realizations + catching up

soooo....

it's been almost 3 months since i've updated this little blog of mine

and i can't really say it was accidental this time

although i didn't exactly plan on it being such a long break

and i don't promise it's quite over yet

you see, right around the beginning of april

i realized something

i was overbooked, overwhelmed, and overtired

all

the

time

so i thought about what i could take off my plate

like maybe just pare down to only doing things i absolutely love doing

and i realized that all of the things i'd piled into my life 

were good things

and i was quite thankful for that

but then i had another realization

sometimes you have to cut out the good things to focus on the best things

so, i went on an instagram-vacation,

a blog-vacation,

and majorly cut back on facebook

in order to focus on my real life going on around me

to sit on the floor and read book after book with my kiddos

(who seem to be growing up at mega-speed!!!)

to pick away at some personal photography projects

to travel

to sit at my kitchen table late at night,

chatting about kids and life and Jesus

to more regularly spend time with Jesus

to go to bed at a reasonable hour

to wake up with the sun, like i've always loved doing

(i know, i'm crazy)

and it was good

i plan on eventually adding some of the things i cut out back into my life

but not quite yet

i still have a few projects to wrap up

but i do miss blogging and instagramming and connecting via social media

and let's be honest, the creative outlet is a bonus

but until then, i'll try to check in now and again

hopefully more regularly than once every three months!

it may just be to throw up a bunch of pictures without many words

but hey, it's better than nothing, right? 

that being said, let's get that trend started with some pictures from my birthday

(already over two weeks ago...whoops!)

i spent the day enjoying Daniel's family in NC

taking the kids tubing in the lake for the first time

fishing off the dock

and getting some sweet cards their "Glammie" (read: grandma) helped them make for me

Glammie also took the kiddos for us so that we could enjoy a date night out

(for the second time in two weeks - that's gotta be a record since the kids were born!)

i chose the Harvest Moon Grille for my birthday dinner; 

this cute little cafe style restaurant

that serves local, seasonal food (all from within 100 miles of their doors!)

and boy was it good

(for the record, we both ordered their pulled pork sandwich, 

and they accommodated my gluten intolerance without skipping a beat

by offering to sub out my bun for an in-house-made corn tortilla.

then, when they found out it was my birthday 

they brought me the most amazing smore for dessert,

complete with freshly made ginger cookies, dark chocolate and an in-house-made marshmallow)

seriously, if you're in the area make sure you visit this place

not only was the food outstanding, the service was wonderful

and as it turned out, the restaurant is located in the cutest little town

seriously.

check. it. out.

after we got home and put the kiddies to bed, we slipped out onto the dock to snap a few photos

(since i was silly enough to leave my camera at home for our date), 

catch a couple more fish

watch a magical lightning bug show,

and call it a night

overnight pumpkin pie n'oatmeal - welcome, fall!

yesterday was all about firsts

first day of fall

first day of school (if you live in BC anyway)

first episode of the season for The Blacklist*

and first my first pumpkin-y meal of the season, 

the recipe for which i am sharing with you today!

overnight pumpkin pie n'oatmeal
grain free / dairy free / egg free / vegan

adapted from this recipe

ingredients:

1/2 cup mashed roasted pumpkin

1/2 cup coconut milk 

(i use the light can from Trader Joe's - no additives!)

2 tbsp coconut flour

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1-2 tbsp walnuts, roughly chopped

1 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

maple syrup, to taste

instructions:

- combine all ingredients except for coconut and maple syrup in a jar or other container.  cover and place in your fridge overnight

- when ready to eat, heat through (if desired) on stovetop...or just eat it cold like i did

- top with coconut and a drizzle of maple syrup (if desired...i used the tiniest little bit and it was perfect!) oh, and a splash of extra coconut milk before serving doesn't hurt either ;)

*my husband likes to follow tv shows that cause me to turn into a giant stress ball, but at the same time capture my undying attention.  he did this when we were in college with the first season of 24, now he's done it with The Blacklist - so intense, but i just can't stop watching!!

what we've been up to + a quick healthy lunch idea

hi friends!

since i last posted on here 

we've gone on vacation,

we got the never ending cold

(seriously, went strong for two weeks!)

we've moved
we've spent lots of time with my in-laws who are in town
(hooray!)

and i second shot my first wedding

(more on that later)

it's safe to say we've felt overwhelmingly busy
but, busy or not, a gal's got to eat!
and despite caving to take-out more than i'd like to admit
i did manage to throw together this salad last week
it was so quick and so easy to make, i just had to share! 

Quick Pad Thai Salad

gluten free / dairy free / vegan / paleo

serves 1

salad:

- 1 small zucchini, julienned 

- 3 broccoli florets, chopped tiny
(my trick:  start at the stem and chop towards the top of the "tree". as you move up, the florets get smaller. stop when you've reached a size you like)

- a handful of baby carrots, julienned 

(or just regular carrots, those are just what i hand on hand)

dressing:

- 1 tbsp almond butter

- garlic powder, to taste

- ground ginger, to taste

- 1 tsp fresh lime juice

- himalayan pink salt, to taste

- 1 drop honey (seriously, it makes a difference!)

- 1/4 tsp almond meal (optional, for "grit"...i'm a texture eater!)

directions:

- prep salad veggies and place into a bowl

- whisk dressing ingredients together

- pour dressing over veggies and top with a handful of crushed walnuts

coconut cranberry orange muffins {paleo}

i've made these muffins a couple times in the past

and they've always been a hit

so it was no surprise that i decided to whip up a batch (or two!)

in an attempt to have something healthy to just "grab n go" 

while getting over our jetlag / battling hangry attacks earlier this week

i was a bit surprised, however, at how many people asked for the recipe

after i posted a picture of the finished product on my instagram and facebook

(plus a few who tasted them and really liked them!)

so this is for you, folks...and so that i don't have to google the recipe every time i want to make them too ;)

coconut cranberry orange muffins

grain / gluten / dairy / refined sugar free

wet ingredients:

6 tbsp coconut oil

4 eggs

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp pure vanilla

zest of 2 oranges 

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

(i used pink naval oranges)

dry ingredients:

1 1/2 cups almond meal

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

"final" ingredients:
1 cup frozen unsweetened cranberries

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

unsweetened shredded coconut (optional - for topping)

instructions:

- place coconut oil in a small saucepan and melt over medium / medium low heat (remove from heat once melted through).  meanwhile, whisk your eggs in a large bowl and combine with the rest of your wet ingredients; don't forget to add your oil once it's melted!

- in a smaller bowl, measure out and mix your dry ingredients together*

- add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until well combined then fold in your final ingredients

- preheat your oven to 350* F (325* F if using a convection oven)

- while your oven is preheating, line a muffin tin with some baking cups (i like to make or use store-bought parchment paper cups...it kills me when i lose half my muffin to the wrapper!)

- fill each cup about 3/4 of the way up; you should use up about half your batter (the recipe makes 2 dozen muffins)

- sprinkle some unsweetened shredded coconut on top if desired (optional)

- pop in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes (about 20 for a convection oven), or until your muffin tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. after taking them out of the oven, leave them in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack

- enjoy!

p.s.  this is one of those rare cases where i stick fairly close to the original recipe,

so this is our version, but if you follow the link to the original, i'm sure they'll taste just as good

also, i'm thinking of making another batch (they went quick!), but ran out of cranberries

i do, however, have frozen raspberries and lemons...may just have to try that tweak and see which we like better!

*p.p.s. i got the girlies to dump and mix the measured out dry ingredients in a bowl - makes for a fun toddler activity, plus they get really excited to try foods that they "helped" make...as you can probably tell from the pictures.  just a tip for you other mamas out there!

st patrick's day green x2

yesterday was st. patrick's day

which has always seemed to be an interesting 'holiday' to me

some people seem to go all out - green hair, green clothes, big green themed party...

and others...not so much

my family never really celebrated it growing up

in fact, i remember going to school those first couple years after moving to the states

and thinking what a coincidence it was that nearly every once in my class wore green on the same day 

what are the odds? i would think to myself

and why are these green-clad classmates of mine pinching those of us who didn't get the memo?

i eventually figured out what was going on

and started wearing something green on the day, just for fun

but that's about as much as i participate...and my family thinks i'm strange for even doing that!

ironically, i had a green smoothie for breakfast today

and thought to myself: 

darn - shoulda thought of this yesterday, then i could have put a st. patty's day post on the blog!

but then i figured, why not share it a day late - it's what all the cool kids are doing, right?

...ok, maybe not, but it's what i'm doing

i should note that i was feeling pretty lazy when i made this

which means this recipe is as simple as it gets:

3 ingredients, 1 step - easy, peasy

lazy day hemp protein green smoothie

ingredients:

- 1/2 to 3/4 cup mighty mango naked juice

(maybe this is cheating, but it was in my fridge so i used it!)

- 1 big fistful of organic baby spinach

- 2 tbsp raw shelled hemp seeds

(you could probably bump this up to 3 if you want, i only did 2 because i had some coconut coffee already and i figured the fat from that would fill me up a little bit)

directions:

- blend ingredients together and pour into a glass

oh, and if you want to see even more green, 

check out this picture from a recent newborn session i did with my sweet niece:

(more images here, if you're interested)

a pinch of weekending, a dash of parenting, a heap of grace and a grain-free pizookie!

hi friends!

how was your weekend?

my big event was hosting a "welcome baby!" party for my two week old niece on saturday

which meant a quick coffee with friends then a bunch of errand running on friday

followed by some great napping (on the girls' part anyway)

we kicked off saturday pretty early by bundling everybody up and heading to the beach

on a cold, windy, snow-in-the-forcast morning

because i'm crazy and my family loves me enough to play along

well, that and i had to pick up some macaroons for the party later that day 

(which were amazing, by the way!

if you're local, you have to pop by Spiritual Ingredients Bakery on East Beach and give 'em a try!) 

sadly, i was too busy playing hostess to get any pictures of said macaroons

or anything at the party, actually

but i did snap this shot from our beach outing:

there's so much i love about this picture, my heart is filled everytime i look at it

my best friend + my girlies + the ocean + early mornings = the stuff my dreams are made of!

i love that they were willing to come along and turn an errand into a family adventure

and i love having moments like this to flip back to on my phone

(technology these days can be such a blessing sometimes, can i get an amen?)

especially on the not-so-splendid days...like sunday

sunday actually wasn't all-bad, 

it was just heavy on the parenting-two-year-olds-is-exhausting/frustrating/sanctifying scale!

i'm learning that i'm much less patient than i thought i was

but i'm working on that

because grouchy mama isn't someone i like to be

and i'm pretty sure it isn't someone the girlies want me to be either

sometime in the afternoon i looked up from whatever i was doing at the kitchen sink,

saw one of my 50 promises and decided it was time to choose a better attitude

because seeking righteousness doesn't always come easy, but the reward is totally worth it

i know that in my head, but sometimes my heart forgets

later that night we had family over for a games / dessert night which was super fun

i tried my hand at a grain-free pizookie for us to enjoy

there was hot coffee for the girls and fancy beer for the boys

all of which was wonderful

but long after the coffee had grown cold, the pizookie was reduced to crumbs

and the game had been played (twice!)

 came my favorite part of the night:

we sat there, chatting away, 

sharing funny stories and insights,

learning about each other - our struggles, our loves, our plans...

i soaked up every minute of building community and deepening relationships,

beaming on the inside and thinking myself

"this here is evidence of grace, and i am so thankful for it."

so there you have it - my weekend in a bit more than a nutshell...

oh, and before i sign off, here's that pizookie recipe

this was the original recipe, below is my tweaked version! 

Paleo[ish] Pizookie

(grain free, dairy free and honey sweetened)

Ingredients:
1 cup almond meal / flour
2/3 cup cashew meal / flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup chocolate chips1 egg, at room temperature
(my free-range, local eggs tend to be bigger than "regular" eggs. if you're using the latter, use a jumbo or extra large.  also, the easiest way to bring an egg to room temp is to stick it in a bowl or cup of room temp water for 10 minutes or so)
1/3 cup organic honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Directions:
- melt your coconut oil in a small pan on medium heat then remove set aside once it's melted


- meanwhile, combine your dry ingredients (almond meal through to sea salt) in a large bowl and mix using a fork


- stir in chocolate chips


- in a separate, smaller bowl, beat your egg then add the rest of the wet ingredients (honey, coconut oil, vanilla)
note: make sure the coconut oil is not hot enough to start cooking your egg! 


- add the wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and stir until just combined


- chill dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes


- once you're ready to bake the pizookie, preheat your oven to 350* F and turn the dough out into a greased 12" cast iron pan (i used bacon grease!).  

- press the dough into the pan evenly (it's totally normal for your dough to be quite a bit  thicker than typical cookie dough), give it a good sprinkle of sea salt then pop it into the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and your pizookie is a nice golden brown.  


cut like you would a pizza and enjoy...but watch out for those hot chocolate chips!

signs that my life is in compete chaos

#1

i haven't blogged in over a month

(oops!)

#2

i STILL haven't looked through pictures from the girlies' birthday party

#3

things are getting crossed off my to do list because they're no longer relevant,

not because they're actually getting done

#4

valentines day included dinner out for my best friend's birthday 

followed by attending the home / water birth of my first niece

...all in the span of 3 hours (dinner, labor, delivery and all)!

#5
my on-again, off-again relationship with my espresso machine is very much back ON
she's temperamental and practically vintage,
but she makes a mean americano when she works
plus i got her for $2 at an estate sale...don't judge!

#6

i've done four photography sessions in just about four weeks:

one maternity, one Tiny Footprints,  one (my first!) birth and one newborn

plus i've got another session penciled in pretty soon

(so much for choosing to be very part time during this season of my life...!)

it's all good though - this was just a random busy stint, 

plus i'm thankful to be busy doing something that fires me up!  :)

#7

i can't remember the last time i went to bed before midnight

#8

we almost put in an offer on a house

...aaaand didn't, since we still had a few more numbers to crunch

i was in tears, but knew it was the wise thing to do

and now that we have taken a look at all the numbers, 

i'm super grateful to the Lord for giving me a wise (and number-savvy!) husband
so we're back to the drawing board for now
where the Lord continues to whisper to my fretful heart:  trust in me, I've got a plan

#9

i keep forgetting to eat breakfast,

and when i do finally get around to it, 

i'm finding i prefer to drink it, because it's that much quicker to "eat"

lucky for you, i actually remember what i threw into my most recent shake, 

and I carved out time to share it...you can thank me later!  ;)

a couple notes before i share the recipe:
- it has a really strong almond flavor, so if that's not your thing, you might want to pass on this one
- you don't really taste the banana in the shake, which is a BIG plus in my books since i don't like drinking bananas.  weird, i know.  when i order a smoothie on the go, i always ask for the banana on the side, for reals...talk about getting funny looks!
- the ingredient list looks long, but gathering them is the hardest part so don't let that keep you from trying it!

ingredients:

1/2 - 3/4 cup chilled coffee or espresso shots
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tsp pure almond extract
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsps hemp seeds
1 [heaping] tbsp cocoa powder
1 frozen banana
1-2 tbsp almond butter

dump everything into a blender and blend until smooth
presto, change-o
your mid-morning / afternoon pick me up is ready!

here come ninjabread men!

in my last post, i mentioned making ninjabread men with my girlies
as one of our new Christmas tradtions

well today is the day that i share the recipe with you!
(note:  you should be very excited, this is the best gingerbread recipe i have ever tried...no joke, peeps!)

and it's quite fitting that i broke out the ninjabread man cookie cutters

not just because ninjas make everything more awesome, 

but because these guys are surprisingly both delicious + healthy!

imagine chewy, spicy, perfectly sweetened gingerbread men

that are free of grain, soy, dairy, egg and refined sugar

i wondered if it was too good to be true when i stumbled upon the original recipe

then i figured i'd give it a shot - if they didn't work out, i never had to make them again, right?

let's just say, i will be making these again....and again, and again!

dry ingredients:
2 1/4 cups (packed) almond flour
1/2 cup organic, non-gmo coconut sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp sea salt 

wet ingredients:
1 1/2 tbsp organic applesauce
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbsp blackstrap molasses


directions:

- preheat your oven to 325* then line your biggest baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside

- combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well

- add wet ingredients and stir, stir, stir!
(at first, it'll look really dry, but just keep on stirring - eventually, you'll begin to see a dough forming...we used our favorite spoonula so the girlies could help stir, but i'm sure you could get your hands dirty and knead to help speed it up)

- roll out said dough between two sheets of parchment paper until it is about a 1/4 inch thick, then put your cookie cutters to work! (once again, i used ninjabread cookie cutters, but any will do) 

- repeat until you're all out of dough - try not to eat all the dough in the process (we had to convince the kiddos to save some for baking!)

- place the cookies on your prepared baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes; try to let them cool completely before removing them from your tray
...we may or may not have snuck a couple before that point... 

the cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container
ours only lasted two days (oops), but i can vouch for their freshness that far!

on going paleo / primal + a handful of recipes (part 2)

hello friends,
happy friday!
what are you up to today?
i spent a couple hours on the phone this morning
tracking down wayward Christmas deliveries,
got creative trying to feed my suddenly-uninterested-in-food toddlers
(anyone else deal with this?  i'd love any ideas / suggestions!)
and spent the entire morning ignoring the to-do list / chores in order to read and play and snuggle
since i gotta make up for all i'm gonna miss tonight
when we leave the girlies with grandma in order to go to Daniel's work party

speaking of which, i have to be ready pretty soon,
and instead i'm sitting on the couch in my jams
hair up in a bun
and not even a hint of makeup on

but yesterday, i listed some grain / gluten free and nutritious meal ideas
and promised to come back with more today,
so this will be short and to the point
(i didn't want to let you down!)

anyway, i hope you give some of them a try - let me know if you do, i'd love to hear your thoughts!

turkey-wich + raw veg

looking for a quick paleo-ish snack / light lunch?  look no further!  i had some cooked and sliced turkey breast in the fridge so i made a cheese "sandwich" using my turkey slices as bread (you could sub the cheese out for some other filling if you don't do dairy) then chopped up some cucumber on the side (carrots or other veggies that don't require cooking would be an easy add-on too)

blueberry scuffins... 'nuff said! 

homemade paleo granola (lots of recipes online...i'm still perfecting mine, but when i do, i'll be sure to share it!) + coconut milk + frozen wild / organic berries (since mid-december isn't really berry season around here)

gluten free "mac n cheese" 

baked spaghetti squash topped with a parmesan and romano blend...it's even the same color as KD, (but way healthier, obviously)!

thanksgiving leftover bowl

another "empty out the fridge" dish - chopped up cooked ham (nitrite free) and peas over a bed of baked spaghetti squash then topped with a guac "sauce" (you can add some parm/romano blend for extra zest)

and that's a wrap!

hope you all have an awesome weekend

on going paleo / primal + a handful of recipes (part 1)

a couple of months ago,
i decided to go paleo / primal for a few weeks
in an effort to try and heal certain issues i've been having with my body

i went in cold turkey
and suffered from some serious "carb flu"
(which i didn't even know existed before!)
but once i got through about a week of that...i actually felt better!

all of a sudden,
i didn't have to eat every 2-3 hours in order to avoid melting down
i didn't go to bed every night with an upset tummy
my energy and blood sugar levels "magically" evened out
my hair got thicker
my skin became less dry
etc

now, i've never been much of a bandwagon jumper,
but i was sold!
i've always eaten pretty well,
but drastically cutting back on grain and sugar
then focusing on eating high quality protein, as many vegetables as i could fit in + healthy fats instead
had made a HUGE difference in my overall well being

but let's be honest, here:  i'm not always great at sticking to it
in fact, i tend to be an all or nothing type of person
so in order to help myself not let this new way of eating take over / stress me out,
i aim for the 80/20 rule
which means that i try and stick to it 80% of the time
and not worry about it the rest of the time
(although sometimes, it's more like 50/50 - hah!  ...moderation, right? ;) )

at any rate, the toughest part of this whole shift
was coming up with grain free, nutrient dense meal ideas,
especially for breakfast
so i thought i'd share some ideas that worked for me
in case you wanted to give it a try!
(or if you just want some delicious / easy / quick / healthy meal ideas)

**note:  having recently spent a lot of time researching meal ideas, i know it can be overwhelming to sort through a sea of recipes, so i decided to split this post into two parts - come by tomorrow for another batch of meal ideas!**

sweet potato hash

shred up sweet potato and fry it up in some bacon grease...i try to avoid constantly stirring so that it gets a bit of that charred flavor to it - delish!  serve with a side of high quality protein (free range / local eggs, nitrite free bacon & nitrite free smokies with no mystery ingredients added are some of my favorites)

eggs + veg

sometimes, i stuff my eggs with vegetables, sometimes i just plop them on top of or beside them.  if i feel like living it up a bit, i sometimes add a bit of goat brie to my eggs + veg...amaze-balls!
also, this is a great way of using up leftover veggies kicking around in the fridge

paleo shepard's pie

speaking of leftovers, this was one of those "lets throw whatever's in the fridge together" meals that worked out just right:  leftover steamed cauliflower + leftover gaps friendly gravy ( both from our thanksgiving menu) + leftover seasoned grass-fed ground beef (from taco night).  just heat and mix everything together for a delicious shepard's pie-ish bowl of comfort

breakfast bowl

this one was inspired by my sister's favorite breakfast, except i subbed out the hash brown base she usually uses with cubed and pan fried acorn squash.  add some eggs, chopped green onions, plus a sprinkling of mozz and you are set!  oh, and s+p, to taste

enjoy!

thankful round up

(source)

so, thanksgiving came late this year
and even later, is this thanksgiving related post
it's been a long week - deadlines, sick kiddos, Christmas shopping, personal struggles, etc
but despite all the delay, i wanted to share one last thanksgiving post
before moving on to more Christmas-y things
deal?

alright, so the first thing i wanted to share was our thanksgiving meal
this year, i made everything but the turkey (thanks mom!),
as well as some dirty rice and a couple pumpkin pies (thanks to my brother and sister in law)

given all the gluten-free / non-inflammatory food research i've done recently,
my portion of the meal was made a little differently this year
so this is what our final menu looked like:

i tried to choose menu items that were gluten / grain free and nutrient dense,
but not sacrifice on taste for my guinea pigs' --i mean, guests' sake
...aaaand most of the recipes were ones i'd never made before
needless to say, i was a bit nervous about how everything would turn out
but you know what?
the dishes worked out so well, and i was super proud to serve the meal to my family!


here are links to some of my favorites + any tweaks i made / comments:
roasted carrot mash
(roasted the carrots in avocado oil instead and subbed out the butter/ghee at the end for coconut oil)
gaps friendly gravy
(i NEVER caramelize anything [too much effort - hah] but this recipe, was worth it...and may have changed my mind on caramelizing!)
coconut "cornbread" muffins
(i totally over baked these + greased instead of lined the muffin tin, and undergreased at that so they came out dark and stuck-on...and they were still gobbled up!)
mulled apple cider
(k, to be honest, i originally made this just to make the house smell amazing, and it totally worked...with the added bonus of being super delicious!  
i cut the recipe in half, replaced the cinnamon sticks with 1 tsp ground cinnamon, and used 1 tsp cloves + 1 tsp allspice for my mulling spices)


alrightee, now that you've gotten a run-down of our meal,
how about a wrap up of my #novemberthanks?

1. for my man, who, despite the cold and fog, skipped out on watching his football to take me and the girls to the beach + a coffee shop breakfast date, complete with bird chasing.

2. to live in a country where i can enjoy the great outdoors and take photos in it, thanks in part to our veterans and their families who have given up so much to keep it that way.

3. for pretty packaging...and the chocolate that it holds

4. for homemade granola + the clear pictures that i can now get on my phone thanks to my hubs fixing it (along with all kinds of other things) for me, and with a smile on his face too!

5. for getting to live out dreams, like my sister and i having kids that would grow up together and be the best of friends - i'd say we're off to a great start

6. for the warmth and shelter of our home and vehicles, especially when the elements aren't so pretty

7. for nourishing food, and how it can help heal our bodies

8. for sunshine, and simple pleasures like trying out new coffeeshops

9. for skillet suppers...'nuf said

10. for mercies that are new every morning

11. for the beautiful seascape we have here on the pacific northwest

12. for coconut "cornbread" muffins, which are evidence of grace in a grain-free life!

13. for found baby dolls and favorite toys

14. for turkey, obviously the kiddos in my life, good food, the anticipation of a big family dinner and Jesus, the source of our joy, who makes all these things possible

and so, with hearts FULL of thanks, we move on to the Christmas season!