Strawberry Vinaigrette

When I was at the church retreat in March with my Mom, one night for dinner we had salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. The dressing was REALLY good. I'd never had raspberry vinaigrette before. Not too long after that, my friend Kami and I were discussing foods we can and can not eat. (She's diabetic and I am limited as to what I can eat because of my ulcer.) So, anyways she told me she had a great recipe for strawberry vinaigrette dressing. Today, I started thinking about the raspberry dressing and called Kami up for the recipe. I used strawberry jam but you can use raspberry jam, blackberry jam - whatever you want! I want to try it with orange marmalade or maybe even some pineapple and then make the salad have a little Asian flair with some slivered almonds and chicken. And although, I served this with salad, I think it'd be awesome drizzled over some angel food cake with fresh strawberries. YUM! I had leftovers, so I just poured it in a jar and put it in the fridge. Here's the recipe - if you try it, I want to know about it!

Strawberry Vinaigrette: 1/3 cup strawberry jam (I used the sugar free kind.) 1/2 cup red wine vinegar (could also use balsamic vinegar here I think) 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 tsp. of salt (you may have to add a little more salt depending on how salty you like your food) Whisk it all together for a few minutes or pulse it in the food processor.

Now, I made a few slight changes to my liking. I added a little more jam, I probably added a little over 1/2 cup of jam total to make it a little thicker and to make it less sour. When I make it again, I think I am going to try it with balsamic vinegar instead of the red whine.

Scripture Survival Kit

I made a "Scripture Survival Kit" for my secret sister at church. It turned out very cute and was very simple!!

In case you can't read the tag, it says:

Scripture Survival Kit Toothpick: To remind you to pick out the good qualities in others. Matthew 7:1

Rubber band: To remind you to be flexible. Things might not always go the way you want, but it will work out. Romans 8:28

Band aid: To remind you to heal hurt feelings, yours or someone else's. Colossians 3:12-14 Pencil: To remind you to list your blessings everyday. Ephesians 1:3

Peppermint: To remind you that you are worth a mint. John 3:16-17

Button: To remind you to button your lip when needed. 1 Peter 3:10 Lifesavers: To remind you that the Lord is there to help. Psalm 46:1

Puzzle piece: To remind you that without God weare not complete. Prov. 14:20

I usually don't mind letting people use my tags, just so long they do it with my permission. Feel free to email me at coleybelle(at)gmail(dot)com.

Digital Scrapbooking Take 2

I've picked up digi scrapbooking again! I actually started about three years ago when I was working on a project that I wanted to finish quickly. I then decided that I liked digi scrapbooking better than traditional scrapbooking. It's so much easier on me because I don't have to drag out a ton of things only to be interrupted ten minutes later and have to put everything away. With digi scrapping, I just hit save and come back to it when I can. Then last year, when I had major computer problems I lost some of my programs but lately I've really felt the urge and need to scrap, so I took advantage of some of the many freebies in cyberspace. 

When I started back up this go 'round and was looking at all the digi scrapbooking stuff on the net, I became a bit frustrated at first because everything had flowers or other girlie elements and I have a boy. But then I came to the conclusion that this is our family album, not an album soley for Noah, so the flowers and girlie elements (which I love!) are ok.

So, here's my first page in forever. Whatcha think?

Credits: Paper: Sunshine Days Paper Pack by Silver Rocket Scraps Frame, Ribbon, and Flower: Grape Crush Elements by A Work in Progress

I'm in Holland

Whenever people ask me to describe being the mother of a child with special needs, I am at a loss. How do you truly put what it is like into words? I turn to an inspirational piece written by Emily Pearl Kingsman called Welcome to Holland. I'm living in Holland and this truly articulates what it feels like......

Welcome to Holland by Emily Pearl Kingsman

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland.""Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandt's.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

For Darcy

Three years ago today our baby, Darcy, went to Heaven’s nursery. Our dreams were shattered and we struggled to pick up the pieces. I thought one day this would get easier and maybe I’d forget the date or something, but really how can you forget a piece of your heart? I don’t feel like writing a lot today. Instead, I want to share the lyrics to a song. A friend had this you tube video on her blog. It is a song called I will Carry You written by Angie and Todd Smith. Todd is a member of the Christian group, Selah. They recently lost a baby girl and Angie has a blog sharing their baby girl's story. This song is just amazing.   There were photographs I wanted to take Things I wanted to show you Sing sweet lullabies, wipe your teary eyes Who could love you like this? People say that I’m brave But I’m not Truth is I’m barely hanging on There’s a greater story, written long before me Because he loves you like this. I will carry you While your heart beats here I will carry you Long beyond the empty cradle Through the coming years, I will carry you All my life I will praise the one who’s chosen Me to carry you Such a short time, Such a long road All this madness but I know That the silence has brought me to voice And he says….. I’ve shown her photographs of time beginning I walked her through the parted seas Angel lullabies, No more teary eyes I will Carry You While your heart beats here Long beyond the empty cradle Through the coming years I will carry you All my life I will praise the one who’s chosen me

To carry you.

Dearest Darcy, Even though I only carried you for a short, short time. I'm glad that I was able to carry you. I'm glad that you will forever me a part of me and I know one day I'll finally hold you in my arms and I'll carry that dream in my heart until I do.  I love you baby girl. Love, Your Mommy

Jenny McCarthy's Louder than Words

Back in the day, when she was a popular MTV girl, I wasn't a huge Jenny McCarthy fan, but now that she is the Mom of an autistic child and she is writing and talking about autism and special needs, I'm listening. I love what she said on The View, right before her book came out, (I'm paraphrasing here) but it was something like, "I have a big fat mouth and I'm going to start talking about autism and I'm not going to shut up until people start listening!" Well, Jenny, people are listening!

What's she is talking about is the controversy that has recently come up regarding autism and vaccinations. Some people think that the vaccinations children are given are causing some cases of autism. Jenny discusses this in her book.

I received the book,  Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Austism,for Christmas and thought it was just absolutely amazing. It's the personal journey of Jenny's son, Evan, and how he came about to being diagnosed as austic. Just like any good Momma who's child is diagnosed with some type of special need, Jenny started researching. She has a self declared degree in Google Research! She asked questions, pushed, researched, and didn't stop until she found the answers she was looking for which is how she conculded the autism/vaccination connection in Evan's autism.

Even if you don't buy into the autism and vaccination correlation theory, Jenny's book is still a good read for Moms who might have autistic children or a good read for someone who just wants to read about a Momma's journey and love. A word of warning about Jenny's book though; it is rampant with foul language! She literally curses like a sailor. I tried to over look it but at times it was too much to ignore, so be forewarned that the language is bad!

I think that often times we put celebrities on a pedestal, we forget they are normal human beings and when Jenny was dealing with her son's autism diagnosis, she was just a normal Momma. I love the fight I have seen in her since the book has come out and she has traveled the talk show circuit promoting her book and the cause of autism.

End of the Year Teachers' Gifts

I was blurffing the other day (blurffing is a new word I saw on someone's blog and it means surfing through blogs, isn't it cool?!?) Anyways, I was blurffing on some craft blogs and I saw this cute can koozie tied with ribbon on a blog. It is so simple and so cute! I remembered seeing a bunch of those can koozies for $1 at Michael's so I got a few and jazzed them up with ribbon and a flower. I thought they would be a great end of the year gift for Noah's teachers and aides. I thought it would be nice to fill them up with candy and then put them in cello bags all tied up. Noah helped put the candy in and was all excited. I made a tag that says "Have a great summer! Love, Noah" but I took the picture before I had attached the tags. I think they turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself!

Craft Photos, Links, and Tutorials

Periodically I share tutorials for some of the different projects I've made. Below is a list of all the tutorials that are posted here. 


Simply click on the title to be taken to that particular tutorial. 


And if you are looking for seasonal or holiday projects those will be end of this post.

Enjoy!  

Post It Note Holder These post it note holders are made from an acrylic picture frame and are easy and inexpensive to make. They make great gifts!  

Memory Boards These memory boards are easy to make and give you a pretty place to hold photos and other important things. You can find a tutorial I wrote for these here.

Flower Pens and Pot Pen Holder

This is a cute, easy, and fun craft that would make an excellent teacher gift or a cute favor for a bridal shower. Click here to learn how to make these cute flower pens. 

Lil' Composition Notebooks I just love these little notebooks as they are cute, simple, and fast to make. They are the perfect size for your purse and they also make good party favors or small gifts to brighten someone's day.

Scripture Survival KitsEasy little craft to share the word of God with someone.

Seasonal/Holiday Tutorials

Initial Christmas Ornaments

Easy personalized ornaments - tie 'em on packages, use them as a place setting at your holiday gatherings, etc. (Also, you can make them without using Christmas colors and embellishments and leave them out all year long.

Snowbars

The snowmen and women are covering Hershey bars. They are fun and simple to make and make great stocking stuffers or gifts for teachers, classmates, co-workers, etc.

Patriotic Flip Flops

Adorable and easy flip flops made out of fabric.


Halloween Wreath

Wreath made out of scrapbooking paper and a couple of satin flowers


Halloween Candleholder Ensemble

A mummy, Frankenstein, a Ghost, and Jack - oh my!
They are all candleholders made from clear glass candleholders bought from the Dollar Store making this cute ensemble cost only 4$.

Frankenstein Popcorn

This cute Frankenstein is covering a pack of microwaveable popcorn. It's a great classroom treat and an alternative to all the candy kids receive for Halloween.

My BFF

Let me introduce you to my BFF. Her name is Lani.

Not too long after placing Charlie for after placing Charlie for adoption, I was longing to talk to another birthmother. Late one night I was struggling for peace and sleep and turned on my computer and began searching adoption related words. Eventually I found an “Is Anyone Out There” post written by another birthmother. I responded and Lani answered. A friendship was born.

When I answered that post, I never dreamed that I was responding to someone who would become my best friend, my sister in spirit. At first, all Lani and I talked about was adoption and our children, but soon it became so much more than adoption as we shared intimate details of our lives during late night phone calls.

A few months after we’d met online, Lani and her family were traveling to go to her birth daughter’s baptism. They would be traveling through our city so we made plans to meet. It was about midnight but we didn’t care! Our first meeting was at a Waffle House. Eventually, Lani and I went on to start BirthMom Buds together.

In the years since meeting Lani, she has become my best friend. She’s the person (aside from my hubby and my Mom) that I turn to first. She’s funny, comforting, and real. We have the same off beat since of humor and usually when I find something funny and no one else thinks it’s funny, Lani will! Sadly we don’t get to hang out as often as we like so we make up for lost time when we are together taking goofy pictures, staying up all night (we can sleep when were dead, right?) and crafting. She was in my wedding. She named her son after me.

We’ve been there for each other through the good times, the bad times, and everything in between and we will continue to do so…….

Mother's Day and the Woman who Taught me to be a Momma

First of all, Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mother’s out there! Today, I was fortunate enough to spend the day with my own Mother who is also the woman who taught me to be a mother. While growing up, I thought my Mom was really cool. She was a stay at home Mom and she always did cool things like volunteer to be room Mom or Team Mom. At some point when I was a child, (maybe when I was about 4?) she took a cake decorating class and became the envy of neighborhood Moms I’m sure, when she would make my brother and I these amazing birthday cakes. I’m talking really fantastic character cakes – Strawberry Shortcake, Punky Brewster, Bozo the Clown, Rainbow Bright, etc… She was a good, dedicated Mother. When I was a teenager, I thought my Mom was uncool. Sorry, Mom, it was a phase! Every teenage girl thinks she knows more than her Mom! I was a pain. I was a brat. Heck, I can still be a brat on bad days I’m sure. Now, that I am in my (early!) 30’s, I respect my Mother so much. I realize that being a Mother isn’t easy. It’s the hardest job I have ever had to do. It’s tiring, time consuming, stressful, but also so rewarding at the same time. I get it now. I get why Mom did the things she did. I even get why she did the things she did when I was a teenager! I’m not the best Mom by any means, but I try. I really try hard. I turn to Mom often for questions, concerns, or just to vent. She taught me how to be a Mother. While it wasn’t always verbal teaching and some of it was learned by her example, I am the Mom I am today because of her. I love you, Mom! Photo: Me, My Mom, and Noah on Mother’s Day 2008