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Bates Hamburgers and Fries are the best! Keith, little Baum and I enjoyed a delicious dinner last night. This was a special treat! There is just something about their burgers. Actually the whole experience is fun. Bates is a tiny hamburger stand in Livonia. If you want to order takeout, you wait in a 8x4 porch type area with a window into the kitchen where you can see them cooking the burgers and fries. The menu is so simple. Another plus. Simple is good. They take your order and when it's ready, hand you a white bag filled with burgers and another one for fries. Do you want 6 or 12 burgers? Plain or cheese? Yummmm!!!

Way Back When-sday

Again, another Capri-Kel addition. She is such an inspiration! Speaking of inspiration, my Mom said I am inspiring her to cook. Well, to be honest, it all began with her many years ago.
The first picture is my Mom with my brother and me. That was taken in Atlanta when I was 6. We lived there for 4 years. I had to include that so you could see a picture of my Mom!!
She made the most awesome castle birthday cake. I think her specialty is baked goods. I also remember the chocolate sheet cake she used to make when I was a teenager. And when she POURED the chocolate icing on the cake it just leaked right off the side of the pan and I had the privelege of cleaning it up. Always had that most awesome privelege!! Anyway, the second picture is from my 9th birthday. Bet you hadn't guessed that! That's my Dad and my brother. We lived in Philadelphia at the time and see that wallpaper? it was so awesome. I love textures and that wallpaper had fruit on it that had a velvet feel to part of it. I also hate textures at the same time. But that's just another of those things about me. Hey, this was 1976. That was an awesome year to live in Philadelphia! I believe it was a huge celebration year for the Bicentennial! For those of you more versed in history, feel free to correct me.
Capri Kel would be proud to know that I was a huge fan of Laura Ingalls as well. See my hair? It was from those pioneer days.

The Way to Cook Inspired by Julia Child

I have found myself really enjoying learning to cook. It seems that it's been in me for many years but life has been full and it hadn't seemed like something I had time to pursue. Til this past summer when I felt discouraged with menu planning and my lack of creativity...I prayed that God would please help me be inspired.
Well, I had no idea that shortly after that, the movie "Julie and Julia" came out. Wow! I pulled out my cookbook "The Way to Cook" by Julia Child and asked my daughter if she would like to begin some cooking from there. I'll share pictures one day from those times. For now, I want to introduce my most recent joy: Cooking!
I'm learning to enjoy wandering through the fruits and vegetable section at the grocery store. Finding new ingredients like leeks to cook with.
Today I made Chicken Kiev for lunch. Mmmmm... it was so good. I love something baked in the oven on a winter Sunday. The recipe called for 1 1/2 sticks of butter. I used 1/2 of that. I'm sure I could use even less, but that was a good start. That recipe was from the classic Better Homes and Gardens checkered cookbook!
I'm looking forward to experimenting a bit with our microwave-making more than popcorn and reheating food.
And sometime I'll share about the soups I've been making from our church's soup kitchen cookbook. Yum! Those have warmed up some cold and dreary days.

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Well, I'm so inspired by my friend that I'm going to get going again on this blog which I barely started on!
So, she wanted to know if anyone wanted to join her in taking 1 picture a week for the year. I will attempt to do that. But first I must get our camera hooked up to our computer. Accomplished. Amazing.
Picture 1 is of all of us on 12/28/09 (okay, that's last year, but I think that's pretty close!)
Picture 2 is the littlest Baum sitting outside of our "tent" yesterday, 1/11/10. I remember doing that with our older 2 when they were her age. That was a long time ago!

Internet Cafe Devotions

This is a great website and I have no idea how to make it look fancy, but I'll at least comment on the devotional.
The verses for today are from Galatians 5:22-23. When asked what fruit of the spirit I'm struggling with, I'd say peace. That's because parenting has this way of bringing out my feelings of inadequacy. I have 2 teenagers and a 1 year old because God's plans are great than mine! I'm encouraged to change how I view parenting by looking at it as an opportunity to become more like Christ. It's a chance to die to my selfish self.

House Update

Chuck Hall built us some beautiful bookcases. I am so happy!!!!

Dependence on God

This season of my life reminds me of how truly dependent on the Lord I am. I was so thrilled when David and Katie were able to dress and entertain themselves. The days when I didn’t have to watch them every moment of the day to make sure they weren’t doing something that would hurt them. I relished in my independence. My days off from work were mostly mine. Just me at home enjoying the solitude. I was at the point where I was planning my future. David and Katie were moving into middle school and high school. Before too long they’d be heading into preparation for their life work. What will I do with the rest of my life?

In November of 2006 I found out I was pregnant. Throughout the next few months, the Lord taught me over and over that his plans were greater than mine (Isaiah 55:9). I sensed that He wanted me to turn my heart back toward home, toward my family. I battled with my selfishness. I studied Mary’s response to being pregnant in Luke 1:38. She saw the Lord as sovereign and submitted herself to his plan for her life. As I began to yield my life to the Lord, I was more at peace. Off and on, I have thought about what I could be doing with my time. This is an ongoing battle with my sin nature. Recently the Lord showed me something remarkable. It tied some unsettled feelings together like a math equation that adds up to the Lord’s sovereignty. I have been living my life focused on how I can get more independence. David has recently gotten his driver’s license. I think of being free to drive as the beginning of independence. On the other side, I have a friend who is elderly and has had to give up her driver’s license. She is dependent on others to bring her medication to her and remind her what day it is. This is how God created us. We each will return to that dependent state. I prefer to not think about that. But that season is in my future. I can’t stop it from coming. So, my choice is to push for more independence or to submit myself to the Lord’s plans for my life (Jeremiah 29:11). It’s still a process for me but I’m seeing that my perspective needs to be grounded in the Lord. I want to grow in my relationship with Him. “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12, 14)