A Mother's Love

A mother's love is this: cleaning up stinky, make-you-want-to gag, projectile vomit at midnight and not minding so-much.

All three of my kids have been sick, including myself, but last night's sickness was one of the worst messes I have had to clean up. I have not had too much of a problem cleaning up my own kids' messes - whether it is dirty diapers or vomit. I don't know if I could clean up just anyone's vomit. That takes a lot of love.

Good-Bye Duck Friends

As many of you know, at the beginning of the summer we had about 20 chicks, 10 ducklings (4 were geese), and 10 turkey chicks. Kirk thought that they would be a good addition to our VBS. Unfortunately, a fox got into their pen and killed all of them except 3 ducks and 1 goose. Ever since, we have had them at our house. When they were little, we enjoyed being outside with them.

Unfortuately, babies grow up. We just didn't have the room for them and we have been considering what we should do with them. After having considered butchering them, we found a duck pond for them to go to instead.

I didn't have a camera with me and it was late Friday night when we dropped them off, so we went back today and they are doing great. They won't leave each others side. Our 3 year old had a hard time leaving them. He cried the whole way home on Friday night. He was much happier today when we went to see them. The kids had a great time chasing all the ducks around the pond. I bet they were glad to see us go. Good-bye duck friends.

Another Favorite Recipe

Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Show:	30 Minute Meals
Episode:	Get the Day Started Right

1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 ounces, 1/4 cup, chopped walnuts
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 really ripe bananas, mashed up
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 stick butter, 1/4 cup, melted, plus additional for buttering skillet
Maple syrup or honey, for drizzlingHere's a great tip: if you cannot find really ripe bananas, just nuke them in the microwave for about 15 seconds and they will become super soft for mashing.

Mix dry ingredients, the first 7, in a bowl. In a another bowl, mix the wet ingredients, the next 4. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined, then fold in the mashed up bananas and the raisins. Stir in the melted butter.

Heat a griddle over medium heat and brush with additional melted butter. Cook pancakes, each about 1/3 cup, until bubbles form on the top, then turn. Cakes will cook in about 2 minutes on each side. Keep pancakes tented with foil as they come off the griddle to keep them hot. Serve with drizzled honey or maple syrup over the top.

Some of My Latest Favorite Recipes

Baked Beans

Recipe courtesy Sandra Lee

Show: Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee

Episode: Weekend Gathering

1/2 pound slab bacon, thickly sliced and chopped into 1/2-inch dice
2 (32-ounce) cans baked beans
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons honey

In a heavy pot or Dutch oven, add the chopped bacon and cook over medium heat just until the fat begins to render, about 4 minutes. Add baked beans, ketchup, brown sugar, hot pepper sauce, and honey and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat slightly to maintain a simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, or until flavors are combined.

Baby Back Ribs

Recipe courtesy Sandra Lee

2 full racks (quartered) baby back ribs
1-quart beef broth
2 cups barbeque sauce (recommended: Bullseye Original Barbeque Sauce)
1 cup honey

Place ribs and beef broth in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, and add enough water to fully cover ribs. Simmer over low heat for about 1 hour. Once tender, remove and set aside.

Preheat the grill to medium heat. In a medium bowl, combine barbeque sauce and honey. Baste ribs generously with sauce and grill for about 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Karen Carpenter use to sing a song called "Rainy Days and Mondays." It was about how those things, "always get me down." Well no more - not me. Rainy days and Mondays don't get me down anymore. In fact, I look forward to them. Living in the part of California that I do, it doesn't rain all summer. It does start raining until sometime in the fall and goes off and on through the spring. It gets so dry here in the summer that I long for the rain. Doesn't rain make everything feel so fresh and new and clean? I can't wait for rain. I am praying for rain - isn't that another song?

And Mondays. Who likes Mondays? Well, now that I am a stay-at-home mom and a wife of a minister, I enjoy Mondays. The weekends are always so busy that Mondays are my let down day. A day to get everything refreshed and start a new busy week.

Thank you God for rainy days and Mondays.

Life's a Beach

This picture was taken this weekend while we were visiting our friends, Kim and Lance. I was just thinking that it would be way cool if we lived close to the beach and we could go there all the time. I saw one house that was super cute and it was just a few blocks away. What a life.

Thanks Kim and Lance for all you did this weekend. We love you!