Valentine making by the light of the cross, for that is where LOVE is found.

Expecting perfection

Desiring a  culture of love in our home

Something I want, and want to give to my children.

Recently Mary Oysten from Owlhaven posted a recipe to make bread from leftover oatmeal.  One morning this past week we had leftover Blueberry Orange Oatmeal and I decided to give her recipe a try.  I did have to make some adjustments.  My recipe is at the bottom of this post… but there is a link above to access the original recipe at Owlhaven.

My family is thrilled with this bread, it is moist, but slices beautifully. We enjoyed one loaf the day I made it, some with butter, some without.  It was great either way.  And it will be perfect for peanut butter sandwiches later in the week.

Berry Orange Oatmeal Bread

Makes 2 loaves

 1 cup cooked oatmeal, cooled to lukewarm
 2 tsp yeast
 1 T coconut sugar
 2  cups hot tap water (about 110-115 degrees)(used 3/4c orange juice and added water to get 2 cups)
 2 teaspoons salt
 6-7 cups fresh ground red wheat (or unbleached all-purpose flour)

Turn out on a floured board. Knead until the dough feels smooth, pliable and elastic. You may need to add up to one cup more flour if necessary to get the right feel. Shape the dough into a ball, put into a well-buttered bowl, and turn to coat on all sides. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

To see the slideshow of all this week’s great sketches, go here. And if you want to join us next week, for  sketching, go here to learn the details.

There are those weeks where life sweeps like a swift river, and although it is mostly good, the time to think & write just gets swept into cleaning the broken glass, enjoying the extra hours of fellowship gifted by traveling husbands, kneading the daily bread and wiping tears over lessons in schooling that might not really matter, or do they?  That’s a question often in my head.  But still we count, because God is good and has gifted so generous and abundantly.

counting to 764
A goal reached!  15 push ups daily!
A promise made, and the faith to trust and believe
Strong hymns floating up the stairs
 A sweet sempi
Pretty paper waiting to become valentines

Soup in mugs
Artisan bread that is good!
  A quiet productive day
 Laughter over conversation hearts
A surprise today…someone else’s handwriting in my gratitude journal
 Laughter heard today…much more laughter over those conversation hearts
Another surprise…finding out that my sister was blessed by words I spoke, and has shared them with others, who were also blessed.
 The hug when I feel like I’ve failed our children

This is the most popular page on my blog!  It cracks me up that everyday that I take a look, my stats list Mr Gallon as the most viewed page by far.

Have you ever met this guy?  We discovered him 2 or 3 years ago when Mae was deep in the learning to exchange cups for pints for quarts for gallons in all those challenging math word problems.  Now it is Petal Rose’s turn and since I am printing Mr Gallon for her notebook, I thought I’d share him here,

http://teachhouston.uh.edu/TeachHouston_document/lesson_plans1/Capacity_Mr_Gallon_Man.html.

You’ll need to scroll pretty far down the page to find him 🙂

for the Hard Times

and the song I sing…even on the good days,  (please scroll to the bottom of the page to quiet the player or click to listen at youtube)

My sin,  not in part
but the WHOLE
is nailed to the CROSS
and i bear it NO MORE

PRAISE The LORD

It is Well, It is Well with my Soul.

and this…”The only true disability in life is a bad attitude.”

The Purex UltraPacks Laundry Detergent free product coupons are AubreyLaine(entry #10)  and Jay(entry #2)

please email me at byquietwaters at gmail dot com with your mailing address, put Blog Giveway in the subject line (to keep it out of the spam folder) and I will pop these right into the mail!

{this moment} – Tucked in here most Fridays, photos from an ordinary, or not so ordinary, moment from the week. A moment I want to linger on, press into, and offer thanks for..

Leaving my retreat center (bedroom & master bathroom), ready for the day I went into Mae’s room to encourage her to rise and shine.  This is what I found,

Now who would jump right out of bed with that warm bundle of fur resting so sweetly on one’s back?

Entering the living room to get my camera for the above photo I found Petal Rose snuggled on the sofa with Madeline snuggled tight on her belly, nose to nose they were. When I pointed the camera, Madeline quickly jumped down and ran off. This is a photo I took a few evenings ago during our bedtime read aloud. She’s afraid of the black box and runs off before most photos.

Sometimes I get grumpy at these animals, their messes, their demands (black cat up there is very vocal), and forget the joy and comfort they offer.  I am thankful for the warm snuggles they give my daughters, for the opportunity to love and care for the needs of another life that pets give children.  I am thankful for the added color these cats add to the landscape of our lives.

linking with SouleMama and Amy’s Finer Things and joining Laura for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Awhile back I blogged about the new Purex Ultra Packs Laundry Detergent that we recieved to test out and review.  If you would like to read the review, you can click here. 

We’ve been pretty happy with the product, especially while we are teaching our two youngest daughters to do the laundry. These Ultra Packs make adding laundry detergent to the machine easy and mess free!  As busy as our household is in this season, I am thankful for this little gift in the laundry room.

We have 2 coupons for FREE Purex UltraPacks detergent that we like to give away this week, 1 each to 2 different visitors.  

If you would like to win one of these coupons, please share with me a tip you have in teaching kids to do their laundry, or other household tasks.

The drawing will be held on Friday February 10 and announced here on the blog.   Drawing winners will need to email us with mailing information.

I’m excited to share these coupons with you!