Valentine's Day Treat

Happy Valentine's Day!  Or as they say here in Mexico...¡Feliz Día de Amor y Amistad!  Translation:  Happy Day of Love and Friendship!

It's been pretty much a regular day here in our household in spite of it being Valentine's Day.  Jkaile learned how to cut out valentine hearts, but otherwise the kids have had to do their schoolwork as normal (much to their disgust).  But we have homeschool camp coming up next week and we can't afford to take any days off at this point.

I did make them a special treat for dessert, however, No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies (perfect for an oven-less home such as ours).

Ingredients:
2 c. sugar
5 T. cocoa powder
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
Dash salt
1/2 peanut butter, optional
1 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2+ c. oatmeal (quick cooking oatmeal is better, although I used the old-fashioned kind because it's what we have)
Bring everything to a boil except for the vanilla and oatmeal.  Bring to a boil and stir constantly while at full rolling boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and oatmeal.  Drop by teaspoonful on wax paper, foil or cookie sheets.  Cool to let harden.  

Miguel is still in the mountains and will probably not be home until Thursday.  But last week he brought me this sweet carved rose made by an inmate in a prison that Miguel has visited together with others from our church.  I put it in the vitrina (something like a china cabinet) along with a few other special things.

Here's a close-up...it's a bit hard to see, but the base of the rose is in the shape of a heart.

So Sweet

Before I left for the Women's Retreat last Friday, Gracia slipped me an envelope with a "card" in it. I tucked it into my pocket and opened it on the way out to where we were going to stay. This is what Gracia gave me; a picture of the two of us. Isn't that the sweetest thing?! This will definitely be something I will keep in my Bible as a sweet memory...

Close-up...

Karen Kingsbury-Life-Changing Fiction

Thanks to Erika upstairs, I have been enjoying reading Karen Kingsbury's Baxter Family Drama book series. I highly recommend these books...not only are they good stories, but there is so much godly wisdom there as well! Last year, I made a commitment to only read books that would encourage me in my spiritual walk because I realized that some of the books I was reading, while not necessarily "bad", were either bringing me down emotionally (didn't need that!!!!) or distracting me from focusing attention on my walk with God. I am very thankful for authors like Karen Kingsbury, who write such good stories that bless and encourage.

I just finished the last book in the Firstborn Series of the Baxter Family Drama and I was kind of sad to finish it! Another great book, but it makes you wish that the series wouldn't end...anyway, at one point in the book, one of the Baxter's sons received a letter from his father that had been written by his mother (now deceased) listing out Ten Secrets to a Happy Marriage. I'm going to print it out and put it on my fridge or something...wonderful reminders of how I can love Miguel! So here are these words of wisdom:

Ten Secrets to a Happy Marriage

1. God has you here to serve one another. Love acted out is serving.
2. Women need respect and nurturing. Love your wife so she knows you'd lay your life down for her. Continue to date her and admire her. Share a hobby--find something you can do to have fun together.
3. Laugh often.
4. Be patient. Love crumbles quickly under the weight of unmet expectations.
5. Spend more time trying to fix yourself than your spouse.
6. Keep short accounts. The Bible says, "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." Make it a habit to forgive.
7. Determine up front that divorce is not an option.
8. Learn about the love languages. Not all people show love or receive it the same way. You want a back rub and your spouse wants a clean kitchen. The love languages are fairly simple: acts of service, time, physical touch, gifts, and words of affirmation. Learn them. Love is better received when it's in the language that person speaks.
9. Words of affirmation are a love language for all men.
10. Men are born to be leaders. He cannot lead unless she gives him the confidence to do so. If you love your husband, build him up. Confident men to not seek love outside the home.

(from Forever, Baxter Family Drama-Firstborn Series #5 by Karen Kingsbury pp. 238-240)

What would love look like?

I got very frustrated with Miguel yesterday...okay, well, a little angry, too! It boiled down to a cultural difference, I think, and I'm realizing more and more how laid-back Latin Miguel and time-conscious American Becky think so differently! You'd think I'd know that by now after nearly 13 years of marriage...

We were invited to a friend's house to grill hamburgers around noon (it's important to note here that it was another Latin couple who had invited us) and we were having a leisurely Saturday morning, thinking to leave around 11:30 a.m. when Miguel announced he was going to Home Depot (yep, there's one here in Mexico!). Since we had to buy the meat and bread for lunch, I asked him to stop by the store on the way home to pick that up...I really had my doubts as to whether he could get back in time, but I am trying not to be a bossy wife and didn't say anything.

So off he went with the two single guys from downstairs. I busied myself making banana bread, Sunday dinner, some ironing (that in itself is pretty incredible!!!), and getting ready to go to our friends' house...an hour went by, two, two and a half...I really tried to resist the negative thoughts towards Miguel and the tension of knowing we were going to be late, but old habits die hard, I guess, and by the time he got home I was a bit tense. It turns out that he had taken one of the single guys to his church for an activity, then gone to Home Depot, then to the grocery store, where they took the time to grab a torta (sandwich) as well as do the shopping and Miguel honestly had little idea of the time when he got home. And culturally, he really wasn't doing anything 'wrong'...I find that pretty unbelievable, since in my mind, when I tell someone I will be somewhere at a certain time, I do everything in my power to get there at that time! My choice would not have been to go anywhere at all, knowing I wouldn't have time to do all that and still make it to the appointment on time...the funny part is that since our friends are Latin, too, they didn't expect us until we arrived (an hour or more late) and it was not a big deal at all! In fact, they were defrosting their refrigerator and really relaxed, there was absolutely no mention at all of the fact that we were late.

It was neat, though, to see how God is working in my heart. As I was wrestling with my feelings, I heard a question forming in my mind, "What would love look like in this situation?" The Love Chapter came to mind..."Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." I Cor. 13:4-7

I've been talking a lot to our kids about what love looks like as they relate to each other and their friends...the other day as I was making a bed with Micah, I showed him how sometimes the sheet is wrinkled, but the thick blanket will cover it and hide the wrinkles...and that's how love is, love can cover and hide all those 'sins' and things others do that bother us. It's really our choice as to whether we 'spread the blanket' or not! I realized that I could make a big issue of Miguel being late or I could choose to love...thank you God for helping me to love! And we had a wonderful time of fellowship with our friends without the tension of an argument in the background...