My Favorite Holiday

I decided today that Easter is FOR SURE my favorite holiday. I think a lot of it has to do with music....there is no music more EXCITING than Easter music!! It is something that I want to celebrate EVERY day of my life, not just on Easter. Jesus is alive! And as I was reminded this morning, His Death and Resurrection were the only events that we are commanded to remember. I wonder why we only spend one day a year celebrating it?

Here are a couple of my all time favorites that help me praise my Jesus on Easter and throughout the year:

There are so many more songs that are such an inspiration to me in celebrating Jesus being alive. Here are a few pics of the blessings that God has given us:

All my precious babies, nieces and nephews!

Happy Easter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love,
The Milams

Chicken and Dumplins

My family loves my chicken and dumplins. I tried it with whole wheat flour dumplins, and I can't really recommend that. It might be ok with 1/2 wheat and 1/2 regular flour. But today I finally took the time to measure and write down a recipe. I will actually "write" it in my trusty recipe book that I am making for the kids.

Whole Chicken with stock
32 oz. stock
4 cups flour
1/2 cup shortening
1 3/4 cup milk

Boil a whole chicken, let it cool and pull the meat off. Save the stock and add another 32 oz carton of chicken stock. Meanwhile, make the dumplins. Take 4 cups flour and cut in half a cup of shortening with a pastry blender. (I like the hydrogenated-free kind they sell at Whole Foods). Add 1 and 3/4 and mix well. Dust a surface with flour and roll out to about 1/2 inch think. Cut into strips about 1 by 4 inches. Let these sit out on the counter for at least one hour. (The longer it sits, the better. I usually let them sit all day).

After the dumplins are nice and stale, add the chicken to the stock and bring it to a boil. Drop the dumplins in quickly and continue boiling for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  

THINK WE NEED A BIGGER TABLE??

Why in the World Would I Celebrate Saint Patrick's Day?

"Why in the world would I want to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day!?"
This is what was going through my mind last year when my girls asked if they could perform their Irish dancing in the Saint Patrick's Day Parade downtown. I mean, I am not even IRISH! (At least, not that I know of!)
Well, here is some things that I have learned about Saint Patrick since I agreed to the girls' participation in Irish Dancing. First of all, he was a missionary. I think I knew that before, but we studied missions in Sunday school and I was reminded about that. But it wasn't until I caught bits and pieces of Justus' Veggietales video as I was walking through the room that I learned a bit more about him. Apparently, he was taken as a slave from England to Ireland and worked for years there. He was able to leave eventually, but felt called to go back as a missionary there later and tell them the gospel. Of course, I know there was a lot more to the story than that, and I would be very interested to learn more about him. (Thanks to Veggietales for helping us learn something about Saint Patrick).
I wish that every person that drinks themselves silly on this day and parties like crazy actually knew a little bit about what it means to surrender your life to God's service and forgive those who have persecuted you, like Patrick did. I think that next year, we should think of ways to tell them about it!!
So I am really ok with celebrating Saint Patrick's Day now. But I still don't get what a shamrock is.

ANOTHER baby

We needed another baby in the house. Two is not enough!!! Just kidding. But we do love babies. So we got Sam. He is half Australian Shepherd and I think he is super cute. The problem is, I have never successfully house broken a dog. He is doing well with the crate training, but continues to have lots of accidents in the house. Any advice would be welcome!!
Now, some of you may know that around here we haven't had such a wonderful track record with long-lived pets. But I am determined that this dog is going to be a successful part of the family (LORD WILLING :))

Sacrifice

My lifelong friend and her family are moving to France in ten days. Saying goodbye to her won't be anything new to my sister Rachel and I....we have said goodbye and hello to her many times over our lifetimes since she was an MK. And this time it will be better than when we were kids, cause there is Facebook, Skype, etc.... There is awesome adventures awaiting them as they go to language school, and then on to Camaroon, Africa to do mission pilot work. But you know, I was thinking. (Luke always says that is a dangerous thing.) They are really sacrificing a lot. The two main things that stick out to me that they are sacrificing is #1 THE AMERICAN DREAM. You know....own your own home with a white picket fence, letting your kids be in Scouts and going to PTA meetings. All that stuff. And #2 (and the hardest one, I'm sure) is not being close to family. Not seeing them for months at a time. Not eating together every Sunday afternoon. That will be hard.
Now I know that God doesn't call everyone to France or Camaroon. But what if He did? Would you go? Would you give up what you think your life should be? Would you give up the everyday comfort and security of living close to your family and friends in familiar settings?
We are serving God in Alabama because that is where He wants us. But if He called us to leave our home and move away, we would do it because we wouldn't want to be anywhere else but in the center of His will. Neither would my faithful friends who are moving to France :) I will miss them so much, but I want them to go because they are going to do awesome things for God, and I can't wait to see it happen!

That sums it up

I asked Luke if I could combine his Apologia Outdoors Ministry Blog with a blog that I would like to create about our family. I chose this name because I think it sums up what Luke and I are doing with our lives.......living for the glory of the One Who made us! I heard that Stephen Curtis Chapman song the other day, and it described my life so perfectly!! "Cleaning up toys from the living room floor for the fourth time today, sweeping up cheerios that somehow got away" (or something like that)!! Sometimes it does seem that the little things I do all day don't seem to make too much significance, but that song reminded me that no matter how "little" my tasks seem to be, I can glorify God because I am doing what He has called me to do. So I will do it for the glory of the One Who made me. That is also what Luke is doing with Apologia outdoors. God has called him to reach families with the Gospel and he has been working very hard to get this newly named ministry off the ground in central Alabama. Sometimes writing by-laws and policies and hand books seems so boring!! But he knows that the sooner he gets it done, the sooner he can get out there with kids and teach them about creation. So he is doing it for the glory of the One Who made him.