Balance

Recently, I came across this practical guide to good food choices.
I printed it off four times ~ one copy for myself, and one for each of the kids.
My hope is that they will take these things with them into their adult lives.
Some things are not learned by osmosis; they need to be taught.

I'm trusting that they are paying attention.  :)

What about you?  How do you find balance in the
whole foods, healthy eating, and cooking parts of life and living?
Would you mind sharing your ideas on how you keep it all in perspective?
How are you passing these things on to your children/teens?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Enjoy the journey!
With Love, Camille

Nursery ~ Encouragement for the Young Mum

Not long ago, I logged my first Sunday of nursery duty.

Emma was my helper, and what a blessing she was!

Little ones trickled in one by one and then, came in a flood.

Some mamas stayed for a few minutes to settle their own.

Others didn't need settling.

Some children refused to be comforted.

So, those mamas left, taking their little ones with them.  

In the end, Emma and I only had three to care for.

And, it felt like just the right number.  

This post is the result of my subsequent ponderings.

 And, the purpose of it all is to be an encouragement to the young mamas

among us.  I find myself in the position of being an older mum now.

Don't even ask me when or how that happened!  But, it did. 
And, I am finding that there are a few things pressing on my heart to share.

In the days of diapers and feedings and constant
demands on us as young mums, it's easy to imagine that things will remain
just the same forever ~ intense and exhausting and wonderful all rolled into one.
Life flies by and before we know it, our situation has changed.

We blink.  They grow up.

So, dear mama of littles, take heart.
These are precious days, weeks, months...years!  Truly precious.
Don't rush this time.  Don't wish it all away.  Before long, you too will be the older mama.
And, you will be the one doing the encouraging.  Give it time.  It will happen.

So, in these sweet baby days, don't ever feel badly that your little one
will not be comforted by anyone other than you.  That is how God designed it to be.
While they are little, you are the centre of your child's existence.  It is how they are wired.
And, it is good and right for it to be that way.  It's such a short season.

God does all things well.  And, this is one of those good things.

It is perfectly okay to refuse the nursery service and sit with your own
child in the mother's room.  Our church has two provisions for young mamas.
One option is the nursery, where some little ones are perfectly content to be.
And, the other is a sound-proof room with a view of the sanctuary
and a speaker to hear the service.

Whichever option you choose as a mama ought to be the right one for you.
There is no obligation to use the nursery if it makes both you and your child miserable.
If, on the other hand, it is a good fit for you, by all means, use it!
This may change from week to week.  There is no shame in that, either.

The nursery is available to use if you should require it and desire it. 

And, just be aware that these days will soon be behind you.
Time invested in your little ones is never wasted time.
 And, whatever you should choose to do, be assured of the fact
 that we older mamas are here, cheering you on!

With Much Love,
Camille

**Image courtesy of Calvin circa 2011 ~
Thank you my love!  XO

Literally Thousands!

My Sweetie took our Emma on a short business trip.

They were gone two whole days with one night in between.

And, the computer (which is soon to become Emma's) was all mine.

So, I did what any normal Mama would do ~ I sorted photos.

That's what you would have done, right?

Back in the day, when our littles were little,

I captured life with a film SLR gifted to me by my Dad.

 All the photos were printed and sorted and labelled and

immediately filed into albums.  In order.  Always.

But, then.  Then!

2005 arrived, and we entered the world of digital images.

Oh. Dear. Me!!  My life has not been the same since.

Take as many photos as you like?  Yes, please.

Save them all to print off later?  Sign me up.

But, later never seemed to come.

 Fast forward to 2016, and there are literally thousands
of images languishing on my computer that beg to be properly sorted
and printed off.  Others should be deleted and forgotten forever.
That, however, is difficult to do, isn't it?  Someone might want them.

Maybe.  One day.  I seriously doubt it.

  
It's a long, arduous task which won't go away on its own.
It must be done.  And, I must do it.  So, I'm off to the races once again.
Only now?  Emma and her Daddy are home.  :)

Are any of you in the same boat?
It would be encouraging to know that I'm not alone.

Happy Thursday!
With Love, Camille

**Images in this post 
are from approximately 2006-2010 

If All I Did Was Cook....

If all I did was cook....life would be busy enough.

With five of us here most of the time, food and all that it entails
makes up a large part of what I do day after day.
The planning, shopping, and cooking can sometimes be overwhelming.

And, there are only five of us (how I miss the days when we were six).
Some of our friends have double (and more) our number
in their families.  I can only imagine what it must be like for them!

Being wife and/or mother is busy.  It's a calling.
It's no wonder that many have dedicated their lives to being full time homemakers.
Running a home is no small task.  We are called to be keepers
of our homes and help-meets to our husbands.  What an incredible occupation!

It must be noted, however, that there are those who have a heart for the home,
but, find themselves in the position of needing to help out financially.

My heart goes out to these ones as I know that
there are still so many responsibilities that require attention and time
within the four walls of their homes.  Somehow, it all must get done.
It is a balancing act of grace and strength and endurance.

How life unfolds for some of us will not necessarily be the same as it does for others.
We must be faithful to work within the sphere we have been called to.
And, seek to be a blessing to those around us while we do it!

In the midst of it all, God's grace and goodness abounds.

As we seek Him for it, the Lord promises
to give wisdom for the journey He has us on.

Not long ago, a blogging friend of mine wrote a lovely post on homemaking.
Click here to read her words.  I am sure you will be blessed just as I was.

May we all be found encouraging one another as we navigate the life
the Lord has called us to by His grace and for His glory.  Alone.

With Love,
Camille

**Images in this post are from 2010 ~
Emma was nearly eight years old.

Crock Pot Chicken Curry

Who doesn't love to come home to dinner all ready to go?
Sadly, it's rare for the Chief-Cook-and-Bottle-Washer to have that happen.
That is, unless the crock pot is employed.  And, employ it, I do.
Not often enough, however.

There are a few reasons for that.

One of those being that crock pot meals tend to be a little on the blah side.
At least, the ones I've put to the test over the years have been.
This recipe is anything but blah.  Far from it, actually.
It's been my *go to* for the slow cooker in recent days.

I've shared it over the last few months with two lovely
ladies who raved about it's yumminess.  
One even told me she had been craving it.  Surely a compliment!
 I'd say that is a slow cooker success story, wouldn't you?    

There is quite a bit of *kick* to this meal.
If you are a little shy about spicy hot things, cut back on the cayenne pepper.
On the other hand, if spicy is your thing, then, go ahead and double up on the cayenne.
We find that it's nicely spicy with the amount I suggest here.

See all those lovely spices just waiting to be whisked together?

Crock Pot Chicken Curry ~
Mennonite Girls Can Cook featured the recipe that propelled
me forward to land on the specifics below.

Here's what you will need:

4 medium sized yellow flesh potatoes, with skin on, cut into chunks
1 large yam (dark orange sweet potato), peeled and diced
2 medium yellow cooking onions, finely diced
3 large bell peppers, diced (I like to use red or yellow, not green)
 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
2 tins (6 oz size) tomato paste
2 tins (15 oz size) full fat coconut milk
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp red curry powder
2 Tbsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Here's what you do:

Prepare and layer the potatoes, yam, onions, and peppers
into large (6 Quart size) slow cooker.
Place the diced raw chicken over top of the veggie layer.

Whisk together the tomato paste, coconut milk, minced garlic,
and spices to form the sauce.  Pour over the veggies and chicken.
Separate the layers with a spatula to allow some of the sauce to be
incorporated throughout the dish.  Put the lid on and leave it while it cooks.

Don't lift the lid until you are ready to serve dinner!

Cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours.
My slow cooker is extremely hot, so, six hours is enough.
You should see the sauce bubbling at the edges and all
the veggies should be tender when it's fully cooked.

Serve over a bed of rice and
sprinkle with shredded coconut and raisins.

I like to set a covered casserole dish in the oven on the
delay cooking setting to have rice ready at the same time
as the curried chicken.  Then, there's nothing to do but serve it all up!

Here's what you do to make oven-baked rice:

Measure out rice (1 cup per three people)
and water (double the amount of rice) into a covered casserole dish.
Be sure you have enough room for the rice to expand by about double.
Stir together, cover the dish, and place in the oven on the centre rack.

Set the delay bake cycle to come on an hour and fifteen minutes
prior to the time you plan on serving dinner.
Set the heat to 350 degrees F and the baking time for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
(I usually make a double or triple batch of rice this way.  If you are only cooking
one cup of rice, I'd reduce the cooking time by about 15 minutes.)

When you come through the door, dinner will be ready!
This Chicken Curry is enough to feed approximately 8 to 10 very hungry people.
Leftovers are even better due to the flavours having had a change to mingle.
We like shredded coconut and raisins on our individual servings.

What about you?  Do you have a favourite slow cooker meal to share?
I'd love to hear how you employ the crock pot on your crazy-busy days.

Happy Tuesday!
With Love, Camille