5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Granola Bars (Yield 12-16 granola squares)
4 cups rolled oats
2 tablespoons chia seeds (these are optional, I just love the texture they give)
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped
3/4 cup natural peanut butter, melted
1/2 cup brown rice syrup (honey works too!)

add ins!
chocolate chips
wheat germ
flaxseed
dried fruit (I made some with cherries!)
other nuts
seeds
coconut

Preheat over to 350.

In a large bowl, combine oats, chia seeds and peanuts. Add brown rice syrup (or honey) and mix to combine. Add melted peanut butter and mix until moistened. This works as a perfect, simple granola bar, but you can also throw in any add-ins at this time. Fold them into the dough. You may need to get in there with your hands and work the granola dough! If dough is still too dry (this can depend on your ingredients) add more peanut butter or syrup (or honey) 1 tablespoon at a time until moistened.

Press dough in a greased (non-stick spray) 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes.

These would also work as a great no-bake granola bar, but I liked how they came together and the chocolate chips melted as they got warm. If you want to make no-bakes, simply press the dough into the pan and refrigerate for 60 minutes.

Breakfast is served!

My Notes: Personally, I don’t have chia seeds, so didn’t use them. Also, this bar was pretty crumbly so I dumped it into a bowl and the boys ate it that way. You could totally pour milk over it, if you wanted. Crumbly-ness didn’t bother us one bit, but if you are looking for a bar that you can slice and take with you, this one isn’t it. Oh, and I added chocolate and white chips and a bit of cinnamon. Hubby and Kid rating: 4.5 stars!

The recipe is courtesy of Alexandra’s Kitchen

Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Serves 6-8

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup* + 1 tablespoon sugar**
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup buttermilk

* 7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
** This 1 tablespoon is for sprinkling on top

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.

4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Buttermilk Blueberry Cake

This cake turned out really well! I’ll definitely make this one.

My changes:

I used sucanat instead of sugar.
I purposely did not sprinkle sugar/sucanat on top.
Also, I used freshly ground soft white wheat instead of store-bought. \
I have a stash of buttermilk powder that I use so that I can make buttermilk-enhanced dishes at a moment’s notice.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (I used freshly-ground soft white wheat)

2/3 cup sugar (I used sucanat)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup milk

1 cup creamy peanut butter (all natural)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup of your favorite jam, jelly or preserve

1/4 cup sugar (this is to sprinkle on top – which I skipped)

Directions:

Coat muffin tins with non-stick spray.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Stir dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) together in bowl #1.

Make a “well” in center of dry ingredients.

Stir liquid ingredients (eggs, milk and vegetable oil) together in bowl #2. Do NOT add the jam, jelly or preserve to bowl #2.

Pour liquid ingredients into “well.”

Stir just to combine. (Batter will be slightly lumpy.)

Fill muffin tins 1/3 full.

Drop 2 teaspoons of jam, jelly or preserve into the center of each tin, then finish filling tins with batter until 2/3 to 3/4 full.

Sprinkle tops with sugar. ( I skipped this step – they are sweet enought)

Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden. (less if you make mini-muffins)

Remove from oven.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing.

Makes 12 muffins. (or almost 24 mini muffins)

PBJ Mini Muffins

These were good and were healthy enough that they could be served as a lunch – with some fruit/veggies on the side. And some milk. I’ll be making these again!

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7 New International Version

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
Acts 20:24 New International Version

I’ve been struggling lately because of this label of “hypocrite” that is so quickly slapped on Christians. A person can start to feel that no matter what they say or do, they fall short. They aren’t good enough. They let others down. They disappoint. They are a shallow representation of Christ.

Oh wait. That’s exactly what we are.

Because for even the most sincere and devout Christian, there will never be perfection this side of heaven. It just isn’t possible for us. Our God and Savior knows this, he lavishes his grace on us, day after day and minute after minute. And while he spurs us on toward growth and maturity, it’s a slow, often painful, process.

The hope in all of this is that, because of our faith in Jesus Christ, our life is wrapped in his and we are seen as spotless to our creator. Unfortunately, those around us don’t view us that way. We don’t view others that way. And that can wear us down.

But while the Bible warns against becoming prideful and haughty, it also warns against becoming lazy and apathetic. We have to walk a tightrope between the two, careful not to fall into either one pit or the other. Make no mistake: it’s better to try and fail than to never try at all. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that you are better off in the pit of laziness than the pit of holier-than-thou. They’re both pits.

As for running… While it’s not the Bible, there’s this awesome running quote that always lifts my spirits when I see it.

No matter how slowly you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch.

SO true.

The devil knows that the best way to keep something from happening is to stop it before it begins. So he instills fear into people so that they never even get off the couch. But here’s the thing; you can’t run if you are on the couch. You can’t win a race if you are on the couch. You forever limit yourself to a bystander (sitter?) and (often) commentator only.

And so, without any smugness or self-righteousness, I can say, “Think what you want about who I am or how I am. I have many imperfections, it’s true. But because I’ve committed my life to Jesus, he’s laid out my path and secured my victory for me. All I need to do is run. And it doesn’t matter if you like my running. I’m not running to you. I’m running with and to Him.”

And so, as I strive to meet with Jesus every day and learn, more and more, to listen to his voice and obey his commands, this lovely sense of peace, joy, and freedom unfolds inside of me. Because I realize that when I stay close to him, he works in and through me. He does all of the hard work. I’m learning to follow him and reflect him, but my burdens of projecting the perfect Christian woman/wife/mother/daughter/sister/friend/fill-in-the-blank-here illusion isn’t my number one priority anymore. Being perfect isn’t possible, but if I stick close to my Savior, his power will be made perfect in my weakness. His glory will shine through all of the holes of my personality flaws. His Holy Spirit will carry me further than my weak human legs ever could on their own.

And he’ll do the same for you.

So I encourage you: get off the couch! Run! If you’ve been longing to step into a relationship with Christ, or into a deeper relationship with Christ, if you’ve been wanting to let go of past hurts or past failures, if you’ve been desiring a personal change like losing weight, or paying down debt, or eating healthier, or keeping a cleaner house, or, or, or

…forget about the finger pointers and naysayers and commentators and just run. One foot in front of the other. Step by step. He will be with you every step of the way.

I made this for the little table that sits by the front door:

Welcome

And this is now in the hall bathroom:

Birdie in the bathroom

One of these days I’ll learn how to use my camera. No really, I will. Promise. Seriously.

First, I changed out the curtains. We purchased simple, black curtains from IKEA years ago…like 10 years ago. We’ve used them in three houses now. I was feeling like the black curtains were pretty blah here. There was no color on that side of the house. I had my heart set on red curtains, or at least some curtains with red in them. Hancock Fabrics is having a sale so I loaded up the boys and headed over. Even with the fabric half off, once I calculated the cost of the fabric, the grommets, and fabric glue I was just under $100. Then I found some ready-made curtains for just $45. I brought them home only to realize that the satin nickel grommets clashed badly with my bronzed curtain rods. Rats. A quick peek on Craigslist and I found 4 panels, new in the package, for just $30! I had to chuckle at the fact that they were IKEA curtains. Oh well. I put them up and they definitely add some much needed color – and you can’t beat that price.

No before pic, but here’s the after:

New curtains

Here are the pillows I recovered. The chenille fabric was coming apart and looked horrible.

And here’s the three I covered:

Blue ruffles

Faux bunny fur

Bunny fur and patterned pillow

Last, but not least, Ben hung two of the IKEA ledges we purchased in Indiana in September. I couldn’t decide where I wanted them so I got some feedback from my TX friend, Erin, who’s visiting. Then she went to work and decorated them while I cleaned and prepped for our New Year’s Eve party.

IKEA ledges, decorated by Erin

So, there you have it! I feel like we are a little closer to the house feeling like it’s our own!

Here’s the before:

Boooooring.

And here’s the after:

Yay!

The picture will eventually be replaced by some other, homemade, artwork, but at least there’s some color.

We love how this turned out because we have a small home, with a very open floor plan. Walls would really make everything cramped, but there’s also not much definition of each space. Now I feel like the dining “room” stands on it’s own a bit.

2. Did you keep your New Years resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I always resolve to try and eat healthier and exercise more. And I do a little bit better every year. (That’s what I posted last year and it applies to this year as well!).

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend, Genevieve, gave birth to her third child, Molly. One of my cousins had a baby…but we didn’t know she was coming until two weeks before the baby was born!

4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes, Ben’s dad passed away in August.

5. What countries did you visit? None!

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? A rigorous focus on my family. I want to be a better wife, mom, daughter, sister, etc. I’m hoping to spend more time with family and host more family get-togethers.

7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? July 29th; it’s not only Luke and Brad’s birthdays, but we also closed on our current home on that date. August 9th; the day Ben’s dad passed away.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting in the habit of spending time with God in the mornings.

9. What was your biggest failure? I didn’t lose those last 10 pounds!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? None, thanks be to God!

11. What was the best thing you bought? Our new home. Not only because we like the house and land, but because we felt led by God throughout the entire process. Our new blender is pretty cool, too.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Ben. This has been a tough year with many surprises and uncertainties and he’s weathered it all like a champ and has stayed strong for us. He also attended a 9-day wilderness medical training in February and passed the exams with a high score.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Does the U.S. government count?

14. Where did most of your money go? We had to cut a $17k check to the bank just to simply get out of our last home. That was painful, but we saved that money at God’s prompting and felt like we were following him, so it wasn’t as difficult as we thought it would be.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? 1. We’re excited about the path God has been leading us in regards to downsizing and paying off debt. 2. Although I HATED the idea of leaving our church back in Imperial, we have found another church that we are really excited about.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011? None but Jesus by Hillsong

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? About the same, I’d say. There have been ups for all the downs, I think.
ii. thinner or fatter? Mayyybe a pound or two lighter.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer. Even having spent so much on getting out of our house, this mortgage is so much less AND we’ve learned a lot about how to live on less.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Spending time with God, blogging, and taking pictures.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Facebook. Seriously limiting my online time this year. Same for television.

20. How will you be spending the Winter? Exercising, reading up on gardening, bees, and chickens, reading to the boys.

22. Did you fall in love in 2011? I continue to fall in love with Ben and the boys.

23. What was your favorite month of 2011? July. It was crazy, but we really saw God come through for us.

24. What was your favorite TV program? The Office is still our favorite. Jericho was awesome, as was Survivors (BBC).

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Nope. Not a hater, such a waste of time.

26. What was the best book you read? The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven was really good. It really encouraged me to look past the physical and pray for/against the spiritual.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? None but Jesus by Hillsong, Charlotte Church Christmas songs.

28. What did you want and get? A little house on some acreage, a Blendtec.

29. What was your favorite film of this year? HP7.2

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Went out to dinner. I turned 31.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Losing weight.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? Just getting by, but tired of that look.

33. What kept you sane? Prayer.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? None, unless you count Ron Paul. But he’s not a celebrity – he’s the real deal.

35. What political issue stirred you the most? The election is on the horizon. We are behind Ron Paul all the way.

36. Who did you miss? Chelsea moved when we bought our new house and I miss her.

37. Who was the best new person you met? I’m excited about our new neighbors!

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011: Even when we follow God, our paths aren’t necessarily direct from point A to point B. Sometimes it appears we are drifting or rambling. If we simply wait on God, he’ll get us to where we need to be, in his time. We may not be moving fast enough for our likes, but we should serve him no matter what, no matter where we are, and he’ll use us.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: “There is no one else for me,
None but Jesus,
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise.”

Pretzel rods covered in almond bark
French Bread
Peppermint Oreos
Chocolate covered Ritz crackers with PB sandwiched in between
Biscotti: this was made with my freshly ground flour and then coated in almond bark. SO GOOD.
Popularity Cookies
Sugar Cookie Glaze: used with a cookie mix
Cake balls: my favorites were a combo of white cake, cherry frosting, covered in chocolate almond bark.
Strawberry Soup.
And a half batch of Cinnamon Rolls. I didn’t have maple flavoring so I decided to use imitation rum flavoring. They got good reviews, but I like the traditional taste best so next time I’ll just use the coffee and vanilla.

I think that about sums it up. I used to make up tons of cookies so this is scaled back quite a bit, but we don’t have to take a big batch of cookies to church for Christmas Eve so it all evened out!

Sweet Luke,

I love you, Bubby. I just wanted to let you know that today. I think Satan gains ground when he’s able to convince us that we are not valued and loved. Fight this with everything you have – call on God to protect and defend your heart. Read the TRUTH to remind you.

You are loved by imperfect parents, grandparents, and many others. Our love – or lack of it – should never distract you from a greater truth…

…you are loved by an almighty, everlasting God.

He shaped mountains, put the stars in their place, and numbered every grain of sand…

…and he loves you.

Not with a weak, imperfect, human love, but with a fierce, never-ending, deeply sacrificial love which no water can quench.

God is with you always. He’s never distracted, never too busy, never bored, never tired.

He longs for you to know him and share in his plan. The God of the universe wants to give you a place and an inheritance in his kingdom.

Never doubt his love.

– Mom