3 Ingredient Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yup, that's right, these bad boys only take three ingredients and they turn out REALLY GOOD! So here you go:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 spice cake mix
• 1 small can of pumpkin
• chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients. Spoon out onto greased baking sheet (dough will be very gooey so they don't turn out to be the prettiest cookies around). Bake at 350 for 7-9 minutes.

Enjoy!

No More 3 Year Olds!

My house is now free and clear of the tantrum throwing, stubborn, way too independent, annoying, button pushing little person otherwise known as a 3 year old. Now that Nathan is 4 he will magically turn into the sweet, obedient, patient, and polite little boy that was smothered by being three....right??? I can't believe that I survived another 3 year old. In my mind the "terrible twos" are nothing compared to the "just put me out of my misery now threes".
Here are some of the "Nathan-isms" that got me through this year with a good laugh:

• I was with him as he went potty in a crowded public bathroom. We were crammed together in that tiny stall and he started to talk...LOUD. And it wasn't just any talk, it was a complete minute by minute narrative of his and those around us pooping activities...which was taking FOREVER. I finally said "Shh, Nathan, you need to be quiet." He got a confused look on his face and asked "Why mommy, are people sleeping on the toilet?" 
• At dinner he asked me "What did Travis eat?" I answered "A pea"..."Is pea a vegetable?"..."Yes, you are so smart, peas are vegetables." "Is poo a vegetable?"...."Oh never mind, you are hopeless."
• When he sneezes he says "I had a bless you"
• He came up to Eric and said, "Dad, you are dick-u-less" It took us a minute to figure out that he was saying ridiculous.

Adios threes and hello fabulous fours, I am so glad that you are here! I have waited so long for you to come! I know that the effects of the threes may linger, but I will hold out for that fabulous four year old that is just waiting to get out!

No Motivation

For the past few weeks I have had little to no motivation. 0 motivation to clean the house. 0 motivation to blog. 0 motivation to work out. 0 motivation to do anything productive. 100% motivation to relax and take it easy. I am sure taking advantage of this lack of motivation while it lasts because I know that I will eventually snap out of it and get back into my cleaning, cooking, running, weeding, and blogging frenzy. So until then...ta ta for now, I'm off to follow the wonderful example of Travis (minus the thumb sucking...I haven't sunk that far into my laziness...yet)

Acres of Diamonds

The story is told of Ali Hafed, a wealthy ancient Persian who owned much land and many productive fields, orchards, and gardens and had money out at interest. He had a lovely family and at first was contented because he was wealthy, and wealthy because he was contented.

An old priest came to Ali Hafed and told him that if he had a diamond the size of his thumb, he could purchase a dozen farms like his. Ali Hafed said, “Will you tell me where I can find diamonds?”

The priest told him, “If you will find a river that runs through white sands, between high mountains, in those white sands you will always find diamonds.”

Said Ali Hafed, “I will go.”

So he sold his farm, collected his money that was at interest, and left his family in charge of a neighbor, and away he went in search of diamonds, traveling through many lands in Asia and Europe. After years of searching, his money was all spent, and he passed away in rags and wretchedness.

Meanwhile, the man who purchased Ali Hafed’s farm one day led his camel out into the garden to drink, and as the animal put his nose into the shallow waters, the farmer noticed a curious flash of light in the white sands of the stream. Reaching in, he pulled out a black stone containing a strange eye of light. Not long after, the same old priest came to visit Ali Hafed’s successor and found that in the black stone was a diamond. As they rushed out into the garden and stirred up the white sands with their fingers, they came up with many more beautiful, valuable gems. According to the story, this marked the discovery of the diamond mines of Golconda, the most valuable diamond mines in the history of the ancient world.

Had Ali Hafed remained at home and dug in his own cellar or anywhere in his own fields, rather than traveling in strange lands where he eventually faced starvation and ruin, he would have had “acres of diamonds” (story paraphrased from Russell H. Conwell, Acres of Diamonds [1960], 10–14).

Ali went in search of his happiness to a far off place and ended up with nothing. I sometimes find myself looking for happiness in a far-off time...."I will be so happy when I don't have to buy diapers anymore"; "I will be so happy when Nathan stops his tantrums"; "I will be so happy if I could lose 10 pounds"; "I will be the happiest person on earth when my house it paid off"...you get the idea. I need to search for happiness right here and right now. I need to treasure the little moments of bliss that come and just be happy NOW :) I am going to start harvesting my acres of diamonds by recognizing those moments of happiness more often.

Faith Behind the Fences

Faith Behind the Fences by Kelly Dispirito Taylor is the true story of Hanny Londt-Shultz and her family while they were imprisoned in a Japanese prison camp in Sumatra during WWII. Despite the starvation, disease, and forced labor in the camps, the family finds hope and faith and recognizes many small miracles that get them through the 3 1/2 years of captivity. I loved this book. It was very inspirational in that you can find faith and hope anywhere and anytime...just pay attention to the small, tender mercies that the Lord blesses us with.

"You know Peggy, the first few months we were in Palembang, I prayed every day to be released from that godforsaken place, sometimes several times a day. I was starting to feel kind of discouraged, thinking that maybe God wasn't answering my prayers. Then one evening it dawned on me. Sometimes our big problems aren't taken away, but, instead, little blessings might come along to ease our burdens and help us remember He is still watching over us."...I guess some of my Mammy's faith had rubbed off on me, because as I stood there sawing, I couldn't imagine there not being a God to watch over us or to listen to our prayers. Some might say it is ironic to hear such thoughts come from a prisoner of war, someone who had lived in captivity for more than three years and experienced deprivations of all types, but that was how I felt as I stood there pushing the saw back and forth with my sister under the thick tree canopy in a remote prison camp in the jungle of Sumatra.