Free Skirt Giveaway

Check out this free skirt giveaway at littlenaturalcottage.com!
I bought my Easter skirt at New Creation Women's Apparel. They are a great resource for modest skirts, and they even have maternity skirts as well! Head on over to Kristy's blog and enter to win a free skirt!


Blessings,
Susan

Prayers for Japan

My heart breaks for the people of Japan. Last Friday Japan had a devastating 9.0 earthquake, with an even more devastating tsunami. The devastation is insurmountable! So many people have lost their lives, families separated, children are now orphaned. It is so sad, heartbreaking. I find myself so thankful for the little things, time with my children and my husband. This sort of tragedy really makes you sit back and appreciate ALL that God has given to you. It also helps me to think practically and be more prepared in my own home for a possible tragedy like this. We do live near an active earthquake fault, the San Andres fault, and they have talked about "The Big One" since I was a little girl. I find that I am also having to limit the news and "fear mongering" by the media, more for myself than anyone else. No matter what God is in control and I realize that fear is not from God. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7 Continue to pray for Japan, and the people who live in this devastated country, my heart breaks for them!

Blessings,
Susan

Popsicles in January

It has been really warm here in So. Cal. the last few days, REALLY warm, so warm that it feels like summer. Yesterday Rachel and I sat outside and enjoyed the warmth of the sun, and she ate a Popsicle. It was a beautiful day!



Oh the life of a 3 year old!

Today is the same, so the kids are outside eating lunch and enjoying the warmth. I know that it is still winter, but it is a nice warm break from all the rain and cold. So for now we are enjoying it and some Popsicles!

Blessings,
Susan

Homemade Blueberry Muffins

Today I am going to make blueberry muffins. I have some blueberries that have been in my freezer, so I thought what better way to use them, than to make blueberry muffins. So here is my recipe:


Streusel Topping

1/4 all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cold butter or margarine

Muffins

3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh, canned (drained) or frozen blueberries

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Line 12 regular-size muffin cups with paper baking cups, or spray bottoms only of cups with cooking spray.
2. In medium bowl, stir 1/4 cup flour, the brown sugar and cinnamon until mixed. Cut in butter, using pastry blender or fork, until mixture is crumbly; set aside.
3. In large bowl, beat milk, oil and egg with fork or wire whisk until blended. Add 2 cups flour, the granulated sugar, baking powder and salt all at once; stir just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Gently stir in blueberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle each with about 1 tablespoon streusel.
4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. If muffins were baked in paper baking cups, immediately remove from pan to cooling rack. If muffins were baked in sprayed pan, leave in pan about 5 minutes, then remove from pan to cooling rack. Serve warm or cooled.


This is from my Betty Crocker Cookbook, there are so many basic recipes in this cookbook, I love it! There is nothing better than something yummy baking in the oven!

Prayers For My Maddie

Yesterday was a bit of a tough day. Madison had to have some tests done, and long story short, it was a bit of a challenge. For those of you who don't know Madison was born with Spina Bifida, which is where the spinal chord doesn't completely close during the very beginning of pregnancy. Spina Bifida is a neuro-tube defect. She has had some complications during her 14 years, recently it is bladder and kidney issues. Without getting too detailed in my blog she is dealing with some kidney issues, the Doctor says she has hydronephrosis (swelling in the kidneys). I know that my God is bigger than any doctor, or any diagnosis. We have seen God's miraculous hand touch Madison over the years, what an amazing testimony she has. On the other hand I know there is power in prayer, and the more people praying the better. So I am here asking my friends to pray. Believing God that he can touch her body, and "Heal ALL her diseases"! Pray that what we will be doing will alleviate the pressure on her kidneys and that she won't have to have surgery. Thank you to all my friends, you all bless me so much, more than words can express!

Blessings,
Susan

A New "Big Girl" Bed

My baby is growing up! :( Our little one is officially out of the crib and into a "big dirl"(girl) bed. What a blessing, we were given a bed for Rachel and she is just so happy. She kept saying, "Thank you Daddy! I love my new bed!". She is so sweet and super excited to be sleeping in a new bed. Now we are able to pass on her crib to someone who needs it. Because we were blessed we are able to bless others. We are so thankful for great friends who wanted to give us this amazing blessing. So on one hand Rachel is so excited, and Momma is a little sad, no more babies. It is a little bitter sweet, but fun to watch my little ones grow and learn. I am truly BLESSED!

Blessings,
Susan

Please Don't Get Pencil Shavings in my Peanut Butter!

Don't lick your brother! Don't stick Legos up your nose! Have you ever heard yourself saying these kinds of things? Don't poke your sister with a pencil. We don't kick anyone! Who ate all the pickles? Did I mention that my "little ones" (Josiah 5 & Rachel 3) LOVE pickles. If I didn't stop them they would probably eat 10 pickles a day, that definitely can't be good for you! The other day I had the peanut butter out on the counter and the kids plugged in the pencil sharpener right next to the toaster, and then I proceeded to say, "Please don't get pencil shavings in my peanut butter". I had to chuckle, it sounded so funny to me. Those are the moments that are so wonderful to be home with my kids. I love home schooling my four amazing children! There are so many wonderful moments that happen throughout the day, don't get me wrong there are plenty of hectic times too, but the fun, happy times completely out weigh the crazy times.

Speaking of "Legos up the nose" I thought that I might share that special story here in my blog. When Josiah was 4 he stuck a small Lego up his nose and sniffed it up there good. After taking him to our pediatrician she could not get it out, she tried a few of her "special tools" in the office, but only made his nose bleed and that made him cry and sniff more which caused the Lego to go up his nose further. She then sent us to the ER, where they had better tools and we would hopefully have better luck getting it out. Long story short, by the time we are finally seen in the ER they can not actually see the Lego any more. Great! So then they send us in for an x-ray to make sure the Lego hasn't come out or possibly gone down his throat and he swallowed it. Of course the Lego was still up there, it was really up there! Yikes! At this point even I was starting to get concerned because they were telling me that if the ENT (ear, nose, & throat specialist) can't get it out, they are going to have to do surgery! What! All I could do was pray, and console my little guy, he was scared at this point and so was I. In comes this ENT specialist with some really scary tools, with the help of 3 nurses and myself holding him down, the doctor was able to pull this small Lego piece out of his nose. Needless to say Josiah will never forget this tragic experience, as will I. Now we can look back and laugh but at that moment it was not funny. The things kids do, I'm sure that I did some crazy things as a kid, as a matter of fact I have heard some stories from my siblings that they just love to tell. I'm sure that the "Lego up the nose" story will be one of those that we will all love to retell as Josiah gets older!

Happy New Year

Wow! 2011, what new things are in store for this year? Personally I am very excited to see what this year has in store for us, for me and my family. 2010 definitely had its ups and downs, at times it felt like more downs than ups, but God is always faithful! When we are weak He is strong, and this last year there were many times when I felt weak, physically weak and emotionally weak. I do know that in our times of weakness we must completely rely upon the Lord for our strength, "The Joy of the Lord is my strength." In Him we find this joy, and in this next year I am trusting God to increase this joy in me! In my own strength I am weak but with Him, all things are possible! In our devotional time with our children the other night my husband felt that this year as a family we need to increase our Faith. I am truly trusting God to increase my faith, we walk by faith and not by sight. There are so many things that I am believing God for, and I will continue to believe, and trust in Him to see these things come to pass. Faith is like a muscle, it must be used, stretched and pulled to be strengthened. If you do not move out in your faith, and not use that "muscle" it will atrophy, I do not want my faith to atrophy, I want it to grow and get bigger and continue to trust God for so much more! What are you trusting God for? Let us continue to exercise our faith "muscle" and see it truly grow in 2011.

On another note, I am definitely planning on blogging more frequently! I enjoy reading so many blogs and I want others to feel the same way about my blog! So here's to this coming year let's see what God has in store!