Setting the Stage

I'm gleaning from another blog this morning......as I attempt to tackle my three running to do lists this post was and is a gentle reminder of how and why we do the things we do.

Check out Nester's post at (In)Courage on "Setting the Stage" here.

Have a blessed Wednesday!

L.

Winner - To Be Announced

Hi Y'all!

Just a note to THANK-YOU all so much for your interesting, amusing, creative and colorful blog name suggestions.

Tonight the hubs and I are hosting our small group so we will discuss them tomorrow and then I'll announce the winner!

Until then, and I know you will all be waiting with baited breath (ha!), I'll share one of my favorite pictures of late.....my hubs and our pinkies.

Lisa

My First Blog Contest!

Happy New Year! I hope that you and your family had a wonderful and blessed holiday season. We truly had a great Christmas surrounded by family and friends, a little bit slower pace than years past, but with a very prego mama running the show it seemed like the perfect speed.

I am excited to kick off 2010 with my very FIRST blog contest:

"New Baby, New Name!"

I need your help girls, Baby Baker is due sooner than later and in case you hadn't heard - we will be adding a significant splash of blue to our oh-so-pink house. We are very excited about our new family member and each night from 9-11pm as he wiggles and dances around I get more and more anxious to see this little man in person.

But, with two pink and one blue we can't really continue as "The Pink Bakers" - and yes, pink plus blue would make some shade of purple, but somehow the "Purple Bakers" doesn't have the same ring to it. So, I thought what a better way to get a new name for my blog than to make it into a contest - with the final prize yet to be revealed - don't worry, it WILL be something good!

Of course, it's not just up to me - the "hubs" will have his say and we'll review the entries together - if you know him at all you know he's particular and has opinions - so get your thinking cap on.

You can submit multiple entries for what you think my new blog name should be anytime from now up until 10pm next Wednesday - January 13th. Then "hubs" and I will review them and decide on our favourite and announce the winner within 48hours of the contest closing.

I look forward to hearing all your great ideas.

Outstretched Hand | A Call for Prayer

I saw this on another blog I like to peruse by and was really touched by the authenticity that such a small post revealed.

In my heart I've been challenged to do the same, to reveal that, yes, there are times we have needs, spoken or unspoken.

At church we have a "red box" that we can write down prayer requests and place them in, the box gets prayed for by the congregation and at different prayer meetings, but sometimes life gets in the way and those needs don't always find their way to that red box.

So here I am, with my hand up, saying, I too have an unspoken prayer request and I'm asking you to please pray for me and for my family.

(Nothing to do with baby, all is well, just in case you're wondering!)

With thanks,
L.

Must Bake | Anna Olson's Cranberry Orange Scone

I made this recipe yesterday for the first time, they were so easy and tasted so great I turned around a whipped up another batch - a double batch to be exact. It literally takes five minutes to mix this together, no kneading, just rolling, and whola...scones in the oven and smelling divine!

Anna Olson's Cranberry Orange Scone

1 1/2 C. flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp finely grated orange zest
1/4 tsp fine salt
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup half-and-half cream (plus extra for brushing)
2/3 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375* and grease baking sheet or line with parchment.
Place flour, sugar, baking powder and orange zest in a mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles a coarse meal, then add the cream. Mix just until dough comes together.
Stir in the cranberries.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough to an inch thick, fold in half and repeat again (this is the secret to a flaky scone). Roll out the dough a third time to a disc 1" thick and cut into six wedges. Place on baking sheet and brush with remaining cream.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until tops are nicely golden.

Makes six large scones (I would cut the scones smaller to get more out of the recipe)

**Slice open a cooled scone and layer with a couple slices of cheddar cheese - a great snack or fast lunch on the go**

Summer Re-Cap | What NOT To Do When Visiting Your In-Laws!

What a better way to kick off September than with a long overdue summer re-cap! As I'm sure many of you would agree, summer has flown by, and, with a Pumpkin Spice Latte in hand (mmmmm) I am welcoming in fall with everything within me!

But, since summer has been a blog free one for me, I thought a summer recap would be in order.
Our summer started on a fantastic note. Right after school was done we headed out on a jet plane to the oh so tropical...drum roll please...Ontario!

And before you ask, nope, we're not crazy! "To the land of snow and ice," you ask? Well, since all Matt's family lives in that land of snow and ice (can you tell I'm BC girl through and through?) we thought it was time to go for a visit and in the process get some babysitting from Grandma and Grandpa B.

After only being there a few days I had a strange feeling that something was "up." While we were out doing some shopping I thought, ahhh, it can't hurt, and tossed a pregnancy test in the cart. Matt's reaction was hilarious, "what, you think you need that?!?!" (You see, I've done so many in the last while it's become slightly comical!) I couldn't wait once we got home and thought it was best to do it right away, get it out of my system and then forget about it.

This is where the "what NOT to do at your in-laws" would apply:
Don't pee on a stick in the downstair bathroom....because, when it comes up glowing POSITIVE there's no way you're going to be able to keep that secret and then you're going to have share the secret and in the process confess you went pee on a stick to your mother-in-law in her house and confess that you had S*X with her son in the last month!

Can you say W I E R D?!?!

Thankfully the excitement of a new grandbaby on the way soon overshadowed the wierd. The journey we've travelled the last year and a half all of the sudden ended and the faithful prayers of many (including yes, my MIL) were answered!

To me, in that one moment I knew so strongly why God had been telling me to let go of being in leadership at Women's Wednesday. He gives and takes away.....when I agreed to give up WW little did I know all He had in store.

So yes, baby number three is on the way and we are truly delighted. I am due at the end of February and looking forward to not going through another summer being fully pregnant.

More on Baby B to come soon!

Mother's Day Minus Mom

Disclaimer:
| This post is late intentionally.....not out of negligence, only out of needing to get it "just right" and out of consideration for others, by no means do I ever want to dampen your joy and celebration of the wonderful women around you |

As much as a don't want to admit it, Mother's Day for me will now always be bittersweet. Twelve years ago my mom was in a coma, tired from the battle against the cancer that had developed in her brain, but at the same time waring to survive. Her faith never ceased and her hope never wandered from the Cross.

At the time I was young, 18 to be exact. Never could I imagine the odd and wild things I would long to talk about with my mom in the years to come. Things that only become important later on in life's journey; getting married, babies, labor and delivery, stretch marks, health history, parenting, faith, death, family dramas, you get the gist.

This past week I was reminded again of mom as we submitted an application to top up some insurance. Cancer will be with me forever, a part of my history, a facet that pops up in the strangest parts of your days and in the most mundane of things - like insurance.

In no way would I sit back an idolize my mom simply because she's gone. No one is perfect, and neither was she, but on random days when the kids are wild and the house hasn't been cleaned and it's 5pm and you're still in your pj's sometimes there is deep longing in my heart to hear, "you're doing a great job & I'm really proud of the woman you've become." Sometimes hearing that from your mom can do wonders for you on days where you feel like crawling under a rock and sometime you don't know the importance of things like that until they're gone.

As I look back and think about my mom I realized I learnt a lot from her:
*The ability to have faith that never ceases
* Have fun and laugh
* A passion for Greek food | I (heart) it!
* Have a few good girlfriends to do life with - it makes a world of difference
* Value every moment
* Make sure to keep dreaming

On the downside, mom also so generously gave me:
* A round mid-section | no washboard for me
* A tendency towards stretch marks (joy!)
* A stubborn will power to do things on my own | this has potential to get me trouble

My world will never be the same and hopefully I'll be a better mom for the things I learnt and the things I wish I had had time to learn. Now being a mom to my own girls I hope and pray I can instill into them everything they'll need to be the best woman God designed them to be.

Sending love to all you mothers today and everyday. And if you read this, I hope you're inspired to take some time to encourage a mom around you...young, old or somewhere in between...you have no idea what it may do for their day.

| Photos |
From Left to Right

Madelyne & I at her Preschool Mother's Day tea | May 2009
Mom, Josh (bro) & I, our last photo together | a few weeks before she entered Heaven's gates
Mom & I back in the day | I was two!