Loving Life

  • Recipe: Strawberry Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes

    Strawberry cupcake with a dark chocolate center

    The fun part about having kids is they inspire you to experiment.  The girls and I were busy doing something in the kitchen and had to make a dessert for an upcoming event so I told them to pick out a box cake mix out of the pantry.  They picked out a Strawberry Cake mix and as we were talking about all the different strawberries recipes we love it lead into can we make something super special with the strawberry cupcakes……..something that would be a surprise for those eating the cupcakes???  That’s when we came up with the Strawberry Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes!

    It is super easy to make too.  Take your favorite cake mix, make it according to directions, pour into cupcake liners, and bake for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes add a piece of chocolate to the center of each cupcake.  The chocolate will sink to the middle of the cupcake and melt.  We used dark chocolate eggs left over from our Easter candy stash.  The girls were so happy to bring their strawberry cupcakes with a chocolate surprise to their friends.  We did have chocolate frosting and half vanilla frosting (sorry I didn’t get a picture of a cupcake frosted).

    You can see the dark chocolate pieces sinking down into the cupcakes in the picture.  Can you tell which rows the girls put the chocolate into first?!  🙂  This is a great recipe to try with your kids.  They love being able to help unwrap and put the chocolate pieces into the cupcakes, plus they are super excited to share the treat with family and friends.

  • Teaching Our Children: The Value of Learning

    Jake reading to the girls

    Jake and I have made it a priority to read to our girls because it is such a important skill to help them continue to learn.  It is our desire to read to them or with them every day.    When life gets really busy it doesn’t always happen but it is an activity all of us enjoy.  Many times in the evening Jake will read to them after dinner.  The girls love picking out a book to read, listening to us read, and looking at any pictures that are in the book.

    On this particular day the girls picked out a book about raising and caring for goats for Daddy to read to them (yes there is more to the reason behind them picking out this particular book, I will give more information on this topic soon).  It is so sweet watching Jake read to the girls and hearing all their questions.  Thankful for those opportunities to slow down, sit down, and relax reading with the kids.  Whether it is to spend quality time with your child or you get excited when your child asks the meaning of a new word or you want your child to develop her academic skills the time you spend reading with your child is valuable.

    Here are a few benefits that I have discovered while reading to my kids:

    • Develops a love for reading and a story
    • Improved confidence in school
    • Increased language development
    • Demonstrates a variety communication skills and styles
    • Opens up many new worlds and adventures for them
    • Quality time with you
    • Stimulates their imagination and creativity

    There are many reasons why it is important to read to your children.  As summer vacation quickly approaches I am reminded of the importance of reading with the girls.  When the girls and I are reading a “chapter book” as they call it together they are always asking me to read the next chapter because they are so excited to hear what happens next.  I think the most chapters they convinced me to read in one sitting was seven, I was having a blast following the story too!  I want to encourage you to find ways to incorporate reading into your schedule everyday even over the summer break.  How do you stimulate a healthy and fun reading environment for your kids over summer vacation?

    Daddy reading about “goats” to the girls

    I love Karlie’s intent look and Brina’s crazy listening position.  They make me laugh but also reminds me of the many blessings in my life too!

  • Teaching Our Children: Spring Into Reading

    Our filled reading tree

    Last year I started a reading tree for the girls in the Spring and we continued to fill it with leaves through the Summer.  I wanted to find a way to encourage the girls to read.  They had blast adding  leaves to the reading tree.  It was a great visual way for them to see how much they were reading.  Each member of the family had a different color leaf to hang up when a book was read.  The girls also did a summer reading program through our local library and one online as well.

    Spring into reading tree full of leaves!

    As the school year ends in a  few weeks and as summer vacation is getting closer it is now time for me to come up with another fun reading activity for the kids.  I have a couple ideas for this summers reading adventure and will be sharing it with you soon.  What ways do you encourage your children to read throughout the summer vacation?

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    It has been a wonderful, crazy, and memory packed few weeks since I last updated my weekly goals.  Recently I have had the opportunity to travel to several amazing places both in the USA and overseas including Qatar, India, Charleston and more!  Plus we have had family and friends visiting with us from around the world too.  Life has been a bundle of adventures and memories.  There is so much to catch up on….  It has been several weeks since I had a “normal” week I am not sure what it looks like anymore, nevertheless, I need to re-focus and stay on top of the goals I have set for myself this year.  Thanks for hanging in there with me during this time of travel and a house full of guests!  I have started posting some pictures and tidbits on my adventures these last few weeks and will have more to share soon!  Since I have family guests from Indonesia staying with me this week I tried to make the list short so I can spend the extra time with family.

    Here is the update on last “months” goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day – there were a few days that I was not able to Skype with the girls when I was overseas
    2. Write and mail cards
    3. Spend quality time with Jake – I had an amazing time catching up, exploring, and traveling with my man overseas
    4. Date Night with Jake
    5. Visit extended Family – we had the opportunity to go visit Jake’s cousin Matt and his family while we were in India, we had a BLAST!

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – ummmm….I did a lot of walking and sightseeing but never really kept track of it
    2. Finish reading Who Got Peanut Butter on My Daily Planner by Cindy Sigler Dagnam – finished reading it on the airplane
    3. Keep an up-to-date written & photo log all the adventures this week – I took a lot of pictures, but I didn’t stay on top of the writing piece

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Take time to talk, listen, and encourage the people I encounter this week
    3. Be a blessing to a total stranger this week – I probably could have done even more, there were so many little things that I enjoyed doing for others during my travels.  Here’s one example – I gave out several disposable toothbrushes to several fellow travelers on my journeys.  A couple times while I was using the Colgate Wisps someone would ask me, “where did you get that?” and after telling them I brought it with me from home I would offer them one, it was amazing how many people appreciated this simple gesture.

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay on track with budgeted amount for the week – need to get our budget back up-to-date and back on track

    Here are my goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Spend quality time with our Guests
    3. Spend quality time with Jake
    4. Date Night with Jake
    5. Participate in a fun kid activity (go to the park, play, or explore)
    6. Do a creative craft with the kids

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Finish reading  How We Love Our Kids by Milan & Kay Yerkovich

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Take time to talk, listen, and encourage the people I encounter this week
    3. Be a blessing to a total stranger this week

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay on track with budgeted amount for the week

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results

  • Never Alone

    It has been a full week of activities, guests, work, and so much more.  There have been many moments of celebration and joy as well as some moments of  great tears.  During this week we received news from three different families about the loss of one of their children.  After processing the news it can be tough as a friend knowing the right  words to say and finding ways to be an encouragement to the family during such a painful time.  Earlier this week while I was going through my email I came across one from DaySpring that has stuck in my mind and I want to share it with you.  This little piece was such an encouragement to me during unusual week.  It is called “Never Alone”

    Never Alone

    You’re never alone. God is with you.
    He knows your name.
    He numbers the hairs on your head.
    He understands the cares in your heart.
    Every morning, He’s by your side.
    Every night, He watches over you as you sleep.
    There’s never a moment you’re not in His thoughts…
    never a day you’re not in His care.
    You’re never on your own.
    He whispers to your heart, “You’re forever My own.”

    I wasn’t planning on sharing this but after all the events that have unfolded in the past week (including the loss of three young children) I think it is important that we occasionally see some words of encouragement.  I do not know what you are going through today, but whether you are on a hilltop rejoicing or in the valley with tears in your eyes we can take comfort in knowing we are never alone.  Even though life has a way of throwing us curve balls and taking us through trials that are painful we know that each one was placed in our life for a specific purpose.

    Take time to focus on the amazing blessings you have given then spend a few moments thinking of ways you can make a positive impact on the lives around you.  After brainstorming pick one activity and do it for someone else whether it is saying “congratulations” or words of “sympathy” let someone know you care about them.  It can be as simple as an email, phone call, text, meal, flowers, or card and will probably only take you a few moments but it can make a powerful impact in the life of another person.

    I apologize for my absence these last few days.  It has not only been a tough week with all the tears but we had Jake’s sister and her family staying with us who are missionaries to Indonesia which brought much joy and laughter to our week.  I am thankful for the many wonderful times and memories we created together over the past week.  It is my intention to be back on schedule next week, I soooooo appreciate all of you checking in on me and your patience.   You are a tremendous blessing in my life, thank you!

    Photo by Noel Reynolds

  • Organized Chaos: Clean Pantry

    Organizing the Large Kitchen Pantry

    Since I cleaned out the white pantry cabinet it is time for the large pantry to be cleaned out.  It is wonderful having a large pantry in the kitchen but when it gets all disorganized it makes it difficult to find the items that you need.  Thankfully I have a system where the different types of food go but there are times when they don’t get put away in the right place so it becomes a little crazy over time.

    Organizing the left side of the pantry

    • First Shelf (from the top) – Flour and Sugar
    • Second Shelf – Granulated Sugar, Brown Sugar & Powdered Sugar
    • Third Shelf – Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Chicken, Mushrooms
    • Fourth Shelf – Tomatoes (Diced, Whole, Paste, Sauce)
    • Fifth Shelf – Pasta & Spaghetti Sauces
    • Bottom Shelf – Pasta & Spaghetti Sauces, Oatmeal, Oils

    The middle shelves hold a lot of other food items from soup, pickles, olives, salsa, tuna fish, jam, jelly, frosting, and more!  It is nice having it all organized.  Now I know exactly what items I need to pick up at the store and which ones I have plenty of in the pantry.

    Organizing the back right side of the pantry

    I didn’t get a picture of the full right back side of the pantry.  The first two shelves have boxed items from desserts to pancakes to muffins and more.

    • Third Shelf – Boxed Food Items
    • Fourth Shelf – Canned Fruit
    • Fifth Shelf – Canned Vegetables
    • Bottom Shelf – Canned Beans

    It makes me happy having a clean and organized pantry!  Let’s hope it stays somewhat organized for at least a few months (who am I kidding maybe a few weeks) with both of us and the kids going in and out of it!   Although I am thankful for a husband and kids who enjoy helping out in the kitchen.