Finding Joy In The Everyday...

Long time no write....

I am finding more and more Joys in my everyday.

It's been busy around here since well, forever!

I have a hard time concentrating long

 enough to get on the computer these days.

I always have more things on the top of my list each day 

and getting on the computer to do anything

 seems more like a chore.

(Smiles)

Especially when you have a smart phone. 

It's easier to use it than it is to turn on the ol' computer!

Ha!

So, instead of making this post long and boring,

I thought I'd share my Joys as of late.

My oldest son got married this March!

I am blessed to finally have

 a sweet and precious daughter!

We just adore her!

The wedding took most of my February and March up.

It was fun to plan and see how everything came together.

Now, we are all adjusting to the new changes...

We are so excited to see them growing together as One!

God sure did pick the perfect couple.

This has been one of my biggest JOYS!

My other two boys are just getting so big!

They have quite the personalities these two.

Never a dull moment and they always keep me on my toes.

I just love my boys!

They are finished with school for the Summer

and we have lots of fun things planned.

So looking forward to a long trip away!

I'm enjoying all the pretty flowers...

And taking JOY in each one that blooms...

And waiting for our Summer adventure to begin....

I find being at home very joyful this year.

I love having coffee and conversation with my mom in love.

Enjoying a visit with my mom.

Reading a good book.

Watching a movie.

Hanging out with my family.

Sunday dinners.

Working in the yard.

Spending time with my hubby.

Planning little trips here and there.

Hanging out with my son and daughter in love.

Taking a walk.

Eating popsicles under the trees.

And the list goes on and on....

What Joys have you found in your days??

I hope you all have a wonderful 

Summer full of Joy and Happiness!

Until Next Time,

AMY

Carrying On...

Hello!  It's been awhile and I thought to myself

I have a minute to share

 something quick with you all.

(Smiles)

It's been one crazy busy summer.

Going here and there and filling our

 days with lots of activities.

Camping

Fishing

Swimming

BBQ's

Hanging out with friends & family

The one and only thing I can truly say about this summer is

 that I am so OVER this heat!

And this humidity has been awful.

You have to remember we live in this desert place 

where high humidity is very uncommon.

But, we carry on. 

 Cause in Reality, there is nothing we 

can do about the heat or humidity.

I woke up this morning with hardly a voice

and I thought what the heck!

Oh well...guess I'm meant to stay quiet today.

And that's okay, I'm carrying on..

Some things are completely out of our control

and we need to accept the things we can not change.

We need to Carry On...

We need to Carry On and ask God to handle the things 

that we simply can not do ourselves.

So many people are struggling with all sorts of things,

health, bills, worries, fears, anxiety,uncertainties of the future

and the list goes on...

I'm telling you, we still have to Carry On with our days.

God has got all these things covered.

Trust Him,

 Lay them down and Carry On!

Don't let the struggles of yesterday, your past, 

today, the week, the month

heck even the years to come 

Define You!

God is defining you, let Him do His job and

CARRY ON!

Okay I feel better now....

I hope this post encourages you and inspires you.

Sometimes we all need a little reminder

that God is in control of all things!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Until next time.....

HUGS & BLESSINGS,

AMY

Scripture Cards...

A few years back my mom in law had

 made me these sweet little scripture cards.

I love how cute and colorful they are.

I have these cards placed through out my home

as they remind me how gracious the Lord is.

Over the years, I have made and added new

 ones to my special treasure box.

I love that we can be creative and

 use our thoughts and ideas.

I started writing a prayer journal. 

I love to look back and see all the prayers

 that I have had answered.

Of course there are some that are still

 looking for that answer too.

(Smiles)

I think it would be a good idea to 

make some of those prayers

onto these little cards as it will remind me to

 pray over those little prayers daily.

All you need is some cute stock paper,

 stickers, glue or double sided tape

and some great little sayings, scriptures 

or prayers to type or write out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Onto other news:

It has been frigid here the passed few days.

We got a wee bit of snow yesterday.

Brrr!!!

My oldest son started his college classes!

Yes, COLLEGE classes.

This mom is trying to take this all in.

Overwhelming at times, I'm not gonna lie...

You know, I don't have much to tell....

I'm trying to stay at home as much as I can

because well...I dislike town!

Haha!

Bet you never would of guess that one!

Still going strong with the Trim Healthy Mama.

I haven't dropped a lot of pounds, but I have noticed

 some inches melting away off my waistline.

I'm really not doing this plan for the weight loss,

I'm doing it to eat more healthier foods and less sugar.

So far, so good!

Okay I've rambled on long enough...

Have a good week!

Thanks for stopping by!!

HUGS,

Amy

Joy...

JOY

It's the little things that bring me Joy.

Sunsets, coffee, long drives,

giggles, sappy movies, chocolate,

tight hugs, holding hands, snuggles from my boys,

starry nights, random acts of kindness, 

 freshly baked cookies, 

deep conversations, my love for Jesus,

cozy socks, music and a good book.

These things are so little, 

yet they mean a great deal to me.

Suppose, it is not the extent of things

small or BIG that make a difference.

But perhaps, this Joy is a good feeling in the soul,

produced by the Holy Spirit, as he

causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word

and in the world.

After all the fruit of the Spirit is

love, JOY, peace, patience, gentleness,

goodness, faithfulness, kindness and self control.

Galatians 5:22:23

What brings you JOY??

I hope you all are having a great December thus far!!

Thanks for stopping by...

HUGS & BLESSINGS,

I Am In Awe...

Well Hello!  How are you today?

I am still amazed at how fast the days are going.

And I am still trying to process that it is now December.

DECEMBER! 

Seriously?!

How is it December all ready??

We had family here for most of November

which was nice and very busy.

Then Thanksgiving came around...

That was nice and it was even nicer to

 have family here to celebrate with.

And, well it's kinda been a blur from then.

And now we are in December!

My middle sons birthday is in a few days

and he turns 11!!

Seriously...time is flying!

Yes, there is still green in these pictures

as I took them I think in late Spring, early Summer.

Aren't they pretty?

This was one of the nature walks

 I took with my boys.

Not very far from our home.

I loved this little area as the sun was

 getting ready to set for the evening.

I just thought it was so amazing!

The detail of the sun through the trees

to the reflection of the water...

Wow...just wow!

And then the sun sets and it's even more glorious!

We are so blessed to have a Creator that

 gives us all these amazing gifts to witness 

each and every day.

I don't know about you but I am in awe.

I am in awe at the love my Heavenly Father shows me daily.

I am in awe at the Joy He gives me.

I am in awe at the Grace He has for me.

I am in awe that I am His daughter.

And I am in awe that we can witness His great gifts

each and every day we are here!

Who wouldn't want to share that with the world?

So, as the month of December carries on

I hope you all take the time to slow down

and thank our Heavenly Father for all the

 gifts and treasures of every day.

For these days seem to be fleeting...

Thanks so much for stopping by...

Until next time...

Be Blessed,

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins...

 

PUMPKIN MUFFINS!

It's time to bake and eat and bake and eat

anything with FALL flavors!!

We eat a lot of muffins around here.

Grab one and go.

OR sit down and enjoy one with a cuppa coffee.

Why...it's a must!!

Straight outta the oven...

DELICIOUSNESS is brewing!!

Would you like to try the recipe for yourself?

Okie Dokie...I'll quit teasing you now! (HaHa)

Enjoy!

 Pumpkin Streusel Muffin

1/4 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

2/3 c. canned pumpkin

1/2 c. buttermilk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp. molasses

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp. salt

Streusel Topping:

1/3 c. flour

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. cold butter

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars

 until light and fluffy.

Beat in the pumpkin, buttermilk,

 eggs and molasses.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder,

 pumpkin pie spice and salt.

Gradually add to pumpkin mixture

 just until blended.

Fill greased or paper lined

 muffin cups about 2/3 full.

For topping, combine flour and brown sugar.

Cut in the cold butter until mixture is crumbly.

Sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes 

or until toothpick inserted in the

 muffin comes out clean.

Cool  for 5 minutes in pan before

 removing to a cooling rack.

**Tip: You can convert this recipe

 to Gluten Free if you wish. 

Just replace the flour for a gluten free flour.

And they will still turn out amazing!!

I hope you all have a delightful week!!

Thanks for stopping by...

I appreciate each one of you!

September Days...

Hello!  How are you all?

I'm here and there and everywhere!

Friday is here!! Yay!

Even though that really means nothing

 to a stay at home mom/homemaker.

(Smiles)

Some of the fields are still green

from irrigation...

Green for miles!

It's been another busy month around here.

Let's see...where to begin...

My guys are up hunting for the second time this month,

hoping they'll bring home some meat!

This is the motto in my house!

Boys...

The corn fields are starting to display Fall colors.

We are taking our time and

 enjoying the drives home.

We are enjoying so many great sunsets!

God sure did paint the sky AMAZING here!!

We dehydrated a ton of peaches!

These are just like fruit leathers

 but without all the work!

Canned some salsa! 

31 pints of deliciousness!!

Little touches of Fall...

(On these HOT days)

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL...YA'LL!!

And that's a wrap!!

Thanks for stopping by...

Hello There!

Hello Dearies...

It's been awhile since I've been on the ol' computer!

I'm not sure where the Summer went

but it went flying by...

We were very busy this Summer.

 Lot's of camping, family came and went, 

more camping, celebrating 4th of July,

celebrating my youngest sons birthday, 

enjoying a weekend getaway with just my hubby

and now I am trying to get back into 

the swing of school with the boys.

My oldest son is taking a new journey to finish out

the few classes he needs to graduate.

He'll still be doing school at home,

but will be doing everything on the computer

versus everything on paper.

And he'll be starting college classes in the Spring

to get a welding degree!!

So exciting!!

I can't wait to see what God has in 

store for this school year! 

Lot's of exciting new things.

Lot's of new things to learn.

How has your Summer been treating you?

Anything new you'd like to share?

I really don't have much to say,

for some reason I just can't seem to 

get back into the groove of blogging.

So, if I'm away for a bit longer,

just know it's because I have writers block. Ha!

Thanks for stopping in and staying with me.

Until I write again...

Happy August!!

HUGS & BLESSINGS,

Wheat Free Rye Soda Bread...

Hello All!

I've been craving some bread and the 

hardest part of eating wheat free/yeast free

is finding bread you can eat that

 doesn't cost a fortune to buy.

So, I found a basic recipe and tweaked it a bit.

Most recipes still call for all purpose flour and/or yeast.

So, with this recipe it also called for all purpose flour

and what I did was buckwheat, almond meal, 

green banana and Gluten Free all purpose flour

along with the rye flour.

It's dense just like a traditional soda bread

but with adding in the green banana flour

it made it a bit more moist.

I love the looks of this bread as it looks so rustic!

Rustic and very tasty!

Did you know that buckwheat flour 

isn't actually from the wheat family?

It's apart of the rhubarb plant.

I thought that was very interesting!

Would you like the recipe now?

If you try this recipe, would you let me

 know what you thought of it?

***********

Wheat Free Rye Soda Bread

2 1/2 cups Rye Flour

1 1/2 cups total combined 

buckwheat flour, almond meal,

 GF flour mix and green banana flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 cups buttermilk or sour milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Whisk is your flours, baking soda and salt.

Make a well in center of the flour

 and pour in your buttermilk.

Stir well.

Divide dough in half and turn each 

dough ball onto a floured surface.

Make into 2 round loaves.

Transfer to a baking sheet.

Cut a 1 inch X  into the top of loaf.

 Poke holes around the X.

Bake for 30 minutes.  

Let cool at least 10 minutes before cutting.

I cut mine up and place half in a tin

 and stuck in freezer.  

Then this way when I want bread

I can take out one slice at a time.

*TIP*

If you aren't eating wheat free

you can add in your flour of choice.

Green Banana flour can be found at your local

health food store or online.

This flour will make your baked goods moist.

A little will go a long ways.

Also, when I was searching for wheat free flours

I came across this handy website on alternative flours.

Go check it out HERE

This site will also show you if it's gluten free.

Now rye isn't considered gluten free

but if you are going for a wheat free diet, rye is acceptable.

I hope you all are having 

a great Summer so far!

Thanks so much for stopping by,