How do you imagine Jesus?

Anything like this? 

Rev. 1:12-16  ¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I sawseven golden lampstands; ¹³ and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like ^[a]a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. ¹⁴ His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. ¹⁶ In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun ^[b]shining in its strength.

I surely don't! Although it makes me smile and shudder at the same time. I don't know why. Maybe because Jesus died on the cross for me and he is pure glory in this image. I shudder too, though, because it's a CREEPY vision of what I could come across in Heaven!

Talk about a halloween costume! ;) 

The weird part is Daniel saw the same being when he needed help. Daniel 10:5-6. Could it have been God coming down in a preview of Jesus's future form? Or just another heavenly being? 

I don't know, and won't until heaven, but it this description came up twice in the bible. And hundreds of years apart. Must be important.

Either way, how do you view Jesus? I definitely viewed him as this world does, but maybe with a warmth in his eyes that says... 'I love you. I'll show you how much I love you..'

I have been studying Revelations and it has me enamored! (great word huh?)

Phil 4:23 the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, 

sam

Coffee Addiction

I now understand the statement, coffee addiction. 

It took a loooong time but coffee has grown on me.

When Starbucks started to become popular here in Iowa, I was just starting high school. That's when Des Moines' very first Starbucks opened and everyone flocked to it. I tried it, but it was disgusting.

My best friend liked it so much we went a lot, and eventually it grew on me. So, I would only drink coffee like that. Well, it's not coffee, it's espresso.

Fast forward until 2 months ago. I could not stand drinking home brewed coffee.

We don't even own a coffee maker. Say What??

That's, like, the top pick for a wedding gift. We didn't put it on our registry and, surprisingly, we did not get one. We didn't drink it enough.

Now, I'm seeing it as a good investment.

So what do I use for coffee then? Well, very good question... instant coffee. You know, the kind you just add to a cup of hot water and voila, hot coffee. Yep, they do make that, and it's not bad!!

I have tried all kinds of instant coffee. The cheap kind... not good. The expensive kind... very good.... of course.

This is my favorite...

BUT I can not drink it without doctoring it up... a little... or a lot. It's really in the eyes of the beholder.

I came across a recipe that had sweetened condensed milk (sc milk) in it. I thought, strange, but ok. I soon found out that sc milk is added in Spain and Dominican Republic. So I thought, why not? They know coffee right?

So I made this concoction..... and without further ramblings... here is my coffee addiction recipe!

1 cup coffee (cold* or hot)
1-2 Tablespoons of sc milk
1 tablespoon of chocolate syrup (the kind you put on ice cream)
1/4 cup of milk (any kind) or cream or half n' half

There it is... it has saved me lots of money and curved my coffee cravings. You can double this and it saves in the fridge for up to a week. Be careful though, it does get foul tasting after a bit.

ENJOY!

* cold coffee: brew coffee and let cool to room temp. and then place in fridge.

For the real way to do it, you soak the ground coffee in water (really any amount, you just have to play with it and taste test) over night in the fridge, then strain out the coffee grounds. Kinda like a slower version of tea.

firemen in action..

A couple weeks ago, the clive fire department had an open house. We were able to go have some ice cream, see a fire truck up close and personal (for the first time!), and see the men in action!

During our visit, they got a call and had to rush off. It was pretty neat to see, but at the same time, it was scary because you know on the other end is either a fire or something serious! It was a good chance to show love through prayer with my kids. I stopped with them and prayed for whoever needed the fire truck and the firemen.

Here are some photos of our first fire station adventure!


PS: I am fiddling around with a new look on the blog. This is a work in progress, but let me know if you like it!

 Gray watching the firemen in action. 

Family pics

This year we had to cancel our professional pictures because financially we couldn't do it.

At first, I was so sad. We haven't had family pics in a year and half and I was looking forward to them.

But then I thought, aw well. Our family changes all the time; whether the kids look a little older, or we have another one. Family pictures don't make or break us a family. So I was ok with it, but I still wanted to have something to put up on our walls.

So I took some pics of the kids then I had my dad take some of us as a family.

With the actual shoot we were going to do them in front of our house like we did here. We absolutely love our home still and thank God every day for it!

So, here are our 'make shift' family photos, but I think they turned out pretty good!

She's growing up...

I am so sad watching Nevaeh ride down the side walk. What happened to my little goober? She's growing up.

Yet, as sad as I am, I am filled with joy because she LOVES riding her bike. Her smile when we brought it home was priceless.  There has only been only a few days that she has not wanted to ride, and she's riding like she's been doing it all her life.

I do miss my little, little girl (she's only 3!  ;)   ), but I love meeting this mile stones with just as much excitement as Nevaeh.

Her first time on it! 

 The next day and she's riding like a pro.

 Her first crash! I told her to stay down so I could go get my phone! Don't worry, she didn't cry or anything. I wouldn't have gotten my phone if she was hurt. Ha!

 She loves it!

Couple treats

So one of Jason's uncles kindly gave us a new food mandolin. I can't tell you how excited I was about this new kitchen toy!

I have been wanting a mandolin to make home made potato chips, apple chips, any other kinda chips I can think of.

Oh! Sweet potato chips!

So anyways, I made some apple chips this week. I ruined this batch, badly. Each one of the recipes I read said to keep the apple slices in until golden brown and hard.

The slices NEVER got hard for me. NEVER. I kept them in for 4 hours, but I eventually took them out and they hardened on their own.

WHAT?!

By the time I did this, they were burnt. Not noticeably burnt by the look, but tasted it.  None of the recipes mentioned this.

So, the slices will feel rubbery after 2 hours, and just a tad darker than they were when you sliced, this is when you take them out and let them harden on their own.

First, make a mess having fun with your new mandolin, slicing apples. You can also use a knife to slice them really thin. Just be careful not to cut yourself!

Sprinkle slices with sugar/cinnamon mixture.

 Voila, apple chips. They are darker than they should be.

Now, onto my favorite of the two. 

Home-made Oreos!

These taste, surprisingly, like the real thing. 

A few notes, use butter. Butter is always better for baking. Margarin is too soft, for this cookie, and will make a softer cookie. I personally like the harder version. 

A friend of mine and I had a baking night and we made these. She had margarin, which made the cookies taste just fine, they were softer though.

Find the recipe at oreo cookie

SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! 

I have decided this will be the cookie I make for my Christmas platter I give to friend, neighbors, and family. I'm going to play with a minty frosting! So excited! Or even the candy cane frosting I saw. 

PS: these were gone in 2 days. All gone. Sad.

Kids in motion

Are kids any other way but in motion?

Well, for my kids, only if watching a fun movie, are they sitting still. Even then, they have to dance to every song, fly with the birds, or climb ladders with Dora. They are almost always in motion.

That's how last night was when we went to play in the leaves. I have been using my phone camera because my sister has our actual camera for a photography class. My phone camera doesn't not capture motion well, so I always have what I call 'kids in motion' pictures.

You'll see what I mean....

They sure do love each other! So sweet.

 Look, I kinda got one!

 Another still one?? 

 But not for long! 

 Process of throwing leaves in the air.

 I could not get them to sit still for a shot in the leaves! Until we came inside for some hot chocolate, but then their faces weren't out of their cups until every last drop was gone (then they were out of their chair running around again!)! 

Illumifest

Ok,

Illumifest was pretty fun... I hate to admit it, but it may have been more fun than the Fall Fest.

Did I just say that out loud?!?

The only reason being, though, is they had free activities for kids! I heard last year they had free carnival rides, but they changed that this year. Sadness!!! They probably lost quite a bit of moola from doing that.

They had free face painting, a movie, fire works, lantern panting, paddle boat rides... all free! wowzers. Wait, I forgot one thing... they had FREE hot-air balloon rides!!!!! They stayed tethered to the ground and go only 30 feet up in the air, but still. What kid wouldn't have fun?

Unfortunately we did not do that because the line was so freakishly long 20 minutes even before they started! Jason (and I for that matter) does not do well with waiting to do something. It's torture.

We had the chance of going with our good friends, the Boscaljons. Our family is so blessed to have such a great community of believers fighting and raising families by our side! And to have such good friends in every direction!

So here is some fun from this night at Illumifest....

Getting ready....

Off they go!

 Painting the lanterns.

 So...umm... Jason sprayed Nevaeh in the face with staining paint. Directly in the face. 

 Gray getting an arm painting. The painter said Nevaeh was the tickle-est she had yet. 

 Good dragon... good dragon...

Movie time!  

So as sad as I am to say this, I think I have to... West Des Moines does have a better carnival/festival than Beaverdale. For families at least. But hey, free stuff for us is always better!