Bananas Foster

(Sorry about photo quality.. all I had was my cell phone camera!)
Last week Bryan found a great, simple recipe for Bananas Foster and I love it so much I want to share!

You will need:

2 bananas

1tbsp of cinnamon

5-6oz of caramel

Vanilla ice cream

Pour the caramel in to a small pot/sauce pan on the stove.

Add the cinnamon and mix it well while heating on med. to med. high. 

Cut your bananas up in to 1/2 in or so slices. 

Once the caramel and cinnamon is mixed well and heated add the bananas to your pan and mix it in. 

Cook until bananas are tender. 

Remove from heat. 

Scoop your ice cream in to a bowl and pour the Bananas Foster over your ice cream and enjoy!!!

Homemade Fruit-Swirled Pancakes!

 (Sorry about photo quality! All I had was my cell phone camera!)

I just linked this post up at my friend's blog for her Warming Up Winter linky party!

I'm not often creative on my own but once in a while I get a little experimental and wow, I actually came up with something awesome! I'm sure it has been done before and for all I know everybody else does it and I'm way behind in the game but just in case you haven't done it here is my idea for fruit-swirled pancakes :)

First, you need a great pancake mix. I don't ever buy store-bought mix anymore. Of course with coupons and sales I could probably get it for super cheap but why when I could make a healthier recipe on my own at home:

Homemade Pancake Mix

4 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour 
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda

This creates a mix that you can store up to 6 months and use when needed. I have done it the above way up until tonight when I made more mix I decided to do 3 cups white flour and 3 cups wheat flour. I don't think it will make a difference but we will see! What I do is label a gallon zip-lock bag and write in permanent marker on the bag the additional ingredients needed to make the mix in to the gooey pancake makin' stuff:

1 cup mix
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

For me, that amount never works. Why is it that the recipe boxes always say they make a gajillion pancakes and they only end up making about 4?! So I just double the recipe for my family and whatever is leftover gets made and then frozen for later :)

So, mix up your pancake mix and pick out your favorite jelly! I experimented with Tastefully Simple brand Rhubarb Strawberry spread. It's the absolute best spread ever and now I'm down to my last drop and can't wait for payday so I can order more! Anyway, if you have a couple of measuring cups that would be great. I used a 1/4 cup and 3/4 cup. Scoop out your pancake mix using the 1/4 cup and pour it over in to the bigger measuring cup. Take about 1/2tbsp-1tbsp (depending on your taste) of the spread and drop it in to the pancake mix which is now in the 3/4 cup (or larger than 1/4 cup).

I take the same fork I mixed the pancake batch together with and lightly swirl the spread in to the mix. Don't swirl it in completely or it will mess with the consistency of the mix and won't really cook right. You just want it swirled a bit throughout.

Pour the mix over on to your griddle/pan and cook as usual! It adds an extra step to the process of pancake making but for me, it's totally worth it. It really makes a great taste and my hubby and toddler absolutely love it so it's a keeper for us!!

How do you describe love...

**Updated 2/14/2013**

I don't often update posts but as I'm growing I do scroll back through my earlier posts and think of things that have changed in my life. Some posts I feel need to be updated. I'm not trying to hide anything, just hoping to add inspiration :)

John 15:12   This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 

Hold your breath. I will be honest here... my husband and I don't really do much for Valentine's Day. *GASP!* I know., crazy! To us it's just another day. We don't exchange gifts, send flowers, give cards. Yeaaah, we did that back in high school but we were young and, quite frankly, dumb. I'm not saying that stuff is dumb. Some people love it! And it's not that we ignore the day. I'm sure we will share an extra I love you or two and a few more kisses. We just do things a little differently at times I suppose. It's kind of hard to avoid the day completely when it's so widely celebrated!

I still want to use today as a time to spread the love. Bible love, that is. I believe that without God's love I can not truly love others. His love allows my husband and I to love each other the way Christ loves the church. It is how He wants us to love so our foundation is built upon that. It wasn't always built that way. It took a little time but we finally made it.

If I know my husband loves me this way, that's all I need for Valentine's Day :)

I wanted to keep this post simple. I shared in The Wise Woman more about my marriage and how I do my very best to make it work the way God intended. I hope you will take a moment and read it!

char·i·ty - Christian love; agape.

1 Corinthians 13:1   Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2   And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3   And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

4   Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5   Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6   Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7   Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8   Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

9   For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

10   But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

11   When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12   For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13   And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

My quiet time post about quiet time.

2 Timothy 3:16-17   All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

 What do you do to occupy your time? We all have moments, some more than others, where we get bored or the house is quiet, work is slow, you can't sleep... whatever it may be. So what do you do to fill that quiet time? If you asked my husband he would say "sleep!" but he always wants to sleep so he doesn't count lol. I find most of my free time at work... I guess it comes with the territory. The city isn't always quiet but when it is, it can be pretty torturous if you have nothing to occupy your mind. We have a TV that stays on and we flip it between channels and we fiddle on the internet. Some have books or other little hobbies. Dispatching is definitely a job where you become quite skilled in the art of multitasking!

A few weeks ago Bryan and I went to eat and roamed the gift shop of the restaurant. I kept wanting to buy Christmas stuff that was all half-price, VERY tempting to the one who shops the clearance bins and sale prices! I found one wall-hang that I thought was neat, I knew it would go well in the living room which could use a little decoration anyway and I really just enjoyed the phrase. "If your Bible is falling apart chances are your life is staying together." Now, my Bible isn't falling apart, In fact it's only a few months old... and it replaced a Bible I have had for a few years that you would think was only a few months old. I do have a couple that are falling apart but anybody can own a Bible that is falling apart. Obviously you can't live by that saying or expect it to be true when you see someone carrying a tattered Bible around, it has no scriptural backing and is just that, a saying. A tattered Bible can mean so many things. I don't think decorating your house in scripture and cute "Christian" phrases makes you a better person or a better Christian. Anybody, even a non-Christian, can decorate their home in that sort of thing. But the phrase can still be an occasional reminder to pick up your Bible and read it. 

In that, I have found that what occupies my mind best in the quiet moments is my Bible and sometimes researching different things about my faith. It's amazing what a blessing you can receive from opening your Bible... It is just one of those must-haves for every Christian! Do remember your Bible! It is all there for you whenever you need it. I can't tell you how many times I have been discouraged, felt the need to encourage someone else, needed reassurance, or whatever it may have been... my Bible has been a great friend through it all. Praying for guidance and putting my trust in the Lord, the greatest friend, that He will lead me to the answer went hand in hand with having the word readily available for me to use! Everybody is so busy, too busy for God, too busy for life! I encourage you to read your Bible daily; in the doctor's office waiting room, on your break, before you lay down for bed, when the kiddos are napping, any chance you have! Take time out for the Lord and apply what you learn from His teachings to your every day life. If you are a Christian you understand the need to grow in your faith and in your daily life. I used to be the person who left their Bible on the pew at church and it sat there waiting for me the next Sunday. Now my Bible goes with me almost everywhere I go because I would hate to miss any opportunity to use it. The preacher shouldn't be the only person in the church house who opens up his Bible on Sunday morning, and he definitely shouldn't be the only person who opens up his Bible Monday through Saturday, either!

Acts 17:11   These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Do all to the glory of God

Over the last 6 months or so our family has grown stronger in our faith than we have ever been. Even as individuals Bryan and I have grown closer to the Lord and especially each other. It can be hard to change your life and get away from the things and corruption of this world, but with faith and putting my trust in the Lord I have been able to change my life for the better! 


The Bible tells us to follow Jesus, to love as Jesus loved, to share the gospel with others. How can we do that if we do not strive to LIVE like Jesus?! Jesus had no sin. None of us can ever achieve absolute sinlessness, but we can try our best to live as the Lord would have us and when we ask, He will forgive our sins if we have trusted Him as our Savior. When I think of things I like to do or want to do I always try to remember to question it first, would this glorify my Lord? Would my Father be proud of what I did, pat me on the back and say "Good job, my child!" 


1 Corinthians 10:31   "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 


That passage of scripture is a wonderful stepping stone for the choices we, especially as Christians, should make in our lives and like all scripture I take it very seriously and try to apply it to my life daily and in all things I do.

With that being said, here I have made this blog because I love to share the things going on in my life. I don't think I'm a huge inspiration to anyone but I do try to be encouraging to others if I can. I want to write about life and the good things in it. Sometimes I tend to think about things too hard and I really have to take a step back and not worry myself so much. The Lord will provide for us when the time is right and I believe that for everything, even in my want to write and share things... if I wait on the Lord He will give to me what I need! If I wrote every time I had the urge I'd ramble on like a crazy person and have 5 or 6 posts a day, and nobody would pay much attention. Nobody probably  pays attention anyway lol!

I pray that whatever I do write about is what the Lord would have it be, and that if somebody does pay attention they will gain something from it!


~Lisa~

My first blog post...

I'm getting the hang of this blog posting deal. I blame my friend Angela! Well, there's nothing to blame her about really, I've wanted to do this, she just rekindled the idea for me!