Cream Puff Squares

Crust:
3/4 cup water 
6 tablespoons butter or margarine 
3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
3 eggs

Filling and Topping:
2 cups cold milk 
2 (3.4 ounce) packages vanilla instant pudding 
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 oz milk chocolate chips

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

For crust, heat water and butter in saucepan over medium high heat until butter is melted and mixture comes to a boil. Stir in flour all at once using bamboo spoon. Reduce heat to low and stir mixture vigorously about 1 minute or until mixture leaves sides of pan and forms a ball. Remove pan from heat; let stand 5 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until mixture is smooth. Spread mixture over bottom of rectangular baker using large spreader. Bake 20 minutes. Surface will puff unevenly. Prick 10 to 12 times with hold n slice to release steam. Continue baking 5 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool completely.

For filling, pour milk into bowl. Add pudding mixes; whisk two minutes until thickened. Fold in two cups of the whipped topping. Spread mixture evenly over cooled crust. Refrigerate one hour.

For topping, place chocolate in a small bowl and microwave until melted.  I would heat it in 15 second increments, mixing every 15 secs. Pour chocolate into small resealable plastic bag. Close bag. Cut dessert into 15 squares. Cut off very tip of one corner of the plastic bag with kitchen shears. Garnish with a drizzle of chocolate. Refrigerate until ready to serve or serve right away. 

This is adapted from a Pampered Chef recipe!

Oh so yummy....Carmelitas!

Carmelitas

32 caramel squares, unwrapped

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. (If you want to make your own caramel sauce, you will need 1-1/4 cups of sauce to take the place of the caramel/cream mixture) Stir until completely smooth; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 8x8" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.

I would recommend making these the night before you need them.  It takes awhile for the caramel to set and cool down!  You will want to serve these at room temperature!  This recipe is great for doubling to a 9x13 pan.  But BEWARE...they are so good, unless you have somewhere to go, I don't recommend having that much of a temptation in your home!

Location Amnesia by Paul Tripp

Location Amnesia

We live in a broken-down world. Every square inch has been dirtied and damaged by sin. Not one part of it shines with anything like the pure glory that was so evident when it was first made. Sin has left this world in a sorry condition. You see it everywhere you look.

At every point and every moment, your life is messier and more complicated than it really ought to be because everything is so much more difficult in such a terribly broken world.

Yet I think many of us live in a permanent state of location amnesia. We have forgotten where we live. We lose sight of the fact that this is a broken-down world, and it sets us up for all kinds of trouble.

We grow angry that things don’t function as they were designed to. We get overwhelmed with feeling sad or lost in the face of the world’s condition. We get tired of the effort and just want to quit.

But remember, God is the ultimate Restorer. One day the world will be completely renewed. In the meantime, he calls you and me to live with hearts of patience and eyes of promise.

He calls us away from self-focused survival and to the hard work of restoration. He calls us away from paralyzing discouragement and the nagging desire to quit. He welcomes us to live in the patience and grace that only he can give.

I’ve added some reflection questions this morning. You could use them personally or with a small group. These reflections questions are a new feature and will now be included each week. I pray that they will be a blessing to you.

• Where does brokenness touch your everyday life?
• How do you respond when that brokenness hits?
• In what ways have you turned into a location amnesiac?
• How can you respond differently to the brokenness in light of the grace and patience God has given?

God bless

Paul David Tripp

"Connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life"

The Public School Parents' Guide to Homeschool Parents

We all know that there are a lot of misconceptions about homeschoolers, and, while most of those tend to be centered around the kids, there are a lot of misconceptions about homeschool moms (and dads), as well.  I’m often surprised to hear some of the things that people who don’t homeschool think about homeschooling parents.  I guess I shouldn’t be.  I used to be a public school mom (for two years) and I imagine that I thought some of these things, too, though it’s been so long that I really can’t recall for sure.

Anyway, I’d like to make some homeschool mom confessions (at least, as relates tothis homeschool mom).  Oh, and the title just sounded fun.  No negative implications intended there at all.  Some of my best friends and favorite relatives are public school parents.

You can read the rest here.

Gideon Turns 9!

Gideon is a joy.

There is just something so very special about him.

Maybe it has to do with everything he has been through.  He has such perseverance to accomplish whatever it is he sets his mind to.

I just could not imagine my life without him.

When I think back to a few years ago, when we thought we may lose him, my heart is overwhelmed with gratefulness that God saw fit to allow him to remain with us.  What an incredible gift Gideon is to our family!

Birthday Questions:

How old are you? 8, I mean 9!

Who is your best friend? Jonathan and Henry...to which Nolan replied: I'm not your best friend?  And Gideon responded: You are, you are my best friend....everyone is my best friend!

What is your favorite color?  Light Green

What is your favorite food? Pizza

What do you like to do with your family?  I like to go to church with them

What is your favorite toy?  An angry bird that comes with a slingshot

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A golfer

What makes you happy?  Going mini-golfing

What makes you sad? When Millie cries....I just want her to be happy.

What is your favorite show to watch?  Tom and Jerry Tales

What is your favorite book?  Joke books...wait!  I-Spy books!

What do you love to learn about? Jesus

What was the best part of your birthday?  My pinata

Where do you like to go? I like to go to the fair

What is your favorite treat? Reeces Peanut Butter Cups

What do you think about before you fall asleep?  (laughing) I don't know, that's a silly question!

If  you could meet someone famous, who would it be?  Mr Bean

What was your favorite birthday present?  My Reeces PB cup....and my Perry shirt is in second place!



Here are some pictures of his cake, pinata, party and birthday breakfast at Dunkin Donuts!!

"I got angry at my daughter the other day".....

I read this article by Rick Thomas a few months ago, and stumbled on it again today.  Here are a couple quotes....


"In that moment I disqualified myself from helping her. Her sin was swept away by my sin. She was no longer thinking about her sin. She was thinking about and focused on my sin. She was forced to think about me and my displeasure in her."

"God’s grace is sufficient for any situation regardless of what it is. People’s sins are not greater than God’s grace. Therefore, the big question to work through, if you regularly sin in response to sin, is why is God’s grace not sufficient?

When I respond to sin by sinning, I am getting caught up in the sin that is going on rather than the grace that can be appropriated through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. When my daughter’s sin trumps the work of God in my life, then the Gospel is anemic in that moment."

As a mom to many little ones...it is very easy to get caught up in the way I want things done, rather than trying to show my children the grace they need.  This article is a great reminder that our children need grace from us, especially in their disobedience!

I got angry at my daughter the other day

My Gideon look-a-like

Every now and then, there is a glimpse of one of the other kids in Millie.  When I compared her 3 month pictures to pictures of the other kids, I discovered that Millie looks most like Haddon, Gideon with a little bit of Paysie.  Such a sweet baby girl!

The Best Cole Slaw You'll Ever Make!!

I've never liked cole slaw.  I was always able to tolerate it, but it was never on my list of things I love.

Then I got pregnant with Millie.

I began to crave cole slaw.  I ended up sending John to the store several times over the period of a week for ingredients, because I kept running out of them!

Here is the recipe for a sweet cole slaw that is not overpowered by the mayo or the vinegar, and is quiet perfect!  In my experience, do NOT use olive oil based mayo.  I recently did that, and was not thrilled with the outcome!


 Sweet Cole Slaw


1 head of cabbage, shredded (if you find that your cabbage is really large, I would double the rest of the ingredients!)
2 carrots, peeled and shredded

• 2/3 cup creamy salad dressing (such as Miracle Whip™)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup white sugar (you can use up to 1/2 a cup, if you feel it needs it.  I've also used half sugar and half splenda and haven't noticed a difference. I've never made it 100% splenda, but I would think it would work fine with that too.)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds

First, shred the cabbage.  I like my cole slaw to be a bit chunky, so you can shred it how you like it!  Peel and shred the carrot....I use a cheese grater.

Whisk together the salad dressing, vegetable oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, and poppy seeds in a medium bowl; blend thoroughly.  Before pouring it on the cabbage, I recommend tasting it to make sure.  I find that depending on the type of salad dressing or mayo you use, it can change the taste of the mixture...you may need to add a little more vinegar or sugar, depending on your taste!

Pour dressing mixture over coleslaw mix and toss to coat. Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Oriental Crunchy Salad

A few  years ago, we had some friends over for dinner and this it what they brought!  I immediately asked for the recipe and just recently found it again!  The title of the salad says crunchy....but I think I like it better once it has sat in the fridge overnight, so the hard noodles have a chance to soak in all of the flavor!

Enjoy!!

Oriental Crunchy Salad

2 packages broccoli slaw

2 packages beef ramen noodles

1/2 cup green onions

1 cup toasted almonds

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup salad oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup sunflower seeds

Mix slaw, green onions, toasted almonds, and sunflower seeds. Break ramen noodles on top.  Mix seasoning packets from the ramen noodles, sugar, oil, balsamic vinegar together.  Pour over the top of the salad!

Like I said, best if made the night before!

Dead Squirrel

The kids saw a dead squirrel, laying in the middle of the road. 

This is Jamison's reenactment:

Millie at 11 weeks!

David Platt...God Hates and Loves Sinners

God's Perfect Timing

Some friends of ours are in the process of adopting a baby.  On Memorial Day weekend, they had a yardsale to help raise money for their adoption!  They received many donated items and were able to raise a good amount of much needed money!

The events of that Saturday afternoon were nothing short of a full display in God's perfect timing!

Here is what they posted on their Facebook wall about what happened:

So as promised, here is the story of what happened at the end of our yard sale on Saturday:

We had originally planned to pack it in about 2:00 or 3:00 that day. At about 2:15, it felt like West Knoxville was about to fall into the Sun, so I decided that the stuff could wait to be packed up until the day cooled off some. At about 3:00, we started going inside more consistently and only periodically sitting outside to make sure no one was coming by to shop. I had already gone in to count the days earnings, and had ventured back out to sweat with our dedicated neighbors, Jason and Ashley Pugh Anderson.

At about 4:00 a car pulled up, and three individuals stepped out. The two women of the group promptly began going through the clothing and shoes and started making a rather substantial pile. I called Amy to come out and we, along with the Andersons, went down to talk some with the late day shoppers. What followed was nothing less than amazing.

It turns out that the family was originally from Liberia. The gentleman in the group, Sam, had just completed his medical training in Grenada and was living with his wife, Tee, just outside New Orleans completing his fellowship studying infectious disease. The two of them were up here in Knoxville visiting Tee's mother.

They shared with us that with what funds they could muster, they would go around to yard sales and buy clothing, shoes, and the like to send back to Liberia. They talked about the need for work clothes, warm clothing for the cooler months, etc, and without hesitation we told them to take whatever they wanted. Due to some language barrier, they were not fully aware of our intent to GIVE them anything they wanted. When we were finally able to make ourselves clear, they were humbly taken aback by the generosity (very similar I assume to the way Amy Mitchell Townsend and I felt at all of our friends' generosity in donating to the yard sale in the first place). We boxed up the remaining clothing, shoes, and toys to be shipped to LIberia via Sam and Tee.

We were only beginning to grasp the gravity of this series of events when Tee asked Amy about an area rug that she had brought out to sell toward the end of the day on Saturday. We had used it at our previous house and it had been in storage for the past three years (waiting for this moment is my firm belief). We thought Tee might be admiring it for either her or her mother's place, and Amy engaged in conversation with her. She was interested in sending it to Liberia as well. What she said next both floored us both and broke us (Amy to tears). No, the reason she wanted to ship it over was because it would be used as a bed to sleep on as opposed to the bare floor. We insisted they take it and all of the smaller rugs there too.

Amongst all of this exchange, Sam and Tee shared a genuine joy for Amy and I pursuing adoption and their love for our Savior. Tee shared that they too were looking to adopt a little girl in Liberia in the near future. We were overjoyed to give them the items they wanted, but they insisted that we take $60 as a donation for our adoption.

Even in writing the details of this story, I have chills. The aligning of events that made this happen give evidence of the great God we serve. The fact that Sam and Tee were in Knoxville for the holiday, the fact that we decided to wait to pack up the sale, Amy bringing out a rug that had been put up for years, the immense outpouring of support in the way of donations from our friends that allowed us to have the amount of clothing that we did, the fact that we had postponed the sale twice before settling on this weekend...there are no coincidences...GOD IS AMAZING!

Life with boys

Before:

After: (had to save some for daddy!)

Before:

After:

We don't get many leftovers in this house.  God help me when they are teenagers!

The busyness of life as a mom of 7!

I wake up every morning and can't believe that I am the mother of 7!

Millie has fit into our life perfectly and is definitely no wallflower.  She certainly won't let you forget that she is a very present bundle in our lives!  

I have to say, she is the MOST needy baby I have ever had.  It takes a little more juggling to get things done around the house, to keep everyone happy, and to keep everyone's bellies full...and with all my boys, seeming to be going through a growth spurt, that is no easy feat! Miss Millie loves her mommy and loves to be held.  She is the first of all her siblings who has wanted to be held 24/7.  That made getting things done a bit crazy at times, but I do have lots of little helpers, and they have stepped up to help me so much!

I am embracing the life that God has been so gracious to give to me...even with the ups and downs.  

Here are some recent pictures of our lives over the past several weeks:

Life is good. I am blessed.

Millie Taylor's Birth Story

When we found out we  were expecting our second girl, we were overjoyed.  What a blessing!  The kids were so excited at having a second sister! 

My pregnancy wasn’t uncomplicated.  We were faced with the prospect of a c-section more than once, and our faith in God’s plan, regardless of the outcome, was something that pulled us through!  We were very relieved when my previa resolved itself.  We were relieved, once again, when she flipped from a frank breech, to head down!  We truly felt the prayers of family and friends throughout our entire pregnancy!

At 35 weeks, my blood pressure began to go up.  There were no other complications, but as it continued to creep up, my doctor decided that she wasn’t comfortable with me going past my due date of April 10^th. 

At 37 weeks, I was finally considered fullterm! I would head to my weekly appointments, hoping there had been some sort of progress made that allow my induction to go smoothly.  Every week, there would be no change, but I refused to get too discouraged.  She was following the rest of her siblings…not wanting to arrive before her time!

My induction was scheduled at my 38 week appointment.  Unless she decided to arrive earlier, she would be born on April 9^th!  I was very excited to have an end in sight.  My 39 week appointment showed some progress, and I was finally measuring 3cm and 60% effaced!  It was a relief to know that my body was moving in the right direction!

That last weekend before my induction was hard!  It was filled with choir practice, church services, Easter egg hunts, some last minute cleaning….and not much rest!  John could see the toll on my body and I was able to get some much needed rest after the Easter service on Sunday.  He was a bit nervous that I would go into labor, and he would have to deliver a baby at home….more than once he asked me if he thought we should go to the hospital.  I wasn’t having any contractions, and I was feeling a lot of movement from the baby, so I always said no.  I could deal with the nausea and tiredness…and I had my end in sight!

I woke up at 5am, Monday morning.  We were expected at the hospital at 6:30am, and I wanted to have some quiet time and didn’t want to be rushed. Our good friend, Amy, arrived at 6am to watch the kids for us.  It was such a blessing to know that our children were in good hands!

We arrived on time and brought to our room.  We settled in and then the waiting began. The nurse’s shift change was at 7am, so it wasn’t until the new shift settled in that we met our nurse, Chenoa.  She was very nice and made us feel very comfortable.  She had read of our history and knew this was our 7^th baby…and we told her there were only a few things that we didn’t want to happen.  First, I did not want to be close to transition and have that frantic feeling that no one was in the room with us. John did not want to deliver a baby…and I didn’t want him to either! Second, I did not want to have to wait for the doctor to arrive.  I wanted the staff to be prepared and know that once the intensity of my labor heightens, it won’t be long, and they are to have called my doctor before I reach full dilation.  She was very assuring and put us at ease.

Ha…more on that later!

Around 7:45am, the iv was placed and I was hooked up to some fluids. My doctor came in around 8am, checked me and broke my water.  I hadn’t made any change since my appointment the week before.  I was still sitting at 3cm.

The Pitocin began dripping around 8:20am.

The contractions began very mild.  They were immediately regular, but way too manageable.  I labored sitting in bed, figuring that maybe by sitting, gravity would help things along.

My nurse would come in every half hour or so and see how I was doing.  She would ask me my pain level, and I was not at the point of having to even concentrate through the contractions.  On a scale of 1-10, I would say, maybe a 2 or a 3. 

At 10am, she decided to check me to see if I had made any progress.  She said that I was still 3-4cm.  I really think that at this point, she began to wonder if this labor wouldn’t be as fast as we had warned her about.

For the next hour, things continued about the same.  I could tell that the contractions were getting a little stronger.  John would check the monitor, and I was in a very good pattern, but still missing the intensity that we knew was necessary!

Around 11:30, I asked to be checked again, and I was measuring about 4-5cm.  Since the contractions were still very manageable, I began to think that maybe I would have a long labor without the intensity I was used to.  I thought back to my previous labors. I had never labored sitting the way I was sitting.  I had always laid on my side.  It was at that time, I decided to change my position and proceeded to lay on my left side.

I felt an immediate change in the contractions.  I felt a little more pressure, so I knew that I had made the right decision!  I could tell the baby was moving down into a better position.

Around noon, things really began to intensify.  The nurse was having a hard time registering the baby’s heart rate and my contractions weren’t showing up on the monitor either.  She had to depend on me for how the labor was going!

 

The first time John heard me give a low groan during a contraction, I heard an excited ‘YES!’.  He knew that once that begins, it won’t be too much longer!

Around 12:30, I knew the contractions were doing more than they had all morning, so I asked the nurse to check me.  I was now at 6cm, and the baby had moved much lower.  At this point, John told the nurse that she had better call the doctor.  Her response was…we’ll just wait and see.  She had been warned early on that once I hit a certain point in labor, that my babies come quickly. But I think she was thinking that because the morning had been so slow, that this labor would be different.

It wasn’t.

Right after I was told I was at 6cm, I had 5-6 back to back contractions within 10 minutes.  Earlier that morning, I had told John that when my labor gets really intense, I would ask for prayers and encouragement.  When I asked him to pray for me, he did.  When I asked him for encouragement, he said “Baby, you’ve done this before!  You can do it again!  Just think, within the next hour, she’ll be here!”  To which I responded, “DON’T SAY THAT TO ME!!”  In my mind, there was no way I could continue breathing through these contractions for another HOUR!!

 I urgently told John to get a nurse because I needed to push.  We were once again in the situation of being completely dilated and were the only ones in the room.  John did not want to deliver the baby by himself!

He jumped up, screamed HELP!, ran across the room and yelled into the hall….”We need a nurse!  She needs to push!”

Then the scurrying began.  My room was filled with nurses prepping things for delivery.  This is when they finally called my doctor!

I rolled onto my back and said….I need to push NOW!

That is when the nazi nurse got right in my face and firmly told me to BLOW IT OUT!  To which I sternly replied….BUT I NEED TO PUSH NOW!  She then proceeded to blow in my face with such force and annoyance, John was surprised I didn’t slap her.

The nurses told me that Dr Yang was 3 minutes away and that they wanted me to wait.  Again, in a situation that we did not want to be in!

The moment Dr Yang arrived, one of the nurses asked her if she was going to put her scrubs on….her response was ‘no, just gloves!’

I immediately started pushing and within one and a half pushes, out came Millie!  John wasn’t able to get the bottom of the bed fast enough to see her crown!  She was out before he knew it!

One of my concerns with delivery had been about the placenta.  With my last birth, my dr had to manually extract it, since the cord began to unattach and it wouldn’t deliver. Thankfully, due to the red raspberry leaf supplements I had been taking since 32 weeks, it was not even an issue!

Millie came out screaming and was immediately laid on my chest.  She was beautiful!  She weighed in at 7lbs14oz and 20 inches long.  She received an 8/9 on her APGAR scores!

After giving her a quick once over, they handed her back to me for some skin to skin contact, and I was able to nurse her for about an hour! 

I have been blessed to have extremely easy recoveries after having babies.  Once again, I did not tear or need any medications afterwards. After she received her bath, I was able to get up and take a shower and get dressed into some comfy pajamas.

We named Millie after my great-grandmother Amilda.  Her middle name, Taylor, is after the Chinese missionary Hudson Taylor. 

Our family is complete….and we are so thrilled to have been able to end it with a pink caboose!

Millie was able to meet her brothers and sister on her birthday and they remain completely smitten with their baby sister!!

Since coming home, they just want to keep coming over to her to just stare at her because she is so beautiful.  The boys are having a hard time playing, because they can’t stop thinking about her!  I have been abundantly blessed and am so incredibly grateful to God for my family!

The Best Caramel Corn

I've played around with a few recipes, and this by far is my favorite.  I'm not even a popcorn person.  I don't even like Movie Theater popcorn that much.  If you mix in some home made caramel....then you've got a winner!

Here is what you'll need:
1 large pot
1/3 cup of oil
almost 1 cup of popcorn kernels

Over medium heat, place the oil and 4 or 5 kernels into the pot.  Keep it covered and watch it.  When the kernels start popping, remove the pot from the heat.  Pour the rest of the popcorn into the pot and set a timer for 45 seconds.  This allows the kernels to be brought up to the heat of the oil and makes for more even cooking.

Place the pot back on the heat, gently moving the pot around on the burner.  When the kernels begin popping, slightly crack the lid, so the steam can escape.  Otherwise, you will end up with soggy popcorn.

At this point, I pour the popcorn into a large bowl....being sure to get rid of the few kernels that never popped.  We don't want broken teeth, do we?

When it has been about 10-15 seconds inbetween popping, remove from heat.

At this point, you can add butter and salt.....but if you want to hit a homerun, then you'll make up a batch of caramel!

Here is what you'll need to make the caramel:

2 sticks of butter (not margarine)
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda

In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Once that is melted, add the brown sugar and corn syrup....mixing constantly.  When bubbles start to appear, stop mixing and set the time for 5 minutes.  Keep an eye on the pan, but do not mix at all!

When the 5 minutes are up, remove from heat and add the vanilla and baking soda and mix thoroughly.  The caramel will expand and turn lighter in color.

Once it's mixed, pour onto the popcorn and mix.  Be sure not to touch it, since it is still very hot!

Set the oven temp to 250 degrees.  Place the coated popcorn onto a large cookie sheet.  Be sure that you place them on a wire rack that is not too close to the burners.

This is going to bake for an hour.  You are going to mix it up every 15 minutes....so set your timer!

When your hour is up, remove it from the oven, and carefully spoon into a large bowl.  As it cools, you'll want to take a spoon and break it up a bit.  Once it's cool, bag it up or just eat it straight from the bowl!

After making it for your family.....your kids will thank you....and you will never go back to store bought caramel corn ever!!

My oldest boy turned 10.

We shelter our children.  They are homeschooled.  They stay at home with me most days.  Most of their interaction with other children is supervised and happens in Godly homes and at church.

Nolan's request for his 10th birthday was that he and his dad go hiking in The Smoky Mountains.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to begin the discussion that a parent should have with their children, as they get older.

You know the one I'm talking about....

Our goal as parents is that this be an ongoing discourse that goes on for years.  We hope that our answers to the many questions our children will have, would be God-glorifying, and truthful.  There shouldn't be embarrassment when explaining how our bodies were created and what happens to them as we get older.

We wanted to begin discussing basic body changes and see where that would lead....here is what the conversation was like that took place in the car, on the way to the mountains:

Daddy: Nolan, now that you are older, your body is going to start changing.

Nolan: Ooooh, look!  It's a golf course!!

There was a complete lack of interest on Nolan's part.

I'm thinking we need to take some advice from Amy's Humble Musings!

With 12 weeks to go....

I figured it was time to start sewing for Millie's arrival.  I've already made her several crocheted items...a couple hats, some booties, and a blanket.

I've had the flannel chosen for awhile.  I've had her towel material ready too.  I just had to sit down and do it!

Tonight, I had that opportunity!

Here is her hooded towel....the rest of her siblings have one, so she needed one too!

Here are two double-sided flannel blankets.  I can't wait to swaddle her up in them!

A response to the viral video "Does Jesus Hate Religion"

There has been a video that has gone viral titled "Does Jesus Hate Religion".  I couldn't bring myself to watch it because the title itself rubbed me the wrong way.

I was happy today to see that Kevin DeYoung at The Gospel Coalition wrote a response to it.  I found it to be very thought out and a good way to put into words what I was feeling.

You can read it here.