Big messes...

"There's only one thing harder than waiting on God

.

.

.

Wishing you had."



Hidden Way

"Do not say in thine heart what thou wilt or wilt not do, but wait upon God until He makes known His way. So long as that way is hidden it is clear that there is no need of action, and that He accounts Himself responsible for all the results of keeping thee where thou art."

--Selected

(Streams in the Desert, Oct. 19)

Chocolate Almond Biscotti

This is a recipe my sister-in-law shared with me a couple months ago, and I've already made it at least 4 times!!

Chocolate Almond Biscotti

3/4 cup blanched whole almonds, toasted and chopped coarsely

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 c. chocolate chips (give or take :))

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toast almonds for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely. Set aside.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Beat the sugar and eggs on high speed until thick, pale, and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the egg mixture and beat until combined. Fold in the chopped almonds and chocolate.

Transfer the dough to your parchment lined baking sheet and form into a log, about 12 inches long and 3 1/2 inches wide. You may have to dampen your hands to form the log as the dough is quite sticky. Bake for 25 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Transfer the log to a cutting board and cut into 3/4 inch (2 cm) slices, on the diagonal. Place the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, turn slices over, and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 16 biscotti.

Saying "No"

"When we can say "no" not only to things that are wrong and sinful, but also to things pleasant, profitable, and good which would hinder and clog our grand duties and our chief work, we shall understand more fully what life is worth, and how to make the most of it."

--Charles A. Stoddard

Sweet Puppies...

What to do for Abbie's 13th birthday cake?

It used to be a no-brainer when she was into frogs. :) But this year it's been huskies.

Aigh!

Step #1

Have you sister Grace find a picture of husky pups.

Step #2

Make sure the picture is sketchable, and has good lines to follow.

Step #3

Just start, and hope they turn out. :)

Ta daaaaa!!!

It's like one of those places where you send your picture in and they turn it into blanket for you. :)

Well....okay, so maybe this isn't quite as accurate...but you can eat it!!!

Sounds like an improvement to me!

The difficulty?

Nobody can bear to eat the puppies...

A Blessed and Comfortable Thing:

"Oh, what a blessed and comfortable thing to be known by Christ, known and marked as His friends, His relations, His dear children, His beloved family, His purchased possession! Here we are often cast down, often discouraged, often persecuted, often spoken against, often misunderstood—but let us take courage, our Lord and Master knows all. A day shall come when we shall no longer see through a glass darkly—but face to face—a day when we shall know even as we are now known; for the union between us and our Redeemer, which we so often feel disposed to doubt, shall then be clearly seen, and we shall no more go out to battle."

~ J.C. Ryle

The End...again

Forgot to post this...

as fun as it is to go on vacation...

...everyone loves comin' home again!

The End

We're gonna miss you, West Virginia!

Until next time!

Fishing for Lake Trout

After our grand hike, the little girls wanted to visit Watoga lake one last time. So some of us put back on our shoes and walked down to the pretty waterfront.

Silly shoes!

What are shoe laces good for anyway?!? They only come untied and trip you!

Let's try this again!

Rock skipping...Carrie really got into it.

Look at her face of concentration! What an arm!!

I believe Kate gave up, however...she switched over to rock plopping.

Beautiful stillness...

you can pretend anyway.

A video would quickly reveal that it was beautiful liveliness, filled with the chatter of 3 excited girls feeding bread to the bluegill.

But on to the next diversion of our lake-excursion!

Fishing for lake trout!

THIS is the real calling of those pesky shoe laces.

Hope's idea.

I think they had about as much success as Anne of Green Gables.

I prefer to keep my laces dry, though, thank you. These poor shoes have had enough wear and tear as it is. I won't subject them to a swim in lake water.

No fish for dinner. But you can't say they didn't try.

Mother likes this place. :)

Daddy met us half way back with the little one who got a wild ride back from big sis. :) This is how YOU'D want to wake up from your nap, isn't it?

End of another fun day. :)