Pinterest for the Win

Yesterday we had a family celebration. Dinner* was done in stages because of church and ballet, but we shared this dessert. The celebratee it!

This is a picture from the recipe website. My spiraling skills were not this good! 

Mine wasn't quite so pretty, but it tasted really good! We used to often get the refrigerated Pillsbury sticky buns. This cake tasted like a giant, fresh sticky bun. Much better than the Pillsbury kind! I already had requests to make it again.

Pinterest for the win!

*Dinner was a Pinterest favorite: brown sugar garlic chicken.

Cattitude

One of my favorite things about today was holding Patches for a good ten minutes. She usually spends most of her time in the girls' rooms, so this is always a special treat!

I can't get up because there's a cat on my lap is one of the best reasons not to do something.

A Story Worth Watching

I love stories. Particularly those that are either utterly beautiful or those that are intriguing and intricate and complicated.

Last night Elisabeth felt bad and stayed home from ballet. Since the others were either at ballet or Bible study, she and I watched an episode I hadn't seen from the first season of Doctor Who. (Three of my girls and I are watching season three together.) When I started watching Doctor Who, I did not realize how much I would like it. The creativity of the writers is amazing. And the character of the Doctor is compelling. And the show does a wonderful job of affirming life and humanity and the sacredness of the ordinary.

Then Hannah, Rebecca, Paul, and I watched Blind Spot. I love the mystery and complexity of this show. It has a similar feel to Alias (my favorite) and The Black List. The twists and turns are fun, and I really like Jane's character. She manages to be both tough and vulnerable.

I am thankful for the opportunity to immerse myself in stories that entertain, inspire, and challenge me.

Sunday Afternoon Nap

I normally am a huge night owl. And the concert Saturday night made it even harder to fall asleep. So today I so appreciated a good nap! It may not seem like much, but it really was a blessing.

Saturday Night Worship

Paul, 3 of the girls and I drove to a nearby town yesterday to worship Jesus with Chris Tomlin and Rend Collective. Even though the event was billed as a concert, the hearts of the musicians made it a time of worship.

I hadn't listened to much Rend Collective, but I really enjoyed their music. We liked it enough to buy 3 CDs. (Plus some Tomlin shirts and his new Christmas CD!) And getting to worship with a kilt-wearing bagpipe player made me so happy!

And Chris Tomlin was terrific as always. He said that after his first time to publicly lead music, a godly man said he would become the psalmist for his generation. And I think that is an apt description of Chris' music and his heart for worship.

And, since our generation likes a party, our time ended with a celebration as we sang "God's Great Dance Floor."

Let the future begin!

Waffles and a Movie

We made our first recipe from Pioneer Woman's newest cookbook last night: waffles. We like them so much we are now researching buying a second Belgian waffle maker! These weren't quite as good as the Mickey waffles at Disney World, but they were certainly cheaper!

And my youngest were super thrilled to watch our new blu-ray of Avengers: Age of Ultron.  Since we all love complex stories, the aspect of a big overarching story appeals to all of us. And I feel like the writers and actors did a terrific job of giving these characters based on comic books depth and dimension.

Witty Banter Must Cost Extra

I remember watching Gilmore Girls when it first aired and wanting to have a Christian version of Lorelei and Rory's relationship. I loved their friendship and communication. Of course, our family would add a great dad, some siblings, and parental authority, but I wanted my girls to be able to talk with me and have fun with me.

And now that they are teens, I'm seeing some of this. Minus the super fast witty banter. Yesterday one of my girls came to me when she was troubled. I love that she and her sisters feel comfortable confiding in me!

And I was able to go shopping with my girl who doesn't always like to shop. She found shirts, sweaters, skirts, and even a pair of boots. And because we shopped at Target, we didn't even break the bank. We both enjoyed finding new fall clothes for her to wear. (And for me to borrow!)

The season of parenting teen girls can be challenging. (Hormones are real!) But I have found it to be so rewarding as my girls are becoming not only my daughters, but some of my best friends!