Perfect recipe for Valentine’s Day – Chocolate Lava Cakes

Oh. My. Goodness.

You have never eaten anything so delicious.  Never.  I promise.

If you tried the recipe Chocolate Cake in a Mug before, go throw it out.  Really.  I’ll wait.  Because after you try THIS recipe, you will never settle for that again.

I literally plan on stocking bittersweet chocolate in my cupboard so I can make these anytime I need a chocolate fix.

Ok, here’s the recipe…

Chocolate Lava Cakes

(makes 5)

4 T unsalted butter, at room temp., plus more for muffin tins

1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for muffin tins

3 large eggs

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Generously (and I mean GENEROUSLY – you want these to come loose without breaking!!!) butter 5 cups of a standard muffin tin.  Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and granulated sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  With mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined.  Beat in chocolate (do not overmix).  Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. 

Place muffin tin on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of cakes no longer jiggle when pan is lightly shaken, 7 – 10 minutes.  Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.

To serve, turn out cakes, and place on serving plates, top sides up.  (I used a piece of aluminum foil to cover the other cakes and keep them in the tin while I turned out one cake at a time.  It seemed to work pretty well.)  Dust with confectioner’s sugar, and serve with whipped or ice cream if desired.

Try these out for your honey on Valentine’s Day – they are so delicious!  Let me know what you think!

Book Reviews

Now that I’ve got two kids reading, I’m always on the lookout for age-appropriate books that are also morally & spiritually appropriate. 

I’ll tell you, it’s been a bit of a challenge. 

I was happy to see that Focus on the Family has started to do some book reviews.  There aren’t a ton of books reviewed on the website, but at least it’s a start.

Here is a link in case you’re interested!

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/protecting_your_family/book_reviews_for_parents.aspx

Happy reading!

Immanuel, Part 2

I didn’t really realize when I wrote this post that there would be a Part 2.  But here it is!

My girls’ favorite Christmas song was off an old Amy Grant Christmas CD – aptly named “Emmanuel”.  We keep listening to it (even now) because they like it. 

Emmanuel, Emmanuel,

Wonderful Counselor,

Lord of life, Lord of All,

He is the Prince of Peace,

Mighty God,

Holy One,

Emmanuel.

Some days I can’t get it out of my head!  The tune is so catchy and if you’ve ever heard it, you’re probably singing it right now!

But it totally ties in with the theme that’s been going on in my head as I continue to read “The Practice of the Presence of God”.  Who wouldn’t want to be with the wonderful counselor, the mighty God,  and the prince of peace every moment of every day?

So here are a few more nuggets from the book:

“I cannot imagine how religious persons can live satisfied without the practice of the presence of God.  For my part, I keep myself retired with Him in the fund or center of my soul as much as I can;  and while I am so with Him I fear nothing, but the least turning from Him is insupportable.  This exercise does not much fatigue the body;  it is, however, proper to deprive it sometimes, nay, often of many little pleasures which are innocent and lawful, for God will not permit that a soul which desires to be devoted entirely to Him should take other pleasures than with Him:  that is more than reasonable.”  [italics mine]

“When the mind … has contracted certain bad habits of wandering and dissipation, they are difficult to overcome, and commonly draw us, even against our wills, to the things of the earth. …One way to recollect the mind easily in the time of prayer, and perserve it more in tranquility, is not to let it wander too far at other times.  You should keep it strictly in the presence of God;  and being accustomed to think of Him often, you will find it easy to keep your mind calm in the time of prayer, or at least to recall it from its wanderings.” 

“…think often on God, by day, by night, in your business, and even in your diversions.  He is always near you and with you;  leave Him not alone.  You would think it rude to leave a friend alone who came to visit you;  why, then, must God be neglected?  Do not, then, forget Him, but think on Him often, adore Him continually, live and die with Him;  this is the glorious employment of a Christian.  In a word, this is our profession;  if we do not know it, we must learn it.” [italics mine]

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray continually.”  Brother Lawrence says that our profession is to practice His presence in our lives, and I think I have a lot to learn.  The first and second quotes from the book remind me that God calls me to a high standard – and even some “good” things must be denied in my life in order to truly acknowledge “God with me” – Immanuel – every moment.  I really desire that, but oh, dear, what discipline it requires!

So what about you – are you trying to practice God’s presence in your life?  How do you go about it?

It’s not mandatory! Enough Already!

I feel like I’ve been asked a million times.  “You don’t send your kids to preschool?  Why not?”

And for the most part, I don’t mind answering the question.  But when the question comes with a tone of voice or attitude that I’m not doing the best for my kids, that’s when I get irritated.  You know, the look or the response that implies that I’m crazy, or maybe just plain stupid.  Obviously I don’t understand that a child these days MUST be stimulated, taught by others, over-scheduled, and expected to be overachievers beginning at age 3.

A few weeks back someone asked me if little A was going to go to 3 year old preschool next year.  I said no.  Then she said, “oh, then you’ll send her when she turns 4.“  I said no.  You could have heard a pin drop.  And the look she gave me.  Ugh.

I felt like saying, “It’s not mandatory.  Enough already!”  But of course, I didn’t.  Instead, I felt obligated to tell her all my reasons why I have chosen not to send my kids to preschool.

Now, I don’t want this post to imply that sending your child to preschool is wrong.  I really don’t feel that way, and I certainly don’t want my opinions to make anyone feel defensive.  It’s just that it seems like society has “decided” that preschool is best and if we choose otherwise, we’re bad parents.  I don’t like the herd mentality that I see when it comes to preschool.  Instead of just doing what everyone else is doing, my husband and I gathered information, assessed our own abilities and life situation, evaluated our kids’ abilities and personalities, and then made a decision.  And we’ve decided preschool just isn’t right for us.

And for the record, here’s why:

• Before I made this decision, I consulted several kindergarten and preschool teachers.  The majority response was that kids don’t really need preschool to be academically prepared for kindergarten.  The major impact of preschool on many children is learning how to interact with other kids, follow rules, raise their hands, etc. 
• I really felt that as a mom who has specifically chosen to use my time to be home with my kids, I was best equipped and certainly competent enough to teach my little ones the basic academic concepts they need in kindergarten.  Things like colors, numbers, alphabet, shapes, etc.  Skills like cutting paper, coloring, gluing – all are easy enough when you are interacting with your kids on a daily basis.
• As far as the socialization part – I think parents can easily teach kids to follow rules at home (hopefully that’s happening anyways!) and be taught how to do things for themselves that they’ll have to do in kindergarten with a little forethought (putting on snow gear by themselves, opening lunch containers, etc.).  If kids are involved in play groups, MOPS groups, or even go regularly to the church toddler/preschool room, they are getting what they need as far as learning to respond to someone other than you and learning how to interact with other children.
• For me, it felt like sending my kids to preschool was pushing them to grow up too soon.  Let kids be kids!  Five year olds are still kids – and early enough to go to school.  Without any evidence that early learning really provides an advantage in learning past kindergarten, I wasn’t ready to push my kids to grow up any earlier than necessary.
• I don’t think there is any argument against the fact that kids learn best when they are in a loving, nurturing environment that challenges their skills.  Who better than mom can provide this?
• Germs.  Enough said.
• And lastly, I always said I didn’t want to make parenting decisions based on fear.  And the only reason I would lean toward preschool was that little nagging voice (probably the effects of our society) that said to me “if your kids don’t go to preschool, they’ll be behind in kindergarten”.  Well, I told the voice to go stuff it.  As a matter of fact, I have 2 kids who went into kindergarten without preschool experience and according to their teacher they were better prepared than most of the kids in their classes. 

So if you’re getting ready to make preschool decisions, I hope I’ve given you something to think about.  Again, I’m not knocking anyone’s decision to send their kids to preschool – it’s entirely possible that if I was still working I’d have kids in preschool as well.  I’m just encouraging everyone to think it through and make the decision that’s best for your kids without buying into the lie that preschool is a must.  It’s not.

I’d love to hear your thoughts – it’s ok to disagree with me!  What criteria did you use when making your decision, and are you satisfied with it?

Handmade for Christmas

I wanted to show you a couple of my (totally awesome) handmade Christmas gifts.  I made these for family and friends and I was so happy with how they turned out. 

First, the Christmas Countdown blocks…

These were pretty easy and very inexpensive.  I only had time to make two of these between Thanksgiving & Christmas… I’m thinking if I start now I could make a whole slew of them before next Christmas! 

Items needed:  wood (a 4×4 and 2×4), scrapbooking paper, letter stickers, number stencils, brown ink pad, spray adhesive, black sharpie, carpet nails, sandpaper, primer, and white latex paint.

On an interesting side note, I learned that the actual measurements of wood are not equal to the numbers in the name.  In other words, a 4×4 is not actually 4 inches by 4 inches.  My husband was a little ticked at me for having to make extra cuts because I did not know this fact before we started.  Uh, sorry, babe.

Moving on…

If you want the instructions on how to make these, just let me know & I’d be happy to share with you.  I’m just feelin’ a bit lazy tonight.  It’s not really rocket science, but I will admit that the numbers took me a little while to figure out (a 6 can be a 9 upside down… hint, hint).

And the Birch Bark Star Ornament…

These I made out of pieces of birch bark (conveniently found in my backyard), cardboard star ornaments purchased at michael’s, and berries also purchased at micheal’s.  And hot glue.  Lots of hot glue.  Lots and lots of hot glue. 

And only one burn to the fingers.  Ahem.

Again, easy and inexpensive but time-consuming.  I should be able to whip off another three of these before next Christmas. 

(Joking, people, I’m joking.)

OK, I think that’s enough for now.  I’m getting a little tired, and a little loopy.

Happy January!

I Dare You!

Did you see the movie “Fireproof” with Kirk Cameron?

(If not, you should!  If you’ve never heard about it, I posted about it here.)

K-love radio station is posting the “Love Dare” on their blog and is encouraging listeners to participate as well.

Go to www.klove.com/blog to check it out.  I’m planning on participating, and I think it will certainly strengthen your marriage if you do!

Immanuel

I’ve been reading the book, “The Practice of the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence.  I’m not finished with it yet – it can be a bit of a struggle because of the language and deep concepts.  But I have been particularly enjoying it because of the timing – reading it during the Christmas season when we celebrate Jesus’ birth – Immanuel – God with us. 

The main premise of the book is to guide one into learning how to pray continually, and to apply our each and every thought and action to God.  God is with us, and it seems to me that applying myself to Him like the book encourages is the best way to remain in Him (John 15:5).

There are a couple of quotes from the book that I wanted to share with you…

“…we ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.”

“…in order to form a habit of conversing with God continually, and referring all we do to Him, we must first apply to Him with some diligence;  but that after a little care we should find His love inwardly excite us to it without any difficulty.”

“…We must, nevertheless, always work at it [practicing God's presence], because not to advance in the spiritual life is to go back.”

At this time of year when I am thinking about New Year’s resolutions, this last quote is meaningful to me.  How can I grow spiritually this year?  How can I apply myself diligently to continual prayer?  How can I be a good steward of this life – my body, my time, my talents – that God has given me?

I’ll share a couple of my resolutions with you… losing weight (of course) in order to be a good manager of my body, doing weekly devotions with our whole family, and cutting back on computer time in order to be a good manager of my time and our household. 

I pray that you have a blessed year and that you are also seeking to advance in your spiritual life!  Have you made any resolutions to help you do this?  Please share!

Leftover Ham

Looking for a good way to use up your leftover ham?  Try this recipe for breakfast tomorrow…

Eggs & Taters

   2 1/2  cups          frozen tater tots
   1      cup           chopped ham — fully cooked
     1/4  cup           chopped onion
     1/4  cup           chopped green bell pepper
   2      tablespoons   vegetable oil
   4                    eggs — beaten

 Cook the tater tots, onion, pepper, and ham in the oil in a frying pan for 10-12 minutes.  When tater tots thaw, break them up with a spatula.  Pour eggs over mixture and cook and stir until eggs set.  Enjoy!

The Beauty of Christmas

Wise Words

Merry Christmas everyone!!

As you are preparing for Christmas in the next two days, please take the time to read some wise words from my friend Sandy.

And then take her advice and enjoy the reality of your family this Christmas!