Someone at our house got out of bed on the wrong side this morning. (Hint: It wasn't the dad or the boys or the girl.)

After prayer, repentance, and apologizing, I turned off the computer for the day and got busy.

Hard work is always a good, productive way to vent some steam, and with three young children it's never difficult to fill a day with hard work.

It rained all day. I'm looking forward to getting out tomorrow, and I know the children are, too. The laundry piles up quickly when there are 3 rainy days in a row. :)

"'And there was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.'

"So ends the work of creation; and with nightfall, a new world is about to begin. A world of holiness and tranquility. A world within a day, the seventh day. For on the seventh day, God rested, and God blessed the seventh day, and God sanctified it."

-Yarda Hashabbat (the Sabbath descends)

We've received a number of requests for us to share more about how we observe the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the highlight of our weeks, and we are so blessed and refreshed by its observance! :)

Read more...

Some questions left by a recent commenter:

Your cooking is very rich. What are your thoughts on postpartum weight loss and being thin verses chubby? What are your thoughts on how media portrays beauty?

First, if you haven't already done so, you might enjoy reading my post titled Balance in Eating from a couple months ago. :) That post sort of explains our typical diet, which might not be quite as lavish as initially appears from the many recipes here. ;)

I am not what I would consider particularly thin, but I am also not considered overweight according to charts. Since weight and size varies so much from person to person, I'll just say that I am at the very top of what is considered a healthy weight for my height.

Of course, true healthiness isn't about certain numbers on the scale, and I actually don't weigh myself very often at all, since doing so only reminds me of what the scale used to say when I was 18... which was a considerably smaller number. I've found that doing things to be healthy (exercising, drinking lots of water, eating good foods, etc.) and not focusing on my weight is the best way for me to keep a good perspective on things! :)

I know thin people and chubby people who are unhealthy. I also know thin people as well as chubby people who are very healthy. Exercise and diet are far more important than a clothing size or a number on the scales.

About postpartum weight loss -- I think any weight loss should be done in a healthy manner. Not too quickly, and with exercise and healthy eating as the focus.

I was going to write out all my thoughts about postpartum weight loss, but found this article which pretty much covers everything. :) I personally don't worry about or try to lose weight until my baby is at least a couple months old. And no, I'm not one of those people who just lose all the extra weight without some effort. ;)

How the media portrays beauty? I haven't seen much true beauty in mainstream media. I am thankful that my husband sees me as beautiful just like I am. And honestly, we rarely expose ourselves to modern secular media outside of the news (which we read online). :)

Louise asked this question on my last pregnancy update:

I have been wondering how you manage to stay in shape while eating all the yummy food and desserts that you make?

Good question! :) I think one of the pitfalls of having a food blog is that most of my blogging centers around, well, food... even though food isn't the focus of my existence, and we certainly believe in and practice moderation! :)

I honestly don't cook large fancy meals all the time... or even most of the time. A typical family dinner for us usually includes three foods -- a main dish (with meat), a cooked vegetable, a side bread/pasta/potato, and whatever else I happen to have (fruit, salad, baked goods). You might notice this in the pictures I post of our dinner plates: I usually take a picture of the plate of food I am about to eat... so if the plate is one-third or one-half full of cooked veggies, that's what I'm really eating! :) 

We do love to make bigger meals for company, so when we have guests, we end up having a much larger meal (5-6 foods plus dessert). When it's just us, I don't usually have a special dessert made. We might have a little ice cream from the freezer, or I might have some muffins on hand, but we don't have dessert every day.

Joshua does make some really amazing cheesecakes, but even those aren't our everyday fare. ;) The last cheesecake Joshua made was about 3 weeks ago, and we served some to our dinner guests. I froze the leftover pieces, and have eaten three (small) pieces since then. There's still cheesecake in our freezer, which will probably last until the next special occasion when Joshua makes a new one! :)

So, we eat fairly balanced meals, and keep our portions in check. In the warmer months, I love taking brisk walks (some of my exercise ideas can be found here!), though I must confess that exercizing regularly is something I have to work at.

We had such a fun, full day of visiting with family. :) I slept in until 8 this morning, and then started right in on my dinner rolls. Joshua made breakfast for us, and then made some eggless egg nog. :) Yes, I know there is cheesecake in this picture... we will get the recipe typed up tomorrow! :)

The dinner rolls took up most of the morning (with no time for pictures -- so I'll take some tomorrow!) and in-between forming rolls and baking them, we managed to fit showers and kitchen clean-up and getting-ready-to-go. :)

Yehoshua and Eliyahu had a blast playing with their cousins, and completely wore themselves out. When we got back home at 7 pm, they both went straight to bed! :) At their ages right now (3.5 and almost-2), they are old enough to play nicely with other children and don't get into so much trouble. I could actually visit with other people while keeping an eye on them as they played! :)

In many ways, this time before the new baby's birth is relaxing, and I'm enjoying some of the freedoms of having "older" children. :) I know I will enjoy having a newborn in a few months, but I'm also enjoying "right now"...

I have spent wasted far too many moments waiting for everything to be "perfect" before being thankful, content, and happy. It's so much better to just stop -- and enjoy the right now with which I've been blessed. :)

I wrote this post for my personal journal in March of 2006, back when Eliyahu was a newborn. :)

Have you ever heard of someone praying that they would enjoy cloth diapers? Well, I did, 2 days ago.

"Wait a minute," I know you're thinking, "isn't this the girl who raved about using cloth diapers just a year or so ago?!"

Well, let me tell you about why I prayed... and how Yahweh answered :)

(Read the entire post!)

I recently read something that got me thinking about my blog content.

And since I write a recipe and cooking blog, I post a lot about food. I also enjoy making things from scratch, and pinching pennies. My blog content is focused and doesn't always have a lot of variety in topic, but not because I don't care about lots of things. There's only so much time in the day, and I have to choose a tiny portion of our lives to write about!

We've never really felt the luxury of "lots" of money, and if we didn't live frugally, we would be deep into debt by now. Sure, we do without some things that we could probably afford... like going out to eat. (Actually, our reasons for not going out to eat are more about quality preferences!) 

I'm sure we could manage eating out once a week. But could we manage eating out, buying ready-made foods, driving the car frequently, always using the electric dryer, buying disposable diapers, buying new clothing, and without everything else we do to save money? Absolutely not!

But your budget might allow for more of those things. And I hope you know that I think that's perfectly fine! :) I'm really into homemade bagels right now, but that doesn't mean I think everyone has to make their own. I use cloth diapers, I love cloth diapering, but you can use whatever keeps your baby clean and dry! (Just don't complain to me about the price, that's all! ;D)

I love simple, everyday things. I like to cook, I love Yahweh, and I love my family. So this is just my little disclaimer... yes, there are more important things than the things I blog about. And no, I'm not over here passing judgment on those of you who really don't want to make homemade laundry soap or use old socks for dishrags! ;)

It amazes me sometimes, how my Heavenly Father knows exactly what I need, and when. I love getting encouraging comments and emails, like this comment posted earlier today:

"I've been reading your blog for a few months, and I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy it. Of all the different blogs I read, this one makes me feel the most comfortable or at home :) I guess maybe because we have similar interests and you seem to be an easy going person. I just felt like I needed to tell you that you are encouraging and uplifting and I am blessed to get to read your words :) Thanks so much!  --Jessica, mom to three BUSY little girls"

And here, all day, I had been wondering, "How in the world can I blog a real picture of what I think about life in general?!" I know the answer is that I can't, and I don't have to be able to! :) But I'm so thankful that God is using this little website to encourage others!

But it's late, and I'm rambling. Good night! :)

Self-discipline. You know, I have so far to go on this one!

I'm working on a list of goals for our family right now (well, mostly for me, involving the children, since Joshua has his goals already mapped out!) and I need to set some more (better) boundaries for myself.

One of my goals is to exercise regularly. Exercise is so beneficial, in the short term (energy!) and long term (overall health). I really can't sit here worrying about this or that additive in my food, when I refuse to get adequate exercise.

I may not be able to eat 100% organic food and avoid every single harmful ingredient completely, but I CAN exercise. So why worry about what we can't change, when we're not even doing the things we CAN?!

So, when I saw Crystal's new podcast yesterday, I forced myself to not listen to it. Instead, I listened to it while I exercized this morning! It was an enjoyable listen, as I expected! ;)

After being rather sick for almost a month, I'm excited about feeling well again and getting back into exercizing!! :)

In every generation let each man look on himself as if he came forth out of Egypt.

As it is said: "And you shall tell your son in that day, saying: It is because of that which Yahweh did for me when I came forth out of Egypt" (Exodus 13:8).

It was not only our fathers that the Holy One, blessed be He, redeemed, but us as well did He redeem along with them.

As it is said: "And He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He swore to our fathers" (Deuteronomy 6:23).

Therefore, we are bound to thank, praise, laud, glorify, exalt, honor, bless, extol, and adore Him Who performed all these miracles for our fathers and for us. He has brought us forth from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to celebration, from darkness to great light, and from bondage to redemption.

From a Haggadah provided by Beit Hallel

May our Heavenly Father grant you a blessed Passover as we remember Yeshua's sacrifice, atonement, and deliverance!

February comes, and the stores start trying to market things which they say will show our loved ones that we care about them. Be it flowers or candy, spending money is supposed to prove our love.

But love isn't meant to be shown one day or even one month out of the year. As the second greatest commandment, "Love one another", thoughts of love should be on our minds daily. Read more...