Merry Christmas!
Love, Sarah, Isaac & Cecilia, Abbey, Matthew, Andrew, Patrick, Janey and Sammy
12/24/20
12/12/20
Searching For Peace
I’m loving this book but pacing myself - one little sentence or paragraph at a time because it is rich and powerful and contains deep truth.
Twice yesterday I came across completely randomly this Bible verse-“In quietness and confidence is your strength.” {Isaiah 30:15}
I wasn’t reading the Bible, or doing anything a bit holy. Trust me when I say it was very random. It happened to strike me the first time because it seemed to be an answer to a frustration I had with myself for being inconsistent with something I wished to do-boundaries- and knew was best for my soul healing. Do you ever get so frustrated with how many times you need to learn a lesson over and over again? Are there people out there that don’t? They just learn the first time? That’s what I tend to think- to imagine that there are completely balanced, always sensible, always consistent, methodical people and I somehow do not have that secret sauce whether it be laziness, moods, disorganization, outside circumstances that I could have avoided- if I had taken care of this, not scheduled that, had the car fixed earlier, found that lump earlier, asked these questions sooner, exercised every day - if I was perfect in a sense - I could avoid pain and hardship and just skate through my life and everything would work out. If I was only better dammit.
12/3/20
Reconstruction
This was my view all weekend from my bed fighting off an infection from my final drain site and incision area. Compare it to mastitis but of the leg. My friend sent me a card that says “Damn boobs nothing but trouble” and it made me laugh so hard.
My first failed reconstruction was the “easy” way (still not easy nothing about reconstruction is easy ever) where an expander was put in under my skin where my breast had been removed. This expander slowly gets pumped up over a few weeks so the skin stretches and an implant can be inserted in its place. My body rejected, with a painful infection, the expander mid way through the process and I had to have an emergency surgery to remove it. This was about a month and a half after 5 months of chemo and it really was one of the lowest points of my life, for various reasons.
10/28/20
Sibling Adjustment To New Baby
I have been asked to answer questions on this topic so much this year, that I thought I should just write out my thoughts all at once and before my memory leaves me.
I remember being so concerned also, each time I was pregnant, (yes even with my sixth), about how the "baby" of the family would adjust to not being the baby anymore, and having a new sibling.
10/27/20
Ritz Chicken Strips
An easy family favorite.
1 to 1 1/2 rolls of crushed Ritz crackers
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips (about 1 and 1/2 pounds of chicken)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp garlic salt
2 TBS of olive oil
10/13/20
Some Of My Favorite Things On Sale
I've mentioned many of my favorite things over the years that keep my life and home running smoothly and that we enjoy.
Amazon Prime Days are here which means special savings. It took me a long time to have a Prime membership-I'm cheap like that. I hate memberships! But in the end it was so worth it-my kids and I share the membership and it's so nice to not pay for shipping. Here's the link to join, if you want to read about the benefits and a free trial offer here. (And free movies!)
Household:
My favorite vacuum:
$149.99 (save $30)
I love this vacuum! Every part is able to be cleaned. I've used the more fancy Lift Away style and I don't like it as much because if you suck something up that can get stuck it's very hard if not impossible to reach. This one has full access everywhere.
My favorite mop!
$48.03 ($21.97)
10/9/20
The Best Pumpkin Bread
A friend gave me this recipe, and I love it. It is a simple classic pumpkin bread with a crunchy crumb topping. Feel free to use a little less sugar, it will still be great.
I make six mini-loaves out of this recipes. Yes, the first time I made it, I had to run out and get mini-loaf pans, wondered if I'd use them again, but I have regularly and love them. Perfect for sharing.
I think you could split this recipe between two normal loaf pans but bake longer, making sure the middle is baked through.
1 15oz. can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
For topping:
Mix together with fork:
4 TBS softened butter
3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup white sugar.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together.
Spray six mini-loaf pans with cooking spray.
Evenly divide mix (pans will be about 2/3 full).
Sprinkle topping on each loaf.
Bake for 50 minutes.
9/28/20
Encouragement For The Week
Autumn knows a mother's heart
It gives and then lets go.
It gives and then lets go.
Angie Weiland-Crosby
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