Perfect Pairings - James 3:2

James 3:2

 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

The M&M's are taking skating lessons on Thursday nights along with their dear friend Abby.  There are many stumbles to go around for everyone, but this little guy in Maren's class does it with such charm. He's a cutie to be sure.  Maren says, "But Mom, he's not my boyfriend".  I think she has a secret crush on her teacher - Big Jake.  There will be more to come on the subject later. 

 

Baloney should have some more Perfect Pairings linked to her blog - unless she is iced or snowed in. Have a great week!

In Honor of a Snow Day

Yup, we have ice.  Not as bad as I thought it would be, but enough to call off school for the day - AGAIN!  Princess Maren may actually get to celebrate her birthday (7/4) in school this year at the rate we are going.  Oh well.

Snow days call for baking.  It's a rule. Since I am on a diet new eating plan, didn't think I'd better break those rules and tempt myself by baking and therefore eating in abundance whatever I happened to bake.  I actually took the pictures in the fall for this post.  So, if I think back really hard and take a big snifffffffff, ahhhh, I can almost smell that banana bread.

Banana bread.  Food of the gods, according to Marissa. She has never met a banana bread she didn't like.  Course she was raised on the best.  And that would be my Grandma's banana bread in my humble opinion.  I can only aspire to make banana bread as good as hers.  She gets it just right every time.  Mom's is pretty darn good too.  Marissa's official ranking is Grandma Gigi's, Grandma's and mine is a lowly third place.  But I do consider myself to be in pretty good company.

This is the cookbook my mom gave me for Christmas one year.  It has many of our family favorites in it.  I keep it in the box because I have a slew of recipies I have ripped out of magazines and such that I have collected over the years just running amok in the box too.  I am so organized like that.  Sigh.

So Mom wrote out the recipes for me.  That in itself is something to treasure.  Who writes out recipes anymore? She then attempted to catagorize them appropriately.   So you look for the banana bread recipe under this tab...

 

Of course you do.  Did I tell you I got all my organizational skills from my mom?  Actually,  she is not far off at all.  In our family, bread IS a dessert.  I'm not moving it to the correct spot.  I like it that way.  Besides then I would have to move the pancake recipe out of the bread tab and put it under breakfast foods.  Not moving that one either.

Here's the recipe.  I was thinking about re-typing it, but this works. Grandma puts a little different spin on it, but I will show you that later.

I only had two bananas at the time.  It worked just fine.

Mashed up nanners.  Take out all your frustration and smush 'em good.

Soured milk. See the curdle?  I guess you could use buttermilk too, but why?

Just throw it all together wily nilly. I never listen to those recipes that say to measure out the dry ingredients and then incorporate the rest.  There's probably a reason for it, but I am too lazy to want to know why, or to actually do it.

Then just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it.  No one wants to be defeated.  Whoops - snuck a little Micheal in on you there, didn't I?

Now this is my Grandma's twist on things.  She bakes her banana bread in cans.  And after many attempts with the crust too brown and the middle still a little under done when using a loaf pan,  this is what I do too.  It works great! These are two of the larger size cans (20 ounce, I think) and they work perfectly to split one batch of banana bread.  Be sure not to fill them too full, because they tend to rise and bubble up and over the top.   Not that that has ever happened to me. Ever.

Then stick them in the oven for an hour and let the smell waft through your home.  Now you have 60 minutes to go outside and take pictures of your dog.

We call this one"Under the Underbite" - Part I.

  Under the Underbite - Part II. 

Wow! We actually did have a lawn and green grass at one time. Wherefore art thou, lawn?

And then when you come back in the house you should have this.

Aren't they cute?  And they make a really nice gift too.  Wrap them up in some plastic wrap, tie a bow on it and tell your neighbor thanks for scooping your driveway.

I barely got this picture taken before Sweet Marissa descended upon her prey.

She said it was good, but still not as good as Grandma Gigi's.  Traitor.  What can I say, she knows her banana bread.

A Small (but Beautiful) World

I know.  Another post about the weather.  Really.  That's what happens when you live in Iowa.  There's not too much else going on besides the weather.  Actually, someone should slap me silly, because I honestly don't know if I am coming or going it has been so crazy busy around here. That's a whole 'nother post entirely.

But I am going to attribute the coming or going confusion to the fact that for the past week or so, we have had a lot of fog.  Dense fog.  Can't see your hand in front of your face fog.  Pea soup thick fog.  Wow, that's another area in which I am deficiently Dutch.  I have never made pea soup.  Give any good Dutch woman a ham hock and some peas and she will make you a pot of steamy pea soup.  Ewww.  Don't like pea soup, but to some in these parts, pea soup is a delicacy.

I digress.  So we have had all this pea soup - uh, fog.  I makes things sort of gray and dreary and I can feel all my Vitimin D just seeping out of me.  Sun? Wherefore are thou sun?  It sort of reminds me of the movie Narnia.  You keep waiting for the White Witch to come around the corner with her freaky sled and freakier hair. 

BUT, for all its dreariness, there is this.

Every little branch, every little left over leaf is a work of art.  Just simply beautiful.  And you know, only God can create this sort of wonder.

Once again, I wish I could take better pictures.  You are just going to have to believe me on this one.

Can't help but think of my high school art classes when I see this one.  Mrs. Kramer tried her darndest to teach us about perspective and that whole vanishing point thing.  I get it a little better now, but still not so much.

The Captain took these last two shots.  We both got home from work and had the exact same idea. We're weird like that sometimes. We both thought we had to get some pics of all God's handiwork around us.

The Captain has a fascination with our courthouse.  It is a pretty building, but I bet I could deck out a whole photo album dedicated to the Sioux County Courthouse.  I guess there are worse things to look at.

Silver linings.  I think God likes them.  He loves to give us a look at the bright side, if we are willing to see it.  I know many of us have had the whole tragedy of Haiti in our hearts and minds.  Hitting close to home, our former pastor and his wife have been in the process of adopting a little girl from Haiti.  She has been with them for quite some time on a medical visa.  The adoption has had its fair share of red tape and slowdowns, but things are moving along pretty quickly now.  I'll find whatever joy I can out of that situation. 

Tomorrow there is freezing rain, aka ice, in the forecast, and a weekend of snow and blowing snow.  Anybody got any Vitamin D?

Anyone?

Two Peas from Different Pods

And the two pods would be mine and my SIL Kim's.  The MM's always love seeing their cousins.  They especially love hanging out with the Fabulous Niebuhr Boys.  This becomes very apparent whenever they get together.  Our girls love to giggle, and the Niebuhr Boys have no problem coming up with the material.  It also becomes very apparent that Sam and Marissa are an awful lot alike.

Both very intelligent.  Both a little dreamy.  Both really good kids.

The freckles. The hair.  The eyelashes.

The bathroom humor.  The boundless silliness. If no one else gets it. These two will.

Sam, I was too lazy to send these pictures too your mom via e-mail.  Is that the height of laziness, or what?  So I put them here instead.  Just wanted her to know how handsome you are, but she probably knows.

Can't wait for Tulip Time!!

Perfect Pairings - Luke 4:4

Luke 4:4

And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

Sweet Marissa took this picture.  This is Nanny Joy's lemon bundt cake.  Fresh from the oven.  Sweet Marissa proclaimed it was good - very good.  She decided she loved it so much she was going to marry it.  The measly half that was left.