Here We Go...

I think there's probably a lot that some of you don't know. Or maybe you do know by now, and that's cool. We've been keeping some things really quiet for the past few months, I guess we kind of thought that if it wasn't said outloud then it would go away. Unfortunately, it hasn't; and there's really no more hiding it.

In short; Matthew's getting out of the Air Force. His separation date is March 31, 2012. I know, soon. With this has come a lot of fear, uncertainty, and questioning of God. What is he doing? What's his plan? Why? Why us? Why now?

We're hurt and disappointed. But we refuse to be broken down. So instead of wallowing and complaining and crying over it, we're picking ourselves up and moving on. God is closing this chapter in our lives, for whatever reason. And as much as we disagree and argue and beg, he's still doing his thing. We have to trust that.

So what does that mean for us? Where does that leave us? We have no clue. Possibly army, we're meeting with a recruiter this weekend to discuss our options. Possibly the civilian world; Matthew can get his CDL for under $100 (which is an awesome deal!) so we're looking into that too. Ultimately we know that God is leading our lives into a different territory. And while it is unknown to us, it is completely in the hands of God.

So yes, in the midst of moving into a new (bigger!) house, holidays, traveling, tight budgets, and a new job for myself; we're now changing careers. Without warning. Awesome, huh? Hey, its just how God works.

Fearful

I am a lot of things; my own type of person.
I love Audrey Hepburn, and her whole era. I love her grace, her beauty, the way she made everything feminine and lovely.
I love chai on a winter night, with a cozy blanket and a beautiful book.
I'm a hopeless romantic kind of girl, who loves her "chick-flick" nights.
I enjoy baking and cooking, but not cleaning up the kitchen afterward.
Actually, I hate cleaning in general...
I hate, hate, hate clutter, and the way it makes me feel.
I love food, any kind of food. Sweet, sour, salty; any flavor and any ethnicity.
I'm willing to try anything at least once; as long as its not ridiculously gross, painful, or hurtful to my family.
I have developed great friendships that I know will last me the rest of my life.
I'm OCD, seriously. I have the disease, it runs in my family. I have to eat everything in 2's; even numbers. Same color and same size.

That's just a few on my list. A very few, actually.
But the one thing I am not? Fearful.
You see, my belief is not based on fear. It is based on courage, on faith, on grace. My God is not a God of fear. There is nothing I fear, except God himself. He is my stronghold. He is all I need in this world, in this season of chaos. He's my life, now. He's the one who leads my friends to me, to lift me up and keep me strong.

No, I am not fearful. We are not a family of fear. I will not lie down and take it. I will let the waves crash, but I will not cease swimming. I know that the sun will come out, I know that there is something on the other side. I know that this storm will stop eventually, and I will be so thankful to have fought through it.

Pumpkin Scone, anyone?

So tonight I made pumpkin scones, and they were delish!
The original site I used was here, but it didn't turn out quite right. So here's MY version of her scones!
Pumpkin Scone Recipe:
2c flour
1/4 c + 3T sugar
1T baking powder
1/2t salt
1T + 1/2t cinnamon
1T cloves
1T ginger
5T cold butter (I used margarine) cut into pieces
1c canned pumpkin puree (please note you can NOT use pumpkin pie mix, the consistency is waaaay off!)
3T nonfat yogurt (you can also use sour cream)
1T mayonnaise (used instead of 1 egg)

Preheat oven to 425.
Mix dry ingredients and add butter. Mix with electric mixer for about 1 minute, until butter is "crumbled" with other dry ingredients.
Whip together pumpkin, yogurt and egg (or mayo!). Add to flour-mix and stir.
Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil.
Roll out dough onto a floured surface, about 1/2 thick. I used a round cookie cutter to cut out the scones, and then re-rolled the dough. The original poster suggest cutting into triangular pieces (like a normal scone would look). I wanted a little more "portion control", so I went a different route.
Cook for about 15 minutes, depending on the size. Because my scones were smaller, they didn't take as long.
Remove from oven and let cool. While the scones are cooling make your glaze.

Glaze Recipe:
1c powdered sugar
2T milk (I used water because I was out of milk)

I dipped my scones into the glaze, because it was easiest. I actually dipped them once, but they were still a little warm, so I ended up dipping them each twice. :)

The original blogger made a second glaze to drizzle over top with spices in it. I was too lazy. But my scones also had more spice added, so I don't think they needed them anyway.

I'll post a picture tomorrow once my husband gets back with my camera. :)