The Caveman turns one!!

Saturday we celebrated the Caveman's 1st birthday with lots of friends and family. We did Peter Rabbit inspired games and decor. Baby Boy did VERY well with all the excitement...he loves people! Thank you to all who came and made it so special!

Vegan sugar cookies

I came across this sugar cookie recipe a few months ago and it is goo-ood. It's from another couples' blog so I don't have any copyright info or anything...they didn't either. The cookies are really good and the icing is even better (I think, anyway). To me they aren't too much different from a regular sugar cookie. So, here are the recipes...

Vegan Sugar Cookies
1 C Vegan Margarine (can be found at the health food store)
1 C sugar
2 Whole Egg Replacers
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract
3 3/4 cup AP flour
2 Tsp baking powder
1/4 C Tofutti (vegan cream cheese...so good)

Preheat oven to 350
Cream marg. and sugar
Stir in egg and vanilla
Gradually add flour, baking powder and tofutti
Form dough into a roll and refrigerate for a couple of hours
Roll out dough to 1/4" thick
Cut shapes with cutters
Place them about 1" apart
Bake about 12-14 minutes or until edges are golden

Vegan Sugar cookie icing
2 cups 10X (confectioners) sugar
6-8 tsp soymilk
4 tsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
food coloring of choice

Mix together until smooth
Dip tops of cookies face down into icing and allow icing to drip back into bowl

*if the icing is too think add more corn syrup a little at a time

I did these for a baby shower and used a duck cookie cutter...too cute! Perfect for the holidays! Enjoy...

Following directions

Oy. I have sat at this computer for the last hour and a half trying to change the template of the blog. I read countless instruction sites and tried a hundred different ways of doing it. I finally scrolled down a little further and saw the REST of the directions. If only I had done that an hour and a half ago. I wouldn't have a horrible crink in my neck or a sore bottom from this wretched chair! Oh well. The new blog is prettier than the old one, I think. ;-)

Why don't we follow directions anyway?? I'm the worst about diving in and not even looking at the instruction manual. Give me a bookcase from IKEA with a billion different parts, and I'm in hog heaven. Toss the manual and dive in...that's me. You'd think I was a man or something. I can remember my teachers in elementary school always saying "you need to slow down and follow the directions".

The one area that I don't want to ignore instruction is my spiritual life and ministry. Right now I'm really seeking my ministry. 10 years ago when I moved here, I really felt lead to the area of inner-city ministry. Over the last few years I have felt a shift to women and now to moms. I love mamas. I love being a mama. I love being around mamas. I'm inspired by other mamas. I'm encouraged by other mamas. I LOVE MAMAS.

So, what now?? What do I do with all that? Hmmm...

Don't pick that!!

Remember when you were little, and you got a scrape on your knee? What did your parents tell you? "Don't pick that scab, you'll leave a scar", right? I was pretty obedient, but for some reason, this was one thing I couldn't help. I wanted the scab OFF...they were just gross. But what I was left with was even worse. A wound that took forever to heal and a lovely scar afterward. Pretty.

They say that time heals all wounds. I don't know who "they" are, by the way. Just the collective "they", I guess. Anyway, I don't think that's necessarily true. It may heal OVER time, but it's not the actual time that heals them. They take longer to heal when you pick them. Pick and pick until you're left with an oozing, disgusting hole in your flesh. That's attractive. In some ways this is what I tend to do with my life. Pick at the situation I'm in until it becomes something so completely different that I don't recognize the original problem anymore. Allow things to fester until I'm so eaten up with disgust or frustration or hurt. This can't be good, I'm thinking.

The reason for all this thought would be so simple to some. I was taking pictures out of a frame and putting new ones in. It's taken me quite a while to do this, and I haven't really been ready until now. Without even thinking about it I started my task, then began to think. Then the wound started opening again. Apparently, I'm still in the "scab" stage. As the emotions and thoughts started pouring out, I kept at my task. When they wouldn't stop, I had to sit down and start writing it out.

You'd think after two years I'd be over it, right? Nah. This is one wound that time hasn't healed. See, only God has brought me through to this point. I've tried everything else though too. I've tried blocking it out...medication...staying busy...putting on my big girl panties and getting over it. Some of those things worked part of the time, but didn't really HEAL.

How do you "get over" the love in your heart for someone you've lost? How do you move on? For me, initially, it was just clinging to God. Knowing that He was the One Who could get me through those first dark, dark months. I look back and think "how in the world did we get through that??" and just know it was by His hand. Now, it just becomes a little less of an "ouchy" each day. It's weird. It's kind of like a tornado. You really don't see it coming, and it leaves lots of destruction in its wake. But you can watch it as it gets further and further away knowing it won't be coming back. You're left with a mess to clean up, but you CAN pick up the pieces. You can and you will...just one day at a time.

30 minute warning??

So, I learned a long time ago from my Roomdog that there's not much of anything funnier than someone falling down. Terrible, right? But, it's true. If it weren't, shows like America's Funniest Video wouldn't spend hours on it each year. There. I've justified myself. Pair the humor of falling down with the humor of a loopy dog and you've got $100,000. Poor Chico. He's a little altered right now. Earlier today it started to thunder really bad, and he began his usual freakout. I remembered that I had gotten him some tranquilizers last time we were at the vet. So, I pulled the bottle out of the pantry and read the instructions. They read as follows: "Give 1/4 tablet 30 minutes before stressful event". Seriously? Being the literalist that I am I thought, "Really? How am I supposed to know a storm is coming in EXACTLY 30 minutes? That the first clap of thunder or bolt of lightning will occur in EXACTLY 30 minutes??". It totally stressed me out! So, I took a whole one and gave him a quarter.

Seriously though, we don't have the luxury of knowing when a stressful event is going to occur. I don't care how much we plan or how in control we are of our lives. It just plain, old doesn't work that way. Just think of it. If this were the case we could be totally ready...armed and dangerous...ready to ward off whatever comes our way. But in reality, these are the moments that push us closer to God. Without the unexpected, unplanned for nature of stressful events, we wouldn't be thrust onto our knees when they hit. We wouldn't be forced to rely fully on God. We wouldn't be powerless before Him, trusting in HIM to bring us through. I'm sad to admit that these are the times when I'm closest to God. In light of some recent events, this is an area of my life that I'm really focusing on...getting back into the face of God. Getting back in His face with my ear up to His mouth...listening. Not only when I'm stressed. Not only when something life-altering occurs. Not only when I can't go anywhere else for help. He IS my Help. He IS my Refuge. He IS my Rock.

I grew up in the Banner Ministry at church and learned the names of God from the most godly women on the planet. Those are the names I'm clinging to. Those are the ONLY names worth dropping. Those are the ONLY names with the power to bring us through stressful events. There are all kinds of names on all kinds of different bottles, and from experience, I know the only one to cling to is...Jesus. Cling to Him, friend. Let's dig our fingernails into the hem of his garment and hang on tight. He is the only Way, and He loves you.