My sweet Lily turned 1 on Monday. I can't believe how fast this year has flown by. Here's some pictures of her little party that we had here with just our family. After her cake, the sugar made her CRAZY...glad it's not a daily intake for her! She has been a blessing to our family. The Lord has given her such a happy disposition, and she brings smiles out of everyone she meets. Her Nani and Papa sent her some pretty clothes, and toys. She LOVES anything that makes music, and claps instantaneously when she hears it. (Good choice, Nani!) It has been so nice to be home with Lily...it is not without it's sacrifices, but she is worth every one and more!

Josh had his first soccer game tonight. He is on the U10 team (under 10) which means that all the players are 8 and 9 years old. Josh is the very youngest. This is his first time playing on a full sized field, with full sized goals. The park here in Belton is really nice, and since they play on weeknights, they get to play under the lights, which Josh thinks is pretty cool. Being the youngest on his team hasn't slowed him down one bit. Tonight's game was a shut out...we won something like 12-0. Josh scored 3 of the 12 goals! Halfway through the game, Josh got kicked in the foot. It blew a hole right in his cleats. Granted these cleats have been used for two seasons now, and I believe they were used for a season or two by his cousin Matt, too. But even though Josh had a GAPING hole, which exposed his blue sock, he kept on going, scoring the second and third of his goals with basically half a cleat. Too bad we didn't have any duct tape in the car...Josh would have been MORTIFIED! Great first game! Jonathan plays tomorrow night. Hope we don't have any more cleat blow outs!

Bread...of life

I opened the cabinet today, and discovered that I had some yeast that I had bought a while ago but never used. I decide to, once again, TRY to make some homemade bread. I say TRY, because I have never successfully made bread from scratch. (My bread maker that I used to have doesn't count!). I found a simple recipe from a blogger that I frequently read, and started to prepare my yeast. I followed the recipe pretty well, and put my dough to rest. It didn't rise...same as usual. So I made some flour tortillas out of that batch and some funny looking donuts with cinnamon and sugar. (haha). A little disappointed, I went back to the recipe. I carefully reread the instructions. I had used milk and sugar to prepare my yeast, but I think the milk was too hot, and killed my yeast all together. I didn't realize that you could kill yeast. I kept reading. "Knead for ten minutes"....hmm....I probably kneaded for about three minutes.  I wondered if that made a difference. So I looked up online about yeast (probably should have done that first) and I learned about gluten and the importance of kneading.I definitely went wrong there. So, I rolled up my sleeves, and I started all over gain. I measured out the milk, warmed it just right. Added sugar and the yeast and set the timer for exactly ten minutes. When that was done, I followed the recipe word for word. When it came time to knead, I set my timer for ten minutes. I started to knead on the same floured board that I had used earlier but because it still had small pieces of the other dough on it, my new dough kept sticking. So I turned it over to the spotless side, floured it and started kneading. At first it seemed as though the dough looked and felt exactly the same. I kept kneading, and kneading. My arms were exhausted. I kept going. Suddenly, the dough started to change. It was becoming more pliable. It wasn't sticking at all. The texture of the bread changed completely.It was really amazing to see. I know I have never kneaded bread for that long before because I have never seen it change like that. As my last minute counted down, I started to think about what I was doing. I started to think about how the bread represented something very valuable.

The clean cutting board represented a life when you give it to Jesus. Clean slate, new beginning, and things old are passed away. Adding the ingredients correctly represents being obedient to the Lord. Following His direction, His ways, His path. The kneading represents the hand and timing of God. Sometimes God has to knead us for a long time. Sometimes we are thick and hard headed, and we need the firm pressure of the Father to work out some of the places in our lives that are not conformed to His word. With firm touch, we are molded and transformed into a new creation. Clay in the potter's hand.

Well, here's my finished loaf-it rose! Next time, I need to use a bigger pan! I bet, when you make bread next time, you'll never see it as only bread again! =)

Fun with the camera