Goodbye, Hello

This summer certainly has been full of "Goodbye". Goodbye to friends moving away, goodbye to jobs, goodbye to world traveling on someone else's dime, goodbye to Charlottesville last week! I have never been good with change and yet, here we go again. This time, there will be a lot of "hello's" too: hello to our old stomping grounds, hello to our families, hello to a new house, hello to new churches, bible study, friends, grocery stores, routines. And last but not least, saying hello to baby sometime between now and mid-October.

Why life is so full of change will always be a mystery to me. In our marriage, we have tended to cram all the biggest changes into one, tending to move at times in our lives when everything else is also changing. I guess I'd rather have my life flipped upside down all at once rather than having to deal with every little change as it comes, but still, times of change are when I realize how much I value things that are not eternal.

While unpacking my kitchen in the new house, I found that one of the drawers only opens if you open the oven door. Finding this to be extremely ghetto, I quickly found myself traveling down the road of discontentment.... and that is a very dangerous road. How I could already forget how God has answered prayer after prayer and provided for us over and over again, I do not know.

So, how do you remind yourself of all the ways that God has heard you and been your Providence? I need to remind myself daily. I need time in the word. Hopefully amidst all this change, one of the most important changes will take place: I will find more time to spend with God.

I am considering a few studies to help myself stay on track, but would love to hear any of your ideas: Nehemiah, the Beattitudes, Grace.


On a less serious note, I am obsessed with Pinterest. I know that A and E are pinterested, but what about you, C? I find this site to be very useful for getting ideas and cataloging all the ideas floating around the interwebs. Here are a few recipes I'm planning to try:

Source: butterflyfoodie.blogspot.com via Katherine on Pinterest

Source: myrecipes.com via Katherine on Pinterest

Source: blogs.babble.com via Katherine on Pinterest

Home Sweet Home

Happy Labor Day, CAKES! I'm having a wonderfully lazy day in my PJs, listening to it rain and just wishing we could be sipping coffee together... at Shenandoah Joe's or maybe that cute little coffee shop in Brooklyn. We've been absent from the blog but with good excuses. I mean we've had a big summer among the four of us really-- moving, pregnancy, travels, romance, etc! :) I hope you all are handling all this change better than I am! Every time I think I'm getting settled here, I have to go to Kroger. It just puts me in such a bad mood. We've listened to a handful of sermon's from Trinity's Summer in the Pslams series and I so related to Greg's sermon, "Praying Our Homelessness" and thought I should share it with y'all since in one year's time all four of us have moved and have probably been reminded of the reality of our homelessness on this earth more than usual. Please download here and listen to it when you have a chance. I now "pray my homelessness" to the Lord as I walk through the unfamiliar, unpleasant aisles of Kroger ( the ONLY reasonable option for weekly shopping) and stroll my bags to my car in the hottest parking lot I've ever experienced. He is my sweet home.

So much I would love to catch up on-- Our trip was fab and you can see my pictures here:

Europe

There are some funny one's I threw in for your entertainment--like me looking cool with my eye-mask on on the plane or Peyton smoking at the Eiffel Tower ( he had a pack of cigs in his shirt pocket the entire trip-- such a dork). I've finally starting cooking again after a couple months of a sabbatical and I must say I feel very rejuvenated by my break :) I'm sure Peyton is thankful for that. My sister ( with 3 boys and a husband) just sent me her new favorite cookbook, Mad Hungry and I too am loving it. To combat my anxiety (that thorn in my flesh), I've been reading Running Scared by Ed Welch-- a great meditation on many wonderfully comforting aspects of God's character. Oh and we tore the ugly green awning off the front of our house and added a flag... we are liking the change.

Anyway, that's it for me friends. Can you share your favorite picture, project, recipe, sermon or book from this crazy summer? It would make me happy. Thanks!

Much love from Mississippi,
E

Spiced Peach-Carrot Bread

CAKE's!

It has been way too long since I last posted on here, so I thought I would share the spiced peach-carrot bread recipe I made today.  I found it in my July Southern Living, and was really excited to find a way to use peaches (which I LOVE) and carrots (which I don't love but they came in my CSA basket this week).  I might sound like Paula Deen, but it is delicious with a little bit of butter spread on your slice!  And E, I think the blog needs to see pictures of your beautiful new house and all the decorating that has gone into it!

Spiced Peach-Carrot Bread

3/4 C chopped pecans

2 1/2 C all-purpose flour

1 C sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

3/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1 1/2 C peeled and chopped peaches

3/4 C freshly grated carrots

2/3 C vegetable oil

1/2 C milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.  Cool 15 minutes.

Stir together flour and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl; add peaches, next 4 ingredients, and toasted pecans, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Spoon batter into a lightly greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

PURE BARRE

CAKES are no strangers to trying some ridiculous exercise experiments. For me this began when A & I thought that although we hadn't run a mile in years that we were ready to train for the C'ville 10 Miler. We gave it a valiant effort and got as far as the Freedom 5K in Old Trail! :) It wasn't pretty but we did cross the finish line and shortly thereafter decided to hang up the ole running shoes. That same fall ( I don't know where all this motivation came from for me...I'm going to guess the same place it always does--my thighs) K, C, & I signed up for Boot Camp! Up at 6AM cursing that damn hill in Washington Park! And no one will EVER forget Bikram! I feel like I have a better idea what it would feel like to suffocate to death after my first class at Bikram. I hope God chooses a different way of bringing me home.

Since short-lived, crazy fitness experiments are kind of our thing, I had to share with you my latest since moving to Jackson--Pure Barre! I think we can all testify to the fact that exercising with friends is just as much about community as it is about getting a good workout? And since one of the few friends that I have here is the manager of the Pure Barre studio and my sister-in-law had been wanting to try it too, I jumped in. Who's surprised?

So sad that the CAKES have officially been scattered North, South, East, & West and we can't enjoy this new exercise fad together. However, it's kicking my butt and I like it! I just went to my 3rd class and it hurt so good! You should look it up and find a studio near you!

XOXO & Miss you all tons!
Emmaline

Before the Throne of God

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

Feast your eyes

I also feel obligated to share a few new-to-me sites with you, so that you too can waste hours of your time online.

new Lonny Magazine-Traditional Home partnership: online magazine Trad Home!
http://www.lonnymag.com/issues/19-trad-home

Rikshaw Design: cute clothes and fun blog
http://www.rikshawdesign.com/womens/ak-110.html

Stylish Bird blog
http://stylishbird.blogspot.com/

Kelly Market blog
http://www.kellymarket.com/

Ok, I'll be back with more things to waste your time with soon!

xoxo,
k

Can I get your opinion, please?

OK, CAKEs, I have been a bad blogger. At book club tonight, we were discussing who has a blog and E and I had to look at each other and laugh because we are members of a secret blog that we don't blog on. So, here is a remedy. Like it or hate it. By the way, our next book club pick is "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua. Looking forward to it actually!

I want to find a new purse. One that can also serve as a diaper bag (welcome baby M, due October 2011, Mommy is already buying crap for herself instead of you). So, I present to you a few options. This may just end up as a purse, but that's ok too. If I could merge these two options, I think that I would be in good shape.

Criteria:

• Must be cross body, for hands free grocery shopping, diaper changing, etc.
• Leather. Not sure why this is a criteria, but leather lasts forever. Even with stains. I'm cool with that.
• No metals in bizarre places. Self-explanatory, really. Have you seen some of the new trends? yuck.
  
• Has a few pockets on the inside or even a divider!

So, I've been researching on Etsy and every other site I can think of (Anthro has really failed me this time). Here are the two options I have found so far. Can I get your opinion? This all goes back to my New Year's Resolution... you might remember it... don't buy stuff you don't really LOVE. I'm trying to stick to it! Look at me, it's MARCH, and I still remember the resolutions!

Option 1:
Pros: you can design your own; Cons: expensive
http://www.etsy.com/listing/59461010/two-way-hobo-choose-your-custom-color


Option 2:
Pros: Vintage; Cons: getting into that too much metal territory; seems a little small?
http://www.etsy.com/listing/71263266/vintage-saddle-leather-hobo-cross-body?ref=sr_gallery_9&ga_search_query=leather+hobo+cross+body&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=



So, CAKES, maybe you can be my eyes looking for a new purse. My eyes seem to be struggling to find the right thing.

Thanks for indulging this superficial and extremely shallow post.

I promise to be more substantive next time. Whenever that is.