BEAUTY

In the kitchen.

I have had the past couple days off. Well, really yesterday and today. Which means that I have had time to try some new recipes. This weekend I also tried one. All of which came out really good. I have recently gotten hooked on pinterest. If you haven't you don't know what you are missing but beware its addictive. But its really good at finding new recipes.

This past weekend I was able to finally make Oreo cheesecake cookies.  We didn’t have cream cheese at home and it took a bit for us to remember to pick it up. These cookies were really easy to make.  They came out really good but dried out fairly quickly. Also I think next time I make them I will leave out he chocolate chips. They were a different chocolate taste then the Oreo on the outside. Mixing in some crumbs in the dough might be a good substitute.

The recipe I used is found at brown eyed baker.

The next new recipe I tried was cinnamon pull apart bread. This is a layered yeast bread with lots of butter and cinnamon. I could have used more cinnamon and sugar. Not quite as sweet as I would have liked. But still really yummy. My dad took a piece yesterday to work and kept it on his dashboard (even though its January here in Mi its been in the 50s with sun) and it warmed up for him to have a mid morning snack. This bread does taste better warm than cold. Of course fresh baked right out of the oven is the best. This reminded me of my mom’s monkey bread.

This recipe was found at Joy the baker.

Last night I broke out the lemons. I tried my hand at lemon cookies. The picture at the recipe site looked really good. The recipe was real easy too. I think it will be one of my usuals from now on.

I made one mess up one the recipe. This was due to the fact hat I didn’t read thru the recipe first before starting. You would think after Culinary School where ALL my Chefs insisted on it I wouldn’t forget to do it. But its a bad habit. The final product was not ruined because of the mistake. I put the powered sugar in the dough instead of rolling the dough balls in it. So I didn’t roll my dough in powered sugar since it was already added. In spite of this mistake these cookies are slightly addictive. I have already had 4 this morning. Good think I use a 100 scoop. If you like lemon this recipe is a must. I did end up adding more lemon to the dough after each batch. My dad was struggling to taste it. I think it was a mind thing. The cookies aren't yellow. The original recipe does taste like lemon.

Check out the recipe here, it was a contest winner too.

My first taste of COMMUNITY.

So this is my first family away from home. It was the fall of 2006 we all traveled to Ga and met for the first time. All coming from different backgrounds, parents, friends, churches. But after 9 months together we shared just about everything (That is what happens when 10 girls share one bathroom). Before my first year in South Africa I was not sure about friendships. I has been hurt by a college friend. But these people showed me what it looks like to love one another, looking past the dirt (sometimes literally) and baggage that everyone carries and love another anyways. This team, especially some of the ladies, will always be in my heart. I know that the Lord used them to change my heart and made me fall in love with community.

 

This is our whole team at the end of the first semester. There are days that I wish we were still on 1 Periwinkle, laughing, planning for ministry, crammed in our living room watching a movie, singing, pulling pranks on each other, baking, entertaining ourselves at night when boredom strikes, learning who were really are in Christ, learning what loving like He does looks like, walking to the beach on an off day to relax and spend it together, and so much more.  I miss living life with each of you. 

Fall

made the news.

detnews.com|Sports|Photogallery|Sports Photo Gallery - Spartans Outback Bowl party on the beach - The Detroit News Online

 

He's the one in the blue shirt on the left. My cousin is the one in the green headband behind the guys arm.

The baby place.

Well that is what we called it. It has a formal name but it has escaped my memory. This was one of our ministry sights in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It is a transition home of sorts for infants and toddlers. The ministry was to play with and love the beautiful children who live there. This girl was one of them that stole our hearts. As a leader I didn't have a regular ministry but when I had time I always went with our ladies to this one to hang out with the kids. One of the little boys that lived there had CP, I believe.  He layed on the floor and struggled to breath the whole time but he loved his back to be rubbed and loved being talked to. Many moments were spent hanging out with him. I think about these kids a lot and wonder if they ever got to go home with people or if they are in an orphanage now.

Summer

A late Thursday post.

The emptiness.

So my sister is successfully moved into her first apartment and starts her job on Monday. I was able to drive down and help her move in. i was good up till the point good byes started then it was tears and crying. If you know me you know that I am not a huge crier. Although I do cry now more than in the past. The lord is working on my heart.

Anyways after getting back home from moving her there has been this emptiness. No longer do I have to "fight" over the good parking in the driveway. Every time I walk into our room I get sad. That resulted in me rearranging and stripping her bed. How long will have have this sadness in me?  Will I again feel complete.  I feel like half of me has been torn out. You live with someone for so long its just normal to have them there with you. But now its just me. My Partner-in-crime (as my cousins have referred to sisterhood) is no longer here. I know that the Lord will grow and stretch me thru this. That both of us will learn lots about ourselves from this. But ts not fun. My season is changing but its like a early snowstorm that is unwanted.

I have solved all of this by keeping myself busy and not thinking about her. Although I am not looking forward to going back to work on Tuesdays in will be a good distraction.

real missionaries.

 

So my first year in South Africa we spent two weeks over Easter in Swaziland. This is Kristy, Katie (in the back) and I doing laundry in our skirts (women don't wear pants). That metal building behind us is our shower/ a room where a bucket of water was. We slept on the floor in rondavels. This was the most intense I have been on the field until Uganda this summer. It got dark at 5pm and light at 4am.  Our sleeping habits changed. Our eating habits changed. We washed our hair out of our water bottles while standing up, leaning forward. Took skill. We spent alot of time with kids. We stayed on the grounds of a carepoint. Where the kids knew that they could come and eat and learn. We fed them, taught them, played with them, and held them. We also did hospital ministry. Our two weeks in Swaziland taught us a lot. We all left there with MANY memories.