Courageous, Mom and Dad, and the Wade's

On Thursday evening my parents arrived to stay with us over night. My daddy had some meetings in Atlanta and they came a day early to spend some time with us. They brought back my very missed baking pans that I left when moving. They also brought to us some highly anticipated eggs that our chickens (which are now their chickens) had laid. Oh the difference in fresh farm raised eggs. Their is a richness to them and something satisfying to know that you just went and got them from your backyard.

We had a very nice time with them, although it was short. On Friday they took the oldest five of our children to see the movie "Courageous" . Keith and I were able to prescreen it back over the summer and loved it. We decided to stay home with the two little ones and this was a special treat for our other children. They had been waiting eagerly to see this movie and had tried to get details out of us to no avail! We didn't want to ruin one second of any kind of surprise.

When they came home all of them were deeply moved. They talked and talked about it. Of course, they loved the funny parts. They spoke of tears they shed and a little fearfulness during certain parts. We hope to talk with them more about the central theme of the movie this week. For me and Keith it was such a challenge in the area of fatherhood. To rise above the mediocre way of parenting which can consist of just letting the days go by and making very little impact in the lives of the children God has placed in our care. The movie will have you laughing and crying and contemplating how you are doing in relationship to your children and the responsibility you have before God. It is the best of all of them in our opinion. They are excellent about weaving the truth of the gospel throughout the entire movie. When it is said and done, it makes you want to cheer for a job well done for the Glory of God. And, as the children told us, that is exactly what the audience did when the movie ended for them on Friday.

I pray you will make a great effort to go and see this movie. And, please take someone with you. Take your children with you. It may be a little too intense for the little guys. We allowed Joshua, our five year old to go. We also need to pray that God will use this avenue of spreading His powerful message in a miraculous way to touch many lives.

And if the weekend couldn't get better, we were able to have a special family come and stay with us Saturday and go to church with us on Sunday.

All 11 of them!! Soon will be 12!

The Wade's have been a special family to us for quite some time. Jason serves as a deacon at our former church and both are pharmacist's. Sandra Kaye works one day a week and is at home with her family the rest of the week. They have two boys, Justin and Mason, and two girls, Georgia and Olivia. Keith was able to go and enjoy watching Georgia play football while we stayed home and took a picnic lunch to the playground and just hung out together. Precious time.

Thankful for...

my pampered chef stones
my small loaf pans
twenty something little brown eggs
visit with parents
children's excitement over movie
memories made with the Wade's
worshipping together in our new church
great afternoon naps
another day to wake up to God's mercy

Nichole

The Bread Beckers

Homemade Fettuccine made with freshly ground Kamut

Yesterday Keith watched the children while I was away taking my very first cooking class at the Bread Becker's!!

I have always wanted to participate in a cooking class, but distance created an obstacle from seeing that take place.

I told Keith I smiled like a kid with a new toy the whole first hour!

The class was on making your own homemade pasta from freshly ground grains using a pasta machine they offer called Pasta Master 2000. It also entailed cooking a couple of dishes using the brown rice pasta (already made) that they offer as well.  The brown rice pasta is a great alternative for those who cannot tolerate gluten.

Honestly, even though we eat plenty of pasta, it was not the subject matter that prompted me to go as much as the simple fact that this was the very next class available and I couldn't wait any longer! As the class ended, I have now added (much to the dismay of my husband's wallet) the pasta machine to my wish list. For two major reasons:

1- Homemade Pasta is Super Neat

~ you can make all kinds of shapes and sizes

~ easy

~ only 2 ingredients

~ would also make great gift ideas if you chose to dry it

2- Homemade Pasta is Super Tasty

~ they recommend that you use Kamut (possibly the type grain that Joseph stored during the 7 good years in Genesis) which is 30 percent higher in Vit. E than freshly ground whole wheat and has a lower gluten content with a buttery taste.

~ of course, like all the grains, it should be freshly ground to retain all the nutrients and it produces a very nice taste that doesn't seem "wheaty" at all.

I was impressed and though at this time in our life making our own pasta and getting a new machine is not
something that we will pursue, when the timing is right we will hopefully become spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine, ravioli, penne, lasagna making pros!

* A couple of neat tips I learned in the class:

1- The starchy water that you are left with after boiling pasta can be saved and used in bread making for a softer loaf.

2- You can add powdered spice mixes and powdered-dehydrated veggies (like spinach, carrots, tomatoes, etc...) into your flour before mixing and you have a beautiful, extra nutritious, colored pasta.

So thankful to be close to Bread Beckers,
Nichole

p.s. The class was excellent and Ashley did a fantastic job! It only cost me $6 and we were able to eat a little of everything that she cooked! Be sure to visit the Bread Beckers web site to see all their great products and check out the upcoming cooking classes.

Inside Pics

Some have asked that we send some pictures of the home we are staying in. It makes things seem more real when you can actually see where someone is living, even if you never get to visit. Although, we would love a visit!!

So, here we go...just a few.

Foyer

To the left you walk into living room and kitchen. To the right you can go into the study or head upstairs to all of our bedrooms.

Living Room

 It is much smaller than our last, but much cozier too.

Kitchen

 You really should be a fly on the wall when I am doing all our baking in here!

Study/School Room

If you notice...there is a great example of a wife trying to please her hunting husband! And there is another to match it on the opposite side of those double doors!

It really is beautiful up here. We have some new friends who live up the hill above us and the view from their kitchen and living room is fantastic! It looks as if we are nestled right in the mountains. Once the leaves begin to change, I am sure it will be breath-taking.  Also, the slightly cooler temperatures have been nice (although I may not be saying that come winter time)!



Thankful to be exactly where God wants us,

Nichole





Our New Home

We have now been in our new home for about 3 weeks. A lot has happened since the last time we posted. Through much prayer God has shown us that He had a new direction for our lives. Keith is no longer the pastor at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church and for now our family is under a special ministry at a fantastic church in North Georgia. They have taken us under their wings with the hopes of providing much needed rest and a rejuvination to launch us back out into the ministry...wherever and whatever that will be. Keith is in the process of looking for a job that will provide for our family while we are here. Although I pray it will not be one that takes him away too much, I know that this is a season where we may not have much of a choice.

The transition has been harder in some ways than I anticipated. Things are pretty different. A much, much, much larger church, living in very close contact with our neighbors, not much yard space, being under another's guidance and authority, ect....But, with that is the opportunity to be under some fantastic preaching (although I felt like I was under fantastic preaching with my husband), getting to know and build relationships with our oh so close neighbors, making the most of small spaces (which means getting rid of stuff we don't need- Yay!), and becoming teachable and moldable for God to make necessary changes in all of our lives.

The children miss our last home. Maleah has said, "Mama, I want to go home." Yesterday she asked, "Where is Brother Will?" and "I want to see Jakey!". She is very bossy for 21 mths.! I will have to say the other day she also asked me, "Where is God?" I had her repeat this 3 times because  I knew that I had not just heard a 21 mth. old ask this. Finally I said, "He is everywhere, Maleah." She then said, "Where is Jesus?" I said, "He is with God the Father in Heaven." In a raised and bossy voice she said, "I want to see Jesus!!". I told her, "Well, I think you need to see Jesus!". She amazes all of us. She has been a joy that has helped us all get through this time.

Wednesday I will be 30 weeks along in this pregnancy. The time has gone by so fast. It has been a struggle to decide to go natural versus having an epidural. A little over a month ago I had a terrible bout with a kidney stone and after that I just didn't think I could handle anymore pain. My confidence has built since then, and I have really prayed and pondered what is the best for me and the baby. I have decided to go natural. Is it because I like the pain or want to show that I am superwoman?? Nooooo.....trust me when I say I have been very tempted to try to make it as pain-free as I possibly could. It came down to the fact that it lessens my likelihood of a ceasarean for the simple reason that I am not confined to a bed and can get up and move around and try different positions, etc... I have also been reading up on the Bradley Method and hope to implement that. It will be here so soon and I have a feeling that other than feeding time, this little one will be in the arm's of another....if you know what I mean. Many anxious siblings awaiting his or her arrival.

School has started back for us as well. Keith has been home and been able to offer his expertise and I am loving him at home. It will be hard to let him go again. Joshua is eager to start and though we were going to wait to do anything formal, we want to take advantage of his willing spirit.

I know this has been lengthy, but I wanted to give an update on our family. I hope to post some pictures of the inside of the house now that we have it mostly organized and also get back to sharing here and there every couple of days or so.

Love grows best in little houses!

Nichole

Family Logistics and Setting Goals

"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." Proverbs 29:18

In the second chapter of Kim Brenneman's book Large Family Logistics, she encourages women to make immediate goals, short-term goals, and long-term goals for their family based on scripture and a reflection of their vision of the future.

I loved the quote she shared and I feel like it speaks volumes in and of itself. "Yet, if at any stage of life you feel you're "flying by the seat of your pants," taking each day as it comes without having anticipated it, planned for it, shaped it, and prayed over it, then take time off and get back to poring over your goals. Then you will control your days, instead of letting them control you." Anne Ortlund

There have been many days that I have gone to bed exhausted at the end of a day's work, but feeling very unaccomplished in what I had actually completed. Most of the time this all boiled down to my lack of planning and purpose for my family.

There are two major points that I feel like were important in this chapter to give us all a starting point in setting goals for our family.

1. Our ultimate goal must be to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Mark 12:29-31) I believe this is where we make sure that our goals are scripture-based and open to whatever the Lord shows for our own individual family in whatever season of life we are in.

2. The second most important goal is to make sure that next to pleasing the Lord in our planning, is pleasing the one whom the Lord created us for (1 Corinthians 11:9) and that would be our husband! Our efforts should always be to strive to complement and complete him with our "home as our primary base of activity". Please take the time to read Titus 2:14-15.

In our quest for direction and guidance, the Word of God should be our main source. In our quest for success, our husband should be the leader in the direction that we should go. All things should be communicated together and agreed upon together. It will always be a matter of submission for us women. Although easy to submit when we are in agreement, it is much more difficult, albeit possible, when I may not like the direction he says to go. What are some examples that we as a couple need to be on the same page about? Kim talks about child training, family worship, the aesthetics of the home, playtime, friendships, mealtimes, ministry, etc..... The couple should be moving in the same direction or "you will create confusion for your kids and your family as a whole."

Just a personal testimony: In the last few months, I have felt the need to revamp our family schedule to make them more productive for everyone. I asked myself what were some things that I would like to see accomplished by the end of the day? I wanted our time together to be great quality time because quantity was not the problem for us. I wanted a consistent quiet time with the Lord everyday, exercise atleast 30 minutes 4-5 days a week, meals to be served at a certain time with immediate cleanup afterwards, consistent Bible reading and verse memorization with me and the children, naps for little ones at the same time each day, afternoon school work,chores, family time, bedtime starting at 8:00, etc... That has been my goal. I presented it verbally to Keith and he was in agreement. I knew I could not do this by myself and asked if he was willing to help and then after he said that he would, we talked about ways that he could help me see this through. So far, we have been successful. It has taken a lot of work and a lot of practice. Not every day is the same. We still have to be flexible and that is one thing that Keith asked of me when enforcing this. We try very hard not to be rigid to the point of letting these things rob us of our joy in the home. I knew that spiritually I needed this and I knew that spiritually the children needed it as well. I believe that the Bible teaches us to be diligent, hard-working, responsible, and much, much more. These qualities were not going to be natural and so we decided to try and make them a part of our lifestyle.

I hope this encourages you to seek God's face for the goals you would like to set for your family as you come alongside the one that God created you for and together your home can become a place of victory for all who dwell in it!

Nichole

Healthy Living....Homemade Chocolate Pudding Popsicles!

Homemade Chocolate Pudding Popsicles

The popsicles have been our favorite new "treat" recipe for this summer. I have been trying to post this for the last couple of weeks, but it seems they get eaten up before I can get a good picture. Well, today no one was allowed to take a bite until I had a decent picture. I want some of you to give it a try before the weather begins to cool off (which will be quite some time for those of us in the South!!) and summer comes to an end.

The way we keep this recipe in the healthy category is by using organic raw milk, sucanat as our sweetener (which I decreased from the original recipe), fresh eggs, our own homemade vanilla extract, and organic cocoa. This beats the grocery store popsicles every time!!

Chocolate Pudding Popsicles  adapted from theprudenthomemaker.com

1 cup sucanat (you could even reduce this and add a little stevia at the end to sweeten them)

3 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot (I like to go ahead and mix this in a little of the milk before adding)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cocoa or 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate

3 cups whole milk

3 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon butter

In medium saucepan combine sucanat, arrowroot, salt, cocoa, and whole milk. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to boil. Boil one minute. Remove from heat. SLOWLY add pudding to egg yolks, whisking the whole time. I do about a 1/4 cup at a time until I am sure that the eggs have been tempered and are not going to scramble on me. Return pudding to pan. Add vanilla and butter. Bring back to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for one minute. Sometimes I will stop stirring only long enough to see if the mixture is about to boil. Cool slightly.  I like to cool mine until room temperature only because I don't like to pour piping hot things into plastic containers, but it is not necessary to wait that long. Fill popsicle molds and freeze until solid, which is about 3 hours. This makes 10 popsicles for us.

I always double this recipe so we can have them atleast twice. This is a good idea for a smaller family as well, because you will have popsicles on hand at any time the kids want a treat on one of those hot summer days!

Thought you might be wondering what the kids think about these!!

Enjoy,

Nichole

Family Logistics and Proverbs 31

I am going through the book, "Large Family Logistics" right now. It is written by a mother of nine children. Keith bought it for me a couple of months ago. It has been refreshing and so helpful with the management of our home. I love it because it starts with getting our priorities straight according to God's Word, highlighting Proverbs 31. I believe this book would benefit the large and the small family. It would also help the wife-to-be and the wife with no children. So, the title of the posts will simply be "Family Logistics". As I go through the different chapters, I would like to share my insights and may it be a help to you as it has been for me.

I want to encourage all women to read again Proverbs 31:10-31. Find a good commentary that will not shy away from the true meaning of the words. I am encouraged and challenged every time I read it. I have had many women tell me that it is overwhelming and they accept defeat with an "oh well" attitude that seemingly does nothing to begin to make a change.  I don't know if I have ever felt that way. Maybe I should, because God knows that I have a long way to go as I attain to become this kind of woman. For me, it has been an affirmation of what a godly woman should look like and it is not unreachable for any of us. No matter our background or our circumstances now, may this passage not bring on defeat, but may it instill a passion within us that will cause a commitment to let God begin to make us and shape us into the kind of woman He desires us to be.

Kim Brenneman, the author of the book, did say something that I found enlightening when addressing the scripture "She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens." She said, "We might not have flesh-and-blood maidens, but we do have mechanical maidens via our clothes washer, crockpots, etc." So, there goes that excuse!! Can you imagine all that keeping the home entailed before electricity and modern conveniences?!

As we get a fresh understanding and a new commitment to managing our home and family God's way, then we can move on to the specifics.

Next week we will talk about Family Logistics and Setting Goals.

Thankful that God doesn't leave me the way I am,

Nichole