Daniel :: Graduate

Daniel has completed his high school education, and I was privileged to take his graduation photos last week. Congratulations, brother!

We were driving slowly down the road and had just passed this alley, when I happened to look back and notice the neat rock wall and arched doorway. I told Daniel I wanted to try some pictures there, so he kindly backed down the road for me (good thing there wasn't any traffic at that point!), and the doorway shot is one of my favorites!

Our city park is a nice place for anyone's photos...

A Jealous God

"God is jealous." Nahum 1:2

Your Lord is very jealous of your love, O believer. Did he choose you? He cannot bear that you should choose another. Did he buy you with his own blood? He cannot endure that you should think that you are your own, or that you belong to this world. He loved you with such a love that He would not stop in heaven without you; He would sooner die than you should perish, and He cannot endure that anything should stand between your heart's love and Himself. He is very jealous of your trust. He will not permit you to trust in an arm of flesh. He cannot bear that you should hew out broken cisterns, when the overflowing fountain is always free to you. When we lean upon Him, He is glad, but when we transfer our dependence to another, when we rely upon our own wisdom, or the wisdom of a friend - worst of all, when we trust in any works of our own, He is displeased and will chasten us that He may bring us to Himself.  He is also very jealous of our company. There should be no one with whom we converse so much as with Jesus. To abide in Him only, this is true love; but to commune with the world, to find sufficient solace in our carnal comforts, to prefer even the society of our fellow Christians to secret intercourse with Him, this is grievous to our jealous Lord. He would fain have us abide in Him, and enjoy constant fellowship with Himself; and many of the trials which He sends us are for the purpose of weaning our hearts from the creature, and fixing them more closely upon Himself. Let this jealousy which should keep us near to Christ be also a comfort to us, for if He loves us so much as to care thus about our love we may be sure that He will suffer nothing to harm us, and will protect us from all our enemies. Oh that we may have grace this day to keep our hearts in sacred chastity for our Beloved alone, with sacred jealousy shutting our eyes to all the fascinations of the world!

The Making of Chocolate Chip Cookies

The younger brother and I made chocolate chip cookies for our trip last weekend. They turned out to be about the best cookies we'd e.v.e.r. had! Here's our recipe...

1 cup butter softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons hot water

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts, optional

(we didn't use any this time)

:: cream butter and sugars ::

:: beat in eggs, one at a time ::

:: stir in vanilla ::

:: dissolve baking soda in hot water. add to batter along with salt ::

:: stir in flour, chocolate chips and nuts ::

:: place balls, about 1 inch in diameter on cookie sheets ::

:: bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes ::

::ENJOY::

:: be sure to try just a pinch of dough and at least 1 cookie as soon as it comes out of the oven! ::

For The Beauty Of The Earth

Last week we were able to go visit my Grandma for Mother's Day. She took us for a walk through her neighborhood to take pictures of her neighbors' lovely flowers. Some wonderful gardeners live in her area!

Words to "For the Beauty of the Earth" were written by Folliott S. Pierpoint, 1864

Day By Day

Day by day, and with each passing moment, Strength I find to meet my trials here;

Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment, I've no cause for worry or for fear.

He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure, Gives unto each day what He deems best,

Lovingly it's part of pain and pleasure, Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day the Lord Himself is near me, With a special mercy for each hour;

All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me, He whose name is Counselor and Power.

The protection of His child and treasure Is a charge that on Himself He laid;

"As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure" -this the pledge to me He made.

Help me then, in every tribulation, So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,

That I lose not faith's sweet consolation, Offered me within Thy holy word.

Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting, E'er to take as from a father's hand,

One by one, the days, the moments fleeting, Till I reach the promised land.

Growth

I've been working in our little garden and taking some pictures of the growing plants.

Little bitty baby tomatoes

Onions

This one had to be pulled a little early because it went to seed.

Spinach

Unfortunately the bugs are enjoying our spinach a little too well. We need to mix some cayenne pepper and flour to sprinkle on it and hopefully deter them.

And Herzog. :) Because she looked so cute watching me water the tomatoes!

Party Food

  We recently had a picnic birthday party for my sister. It was cold and dark outside so we spread a cheery pink tablecloth on the living room floor and surrounded it with all our potted plants. We made all kinds of treats for dinner - no forks allowed! Some recipes were tried and true, some were new ideas I found in a cookbook I was borrowing from a friend. These little roll-ups I'm sharing will become your new favorite!

Pepperoni Pinwheels

1/2 cup diced pepperoni

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 egg, separated

1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the pepperoni, cheese, oregano, and egg yolk. In another small bowl, whisk egg white until foamy; set aside. Separate crescent roll dough into four rectangles; seal perforations. Spread pepperoni mixture over each rectangle. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; pinch seams to seal. Cut each into six slices. Place on greased baking sheet; brush tops with egg white. Bake for 12 minutes. Serve warm.

Yield: 2 dozen rolls

(Warning: These are very small, so be sure you have plenty!)

And the birthday cake:

I have really become fond of using M&Ms in cake decorating! In keeping with the picnic theme I created a lady bug. :o)

Cinnamon Rolls

6 cups flour

2 packages yeast

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1/4 cup butter

2 eggs

For each rectangle:

1/3 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Glaze:

3 tablespoons butter

2 cups powdered sugar

3 - 4 tablespoons hot coffee

1/2 teaspoon maple flavor

In a large mixer bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, 1/2 cup sugar and salt; mix well. In a saucepan, melt butter, and water and milk. Add to flour mixture. Add eggs. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm place until light and doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down dough. Divide into two parts. On lightly floured surface, roll or pat one half of the dough into a rectangle 12" wide and 15"-18" long. Brush with melted butter. Combine cinnamon, sugar and nuts; sprinkle over butter. Starting with a shorter side, roll up tightly, pressing dough into roll with each turn. Pinch edges to seal. Cut roll in to 12 pieces. Place cut side down in a greased 13"x9" pan. Repeat with other half of dough. Cover; let rise in warm place until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake in preheated 375 degree over for 20 minutes until golden brown. Combine glaze ingredients; blend until smooth. Drizzle over hot rolls. Makes 2 dozen rolls.

To prepare these ahead of time, follow the recipe as written. Once the rolls are in the pans, do not let them rise, but refrigerate over night. The next morning take them out of the refrigerator and let them rise for about 15 minutes, then follow the regular baking instructions.

2012

I didn't quite make it to the end of December with my "Finding Beauty in the Ordinary" posts because we had family come to visit and I was too busy cuddling this little bundle. :)

This will be my last post of this series. I had a lot of fun doing it though, and may try again another month!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I like Jeeps

This is our neighbor's old Jeep that he recently fixed up. He let us drive it around his field one day - it was pretty fun!

Cluster of Grapes

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
                                John 15:5

Home Sweet Home

A little plaque that my friend gave me. :) I have it on my dresser in front of my books.

Raindrops

I have a really busy day today, so I'm posting the same picture for "finding beauty in the ordinary" as on Lens Love. As a matter of fact, I think I'll post my verse again as well!

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.     Zephaniah 3:17

Alley Cat

I was looking through some pictures that I took at Thanksgiving and found this photo of my Grandma's cat. Meet Alley! She is a Maine Coon. Wikipedia's article on Maine Coon cats say that they have valuable hunting skills, but Alley has never been outside! She prefers her bed indoors. ;) She is a beautiful cat; if you look at her tail in the right lighting, you can see faint stripes on it like on a raccoon.

You've Got To Try It

This was our dessert last night - a fresh homemade waffle topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce drizzled over top. It is seriously the best!

In Motion

My brother, Micah jumping in the leaves. I'll have to try again for a more clear one when it drys out. :)

Having Fun

My brother and I were slightly bored this afternoon, so we decided to build block towers! It was pretty fun... Mine is in the foreground and his in the background.