Mother Love

motherhood + home + family

SHOTS + LINKS

“You are the peace in my troubled sea…”

I need to stop and reflect more on that reality…because it’s far too easy to take the safety and comfort and peace that Jesus gives me for granted. I fail to fully realize it’s benefits. It’s just like any other relationship we experience: it’s far too easy to fall into a state of complacency and expectancy and fail to fully appreciate, realize, and value the good thing we have.

We are blessed. So incredibly blessed.

And sometimes it’s so easy to say that…but not really know it. Sometimes the trials and troubles and battles feel bigger than the blessings, and they hide the goodness of life. So we have to choose: to remember, to reflect, to believe in the goodness of the Lord even when we don’t feel or know it.

Some shots:

One. I was feeling the winter-blues this past week, because it is insanely cold and as much as I have actually had fun with the northern winter thus far, I feel myself just about ready to be done with it. So we splurged on some buy-one-get-one-free strawberries at the store, and it’s a small, indulgent taste of summertime.

Two. And speaking of winter, can you see the snow moving across the lake? Our house sits a little rise so we can see pretty far down the lake, and it’s always neat to watch the storms (both snow and rain) move across the lake.

Three. We broke out the grill in the fourteen degree weather this weekend to cook up some salmon. My master-chef-husband whipped up some amazing stuff! And it just made us even more ready for warm weather because we miss our grill. One of my favorite things about summertime is the grill and supper on the deck. Oh, and flip flops…and fresh garden vegetables…and so many other things.

Some links:

– Still addicted to this one.

– This IG makes me want twins so bad.

– I request that one of the twins be a girl so I can dress her in this.

– Perspective.

– Passage of the week.

– Heading here on Thursday!

– Um, yum.

– Gorgeous photos of some of my pretty friends.

What about you: are you feeling ready for some spring weather? What are your tips for making it through the long winter?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

RECIPE:: MORNING GLORY MUFFINS

I was feeling a little bleh again today. But then I made muffins, and now I am better! Amazing what a little kitchen therapy will do for you on days where nothing feels inspiring. Plus the smells that waft in the house from these little babies are enough to put anyone in a happy place.

Morning glory muffins are above and beyond my favorite muffin in the entire world. Blueberry is a distant second…a distant second, not a close second. There is something about the combination of apply-carroty-nutty-raisiny-cinnamony flavors that are just perfect. Plus, morning glory muffins tend to be a bit more moist then a lot of other kinds of muffins, due to the moisture from the carrot and apple, which I like.

I’ve used a bunch of different recipes in my life for morning glory muffins, because I’m addicted to trying new recipes, even if there is nothing wrong with the old one. But I think this one might be “the one” for morning glories. It made it into my “good food” recipe binder, which is my collection of tried-and-true recipes I don’t want to lose.

Morning Glory Muffins

1/2 cup raisins
1 cup spelt flour (or flour of choice)
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups carrots, grated
1 large apple, grated
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
3 eggs
2/3 cup applesauce
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. molasses
1/4 cup orange juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare your muffin tin by greasing the tin or lining with paper liners (i’m uber-paranoid and use liners and grease them).

In a small bowl, cover raisins with hot water; set aside to soak.

Whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the carrots, apples, coconut, pecans, and sunflower seeds. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, applesauce, vanilla, molasses, and orange juice. Add to the flour mixture and stir until evenly combined. Drain raisins and stir them into the mixture. Divide the batter among the muffins tins. Sprinkle with some oats or raw sugar.

Bake for 23-25 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool in pan for five minutes.

Notes:

– I always put extra cinnamon in these, because I love cinnamon so much. Feel free to use only two teaspoons if you don’t want these too cinnamony.
– I also add molasses to the batter, which is optional. I just think it adds a good depth of flavor, but these are totally delish without as well!
– This recipe makes around a dozen muffins, depending on your muffin tin size. I actually had batter left that wouldn’t fit into my tins, so I just put the extra in a small souffle dish I have and it baked up fine. It’s like having a little morning glory cake!

Enjoy these with a cup of something hot and a pat of butter or a smear of honey.

Cheers to you!

What about you: do you like to try new recipes for something you already know how to make? Or do you prefer to stick to the tried-and-true?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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