Crazy Love

I read, like a lot. No seriously, I'm talking a LOT. It's what I do. And I do it fast. I devour books in a matter of hours rather than days. Once I start a good book I just can't stop until it's over. Heck, the same is true for a bad book, just because I know that if I don't get through it I'll be annoyed with myself for not finishing it.

The only exception to this is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I HATE that book. It literally took me months to read, and truth be told I'm sure I skimmed through a few of the dull parts. Oh, and maybe Hemingway too ... I really don't like Hemingway.

But anyways, that's not what this blog post is about. Lately my reading has taken on a new path. Rather than reading for enjoyment, or for even education, I've been reading for spiritual enlightenment lately. My heart is thirsty.

Have you read this book yet?
For some reason I can't find my pace while reading Crazy Love. It challenges everything about me. I'm finding it hard to just keep reading, flipping page after page, just to see what comes next, because quite honestly what comes next is a scary thing. Although this book is not mighty in terms of length, it's the hardest thing that I've ever read. And I am bound and determined to devote the time necessary to this book. In fact making the necessary changes in my life as outlined here is my 2011 resolution. And it's hopefully the first one in the history of my life that I'll keep.

I can guarantee that this book will shake everything that's inside of you up. It will make you uncomfortable, but in the best definition of the word.

So friends, what are you reading?

Christmas 2010

We came. We saw. We Christmas-ed. My living room is still burried under giant piles of new toys and the boxed from which all of those new toys came from. There are legos and toy trains strewn about the enire house and two little boys with permanant smiles etched upon their faces. Yes, I'd say it's been a good Christmas.

Maybe we'll clean up next year.

The boys got new jammies on Christmas eve. Brayden's are way too long and a tired Gage was annoyed at having to have his picture taken.

Bunches and bunches of wii and ps3 games, and boxes and boxes of expensive legos, and Star Wars Monopoly was the hit of the day. Go figure.

"Ahhhhhh a Thomas the Tank Engine Scooter!" For every present that Gage opened he danced around the living room going "Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!"

The Thomas Lego box was bigger than he was.


Oh yes, Christmas 2010 will go down in history as being one of the best ever.

Merry Christmas

To All A Good Night

Isn't this just the happiest little army of marshmallow snowmen you ever did see? All lined up and ready for Brayden's 2nd grade Christmas party today.

The snow has fallen and continues to falls even still.
The Christmas parties have came and gone and the love and laughter that they bring rang all around us.
The presents are bought and wrapped and ready for St. Nick to place under the tree.
The turkey is in the refrigerator and all of the fixings that go along with it are lining the shelves in our cupboards, just waiting to be made into something delicious.

We're in the home stretch now and my heart is overjoyed and ready to celebrate with my family. And because my husband is off from work until after the new year, my appearance around here will be sporadic at best. This is family time.

So have yourselves a Merry Christmas!
... and please, remember the reason for the season.

God Bless.

Letting it Snow

It's cold and snowy in Pennsylvania. For once I don't mind though. It's Christmas and the whiteness of the ground and the trees is festive. I picture sleighs on all of those snow dusted rooftops, where a jolly man in red will soon be.

It doesn't hurt to see those big smiles and rosy cheeks on my boys after an afternoon of sled riding either.

Sending you all a little bit of Pennsylvania's Winter wonderland♥

An Old Country Christmas

When I was younger, and heck sometimes even now, I used to watch all of the holiday movies and such that came on television and see all of the people walking around in the fancy winter wonderlands that their towns and cities transformed to during the holiday months and I'd wish that I could do the same.

Don't get me wrong, our little town is pretty festive, with fancy colored lights in different shapes atop every single telephone pole and a beautifully lit central park. But long gone are the days of a community out and about on the sidewalks, sipping hot cocoa, and just enjoying the advent season.

So when a friend of mine invited our family to drive out to Overly's Country Christmas, out near Pittsburgh, I pretty much lunged at the chance to have an old town Christmas. Even it was only for one evening.

There was hot cocoa, hot apple cider, a bonfire with marshmallows for roasting, horse drawn sleigh rides (complete with red lap blankets for the passengers - Gage and I appreciated this and snuggled up together). There was a sweet shop selling handmade fudge and chocolates, a train ride for the kids, and the most spectacular light display, including a very life like manger scene complete with real sheep, lambs, a goat, and a donkey.

It was magic. Every single second of it.

Best Ever Oatmeal Cookies

Every year in our house these are the Christmas cookies that get ate the fastest, and they are probably the simplest to make. I make a double batch including rasins (gross!) and a double batch without rasins (yum!). We give a few out to family members, but the majority of these yummy cookies gets munched up way before Christmas actually gets here.

I promise, if you make them, you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (if you're in a higher elevation like I am way up here in PA, use heaping cups)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
(If you like nasty dried up rasins like my husband) 1 cup raisins


Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F.

In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins if you're using them; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Sweet Sounds

I've been in a serious Iron and Wine mood for the past few days. Thought I'd share seeing as I don't really have anything substantial to blog about today.

Enjoy!

To Be Loved

Back when I was in high school, and heck college and middle school and forever actually, I didn't have a giant grouping of friends. The ones I did have were on the outer edge of what was considered popular. But we were all a fairly close knit group. A sort of band of misfits.

I thought that by now I wouldn't care about being included or well liked or part of a group. Yet, I continue to find my own inequality everywhere I look. It's literally everywhere I look. At MOPs, where I am the only one in my group who chooses not to home school or who didn't breastfeed. It's at the grocery store where I buy my kids sugar filled fruit snacks rather than actual fruit (which, for the record, we do by actual fruit too). Heck it's even here in the blog world, where I read about all of these mothers who have it all together while most days I, myself, as falling apart at the seams.

Every single time that one of my hard earned friendly advances goes unnoticed or unreciprocated a little piece of me is hurt. Sometimes a lot. Believe me, you can ask my poor husband about the many times that I have cried to him about just wanting to be liked. It seems like for my entire life I've been running around in circles, trying desperately to figure out what it is that I lack, just what is it about me that makes people move on so quickly. Why am I always the one in the room that is the first to be forgotten about? Why can't I be a people magnet too? How does one obtain charisma?

This is all pretty lame huh? I mean, who every would have thought that a married mother of two still struggles with this sort of teenage drama. And I honestly wish I could say that I'm writing this in response to some amazing personal breakthrough that I've had. But that's just not the case. This is a daily occurrence for me. I lack self esteem. I know that. But getting it and feeling at peace with who I am continues to baffle me.

And so I pray. I pray for guidance and ask that my eyes are opened to the fact that I was created this way for a purpose because God does not make mistakes. I ask for self acceptance and strength.

I'm not saying that I am not richly blessed. Because I am, more so than a lot of people and believe me, I do recognize that. And I am so incredibly thankful for the friendships that I do have because they are wide and run deep. I know that they are real and sure and true. I am happy in a life I don't deserve. I have a husband that is more amazing than anything I could have ever dreamed of and two boys that are more precious to me than all the world.

I just hope that I can be more confident in owning who I am and that I can allow that confidence to sharpen me into what it is and who it is that God designs me to be. I want to love and be loved just as I am. Crazy awkwardness and all.

A Party For Gage

I don't quite feel old enough to have an 8 year old and a 4 year old. Not at all. But I do.
Another amazing party down, with one extremely happy little four year old.


This time there were even more balloons, since some of Brayden's were still floating around from his party 2 weeks prior. There were kids, presents, and lots and lots of laughter and love.



And the best part, there where cupcakes. Gage was very specific when he requested his birthday cake this year. They were to be chocolate cupcakes, with white frosting, and a cherry on top. Nothing else would do. Little did he know that I swapped out his plain old vanilla frosting for some rich and yummy cream cheese frosting. It was still white, so I was well within my guidelines.


We partied hard.

Until next year, little boy.
Party on.

Be My Friend

Are we facebook friends? Because if not, we totally should be.

Amanda Moose Gindlesperger

Create Your Badge

No Apologies

I've noticed an increasing trend on my blog over the last few months, something that I've just sort of overlooked, brushed off as a fluke, and maybe even not published a post or two because out of fear. It's something that's weighed on me for awhile, and brought a sort of weight that I'm struggling to carry.

I've lost many readers. Like, a lot of them. Some of them were people whom I considered to be good friends, after all, it's an intimate thing we do as bloggers, sharing our families and our hearts desires so publicly like this. You people know me. If you're a devoted follower then you know the ins and outs of my life and found them interesting enough to keep coming back to see what tomorrow brings for myself and my family. I know this, because it's the way I feel about most of you and your blogs (trust me, even if I don't comment every single time, I'm there in the shadows reading about the ins and outs of your life too. There's just probably a four year old hanging on me while I'm doing it, preventing me from typing.)

So when did I start seeing this trend, these peoples presence start to fade? When I started talking about Jesus.

It would be easy to just stop. I could keep writing fluffy little posts day in and day out and show you all some cute pictures of my boys and be done with it. But I know that's not what those who still read come here for. You come here because in one way or another, as a mother, a wife, a crafter, or a friend, you and I are relatable. And I hope that when it comes to my life and the things that I write about, you can appreciate the honesty in them. Because life is not always easy and it's not always pretty. In fact it rarely ever is. But the Lord is my constant encouragement and is the biggest part of my life. How could I exclude him from any aspect of it, let along this journal of my life, loves, and thoughts.

So while I was at first confused, I am now strong. I will not be afraid to have such a loving presence in my life that shines through every little thing I do, including my posting here. I make no apologies, because this blog is authentic to my everyday. And everyday I am thankful for the one who died so that I could live to experience all of the ups and downs that I share here with you each and every day. And every day I pray and turn to Jesus for his guidence and love. And it's my hope that you can relate to that or appreciate it in a way that makes you want to keep coming back for more.

And for those of you that don't, well I'm sorry to see you leave, but don't let the proverbial door hit you on the rump as you go.

God Bless.

Dear Gage

4 years and 13 days after your brother was born you allowed me to receive the greatest gift that can be given to woman.

You made me a mother again. More than that, you were the completing piece to the puzzle that makes up our family.

And today, you are 4 years old. Happy Birthday Gage!

With you, things were simpler and the road we took as mother and child was much smoother thanks to having been there and done that. That's not to say we didn't hit a few bumps of our own as the little quirks of your personality came into light. But this time I was I assured that I knew what I was doing and that together we would make it through relatively unscathed.

There were the weeks of hearing your cries and being at a loss of what to do and how to comfort you until we discovered your enzyme deficiency. There were the late nights of colic when the only thing that calmed you down where the strands of red Christmas lights we has illuminating the kitchen, even if it was May. There was your first peel of laughter when Brayden sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to you and you thought the way that his shaggy hair hung down as he leaned over you was the funniest thing ever. And there were to many naps you and I took together, snuggled up bed with one another while your daddy was at work and your brother was at school and the house was quiet all for us.

Little boy, you are the glue that bound this family together.

And together your silly adolescence and bright smiles over the simple things in life keeps us grounded during the times where it's more than easy to let the frustrations of the moment engulf us.

You've blessed me in ways that I don't think you'll ever know. Not until you have a family of your own. And when you do, I wish more than anything that you'll have a child as loving and spirited as you are.

The past 4 years have been an adventure. Now let's go have another!

Favorite Picture and Christmas Time

Having a broken camera is killing me. Having to wait until after the holidays to purchase another one (because I'm holding out for the DSLR camera of my dreams) is making sure that it's a slow and painful death.

So, with that said (and being bitten by yesterday's post for i heart faces bug), I'm playing along in a few more photo challenges this week, one of which is to post a favorite picture and another is to post a Christmas-y picture.

Luckily for me, those categories encompass one in the same.

A sweet picture of little Brayden, trekking his way through the snow and up to the top of our driveway to await the school bus. We're pretty lucky to be able to live in the country where scenery like this is always right outside the door. All I have to do it have the camera in hand to capture it. But then again, that cute little kid in the red jacket carrying the Star Wars book bag, certainly makes this picture that much more amazing.


Feel like playing along and showing off your photography skills? Check out these absolutely beautiful blogs below!

Self Portraits

I don't really do self portraits. I suppose I could say that I find that the world around me is just much too interesting to turn the camera around onto myself, but really, that would be a major cop out.

Truth is, physically, I don't like myself. My body is warped from having children, and usually my eyes are tired and an extra chin or four tends to make an unannounced appearance in any photograph that I inevitably find myself in.

I'm more or a behind the camera person. Better yet, I'm more of a behind the computer person, where I can edit said photos to my liking.

It's been ages since I've done an I Heart Faces photo challenge. In fact I think that the last one I took part in was over the summer and featured Gage pushing one of his wooden Thomas trains through the grass.

My kids, those are my favorite photo subjects.

About a week ago, feeling a bit silly while in the throws of one of my typical nights of insomnia I grabbed my now defunct camera and started snapping a few pictures around the house, mostly of our Christmas tree. I noticed a smudge that kept appearing in the middle of the display scree, so I turned my camera around onto myself to try and clean the lens.

And then, totally by accident, I took a self portrait. And, strangely enough, I liked the way it turned out.

Just like that, I became the subject rather than the photographer.

The First Snow Day of the Season

It's early. 6:45am to be exact. And Brayden is still fast asleep. He should be waking up momentarily to begin getting ready for his day of school. But instead the alarm on my cell phone is shut off now and hopefully, with a little luck, he will sleep in just a little bit longer than normal.

Because it is official, today is Brayden's first official Snow Day of the season! That means no school, and lots of lounging around the house playing games and reading books, and maybe even venturing outside into all of that fluffy white stuff with his sled in tow.

I snapped these pictures over the weekend of our first official accumulating snow. It's much worse now, with a layer of ice on the roads to top it all off. We'll be staying home and drinking hot cocoa and hot tea today, while we enjoy the winter weather.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in western Pennsylvania!!

The Ruffled Scarf

Christmas is a tight time of the year for me. I have a bunch of people that I want to give to, and a limited amount of money with which to do it in. Thankfully, the majority of the people in my life appriciate the art of handmade gifts. More so in fact than store bought ones as it turns out.

The greatest thing about being a blog reader has got to be the treasure trove of amazing crafty tutorials out there. And this is the time of the year to use them people!!

A few people on my Christmas list this year are going to be recieving a pretty ruffled scarf just like this one. It's simple to make, and super pretty to wear.


Basic instructions are found right here from Made.

Oh yes, I love this scarf! I'll be making a few to hand out for the holidays ... and perhaps a few more to keep for myself.


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