Michele Update #4

Thank you so much for continuing to pray for Michele. She was able to have her stem cell transplant done today, and she's been moved out of ICU!

Praise the LORD!

Please pray that the transplant would have the desired effect and put her in remission. Pray for continued progress, and pray that the most recent chemotherapy would not cause burning of her hands and feet.

God continues to amaze us, and we are immensely grateful for His many mercies.

I'll post again when I know more.

With much gratitude,

I Will Surely Do You Good

"I will surely do you GOOD!"

~Genesis 32:12

Though this promise was given to Jacob, it was not confined to him—but is intended for all his spiritual seed. It is thus that God speaks to US this morning. How gracious!

We know not what this day may bring forth—but we do know that our God, who superintends every event, will do us good.

We may mistake as to what will be for our good—but He is infinite in wisdom and goodness, and therefore cannot mistake. We may look at afflictions, losses, and crosses, and cry out, "All these things are against me!" But read the history of David. What a train of troubles attended him! Hear his acknowledgment: "It is GOOD for me that I have been afflicted!"

Your God will do you good—therefore He will try you, sift you, humble you, and prove you. He will give you needed bitter medicine—as well asfood. He will consider nothing too expensive, or too painful—if necessary for your soul's welfare.

Look at your trials, and say, "This also shall turn to my good!"

Look on the past, and acknowledge, "Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life."

Look to the future, and rejoice, "The Lord will surely give me that which is GOOD."

Look in every direction, and say, "Surely the Lord will do me good—I will trust, and not be afraid."

~James Smith, "The Pastor's Morning Visit
Grace Gems

Michele Update #3

I just got word that Michele has been moved to ICU. She's battling low blood pressure, and they've put her on oxygen.

Your continued prayers are so greatly appreciated.

With love,

Thankful Thursday~Ice Cream Bliss and Autumn Bounty

"A life from the dead ought to be spent 

in extolling the God of our life."

~Matthew Henry

I'm thankful for simple autumn displays that make my mornings and dinner time a bit lovelier. I'm thankful that when I light this candle in the morning, I think of Michele, and pray once again for a miracle to be done. 

I'm thankful that Christ is the Light of the world and that He bears our burdens and makes even the darkest of times opportunities for giving thanks and worshipping Him.

When we first moved into our home, I loathed this piece of farm equipment that greeted me each time I looked out my kitchen window. In fact, I loathed New Mexico. NOW~I love both. I'm thankful God changes our perspective, transforming ungrateful hearts into contented ones.

I'm thankful for the generous hands that gave us this bounty from their garden. I'm thankful that God is generous every day, pouring out loads of blessings, too many to even count.

I'm thankful for this stump of wood that reminds me how easily children delight in simple things. I'm thankful God provides a world of wonder and possibilities in His creation.

I'm thankful for the wholehearted way little hands and little mouths enjoy ice cream cones. I'm thankful my little boy will one day excuse me for putting him in a pink bib...again. I'm thankful for water and soap. I'm thankful for the blessing of teaching these little hearts about Jesus every day.

"Let my mouth be filled with Thy praise and with Thy honor all the day."

~Psalm 71:8

With love,

Michele Update #2

God has blessed Michele with another couple of good days! Thank you so much for your prayers. Please keep interceding!

Praise the LORD, she hasn't had any mouth sores or nausea from the chemotherapy! She's just been feeling very tired today. Tomorrow she'll get her second dose before the stem cell transplant on Friday.

Specific requests in addition to the others mentioned in the last post are:

1) Michele's platelet count is only around 70,000. Normally, it would be about 150,000. Her numbers didn't go up as much as was expected after her previous round of chemotherapy. SO, there isn't a lot of "wiggle room" here. Once the count gets down to 15,000, she'll get additional platelets, but sometimes the body doesn't respond and the counts don't increase. Please pray that Michele's platelet count will increase dramatically and be in a healthy range.


2) Michele's kidneys are not processing everything as well as they should be. Please pray for increased function and the ability to get rid of the toxins like her body needs to.


3) Pray for strength and continued good health for David.

4) Pray for a blessed visit with her family.

"As prayer brings things to us which beget gratitude and thanksgiving, so praise and gratitude promote prayer, and induce more praying and better praying."
~E.M. Bounds


Thank you again for your prayers, and thank you even more for taking the time to leave encouraging words. Your words are lights in the darkness, water in the desert, priceless gifts to us all.

Much love,

Photo Shoot Fail

 I know I'm handsome. At least that's what I hear every day. I'd even go as far as saying that if you looked up the word "handsome" in the dictionary, you'd see my picture. And I wouldn't be out of line to say my Mom probably took the picture.

If you've known my Mom for any amount of time, you know that she comes with a camera. It's part of her. An appendage.

So, of course, when I picked the blue vest and khakis to wear to church last week, my Mom just haaaad to have a picture. But I wasn't in the mood for a photo shoot.

Photos shoots have, well, lost their charm.

I tried to get away.

But, my parents' bed is kinda high.

As I considered the fall, I decided to reluctantly let my sister take a picture.

Can't you see here how unhappy I am. Find another GQ guinea pig, I say. Haven't we all seen handsome baby boys in blue vests before?

My persistent sister even followed me outside. I would have run away, but I can't run, yet.

They then thought they'd try the "natural" pose of sitting me on the deck rail. Yeah. 'Cause that's where 15 month babies tend to hang out during the day.

Finally, I let her get the "big picture." Of course, it didn't include my handsome face. But she left me alone after this.

Yes, life is much harder for a baby in this digital age. We can't just look good in peace. Photo-happy Mamas have to record that we looked good. Then, they have to share with the world that we look good. 

And you know, you have a part in this, too. Because as soon as you tell my Mama how cute these pictures are, well.....you're just encouraging this torturous practice.

I'm done ranting now. 

I'm gonna go see if I can look throw my ball and maybe even eat a cookie.....without hearing the click of the camera a few hundred times.

MIchele Update #1

Your kindness in praying for Michele is such a blessing. I'll be posting updates as often as I have new information.

I talked with Michele for quite a bit yesterday, and she sounds really good. She had a strong sense of peace when she checked into the hospital (YAY!!), and her first chemotherapy treatment went smoothly.

She and David spent time recounting God's many blessings and miracles throughout this trial. Is not this the work of grace in the heart that my dear cousin, after all she's been through, can sing the praises of the LORD? It's a most beautiful conversation to have with someone!

Michele has never had this specific type of chemotherapy before. Please pray specifically that God would hold back these two common complications:

~severe mouth sores
~burning sensation in hands and feet that actually results in the peeling of the skin

Her children and sister and mom will be joining her in a couple of days! How wonderful that she'll have the support of their presence.

The stem cell is scheduled for Friday. Please pray that it would be God's instrument in putting Michele back into remission.

May God richly bless you for the gift of your prayers!

"Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to heart the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!"
~Andrew Murray


With love,

24

Twenty-four years ago today, a bratty young woman married the man of her dreams. Little did she know that marriages aren't made of fairy tales but instead are wholly dependent on the grace of God.

Little did she know that true love does not seek its own. Instead,true love covers a multitude of sins. It's not pouty or selfish. It's others-focused.

It slays SELF daily and serves with joy. It hopes when there seems to be no hope. It gives kind words in the midst of anger. 

True love remembers its vows, in sickness or in health, in hard times and in good. True love doesn't walk away.  It says "yes" when it wants to say "no." It keeps going when it wants to quit. 

True love has staying power.

True love grows in the soil of affliction. It gets stronger roots with every offense forgiven and every mercy poured out from God. It strengthens with every thanks-giving.

True love keeps its eyes fixed on Christ and not the circumstances.

These past 24 years of married life are a magnificent display of God's mercies and His grace. Where would we be if God had given us what we deserve? 

Instead God humbled us with a deeper love for Him, a deeper love for each other, and eleven (eight here with us) precious blessings. 

"Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it.."

Psalm 27:1

May God bless us with many more years of growing in love and His grace!

When Circumstances Seem Against Us

It's so easy to speak of God's providence when life makes sense to us. When things go as planned. When evil is recompensed and goodness is blessed.

But life doesn't normally go as we plan it. We endure hard providences that sometimes leave us questioning what's going on behind the scenes. Is Someone still directing, or are we left to ourselves?

Praise God that even though we can't always answer the "whys" behind God's plans for us, we can know at least these things....

~He's working it for our good.

~He will never leave us or forsake us.

~He's making us more like Christ.

~His ways are beyond our understanding, and that even if we knew the "why", we'd still be tempted to put His wisdom on trial.

~Our trust muscles grow and bulge under the weight of affliction.

~Every affliction is an opportunity for God to display His glory and power and provision and for us to learn to sing His praises better and better.

~He is full of compassion and mercy and grace. He is trustworthy and faithful.

~You can have a thankful heart and peace in the midst of your trial. By His grace.

~We store up Ebenezers. We tell of God's mighty deeds to our children and their children.

All we have to do is search the Scriptures to think of many things we CAN KNOW when we feel like we know nothing but heartache and disappointment.

Those of you who know my cousin, Michele, know that she has battled multiple myeloma for over eight years. You've prayed for her as she has been preparing for her fourth stem cell transplant. You prayed for her husband,David ,as he suffered from pancreatitis and was hospitalized for over four months. You prayed for me as I recently made a trip to Utah, where she's getting treatment, to help them out while they were BOTH hospitalized.

If you know of my cousin, you know I love that girl. You know she's like a sister to me.

God did amazing things on that trip, and now, after receiving the most unexpected news, we beg Him for another miracle.

Michele was just told that she is VERY high risk for this transplant. The chemotherapy has damaged her heart, and of course, she has continuing kidney issues. Doctors love statistics, of course, and Michele's been told she has a 50/50 chance of surviving this. If she does survive, she might experience many complications.

Her other option is to return home and live out the rest of her life.

They tell her that would only be a couple of months.

Michele is going through with the transplant. We already see evidences of God's amazing provision, and we're asking Him to get Michele through this procedure and put her in remission.

We're asking you to pray with us. Pray with faith, not wavering, remembering that nothing is impossible with God.

And please pray for a heart that surrenders to God's will, no matter what that might be. Pray for peace and calm and a strong sense of Christ's presence. Pray for a deep and sweet communion with the LORD. Pray for increased faith.

With tear-filled eyes that are fixed on Jesus and heavy hearts that remember His faithfulness, we thank you in advance for the sacrifice of your prayers.

"If we do not believe God when circumstances seem to be against us, we do not believe Him at all."
~C.H. Spurgeon

With love,

Will You Know Me in Heaven?

(picture of the evening sky, taken by Emma)

~For my Mama and all the other hearts that are missing someone.....

"I have heard of a good woman, who asked her husband, when she was dying, "My dear, do you think you will know me when you and I get to heaven?" "Will I know you?" he said, "why, I have always known you while I have been here, and do you think I will know less when I get to heaven?" I think it was a very good answer. If we have known one another here, we will know one another there.

I have dear departed friends up there, and it is always a sweet thought to me, that when I will put my foot, as I hope I may, into the doorway of heaven, there will come my sisters and brothers to hold me by the hand and say, "Yes, you loved one, you are here." Dear relatives that have been separated, you will meet again in heaven. One of you has lost a mother--she is gone above; and if you follow the way of Jesus, you shall meet her there.

I think I see yet another coming to meet you at the door of paradise; and though the ties of natural affection may be somewhat forgotten--I may be allowed to use a figure--how blessed would she be as she turned to God, and said, "Here I am, and the children that you have given to me." We will recognize our friends:--husbands, you will know your wife again. Mother, you will know those dear babes of yours--you noted their features when they were panting and gasping for breath as they lay dying. You know how you hung over their graves when the cold dirt was sprinkled over them, and it was said, "Earth to earth, dust to dust, and ashes to ashes."

But you will hear those loved voices again: you will hear those sweet voices once more; you will yet know that those whom you loved have been loved by God. Wouldn't it be a dreary heaven for us to inhabit, where we would all look the same and we would not know anyone or be known by any? I wouldn't care to go to such a heaven as that. I believe that heaven is a fellowship of the saints, and that we will know one another there. I have often thought I should love to see Isaiah; and, as soon as I get to heaven, I think, I would ask for him, because he spoke more of Jesus Christ than all the rest. I am sure I should want to find that good George Whitefield--he who so continually preached to the people, and wore himself out with angelic zeal. O yes! we will have some choice company in heaven when we get there."
~C.H. Spurgeon


With love,

Morning Catechism

We want our crystal balls. Christianized versions, of course.

We obsess over what God wants us to do with our lives. We'd love the plan to be set clearly before us so we never have to wonder about God's providence.

Meanwhile we ignore what He sets before us in His Word. We're enamored with receiving earth-shattering revelations, but we're bored with obedience.

Imagine, though, starting our days with two things in mind. One...Whose day it really is, and two...what we're supposed to do with it.

I teach this to my Littles, but it's a good reminder no matter how big or small you are.

Q. Who made this day?
A. God did.

Q. What does He tell us to do?
A. Rejoice and be glad in it.

How different our days are when we remind ourselves of these truths right from the beginning.

With love,

Fruitful Seasons and Settled Hearts

You could see the signs of spring outside our window as she bounded in the room.

"What season is it?" little Ella asked.
"It's spring." "
Oh, I wish it was summer."
"Well, don't wish the season away. Enjoy what God has given us right now," I encouraged her.

But wishing the seasons away is what we often do.

When we're little girls, we can't wait to be mommies.
When we're the mothers of babies, we can't wait for toddlers.
When we're single, we can't wait to be married.
And when we're in the midst of a hard providence, we just want relief.

As I consider that tomorrow marks another autumn, one of my favorite seasons, it's hard to believe summer is gone. For the past few months it's felt like the dead of winter, and it's tempting to say I "missed" having a summer at all.

But as we grow in grace, we're more mindful of His sovereign appointing of our seasons. We remember that each season has a unique purpose.

He gives us seasons of loneliness that we might learn Christ is our all.
He gives us seasons of sadness to teach us that He is our joy.
He gives us seasons of prosperity so we can learn to be generous to others.
He gives us seasons of want so we can learn to trust Him with the smallest of details.

And He gives us dark, mid-winter seasons, that we might long for deeper communion with Him.

Less of ourselves. More of Him.

I don't have summer pictures to share this year.

No children playing at the beach.
No vegetables from a garden.
No vacation souvenirs.

But I do have pictures in my mind and heart of a God, my God, who has repeatedly amazed me with His kindness and mercy. I have pictures on my heart of sweet communion with my Savior. Communion that only comes when we're weary and heartbroken and bewildered.

I have pictures of a heart that's been taught contentment and surrender.

Because only God can make things grow in the dead of winter. 

Whatever season He has you in, don't waste it by simply longing for deliverance. Pray for a settled heart that is pliable and eager to be fashioned to His will. Pray for a heart that is faithful and fruitful, no matter the season.

With love,

I Could Smell You Coming From a Mile Away and Other Home Adventures

The Mountain Men had a great weekend of shooting and throwing and sittin' around the fire. I told my Beloved that I knew they were home just by the smell. :) But they didn't return empty handed.

The spoils included a powder horn, walking stick,  tomahawk, a gun sling, pistol cleaner, knives, sheepskin, cookware, and even trinkets for the girls.

Back at the fort, we forced ourselves to have tea and scones, read together, clean, and create. I would never describe myself as creative, and yet, I'm thankful for that God-given desire to make things.

We started first with the essential childhood ingredient....play dough. Don't you love this pink bubble gum color?

Here's our favorite inedible version. 

(Because surely you've eaten the peanut butter kind. :))

2 c. flour

2 c. water

1 c. salt

2 T. veg. oil

1 T. cream of tartar

Mix together and cook over low heat. Remove from pan and knead on wax paper. This keeps for quite awhile when kept in a container.

We also indulged in our favorite scone recipe. My lovely Emma set out my grandmother's sugar bowl and creamer. I've been thinking of giving these away as I try to eliminate "stuff," but now I'm glad I haven't. They were an elegant touch to our table, and I loved my daughter's enthusiasm for using them.

We managed to fit in some laughter, too.

While many are well into their new school year, we're on break, preparing to start in October. I immersed myself in Binder Bliss and managed to get six done. Only three more to go! Little Clairesy saw the excitement of her siblings when I was done with their binders, and now she wants one, too.

Last, but definitely not least, I gave my calendar area a makeover.

This is my brain tacked to a wall.

Here's my new improved brain, and I LOVE IT! Those pockets are perfect for dry erase markers. So, I have a calendar in the upper left corner. I keep the week's recipes in the pocket to the right.  In the middle section are the directions to my house (so the children have it if they ever need to explain it to someone...) as well as phone numbers. The large pocket is for anything outgoing, such as mail or papers to give to someone.  The small pocket to the right holds the dry erase marker and two pens.  Then there are four bottom folder areas. I use one for grocery sale papers, and the other three I'm still working on.

My cousin is responsible for telling me about this genius of an idea. You can read more about it at her Thirty One page.  This wasn't cheap, but it was worth every cent, and even my sons are impressed with my new brain.

Ok, so surely one of these things qualifies me to link up with Petra's World of Work Wednesday. 

I'm tired now.

With love,

The Fusion of a Warm Heart and a Good Matter

I watch him breathe, and I'm unaffected. I see him play sports without that marked breathlessness, and I take it for granted.

Last week marked a year since our oldest son had major surgery. As we listened to the doctor's good words at the one year check-up, I was reminded of my forgetful heart.

All these things that I prayed so hard over the days leading up to the surgery have now become so normal that I easily lose the wonder of it all. Is it not true that when we're waiting on an answer to prayer, the answer seems so BIG, but too often when the answer comes, our minds slowly minimize the grandness of it all?

God poured out on us so many blessings during that time.

There were no complications or infections.
Our pastor stayed with us the entire day and visited every day thereafter.
Friends came with good words and smiles and gifts and prayers.

And Ink was such a good patient. Not complaining or demanding. He took everything like a man. A strong, brave man. I couldn't help but think that he's going to make a great husband to a very blessed bride one day.

Even more impressive to me was his complete trust in the LORD through all of this. What a difference it makes when we are taught from the earliest of our days that God is faithful and sovereign and has a purpose for every path He sets before us. It's a mistake to want to protect our children from trials because it's in the fire that their faith grows, and they learn to call Him, with even firmer conviction, "My God."

We watched Ink heal completely and break free from all medications after the surgery. We marked God's provision with a Rejoicing Feast.

But this journey isn't done. Ink still has two more years to go before the final procedure. Even in this change of plans, this waiting longer for everything to be done, I watch Ink submit, and I'm blessed.

His one year check-up was another Ebenezer to add to our growing pile. It takes us back to God's provision a year ago, and it reminds us to never grow slothful in giving thanks.

I want to be like David, when he expressed in Psalm 71, that desire to magnify the LORD more and more. Let me never settle for my current thanks-giving ability, but ask for the grace to be increasingly skilled at playing my harp with uninterrupted songs of gratitude.

"It is a sad thing with the heart is cold with a good matter, and worse when it is warm with a bad matter, but incomparably well when a warm heart and a good matter meet together. O that we may offer to God an acceptable minchah, a sweet oblation fresh from the pan of hearts warmed with gratitude and admiration."
~C. H. Spurgeon

How's your thanks-giving? Have you grown cold toward the great gift of your salvation? Have you glossed over the many answers God has given to your prayers? May God give us the grace to thank Him most fervently and continuously.

With love,

Monday Facts~Bible Edition

It's a fact that my favorite version is the King James.

It's a fact that my husband is the only one in our home who reads from the ESV.

It's a fact I love my Cambridge Bible with the wide margins.

It's a fact that when my Dad died, I wanted his Bible.

It's a fact that when my children turn 17, they'll get their own Cambridge Bible.

It's a fact that these are my favorite pens for marking in my Bible. And yes, I use pink.

It's a fact that I no longer think I need to make one Bible last forever. Like Elisabeth Elliot and Nancy Leigh DeMoss, I can mark up several Bibles in my lifetime. (Eight would be good. Then my children won't fight over them. :))

It's a fact that I'm terrible at memorizing Scripture, though I desire so much to be able to do it. It's a fact that my children amaze me with their ability. It's a fact that I wish I had memorized chapters of the Bible when I was a child.

It's a fact that I pray my children would hunger for the Word and that they wouldn't be able to imagine going through a day without feasting on Scripture.

It's a fact that I read too much of what men have to say about God's Word and not enough of God's Word itself.

It's a fact that God's Word is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

It's a fact that reading your Bible on a Kindle or an iPad or a phone will NEVER be the same as holding and reading and studying the REAL thing. Let us not take for granted our printed Bibles.

It's a fact that randomly reading from God's Word each day is fine for awhile, but afterwards one begins to feel lost and unsettled. Reading through the Bible, all of the Bible, is the best way to see the "big picture."

It's a fact that I want to know God's Word AND do what it says.

It's a fact that I pray that God would give me a deeper love for His Word. I know I don't love it enough.

What about you? What's your favorite version? Do you mark in your Bible? What's one thing you would change about your Bible reading habits?

With love,

It's a fact you can read other fascinating facts at Seams Inspired!

Will You Divorce Me if I Get Alzheimer's?

The book caught my eye. It opened with Scripture, and I thought I was about to read a lovely story of a husband who devotedly cared for his wife through the stages of Alzheimer's.

Instead, I read the musings of a self-aborbed man who ended up keeping his wife in a home while he lived with his mistress down the road. This was good, of course, because then he and his mistress could take care of the wife. A man has needs, after all, he explained. The children understood. It was all good. What a happy family!

When I lived in South Carolina many years ago and worked at a counseling center, one of the counselors would often speak of Robertson McQuilkin, President of Columbia Bible College, who had just resigned in order to give full time care to his wife, who had Alzheimer's.

Listen to the God-honoring thoughts of this man whose focus was serving the LORD, no matter the cost.

I never think about “what if.” I don’t think “what if” is in God’s vocabulary. So I don’t even think about what I might be doing instead of changing her diaper or what I might be doing instead of spending two hours feeding her. It’s the grace of God, I’m sure.

I don’t feel like I’ve given anything up. Our life is not the way we plot it or plan it.... All along I’ve just accepted whatever assignment the Lord gave me. This was his assignment. I know I’m not supposed to have that kind of reaction, but you asked me, and I have to be honest. I never went to a support group. I had enough of my own burdens without taking on everybody else’s. Sometimes I have accepted an invitation to speak at one of these. A lot of angry people. They’re angry at God for letting this happen—“Why me?” They’re angry at the one they care for, and then they feel guilty about it because they can’t explain why they’re angry at them.... I say, in acceptance there’s peace.

(Read the wonderful article by Randy Alcorn here.)

The truth is, a spouse doesn't just wake up one day and declare he no longer wants to take care of his sick or dying spouse. This despicable behavior happens because we are sinners in desperate need of God's grace. And even when we know Christ, there's still the daily dying to self we must do.

Have we learned to do what needs to be done even though we don't like it? Are we teaching our children that our lives center not in ourselves but in glorifying God? Are we learning in the small things to surrender our will to His so when the big things come, we're not busy throwing temper tantrums instead of submitting?

Are we teaching our daughters that commitment in marriage includes washing socks that have been left on the floor inside out, putting the top on the toothpaste for the fiftieth time, and not getting upset when the toilet paper roll isn't put on like we want it? Are we teaching our boys that marriage vows include loving the woman who used to be 30 pounds thinner before she bore you five children, the woman who used to love mountain biking and rock hopping but now prefers quiet walks?

All of these quirks pale in comparison to Alzheimer's, and yet how many divorces take place, by Christians, too, simply because of "incompatibility" issues?

The pagan does what he wants to because he believes himself accountable to no one. His goal is to glorify and satisfy himself. This is just one of the reasons we read of marriage vows that saying nothing of "for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part." Rather we read of vows that hope for nothing but happy days, vows that attempt to leave a way out if marriage isn't all we thought it would be.

But as Christians, we are called to a different standard. We've been bought with a price, and we are not our own. We're to be obeying the Word of God, not embracing man's logic based on his desire to please himself. 

Pat Robertson's shameful declaration that a man is justified to leave his wife if she has Alzheimer's should not just remind us of the permanency and the sacredness of our marriage vows, it should also remind us that wisdom comes not from our degrees or our fame or our riches, but wisdom comes from the Word of God. Let us know His Word so well that we don't find ourselves wavering when a well known "Christian" proclaims something contrary to Scripture. Rather, let us stand firmly and say, "Thus says the Lord."

With love,

Bread and Butter

We only took over 80 pictures today. I've discovered the attraction of the "no flash" setting. It's finicky, though, and if I move just a bit, the picture blurs. (Tell me your secrets, Rebecca?) I guess I don't have that much of a steady hand after all. At least I'll have fun sharing all of those pictures with you.

Today's bonus was actually getting everything done I had set out to do, in spite of waking up with a sore throat. I'm known as Mrs.Carry Over....always carrying over tasks to the next day. I'm sure that's simply a product of procrastination  over ambition.

It was great to have the guys come home tonight to freshly baked loaves of bread. I love those days when I have a bit more time to linger in the kitchen. And after an early evening tea party, bread and butter for dinner was just fine.

Another great thing about homemade bread? It tastes good even when your loaf pans are too small for the dough.

Did you know that the hot buttered bread made for my family was once considered dangerous?

“Among those kinds of food which the good housekeeper should scrupulously banish from her table, is that of hot leavened bread....I believe it more often lays the foundation of diseases of the stomach, than any other kind of nourishment, used among us.”
Sarah Josepha Hale, 'The Good Housekeeper' (1839)

I like these thoughts better.....

“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.”
James Beard (1903-1985)

With love,