Lucky Charms....

They are a wonderful thing. Frosted cereal (whole grain I might add) with colorful and magical marshmallows! The thing is I never buy this cereal because I will inevitably eat the whole box myself as Tim is not a fan of this sugary creation and because I always feel some level of guilt at buying it. But last night, while food shopping, I overcame the guilt and boldly bought myself a box of Lucky Charms. I have now enjoyed 2 and half bowls in less than 24 hours....still no guilt and I'm enjoying each bite I take. Something so simple and yet an indulgent treat adds just a little fun to the day. So whatever your indulgence looks like...a luscious latte, double stuffed oreo cookies, chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter spread over them (Tim), treat yourself to it today!

The Past 9 months...

        Wow, it has been almost 10 months since we have last blogged. Do you remember the time or times when a person older than you said to enjoy your time while you are young because time just seems to speed up the older you get? There was a time when I heard that and didn't believe it. Now I will confidently say that I do believe it and I find myself saying to those around me, "Where did the time go?" Somehow we have made it to the end of October and I'm staring Thanksgiving and Christmas in the face. But since I love the holidays and time spent with family this is an exciting time of the year.  
Let me try to recap the past 9 or 10 months ~
We have celebrated Tim's little sis getting married and watched as the Shelton clan grew a little more! We have enjoyed back-packing in Point Reyes. We have celebrated birthdays and 25th wedding anniversary's (Congrats again to Aunt Julie and Uncle Rusty!) We have enjoyed vacations and visits with our parents and friends. We have moved across town to a new and cheaper! home. But the biggest change in our lives is that on my birthday, we found out we were pregnant! This was a planned surprise as we were ready to start our family, but just didn't expect God's blessing and timing to happen as quickly as it did! So now, we find ourselves in our new home preparing for a new addition to our family. Cadence Paul Shelton will be arriving sometime in January of 2013! We are so excited to meet him and praise the Lord for a healthy baby and pregnancy so far.
We have continued to see God's faithfulness and love through the stressful times and the joyful times, when money has been tight and we didn't know where we would be moving, with the excitement and nervousness of having a baby...He has been the solid foundation of our marriage and our home. He never ceases to amaze me with His goodness. In a recent youth lesson that I taught we were talking about God's provision and they worded it as God being "outrageously generous." And Tim and I have seen that characteristic of His over and over throughout this year. We give Him all the Praise and Glory!

Back-packing in Point Reyes National Park

Baby Cade! 6 months Pregnant!

    


More to come....

Beginnings

     I was thinking of beginning this post by saying it is the beginning of a new year...and then I realized that the beginning has past as we are heading into February already! Where did January go? But, the real reason I wanted to talk about beginnings is because Tim and I are experiencing a lot of new things beginning in our life right now. As the new year rang in, Tim and I looked forward to the beginning of a new job for me, a new research group for Tim and the new friendships we would build.
     God has blessed us with so much and we have really felt that over the holidays with our families and friends as well as continuing to settle into Davis. We are so thankful for the family and friendships that He has blessed us with.  I know that in moving to Davis I have feared losing touch with my deepest friendships from home and not wanting to replace those with new friends. But God is so good, He has not only given me true friendships from Paradise that I know can continue to grow but He is blessing me with new acquaintances who are sisters in Christ and who I can build new friendships with to be treasured too! God has made us to be relational, there is no cap or reaching a point of too much, so build those relationships!
   As we start this new year, we have been overwhelmed by God's goodness and his faithfulness to take care of us and provide for all our needs. Thank you Jesus! 

Cranberry-Chocolate Scones

     I have successfully completed my first attempt at making scones. I have been wanting to try my hand at this for awhile for a few reasons. 1. Scones are simply scrumptious and the thought of a scone and a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning sounds perfect. 2. At some point in my life I would enjoy to have a coffee & pastry shop where I made all the pastries myself. So this was a start towards fulfilling both of my reasons. I was pleasantly surprised that scones were not difficult to make and that, perhaps by beginners luck, they turned out perfectly!

If you desire to also try your hand at scones or enjoy a new treat here is the link to the recipe: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/desserts/scones/.

This is not the exact recipe that I got out of the magazine but the only changes are as follows:

Add 1/4 cup of chocolate pieces & 1/2 tsp finely shredded orange peel into egg mixture.

If you want to top the scones with a drizzle after they have cooled you can make an orange drizzle: 

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tbs orange juice

1/4 tsp vanilla

Mix together and stir in additional orange juice (1 tsp at a time) to achieve drizzle consistency

"Christ"-mas Time Is Here!

Merry Christmas!
We love this time of year, most likely due to the amazing memories of Christmas with our families for the past 25 or so years. We have learned and acquired the traditions from our families and since being married we've tried our hands at starting new traditions. For Tim, his most memorable family tradition is the Christmas Eve See's Candy eating fest. Essentially, the entire family sits around the living room coffee table and enjoys their favorite sampling of candy! For me, I vividly remember my family heading up to the mountains to tromp through the snow and cut down our Christmas tree. It was a wintery adventure complete with poof-y jackets and snow pants, hot chocolate, and baked goodies to enjoy.

At the base of all those traditions stands the thing we enjoy the most ~ family. We have been blessed with loving families that we simply can't wait to spend the holidays with. But it isn't  the "family" that makes it special. For if you look below the base you will see the roots, which uphold our families, and that is the foundation of Jesus Christ. THAT is what makes this season so special. Our families have the blessing of  having the common thread of Jesus tying us together. So we are thrilled to spend time with our families, but we feel honored and blessed to celebrate the birth of Jesus our Saviour, who makes true family a reality.

Unfinished Work

     I had the joy of raking leaves today. It is something that I actually enjoy doing. I find it invigorating to be outside in the fall air and always feel accomplished when all the leaves have been raked into a big pile. This was also a way I earned Christmas money when I was little so it always brings back good memories.....although I don't get paid for raking the leaves anymore! 
    Once I had finished the back yard, I stopped to enjoy the refreshing breeze that had floated my way and was listening to the rustle of the leaves, when I decided to look at the tree whose leaves I had just finished picking up off the ground. I watched as leaf after leaf began to fall with the breeze, dancing there way to the ground. This work is never done!
With that thought, I was hit with the reminder that God's work is never done while we remain on this earth. He is constantly moving, working around us and hopefully through us. In a few days there will be more leaves that will need to be raked into existence and picked up. Like those leaves, God is continually working to touch the lives of people with His love.  Just when I think I have accomplished something in His name or a nugget of truth has been revealed to me; He has new truth to speak into my life and more work that needs to be done for His kingdom. My service for the Lord is not complete until He takes me home.

Fall Anyone?

     We love the season of Fall. It is the time when leaves on the trees turn the most brilliant shades of reds and oranges. We love that it is time to put on a sweatshirt and some jeans as the cool breezes start to roll in. We were talking about the things that make fall, fall to us individually.

   I (Tim) always associate Fall weather with soup. When things started getting chilly, I would greatly look forward to seeing the big, silver soup pot come out on the stove; knowing that within a few hours a simmering concoction of yummy veggies, grains, and tender meat would be piping hot and ready for my bowl. There is something so comforting about having the smell of soup wafting through my home that makes me feel at peace. 

   Fall also makes me think of all the hours I spent as a child in my neighbors backyard, picking up walnuts that I could sell to pay for Christmas presents. It reminds me of how tiresome hard work can be, but also of the joys of the payoff; when I would see the smiles on my families faces as they unwrapped presents on Dec 25th, knowing that I had earned every cent that went into getting them that gift. In this light, one can't help but think about how God works in our lives. Often it seems that the times of hard work never end, that He is continually allowing us to struggle to accomplish something through Him. Yet when the payoff comes, when we finally see what work He is doing in and through us, when we have that "ah-hah" moment or see how we've been able to bless someone else through the work of knowing God more intimately it all becomes so very worth it.

   For myself, Stacy, Fall usually means a change in scenery in the living room as my mom would rearrange all the furniture and it would look like a completely different room. I am reminded of Fall when candles have been lit in the early morning or evening, creating the most relaxing and peaceful environment and providing a new yummy smell like pumpkin spice. Another piece of the season for me is listening to George Winston's Piano solos. They are fluid notes at its finest and combined with candles I feel at home. Lastly, when I think of the Fall season I think of homemade applesauce with lots of cinnamon smelling up the house and becoming the special treat for the next few days. Those are things that make up my Fall season and they are traditions that I now carry on into my own home.

     With the Fall season there is a lot of change that we can see and observe and paralleling that with our own lives we find ourselves in a season of change. We have a change in our home-town, change in our surroundings, change in jobs, change in developing new friendships, and change in finding a new church home. Change is usually accompanied with a level of uncomfortableness or sometimes even pain. The trees are beautiful as their leaves change colors, but as they fall the trees look bare and cold. Without that beautiful and cold transition, they cannot be ready for the new changes up ahead. The new life that comes out of the old being shed, new green leaves that emerge when the time is right and a fresh, alive tree is re-born. That is where I find myself, in the midst of change that sometimes feels beautiful and sometimes feels very cold. But I know that seasons come and go and as they do new life will be felt again.