my turn!

Guess it's my turn to enter into the trendy world of blogging. =) Since I've had the privilege of being a wife to my dear husband and a stay at home mom to my little girl, I continually run into wonderful recipes, creative decorating ideas, and other little musings that I just can't keep to myself any longer! And, I thought this would be a fun way of keeping dear family and sweet friends "in the loop" with what's going on with our little family. Check back every now and again to see what we're up to! To view Posts by category, click on the tabs above.

Baked Rice Pudding

I tried this Pillsbury recipe one day when I felt like we had *no* food in the house. I wanted something sweet and warm that I could serve with vanilla icecream, and it definitely exceeded my expectations! I got a, "Oh wow, this is amazing" out of every person I fed this to. Hope you try it and... ENJOY!

Rice Mixture:

• 1/2 c. uncooked regular long-grain white rice
• 2 T. sugar
• 2 c. milk
• 1 T. margarine or butter

Pudding:

• 6 eggs
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/4 t. nutmeg
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 2 c. milk

1. In medium saucepan, combine all rice mixture ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cook uncovered 20-25 minutes or until creamy, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool for ~10 min. or so.
2. Heat oven to 350 (there seriously should be a "degrees" buttons on computers!) Lightly grease an 8"square baking dish. In large bowl, beat eggs; stir in all remaining pudding ingredients and rice mixture. Pour into greased baking dish.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 55-60 mins or until set. Serve warm or cold.

Note: Don't forget the vanilla icecream! ;)

Ohhh the terrific two's...

Ohhh the terrific two's. ;) We've been seeing a lot of these terrific two's lately! You know... the screaming, throwing herself on the floor all-out temper tantrum, out of the blue, terrific two's!

I know I should have expected it but. I guess I secretly was hoping it would pass over Sky and we all just could skip that little stage. I thought that maybe if I did an exceptional job in parenting and focused on positive reinforcement that Sky wouldn't have to go through the terrible-- i mean terrific-- two's.

But alas, it has come, yucky bad attitudes and confused, bewildered mommy, and all. I feel like God's trying to teach me a thing or two about myself, and Himself, as much as He's trying to teach me about Sky. And this week, I've learned a lot!

I've been reading a book by J.C. Ryles, called "Duties of Parents". While I don't agree with all of his statements, there are such HELPFUL reminders in this book to help me keep my focus on Biblical Truth as we're raising Sky. Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it." Ryles reminds me that God has "never laid a command on a man which He would not give man grace to perform." So, day by day, we take each tantrum at a time, knowing that God's grace is sufficient for me to respond lovingly and kindly to her. Ryles writes, "We depend, in a vast measure, on those who bring us up. We get from them a color, a taste, a bias which clings to us more or less all our lives." What a huge responsibility then that we have as parents, to train them up in the way they should go! I feel more challenged than ever to make my convictions my own. To read His word, believe His word, and to know WHY I believe. And in doing my part by being a faithful child of God and teaching Sky to do the same, I can safely leave the rest to the Lord, knowing that He'll care for her the rest of the way.

our precious little one

She never ceases to amaze me, this little one! It's incredible how God expands our hearts to love our children more and more as they grow older. Jonathan and I just feel so blessed that we get to raise such a wonderful little girl. Below is a cute clip of Sky's "first kiss". Enjoy!

my secret purple craze

PURPLE. A very bold color, for sure. One of my closest friends, Caitlin, has always liked the color. It's a cheerful, feminine color that can be dressed up or down. I think Caitlin's love for purple has changed my own mind about it. I never thought I'd decorate a room with it, but I'm just starting to do our basement with splashes of it here and there. With trendy little throw pillows (courtesy of West Elm) and a plum accent chair (courtesy of Craigslist!) the basement slowly but surely becoming one of my favorite hang-out places in our home:

Such a simple, relatively inexpensive way to transform a look and feel to a room is with paint. I don't know if I would be so bold as to paint my walls purple, but maybe the ceiling in my small foyer bathroom! Or, some salvaged picture frames could be painted purple against a, say, smokey gray wall. Playful and sophisticated. :)

In their latest issue, Better Homes & Gardens suggested these purpley shades for paint. (I can't wait to find something to paint the "Iris" color.):What are some colors you've been falling in love with lately?

pics of the new place

We LOVE our new place. Jonathan and I stand back in amazement with how much God's provided for us in this new home. Life feels like a vacation here. Being able to "buy new" is all good and well, but nothing can compare to what a true blessing it's been to live next door to the Zaals, and minutes away from my family! We've already had Thanksiving Dinner, 2 Birthday Parties, and many family gatherings here. We LOVE being able to have people over!

Thought you all would enjoy some recent pics of the place:

The ExteriorThe Living RoomThe Morning RoomThe BasementSky's Playroom