LOST

Okay, I have to admit that I am a LOST fan (after all it is filmed here on Oahu) and I am really excited about the season premiere tonight...a two hour special. At the end of last season I was as usual "lost" as to what in the world was going on and was ready to give it up...especially when they decided to start season 4 six months late. But J.J. Abrams is a clever guy and has once again captured my curiosity. So I have watched last seasons episodes on abc.com to catch up and I can't wait! How did they get off the island? Did they all get off the island? Who was it that rescued them? Why did Jack want to go back?

proverbs wisdom

We are studying the book of Proverbs in our Bible Study and I read this verse:

"A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control." Proverbs 29:11

The Holy Spirit can definitely speak to us through Scripture. That one seemed to be written for me at that moment.

Yesterday A, B and C needed to get done and one child was whining while they other was pulling on my sleeve trying to ask me something. Instead of asking for wisdom and keeping my emotions under control, I had a psycho mom moment and raised my voice with Ethan. I had to ask for forgiveness from Ethan. Thankfully he forgave me and thankfully I have a God that gives wisdom and knowledge (all we have to do is ask and seek) and a Savior that as Ethan says "takes my dirty heart and makes it clean."

random thoughts

Monday seems to bring out random thoughts. Partly because Monday is my least favorite day of the week and I have a hard time getting started...which leads to my wasting time and having random thoughts. So besides my hair turning gray, here is another tidbit.

People say that it takes about a year in Hawaii before you adjust to the heat and find it bearable to live without air conditioning. Well I didn't believe them when they said it because I seem to be the only one that sweats here and is hot...and we're going on 2 1/2 years here. So lately it has gotten rather chilly especially at night and I made a comment to someone that it seems to be colder this year than last year. They laughed and said it looks like my body has adjusted to Hawaii weather. I wanted to prove them wrong so I set up an indoor thermometer we have in our bedroom so I could show that it really is cold here lately. I knew it would at least get down to the 60's at night if not the 50's. Well sad to say it read only 73. I am officially a wimp.

hair dye?

I just found my second gray hair on my head. Is this a sign of a head full of gray hair by the time I'm 40? I'm so against hair dye because of the upkeep and expense, but it might be a necessity soon. Okay maybe I'm overreacting.

pull out your bread machines

Sorry to put this picture back up again. I know some of you were tired of looking at it during my computer crash/lull in my blog. But I can't have a recipe without a picture.

I had to pull out my bread machine and dust it off for this one. But I love it because the machine does all the work and I just had to roll it out. Here is our new Christmas day breakfast tradition recipe (thanks to my friend Janelle):

Clone of a Cinnabon

1 cup warm milk

2 eggs

1/3 cup butter, melted

4 1/2 cups bread flour

1 t. salt

1/2 cup white sugar

2 1/2 t. yeast

*ingredients to spread on dough once the machine is done with it:

1 cup brown sugar

2 1/2 T cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, softened

Place the first set of ingredients in your bread machine in order recommended by manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press START. When cycle is done turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat over to 400 degrees. Bake rolls about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

And the icing that makes these rolls a clone:

1/2 package of cream cheese

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 T milk

Add icing to warm rolls and enjoy. And no these aren't low-fat, healthy or probably good for your arteries cinnamon rolls, but these are our once a year treat....it's all about moderation.

happy new year

I know this is a little late but this is Jude wishing everyone a happy new year. He is talking more and more lately...most of which can only be interpreted by me. But this one was prettty clear.

can you find the anole?

I just found out recently that the lizards that are in abundance here are actually called anoles...at least the outdoor ones are called that. The indoor ones are geckos. So I found this one out in our backyard while I was taking pictures of the kiddo's and thought it would be a neat picture. Do you see it?

a 4 year olds perspective

As Ethan and I were counting our numbers from 1 to 100, I started pointing out how old we were on the chart. First Jude and then Ethan. Then we pointed to how old daddy is and then finally me....to which Ethan replied:

"Wow mommy, you're almost old."

I'm glad it's only "almost" and not "really."

a hawaiian tea

Today was our first WIC event for the new year. We had a women's tea and brunch. I love getting together for fellowship and great food.

Whenever I do an event like this I always think how I would rather be behind the scenes doing something, and not be the person in charge...I just want to be comfortable and have an easy life. Our pastor's wife spoke at the tea today and she talked about how we grow the most when we are taken out of our comfort zones. If we're comfortable we tend to think that we can rely on our own strength, but when we are overwhelmed and uncomfortable we can't do anything but fall on our knees before God. This has definitely been my experience this year, but I'm sad to say that at times my first reaction wasn't to run to God for strength and comfort. So I thought I would share some things that God is continuing to teach me through this experience of being WIC president:

1. God's strength is mightier than anything I could muster up in myself
2. loving a difficult person can only be done with the love God has given me and he commands me to love my neighbor
3. delegate and trust that those people will get it done even if it's not how I would have done it
4. patience, patience, patience
5. enjoy the process and not be impatient for the end result
6. be flexible for things not to go the way I had planned
7. I am a selfish person that takes for granted God's grace in my life
8. people come from all different backgrounds and I should never judge a person
9. if I lose joy in the process, then I need to step back and ask God for joy
10. #1 goal in all that I do should be that God would be glorified and that His glory would be seen
11. I have an amazing husband, that I take for granted, who loves and supports me in all that I do (such as doing laundry, watching the boys and cleaning up the house while I was at the tea this morning so that when I came home I could relax)

Thank you Lord for your sanctification, that you show me my weaknesses. Please help me to be teachable so that I will know (and live) that your grace is sufficent.

chocolate chip flaxseed cookies

I found this recipe in a magazine. Usually when I try a recipe from a magazine it never turns out right...it's like they don't test the recipes before they print them. But this cookie recipe was super tasty and with some healthy ingredients...the 1/2 cup flaxseed equals more healthy lignans (antioxidants) than 10 cups of broccoli. Anyway they've been a big hit around here...even with Jason, so if we have to eat cookies why not make them a little healthy too.

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/4 cups unbleached white flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup ground flaxseed meal

1 T vanilla extract

3/4 cup natural brown sugar

1/2 cup unbleached, natural granulated sugar

1 egg

1 12-oz. package dark chocolate chips (or semi-sweet)

2 T water (I added this ingredient because it needed it)

Cream butter, flaxseed meal and sugars until mixed. Add egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and soda. Mix thoroughly and stir wet ingredients. This is when I added the water to make the dough form a ball. Add chocolate chips. Drop onto cookie sheet (they are very stiff cookies so you have to mash them a little before you bake them). Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

I'm back...

...on a temporary computer. Our computer is still out but I am glad that we have this laptop to use for now. So here's a quick review of what's been going on in the Wood Family:

Youth Group Winter Camp over the holidays. We were up in the mountains of Hawaii and boy were we cold. We had to search for our "winter" clothes before we left. We stayed in this great old house and had a blast with the youth group kids. I was glad that Ethan, Jude and I got to make it this year. Great memories...ropes course, playing games, eating smores around the campfire, playing truth or dare with the girls until 1:30am, great quiet times and silly string wars.

Our New Year's Eve fondue dinner....cheese, bread and chocolate, oh my!

Waiting outside of the Pearl Harbor Memorial in the trees. We were there with our friends the Perrins and the Burlews who were seeing a few sights before they left to go back home that evening. They came in town from Pennsylvania to train the teachers at the Elementary School on Christian Classical Education. I know many teachers were encouraged, challenged and inspired. It's a very exciting time for our school.

Hanging out with our buddy Josh in the backyard. Ethan was sad when Josh's school started back up.

We've seen quite a few rainbows lately with all the rain we've had. I love winter weather in Hawaii...it's cold enough to wear jeans but not cold enough to wear socks.

A couple of yummy recipes coming soon...