Happiness & a little "heart to heart"

     I haven't written in about a week because I've been so crazy busy! My brain is fried from all of this non-stop, end of the semester school work & finals. I still have to write a couple more pages for my "Philosophy of Life" paper and then I'll be done until February! Whoohoo! Jer got in a car accident on Sunday and he's fine but our car isn't. It's totaled :-/  I'm not excited that we're down to 1 car in the meantime & then get to embark on the frustrating task of finding a new (reliable) car... BUT thats not why I decided to blog tonight. Despite those circumstances I can't help but sit back & feel so grateful for the life I get to live! I've been so blessed. I'm married to my best friend, my kids are all healthy, beautiful & well-behaved (most of the time! haha). I have the opportunity to stay at home and raise my babies and we still have the funds to do the things we desire to do (on a budget, of course! ;) AND I can FINALLY say that in a few months our 3 year long foster care journey will come to an END and we'll be able to sign the final adoption papers! The girls will REALLY be ours! I don't deserve to be as happy as I am. It just seems like every day gets better and better. Life isn't perfect and never will be. There will always be something to work on or work towards, but I love the journey that my family & I are on. I love getting to wake up everyday with the goal to try to be a better wife & mom than I was the day before & to look for new ways to make memories with my babies. 
     I have made some terrible choices throughout my life, but have always chosen to get back up and trust that Gods plan for my life is better than my own. There have been days where I had no hope for a happier life, where I felt trapped and like I was "doomed" or "cursed." Like even if life was going smoothly, I had to hold my breath because a tragedy was waiting just around the corner. But I have come to see that those were lies. That isn't the life God wants for me or has planned for me. And even during the hard times (which are inevitable because of the fact that we live in an imperfect world) Jesus has been and will continue to be there throughout it all. Please be encouraged. Please know that you are SO loved by the God of the freaking universe. And please know that His plan for your life is more amazing than you can dream up on your own. Really. It is. 
  

Goodness in my mouth

The winter season always makes me want to drink... hot yummy things, that is! ;) I go to the gym each morning and sweat my little heart out only to come home and sabotage myself with things like peppermint mocha's or my latest concoction, caramel apple cider!

Jeremiah was at school so it was just the kids and I. Joel was sleeping and the girls were cleaning their room so I guess I started to get a little bored. I started having a craving for a nice, hot drink but didn't want coffee or hot cocoa again. I got the bright idea to make hot apple cider! I had about 6 apples (I think they were fuji apples??) just hanging out in my fridge so I decided to juice them. It gave me roughly 4 cups of juice. Then I added about 2 tablespoons of whole cloves, 6 cinnamon sticks (I really like my cider spiced, lol) and half a teaspoon of vanilla. I let it come to a boil & simmered it for about 5 minutes.

While the cider was simmering I had the bright idea to recreate starbucks caramel apple cider. I didn't have any caramel on hand so I found this link: homemade caramel sauce and got started! I was a bit nervous but it actually turned out great! I just made sure to pay really close attention to all of the directions! Haha. After the caramel was done I poured it in a jar for storage and strained the juice into the pot. I added 1/2 of the caramel to the juice and whisked it really well. It ended up tasting exactly like the starbucks hot caramel apple cider! It was delicious! And full of sugar and fat! Haha. Definitely a holiday drink, thats for sure ;) 

Yummy caramel sauce