Apple Dumplings

These apple dumplings are another really easy dessert you can whip together in no time, but they taste like you slaved all day.  The ingredients are simple and can be made “light” if you are counting calories or points.  I stole this recipe from Necole Baty.  She made it once for our small group a couple of years ago and my family just loves it. Thanks Necole!

Apple Dumplings

2 pkgs. of Pillsbury croissants  (or use the low fat croissants)

2 large Granny Smith apples (You can peel or not, I have done either way)

1 C. sugar (or Splenda or 1/2 and 1/2)

1 tbs. cinnamon

1 stick of butter (or 1/2 stick of light butter)

12 oz. or 1 can of Mt. Dew soda (I use Diet Mt. Dew)

Cut apples into 1/8ths.  Roll each section in a croissant and layer in a 9×13 baker.  Mix sugar and cinnamon in another bowl, then sprinkle over the dumplings.  Melt one stick of butter and pour over dumplings. Pour 1 can of Mt. Dew over dumplings. Bake @ 350 degrees in the oven for about 30 min. or until dumplings look done. Allow dumplings to cool and then serve.  You can try adding pecans or walnuts to the topping or even dried cranberries. Let me know what you think and if you make any of your own variations to the recipe.

Greg Baty

This past Sunday, Greg Baty preached at Kinetic Church.  I just want to say, “Great job, Greg!”  I love Greg and Necole.  I still remember the first Sunday Greg and Necole came to Kinetic. Greg came back to the nursery to “check on” Leah during the service.  We started talking and he said that the main reason he wanted to check out Kinetic is that there seemed to be a dichotomy between churches and the word Kinetic, which means, dynamic, changing.  He wanted to come and see a church first hand that claimed to be different from what most churches are.

They were in the very first couples’ small group we had at Kinetic 4 1/2 years ago.  During that time I have seen them go through a great deal of life.  Greg was also quick to offer comfort to David when we miscarried and lost a baby at 16 weeks.  They are such an encouragement to us.  Thanks Greg, for doing what you do and letting God shine His glory through your life.

When they got home, I told them to hurry and do their homework so they could put the decorations on.  Well, it took forever for them to get a snack and do their homework.  Probably partly because I was not paying close attention to them because I was vacuuming and trying to get the house straightened up.

Needless to say, at some point I turned into the screaming ninny or a yelling mother, because I was so frustrated that things were not moving at the pace I expected. Not to mention Gideon wandering around either crying for me to hold him or undoing all the cleaning or decorations I had put in place. (Why do they only want you to hold them when you can’t?)  Nothing is more frustrating than keeping a 19 month old off the ornaments of the Christmas tree, when he sees everyone else playing with them.

So much for nice memories and family tradition. I had to apologize to my kids for freaking out and pushing so hard.  I had to explain that if we did not get it done, it was alright, Mommy was just stressed out.  My biggest fear is that they will only remember my failures and not all the good things.  “Remember when Mom yelled at us when we were decorating the Christmas tree that one year?” - Cringe!

Well, we were not done when people arrived. I had not yet had a shower for the day.  I was wearing the clothes I had had on the night before, but you know what?  No one seemed to care or notice.  We still had a great time and I really needed the lesson we had later that emphasized letting God fill up my empty spaces.

And the tree finally did get decorated!  Doesn’t it look great?  Even if there do seem to be a lot of ornaments clustered at the bottom!  Let me know if you ever have days like this, or am I the only one?

Maverick Shrimp and Grits

I kidnapped Dave, kind of, for my birthday this year and took him to Charleston, SC for the weekend, no kids!  It was really great!  We stayed at a home that Tracy and Jeff Himes have there.  She works in Charleston all week and comes home to Charlotte on the weekends, so when she came home last weekend, we were on our way there.  Her bungalow there is so beautiful and the little town of I’On that the subdivision was created around is very picturesque.

We toured Charleston by foot on Friday and had lunch at a little place called Diana’s.  We scoured the Market and had dinner at Basil, a really great Thai .  The coconut chicken soup was different and delicious.  I also put a picture of the fried green tea ice cream on my Facebook account.

Saturday morning we tried to tour Boone Hall Plantation, but since there was a car show going on across the front lawn of this georgeous antebellum house, I decided that I would rather tour it some other day without all the modern metal out front.  We headed into Charleston again and this time took a carriage tour of the town.  It was a lot of fun and very educational.  Our tour guide was knowledgable and humourous.  We hit the Market again and then had dinner at S.N.O.B.S. (Slightly North of Broad), a Charleston favorite, voted Best Restaurant in 2006.

I had the low country Maverick Shrimp and Grits.  They were unbelievably delicious.  Oh, and Mavericky, just like McCain and Palin.  The shrimp and grits were probably the best thing I have eaten in a long time.  We didn’t have reservations, but were able to sit at the Chef’s table overlooking the kitchen without a wait.  Definitely a place to try if you are ever in Charleston.

After dinner, we headed back home to Charlotte for a pretty uneventful trip, except for the fact that my sweet David Milam accidentally left his glasses on the bumper of the vehicle we were driving.  After he realized his mistake, we drove back the way we came and found them crushed in the middle of the road.  But even with all of that, we had a great weekend reconnecting and just getting to be together.

Thanks Tracy and Jeff! And a huge thanks to Kristin Taylor and Meredith McGuirt who helped us by keeping the kids safe and sound while we were gone.  I didn’t even worry, well not much, because I knew the kids were in such great hands.  Thank you for ministering to us, by taking care of our most precious people.

Cool Iron Gate

Rainbow Row

Even Santa Worships

Way to go Dave! You did a great job speaking this Sunday. (Especially in light of the pea-shooters sitting in the front row - unfortunately mother approved - who were trying to give you a hard time.) You’re still my favorite preacher! It was something we all need to hear and be reminded of occasionally. Making the effort to step out of ourselves and become Christmas to someone else who is hurting, shy, feeling left out, etc. is a great calling. This series, “Becoming Christmas,” is going to be wonderful. Hope no one misses a Sunday!

Anyway, I have posted a video that documents a woman who is breastfeeding her 8 year old! Yes, I said 8 YEARS, not months!!! What you are about to see is a bit disturbing, so don’t say I did not warn you. Send me a comment and let me know what you think.

Once I heard Allyson Hodges laughing at something I said and I thought, “Okay, maybe I am a little funny.”  I really enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of the discussion Sunday and I appreciate good old Dave Milam for asking me!

I also have a wonderful team of preschool teachers who were willing to step in and teach class for me so I could be a part of the talk during first service.  Go Beth Eaton and Salina Ciotti!  I also really appreciate Bethany Reeves taking Gideon to his class as well.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments.

I’ll admit, doing some of the things required to break the crazy fighting cycle in our marriages, can make you feel like you vomited in your mouth a little. It isn’t easy. It requires, like all things worth having, hard work from both the husband and the wife. I want to tell you though, it works. Crazily enough, it really, really works. Not just in my marriage, but I have seen it at work in the marriages of my friends who went through this study with us.

And isn’t it ironic, that the behaviors that seem to make the least amount of sense are exactly what we are called to do? I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised, because we happen to serve a God who likes to turn things inside out. The God we serve has a way of looking at things that is totally contradictory to what we are told will work in this world. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” 1 Cor. 3:19

The Jews were expecting a King who would come, fight, and restore their earthly nation.
They got a poor baby born in a stable to parents with a shady past.

Leadership 101 says we need to push and strive to get ahead.
Jesus taught us to wash our follower’s feet and to serve others.

The world tells us to take all we can and look out for number one.
God tells us to take up our cross and die to ourselves.

Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Luke 9:22-24

It doesn’t make sense to act lovingly to a rude, disgruntled, disrespectful wife, but ironically, that is just what she needs to change. It doesn’t make sense to be calm and respectful to a cold, distant, thoughtless man, but likewise, that is just what he needs to change. That is the beauty of God’s grace. It doesn’t make any sense at all, but it is absolutely, irresistibly, what we need. When we start to act lovingly and respectfully to our spouses, we can begin to be God’s grace to them. May God bless our marriages this week as we try to live out His grace.

The Shack

Last week we were blessed with an opportunity to go to the beach.  So I did the appropriate amount of laundry, packed up the kids and we headed East to Topsail Island.  It is a gorgeous beach and was a much needed reconnecting time for our family.

My sweet husband, knowing that one of the only times I can read uninterrupted for long periods of time is at the beach, (because he is there all day to help deflect the demands of the kids) bought me the book, The Shack, by William Paul Young.  I had been wanting to read it for a few months now and had not spent the money to buy it.

Wow!  It is amazing.  It is really an almost unbelievably good book.  It is a modern day parable, similar to Pilgrim’s Progress. I have cried at least 3 or 4 times while reading this book and I am not even done yet.  I would like to say it is one of the best books I have read in a long time, but I have not read that many lately because of the kids. As an English teacher and lit lover, I used to read all the time, pre-children, but the constant interruption was causing me to lose it with my kids, so I decided to read less for now.  But this book is really, really good. Don’t take my word for it, it has been on several best sellers lists for a while now.

If you pick it up, let me know what you think of it.  If you have read it already, tell me about that too!

My daughter, who not so long ago was wearing pink Disney princess dresses and cow girl costumes decided she would like to go as a skeleton.  Who knew the little blond girl in a fairy princess dress would want to be a bag of bones for Halloween?  Oh well!

My second son opted for the Dark Knight and made a formidable pint sized Batman.  He hippity, hoppitied around to all the houses while his mother tried to keep him from hopping out into the road and getting hit by a car.  And finally, the baby. He alone was a sweet character this year.  He was a little orange pumpkin.  It is the same suit that they have all worn on their second Halloween.  I remember specifically purchasing it with the thoughts that all the kids could eventually wear to their early Halloweens.  Four kids later, I’d say it got some good use!