Getting Up Earlier

Let me just start by saying I am NOT a morning person! 

My husband loves to sit and watch the sunrise, where as I have no idea if I love or dislike it because it always occurs at a time when my eyes are closed! Serioulsy, the only time I have ever seen a sunrise is at the Sunrise services on Easter morning!

As I continue on my journey to be more devoted to God in every aspect of my life, He has told me I need to get up earlier and devote more time to prayer.  What???  I thought I was getting up early and I thought I had a very good prayer life.  I may think I have a good prayer life but God wants more of me and in order to continue to grow in Him I need to follow Him and submit to His will for me,
even if that means waking up before the sunrises each day! 

 

So this is what my phone said this morning when I got up.

 

This is the third day I have been up at 6:30 to start my prayer time and I am waking refreshed and ready to start my day in Him.  

Of course I haven't dragged myself out to the living room to see the sunrise yet but Easter is Sunday so I will see it then!



What a Plate of Cookies can Say

On Saturday, several of our teens went to the Teen Quizzing that several churches in our area participate in.  Our teens were thrilled to come into 2nd place!  On the ride home they made plans to get together weekly and study so next month they could come in 1st!   

 

It was a busy day yesterday but I still managed to bake some cookies

 for the teens before they came over.  I put the plate in front
of the teens and told them I had made cookies for them.
 One teen looked shocked and said, "Really, you made cookies for me?".  I told him of course I did and offered him the plate. 
With a big smile on his face, he took several and shoved them in his mouth.  We had so much fun eating the cookies as the teens told me about what they had done during their day.

 

SheBear tried to talk the girls into sharing their cookies with her!

 

After the teens quickly gobbled the cookies down, I told the teens

I would make another special treat for them next Monday when they came to study.  One of the other boys looked at me and said,

"You love us, don't you?".   I told him I surely did love each of the them!

When I was younger, I remember my mom always had a plate
 of cookies or treats for us everyday when we we got home from school.
 She would sit at the table and talk with us about our day
as we ate our cookies and it always made me feel so loved. 
Since we homeschooled our kids, I never really had cookies waiting for my kids like that as we were always together and ate cookies right off the sheet as we baked them!  I had forgotten what a plate of cookies can say to kids and am so glad I baked them!

 

Of course Keith loved sitting with the teens

 and helping them eat cookies and learn verses too!

 

The teens practiced hard and we laughed as they raced to stand up first and got a lot of answers right and a lot of answers wrong.  I am excited to see how they will do next month, but until then there will be a big plate of cookies on my table every Monday night to let the teens know that
I love them and they are so special to me!

Have you made a plate of cookies for anyone lately?







Quick Dinner After a Long Week

We left at 5 am this morning and made it back to Wyoming by early afternoon.  It is so good to be home after a long week away!

 

Chandler and Saraina were at our house when we arrived so I was able to scoop my little man up and get the cuddles I so missed while we were gone.  It seems like he grew so much in just a few days!

 

Mason was happy to see us as he said he was starving as he had to survive on only pizza, pizza rolls and pizza pockets while we were gone.  (Poor Boy!)  I decided that the best thing to do was to make Donairs tonight so we could have left overs after church tomorrow. 

I asked my dear sweet husband if would make up the meat so I could clean the house.  So as I unpacked and cleaned the house,
 Chep worked on the Donairs.

 

 

Take one pound of hamburger and add the following spices, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. ground oregano, 1 tsp. flour, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, 1/2 tsp. Italian seasonings, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder,  and 1/2 tsp. onion powder.  It is important is to mix, pound and throw the meat until the meat has broken down into a smooth texture.  (Yes, pick it up and throw it hard into the bowl!)  We love this recipe so much that we use four to five pounds of hamburger at a time and adjust the amount of spices. 

 After thoroughly mixing it, shape it into a loaf and place it on a broiler pan and cook at 350 F for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

 

 

It smells so good when it comes out of the oven!   

 

 

The sauce is the amazing and makes the Donairs so yummy. 

First measure 3/4 cup sugar and add 1 can of evaporated milk

 and 2 tsp. of garlic powder.

 

Slowly add four tsp. of white vinegar and stir.
 The vinegar will thicken the sauce.  

 

 

Our favorite toppings we use are shredded lettuce, onions, tomatoes and mozzeralla cheese.

 

 

Put everything into pita bread and enjoy!  So yummy!