We've Come So Far

How the years can pass so quickly is beyond me. It is Mitchell's TENTH birthday today, and I cannot believe that my once 7 lb. 4 oz. baby is now ten times his birthweight. In honor of his tenth birthday, I am going to list ten things about Mitchell Scott Bentin that I admire most:

1. Creativity and imagination.
2. Ability to "babysit" his baby cousins.
3. His building and putting-together skills.
4. Great memory.
5. Physical strength for his size.
6. Athletic endurance, especially in running sports.
7. Helpfulness in the kitchen for me and in the shop for his dad.
8. Ability to control our usually out-of-control dog, Pepper.
9. Relational abilities with girls.
10. His desire to follow God.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MITCHELL! You are so precious to me.

I Just Had to Tell You . . .

I am not going to go into a lot of detail right now, but I just had to tell you all that I have an amazing God. He goes before me. He knows just what I need, and at times He unpredictably provides for me in ways I could not have even imagined. He works in the hearts of others and it is through Him that restored relationships can happen.

Maybe I'll post on this in more detail one day; maybe not. I feel that perhaps my vulnerability on this blog is, at times, too much, potentially hurting those that I don't mean to hurt in the process of sharing my thoughts with you; or revealing things to my readers that might be considered faux pas. I'm not sure. All I know is that I see God at work in my life and for that I am thankful.

I make no apologies for that.

Heaven-Bound! (I hope it's okay to put an exclamation mark after that post title)

It is with mixed emotions that I pass on to you news regarding Wayne's dad . . . He passed away last night at 10:00 p.m. quietly in his sleep. He was 89 years old. He is finally home. It has been a long, lonely journey of nearly 5 years of life on earth without his wife by his side. From the moment she passed away, he has just wanted to follow her into glory. Now he is with her. And he is with Jesus! It's a bittersweet time for us . . .

Decadent

One of my good friends (who also loves to bake) gave me "Brownies in a Jar" as part of my Christmas gift last year and oh. my. word! were they ever good. So, I set off on a quest to find a recipe on the Internet for "Brownies in a Jar" and this is the recipe I located, which, from what I can tell, matches pretty much exactly what my friend gave me. For those of you who don't know what I mean by "in a jar", the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips) were layered in a canning jar topped with a decorated lid. Also included with this gift were the directions for completing the brownie recipe . . . I added the margarine, eggs and vanilla. It's a really cool gift and I think I'll be giving a few out to my friends this year.

So, if you want a decadent chocolate experience, try this. You don't have to layer the dry ingredients in a jar unless you want to give the brownies away. But trust me, after you make these once, you may have a hard time giving them away . . . treat yourself this weekend and mix up a batch of these.

Brownies in a Jar

1 quart jar

3/4 C. flour

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 C. cocoa

1 1/4 C. white sugar

1 C. chocolate chips

Combine flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside. Measure out the sugar and add to the jar. Measure cocoa and add to the jar as well . . . do not mix. Add the flour mixture. Lastly, add the chocolate chips. Seal jar and label with the following:

1. Place contents of the jar into a large mixing bowl.

2. Add 1/2 C. melted butter or margarine, 2 eggs and 2 tsp. vanilla.

3. Stir vigorously.

4. Spread and smooth into a greased 8 x 8 in. pan.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

6. Cool pan on rack. Slice and ENJOY!