Yesterday

Yesterday we drove twenty minutes away.

Yesterday we parked the car when we arrived and walked to the elevator to get to floor five.

Yesterday we got off the elevator to view a waiting area full of tear filled people waiting in anticipation.

Yesterday we heard what had happened to a man we had never met but whose family and friends held so dear. 

Yesterday we prayed with them for healing; physical and spiritual. 

Yesterday we met his wife, daughter, son, friends. 

Yesterday we stood in his hospital room.

Yesterday we were very aware of his presence but he was not aware of ours. 

Yesterday we prayed over him.

Yesterday we watched as the nurses had the family come into a room and hear the new report.

Yesterday we heard sobs coming from the room as the staff left.

Yesterday we saw the faces of people in hysterics who are left with news that is unbearable. 

Yesterday we left the hospital completely shook up.

Yesterday we wished to have known this wonderful man before this day.

Yesterday we sat in sober silence.

Yesterday we were given a new understanding of the gospel.

Yesterday we realized that Jesus is our only solid rock to stand on.

Yesterday we remembered that without Jesus - our life is literally sinking in sand.

Yesterday I thought about all who do not trust Christ whose lives are in sinking sand.

Yesterday I about the things you hold so close - wealth, power, status, appearance. 

Yesterday I wanted to tell you to run to Jesus who wants to give you peace on the solid rock.

Yesterday.

{Your life is literally in one of two places. On a solid rock. Or in sinking sand. Do you realize you have no control over your life? We don't control our next breath let alone the next hour or day. Yesterday was a hard and sober day. But it was also so good, realizing that Jesus has complete control over life; new life born and also death. When we trust in Him - there is NO fear in death because he has already conquered death when he died on the cross. If you have any questions about the enirety of Jesus' good news, please email me @ meganaliciaknight @ gmail . com}

Tortillas & Siena Video

Yesterday I posted this picture on Instagram. 

3 ingredient tortillas! 

I got a few responses on Facebook about how they turned out. 

Drum roll.....

They are delicious! 

The recipe can be found here.

I will say a couple of things about the process:

-I was very frustrated with the first couple of tortillas - they didn't turn out the way I wanted them to. All I have to say about this is don't give up! You will learn as you go how to mold, shape, and cook these buggers and they will turn out great!

- Use your hands in the process to smooth it out into a circle. I tried at first to solely use the rolling pin but this didn't produce the shape that I wanted. If you use your palm to smash (gently... I know this sounds weird) it into a circle and then slowly use your hand to work it larger - then use the rolling pin - this seemed to work much better for me. 

-I finally got large circular tortillas but I use the WRONG pan. Next time I will use my normal frying pan or my griddle. The pan I used had a larger rim and it was impossible to lay down the thin piece of dough without it getting a tad misshaped because I didn't want to burn myself on the rim of the pan.

-They taste really delicious. Next time I make them I am using whole wheat flour. This time I only had whole wheat pastry flour in the cupboard and I still don't understand how to use this in a normal recipe... If you do - please tell me!

-One last thing about this - I love the website 100 Days of Real Food. She is absolutely amazing. I am using so many of her recipes now (like whole wheat banana pancakes - SO good!) and her tips and tricks. We are trying to eat more real food around here - so this is a start!

If I only got you here for a Siena video :) here it is!

Can't Forget

Walking in the door after a wonderful evening with many sweet friends celebrating a soon to be Mrs, I was welcomed inside by my handsome husband. We exchanged a couple little details about the night and then he told me that Siena had been laid down an hour before and was still not asleep. When he laid her in her crib he told her that Mama would come in and see her when she got home.

So, like all mamas who don't just barge into their child's room (not wanting to wake them up!) I first took a peek on the monitor. The adorable little munchkin was on her back playing peek-a-boo with her little pillow. So, of course I went in.

I picked up that sleepy, heavier than normal, warm little body and went straight to the rocking chair. Those moments that followed were timeless, come without any notice and are so so sweet. She lay on my body so limp yet so excited to be holding her mama. We started our time together by chatting about the night. I would ask a question and she answered with her sweet little words that I wish so badly I had taped.

"Did you have fun with Daddy?"
"Yeahhh."

"Who did you play with?"
"Ezra and Jake."

"Was Lily there too?"
"Yeahhh."

"What did you eat for dinner?"
"Blueberries." (Not what she ate! :)

I couldn't stop rubbing her back and playing with her soft little curls. It was like I was trapped inside a moment that I knew wouldn't last. I knew she had to go to bed but I wanted to stay there for hours. We switched over to mama and daddy's bed and cuddled. Out of nowhere she tickled me. I tickled back. We laughed and smiled and her little face lit up as we communicated like we never have before.

You see, each new time I get a surprise moment like this - she's grown.
She's grown past the crying all night newborn.
She's grown past the bouncing, sshhing, rocking.
She's grown past the needing everything from mama.

The crazy part, she won't be like this for long.
I want to treasure where that little girl is at in each moment.

I can't forget this blessing that God gave me tonight, in snuggling my one year old who soon won't be one. Who loved laying with her mama, snuggling, tickling, talking.

What a gift these twenty minutes were.

Spic and Span

If I said our house was always clean and everything was always put away that would be a lie. But I do like to keep it clean most of the time. Chris likes things organized, decluttered, and minimal. I try to love him well and keep our house that way.

It doesn't always work.

When we lived with our friends who are more like family, we started a cleaning check off list. This was my friend Lexi's idea - which was a great one! We used it for all areas of the house and did it all in one day during the week. When we moved here I had a much smaller space to care for and wasn't sure how I wanted to do it. I realized a few weeks in that I was slacking, nothing was clean, and everything was still in chaos.

I decided to scour pinterest for some cleaning check list ideas. They may suit you, but they didn't work well for me. I tried for two weeks using a method where you did upkeep in the morning and night (that part I like) and then one chore a day. After two weeks of this I realized that I felt like I never stopped cleaning and never got a break. It is supposed to make you feel like you aren't spending hours cleaning. But it made me feel like I could never let go of the spray bottle and wash cloth.

Finally I decided to go back to the once a week method. I really like this WAY better. I do vacuum the night before because this enables me to get right to cleaning when Siena lays her head on the pillow the next afternoon. And of course, I always have to give myself grace because like yesterday there will be days when not all of it gets done and I'll finish it today.

But then the great part comes and from Wednesday - Saturday I don't clean at all! I pick up toys and put away clothes but the deep cleaning is all done for our home.

Here is the list that I use

Cleaning

Just another note: I do laundry on a need to do basis. It just doesn't work for me to do it once a week. I also stick this printed sheet inside a sheet protector and hang it on our fridge. Then just use a dry erase marker to check off what you've accomplished!


If you want the word document to change a few things and use it for your home, just let me know!
~Megan