Oatmeal Pancake Recipe

I have been on the lookout for whole grain breakfast recipes that are easy to make (so if you have a good one, please do post it!). My latest find is this oatmeal pancake recipe. You make the dry mix, keep it in the fridge and add the eggs, water, and oil when you’re ready to make a batch. These are very filling so you don’t need to make quite as many as you would a regular pancake. We top them with sweet apples (cut up apples, add a little butter, a little sugar & cinnamon, and microwave til they’re soft).Ingredients

• 4 cups quick cooking oats
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup non-fat dry milk
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 5 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

• 1. Combine all ingredients and stir to mix well. Store in refrigerator.
• 2. Makes about 8 cups.
• 3. Directions for cooking pancakes:
• 4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat 2 eggs. Beat in 1/3 cup of vegetable oil gradually. Alternately beat in 2 cups pancake mix and 1 cup of water. Pour in large spoonfuls into a lightly greased skillet over medium-high heat, and cook until the tops show broken bubbles, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and cook about 2 to 3 minutes more,
• 5. until golden brown. Makes about 12 5-inch pancakes.

Twins Turn Ten!

On September 18th my twins, Joshua and Caleb turned ten years old. We celebrated with the entire family yesterday. So much fun. Wish I had more time to write about my little guys. Maybe later this week.

In the meantime, this is the lego cake they requested – very specifically. It was easy and you can find directions for a lego cake online by simply entering “lego cake” into the google search engine.  A lego-theme birthday party is super easy and pretty inexpensive if you own legos. The kids made all of the decorations out of their legos – which kept them entertained while I made the  cakes. They also made the border on the cake plate. We bought lego colored plates and napkins cheap. We put smaller bins of legos around the area for everyone to have a little fun building something. I even found lego fruit snacks and candy (that really linked like legos) for the goody bags. I’m glad the boys chose this theme.

FYI lego-blue icing dyes your teeth and tongue .

Cheerleader

 

 I somehow feel better about the fact that Maggie doesn’t have a little sister.

Looks like someone didn’t consult the Modesty Checklist!

Game Day

 

Yesterday commenced what will be yet another year of the Sunday afternoon ritual: watching football. for hours. and hours. I never grew up watching sports, and I am continually amazed at my husband’s and sons’ enthusiasm for “game day”.  Their knowledge of players and stats is incredible.

I don’t really join in with the watching of a full game. But yesterday, I happened to glance at the screen and saw the name Favre on a jersey and it reminded me of one of my favorite illustrations by Mike Bullmore about the importance of the gospel in our everyday life.

Keep in mind the teaching I heard was in 2002, and Jason informed me that the illustration would work better these days if I used Peyton Manning as the football player. Favre or Manning, whatever.  Mike Bullmore, a huge fan of the Green Bay Packers and specifically Brett Favre made the point that it would be utterly foolish for the team to play a game and keep their star player (Favre, Manning) on the bench. As the team would proceed to lose, the fans would cry out, “get Favre/Manning in the game!!!!”  Often in our lives we forget to get the gospel into the daily game of life.

As a mother, I think of lots of “players” that need to be in the game.

Get patience into the game.

Get consistency into the game.

Get perseverance into the game.

Get joy into the game.

Get hard work and strength into the game.

And so I commence my day with some good players, but all the while the gospel sits on the bench. So I start to lose. Patience wears out. Consistency gets an injury. Perseverance storms off the field. Joy gets thrown out of the game. You get the picture. I am reminded by a simple football illustration that I need to get the star player, “the gospel” into the game!!!

When we wake up. Father thank you that your mercies are new every morning. We don’t deserve this, we deserve your wrath because of our sin, but because Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we can come and receive mercy every single morning.

When we do school. Father thank you that even though this Math is coming hard for us today, our biggest problem, that we were sinners who deserve Your wrath and judgement, has been solved in Jesus’ dying on the cross for our sins. And because of His death we can come to you at anytime and ask you for help in our need.

When we are in the car. Your blood has washed away my sin, Jesus, thank you. The Father’s wrath completely satisfied, Jesus, Thank you. Once Your enemy, now seated at your table, Jesus, thank You!

When we experience conflict. Jesus, we are amazed that though you were tempted in every way, You never sinned! As we see the corruption in our own hearts, we turn to look at your perfect, righteous life and we are grateful that because you lived in perfect obedience to the Father, and died on the cross for our sins, we now have this righteousness accounted to us!  Now we who were slaves to sin, are set free to love others.  Such good news, we can’t comprehend it!

When we go to bed. Father when I review the day and see our sins and victories, we cast them in a heap at the foot of the cross where our sins are washed away, and our victories have their origin. We lay our heads in peace that comes not from our performance today, but from the work of the Savior who lived the uniquely perfect life, and died on the cross, atoning for our transgressions, suffering the wrath that we deserved, and then three days later was raised from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father ruling and reigning according to His divine will.

1 Corinthians 15: 3,4  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scripture.

The Week In Review

These are a few moments from our week that would be forgotten if I didn’t write them here. I predict their ordinary-ness  will be what makes them precious some day. It’s the stuff of our real lives right now.

 (click picture to enlarge) On Monday we celebrated the Ravens’ first game of the season. To say the menfolk were excited would be an understatement. Earlier in the day Izzy said, “Mom, I think Betsey/Dutchess might be a good luck dog. Since she was with us, Tennessee won (yes, Jason has them all about orange) so maybe tonight she’ll help the Ravens win.” Ahhh Betsey, even your magical powers couldn’t compensate for lots of injuries and turnovers.  Still, we made the most of game night. Maggie sang songs. At one point she broke into, “we will we will rock you.”  Excuse me?! What did you just say?!!!  Good grief. Then one of our boys started the wave…all six of us…over and over until we moved on to dint, dint, dint, dint, clap, clap, clap, clap, etc., charge!!

Other means of entertainment not involving purple included trying to figure out which Altrogge was singing what song on their cd, In A Little While. We have it in the van right now and every song I hear the boys saying stuff like, “that must be the son, because it sounds too young for the old guy.” “wow, the dad sounds really young…” I tried to explain to the boys that Mr. Altrogge isn’t very old, but they saw the picture which apparently to a 9 year old proves their point. We love this cd, by the way. And unlike so many worship cd’s for me, it didn’t have to grow on me. I loved it from the first time we hit “play”.   I have a hard time transitioning from one favorite worship cd to the next. I just grow really attached, so when a new one comes on the horizon it takes me a while to warm up to it. Well, this one is really fantastic and the whole family pretty much has it memorized.

Of course Betsey Dutchess (which is what we call her most of the time) makes up a major part of our week in review. Besides continuing to be the best dog ever, she has proven to have more patience than any human in this family.  Like the time when Maggie decided to put her Build A Bear outfit on her. It was a little small. Or the time when Maggie thought Betsey needed a hair-do like my mom’s Maltese, Sophie. Thank goodness I caught Maggs before the rubber band was permanently entangled (poor dog had a serious brow lift for a few minutes). Yeah, Betsey probably hates her life, but she’s a good sport and hasn’t bitten or even growled at anyone yet…even when Maggie tries to put her in a stroller.

And perhaps one of the most familiar sounds of September I am listening to even as I type: my boys in the back yard playing football with daddy. Okay, someone just got the air knocked out of him – gotta go!

I Wanna Win!!!

Got a minute?  Tim Challies is running a contest and I’d really like to win the prize. It is a set of (or a few of, or one of – depending on 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place) of the Reformed Expository Bible Commentary Series.

I read the Esther and Ruth commentary earlier this year and loved it. These commentaries are so readable for the regular gal like me.

I highly recommend everyone who reads this to try to win. But if you apply and enter my code (10151) my chances increase. AND if I win the whole set or get to choose 3, I’ll send the first commentor who applies the  Esther and Ruth commentary (since I already own it).

*Be sure to read Tim’s smallish print.

To enter the contest, go here. My code is:   10151

Thanks!

Quotable Kiddos

Our family was in the car the other day and we passed a very hoity-toity neighborhood. So the kids were admiring the mansions when I, being the obnoxious “let’s make everything an object lesson” parent that I am, say something to the effect of, “those mansions don’t make people happy, you know.”

One of my sons immediately blurts out, “I think they’d make me happy (pause…considering what he just said) …at least for a little while.”

From the mouth of babes.

Later, I think on the ride home that same day, Jason, says, “where is our REAL mansion, guys?”

Another son blurts out, “In Ohio!”

Tee Hee. May it be.  Not that that would make me truly happy or anything…at least not for very long.

Heavens to Betsey Johnson (Duchess) Reyes

Perhaps you recall the last pets we owned. A collection of innocent hermit crabs were brought to our home and lived what I believe must have about the most exciting (if somewhat exhausting) life a hermit crab could hope for. To know more, you can find their adventures recorded here and here.

Well we have graduated from hermit crabs to dog owners. I know, this is quite a leap in pet status. You see, the kids are now taking showers on their own (occasionally actually using soap and rinsing out the shampoo), and are officially burned out on pop tarts (won’t even touch the stuff), so I feel slightly more able to care for another living creature.

The only way I would even consider such a responsibility was that this dog seemed like such a perfect fit if we were going to be a “dog-owning” family. She is a three year old Westie, totally house broken, crated, small but sturdy and energetic, barely sheds. My friend, Brenda, had to get rid of her because she was moving in a place where the dog couldn’t come. We prayed about it, researched the breed, and decided to our children’s delight to take the dog.

Her name was Duchess. In honor of my aunt who breeds Maltese and names them after designers (Gucci, Prada, etc.), I wanted to change her name to Betsey Johnson. Our dog is not exactly a Gucci kind of gal. Isn’t Betsey a cute name? Betsey the Westie. Is it wrong to rename a three year old dog? We have found that whether we say “Duchess” or “Betsey” using the high pitched type of voice, she responds equally. Still, she has so many adjustments to make lately I hate to add one more.

Yeah, adjustments would be the understated way of saying it. Duchess/Betsey came from a one child (girl about 11 years old) family to a four extremely enthusiastic-about-dog-owning family of three boys and a girl. They pretty much burned her out on fetch the ball in the first day. Seriously. She refuses to do it anymore (after two hundred times, who could blame her?). She has also been walked more than any dog in the history of house pets. The kids are so excited with their little blue clean-up bags…I guess for little boys the “clean up” has a distorted thrill of its own.

But Duchess Betsey Johnson has been fantastic through all of the changes. She hasn’t bitten anybody, or growled. She seems perky and happy – even when she is getting brushed for the 50th time that day (Maggs is particularly grateful for another “girl” in the family, and is saving money to buy the dog an outfit). She hasn’t had an accident, which I guess is a tribute to her being walked so many times a day. But she is still very cuddly, and loves me more than anybody else in the family (don’t tell the kids I said that). She follows me everywhere I go. Kind of sweet now that my babies don’t do it.

We love our little dog, but doesn’t that first picture look like she’s thinking, “what in the world happened to my life?!” And in the second picture she seems to look, well, exhausted.

Welcome to our home, Betsey Johnson!