hit & run

Rosie & Sufjan?  Be still my indie-lovin' heart. 

(source)

Hit & Run Vol. 1

Joy

Need some inspiration?  Take the next 13 minutes and watch this segment on an incredible orchestra from the Congo.  Even in the poorest country in the world, beauty exists.  

(found via marvelous kiddo)

Love + Money

A very thought provoking talk on poverty, money and love.  Watch it.

this moment

Inspired by Soulemama:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

this moment

Inspired by Soulemama:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

this moment

Inspired by Soulemama:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

p.s. notice the box of panda puffs?  my daughters believe the recycling bin is their own personal toy box ;)

For Every Meal!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have discovered the most satisfying veggie burger, ever.  

EVER.  

they taste much better than they look, I promise

This veggie burger is dairy free, soy free AND gluten free.  Do you know how difficult it is to find recipes like that?  We are just figuring this little fact out.  Due to some hidden allergy symptoms, we took dairy out of Z's diet around Thanksgiving.  We took soy out around that time too.  We just recently removed gluten as well.  The dairy and soy were so much easier to eliminate than gluten!  But we are navigating through all the information, little by little.  Thankfully, we have some great friends that are dairy/soy/gluten free and have been such a wonderful resource through all this allergy stuff.  

Anyways.

These burgers took about 2 hours for me to make.  Yup, 2 hours.  I really doubt it would take you that long, though.  The recipe says it takes about 60 minutes.  I'm pretty sure that having an almost 18 month old strapped to my back added an extra 30 minutes.  Especially since she has a new found love of pulling my hair and scratching my ears.  Oh, and the 4 year old asking me questions like "Mom, why is the moon made out of brown, stinky cheese?" probably added another 30 minutes.  So, if you don't have an 18 month old and a 4 year old I'm sure these would be a breeze to put together ;)

The 2 hours was worth it though.  Up until now, I have had trouble finding a veggie burger recipe that I would want to make again.  The end result didn't justify all the prep and work involved. Plus, there are some pretty good pre-packaged options.  It just wasn't worth it to make them from scratch.  But this one, oh, this burger.  Friends, it's full of flavor and not at all dry.  It stayed together really well and tasted amazing between two slices of Udi's whole grain bread with some organic ketchup and mustard.  

The thing that sealed the deal for me was when my aforementioned 4 year old declared, "Mom, this is really yummo!  You should make these burgers for every meal!".  The only other time she has uttered these words was when I made this winner. Now, this is the same 4 year old who we have to spend 45 minutes convincing to take 4 bites of her supper each and every night.  The same 4 year old who refuses to try anything new.  She even ate the burger completely on its own, no bread!  It's really that good.  

So while I may not be making this for every meal, it will show up on our dinner table again.  

this...

...is what I needed to read today.

Lent is not a pass/fail endeavor – it’s not a test, but rather a mystical means of healing and enlightenment I’d be very, very foolish not to take advantage of. The work of fasting won’t make God love me more - I’m very thankful to already, no matter what I do or don’t do, be loved by Him unconditionally. On my prayerful days, my forgetful days, my relapse days, my exhausted days, He is forgiving and full of grace. It will however affect the quality and fruitfulness of my day-to-day life here on earth. Waking up to a soul that’s been tended to feels tranquil and meaningful. I’m more generous, hospitable, courageous, patient, when I’m a good and faithful steward of my spiritual blessings.

                                                                                            --Molly Sabourin

(read the rest of the post here or listen to the podcast here)

this moment

Inspired by Soulemama:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Currently Playing...

....for our after-dinner/pre-bedtime dance parties:




(thanks to my brother for giving us this album!)

One Body of Many Members

If any of you are fortunate enough to remember Slim Goodbody, you will remember that he wore a skin tight suit that showed all the bones and organs of the body, while he pranced around and taught kids (and maybe adults) valuable lessons on how to stay fit and healthy. The memory brings an awkward smile to my face. Wasn't that suit a little inappropriate to wear around little kids? I could be wrong. Anyway, the reason I bring him up in this post is that people like, and have liked for as long as I've been sucking wind, to be given advice on how to feel great and live longer. We want slim, good bodies (budum ching). I'm here to reflect on what it means to have a healthy Church body in this post. I don't know if people are as hungry for this information as they are for that of Slim's ilk, but "ni modo" as they say in Spanish.

It struck me today during church that there is something so fitting to be assembled with people who hold the same beliefs as me saying, in effect, in unison "isn't our God beautiful?" Say what you want about group think or brainwashing, to corporately praise something, especially the thing that you believe is the most deserving of praise is fulfilling, satisfying. It does a body good, also.

After our service this morning, in preparation for Lent, we had a forgiveness ceremony. During this service every person in the church says to every other person, "please forgive me if I've offended you," while bowing to the other person, who then says the same thing back. Both exchange a kiss on both cheeks, then one more for good measure (we are Trinitarian, after all) while saying, "I forgive you (in the name of Christ)." Awkward as this was, it made me think of learning how to dance with my wife. As we went around the circle I found myself moved by the love of each member in our small Parrish. Jesus Christ was truly, really there. I heard a Catholic speaker say once that, next to the Eucharist, your neighbor is the holiest thing presented to your senses. I felt that way today.

I have more to say on the topic of membership, but I'll wrap up for now with a small excerpt from C.S. Lewis' lecture of the same title:

No Christian and, indeed, no historian could accept the epigram which defines religion as "what a man does with his solitude." It was one of the Wesleys, I think, who said the New Testament knows nothing of solitary religion. We are forbidden to neglect the assembling of ourselves together. Christianity is already institutional in the earliest of its documents. The Church is the Bride of Christ. We are members of one another.

...makes me smile

Hello friends!  It's been awhile since I've done my Monday "makes me smile".  I'm going to try to get back into this weekly feature.  I think it's good for my soul to list what I'm thankful for each week.

Here's what made me smile this week...

Spending some time at the Lied Lodge...

A beautiful (but quickly melting) snow....

The super bowl halftime show...

Freshly brewed (decaf) coffee waiting for me in the morning...

Bidding on books of this nature on Ebay...

Planning for my sister's coed baby shower...(have any inspirational links for me?!)

This indoor tepee...

New Field Music...

Lu's sudden new love for books...

A much needed phone date with my dear friend...

Tell me, what made you smile this week?

this moment

Inspired by Soulemama:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

this moment

Inspired by Soulemama:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

this moment

Inspired by Soulemama:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

The Story of Stuff

Watch this 20 minute video....then show it to your kids, your friends, your parents, your neighbors.  

And stop consuming!

It's not about the presents....

...but His presence.

Anyone remember that cheesy Christmas saying?  If you grew up in a mainline protestant church I'm pretty sure you do.  While it is extremely cheesy, I feel that it is a good reminder.  Christmas is a special, wonderful time.  It's my favorite holiday :)  If you are a Christian, Christmas is the time when we celebrate the birth of our Savior with our families.  If you aren't, you still make an effort to spend quality time with your loved ones.

Lately, I have been so frustrated with the consumerism surrounding Christmas.  When I look back on my childhood Christmas memories, I don't remember what gifts I received each year.  If I think really hard, I only remember the times I really hoped for something but didn't get it (sorry, Mom....I was kind of selfish!)  When I was growing up my mom was the only one caring for my siblings and me.  I have two brothers and two sisters.  As you can imagine, money was tight.  I remember my mom frequently stressing about not having enough money to buy us presents each year.  I always told her that we didn't need them, but as a parent I can totally understand that need to be able to provide a gift for each one of your children.  And the feeling of failure when you are unable to.

My family was on the receiving end of a lot of generous giving.  Those families whose names you pick off of Christmas trees hanging up at the mall or in your local bookstore?  We were that family.  This was slightly embarrassing for me growing up.  I remember being ashamed that one year our school principal brought us a bag of gifts that had been donated to the school for poor families.  Now, however, I am able to see how much my family received and I am forever grateful.  I saw first hand the generosity and kindness of others.  That generosity is what I remember most about our Christmas presents.

What I also remember from our Christmas celebrations are the traditions that we celebrated.  Each year we would go out to a local tree farm and pick out a real, live Christmas tree.  This tradition is so strong that when Joe and I were engaged and we began discussing different traditions we may have in our family I jokingly told him that a real tree at Christmas was part of the marriage.  You get me and a real Christmas tree every year :)  When I was a kid, my siblings and I would take turns picking out the tree each year.  I was notorious for picking out monstrous trees.  Trees that wouldn't fit through the front door.  Trees that fell over when ornaments were placed on them.  Trees that required being tied to the window frame with bungee cords just so they could stand straight.  My Christmas trees are the stuff of legends and my siblings and I tell the stories of these trees every year.  It's so fun to hear everyone's perspective on the event and laugh together.

These are the things I remember most about Christmas growing up.  Naturally, these are the things I hope our children will remember.  I don't want the focus to be so much on the presents that they forget the traditions and time we spend together as a family.  I don't want them to be so intent on what they receive as a gift that they forget to give to others.  I want them to experience as much (if not more) joy giving gifts to others as they do getting gifts.

So beginning this year, we are no longer going to buy presents for our family.

Yes, you read that right.  We are not going to buy presents.  We are going to give gifts that are homemade, creative and are more about the time spent together rather than the physical gift.  There are lots of ideas on the internet about alternative Christmas gifts.  Buy Nothing Christmas has some great ideas.  This year I think we are going to give our girls some pajamas (hopefully second-hand) and a night at a hotel together as a family.  I have some really great ideas for my husband that I will share after Christmas.  We will also make giving to others (other than family) a big part of our Christmas traditions as well.  The gifts for those in need will probably be brand new, but we will make sure to buy from locally owned, independent businesses rather than corporations.

What are you holiday traditions?  What alternative gifts will you be giving this year?

this moment

Inspired by Soulemama:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

*my brother is in the process of moving into our basement....hence the extra "stuff" in our living room*

Walker

This girl....

decided to stand up on her own two feet and walk today.

I'm not ready for this.

Hold me.

this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.