B is for......Books!

I love books! Love, Love, to read. I love to read fiction and non-fiction. Generally if I am going to read non-fiction it is Christian books. And of course I love reading the Bible. I also really like Fiction! I am one of those that has read the Twilight series and loved it! For those of you who haven't read it, you need to. Right now. I also like Christian fiction, such as the Left Behind series or the Mark of the Lion series. Have you heard of Francine Rivers? She wrote the Mark of the Lion series. Its awesome.

I would say the only thing I dont like to read is when it is an "assignment". Generally I am not favorable of studying. I did not like this about college. I would avoid it at all costs, and most of the time I got away with it. Then there was spanish.....I will own up to the fact that I lacked a certain something as a student of foreign language. That missing something, which I will call initiative, did nothing to endear me to the teacher. It couldn't be helped I'm afraid. I was a classic underachiever when it came to school. It just took up too much time, college is supposed to be about hanging out right? It just made too much sense to me not to have it that way.

My husband says I am a complex person. He seems to think he could write a very long book about all my quirks. He sees quirks, I see innovation. Sometimes, when you are an innovator, it is hard for people who see you every day to recognize it. I try not to fault him for his lack of insight in this matter.

So I'll try to share things that make me who I am. I realize you know some basics about me but there is always more. I realize it may be more interesting to me than to you. I plan to make this even more boring by going through these alphabetically.

Naturally we will start with A!



A is for Animals. I love animals! More specifically I love having pets. Frankly, I dont understand those who do not like pets. We have a dog and 2 cats. Ben wishes we did not have the latter.

Here is a picture of Gauge

We love him! I mean he has pretty much destroyed our back door because he freaks out when it is storming. We let him in a lot but he can be a real baby when there is even a hint of a strong wind. He also has destroyed some toys and stuffed animals. We once had to take him to the er bc he ate two giant turkey legs. He can be a real mess. But he is great with the kids. And generally he is pretty well behaved.

Here is a picture of our cats. The one on the right is Sam, the other one is Oscar.


Sam is the sweetest most well behaved animal you will ever meet. She's awesome. Even Ben can deal. She likes to curl up beside me at all times.

Oscar (I think) is awesome too. He was found outside in our backyard in Gauge's mouth. I heard some hissing and cries coming from the backyard and ran out there, and sure enough Gauge had him in his mouth, like he was a chew toy. Oscar was a tiny little kitten and scared to death. I quickly grabbed him out of Gauge's mouth and ran inside to look him over for injuries. He was fine, besides being covered in drool, he looked pretty good. We asked around to see if it was a neighbor's but no one claimed him! I was pretty excited about this. He wouldnt let anyone touch him for a couple of days but soon adjusted and grew quite comfortable with me. He was so used to living on the street that he would snatch food right off our plate and run off. This is why Ben thinks he is from the devil. Ben does not share food.

I grew up always having pets so it suits me well. We always were the family that would take in a stray. So animals will always be a part of me. I used to want to be a vet until I realized I would probably cry all day long. I just cant stand to see them in pain. Plus you have to take a lot of chemistry. I dont believe in chemistry.

Basically there is not an animal I dont love. Dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, etc. I would make a great farm girl.....except for the manual labor and rising before the sun is up.

Really excited about this conference coming in Febuary!
Come check it out!

We are all meant to play a part in orphan care.
Every. single. one. of. us.

Take time to think about your part in caring for the least of these. I promise you will never be the same. While your thinking, check out this post. It will make you think some more.

"Once our eyes are opened we cannot pretend we do not know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows we know and holds us responsible to act."
Proverbs 24:12

Come to the conference!

Have you ever.....

Have you ever wanted to know what would happen if you flushed a bunch of rocks down the toilet? I know the answer.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you push the emergency button in the elevator? Just ask me.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to topple over one of the displays at Wal-Mart? I can tell you all about it.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you empty an entire bag of fish food into a fish tank? Let me fill you in.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to mix juice into your brownie batter? I've got the 411.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you looked through a complete strangers purse? Yep, I do.

I learn so much from having kids! Its awesome. Lets face it, some days I'm ready to fall on a sword. :) But most days I just can not help but laugh. My kids must account for somewhere around 100% of the broken things in my house. Generally, the breakage is not well-received. But afterward, like way afterward, I can look back and laugh. After all its just things, right?

But the memories...they are forever.

Here are the usual suspects

Play!

I came across this quote and wanted to share. I am reminded time and again, that I need to play more. We get busy taking care of our children and forget to PLAY with our children. It is amazing how much can be accomplished just in play. We get to connect to our kids in the most simple of things, and we are reminded that life should be Fun! God takes pleasure in the simple things, in the ordinary things. Rejoice in the daily routine as God does!

"A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown -up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon.

It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we." Orthodoxy G.K. Chesterton

Great Meat Marinade

This is a wonderful meat marinade recipe. It is good for steak, pork, and chicken. It is reusable marinade but not after you use it on chicken, due to the throw up factor or what some people call, salmonella.

I once had salmonella poisoning, so did my daughter and my husband and some friends we were eating with. It hit us about 24 hours after eating. My daughter just threw up a few times bc she only ate a little. I was pregnant at the time with Jacob so I chowed down. Probably had two or three helpings of the stuff. Ben too. So we both started throwing up that next night. And. it. would. not. stop. I was so sick, Ben took me to the women's hospital since I was pregnant. They put me in a bed and hooked me up to an iv. Ben, bless his heart was by my side trying to be a comfort. He had to keep running to the bathroom to throw up. He looked real bad, pasty white, sweaty. At some point in the night he collapsed and they had to admit him to the hospital too. We got to share a room! They told them he was the first male ever to be admitted to the hospital. That was a proud moment for us both. We felt much better after about 24 hours and went home. We talked to our friends who also said they threw up all night, I guess they didn't have it as bad as us though. I felt really guilty......

oh yea, did I mention that I made the meal that sent us to the hospital? Sometimes it’s truly the thought that counts, isn't it? You betcha.

Oh and the night I got salmonella we were eating chicken spaghetti NOT anything marinaded. So don't get scared away. This marinade is so yummy. Try not to think about the story I just told.

OK lets begin!

You will need:

1 1/2 cups salad oil
3/4 cups soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 tablespoons parsley
1 tablespoon pepper
2 1/4 tsp salt
2 cloves of garlic crushed or chopped

Combine all ingredients and stir. Then add the meat! Its really easy. Sorry I have no pictures. I usually marinade steak for 6 to 8 hours, pork about the same, and chicken just a couple of hours. I usually use the marinade up within a couple of weeks of making it. I will post some pictures of the finished products the next time I make it!

Dear Pumpkin

Hey, Pumpkin. It is the time of year when you become a trendy food ingredient. Pie. Soup. Casserole. Beer. Bread. Coffee.

Stop it.

You are not food. You are a decoration.

People pretend to like you to get closer to the whipped cream.
Notice they only like you when you are seasoned and in a pie. I will not be moved. You are not a food to these people, you are a vessel for their cinnamon and nutmeg lust. You are a delivery system for spices.

Here are the things you are good at: Being carved and placed out front of people's houses till you rot. Being shot out of a cannon. Being the head for the scarecrows around the world. Stick to what you are good at. There is no shame in it. We all have our roles.

OK glad to get that off my chest

Here is another thing that confuses me about this season. The ushering in of cornucopias. You know what I'm talking about right? The baskets that you make centerpieces that have stuff spilling out of them. I mean what is the point of a basket if it won't even hold its contents?


Here is a picture of said basket not holding it's contents.


I do love Thanksgiving however, I love all the food and family. My mom always whips up a bunch of deliciousness. It feels like when I was a kid. Which I always like to be reminded of.

Sup

Ok I know it has been forevs since I have blogged. Let me explain...
So I had surgery a few weeks back. Doc removed an ovary, my appendix, and my cervix. I had been having trouble with pain in my ovary, I already don't have a uterus, so he decided to take the right ovary and the cervix out. Then I asked him to remove my appendix while he was in there. Seemed to me with my streak I would end up having appendicitis sooner or later so it was a preemptive strike.
Anyways surgery went fine (at least I thought). This surgery is usually an outpatient surgery....meaning that you go home the same day. My doctor decided to keep me because I am usually so sick after surgery from the general anesthesia. Well that night I started hurting really bad, like worse than childbirth pain. Like worse than what I think jumping off a building might feel like. My heart rate was around 160 laying down, my blood pressure got really low, and I was white as a sheet. It all feels like a bad dream. Anyways after drawing blood and studying me for awhile they determined I was bleeding internally. So guess what? I had to go back into surgery that next morning. Turns out I lost somewhere between 4 to 6 pints of blood and was hours away from organ failure. Crazy huh? I didn't know any of this until after or I might have been freaking out. But I was pretty calm. They gave me a blood transfusion and some iron and sent me on my way.

Looking back on it now I feel so blessed that I have God to watch over me. Just think if I had gone home after surgery instead of staying in the hospital, that decision probably saved my life. But it wasn't really the doc, it was God. He knew, He cared. It is amazing to me that He loves us that much! How great are His affections!

Oh and the surgeon told me my appendix was inflamed and looked like it would rupture any day. Another miracle.

So sorry for the prolonged absence I realize your day rises and falls on my whereabouts. I apologize. :)

I hope to be back to my regular self soon. When I post again I would like to discuss peoples infatuation with all things pumpkin. It shouldn't even be classified as food. Its weird.

Another Announcement!!

Ok this post has been a long time coming and some of you already know all about what I am going to say. About 6 months ago, Ben came home from work and told me he was really feeling like God was calling us to do more for the orphans. As many of you know we have one adopted son and are in the process of adopting again. But as it turns out God has called us to more. Long and short of it, Ben and I prayed and prayed and felt such a strong calling to meet the needs of many orphans in practical ways.

We started a non-profit called The James Initiative. The idea behind this initiative is to bring hope. Bringing hope by building and sustaining orphan communities. Our first project we plan on starting is in Ethiopia. We would like to build a children's center for children to come to to get clothed and fed. We also want to build family-style homes around this center for those orphans with no mom or dad to live with "house parents" Eventually we would like there to be a school, a clinic, and agriculture. These may come about through partnerships with other non-profits. We are in the infant stage of this project. All we know is we have to follow the calling. We have a wonderful group of people already on board with this project and praying over this project. God will remain in the center of this project and at the front of all our steps. Please understand, this is God's ministry, we are just participants. It is ultimately for His glory. We are humbled to be a part of bringing hope to these children.

Right now we have incorporated and our in the process of getting our 501(c)3 status from the IRS. As far as in Ethiopia the next steps are to go and to apply for NGO(non-governmental organization) status. We need favor with the Ethiopian government that they will like our proposal and give us freedom to work in their country.
Ben and a few others are hopefully going later this fall to Ethiopia. We already have some ethiopian contacts that are going to help us once we get there.

And here's the thing...there are millions of orphans waiting for hope at this moment. The numbers and statistics can seem overwhelming, but every moment we have, is an opportunity to make a difference! It is time for radical sacrifice in our lives. When we strive to be a blessing, we in turn are blessed! I pray that our actions toward orphans reveal Christ in us. As David Platt explains in his book, we are God's plan A for the hurting world, there is no plan B. WE have to be His hands and feet.

"You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
2 Corinthians 9:11

Anyone who wants to be a part of the James Initiative in some way is welcome! We are very excited about what the future holds and are so thankful for those who have already stepped up to be a part! Bottom line.....Hope in Christ should be shared.

"Hope means a continual looking forward to the eternal world. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought the most of the next." C.S. Lewis

Go to the website to learn more! I am hopefully going to be blogging on it as well. Here is also a video we did for an upcoming conference. Check it out!



*Statistics from the video are from UNICEF, World Health Organization, and Christian Alliance for Orphans .

There is so much more to share but I think it will take many posts to share the whole vision. Please stand with us in prayer over this initiative! He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine! Ephesians 3:20

Website is www.thejamesinitiative.org or click on The James Inititative above. I still dont know how to make links different colors. Bear with me!

Benadryl

Yes this post is about Benadryl. I have a cold. I am taking a lot of Benadryl.
Ahhh Benadryl.... There is no sleep like sick in bed on Benadryl sleep. Days can go by unnoticed. Sleep is the best thing for me when I’m sick. Benadryl turns out the lights, even if my eyes are open. I am not responsible for anything I might have said these past few days or for what I say in this post.

Anyways I realized a few things while I was laying on the couch (feeling sorry for myself) flipping through the channels. One thing was that I am one of the only people on earth who does not have a talk show. I've got to do something to remedy that. I’m equally as unqualified as anyone else to have my own show, yet there are so many who are not me who do. Perhaps I’m on a waiting list. This is what I have to believe anyway.

Secondly, I think Disney has something against mothers. Have you ever noticed there seems to be an awful lot of Disney movies where the mother is not present or killed in the opening credits? What is this about? Aladdin, Beauty & The Beast, Pinocchio, Nemo, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Ratatouille, Snow White....No mother, no no no no. What is the meaning of this? What is the purpose....beyond causing me to wonder about it the rest of the day? Because when your on Benadryl you wonder about stuff like that.

Other things i have been wondering about...

How can I get my kids to clean my whole house....

Why does my husband feel that, at the completion of his business, if there is even a square of toilet paper left on the roll, he is absolved of all roll replacement responsibilities. It’s hard to say if one square will be sufficient for the next user. It is also not his problem.

Why does Joby feel like he needs to take everything out of his drawers and pile it up in the corner of his room? What message is he sending?

Why do we drive on parkways and park in driveways?

What does hummus taste like?

So I could go on and on until you got really tired of me, tempting.... but I don't think it is going to happen.

I leave you with another thing I wonder about....why can't my boys always act this sweet to each other?

Africa stuff!!

I have some new Africa stuff to show you guys. This stuff will also be sold to benefit the adoption. Yay! I have to mention that my mom is a wonderful seamstress. I mean she's awesome, it's not human. None of her neat, creative traits passed down to me in case you were wondering. I often wonder about it.

So to start she makes these adorable security blankets or a lovey or whatever you want to call them. They are little. Here are a few examples.



She also makes these wall hangings!


and pillows! This one is a little dirty bc someone's grubby hands were all over it.


She makes things without africa on them too. I will get some pictures of those up soon! She will make anything in the colors you like, boy or girl. I didn't have a girl one pictured bc they sold! But she is making more, aren't they cute? She also does baby bedding, from bumpers, to sheets, to quilts, to pillows. She does it all! She will also monogram for free with a purchase! All prices vary, email me if you are interested in anything at carriecbutler@gmail.com and I will continue to put up pictures as she does them.

Joby Day!!

I took this picture today when Joby fell asleep with a fry in his mouth.
This post is in honor of Joby. We celebrated him being a part of our family for two years last week. Two years! But the journey of Joby started long before that. The day God planted in our hearts to adopt. What a blessing and journey it has been! I can not say enough about how adoption has changed our whole lives, changed our perspective on life. Changed everything. From the moment we saw Joby, we loved him instantly. A love so fierce and intense, my heart felt like it would burst.

Here is us at the airport the day we got him!

I think it is worth mentioning that right after this picture was taken he pooped the most awful smelling substance I had ever smelled. The smell was so powerful it was hard to decide whether Joby created the smell, or the smell created Joby. When I opened the diaper, it actually made my head snap back and my eyes water. Then I realized I wasn't alone in the bathroom. Those poor people. This smell was so substantial it actually had mass. This is one of my first memories of him. My eyes water a little just thinking about it. Anyway moving on, there is only so long one can discuss poop. I know you guys rather I didnt bring it up at all. but sometimes you need to talk about hard things.

I am so in love with this little boy. And I could go on about adoption and how it could change your life, but I will save that for another post. In the meantime here is a picture when Joby got home with his brother, sister and Daddy. Thank you Lord for these blessings.

Happiness is.............

A bathroom with a locked door.

OOPS!

Amy is a great friend of mine, she is so sweet and wonderful. We get along great and we always have a good time. This story is not about amy, she does not appear in this story.

Like I said amy and I get along great, BUT we do differ on one subject. Butter. Amy doesnt believe in it, Butter is the lifeline of my recipes. So you see this is a problem. I try to respect other peoples point of view, i just cant wrap my head around the fact that she doesnt like butter.

Anyways I was at Walmart today and guess who I saw? Amy. And guess what she was doing? She was in the dairy section checking out the butter! I couldn't believe my eyes! This is when I decided I would come up behind her and scare her. I realize this is completely childish. I don’t care. I am proudly capable of being that way at any given moment. Welcome to one of those moments.

So I creep up behind her and say "What do you think you are doing?" I was just about to say something else clever.....

Did I mention that Amy does not appear in this story?
Amy looked at me. That was the moment I realized that Amy does not appear in this story.

So the women who looked just like Amy from the back looked at me, shocked at my rudeness. Realizing my mistake, I turned about 10 shades of red and I apologized quickly and explained how she looked like someone I knew, that person would have thought what I said was funny and that I was not a crazy person. We both had a good laugh; more of a nervous laugh from me. I got what I needed from the shelf and went directly to the register to pay and get out of the store as soon as possible.

I am still a little shaken by the whole ordeal. It may be awhile before I try to scare someone in the store again.

oh and Joby dropped a dozen eggs on the floor while we were there, i almost completely forgot about that.

You've got to try these!!

Ok I was going to put the BEST cinnamon rolls as the title but it seems redundant. But these are the best. Those I have made them for have said they are better than their grandmothers, and their grandmothers, and so forth. So you see, you need to try them! Please don't let the fact that they have yeast in them scare you away. If I can make them anyone can. So lets face our fears. Here we go......

You will need:

1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 1/2 cups flour

First add the yeast to the warm water, stir and set aside.

This allows for the yeast to start doing its thing. Make sure the water is between 120 and 130 degrees. If it is too hot it will kill the yeast and if its too cold the yeast wont grow. I promise this is the most complicated this recipe gets.

Take the cup of milk, 1/4 cup shortening, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp. salt and heat it up in the microwave until the shortening almost melts. Take it out and stir till shortening melts completely. Add the mixture to 1 1/2 cups of flour. stir completely.

Then add in 1 egg, stir, add in yeast mixture, stir again, and add the remaining 2 cups of flour. Once stirred completely turn onto floured surface and knead in more flour if it feels sticky.

Knead for a few minutes and shape into a ball, place in greased bowl. Grease the top of the dough and place a towel over the bowl and let rise in warm place (i let mine rise in the oven that I have turned on to get warm and then turned off.) Makes sure the oven is off before you place the dough in there!
Let rise until double in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Once it has doubled in size punch it down and turn onto floured surface. Divide the dough in half, cover the dough again and let rest for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes take half the dough and roll it out into a rectangle.

For filling you will need a stick of softened butter and sugar and cinnamon.
Take the softened butter and smear it all over the dough. Yes, with your hands!

Than add a layer of sugar and then sprinkle cinnamon all over, like so.

Roll up the rectangle long ways and cut the roll into 10 equal pieces. Place each roll into greased 9x9 circle or square pan or whatever you have.

Once you are done with this, repeat the steps with the other half of the dough. Once all the dough is in rolls cover the pans and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes in a warm place. I forgot to take a picture of this part, sorry bout that.
Here are some right out of oven! yummy!


Now for icing:
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp vanilla
add enough milk to reach a drizzle consistency.
You may need to make more, if you like a lot of icing like me.

Here we go....drizzle over top and dig in! These are so delicious and yummy! These take me to my happy place. Try them!