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Showing posts from March, 2011

We FINALLY have a house update!

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You have no idea how long I have been waiting to write this post! Okay, well, you probably do. Since last July! So since Thanksgiving, we have been told that we could close on the land potentially "next week." Well, next week has turned into 6 months with title issues, a change in our land, a change of builders, etc... I have to admit, I have been pretty darn patient because this whole building a house thing has been all God anyway. I didn't want to push it too much! We knew it would be in His timing. These past few weeks though, my patience wore thin. We had been waiting on down payment assistant to close for almost a month and it was supposed to be done about 10 days ago. I really haven't prayed or asked for prayer regarding the closing or the house, because like I said, we are so blessed with this and I just felt like I could be praying for more important things. I felt a prompting yesterday though, to ask Him to help get this thing going. So I prayed, "God s

5 years on Friday...

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5 years since my baby was born. Not my fave picture, but wanted to show the difference b/w Brighton's birth and the other two. 5 years since a kind of love was born in my heart that I never knew existed. 5 years since my world was rocked. 5 years since horrible and traumatic memories were made that haunt me to this day. 5 years since the day I thought I wasn't going to make it to see my baby grow up. 5 years ago a passion for education about pregnancy, our bodies and the miracle of natural childbirth was born. Don't ever underestimate the power and the impact that childbirth has on a woman. It is life-changing. Make it a good change by being as educated as possible on the risks of EVERY procedure. I wouldn't change a thing about my first experience, not because it was great, because it wasn't. But because it changed everything about me, my family and the way we live. God is good. Half an hour after Maggie's birth. Minutes after Owen ar

Sprouted black bean soup

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I adapted this recipe from this one from allrecipes.com. 2 cups dried black beans (soaked and sprouted, when cooked equals 4-5 cups) 1 1/2 - 2 quarts of homemade chicken broth 2 cups frozen/fresh corn 3 "ugly" (only $1/lb!) tomatoes from the farmer's mkt , chopped 4 tsp diced jalapeƱos. 3-4 cloves garlic, minced. 1 large onion, chopped. 1 1/2 tsp cumin 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tbsp chili powder 2 tsp salt 1/2 cup salsa Optional toppings: Pepper jack cheese Cheddar cheese guacamole sour cream tortilla chips This soup is sooo good and cost me about $3 to make a huge pot! I go the extra mile and sprout my beans and make my own chicken broth , so feel free to substitute cans if you need to. How to sprout beans, taken from this site: "1-Wash then soak beans for 8-12 hours (in a glass, ceramic or stainless steel bowl) 2-Drain, rinse and cover. 3-Rinse twice a day until a ‘tail’ emerges from the end of the bean. Use sprouted beans as soon as th

Excuses

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I'm too busy and overwhelmed some days already. We can't afford it. It's not safe. We can't risk everything. I'm tired. How will my heart heal from saying goodbye? My children will get less attention. My children will have to share a room. God says - "Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 6:25, Psalm 82:3, James 1:27 ‎ "I'm not raising my kids to survive the world. I'm raising them to change it." - Sun Stand Still I don't believe it'

Mama's little artist...

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Brighton loves Van Gogh. He has ever since he was introduced to his paintings via Baby Einstein. (Insert sarcastic comment about how horrible those dvd's are here.) We still love to put those on occasionally for the kids because they are so low key with just classical music playing in the background and we're able to sit there with them and name all the works of art. A friend found this link for the Google Art Project and it has opened up a whole new world for Brighton. You can visit all these museums and actually walk around looking at the masterpieces. Brighton's favorite is obviously the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam . He will "walk" around the museum and then recreate his favorite paintings from memory. This is his most recent and one of my favorite paintings by Van Gogh... not too bad for a 4 year old. :) Love my boy. Fishing boats on the beach at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

Yummy, healthy, easy...

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One of my favorite things to eat used to be that yummy marshmallow/cream cheese fruit dip. Today I discovered something that tastes exactly like it, but is super healthy for you. Plain Greek yogurt mixed with pure maple syrup. Oh. My. Goodness. Heaven in a bowl. The Greek yogurt is super thick, so it is still a great consistency with a good amount of maple syrup added in. Calcium, probiotics , manganese, and zinc in addition to all the nutrients from whatever fruit you decide to eat it with. I am a huge fan of the above pictured full-fat, organic, grass fed, Greek yogurt that I buy at the OSU-OKC farmer's market on Saturday morning. Stoneyfield also makes an organic Greek yogurt that is pretty yummy. It also makes a great substitution for sour cream on baked potatoes and I've tasted amazing cheesecake made with it. I'm sure they have non-organic versions everywhere, but I'm pretty sure Target and Wal-mart carry the Stoneyfield brand. :) Happy snacking... 

The least of these...

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"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:40 This post may come off as angry because I am. I am so angry. I am so overwhelmed by anger that this is allowed to happen here and that we don't know about it. I knew there were issues with the "system," but I had no idea the extent until recently. The past few days I have gotten emails and facebook status updates and links about pro-life causes. I am definitely pro-life and do not believe in abortion, but I believe many of these pro-life resources could be used for a much better purpose. How about we take all this time, money and effort and make a difference in a baby's life that is here because the mother did NOT choose abortion? She may have been on drugs, been beaten, or been a prostitute, knew that she could not provide a safe home for this child she was carrying, but did not kill it. What is her reward? The

Priorities have shifted...

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‎"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48 My thoughts are no longer consumed by what healthy tips I can share with my readers. They are consumed by thoughts of God's will. Where does He want me? What does He want to teach me? How can I honor Him with my life? It has been years since I have been this interested in God. It's pretty darn awesome, let me tell you. I went close to 4 years without picking up my Bible and justified it with excuses of exhaustion, pregnancy, motherhood, etc. Thankfully that is no longer the case. I have read my Bible more this week than I have in the past 5 years combined. I finished the book, Crazy Love , which is amazing, inspiring and convicting. Don't read it if you want your life to remain "comfortable." The past few weeks Seth and I have gone back and forth about becoming foster parents. Initially we felt lik

Wordless Wednesday...

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Planting seeds... in more ways than one. :)