Winter Photo Shoot

 Finally after many winter storms missing us we finally received a direct hit!  11 inches of snow last night.  It certainly made everything beautiful,though it did make me late for work and that wasn't to great but that's ok. 
 Since it is suppose to be 50 later this week Noah and I decided to play in the snow while we have the chance.  I grabbed my camera so we have some record of this winter in pictures.  It's been busy and I haven't touched my camera since October I think.  Anyways - our winter time fun turned into a winter photo shoot.

 

I think it captures his personality! 

I also took this one

 He is so much like his daddy!

And then there is this one:

He's not looking at the camera but oh how I love that face! He is such a sweet fun loving boy!

Gluten Free

 A little background:
For the past 1.5 years I've been struggling with joint pain.  After a visit to the arthritis doctor in October made it look like I would be taking medication for the rest of my life just to feel better I decided to give a more natural approach a try.  I cut out all wheat/gluten, sugar and caffeine.  These big 3 can be the biggest problem causes of physical pain in many illnesses.  

The first 2 to 3 weeks were killer. I didn't feel any better and I just wanted bread, pasta and sugar.  The caffeine was the easiest to get rid of.  Then I woke up one morning with a clear head, no joint pain, more energy than I had had in months, and no bloated feeling in my belly.  It was amazing!  I have continued to feel amazing.  I have now added one at a time sugar and caffeine back into my diet.  I haven't noticed any difference in my pain or energy level with caffeine.  With sugar I can tell when I have eaten too much and try to keep it out of my diet as much as possible, but I love chocolate so I can be disciplined when it comes to that.  Wheat/gluten will never be back in my life.  Now I have such a strong physical reaction to it when I eat it I don't even want it anymore. 

That being said I do miss some of my favorite recipes that have flour in them.  So I have decided to start trying to adapt them and make them gluten free.  Today was my first try at this with one of my favorite treats. 

First Attempt: This is my favorite cook book author and blogger.  The Pioneer Woman!

 This is a picture of me and my favorite cookbook author and blogger.  I stood in line for 5 hours. It was totally worth it.

I love her recipes but a lot of them have flour and gluten in them. Everything has gluten in it.  I have been craving Pioneer Woman's french breakfast puffs for a week now.  

 

Today I decided to try and convert this amazing recipe to gluten free.  I picked up some multi- purpose gluten free flour at the grocery store and did some research on converting recipes to gluten free and away I went.

 I got them all mixed up and ready to go into the oven and they actually looked pretty good.

I didn't have any xantham gum which is a binder, so I was a little concerned that they would just fall apart when they were done.

And they did.  BUT they tasted great!  Gluten free flour does tend to be a bit grainier and have a bit of a gritty taste but all in all I thought they turned out good.  Next time I will use xantham gum and hopefully they won't fall apart.  
Not bad for a first try and it gives me hope that many of my favorite recipes will be able to be converted!  

  

Has it really been a YEAR?

I can't believe it has been a year since my last post.  Well, actually I can.  It's been a crazy busy year.  I won't bore you with all the details I'll just hit the top 4.

1.  In July of 2012 Adam was hired as the Associate Pastor at Hope Assembly of God! 

 Woohoo!  Back in full time ministry after a 2 year break.  Wow - did God sure teach us a lot during those two years. 

2.  In August, we moved from Pomeroy to Fort Dodge! Super excited to be in town, but super sad not being next door to my parents.  Good news is Grandma still watches Noah. She is kind enough to drive 30 miles 4 days a week to watch him! Can't find a picture of the new place but it is really awesome with a fenced in yard for Sheba! (our black lab)

 3.  Adam starting a new job and moving wasn't enough for us in August so I decided that I should start a new job too.  I now work at a mental health center in the business office. 

4.  My baby started Pre-School. Ugh.  I was so not ready for that.  How can he be that big already?  It seems like just yesterday that he and I were cuddling for those 3am feedings.  Now he is this big boy with a big personality and a bit of an independent streak.  He is such a blessing. 

So many things but these are the big ones that come to mind.

My goal is to be on here more.  Updating on Noah, my adventure of trying to make my favorite recipes gluten free and anything else that strikes me.

Here is a recent picture of my boy.  He has decided to grow his hair out even if it means washing it regularly.

                        This face melts my heart every single day! And usually makes me laugh to.
Okay one more quick story...so we were discussing being worried and what that means and what you can do when you are worried.  I asked Adam what makes him worry and he stated something serious and I said you can pray about that and ask Jesus to help you not to worry.  I then turned to Noah and asked him "What do you worry about?"  He looks at us with a straight face and says VERY seriously, "lions."   Oh my...this boy! 

Project

Picture frames for my boy's art! I saw this project in a magazine I think.  I wish I could remember so I could give credit to the creative person that came up with this idea.  I love it!  Here is the cast of characters I used.

I got the most basic frames 12 x 12 frames I could find at my local craft store.  If you are really handy I am sure you could buy trim and put together your own frames.  I also purchased 12 x 12 cork board.   I used kid friendly paint because Noah was helping me.  If I had just been doing it I would have used spray paint or regular wall paint. 

We painted each frame.  Noah chose the colors and had a great time painting them.  He loves painting which is why this was the perfect project to have him help me with.  We did quite a few coats which was probably due to the kind of paint we were using.  After we were done painting we let them dry and then put the cork board in the frame.  Then it was time to hang them on the wall. 

My lighting in this picture isn't the greatest but you get the idea.  We hung them at the top of our stairway.  I think I am going to get a couple more and hang them in his room too.

I added some art work to one of them and the project was complete!  It was a super simple project and a great way to display Noah's art work.  It is also super simple to switch the art work in and out as they are just held in with push pins!

Noah and I a great time doing this project together!  I am so glad I stumbled across it in whatever magazine that was.

My Little Super Hero

Christmas Time

Christmas time is one of my favorite times of the year because we are celebrating the most wonderful gift we have ever been given, Jesus Christ!  I also it because of the baking, the decorating, the anticipation, and the extra family time! 

We baked cookies with Daddy!

We made flour and salt ornaments!

                                    We took a family picture in front of the tree!

                                                      And we did some bike riding!
We also had my parents over Christmas morning to open gifts but I was so tired I forgot to take pictures.  Noah was blessed with the Batman house he had been talking about for months and played in his room for two days straight - he only came out for meals.

Now we are anticipating with excitement the new year and what God has in store for us in 2012 and we are so thankful for all the blessings he gave us in 2011!

God bless and Happy New Year!

Away in the Manger