“Lots of things would shatter my world, but “that’s” not one of them…”
I said this last year on two different occasions about the same thing.
Can you see “it” coming?
I was referring to someone’s young, single daughter getting pregnant.
Last month our baby, Emma, told us she was pregnant. Emma’s actually not a baby. She’ll be 24 this year.
Emma’s not married. Now, when I said the silly thing about this not being my issue, Emma was engaged to a young man who had been in our family for 5 years. The Husband and I loved him like he was our own kid. So if Emma had gotten pregnant before they got married…well, moral issues aside, we would have very quickly been thrilled. Why? Because her life was on a certain course and a baby would have been in their future anyway.
But Emma ended her engagement and started dating someone on and off that we didn’t know very well. (Actually, not at all)
And at the time she got pregnant they were “broken up”. So this news felt like I’d imagine getting hit by a tractor trailer would feel. I’m not trying to be negative but the truth is, her life from all the information we had, was on one course when actually … she was going in a very different direction.
I won’t go into any more details but after many tears, lots of talking and many sleepless nights, we’re so very thankful that we’ll have another grandchild in October~
I’m sharing this for two reasons…
First, When I write from my heart I find it difficult not to be honest. I’m drawn to and inspired by flawed people living with purpose in the middle of their not-so-perfect lives. My prayer every single day is that someone may come here and find a bit of inspiration or even hope from my not-so-perfect life.
Second, so many of my precious online friends have reached out to me over the past few weeks, knowing something was wrong in my world but not knowing exactly what. I’m so humbled by the love and encouraging words and prayers.
But I share this with fear and trembling…
Some of you reading this have strong beliefs about sex before marriage. Some of you have tiny tots running around and you are raising them with a strong set of morals. One of them being: no sex before marriage.
I understand completely. Because that’s what we did.
Please, not for my sake, but for yours…don’t judge. Take it from me…judging someone never ends well.
Others of you don’t have these convictions and may be thinking I need to just get over myself. (You’re probably right about that by the way) It’s Emma’s life. It’s Emma’s choice. Just support her.
I understand this too. And after a few rocky weeks, that’s just what I’m doing.
No matter where you’re coming from, can I just say thank you for your sweet support these past several weeks. I want to find a way to tell you how I’m encouraged and given hope by your words…but I keep coming up short.
Love from the bottom of my tiny heart. And hugs. I’m a hugger…so hugs.
Going forward there are many, many decisions that Emma has to make so a prayer here and there for her (and our new baby) would be so tenderly appreciated.
xoxo
I’m going to leave you with a song that my most precious blog-friend Sara (Gitzen Girl) sent me when I sent out an SOS asking her and a few others to pray. I’ve listened to this song every day since. It’s become a bit of a lifeline.
Tasty Tuesdayover at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam ~Tempt my Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace ~ and lastly Tuesday at the Tableat All The Small Stuff~ You’ll find links to a hundred recipes or more with these delightful blogs!
It’s my granddaughter Ellie’s 1st birthday party next Saturday! I’ve been sewing cupcakes on everything!
I found this Shabby Chic banner at Target for 60% off!I thought it would look great at Ellie’s party with some cupcakes on it!
This would be super easy to make but since it was so cheap…no need to make one!
Trace the pattern outline onto your fabric…
I made a super easy pattern for cupcakes. Then used Wonder Under to adhere the pattern to the flag. (When you buy Wonder Under you should get a sheet of instructions. Don’t worry, it’s easy.)
If you can use a sewing machine, this is pretty easy. But even if you don’t have a sewing machine you can sew an applique stitch by hand all around the cupcake!
Now the fun part! Decorate these little babies!
Super easy and it’ll be a cute decoration for Ellie’s birthday party~
I’m linking to some fun blog parties, in case you need some inspiration…
My new Flickr-blog friend Prairie Girl posted a photo of her breakfast the other day on her shared blog-home: 2 Blessed Beyond Belief . (This is the most gorgeous blog. It’s two beautiful “friends sharing their day to day creative journey”… Kim (also a new flickr friend and a kindred spirit, she and I may be related…) and Prairie Girl inspire me every single day. They have also been sources of gentle, loving encouragement over the past few weeks when I needed it most. I’m growing to love these gals more and more. Click over, you’ll love them too.)
Prairie Girl’s breakfast was granola and yogurt. Simple. But her picture was gorgeous. And I couldn’t stop thinking about homemade granola.(I’m so impressionable)
I poured over recipes and basically found out…making granola is easy.
So on our Georgia snow day this week I made my first batch of granola.
I didn’t want to simply make a sugary fatty granola. (well, honestly I did want to but I behaved. I’m trying to “Live Well”!)
To keep it healthy, I didn’t use oil and sweetened it with molasses and honey. But many recipes call for a bit of brown sugar or Splenda for sweetening. It’s up to you!
Here are the basic proportions for the healthier version. Start here and the sky’s the limit! (I’ll give you my recipe, adapted from bunches of other recipes, in a moment!)
* 1 part oil
* 2 parts honey
*3 -4 parts seeds and nuts
* 4 parts grains
* 3-4 parts dried fruit
Here’s what I put together…
Healthy Granola
* 6 Cups Old fashioned oats
* 3 Cups Steele Cut oats
* 1/2 Cup flax seed
*1 1/2 Cups slivered almonds
* 1 1/2 Cups chopped walnuts
* 1 1/2 Cups water (splash more in when mixing if needed)
* 3/4- 1 Cup honey
* 3/4- 1 Cup molasses (could use maple syrup or sorghum)
* 2 teaspooons cinnamon
* 1 Tablespoon vanilla
*2 Cups dried fruit (I used cranberries, but blueberries would be yummy too!)
~Heat oven to 300*
~Combine oats, flax seed and nuts. Mix well.
~In large saucepan, combine water, honey sorghum, cinnamon and vanilla
~Pour syrup over dry ingredients and stir until coated well.
~Spread onto parchment covered cookie sheets.
***To create clusters: Squeeze the granola with your hands to form small clumps. If you need to add a bit of water to your hands to get it to stick together. (1/2 cup Wheat Germ will help the water form a “mortar”. Next time I’m adding wheat germ!)***
~Bake 20-30 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.
~Store in air-tight container. Add to yogurt or just snack on it! The Husband ate it with skim milk and loved it!!!
Thank you to the moon and back Sweet Friends for all your support this past week. I’m going to share very soon all that’s been going on around here. I just need a bit more time. Thank you a million times over for the prayers and sweet encouragements you’ve sent my way.
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