Another Saturday // Baked Oatmeal Autumn-Style

Time flies when you're having fun! Wait a minute. Time flies even when you're not having fun! How can another week have passed already?

But indeed it has. 

Since last week, there have been some setbacks. Ron is fighting an infection in his foot and is on a new course of antibiotics. Plans have been changed yet again. His week of vacation has been mostly spent in the recliner with his foot propped up. 

This has been a week for "little pleasures." 

The little pleasure of a "regular" Sunday afternoon.

The shoes of my dear ones lined up at the back door.

The little pleasure of a drive out of town, a lovely lunch, and a bit of house ogling. 

The little pleasure of having a family dinner party, as planned, because they would understand the need to move into the living room right after dinner for Ron to get that foot propped back up. We wanted to thank Ron's brother and brother-in-law for their generous help in building the pole shed, so we were happy that these plans did not have to be changed. 

Could somebody straighten that candle please? :)

The little pleasure of another house-y drive, carryout from Chipotle, and a Netflix movie. 

The little pleasure of sleeping in (or at least not getting up before 6 am!) and time for unhurried chats. 

The little pleasure of a weekend breakfast.

BAKED OATMEAL

{with apples and cranberries}

Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar*

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

2 eggs

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 cup pecans**

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

Pour into an 11x13 baking dish that has been buttered or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
Bake for 30 minutes.

Serve warm, with a little milk if you'd like. Refrigerate leftovers to reheat on weekday mornings!


* Original recipe calls for 1 cup brown sugar, but I decreased it by half.
** Oops! I forgot to add my pecans. Bummer.

What little pleasures have graced your week?

A Word Fitly Spoken

A few of you have written to ask if we're doing okay. We are!! 

I certainly am not keeping up with everything as I would like. Ron is unable to drive while recovering from foot surgery (this first surgery was on the right foot). I am needing to take him to work which means rising before dawn and zipping out the door. (Ha! Zipping? Who am I kidding? I never zip.) I am typically a 7 or 7:30 riser, and then I move s-l-o-w-l-y into my day. I am not a morning person. 

My workload is also a little heavier with Ron not able to do as much, although he is gradually able to pick things back up. Of course, it would help if I would get to bed earlier to make up for the earlier rising! I am doing better with that, but on the nights that Kati works late, I stay up until she's home...and then we usually sit and talk for a while. 

So...add the little bit of extra to my regular routine of homeschooling and homemaking...then consider the fact that I am s-l-o-w to begin with (and have been my entire life!!)...thus the feeling that I am merely walking along steadily, not accomplishing much, just getting through my day doing the basics. 

Then I read this comment from Dotsie: 

Sometimes in our zeal to accomplish we forget how good just walking is. One step at a time. We don't need the big picture.

...and her words spoke life to me! I needed to be reminded "how good just walking is."

It is good to be steady. It is good to walk. This is a season and I am only responsible to do what He has given me to do in this season. There is such rest in that. 

All week, I have looked forward to today! And this Saturday got off to a lovely start. I slept in, Ron made pumpkin French toast for two, and then we took our second cups of coffee out to the patio and relished the beautiful October morning. I have only a few tasks on my must-do list today. Relaxation is the order of the day! We'll also celebrate our grandson Ben's seventh birthday this evening. Good times! 

I hope that you, too, are finding joy in "walking." 

Are you relishing this fine October Saturday? 

Walking

There are seasons of life when that is what we do. We walk.

No running.

Certainly no soaring.

Just walking.

And "doing the next thing."

All by His grace...

Gathering the Moments of September

September provided opportunities to worry.

Yikes! My baby young adult daughter is driving a major city beltway! ~cringe~

Yikes! Our old stray cat is not feeling well. Will I be able to crate him to take him to the vet? Will we be able to treat him? 

Yikes! My husband is having surgery. Will he be in pain? How will we accommodate his needs in this old farmhouse (bedrooms upstairs, bathroom downstairs)? How long will he be out of work? Will I need to drive him to work when he returns? For how long? And then we'll get to do this all over again.

Yikes! I can't make any plans. (And I am a planner.) There is so much up in the air. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow, let alone next week or the week after that or next month.

Yikes! My oldest daughter's routine sonogram left some uncertainties. Is this baby okay? How can we wait until the Level II sonogram to find out? Nine days is a long wait. 

Yes, we had plenty of opportunities to consider these words of Corrie ten Boom and put them to the test. Times to "Be still and know that I am God." 

Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength - carrying two days at once.  It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time.  Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength. ~ Corrie ten Boom ~

Worry doesn't accomplish anything. And it is the opposite of trust. So we moved on, trying to carry just that one day, doing our best to depend on Him for the strength to meet each day's needs. Sometimes it is hard not to "carry tomorrow's load" for it looms there in front of us and begs for attention. But He is faithful to provide...as we trust Him for one day at a time. 
  

In September, we celebrated the fifth birthday of a little girl who will soon be a big sister. We bought a new living room rug after nearly a year of looking. We had our good-bye-to-summer ice cream party. And we watched the sun rise over the ocean.

Ron and Kati spent a weekend away, attending a Michael Card conference with Ryan and then visiting with their family. Kati did all of the driving and successfully navigated the beltway. Meanwhile, Bekah and I held down the fort and had a delightful "just us girls" weekend.

We bought some mums and pumpkins, took some walks, went on a field trip, and waited for the weather to cool. 

We learned that the new baby will be a granddaughter...and that she is healthy! Praise the Lord! 

Bekah is getting into the groove as a high schooler. 

We still can't make a lot of plans, but we're trying to be patient and live out the day that is before us. 

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 

Matthew 6:34