Pancake Explosion

What started out our average Saturday morning brunch turned south pretty quick when Brenton gave me reigns to the skillet! As a whole, I (Kelly) do the cooking or baking for meals, but when it comes to breakfast food, Brenton is the chef. He has his own designated skillet that he brought into our marriage and has the art down pat.

Well, today, I decided to make breakfast. The eggs turned out just splendid and the pancakes were going well 'til I realized I didn't know how much mix to pour for a pancake. It didn't seem like I poured much, but the pancakes kept growing. And once you have one big pancake, you have to make another the same size. Especially if there are only two of you!

So I humbled myself and called Brenton into the kitchen. I told him I needed him to flip the pancakes, but kept secret how HUGE they were. Brenton smiled and said he'd help. Then he rounded the kitchen corner and got two marble-sized eyes. While he didn't leave me helpless, he did say there was not much hope. So the picture you see, is of the pancake explosion. Below I have distinguished the aftermath of my pancakes and Brenton's pancake. Now you know who the true chef is! I'm just glad our French chef from The Cove, Jean Claude, is not here to see my mess...

Help please come my way...


The true chef at work...

Sleep, Where Art Thou?

As the two of us love our evenings, it is common knowledge that we do not so often prefer early mornings. While a little tired but grateful, I (Kelly) was offered a few extra hours at work. This was a blessing in disguise as I had given up the search and decided to just be stretched as we learn to be more content in life. I am still learning that less is more; contentment comes only from the Savior. And my Savior is always faithful to provide and even bless us beyond our subsistent needs.

This lesson has come in a new light, as I feel for the first time I am learning what true contentment is. And with less, I truly have more. Rewinding a week in time, I was called into my supervisor's office about a week ago. As I'd mentioned I just assumed the Lord wanted me to be content growing in Him, and instead He had a special suprise in store. He provided extra hours after I stopped and waited on Him, then provided more hours than were expected the very next week. He provided just enough, as He promises to meet our needs and not our wants. Yet in doing so, He has a way of providing for the basics while adding on the extra blessings, just at the right time.

The last two days I spent at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association headquarters training for the extra hours. Full days and quizzes to boot, I am now glad I am no longer in school. My nerves got the best of me and left me fluster for the first two tests! With only four of us in training, I didn't want to be the one without access to this computer progam because I couldn't pass my quiz. My goodness, no! Don't worry, it all ended fabulously as we were told Kay Arthur was speaking for our graduation ceremony. Our certificates were actually presented shortly after Kay preached on the 2nd Coming for our devos. I did mean to say preach not teach, she's got the power...thinking of the old Jock Jam song for those who remember. Her devotional was full of goodness and I had the pleasure of literally sitting right in front of her for a good portion of the time, as she wandered through the crowd and stopped just short of me. What a treat, huh babe?! ;)

No longer do I need more; having our needs met is almost more blessing than I can take. I feel overwhelmed that I can better see His faithfulness, overwhelmed that I have grown so much closer to Him, overwhelmed that Light is being shed, overwhelmed by the reminder of His promises, overwhelmed that He is so wonderful and holy, and overwhelmed that THIS is MORE...knowing my Lord.

Dandelion, oh Dandelion; Spring Has Come

And so it is every Spring, so beautiful and majestic. Creation is at its peek once again. Flowers are blooming and sun-kissed, toes can wiggle once again in the grass and life is bursting forth.

Spring is and has been one of my favorite seasons for some time now. I love it even more every year. Full of anticipation, my inside gets overwhelmed with excitement as I watch this amazing spectacle run full course. Blooms bursting forth full of color and shouting out praise to our Savior; Spring is marvelous, truly marvelous.

So marvelous that Lexi has also become enthralled, mostly with the dandelion. However the story is not so majestic from here. Lexi, the big brown dragon, comes swooping down to snap off the heads of the whimsical flowers. Flying from dandelion to dandelion, eating the tasty treats unwaiveringly.

And again today, we had taken a walk to a valley encircled by mountains and trees. The central piece of property jets out with horses grazing. We'd stopped to visit the horses and Lexi had found another patch of dandelions to chomp on. While Lexi was occupied and not budging, my lovely husband found the horse's snout near Lexi's tail. In went the tail. Watching and wondering, actually still wondering about the sanity of my family.

In Came the Clouds

Brenton was greeted back from Hawaii with the Montreat Cavaliers' big soccer recruiting weekend and Kelly to volunteer training at The Cove, with about thirty seasoned adults. My (Kelly's) next day was a morning come too quick, though Brenton's whole weekend was packed. Thankfully, the sun followed us home not more than a few days later. The Saturday of try-outs was absolutely magnificent! Perfect for some early morning soccer in the Carolina mountains for the twenty recruits who showed to try out. I watched the boys from the sideline and conversed with a go-getter father out to support his son who was looking into Montreat.

That evening we had a few of the players over and two recruits for dinner. The two recruits had flown in from England and claimed they'd never seen a day as sunny and warm (mid-70's) as it had been the day of try-outs. Their bright pink sunburned faces rested my doubts about whether or not that could be truth. Thankful I was not in England cause I love the sun, my upper hand was quickly put into place.

In came the clouds and with them came colds. The clouds and rain made themselves plenty comfortable here in the mountains. They settled in low for the weekend, as the mountain tops peeked through. It was a glorious sight, for gloomy days. The not so glorious sight was Brenton and I over the weekend. After the full recruiting weekend, Bd was running low on sleep. The lack of sleep caught up to him and turned into a cold that I caught a few days later. Between the cooler days and stuffy noses, we're ready for the sun coming tomorrow.

Better Yet...

Good for Some Laughs...

And so it is True that Most Good Things Must Come to an End...

Brenton said it best while updating a friend, "It was the perfect amount of beach, planned activities and vacation." And it truly was! I had forgotten that winter could be so warm and pleasant. The morning mist greeted us daily and while it is not the true name, the nightly mist closed in our evening walks back to the hotel. While the Hawaiians complained of cold weather we were greeted back to mountains laced with snow for a true winter!

We spent our first few days lazily enjoying soaking up the sun; though we also got our share of exercise from all the walking. About halfway through the week, we sat through a presentation for free luau tickets. We were part of a small minority that didn't sign on to $10,000 vacation packages...we call it crazy, you call it whatever you want! All I know is that Germaine's Luau was better free.












The following day, we snorkeled at Hanauma Bay. The water was beautiful and clear, though a little to chilly to stay in long. However, we did enjoy a good half hour to forty-five minutes of spying on tropical fish, oh so beautiful and unique!

The last day of our trip was marked by the usual gray morning sky, followed by a light mist all day. It was the perfect day for a somber trip to Pearl Harbor as we remembered the many lives sacrificed for our country.

Leaving Hawaii will never seem right, especially after a week of making it your own. However, it was wonderful to return home to our mountain get-away still peppered with snow and a sweet lab that couldn't wait for our return!

Until next time, "Aloha."