Domestic Adventures

I’m not much of a morning person, but once in a while waffles make a great dinner!

1 pkg. dry yeast
2 c. lukewarm milk
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla (1/2 tsp. almond extract is nice too)
2 1/2 c. sifted flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. melted butter

Dissolve yeast in milk; add beaten egg yolks, vanilla and salt. Add flour and sugar and mix. Add butter, set aside for several minutes. Whisk egg whites until they form almost stiff peaks and carefully fold into batter. Cover and let set on counter 30 minutes. Bake in waffle iron.
They’re good with whipped cream and berries, but my favorite way to eat these waffles is with just a dusting of powdered sugar.

After this morning’s teaching from Psalm 23, we sang His Sheep am I. Emmaline was in Sunday school, but as we sang I kept thinking how this is just the type of song Emmaline would love. She has always identified well with the picture of God as a shepherd and us as sheep. She loves the idea of taking care of something helpless, and being taken care of. One of her favorite toys is a stuffed lamb that she babies and pampers.

Since I’ve had it in my head lately to teach Emmaline the words to more hymns, this seemed the perfect opportunity to start. As she was in the bath tonight, we sang the lines back and forth to each other and during our Bible story tonight, she cuddled her little lamb as she listened.

Not being the musical person of the family, I don’t have many hymns committed completely to memory but I’m hoping to teach Emmaline the words to the ones we sing most often so that she can participate in that part of the worship service.

In God’s green pastures feeding,
by His cool waters lie
soft in the evening walk my Lord and I;
All the sheep of His pasture fare so wondrously fine.
His sheep am I…

Water’s cool…
pasture’s green…
in the evening
Walk my Lord and I;

Dark the night…
Rough the way…
Step by step
Walk my Lord and I

A whole new world has opened to Micah as he recently discovered he’s tall enough to reach the water dispenser on the refrigerator. He’s also able to swipe cups off the counter. Add to that the accessible silverware drawer and all sorts of possiblilities open up. Now if I lose sight of him for a few minutes, I can be pretty certain he’s wandering around the house with a cup of water and a spoon, “feeding” all the stuffed animals he meets along the way.

“You’ve got a 20 year old trapped in a little tiny body.” That’s how the dentist described Emmaline today when she very politely declined to let him look at her teeth. “No, thank you. I don’t really want to be here.” Fortunately, Dr. Taylor is a very kind and appealing man and was able to bypass the screaming fit endured by the hygentists. He even got a high five after inspecting her teeth. (No cavities, hooray!)
Micah, for all his teeth brushing trials, turned out to be the perfect patient. He calmly lounged in the child-sized dental chair, watching cartoons as the hygentist zipped around his teeth with her little spinning toothbrush. He also passed with flying colors, and I’m just glad to be done with dentist for another six months.

As much as I love Macs, the Macs around me lately seem to be having lots of problems. Mine is dead. As in the hard drive is dead. As in mail it to California and patiently wait for its return. As in, thank goodness it’s covered under warranty!
I’ll try to sneak in a few posts when the opportunity arises. In the meantime visit all those nice people in the sidebar.

A rest time isn’t really restful if this is the result. Emmaline is usually so very careful with her treasures, but apparently it was a bit too daring of me to let her keep these things in her room. No one was hurt, but it was immensely sad.

E: (sniff, sniff)
T: Emmaline, you have a cold.
E: Yes, I need an ear infection.

The rest of the evening, she pretended she had a little “cold” she could hold in her hand. He’s blue and he lives in a cage.

“Go into it expecting your typical, low-budget Christian movie and you’ll be impressed,” advised one friend. I didn’t really know what to expect of Facing the Giants, but I was impressed. After two people recommended this movie to me within as many days, we thought we should give it a try and I’m so glad we did. After watching it with our Bible study group, I think we’ll be buying a copy for our dvd collection.
The story is one of giving God the glory, when we win and when we lose; knowing that with God all things are possible, living our lives for His glory rather than our own, and reveling in his abundant blessings. I don’t think this movie could have been done without a few cheesy moments, but the theme of the movie is great, and it’s all done very professionally.
Thank you, friends, for your recommendations!

The great thing about gardening in Florida is that you can grow things year round - not that I’ve taken advantage of that. I have only recently reclaimed my garden from the weeds that took over in the cooler months, but now I’m full steam ahead. A few weeks ago I put in tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, and started corn and squash from seeds. My little seedlings are finally pushing through the soil and things are starting to look all green and gardeny again. Today I also found some strawberry plants at Target. From what I’ve read, they do best in the fall here, but I found them, so I planted them. Cucumber vines are also in the ground now and I’m starting run out of room!
I didn’t take any pictures of my new plantings, but here’s my little garden helper driving his tractors through the creeping mint.

Not too long ago, I stumbled across the blog of an amazing woman named Heather. She is one of the creators of Moms of Grace, creates gorgeous web designs at Swank Web Style, homeschools her two older children, and has already been through the battle of a lifetime with her youngest daughter’s mitochondrial disease. Last week she found out she has a brain tumor. Already her testimony in this is inspiring, but she has a lot ahead of her. First and foremost, she needs prayer. Visit her blog for more specific prayer needs. This journey is also going to cost a lot. This particular need, was placed on BooMama’s heart and she has set up a fundraiser for Heather.

From BooMama: Many of you have asked how you can help Heather and her family, So on Wednesday, April 18, we’re going to have an opportunity to love on Heather and her family. Heather and her husband Mark will be leaving April 25th for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota - the number one neurosurgery hospital in the country. I’d love for us to give Heather and Mark a love offering before they leave for Minnesota, to be able to take care of some of their financial obligations so that they can focus on the most important aspect of their trip: getting the absolute best treatment for sweet Heather without worrying about how they’re going to pay for it. If you would like to help, please click here. Hope to see ya’ll on the 18th!