love this… :)

“I’d like to teach the world to sing…”

NASCAR is on at our house today!

Blessings!

Kaye

(to see my all time favorite NASCAR commercial as seen in this post, click here!)

yesterday

(above….R pretending to be Pastor Ron…. :) Made us all smile wide over here! )

first day with shorts

first day with juice pops on the patio

first day wondering if it would go beyond 90

first 2 inch hail

first tornado warning

What a day!

God is good and we are all well after our first storm here at the new house… no damage to plants or house~

just praise!

God is good all the time!

Kaye

Positively Perfect Pound Cake

I love pound cake.

I have loved to make the Betty Crocker one for many summers and put strawberries on top.

Mom asked me to make two out of a new recipe from FOOD magazine a few weeks ago, and oh my goodness!

It was WONDERFUL!

There is a basic recipe that they have you follow, than four different varieties that you can create off of that.

My two choices were the Citrus Glazed Pound cake and the Double Chocolate one.

Here’s the basic recipe for one basic original pound cake, with the instructions:

Ingredients:

2 sticks of room temperature butter

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

5 large eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350. You can either butter and flour the pan you are going to use or use parchment paper like I did.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium high until very light and fluffy, about 7-8 minutes. (This loaf gets its lift from the thorough beating of the butter and sugar and eggs instead of leavens like baking powder or baking soda).

Add vanilla, then gradually add eggs. (I added them two at a time and it worked great).

With mixer on low, add salt, then gradually add flour, beating well to combine and scraping down bowl as needed.

Transfer batter to pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 65 minutes.

Let cool for 1 hour on a wire rack. Remove and let cool completely before slicing. To store, wrap in plastic and keep at room temperature, up to 3 days. (I put half of each loaf in the fridge, and it turned into a brick! :) Whoops!)

For the Citrus Glazed Cake, just make a few substitutions to the recipe above:

Add 1 tsp. lemon zest plus 2 tsp. lemon juice and 1 tbsp. orange juice to the batter along with the vanilla and eggs. (I added mine at the end and it still tasted fabulous)

To make the glaze, whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, and 1 tbsp. orange juice until smooth. Pour citrus glaze over the cooled cake…

According to L and Mom, this was their favorite of the two and rivaled the Starbucks lemon loaf cake. Personally, I like the chocolate one better.

For the Double Chocolate Cake, just make some substitutions to the basic recipe above.

for this cake, you have to swap 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa for 1/4 cup of flour. Also, fold 6 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips into the batter before you put it into the pan.

Delicious with ice cream~

Waiting for them to cool is torture, but well worth it!

Enjoy!

Kaye

blessings... in the summer?

90 degrees.
That’s what they are predicting for today.

And all I can say after a long MN winter is YES!

Counting blessings with Ann as the sun climbs higher…

(no pictures today, just a bunch of links in the list to check out...)

#367-408

classes over
planning a senior year
1st week at new job
 building my library
C.S. Lewis quotes- "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else".
trucks talking on my desk
a clean floor
willow tree angles
R in that sideways Twins hat
"from this one place..."
Colossians 2: 6-7
that He's in charge

watching L and M skip rocks across the pond with their slingshots
new slingshots
bald eagle soaring over house
piano back in the living room
R and Kira, or Henry and Mudge
ice cream cones on the front lawn
scrapbook supplies
the lady at my new job who talked to me about going to the symphony
the "Basket Test" :)

her smile
her dress and at-ti-tude
claritin for these allergies of mine
warm oatmeal cookies
:) on emails from friends
patient friends teaching me
invites to grad parties on the fridge

learning new things at the new job
knowing God wants me there
frogs
L looking at the stars with me
running inside from watching stars after hearing a coyote...
water in glasses always on the counter
FAITH

Kelsey's patience with my questions and willingness to answer them all... thank you!
deep breaths
Keens
muddy feet
my smiley dog- the Tick Taxi
talking to R while new bandaids are going on... and the trust that has grown between him and our family
Bob and Gob- R's owls


Blessings to you this wednesday!
Kaye

I just have to say…

that she is beautiful.

And I love her already.

(doesn’t her hand on the hip just make you smile? :) )

Would you join me in sponsoring another child through Compassion International?

Help lift a child out of poverty in Christ’s name?

click here…

or below…

The Glory of Christ

“The design of the cross is the glory of Christ, The aim of God in the cross is that Christ would be honored. When Paul says in Galatians 6:14, “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he is saying that God’s will is that the cross always be magnified- that Christ crucified always be our boast and exultation and joy and praise- that Christ get glory and thanks and honor for every good thing in  our lives and every bad thing that God turns for good.”

-John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life

Monday Gifts

Pictures dedicated to all the people up on this side of the nation wondering if we will ever really get spring…

I’m there with you today.

It’s May 2nd.

And snowing.

That just seems wrong.

But!

God is good,

all the time,

and all the time,

God is good.

Even when it snows on May 2nd.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

#351-366-

baby trees 6” tall

ice cream just the way Dad does it

Dad-fashion consultant

holey socks

Bibles everywhere

Hosanna by Christy Nockels

HIS voice

R in a tie and vest… :)

the 60 eggs hidden in the yard at Granny and Grandpa’s

Mom’s words on her new blog!

working in Dad’s classroom

waiting

Kira (love this dog) moo-ing at people (funniest thing EVER!)

a first day at work today!

 

blessings!

Kaye

Eric Ludy Video- Powerful

WOW.

Powerful.

Made me cry.

Watch with tissues and prepare to be prodded  by the Holy Spirit.

WOW.

and the world sits solemn

today the world sits

quietly

in the cloudy day here

good weather for today

Good Friday

When Christ paid the price for my salvation

so I could come to Him

“He was made in the world,

and though the world was made through him,

the world did not recognize him…”

“He came to that which was his own,

but his own did not receive him…”

“Yet to all who did receive him,

who called upon His name…”

“He gave the right to become the children of God.”

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,

who came from the Father,

full of grace and truth.”

(John 1: 10-12, 14)

a blessed good friday to you, my friends.

Kaye

Want to Feel Small?

God is so AMAZING!

Check out these pictures I found in my Astronomy course today.

This one is of the galaxies beyond our own…

The next image is a zoom of the above

The Milky Way…

AMAZING!

Francesca Battistelli Song

To my dad…

who lost his keys too.

:)

Have a great day!

Kaye

(if you can’t see the video, click here)

blown away yet again…

What can I say?
God totally blew me out of the water again with his goodness and gifts.
That’s twice this week.
Wow…

A few weeks ago, I was just done.
I was tired of thinking about what I was going to do with my life and where to find a job for the summer.
I prayed hard…
really hard.
I asked God to show me- tell me PLEASE where it was I was supposed to work.
Silence on the other line,
then just one word.
“Wait.”
I just about lost it at that one.
Wait? Again? Just like last time I asked?
But peace knocked and I let Him in, and took a deep breath.
So, frustrated but peaceful, I went to bed.
The next day my mom went out with a good friend of ours for lunch. Her daughter mentioned a job opening at the little drug store where she and her brother worked.
Mom let me know, and I instantly thought of my conversation with God last night.
Then I swear I heard in my head, plain as the nose on my face, “Wait’s over.”
So I applied.
I also applied down at a little family nursery by our house, just in case.
A week goes by.
And another.
Then this nice lady gives me a call from the little drug store-
“Would you like to interview?”
“Yes!”
So Monday I drove out, prayed the whole way there, and pulling into the lot 15 minutes early (a normal thing for me and Mom :) ) and prayed some more.
Deep breath and walk in.
The interview passes, I say hello to friends, and walk out.
Is this it, God? Do you still want me to work here? Let me know…
The nice lady said that she would let me know if I got the job by Friday.
This morning (Wednesday) I was still in my PJ’s (I know… bad… it was like 9 o clock… :) ) when the phone rings.
Mom hands it over, all grins and giddiness. I hear Miranda asking in the background, “Did she get the job?”
“Hello?”
“Hi! This is Joy. I was wondering if you still wanted to work at K Drug Store?”
“YES!”
WOW!
I called Dad, and what he said just rang through my head the rest of the day…
“God has blessed you mightily.”
Yes, He has,
and he showed once again that he ALWAYS has a plan.
ALWAYS.