April Blog

Happy Spring!
One of the things I love about living in Tennessee is that spring comes early.  Being pregnant during the spring has been especially fun.  As everything is blooming, blossoming, and starting anew, I look forward to the amazing new start of birth.  Here are some other things I have been enjoying in April month.

5 Pound Sack of Potatoes

Last week at the doctors they estimate that the baby is already 5 pounds!  That is so big after so long of her being compared to a blueberry or an avocado.  We are working on getting the nursery ready and looking forward to meeting our little girl soon! 




The Healthiest Scone You Will Ever Like
My recipe this month is one that I have been making for some years now.  I've played with it, tweaked it, and really have been happy with the results in every stage.  You can't approach these like the scones you would get at a coffee shop.  Don't think white and flaky.  This scone marches to the beat of it's own drum.  I've found that the most successful whole grain recipes are like that.  They don't  try to make you think you are eating something white and fluffy but really it is make from barely.  Instead, whole grain recipes that are their own thing altogether are most enjoyable.  If you have any recipes like that, please share them with me.  This recipe is adapted from "The Healthy Kitchen"

Multi-Grain Scones

 1 Egg
1/2 cup sugar (I use cane sugar, but white sugar will work)
5 Tablespoons oil (either grape seed, olive, or vegetable)
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup wheat bran
1 1/2 cup flour ***see note
3 Tablespoons millet

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375
2.  Whisk egg, sugar, and oil together.
3.  Mix dry ingredients together in separate bowl.  Then slowly add dry ingredients to wet.  Then add milk and nuts.
4.  Grease a pan and scoop a couple of tablespoons of dough into mounds onto the pan.  There should be around 10 scones.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

***Note on flour:  This is where I have experimented with different combinations of whole wheat flour, white flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or white whole wheat flour.  My current favorite combination is 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour.
Click Here For Printable Copy of Recipe


What a Privilege To Love 

I've continued to enjoy dwelling on what Jesus Christ shared with his disciples right before he was going to be crucified.  I've been reading John chapters 13-16 a lot recently.  What has really stood out to me is the privilege as a Christian I have to love other people.

⁹"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  John 15:9-12 NIV

As a Christian I have "Christ-In" and I am commanded to love like Christ loved.  What a privilege!  When I try to love people on my own I often run out very easily.  But when I look at God's love for me and Jesus Christ love for me I then have so much more to give to other people.

One thing I learned this month is how there are similar topics covered in John 13-16 and in the book of 1 John.  In 1 John it also talks about what Christians are commanded to do.

^"23And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us." 1 John 3:23 NIV

This is what I am endeavoring to do on a daily basis, believing in the power of the name of Jesus Christ and to love other people.  That sounds like a good life to me.
 
Gardening

My Mrs. Moon plant made the first substantial showing, and boy did she show off!  From a little sprig of a plant that my mom gave me last year she really started the season off with style!

 I was so thrilled that my Solomon's Seal blossomed.  This is a flower that grows wild in the woods.  It is great to have a little woods in my backyard.

For my birthday Luke gave me 2 double pink knockout rose bushes.  They are going to get to be 3 to 4 feet tall.  I'm very thankful.  (for those of you keeping score in the gardening department, I ended up not getting the David Austin rose this year.  I found out that in the hot South, those English type roses need partial shade.  Maybe next year I will get one).




Learning How to Cut With Scissors
After the past 7 years of working with preschool and elementary school children to develop fine motor skills, I am still fascinated by the process, and still find it interesting.  I am starting to share what I know about fine motor development with my sister-in-law Anna for her little daughter Charlotte.  For any moms of preschoolers or people that have preschoolers in their life, I thought that I would also start sharing some fine motor skill development information on this blog.  Let me know if you use it.

View "Learning How To Cut With Scissors"

Cutting with scissors is something we take for granite as adults, but it is a skill children have to learn.  I've seen too many time a child never having used scissors before and then given the shape of a dog or flower to cut out and then been unsuccessful and very frustrated.  If you would like more information please click on the link for a document about learning to cut with scissors.