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Saturday, August 29, 2009

Mmm Mmmm Peach Cobbler

Here's a new recipe for you all!! Enjoy!
Peach Cobbler
Ingredients:
4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
2 cups sugar
, divided
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (Absolutely must be self-rising; I found out the hard way.)
1 1/2 cups milk

Ground cinnamon, optional
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Put the butter in an 8x8 baking dish and place in oven to melt.
Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking.
Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.
To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Curling up with a good book

'T'is the season for curling up on your big fluffy couch with a tall steaming cup of Joe to your left or to your right, a good book in your hands and a cuddly quilt wrapping you in warmth.

You've just entered my living room and it's a very nice place to be on this grumpy day. The sky is dark and the trees are still, but inside I'm quite happy to be snuggling up with Sense and Sensibility. This week has been one for reflection in a lot of ways and although sometimes reflection can cause you to be 'out of spirits' in a sense it has almost given me more spirit than ever. My little brain is running fast with new ideas and things that I hope to accomplish in the next few weeks and months. For example, my class. I have been trudging along this whole summer to finish one class that will complete my degree. Why it's taken me so long is another story in and of itself but here I am in the last week of August and I have 2 more lessons to complete. I had hoped to be done with this class months ago but since it's not done yet it's useless to look back. SO I'm looking forward to what can happen this week. I'm making myself no promises and I'm trying to take it one day at a time and just get it done as soon as I can because.... gosh I've got other things to get to! Right? I am one of those stereotypical people who can't wait for one thing to be done because they're always looking to what's coming next. The problem with that is that I focus so much on what's to come and I forget to do the work that it takes to get there. Or I'll do the work but I do it mindlessly. God has been teaching me these things this week and although it's always hard to take a good look in the mirror like that, it's very true in my own life and I will gladly accept God's prodding in my life to change things.

So here are some of the things that I have been thinking about this week for what I would like to do when I'm done with my degree. I'm writing them down for you here as part of my goal to let go of these things for the time being and allow God to work with me right now on my class and then perhaps I can come back to these things later.

-I would love to try my hand at writing a book; a novel.
-I want to pursue something with my degree, whether it be volunteer or paid I want to at least try.
-I want to take the time to be a more diligent exerciser in the form of biking, running, or Zumba (Dance exercise). This year I have been blessed with time almost every week to go swimming with Chaille but in addition to that I want to be better at doing something daily or every other day.
- I want to read A.W. Tozer's books.

So that's all for today. Another day in the confusing mind of me. But the day is still young and I have plenty to do to keep me busy right!

No new books to tell you about or recipes to share today; more of that to come in a later post.

Sleep well, God bless!

CW

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Summer Update Pictures!!!

Hey Y'all!

I'm back from the Jr. High mission trip to Benton Harbor and I have to say WOW what an amazing week we had! Our kids had awesome attitudes all week and there wasn't any complaining or groaning whatsoever! Parents... You should be absolutely proud of your kids because they received numerous compliments from the TEAMeffort leaders as well as the people that we served this week because of their maturity and great attitudes! These kids have and will do many great things in the years to come! Thank you for trusting us to take this step with your kids! I can't count the number of times I was blessed by them this week!

Here are some pictures from our journeys together~ Starting from our last day and going backwards... Enjoy!

The boys on the beach on our final "fun" day! JJ and I


Jared, Luke, and Derek cooling off after a competitive game of beach volleyball with some people on the beach.


Chaille, Kaylee, and Megan about to take on their volleyball challengers.


"Andrew Squared" kept us all entertained through the week. Here they let the girls play with their hair!






Solo time on the beach. JJ on right and Brittney, Christy from TEAMeffort, Erica, Christiana, and Kaylee on the left.






We all got VERY colorful this week! In a good way!



Brittney after a long day of working to paint the fence behind. Great job!











Jared... Tired, Colored, and having a blast!




Dean and Derek on their way to the job site.






Me with Abby and Aleah from the Emergency Shelter. Their mom works at the front desk and these girls were super sweet!












Kaylee, Kaitlin, and JJ working hard to paint the children's room in the Emergency Shelter.








Chapel time! Andrew B. and Tim doing some kind of jig...





Kaylee and Luke in the basement at the Shelter. Hmmm... Where is the puddle of water coming from and what's in it? This is the question...










The Emergency Shelter




The house right next to the shelter. This abandoned home was not the only one in the area. Unfortunately, this was what many of the houses looked like.

















Tim, doing his part by filling in a pot hole in the driveway of the Shelter.












Andrew D. 4 Oreos in one big mouth! Way to go!


Luke, Tyler, Garrett, and Andrew D. at lunch time on the job site of the Overflow church in the mall.






Breakfast time! Many thanks to IHOP for providing our breakfast everyday!


















Dez... Looking cool and having a great time!














Oh NO! Who gave Derek W. Red Bull??!!! We've only just begun! Thanks Derek for many laughs and a great attitude this week!







Britt, Meg, Angie, and Kaitlin on the ride to Benton Harbor!









Our bus!