Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

A better way...

I've felt a bit down the past few days. Nothing big. I'm sure most of it has to do with pregnancy hormones raging through my body. This sweet love inside me is certainly worth it! But, I am in charge of my attitude and to take every thought captive to Christ. I am responsible for repenting and seeking Him and savoring who He is. As I go about my day today, I choose a better way. I choose His way, to be enveloped in His love, forsaking things of this world. This is not easy for me. Too often, I bow to creation or to seek fulfilment from worldy things. This is idolotry and is sinful. With the Lord by my side giving me grace for the moment, today I choose the Way. I will sing Christmas songs with joy and do housework unto the Lord. This is the Way!

~This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.~

Psalm 118:24

Family Pictures

One of my best friends from high school, Suzanne, captured some sweet family moments for us. Here are a few of my favorites. I'll add more soon! (Blogger is acting funny tonight.)

He Makes Me Laugh

I love this little goofball to pieces!

Two good, easy recipes

Last night I found Delighting in the Days through Frugal Granola, which is one of my favorite blogs. I quicky skimmed through two of her recipes and landed on this and this to try out quickly. Both are so yummy and healthy. I'm a pretty big fan of coconut milk/oil as it has many healthy fats and antimicrobial properties. It's especially good if you battle any sort of chronic illness. I'm trying to get more of it into my daily diet.

I would slightly modify both recipes next time:
* Add a bit of salt and vanilla extract to the Dutch puff. The texture reminds me of French toast. We enjoyed ours with real maple syrup. You just can't beat it! (Sorry Aunt Jemima!)
* Cut back to 1-2 Tbsp. cocoa powder for the drink. It's yummy as is, but if you make it, I would add the cocoa incrementally and see what you like.

Both recipes are incredibly easy and filling. Enjoy!

Doing well

My finger is healing nicely. It's still swollen and hurts a bit, but that's to be expected. I left it unwrapped last night and continue treating it with ointment. The stitches should come out Monday!

For coffee lovers...

This article on quitting coffee came in my Reader today. I rarely drink it now and can testify to much of the data, especially #12. I've always had shaky hands, but as soon as I cut coffee out of my diet, I noticed a huge improvement. My mom even commented on it. Last week I had a few cups of coffee and the shakiness was much worse. I know it affects me negatively. As much as I enjoy a good cup of coffee, I think there are plenty reasons to avoid it as much as I can. If you love coffee or are addicted to caffeine, read through the article and see what you think. Maybe a few small changes will help you feel better, too!

Battle Scars

I can't type well, so this will be quick. While opening a bottle of wine for beef bourguignon, I got a little rough with the bottle. I was using a broken corkscrew, which was a very, very bad idea. What's sort of comical is that this was my first time opening a bottle of wine, and I had no clue that it was broken. I jammed into the cork so far that the metal end of the corkscrew actually broke through the neck of the bottle. The bottle split into two large pieces, slicing deeply into my right index finger. It was bad, and I knew it needed wrapped ASAP. I trailed blood all through the kitchen and managed to grab a towel to wrap around it. I called 911 and then Matt. The paramedics bandaged it tightly enough to stop the bleeding so we could make it to the ER. It was not a fun way to spend the afternoon, but I'm thankful it isn't worse than it is. Seven stitches later, I'm home and feeling okay. I plan on steering clear of wine bottles for a long time! Not the best way to earn a battle scar! (I'll update later on the ER visit and how I'm doing.)

A good story

As I prepare my heart for the coming Messiah this Advent season, I love reading stories that make me say, "Thank you, baby Jesus" for your life. He gave it all that we may live. Do we even realize the cost of His life? I mean, will we truly ever get it? What He really gave up for us? I want to cherish Him more than anything in the whole wide world. I want to cherish Him every day of the year, not only at Christmastime. He came for me. He came for you. And, He gave His life for the sins of the world.