Growth

God wants all of his children to grow...to change...to become more like His Son. I have felt stagnant for a while. Like I was just floating along. Happy not to have any "major" trials. Content to be where I was, though that contentedness was not a good kind.
However, after starting the Respectable Sins study I began to really feel the Holy Spirit poking me in my conscience. Saying "No, no...we have not arrived...we need to keep moving forward."
I can say that in these last couple of weeks, God is moving me forward. I have been so convicted of the "little" sins in my life...unthankfulness, impatience, irritability...and the list goes on and on. But the good news is that our God is faithful...after pointing these things out, he has helped me to address them and I feel that I am again moving forward. I have had a blessed time these last couple of weeks with my boys. Less anger, more patience, more love.
I know that I will never "arrive" this side of heaven, but I pray that God will keep pushing me forward.

Homemade Applesauce

The smell of apples roasting in the oven has to be one of my favorites. I'm not even a huge fan of cooked apples, though I will eat them. It's like coffee...smells much better than it tastes to me (no offense you coffee lovers out there). However, the boys love applesauce in any form and Landon's preschool curriculum was covering all things autumn and today was to be spent on apples. So, we decided to make some homemade applesauce. I found a recipe, well really a method, for roasted applesauce online and it sounded like a good idea to me...for taste and nutrition (no boiling or nuking those nutrients away). It was so easy and is so good with a little caramelly note to it from the roasting and some brown sugar. I'm a homemade applesauce convert, although I'll still have to buy that blueberry kind.

Landon had a blast. I let him dump the ingredients and then mash the apples up. I had to steal his spoon away or he would have eaten half the bowl.


The finished product. Delicious. Would even be good warm with ice cream. The proportions listed below really don't make a lot, so you may want to double or even triple the amounts. I tweaked the spices and stuff enough to make it my own...feel free to play. Enjoy!

Roasted Applesauce
4 large apples (peeled, cored, and chopped)
1/4 cup apple juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tea vanilla
3/4 tea cinnamon
1/8 tea nutmeg (fresh ground if you've got it)



Preheat oven to 400.
Toss everything together and place in a 9 x 13 inch pan (for this single recipe...you could use two or a large rimmed baking sheet for larger batches).
Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 50 minutes or until apples are very soft and starting to brown. (It will vary depending on the type of apples you use. I left them in 50 minutes for a mix of honeycrisp and golden delicious).
Mash apples.

Two Boys and Their Dog

Oh the adventure we are sure to have with these boys and our dog, Shiloh.

Two Little Pumpkins

After reading The Pioneer Woman's entry on roasting your own pumpkins, I was intrigued. She made it look easy and it sounded like a good activity for a crisp fall day. Today was the day. I had the pumpkins, so I went to work.
After realizing that I would need my biggest knife and a mallet, I headed outside to take my pumpkins apart. The boys were asleep and banging with mallet inside just didn't sound like a good idea!
I cut off the top and quartered my "pie" pumpkins and cleaned out the goo. That's the fun part...there's just something satisfying about playing in pumpkin guts! I saved all the seeds to roast later (a nice benefit to roasting your own pumpkin).
After baking them at 350 for 50 minutes, I let them cool for a while, peeled off the skin, and gave them a whir in the food processor a few chunks at a time. Some I will set aside for pumpkin waffles for this weekend and pumpkin granola. The rest I plan on freezing in one-cup portions for later cravings.
Was it worth it? Well, I've not actually eaten any yet, so I'll have to wait and see. Otherwise, it wasn't difficult, but it did take a little time and a little bit of a bicep workout. Altogether, it was a fun afternoon project. I'm sure I'll enjoy the pumpkin waffles even more!
If you'd like see the original post and the nuances to making your own pumpkin puree, as well as how to roast those seeds, visit
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/10/make-your-own-pumpkin-puree/

As I was driving home from work yesterday, I heard the new Casting Crowns song, Slow Fade. I am always so convicted of the little sins that I let slip by each day when I hear that song. Especially the line about the little feet following behind. This song especially speaks to my heart as I'm being doubly convicted by the Respectable Sins (Jerry Bridges) bible study at church.
God is really bringing to light the "little" (in my eyes, not God's) sins that plague my daily life...anger, impatience, discontent, laziness...just to name a few. I know the little feet that follow me every day are watching and learning. Please pray the I will teach them how to glorify God in that walk. That I will not just have moral children, but children that personally know our God.

boys in pajamas

I absolutely love to see little boys in pajamas. Especially when they are all mine! I couldn't get the picture to cooperate and turn for me :(

lollipops...

Okay...since the big trip to "Ty's building" for the haircut, a certain little 3 year old boy has been obsessed with the lollipops. When asked what he wanted for lunch...answer: lollipop. When told to do a task..."then can I have a lollipop?"

But what takes the cake is the following quote, which has been said off and on for the last two days.

Landon (in a very concerned voice)"

"Mama, Ty's hair is looking kind of big. I think we need to go get it cut."

Here is one of those moments that make you say aaah. Ty crawled up into Landon's "lap". Landon was so happy to love on his brother.