Friday, January 16, 2015

Tomato Bisque Soup

28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
14 oz. can of chicken broth
1 tablespoon of garlic
1/3 cup of butter
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 cups of heavy whipping cream

Bring tomatoes, broth, and garlic to boil, reduce heat to low and add butter and sugar. Stir until melted. Once butter is melted, slowly add cream while stirring! 
Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Egg Nog French Toast!

Egg Nog French Toast Recipe
If your looking for the perfect holiday breakfast recipe you found it! 

5 eggs
1 1/2 cups of egg nog
1 tbsp. of nutmeg
Bread

Makes about 10 slices of French toast! 

I make this several days before Christmas, because tradition in our family is eating the Christmas cookies for breakfast! Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Happy First Birthday Ronin(and his puppy birthday cake recipe)!!

1 cup of whole wheat flour, unbleached
1 tsp. of baking soda
3/4 cup of shredded carrots
1/4 cup of peanut butter
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 tsp. of vanilla

Bake at 350 degress for 12-15 minutes

Frosting:
1 mashed banana
4 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. of vanilla 
All creamed together

Milkbone for topping

These can also be made into pupcakes as well!

What I didn't know when I became a Pastor's Wife

                         
There were a lot of things I didn't know before I became a pastors wife. When I thought about it, I pictured myself cutely dressed and sitting in the front row every Sunday and that was about the extent of it. My mind clearly didn't wander too far. I came up with nine things that I quickly realized while helping my husband minister to a small church
1. I am the multi-media director-the mic starts to cut out in the middle of the morning service, who does the pastor look at? You got it-me! Who is manning the slide changes in the powerpoint during the worship time? Me again.
2. I quickly became a wedding coordinator. When my husband performs wedding rehearsals I usually tag along and I usually get more than I bargain for in doing this. I have found that the bride usually forgets to get someone to coordinate the entrances and timing as her groom, bridal party, and herself enters the church on her special day. While it might not be a big deal to some, when you have someone to do that everything just runs much smoother. So I usually end up rounding up the whole party and getting everything situated behind the scenes. This is fun for me, I enjoy seeing the bride before the groom! Coming through in those little moments, takes a lot of pressure off of the day.
3.Event planner. Considering multiple ages groups and activities that are fun, not boring, and not over done, can be a hard task! Consider all that plus add in a very restrictive budget! Now don't get me wrong, my husband can do this and for the most part he comes up with a lot of great ideas, but lets face it, women are just more creative than men.
4.The interior decorator-because would you want your husband decorating your house?!?
5. The pastors stylist-refer to my 'Why I let my husband wear wrinkled pants to church' post.
6. I am the fill in-my least favorite title. While I want my husband to be able to count on me and rely on me always especially in bind. I thought being the fill in would require less of my time. It turns out when your the fill in you are filling in more than not. This tend to be a last minute thing every sunday and you must be prepared with a lesson and snacks or some spit up and baby drool in the nursery.
7. I work a full time job, so I technically get one day off, and if I'm lucky we have a church event on a Saturday too! (I really mean it when I say lucky)
8. In becoming David's wife I knew that i would hell bare the load of this ministry along with him, but in all honestly I thought it would mostly consist of a lot of the physical stuff mentioned above in the first seven things. What it really is more of, is the emotional side of this life, being that encourager for my husband, and learning to do a lot of listening. Your pastor has deep concern you.
Last and best of all were the blessings I would receive in this position. Our church family has been huge encouragers for us in this journey we are on and we are forever grateful for their support! Everyday we sit amazed with what we have and who we have to be thankful for!

*please do no misunderstand this post in me trying to take ownership over these titles, I have simply fallen into them and me typing them out was a very humbling experience to see not what I do, but what the lord has allowed me to do for Him! 

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Busyness should not be your badge of honor.


Halfway through our Myrtle Beach vacation and I'm sitting in the water as the waves are crashing against the shore. I wonder why we only make the attempt once a year for this type of break in the reality of our lives. I can't help but sit here and think of the busyness that awaits me at home. I once heard someone say "Rest is not a guilty pleasure that we have to sneak, but a command from God. We need to quit wearing busyness and tiredness as a badge of honor." I hate the word busy, even though I use it often and it is a word that could easily be used to fit my life. I have been contemplating these words, busy, tired, and even yes and no, over the last few days and have decided that busy and tired are gone from my vocabulary and what is going to make that easier for me is to reevaluate what I say "yes" and "no" to! Giving my best to the things that deserve my "yes."
Louie Giglio said: “Whenever you say yes to something, there is less of you for something else. Make sure your yes is worth the less.”
Rest should be a reminder that we are dependent on our much stronger God.

Check out Lysa Terkeurst's new book The Best Yes for more inspiration on this topic!

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Paper Anniversary

We decided to go with tradition for our first anniversary as husband and wife. The first year is PAPER. You would think this would be easy but you really have to get creative. I decided to make a post about what we got each other because I searched the internet and had the hardest time finding any ideas!
David got up super early on a Sunday Morning and decorated our whole house in homemade heart garland and dug out all of our old notes to each other, written on paper, and spread them throughout the house. I love flowers, so David tried his best at a bouquet of paper ones!






I was able to get the audio of both of us saying "I do" and turned it into a sound wave to have printed and framed. I thought this was something different. To make the rest of this year interesting I wrote down 52 surprises (one for each week of the next year) for David to pick from each week. I also was able to find a nice Marvel poster for his man room that he thinks he is creating in our basement.


We also were able to spend a nice, relaxing weekend at our favorite resort, Nemacolin Woodlands, where we got engaged and spent many date nights prior to that.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

A Letter to my Husband-Our First Anniversary!

David Cole,
I am always at a loss for words when it comes to expressing exactly just how I feel about our love. As our first anniversary has come and gone so fast, just as this past year has, I can’t help but think what you have taught me about love, instead of what has been felt. You love me just the way God created me, with every imperfection that you have never tried to change. You see past my outward flaws into the depths of my heart and you love me just the same. Just one look from you and all my anxieties turn to nothing. Despite decisions I’ve made in the past and uncertainties we will face together in the future, you remind me how BIG our God is and to trust His plan. You lead our marriage by putting God first and us second. You are dedicated to integrity, just as I spoke in my wedding vows, you are a man whose integrity shines like a diamond in the dust. You are always there to greet me with a warm hug after a long day and a night never goes by without a good night kiss. Our first year of marriage has been full of many mountains and valleys but in those challenging moments we are reminded of the vows we promised each other that beautiful summer afternoon on August 10th, 2013.
I love you forever and always.