Homemade Granola

Well the muffin recipe turned out to be pretty popular, so I'm going to share another recipe! This is another breakfast and snack staple in our house. This could easily be gluten-free if you buy gluten-free oats.

Homemade Granola:

3 1/2 Tb vegetable oil (or any oil you prefer...while I almost always cook with olive oil, I don't think you could sub that here)

1/4 C brown sugar

1/4 C honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix these in a small bowl and set aside.

In a larger bowl, combine:

2 C oats (I use old fashioned, but quick cooking would probably be fine too)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

Add the wet ingredients to the large bowl with the oats. The best way to combine these is to use your hands. So get in there and get messy....

I squeeze everything together with my hands to make sure all the oats are covered in the sugary-honey goodness.

Then spread everything out on a lined baking sheet. I use my Silpat for this. It was a gift from my mother in law one Christmas and I use it ALL the time.

Bake at 325 degrees for 12 minutes. Take the pan out, stir the granola up a bit, and add any nuts you want here. I add about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of almonds, depending on how heavy Lucy's sprinkling hand is that day. Then put the pan back in the oven for another 10-12 minutes. Watch it closely during the last few minutes, because my oven tends to take longer than most.

Remove, and....here's the hardest part....let it cool completely. Don't touch it! I know, it's hard. Because by now your whole house will smell divine...but trust me, if you let it cool all the way it will get nice and crunchy and delicious.

After it's cooled, you can add dried fruit or chocolate chips or any other mix-ins you want. I don't usually add anything else.

Then devour.

I store it in a big tupperware container in the pantry and we munch on it all week or put it over yogurt for breakfast. YUM!

The Best Children's Bible Ever

We have read through The Jesus Storybook Bible about 4 times now. It is truly the most amazing children's Bible I have ever read. It is loaded with stories of Jesus and His work, and has given me a new perspective on some of the Old Testament stories as well. The stories tie everything back to Jesus and the cross, so at the end, I feel like you really grasp what the gospel is and what Jesus did for us, and how our Heavenly Father planned it all from the very beginning.

I tear up almost every time we read a story from this book. Which is daily, in our house.

They make an entire Bible curriculum based on this book now. I have never seen or used the curriculum, but if it's anything like the book, I'm sure it's amazing.

I'm not getting paid to advertise this book, (obviously....or my blog would be much cooler) I just really really love it and think every household with children should get one.

At the end of the book, there is a paraphrase of John 1:12-13, which I just love:

For anyone who says yes to Jesus

For anyone who believes what Jesus said

For anyone who will just reach out to take it

Then God will give them this wonderful gift:

To be born into

A whole new Life

To be who they really are

Who God always made them to be -

Their own true selves -

God's dear

Child.

And THAT is the gospel people.

4 month comparison

All three girls at 4 months....can you tell who is who?

First, let's talk about the lard that IS my breastmilk. I make some seriously fat babies. And apparently it all goes to their face. Poor things.

The pictures are the girls in birth order. Lucy, then Annie, then Stella. It's funny because I don't think any of them look alike right now, but they look VERY similar at the same age. We have a picture of Lucy around 18 months in our room, and Mark swears it's Annie.

I remember 4 months being somewhat of a difficult age for the other girls, and the same has been true for Stella. She is fussy and just doesn't quite seem herself. And when I say fussy, I mean she cries twice a day for about 10 seconds. But that's fussy for her. 

Other than that, things are going well and she gets squishier and sweeter every day. She's really into her hands right now.

She is packing on the pounds, weighing in just under 16 pounds. Which mean's she's going to catch her 22 pound sister pretty soon.

She is barely squeezing into size 2 diapers and we have officially said good bye to 3 month clothes. She is only wearing 3-6 month or 6 month now.

We think she has a slight case of eczema, so if you know of any eczema therapies that don't involve steroids let me know. Aveeno baby makes an eczema lotion but I've heard of several people being allergic to it. I switched her over to Little Twig Baby Wash Calming Lavender, which I LOVE and used on Annie too because her skin was so sensitive, but I haven't found a lotion yet. And the Little Twig Lotion is just too expensive.

I can't believe our newborn isn't a newborn anymore! She still seems so young to me. We started solids with Lucy at 4 months, and I can't imagine starting Stella on solid food yet. She's such a baby! 

She already has youngest child syndrome! (or maybe I have pampering and babying the youngest child parent syndrome?)

Valentine's Day and bonus posts

I used to hate Valentine's Day. I'm not much of a romantic, so I've always thought it was a silly holiday that didn't have much use, except to make people fat, and to remind single people that they don't have someone to make them fat.

But now that I'm a mom, any break from the ordinary is welcome. A pink, sparkly day and an excuse to dress up and do a craft and eat chocolate and go on a date with my husband...now that's my kind of holiday. 

I have TWO bonus Valentine's posts for you. One is from last year, one is new.

Super Easy Valentine's Day Treat

Super Easy Valentine's Day Craft

Are you sensing that I like easy? Seriously....easy crafts and cookies. It's where it's at.

But really, Valentine's Day is about LOVE. And I need some help in this department. I need to learn to love. To love more, to love better, and to love without expecting anything in return. To love as my Savior loved. To love my husband for who he is. To love my children even in the daily grind. To love my friends and family even when I would rather not make the effort.

My big Valentine

My little Valentine

My littlest Valentine

All the hard parenting and good housekeeping and healthy meals and date nights and Instagrams and girl's nights mean nothing, if I do them without LOVE.

I really like The Message version of 1 Corinthians 13:2,

If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing.

Sacrifice

After that cheesy photo shoot you know I have to write something to keep it real. I've had a difficult week with parenting and sickness and just plain yuckiness. This weather hasn't helped. Frankly, I've been selfish, and I've had a bad attitude. I haven't wanted to die to myself. I've wanted to live for myself and serve myself. 

Lucy and I were praying one afternoon for more joyful hearts (she shares the bad attitude gene with me) and I realized what a horrible influence I can be sometimes. I hope I don't royally screw my kids up. 

I came across this great post from the Desiring God blog. It's a humbling reminder that we are to die daily to ourselves as Christians and as mothers. For me, the little daily sacrifices can be a lot harder than the big ones. The big ones kind of come naturally. It's part of the choice of parenthood.

We sacrifice financially so that I can stay home during the week with the girls. I sacrifice time and activity so my kids can nap at home everyday and be well rested. I've sacrificed my body for pregnancies.

But the little sacrifices? The daily ones?

When I don't want to clean the kitchen again, when I don't want to pour another sippy cup of juice. When I don't want to change another diaper.

When I just want to Take. A. Nap.

When I get frustrated because I can't even take a shower without at least one child barging in on me and demanding something.

That's when I see my sin. My ugliness. And I realize I can't die daily to myself alone. I need His help and His grace, daily. Moment by moment.

"If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it."

- Matthew 10:39, NLT 

Valentine's Photo Shoot

We were blessed with a GORGEOUS day yesterday so I let the girls go down late for naps so we could play outside. Oh and of course I made chili last night. It never fails that I make soup or chili on our random warm days.

Today is gross. Rainy and cold and gross. We were feeling a little bored. So we had a rainy day photo shoot for Valentine's Day!

 Sweet Stella. Almost 4 months!

Crazy Annie. 22 months (whaaa???!) 

Lucy Laine. 4 1/2 yrs. I told her on Jan 31 that it was her half birthday. She was so happy all day.

I teared up when I realized she only has 6 more months of being 4.

Happy (early) Valentine's Day from the Campbell girls

Triple PMS

Good lawd I'm about to lose my mind with all these moody females in my house today.

They can't be moody one at a time, so the other two mellow the moody one out. No.....the hormones are raging in this house ALL at the same time.

Stella actually CRIED today (write it down ya'll....), Annie has been super defiant and independent and has another head wound, and Lucy is off the charts with crying and crankiness. And I've been projectile puked on more times than I can count.

It's the little things in motherhood that can send us over the edge, but it's also the little things that can rescue us from drowning.

Just when I'm about to lock myself in the closet with a double batch of brownies for the remainder of the day, Stella gives me a gummy grin. Annie does something crazy sweet like wraps her arms around my leg, or tackles me with one of her bear hugs. Lucy prays for the boys and girls who don't have mommies and daddies.

And my heart melts. And I thank the Lord for these crazy, beautiful, hormonal little blessings.

Then I say a prayer for my future self, cuz I can hardly wait til these blessings hit puberty.