A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

"Children’s children are a crown to the aged, 

   and parents are the pride of their children." 

~Proverbs 17:6

Ok, so this is not one picture but it is going to be less than 1000 words, so that's good right? This past week we had the wonderful opportunity to spend time with David's grandpa, the boy's great grandpa. I had only met him on two other occasions and only briefly so I was happy for the chance to spend some time with the man who meant so much to my husband growing up. It was a great week, the boys warmed up to him relatively quickly and it was neat to watch them interact with him. I know it meant a lot to my husband, here are a few snapshots I took of Great Grandpa during the time we spent with him. 

Loving Great Grandpa

Story time

Walking hand in hand with Great Grandpa

Four generations of Petty men

Grandpa and four of his great grandkids

A Day (or three) at the Beach

Just over a week ago we were fortunate to get to spend a wonderful weekend on the coast with David's parents and our old friends Jeff & Karey (and their posse:). Jeff and Karey are our close friends from way back in our college days where we spent many an evening playing cards, watching movies, talking and laughing until our sides hurt. Only once in the last four years have we been all four together, but it was a day at the zoo where we spent most of our time  trying to wrestle our children rather than visiting. This trip it was really important to us to spend time altogether. Jeff and Karey live several hours from my in-laws house, and since I love the coast (really who doesn't?), we decided to meet closer to the middle and get a beach house in Arch Cape. When we all arrived the weather was terrible, pouring rain, so we were very happy to find ample space in the rental we acquired for cheap (to check it out for yourself click here). Even better than the large running space for our 5 children (total) was the fact that they immediately acted as if they had been playing together for years and there was hardly a conflict between them, aside from some "pecking order" issues from our youngest boys which was much more comical then it was stressful. We woke up Saturday morning to partly cloudy skies that gave way to brilliant sunshine and we were all able to get out and enjoy the beach. It was a wonderful weekend, long active days with the kids, cards games and laughter at night. After we parted company Sunday, David, myself, our boys and his parents finished the weekend out with a lovely afternoon in Seaside. Natalie, Jeff and Karey's oldest, summed it up right when she said it was a "perfect weekend". Here's a picture story of our weekend :)

We watched AFV while the rain poured outside our, thankfully, big beach house...

We played in the sand...

We spent time with the Eastburns...

We fed seagulls...

We saw sea life...

And more sea life

We posed all together for a new family picture...

We hung out with Papa John.. 

We made new good friends

We saw strange sea life...

We took group pictures on the beach...

We tried to take group pictures of the kids...

And one more of us.

We fed seals...

And got soaked!

We held starfish...

And rode carousels before driving home! What a great weekend!

Frustration & Grace

I've have been so frustrated lately! My digestion never seems to be able to behave itself for more than a minute, can be so hypersensitive to any accidental allergen exposure and when it does go haywire I feel (and look) like I've gained a bunch of weight, which never helps anyone feel better. I am weary of reading every label, never eating out and still managing to find random things in random places that upset my stomach, bloat my belly and leave me, well frustrated. My recent stint of accidental exposure (to corn in the gelatin in new food enzymes capsules- yeah I know) threw my system for such a loop I am starting to wonder if it will ever recover. I know, of course, that I am being melodramatic (I blame it one hormones, which also mess with my guts), I know that there are many who suffer much worse and I try to remind myself to be thankful, somedays that's just hard to do. So (big sigh), what have I decided to do? Pray. Simple, easy answer, I don't know why it's so hard to come up with sometimes. I decided it was time to take my frustration to the One who cares about how I feel, even I think it's "too little" for Him to concern Himself with. The truth is, He wants me to, it's about being in relationship with Him. Do I not talk to my besties about my guts? Sure do (lucky girls ;-). So why wouldn't I turn to the One who created my body and all it's systems? Here are the conclusions I've reached (with a lot of supernatural prompting)...
Many people have told me that they allergies will go away, many of those people have experienced this wonderful event. I know that God can heal, don't doubt it for a second...but sometimes He doesn't. Not so long ago I would have assumed He wouldn't, not for me anyway, I spent many years failing to see the love He has for me. I never doubted His healing, just doubted His healing for me. I know now that this is about as big a lie as I could tell myself, God loves me just as much as Lazarus, whom He called forth from the grave (John 11:1-48). One of my favorite verses says "He will take delight in me with gladness...He will rejoice over you with songs" Zephaniah 3:17 (in part). The Creator of the universe rejoicing over me? You betcha and He rejoices over you as well. So I believe that if healing from my allergies is in His plan, it will happen, without a doubt. But what if it isn't? Then what?
The Bible says God has a plan for all of us, plans to prosper us, not for harm, His plans are to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). His word says that I was created by Him for a specific purpose, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago" Ephesians 2:10. If He choses not to heal me of my allergies it is simply because He has another plan in mind for my life. What exactly it is I don't know, but what I do know is this; the things I have walked through in the last year, my allergies being a big part of that, have brought me closer to Him. They brought me to a place of surrender, and when I did surrender, the joy, peace, grace and mercy I found waiting for me where beyond my comprehension. My battle with allergies has given me a new understanding for the things we put in our bodies, how I have treated my body, His temple, and opened up a new passion in my life for helping others with the same issues. Honestly, before my own allergies I really couldn't have cared less about the whole issue, now I am considering writing to my congressmen/woman to take up the cause of requiring food companies to label corn as an allergen as well. My experience with my allergies has opened up many, many avenues of conversation with others that repeatedly have led me to talk about the things God has done in my life.
I truly believe that is the tip of the ice berg, the beginning of many things to come, where God uses me through the things I've walked through, allergies included. He reminds me often of how far I have come, not to rehash the past, but because I sometimes try to go back there. Sometimes, like these past few weeks, I start to settle in the place where I feel sorry for myself, sing my "woe is me" song, lament the breads, pastas, and corn chips I may never again have. He reminds me that He has a purpose for my life, one that only I can fulfill. He reminds me that He will walk with me every step of the way, until the day I return to Him (Philippians 1:6)  giving me the strength to complete the tasks He has set before me (Philippains 2:13). So, if that means I will never eat another donut (which probably wouldn't kill me even if He did heal me:), it'll be ok, because what He has in mind for me is much greater than what I think I have in mind for myself.


Epilogue: Hahaha, an epilogue at the end of a blog (I did not rhyme those on purpose), that's ok right? I'm doing it anyway, it's my blog I can do what I want ;-). Anyway, I have to confess that after I wrote this blog last night I had a mini-meltdown over my stomach bothering me a little after dinner. I couldn't remember what I might have eaten to make it upset and was just annoyed. There were many other factors involved in my cry-fest, it wasn't all about my stomach, but it was the straw so to speak. I am sharing this to let you in on a secret, I am human lol. All the things I said above are still the truth, the real truth and how I really feel or want to feel daily about this whole situation. God is good, always good, He loves me, really loves me, and His plans for my life are good. So, even in those times where I have a little tear party I remind myself of what is true, wipe my eyes and chose to give thanks to the One who gave me life, my family, and so much more.

Neener's Almond Muffins (Gluten Free!)

Ok, so I am not entirely sure I have perfected this recipe but today I got pretty close so I decided to share it anyway. What's not perfect? They are a little less fluffy, a little more dense then I'd like them to be. This is an issue I run into repeatedly with gluten free baking. I suppose I should break down and buy an all-purpose gluten free flour but I have yet to find one that is either a) corn free as well, many of them use cornstarch, this means no xanthan gum as well, which is derived from corn or b) truly all-purpose. In my experimenting I've learned that what works well for breads doesn't always work well for cookies, and that mixing flours is always your best bet.  It's the ratio of what flours to use I am still working on. These muffins are gluten free, corn free, dairy free & can be egg free AND they are STILL yummy lol. I added any modifications after asterisks for those who may not need to use the "allergy option".

• 1/2c Almond meal
• 1/2c Sorghum Flour
• 1/2c Oat Flour
• 1/2c Rice Flour ******Note if you can have wheat just use 1 & 1/4c all purpose flour & 1/2c Almond meal
• 1 tsp Cream of Tartar
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda*****These two (CoT & BS) are in place of baking powder, which contains corn (I know, it's everywhere), if you don't need a corn free option 2 tsps baking powder will work!
• 1/3-1/2c sugar*****I don't eat much sugar at all these days so I like them to be a little sweeter (still not too sweet with 1/2c) and don't feel too guilty about it. You can also use Stevia but I haven't tried so you're on your own there :)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp Guar Gum****Xantham Gum if you want, or if you use regular all-purpose flour omit this all together, it already has a binder. 
• 1 egg****If you need to go egg free, try 1 TBSP flax meal in 3 TBSP hot water, let sit for 10 mins add in just like you would an egg!
• 1/4 c Cooking oil 
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3/4c Almond milk******Again if you don't have to go dairy free, regular milk works. I like using almond milk anyway, even though I can have dairy, because it accents the flavor of the muffins. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put all dry ingredients together in a bowl; flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, guar gum, salt, set aside, mix well and set aside. In separate bowl add milk, oil and beaten egg, mix together. Make a small well in the center of your dry ingredients and pour liquids into it. Using a mixing spoon, stir all ingredients together until well blended. The flour will look pretty moist. Using a pre-greased muffin pan pour batter into muffin spots (what is the technical name for those?) until they are 3/4 full. Bake for 12-18 mins, depending on your oven. Remove when done, allow to cool for a few minutes before removing them & enjoy!!

These are not super sweet, dessert type muffins, they are definitely more of a breakfast muffin. I really like making them because they have some protein to them thanks to the almonds, they are great snacks!! Please let me know if you try them out, I am open to ideas! In fact, I think next I am going to try using Tapioca flour (or starch as it's sometimes called) in place of the rice flour and omit the binder. I often forger the binding agent so my muffins can be crumbly, I was thinking maybe the tapioca flour might bind it together ok so those times (cough everytime lol) I forget to use the guar gum they won't fall apart. I'll let you know! 

My Earthly Treasures

I've had a really bad cause of the "I needs" lately. I need a camera,  I need a new car, I need some new home decor, I need a new coat, I need new clothes, it's rather embarrassing to admit actually. For as much as I tell my children to be thankful for what they have, I haven't remembered to "practice what I preach" much the past few months. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you can't ever want anything or you're bad if you do, just that sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in the material things we think we "need". We forget that none of it really lasts; cars run down, cameras break, clothes tear, our tastes change, etc... I started thinking about the material things I really treasure here on earth, are any of them in the category of items I've listed above? No. Why are the things I treasure actually treasures? It's certainly not because they make me look good, make grocery shopping more convenient, or my house look like it belongs in a magazine. These things are treasured because they remind me of people I love, memories with family & friends; they remind me that I am loved, and teach me the truth about God, who I truly am and the world I live in. So I thought I would share a few of those items I truly treasure...

A flannel that belonged to my grandpa, the clothes my boys wore home from the hospital, the crazy shorts my grandmother wore to my wedding & lots of cards from my boys

The first picture Isaiah ever drew of me when he was 3 yrs old

TONS of photo albums full of my favorite photos. These are just the printed ones, I literally have thousands of digital ones saved on flash drives & cds.

Isaiah's "dinosaur with eggs, volcano & palm tree" picture he drew at 3.5

A ford truck that once held the flowers my dad brought me at the hospital when my oldest was born, a vase signed by many family & friends at my surprise 30th birthday party.

A picture Isaiah drew last summer that shows how his "A"s used to look like little spaceships

The bible my parents bought me right after I got married, to replace the one my puppy had torn up & the journal I use to keep track of all the things the Lord has shown me, spoken to me or words given me through others. 

There are other items; a blanket my grandmother made for me when I graduated college, a tea set my mom gave me, a picture my niece won first prize with, a scarf my dear friend made, the shoes I wore at my wedding, a lacy table cloth made for us when David & I got married with a hole in it from our old cat...most items I couldn't sell at a yard for much if anything, but to me they are priceless. I know that things of this earth will pass away, it's really not the item I am so attached to as the sentiment behind it. I love pulling them out and remembering lost family, old times, dear friends, they remind me of the things that really matter to me. I am so blessed. 

These handsome guys (one of my favorite pictures taken 2 yrs ago) are not material or mine to keep, they belong to the Father.  I have been blessed to have them for a time though & they truly are treasures.