, is that the novels I’ve delved into are so good they keep me up too late at night. The latest one I read is likely familiar to most of you with its raving reviews and the upcoming movie release this summer. It’s called The Help. I particularly love the history woven throughout, and who wouldn’t agree that the Civil Rights Movement is one of the top most significant historical events/changes during the 20th century? It’s a humorous, thoughtful, and insightful piece of literature.

There is a new Compassion Bloggers team headed to the Philippines next week. If you read anything on the Internet next week, read some of their posts. You can follow along with them here. You might be familiar with some of the team members:  Tsh Oxenreider at The Simple Mom or Emily Freeman at Chatting at the Sky.

I still think it would be amazing to meet our two Compassion girls who live in Bangladesh. My friend, Tracy, has family in the Philippines and visited there with her hubby and two kiddos a couple of months ago. While there, she got to meet her Compassion child! What an opportunity in which to take advantage, a real treasure!

We have no idea what lies ahead with Brennan’s or Skittles’ education in the future, and I am certainly not one that sees herself made for homeschooling, but I appreciated reading Ann Voskamp’s post this morning. No matter what is in store for our kiddos, the heart and purpose behind what we ultimately desire their education to look like and result in was articulated very well: “It means that we pursue not a cultural definition of success but of true greatness for our kids: ‘having an unquenchable passion for God that manifests itself in an unwavering love and concern for others’ (Ted Kimmel, Raising Kids for True Greatness).”

In the winter, I participated in the Bloom Book Club through {in}courage when they read One Thousand Gifts. Last Sunday, they announced the new book selection starting up on June 5th: Kelly Minter’s The Fitting Room. I’ve been looking forward to starting up again with this online community, and you might want to also. Here are all the details you need.

And now a question for y’all. One of Brennan’s favorite books in the past couple of months has been The Berenstain Bears’ New Baby. He’s intrigued not just by the baby but also the new big boy bed that Brother Bear switches to from his little bed, something Brennan himself has done in the last couple of months. It’s a book we’re using as a resource to talk about his baby sister coming soon to help with the transition. What are other things you did in your families that were helpful and fun to aid in the adjustment period?

If any of you Central Texans are looking for a place to escape for a weekend, Matt and I HIGHLY recommend Rose-Hill Manor outside of Fredericksburg! We went there last weekend for a brief ‘babymoon’ while Brennan was love-spoiled by his Mees in San Antonio. Y’all, the scenery was breathtakingly peaceful and the food was GOURMET! Our friend, Courtney, recommended the place, and we would go back there in a heartbeat.

Oh, and how could I forget!? There are a few things recently that have triggered deep Texas pride in me. First, the rodeo. Second, strawberry picking underneath the expansive clear-blue sky. I still want to blog about both of those. Third, this music video/commercial that came out for the Superbowl sponsored by the best grocery store around, H.E.B. It won’t be new to many of you Texans, but if you want to know why I love Texas--why all Texans love Texas--this will give you a glimpse. And you’ll understand why I wanted to breed a family of Texans <grin>. That was just to get under Matt’s skin, but oh, there’s so much to love about Texas, that’s why Texas is home to me!

Simply trusting,

Tasty Treats

This past Saturday, I had the privilege of helping host a bridal shower for my good friend, Liz. She’s someone I deeply admire as I’ve witnessed her walking faithfully with Jesus through joys and heartache, waiting upon Him for His best in her life. Jesus continually is her first Love, and so it’s been with an overflow of excitement to see Him give this gift of a husband to her, in His perfect timing.

We ladies had a lot of fun at the shower. The table of gals I sat with laughed a lot. There’s nothin’ like girl time, huh? I got to know some special people better and see faces I’ve sorely missed. It was a delight!

There were a few of the girls who asked for the breakfast casserole recipes I made, so I thought I’d share with the rest of y’all, too. One was a tried-and-true recipe I’ve written about before: Spinach and Mushroom Brunch Bake. It has a great mix of flavors, and I particularly enjoy the combo of sundried tomatoes and spinach.

For the second casserole, I braved an entirely new recipe, yet it came from a cookbook of my grandmother’s that has become a mainstay: San Francisco A La Carte, The Junior League of San Francisco. It’s called Cheese Pudding, and oh, it’s nothin’ short of cheesy! I left it as a vegetarian option for the brunch, but for the casserole I made for MOPS on Monday, I added bacon. Another option if you’d like a heartier casserole is ham. Again, it’s rich and cheesy and a delectable treat. Because of that, I can guarantee my brother, Mac, and his wifey, Julie, would love it <grin>.The other thing about it that I love is that it is super, super easy!

Cheese Pudding

• 16 slices day-old white bread
• 1 pound Cheddar cheese, grated
• 6 eggs
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (I liked to double this)
• 1/4 pound butter, melted

Butter a 2-quart casserole or soufflé dish. Remove crusts from bread and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Divide cheese and bread each into 3 portions. Layer the casserole with 1/3 of the bread, then 1/3 of the cheese, then repeat twice. Beat eggs with milk, and add all the seasonings. Slowly pour this mixture over the bread and cheese, and then pour melted butter over the top. Cover the casserole dish and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the fridge 45 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place in a pan of water and bake, uncovered, for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Pudding should puff like a soufflé and brown on top.

When I took the casserole out of the oven, it was like a beautiful soufflé, nice and puffy. Then it went caput. Should I have left it in the oven for 10 minutes with the door cracked after baking to prevent the falling, or how do you keep a soufflé from falling? That I do not know. And really, the girls could have cared less or even noticed. It was just yummy in the tummy!

Hope y’all have a great night! The skies are teasing us tonight in Austin with yellowish clouds, thunder and lightning. But we’re waiting desperately for the rain to fall. Brennan and I keep sayin’, “Bring it, Lord!”

Simply trusting,

 

Five Minute Friday: Motherhood Should Come With…

Mother’s Day for me this year has been about the bed and sleep. Our brunch plans: canceled. Church: skipped. The precious boy who made me a mommy: in the arms of his Daddy running around, laughing half of the time and whining the other half. Matt’s gift to me this weekend has been quiet time to myself to rest, read, blog…whatever suits my fancy. The majority of the time has been spent sleeping blissfully, the kind of sleep I didn’t have the past few days being up through the night with a sick boy.

Let me take one moment to remind all you mothers out there to keep an extra bag of clothes for you and your kid(dos) in the trunk of your car at all times. One day, when you least expect it, it will pay off. Fortunately, I had a bag of dirty clothes in our car from spending a few days in San Antonio with my Momma last week because Brennan surprised me with an overwhelming amount of vomit…twice…projected onto both me and him while at the doctor’s office on Friday. Those extra clothes came in mighty handy that afternoon.

It’s Sunday, not Friday. But I’ve been mulling over in my mind The Gypsy Mama’s “Five Minute Friday” topic with the hope of catching five minutes to simply “throw caution (editing, revising, and worrying) to the winds and just write,” as Lisa-Jo put it. So here it goes.

Motherhood should come with…

GO:

“Go-go gadget” arms. And it might be bizarre looking, but it would be helpful to have the option to have an additional hands that can pop out whenever needed. Extra measures of patience. Bottles of energy that you can extract from your own child that you can drink for yourself when you need the extra boost. The ability to extend time when you need to get something done. The ability to move at the speed of light to get things done, or even better, the power to get something done at the blink of an eye like in I Dream of Jeannie. The ability to freeze time in those savory moments you don’t want to pass but let linger for as long as possible.

It would be nice to have a manual. I’m sure every momma would say that. A manual explicitly for your child. A manual that provides the best, Truthful ways of how to explain all sorts of things in life from the birds and the bees to character to financial matters. With a good amount of humor to go along with it.It would be nice to be able to stay up as late as you needed, or get up in the middle of the night, without the repercussions of being tired.

Definitely needed would be an extra measure of discernment and insight into your child’s heart: what makes him tick, the ways he feels most loved, the ways he’d respond best to your shepherding and discipline. 

There’s part of me that would like a shield around my heart so I wouldn’t have to potently feel like it’s walking around outside my body, so vulnerable, so open to the potential hurt and pain that can come with having a child. But the shield would only keep me from feeling, from feeling deep and wide all that is meant to be felt as a mother.

And well, doesn’t it somehow give me more insight into how the Father feels about His very own children?

STOP

Check out what else motherhood should come with over at The Gypsy Mama. There’s some great insight!

Whether a momma or not, those of you women reading are precious and loved and have particular gifts to offer those around you. You are a valuable blessing, and I am glad you’re here reading. May this day be a delightful day for each of you, particularly you ladies out there with whom I have the delight in sharing the gift of womanhood.

Simply trusting,

The Lord's Prayer: A Child's Version

 

 

Hello Daddy!

We want to know you.

And be close to you.

Please show us how.

Make everything in the world right again.

And in our hearts, too.

Do what is best—just like you do in heaven,

And please do it down here, too.

Please give us everything we need today.

Forgive us for doing wrong, for hurting you.

Forgive us just as we forgive other people

when they hurt us.

Rescue us! We need you.

We don’t want to keep running away

and hiding from you.

Keep us safe from our enemies.

You’re strong, God.

You can do whatever you want.

You are in charge.

Now and forever and for always!

We think you’re great!

Amen!

Yes we do!

 

This is a paraphrase of The Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6 found in The Jesus Storybook Bible written by Sally Lloyd-Jones. This is my favorite children’s Bible to read along with Brennan. I was struck by the paraphrase when we read it together last week: its simplicity, the fondness found between the child and his Daddy, the dependence of the child upon the Father, the humility. I gained a fresh perspective of this prayer I’ve been praying for years from reading it through the eyes of a child.