Does one (or all!) of your children have food allergies? Sadly this is no longer a rare thing. More and more kids struggle with food allergies now than ever before.
I’ve been there too. Skin testing, blood work, epi-pens…the works. It can be challenging or down right scary.
But you don’t have to live in fear. And you don’t have to just accept food allergies as a life sentence. There is help!
My son went from over twenty food allergies and an epi-pen to being able to eat just about anything. Even nuts!
There are ways to heal the gut and nourish the body so your child can get back to a normal life. Food allergies have so many underlying causes. Once you figure out the root problem and treat it the body will begin to heal.
Don’t let food allergies define your life. I’m here to help you and your child heal.
We’ve made it to the last week of May. This is the last week of dance class. Next week is the last week of school! That is just crazy.
This week won’t be too crazy. We might go to a parade tomorrow. My daughter has a dentist appointment. The end of the week is filled with dance class, dance recital rehearsal and dance recital.
I was hoping to finish moving my son’s stuff to my daughter’s room yesterday, but I got sidetracked with other projects. Hopefully I can finish it today or tomorrow. We did get a new mattress and bedding so we can set up the kids’ trundle bed. Once that transition is complete I can actually start working on something baby related! With 12 1/2 weeks go to I should probably start thinking about that 😛
I was very busy in the kitchen last week. If you missed them I posted my recipes for dairy free chocolate pudding, rhubarb quinoa breakfast porridge and rhubarb crisp. I still have a couple new recipes to share this week. I’m sure there will be plenty more good stuff coming too. Are you wondering what to do with your rhubarb? I’ve got two rhubarb recipes on the way. I finally restocked my cupboard with homemade grahams (two batches) so at least we have something to munch on. But I have a few other staples to get to like gummies and chocolate sauce. I also made a second batch of dairy free pudding. My son just can’t get enough of it.
I’m really disappointed that at only 27 weeks my bad leg swelling has begun. It will likely only get worse until the end of this pregnancy. I have had bad swelling with all of my pregnancies. So far I have not found a remedy. I am taking a few days to track my protein intake to make sure that is adequate (many say lack of protein is what causes swelling).
I also just had my thyroid rechecked. My numbers haven’t really changed much. But I still don’t think I’m on the right dose of medication…or possibly the right treatment at all? It’s hard to say. We’ll see what the doctor says and go from there. I think the swelling is somewhat related to my thyroid. Back to researching.
I’m planning easy meals this week so I can keep working on other things around the house. I also need to do my best to not stand in the kitchen for long periods of time. That is TOUGH for me. Now that I’m heading into the third trimester I also need to start focusing on 3T nutrients like fish. What’s on your menu? Eet smakelijk!
**********MENU**********
S (church, make gummies, make chocolate sauce, make mayo, milk pick up)
L – leftover pizza
D – grilled burgers, french fries, carrots
M (parade, clean)
D – grilled chicken, grilled asparagus, baked potatoes
T ()
D – salmon cakes, pesto quinoa salad, peaches
W (dentist)
D – pork chops w/ apples over rice, roasted cauliflower
Th (dance)
D – (early) – TBD soup and bread
F (dance rehearsal)
D – (early) – egg puffs, broccoli, toast
S (dance recital)
D – (prep ahead or out to eat) – TBD
You’ve made muffins and coffee cake and pie. But you still have rhubarb and don’t know what to do with it. How about serve it for breakfast?
Rhubarb is a very versatile vegetable. If you pair it with a healthy, gluten free grain like quinoa you’ve got a power-packed breakfast.
This breakfast porridge is slightly tart and slightly sweet. It can be served warm or cold. You can make it fresh or prepare it in advance. You can serve it as-is or add all sorts of fun things for more texture and flavor. I added cranberries, raisins, butter and milk to mine. I also served some chopped nuts on the side for my husband.
If you don’t like or don’t tolerate quinoa you can easily swap it for oatmeal or rice.
Rhubarb isn’t just for desserts. It makes a great addition to your breakfast!
Rhubarb Quinoa Breakfast Porridge
2014-05-23 05:30:47
Serves 2
A fun and healthy rhubarb-flavored breakfast that is gluten, egg, dairy and nut free.
Soak the quinoa in water for 1 - 24 hours. Drain and rinse.
Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a medium pan. Add the drained quinoa, cover and simmer for 12 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and keep covered for 15 minutes.
While the quinoa is cooking, in a small pan over med-low heat cook the rhubarb, butter and 3 Tbsp. sweetener until the rhubarb is tender (about 10 minutes), stirring periodically.
After the quinoa and rhubarb are prepared, poor the rhubarb mixture into the quinoa and stir.
Add cinnamon, nutmeg and 1 Tbsp. syrup.
Add any optional add-ins you desire (if serving immediately).
Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
This can be prepared the day before and served cold or quickly reheated on the stove. If preparing in advance, add the optional ingredients just before serving.
You can add other fruits (strawberries, cherries, etc.) to the cooked rhubarb for a sweeter flavor.
By Mary - Homemade Dutch Apple Pie
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Now that our milk share is back to the full three gallons a week I’ve been able to make some extra treats with it like ice cream, yogurt and pudding. It has been fun and delicious.
But making all of these tasty dairy treats makes my little guy feel left out.
Yesterday I ate some chocolate pudding. He kept asking if he could have a bite. So I promised him I’d try to make a dairy-free version just for him.
Now that my son can have eggs pudding is very doable. So I set to work right away experimenting. And I love the results!
I’ll be honest – I think the dairy-free version I made is even better than the dairy version! It’s that good. I was also very surprised that even though I used coconut milk it does not taste like it. So even if you don’t have to be dairy-free this is a great dessert. You won’t know the difference.
When my son got up from his nap I told him I had made pudding for him. His eyes lit up like it was Christmas. When he took his first bite he exclaimed, “This is my favorite I so wanted!” After a few bites he kept saying, “It’s ‘dewitus’!” (delicious) He definitely approved. Though now he wants to eat pudding for every meal.
If you are looking for an easy and decadent gluten and dairy-free dessert this is it. It only takes about ten minutes to prepare. Plus it’s got good stuff in it. Maybe I’ll freeze my next batch for dairy-free pudding pops. Yum!
Decadent Dairy Free Chocolate Fudge Pudding
2014-05-22 06:26:12
Serves 4
A rich, chocolate pudding that is both gluten and dairy free.
Are you a blogger? Do you have kids? Do they know what you do?
I admit, I don’t really talk about blogging to my kids. My daughter is old enough to understand that I am a writer. But I don’t go into more detail than that. After all, it’s partly just a hobby (though it sure would be nice if it turned into more than that!). I never bothered to explain to my kids what my “job” really is.
I periodically get together with fellow bloggers in my area. We share ideas and ask questions. At our last meeting one of the women brought her book called “My Mommy Is A Blogger.” She graciously gave us each a copy.
I wasn’t quite sure what my kids would think when we read it. They thoroughly enjoyed it! I feel like they have a better understanding now of what I do. Just yesterday my son (almost 3 years old) asked if I was blogging when he got up in the morning.
Of course my kids think the best part of the book is right at the beginning where the child tells her friends that her mommy is a booger. There are plenty of other comical parts to the book as well.
If you are a blogger and have kids I highly recommend “My Mommy is a Blogger” by Sommer Poquette. It is cute and funny and will help explain what it is that you do and why you do it. Even as an adult that blogs I enjoyed it!
I also love to help support other mommy bloggers. It’s a tough job.
Lately I’ve been serving fruit salad with our “breakfast for dinner” meals. I usually just do a mix of whatever fresh and frozen fruits we have on hand. We all enjoy it.
But last week I wanted something different. I also wanted something my son could eat (he’s allergic to grapes, bananas and pears…and he doesn’t tolerate citrus fruits well). That’s not easy to do.
I decided to use apples. I created a caramel apple salad that is so easy to make and so delicious!
My daughter actually licked every last drop of “caramel” off her plate. Both kids asked for seconds too. It was that good.
I love how simple this recipe is. It takes about three minutes to prepare and only has three ingredients. You can make enough for one or for a large group.
I served it as a simple fruit salad on the side. But this salad isn’t just for eating plain. It works as an ice cream topping, a dessert, a yogurt add-in (caramel apple yogurt…mmm) or a treat to mix in your oatmeal.
If you want to make the salad a bit fancier you can add chopped nuts, dried fruit or shredded coconut. You could also add a little heavy cream or coconut milk to make a creamy caramel apple salad.
I happened to have a little extra heavy cream in the fridge. So I topped ours with fresh whipped cream.
Dress it up, serve it plain, eat it for breakfast or as a dessert. No matter how you eat it, this caramel apple salad is quick, easy and so good!
Three Ingredient Caramel Apple Salad (gluten free, dairy free)
2014-04-28 06:10:42
Serves 4
A simple side dish or dessert that only takes minutes to prepare. Make as little or as much as you want.
How is it possible that this is the last week of April already? I feel like the weeks are flying by right now. I guess that’s what happens when you are busy and productive.
Last week I had fun meeting up with some fellow Michigan bloggers. I got a really fun book that I’ll be telling you about later this week. My daughter had her six-year check up. She’s doing great!
One of the best parts of last week was my son’s allergy test. After just six months of being careful about how we feed him and focusing on getting him to consume broth and gelatin whenever possible he has dropped several of his allergies! Over the last few days he’s been devouring eggs. This mama has been so overjoyed to see her little guy eating and thoroughly enjoying such a nourishing food again. So far he seems to be tolerating them well. We have yet to try wheat, peas, turkey and nuts. I think we’ll hold off on the nuts for a while still. I feel like I have so many more meal options now! Best of all I have a very happy little boy now that we have reassessed what’s bothering him and cut it out. No more rice or avocado for six months (in addition to dairy, tuna, grapes, bananas and pears).
This week will be pretty busy again. But I will also have to be busy in the house. I continue to tackle my house organizing and cleaning project. Little by little I’m getting through it. I spent 3 1/2 hours organizing and cleaning yesterday. There is still so much work to be done. But I have to put my schedule on overdrive since I want the house clean for my son’s birthday party in less than two weeks.
I also need to start baking this week in preparation for my son’s party. I want to get a few things prepared in advance. I’m holding off on the cake until we introduce wheat and see how it goes. If he tolerates wheat I’ll use that for the cake. I’m not going to jump to giving him wheat all the time even if he does tolerate it. But it will be a nice treat to have a “regular” cake.
In addition to our regular activities my daughter has a dentist appointment, a psychologist appointment and we have another MomBreak meeting.
As usual I’m going for simple meals this week. It’s such a treat to be able to use eggs when I cook again. What’s on your menu? Eet smakelijk!
**********MENU**********
S (church)
L – chicken meatballs, noodles, broccoli
D – grilled chicken breasts, squash, chips
M (dentist)
D – baked cod, french fries, beans
T (AKM, RKM, make broth)
D – (prep ahead) – cp roast chicken w/ vegetables
W ()
D – hot taco rice/quinoa
Th (Dr. M., dance)
D – (early/separate) – cp corn chowder, bread
F (MB)
D – mini bacon quiches, caramel apple salad, roasted brussels sprouts and cualiflower
I LOVE risotto. I also LOVE anything with squash. Unfortunately my son is allergic to rice (yes, really). So I never make risotto anymore.
My son is also fairly picky. But I was craving risotto the other day. So I crossed my fingers and made a quinoa version that we could all eat.
The verdict? Amazing! Three of us dug right in and even had seconds.
My son, however, ran from the table screaming at the word risotto. He didn’t come back until dinner was over and I was cleaning the table. He finally agreed to try a bite. When he did his reaction was, “This is so good!” He proceeded to clear his plate.
I’ll consider it a great dinner success!
One of the best parts about the this risotto is that it is so easy to make. I cooked the quinoa earlier in the day when I had a few spare minutes. Then at dinner time it only took about 15 minutes to make the risotto.
I also love this recipe because it’s a simple way to get my kids to eat quality vegetables and bone broth without them realizing it. Easy, healthy and delicious…my favorite kind of recipe.
Give this risotto a try. Your whole family will love it.
1/2 cup quinoa - soaked for at least 7 hours and then drained
1 cup water or bone broth
1 cup pureed butternut squash (you can replace this with any pureed vegetable you like)
1 Tbsp. coconut oil (or butter)
1/2 - 3/4 cups bone broth
seasoning - sea salt, garlic powder, pepper - seasoning of your choice
grated parmesan cheese (optional if tolerant of dairy)
Instructions
Bring one cup of water and/or broth to a boil. Add the drained/rinsed quinoa. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat. Leave the pan covered for 15 minutes. At this point you can make the risotto or refrigerate the quinoa until you are ready to make the risotto.
In a pot, heat the quinoa, squash, coconut oil, seasoning and 1/2 cup broth. Stir until well combined. Simmer the mixture until the broth has cooked down, stirring occasionally. Add more broth if desired/if the mixture is too dry. This will take about 10-15 minutes.
Adjust the seasoning to taste. Add cheese directly to the pan or grate on top of individual servings if desired.
Almost every Friday we have breakfast for dinner. It gets hard to come up with a variety of hearty breakfast food when you can’t serve eggs, dairy or wheat. Recently I decided to make one of my favorite breakfast foods as a component of our meal – scones!
Instead of finding a recipe I wanted to try making something new. I decided on orange cranberry scones.
I had a great little helper in the kitchen to run the food processor for me. He sampled the dough as well to make sure it was just right. Then he did his best to wait patiently while they baked.
In the end we had delicious, slightly sweet scones that the whole family thoroughly enjoyed. For a special touch I sprinkledhomemade powdered sugar on top. You could also make a simple glaze with powdered sugar and orange juice or any type of milk. Or they are great as-is.
These would pair very well with quiche (if you tolerate eggs). I served them with bacon, roasted asparagus and fruit salad.
If you don’t like orange and/or cranberry you can substitute your favorite flavors. Lemon and blueberry would taste great. You could simply swap cranberries for another dried fruit. Or you could add nuts. I can’t wait to have them again!
Gluten Free Dairy Free Orange Cranberry Scones
2014-03-29 06:23:51
Yields 8
A mildly sweet scone that is gluten, dairy, egg, nut and rice free.
2 cups any combination of gluten free flours (I use amaranth, sorghum, teff and tapioca)
1/3 cup organic cane sugar or coconut sugar
1 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. unrefined sea salt
3/4 cups organic palm shortening (you can substitute butter if you tolerate dairy)
1/4 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp. maple syrup or honey
1 tsp. ground flaxseed (optional - this helps bind them)
1 Tbsp. orange zest
1/2 cup cranberries (or other dried fruit or nut)
Instructions
Heat the oven to 350*F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a food processor or mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, flaxseed and orange zest. Pulse or stir until combined.
Add half of the palm shortening. Pulse or blend. Add the other half of the shortening. Pulse or blend until the mixture is slightly crumbly.
Add the juice and syrup. Mix until a sticky dough forms.
Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (if using a food processor). Add the cranberries and mix well.
Drop the dough by large mounds onto the prepared baking sheet. Press the dough down slightly and form scones into desired shape.
At this point you may bake the scones immediately, cover them and refrigerate or freeze to bake later.
When ready to bake, place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Allow the scones to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing them from the pan.
Happy Birthday to me. Happy Pi Day to you. I’ve never been one to feel ashamed to share my age. It’s just a number. In fact I always thought it was fun to see someone’s reaction when they found out my age.
People have always thought I was significantly younger than I am. I have good genes I guess. It was frustrating in my mid-20’s to have someone come to our door and ask if my parents are home. It was embarrassing as a college student to have junior high boys trying to hit on me (for real). But I suppose as I get older I’ll enjoy it more.
Today I turn 34. Now start the three weeks out of the year when I can say I am a year older than my husband.
I don’t have any big plans for today. I have to collect laundry and clean bathrooms. I have to keep up with my energetic kids while still feeling tired and sometimes nauseous from pregnancy. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
We’ll probably get take-out for dinner. That’s always my treat…I don’t have to cook, but I also don’t have to go out. I think it’s more work to eat at a restaurant with young kids than it is to eat at home. I was going to make blueberry pie…but time and energy did not cooperate. So I think I’ll take some gluten free chocolate cake out of the freezer instead. Maybe next week I’ll have time to make pie.
In honor of my birthday I thought I’d share 34 random things about me. Enjoy.
I’m the one throwing the ball.
1. I LOVE soccer. I started playing in 7th grade and continued through college. I have played on and off recreationally since then. The really funny thing is that at barely 5’3″ I was always the goalkeeper. Now I like to play on the field.
2. My favorite color is blue. It’s my favorite color to wear, too.
3. When I was five years old I got a Cabbage Patch Kid for my birthday. Ever since then all I’ve ever wanted to do was be a mom. I feel so blessed that I am one now.
4. I have a bachelors degree in computer and electrical engineering. Before becoming a SAHM I designed missile release systems for military airplanes. I also have a patent from my career as an engineer.
5. I have always loved to read. I’m not a fast reader. But I enjoy it.
6. I have an older sister, an older brother and a younger brother.
7. I have two favorite desserts – ice cream and chocolate covered cheesecake.
8. I like a variety of foods, but I would be perfectly content to eat salad for dinner every day. I really love salad that much.
Sevilla, Spain
9. I do not like to travel, but I have been to quite a few countries – Honduras, Virgin Gorda, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Spain and Switzerland.
10. I LOVE to bake.
11. I have always wanted to be able to do gymnastics. I never got the opportunity to take classes when I was younger. But I tried to do stuff around the house on my own.
12. In junior high and high school I was a cheerleader.
13. I grew up in Grand Blanc. Then I lived in Grand Rapids. Now I live in Grandville. I guess I like to live in grand places…in Michigan.
14. My favorite school subject was always math.
15. When it comes to decorating I think less is more. My house, my wedding…whatever. I like to go very simple.
16. I have been baking and decorating cakes since I was little. Sometimes I think it would be fun to turn it into a business. But sometimes not. For now I mostly just make cakes for family. My “business” is called Dutch Girl Cakery and Crafts. I’d love to provide cakes and special treats for people that want real food or have allergies.
17. Thirty-four is a lot of things to say about myself. I’m not really that interesting.
18. I am an introvert.
19. I have had glasses since 7th grade. I only wear them for reading and when I’m at the computer. So very few people have actually seen me wear them.
20. I am 16 weeks, 5 days pregnant with baby #3. The baby is due August 24, but I will have a scheduled c-section sometime during the week before that.
21. I don’t drink alcohol. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted an alcoholic drink that I enjoy. I am also intolerant of alcohol. Just one sip makes all of the muscles in my body tighten up and makes me feel kind of yucky. So there really is no point.
22. Until my junior year of high school I had planned on becoming an elementary teacher.
23. I have hazel eyes. It’s the one feature that sets me apart from my siblings. Other than that we all look so much alike.
Camping…I was married and 24 years old, not 14.
24. The first time I went camping was shortly after I got engaged. Camping was definitely not something my family did.
25. I started my site 5 1/2 years ago. My intent was simply to share recipes with my friends and family. I barely knew what a blog was. Little did I know it would lead me down this path of learning about real food and nutrition. Developing my passion for writing certainly has changed my life.
26. I would like to write a book someday…someday.
27. I don’t like white or brown/tan cars.
28. I can’t stomach liver. I’ve tried it all different ways. I just can’t do it. It may be one of the healthiest foods you can eat. But I just can’t do it.
29. I love to clean. I really do. But it’s much more fun when I have a lot of time and nobody interrupting me.
30. My daughter’s name is my middle name – Rebecca. My sister picked that name out for me when I was born. She cried when she found out it was my middle name instead of my first name.
31. I hate thunderstorms. When there is a storm there is always a chance the power will go out. When I was little a power outage meant no running water (we had a well)…which meant no bathrooms…which made my anxiety sky-rocket (I had an overactive bladder from a very young age). Now I live in the city. So even when the power goes out we have running water. But I still have instant anxiety whenever there is a thunderstorm. I hate it.
32. I don’t like cats…at all.
33. I have always been a daddy’s girl.
34. I was born with dark hair…which turned red until I was about two. Then it turned white blonde. I’ve been blonde ever since…which is good because I love blonde hair. I’ve never died or highlighted my hair. I doubt I ever will.
There you have it. Thirty-four random things about me. Enjoy your Pi Day. What is your favorite kind of pie? Mine has been and always will be blueberry!
My precious kids sure have grown over the last year! My little guy isn’t so little anymore.
We’re a month into the new year. It’s finally time to recap how my 2103 went. It was definitely a very unpredictable year. Because of that I did not accomplish some of my goals. My focus shifted from working on my site, getting better at photography, etc. to health struggles, allergy diagnoses and just trying to keep up. But through it all I did focus on acceptance. Acceptance of both the good and the bad. And in the end God was working through it all, even when I felt lost. He had a plan. Here is how my 2013 went.
1. Writing – I will pursue making my writing and my blog into my career/a business. I’m not sure exactly how it will evolve. Here are some thoughts: giveaways, newsletter, update the look, new platform, monthly link roundup. I will likely be sharing a little less about my kids. And I’m still debating about keeping up with the monthly goals.
I did put a lot of work into my actual writing. I did finally switch to WordPress. I did do some round-ups. But I still have a lot of work to do to make this an actual business and make any money. That has never been my real focus. I bake/cook and write because I love it. But I do put a lot of time and energy into it. So it would be nice to get something in return.
2. Photography – Along with my writing I want to get better at food photography. I just got a book on food photography for Christmas. I’m very excited. My hope is to update pictures of some of my recipes. At the least the more popular posts. And continue to experiment and learn.
I still have a LOT to learn about photography. But from the beginning of the year to the end there was definitely a big improvement in my photos and the overall look of my posts. I’m still learning, but I did make good progress.
3. Healing – I will continue to pursue improvement in my health. I’m very anxious for my test results in a couple weeks and figuring out where to go from there. I hope to start getting more sleep this year (I need to make it a priority). I want to continue to improve my mental health/decrease my OCD. Ultimately I’d like to not have any special “diet”…no restrictions. I will focus on being healthy.
My healing journey over the past year was quite monumental. I will be sharing a big update on just my health very soon. For now I’ll just say that I am totally amazed at the difference in my life now than it was a year ago. Things have changed in so many ways. In January of 2013 I had all sorts of tests done and was given a long list of foods to avoid. I was told I had all kinds of candida. I had heavy metals in my body. My adrenals were off. All sorts of stuff. Today I just do what works for my body and don’t stress about the rest. I finally get enough sleep. My OCD has improved a lot. One of my biggest health improvements has been with my thyroid. It took me many, many months of research, but I finally figured out that my main problem is hypothyroid…and I was on the wrong dose of medication. So now I am on the path to healing that and feeling great.
4. Homemade Food – I want to make it a priority to feed my family less processed food. I make a lot of things from scratch. But I still reach for a box of organic crackers or fruit snacks sometimes for my kids. I’d like to get away from that. It’s so much fun to make homemade versions of our favorite snacks. Maybe I’ll go one by one through the boxes in the cupboard and recreate them.
I did start out the year gradually replacing foods in our cupboards with homemade versions. But then life happened. Health issues happened. And lately I’ve hardly been able to bake or make special snacks at all. But it’s only for a season. I will get back to it soon. My kids are still well fed and very healthy. I’m doing the best I can at the moment. And that is good enough.
5. Relationships – I need to focus on building relationships this year. I want deeper friendships. But I also want to make my whole family a priority (husband, kids, siblings, parents). I need to be intentional about making time for this and putting in effort.
This was another goal that started out well. But during the second half of the year I had to put more focus on myself.
6. Rebecca – I want to focus on Rebecca’s needs and make any necessary changes for her. We’ll be seeing a speech pathologist and a psychologist this month. Hopefully then we will have better direction. It’s still TBD if/when I’ll try any dietary changes.
Rebecca and I went on monthly mommy/daughter dates. We found out that she has pretty severe mold, dust and cat allergies. So we are working on those. Rebecca’s eating has improved greatly this year, so we no longer go to the speech pathologist. Rebecca was strict gluten free for most of the year. I think it is helpful for her. With both kids we are very strict on artificial flavor and coloring.
7. Crafts – I love making crafts, but I don’t often have time. I’d like to find a few fun crafts to make at some point this year. It would be nice to start working on Christmas presents now so that I’m not scrambling at the end of the year. I always love giving homemade gifts, but I don’t think of it early enough. This could be sewing projects, but other types of crafts as well.
I did manage to make a few simple homemade Christmas gifts. Sadly I didn’t start them until December! But they got done.
8. Cakes – I will continue to experiment with cake baking and decorating. I just got some drawing books for Christmas. So my hope is to work on my artistic abilities and then translate that into cake decorating. At this point I’m still not trying to make this into a true business. It’s a hobby that I enjoy. But I don’t have time to do it often with small children.
I did a few cakes at the beginning of the year. As with everything else, the second half of the year was focused on health. I didn’t have the time or energy to do extra work like cakes.
9. Declutter – After another generous Christmas I feel like our house is overflowing. We are so blessed. But all of our blessings sometimes give me stress when I see messes and “stuff” everywhere. So I’d really like to simplify and declutter. We need to purge some toys and plenty of other stuff. I’m hoping to get started right away in January working on organizing toys and getting rid of old ones.
I did do some major cleaning in January. But that’s about it. And after birthdays, Christmas, etc. our house/clutter is even more overwhelming than ever. It’s still a stress for the whole family. It will definitely be back on my list for 2014.
10. Acceptance – I had a friend once that decided on a word for the year for her family. They focused on that one attribute the whole year. I thought it was a neat idea. Over the last few months one word has continually come to mind – ACCEPTANCE. God has been speaking to me about this. And I’m trying to listen 🙂 This is something I have a hard time with. But something I’m slowly learning. I need to accept myself the way I am and not compare myself to others or even myself (in the past). I need to accept my family members. I am such a perfectionist I tend to be very judgemental and critical of others. It’s not something I’m proud of. But it’s hard to control when it’s part of my personality. This year I want to truly accept others. Every quirk. Every habit. Whether they make choices or do things I agree with or not. I need to love and accept all the members of my family. And I need to accept all people. We are all so different. But we are all God’s creation. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. We all make mistakes. But we are all beautiful images of God. This will be my year of acceptance in all areas of my life. Instead of always wishing something was different, I will accept.
When I chose the word “acceptance” for 2013 never did I imagine all the forms it would take. I had to accept change (a LOT of change), giving up control, gaining weight, loss, unfulfilled expectations, receiving help and even joy. Through it all I’ve learned that God is in control, no matter how hard things are for me to accept. I also learned that I have to understand that God accepts me and loves me just the way I am…which will allow me to accept and love others. I hope God blessed you as richly as He blessed me in 2013. Despite the challenges God brought so much good into my life. It’s almost incomprehensible. Changes that I have been trying to make year after year after year that I thought were impossible…He took control and took care of them. Health problems that have plagued me and made me feel so alone…He turned them around. Confusion and constant searching for answers…He gave me direction and a clear path. God is good.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
