Community Brew // Gratitude

Today I am linking up with Madison and Rachel for the Community Brew post! 

Gratitude.  Good grief I need to display more of this. I am SO blessed and I have so much to be thankful for and yet there are so many times that I just forget to be grateful. Ugh! I hate that. When I have a bad day or I am sick with a cold or Jordan and I just can’t seem to get on the same page… That is when I struggle with gratitude. I often think that my life has to be perfect or all in order for me to feel the gratitude that I know is in my heart.

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!”

I feel like I have one of the most amazing families in the world and yet I take them for granted all the time. I forget to say I love you to others or I forget to say thank you. I get annoyed about stupid things and I hold grudges. Well today is a beautiful day and I am going to give Jesus all the glory. It is a new day and I can start over with gratitude today! I think that is the best part about our Savior. He is constantly giving us more chances to praise him and give him the glory. We can always turn the day around and have gratitude. I am thankful for his promises today and the joy that I can have in Him.

Here is my gratitude list

1. Friends who give me great advice
2. Husband who serves me and loves me well
3. The smell of fresh baked cinnamon rolls drifting through the lobby at work
4. The sun shining into my home on my sleeping kitten
5. The beauty of having a free night to rest and recover from my cold
6. The fact that the week is halfway over
7. The thought of having lunch with a good friend
8. Dinner with good friends on Sunday and being able to hold their brand new 8 week old babe for a couple of hours.
9. The joy of trying a new recipe and it turning out perfect

There you have it my beautiful friends. Gratitude means so much and is so important. It can truly turn your day around. Have a beautiful day!

My Mom's Apple Crisp Recipe

Today I am going to share with you the apple crisp recipe that my mom gave me. I was going to share it on Wednesday for the Bread and Wine project put on by Rachel but the day got away from me and I was not able to post.

These are pictures from when I used the recipe to make a peach crisp. It was delicious. 

I saw my mom use this recipe time and time again when I was a little girl and now I have the privilege to make it myself. I love to change it and recreate it in different ways each time. It is one of those recipes that will taste even better when you give it your own person touch. I have made it using peaches, blueberries and of course apples. I have put nutmeg and cinnamon in it and sometimes apple pie seasoning. I have drizzled caramel over it and served it with ice cream. I have never had it turn out badly and it is a dish that makes me feel cozy and warm inside when I eat and prepare it. It is the best crisp I have tasted and I absolutely love taking the time to make it. Don’t be afraid to experiment with it and make it your own!

I hope you enjoy!

Apple Crisp

Filling

10 cups of diced apples, peeled
2 cups of white sugar
2 tablespoons of flour
2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together and place in a 9x13 pan. Pour ¼ of water over the mixture.

Crumble Top

1 ½ cups of oatmeal
1 ½ cups of flour
1 ½ cups of brown sugar
2/3 cup of melted butter
½ teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of baking powder

Mix all ingredients together and spread over apple filling. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Loving Lately

I am absolutely loving all things FALL! I had a pumpkin lattes, decorated the house for fall and have started getting my boots, leggings and sweaters out of their totes. Fall is by far my favorite season. 

Lately life just seems to be flying by and I can’t seem to keep up. Fall is always such a busy time of year for us and this year has been no different. We are involved in multiple groups in our church, work has been crazy busy, Jordan referees high school basketball and volleyball after work and I am just trying to keep the dishes out of the sink.

This weekend we had some time to slooowwww down and really relax and regroup.

On Sunday, Jordan and I spent the entire afternoon at home together. It was such a treat to be able to be home for that long.  We watched some of our favorite TV shows, snuggled on the couch with our little Phoebe and I worked on a few craft projects I have wanted to get done. One of my favorite things I did on Sunday was making a peach crisp. I absolutely L-O-V-E baking crisps in the fall. It makes me feel all cozy inside. Peach crisp has to be one of my favorite desserts of all time and I tried a few new spices to change it up a little bit. The recipe I have for my crisps is the one my mom gave me that she has always used. It brings back such great memories of my childhood and eating her apple crisp with delicious vanilla bean ice cream. Nothing better. I will be sharing this recipe tomorrow for the Bread and Wine link-up.

One of the crafts I did yesterday was turn an ordinary vase into a fabulous golden one. It was super easy and took me hardly any time. I am excited to try it again with other vases and use different colors. I will share the tutorial for this on Thursday. {Stay Tuned!}

I am hoping to become active again on my little piece of the internet but please have grace with me as I try to keep up with life! How have you been lately? Has this been a busy season for you? I would love to hear from you!