Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

Just made some of these and thought I would share!

2 1/4 cups flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 2/3 cups sugar

1 cup milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 egg whites

1 cup oreos (about 10 cookies)

*frost with either a store bought vanilla frosting or I use a basic butter cream frosting with powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk*

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin pan with paper baking cups.

2. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into large bowl; stir in sugar. Add milk, butter, and vanilla; beat with electric mixer at low speed 30 seconds. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Add egg whites; beat 2 minutes. Stir in 1 cup crushed oreos. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling two-thirds full.

3. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pans and place on wire racks.

4. Frost; garnish with additional crushed cookies.

makes apprx. 18

Hope you and your family will enjoy!

Family Time

I have a very new and small family. It's just my husband, my (almost) 9 month old, and me. My husband and I have been married for 4 1/2 years and the majority of that time it was just the two of us. It was easy to do fun things together, because #1 we could be spontaneous and #2 there was a whole span of things we could do.

Now with Caden in the picture, our family has increased and our love has increased, but our ability to spend time together has gotten harder to achieve.

Any one who has a family or "specializes" in relationships will express the importance of spending quality time together. Of course, you don't need to go out or spend money to accomplish this, but sometimes it is fun to go do something "special" that isn't just at home.

Since Caden has gotten a little bit older we have started a new tradition in our family. We have set aside some money in our budget each month for us to go out to lunch every Sunday after church. It has been going great so far. We catch up, share what we got out of church, and just spend time getting to know each other all over again. I hope it will continue for quite some time as our family gets older and bigger.

I encourage you to make some sort of weekly tradition to do with your family. The point is to have fun together, grow together, and just love on each other. However you go about it, I guarantee it will be a blessing.

My Life Changer

There have been so many ups and downs in my life. Hard times, good times, sad times, blessed times...just like everyone else. Things change, people change, situations change. But one thing has stayed the same since I was 14 years old...

Once Jesus entered my life the roller coaster that I sometimes felt I was riding was still difficult at times, but there was a peace. God never changes, He always sticks to His word, He never breaks a promise, He is ALWAYS there. Isn't there such relief in that?

I don't want to know what life without God would be like. I don' want to know how situations or relationships could have turned out if I didn't have Jesus in my life. He is my Faithful Father who knows my heart, my needs, and every situation in my life. He will not leave me nor forsake me, purely by His grace.

When going through this life I hope that you will claim the love of Christ. Know that He is on your side.

"And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us then what could stand against?"

DELICIOUS oatmeal cookie recipe

These oatmeal cookies have a little umph to them...dried cranberries and chocolate chips! I made them for the first time 2 days ago and my husband has gone crazy for them! They are very quick and easy, plus tasty as can be! I couldn't help but share it with all of you. *Recipe courtesy of Ocean Spray Craisins, with some changes I have made*

Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

2/3 cup butter/margarine

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup dried cranberries (I used Craisins)

2/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Using an electric mixer , beat butter and brown sugar together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well.

Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition.

Stir in dried cranberries and chocolate chips.

Drop by Tablespoon fulls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Money, Money, Money

Last night, Garrett and I watched the movie "Wall Street" with Michael Douglas. First off, let me warn you it was a long movie! Haha. No, but in all seriousness I don't know how you can watch this movie and not feel convicted about one thing...our love of money.

Whether we have a lot of it or are barely scraping by we all have this desire somewhere in us for more money. How many times have you caught yourself daydreaming about what you would do if you won the lottery? Or have you ever thought to yourself, 'if only we had total financial security, then I would be happy.'

I think we all struggle with this or have at some point. The Bible warns us:

*Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

*For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10

*“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Luke 16:13

*Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. Ecclesiastes 5:10

Notice all of these verses warn us against our own LOVE of money, not money itself. We have to guard our hearts against it and be aware when we start making it an idol.

In the movie, the majority of people are stock brokers. Their lives, hearts, & minds are constantly consumed with how they can make more money. It is EVERYTHING. When one man's company goes under he can't find any other joy in his life, so he commits suicide. This is an extreme, but has happened too many times before and is heart wrenching...

Let's find the joy in our life that is Christ. No matter how little or how much money we have we will be peaceful, we will be full of love, and we will be selfless. Live with meaning and purpose. Things fade away...souls don't.

So This Is Motherhood?

Something AMAZING happened to me this past year...I became a mom. Since I was a little girl, I always knew I wanted to be a mom. People always ask, when you are a student, what do you want to be when you "grow up?" As I grew, so did my aspirations...I wanted to be a lawyer, and then an actress, and then a writer, and so on. The only thing that ever stayed consistent was my desire to one day be a stay-at-home-mom.

Little did I know, that dream would come true at only 22 years old. And, little did I know how hard it would be! Haha. I think as young girls/women we fantasize the role of being a mom. I have never done anything that takes so much out of me as this! It is so hard trying to balance the house work, the cooking, the shopping, paying the bills, etc. on top of taking care of all the needs of a baby all while running on only a few decent hours of sleep.

The funny thing is, every single mom knows the feeling of being "at the end of your rope" but none of us would change it for anything! When it comes to being a mom the good moments ALWAYS outweigh the bad.

I am just at the beginning of this long journey of motherhood. I know there will be times when I want to pull my hair out, cry, run away even! Haha. But I know that with the help from other moms, my husband, my family, and, more than anything, God I can make it through. And maybe even do somewhat of a good job. :)

A Scary World

The internet is a great thing, but also comes with a lot of dangers. It can be scary at times! Nowadays, the garbage comes to you! I have been minding my own business on the internet and a popup of a naked woman appears right before my eyes! Talk about disturbing and disgusting!

As a wife and new mother I am very concerned about what the internet brings into my home, yet it can be a good thing and I don't want to get rid of it entirely. So, for a year now our household has used a parental control system. It is called Safe Eyes.

It lets the user administrator, that is me, have a login and password that allows only you to change the settings, restrict certain websites, or block themes such as "pornography" or "nudity". The administrator also can disable it for any amount of time for any reason. It has put my mind at ease and I know will be such a blessing when my young son eventually starts to utilize the internet.

It does cost $50 a year, which is priceless when you think of the security it brings. I highly recommended it to any family or any Christian wanting to guard themselves from the junk that is on the internet.

Hello 2011

Ah, New Year's Resolutions...there is just something about the word that bothers me. Maybe it's because I have, in the past, made them and failed to keep them time and time again! Haha.

I do welcome the fact that the new year represents a time for us to, in a way, start fresh. We can re-evaluate how we have been living and change some of those things that we think we can do better or want to do differently. It helps to know that the majority of the country is trying to do the same thing at the same time...none of us ever want to feel alone.

For the past few years I have decided to make goals for the new year. You might be thinking 'that is basically the same thing as a New Year Resolution.' And I know to some people it is, but because of the "stigma" I have attached to the word "resolution" I prefer GOALS.

These goals help me to have a vision and a focus in the new year. They help me to see where I want to be by this time next year and set a road on how I will get there. Of course, things don't always go as planned...I know that more than anyone, and I always plan for some surprises and a lot of wiggle room along the way.

There are little goals that I have made like, putting a designated amount into savings each month and working out while I watch my evening shows. There are, also, some bigger ones like, read my entire Bible in just 1 year...which leads me to my main goal as we enter this new year. As I reset and refocus and think about where I want to be next year I want it to be closer to God. Plain and simple. I want to know Him more, I want to love Him more, I want to serve Him more.

We are only 2 weeks into 2011; what are your goals, big or little?

Do you feel uplifted and renewed with the start of a new year? I encourage you to take a little quite time to ponder 2010 and reset for 2011. It is going to be a great year!

The Start of Something New

Hi, I'm Angela. I am a young mom, wife, and woman. I have many passions, many that I want to pursue in some way, but don't know how.

I have been blessed to be able to stay at home with my 8 month old son. There is nothing I would rather do! But, as many of you other moms know, it takes so much out of you! I want something that is for me and my passions...this blog is it.

Since I was a teenager I have felt drawn towards issues we face as young girls and women. I feel a need to try to encourage us and talk us through what it means to be a woman in this culture that tells us so many different things!

I have always, also, loved art: creating crafts, sewing, photography, and writing.

And now as a new mom, I am always listening to other moms and their experiences and stories. I have some to share too, and maybe someone will want to listen. :)

This blog is going to be a place where I can write and research and share all of my different passions; from crafts to serious women's issues. I hope that you will join me on my new journey and share with me too.