Contentment

 "I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content." 
-Philippians 4:11 

"...contentment is one of the flowers of heaven, and if we would have it, it must be cultivated; it will not grow in us by nature; it is the new nature alone that can produce it, and even then we must be specially careful and watchful that we maintain and cultivate the grace which God has sown in us."
-from Spurgeon's Morning and evening. 

This is a lesson I cannot say I have learned, as Paul does. I hope I can say though, I am learning.

Everyday, at some time or another we think to ourselves, perhaps subconsciously, "if only this were different I would be happier." A little secret? If we cannot learn to be happy as we are we will never be happy with something else.

And how do we learn contentment? Well, how to we learn anything? We must have a teacher if we're going to learn something.
"The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way."
-Psalm 25:9 
The Lord will teach us and guide us, but we must be meek.  

May He teach you this week.

Sabrina
 

CRBA and Passport

My son was born in Mexico and since I'm a US citizen and my husband is a Mexican citizen we wanted our son to have dual citizenship. He had by default become a Mexican citizen, but proving he also had a right to American citizenship wasn't so easy. After extensive research we realized the first thing we needed was to get his US birth certificate or Consular Report of Birth Abroad. (CRBA)

I lack the necessary papers to prove that I resided in the US for five years, as per US laws. I made an appointment at the consulate anyway, and when I arrived they told me what I already knew: I need documents such as immunization records, school records, utility bills, or something proving I had actually lived there for the required amount of time. As I couldn't provide any of this I went home discouraged and wondering what in the world to do next.

My husband incouraged me to make another appointment and try again. I saw no point in this but did as he asked. This time when I arrived and happened to talk to the same official I had spoken to the first time she was more willing to give me some hope. She gave me a list of things that might be helpful, (family photos, etc.) and told me to come back later.

The third time they gave me the interview with the Consulate official and after many, many questions and hours of history he approved the CRBA!!! You wouldn't believe how elated we were!

Six weeks later we had the document in our hands and then procceded to set the passport acquisition in motion. One appointment, and a two minute interview later and we were done. Praise the Lord for his help and support through this process.

Now, Lord willing, we'll be able to take our son to meet his other grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

DIY Baby Cereal

  Last week I was in Walmart and saw a 10 oz. bag of instant baby cereal for about 3 dollars. You know the kind- just add warm milk. I thought my 7 month old would like it but knew he’d finish the bag within three days. I concluded $3 was too much for three days of baby cereal.

  I asked my husband to read the ingredients and directions to me so I could make it myself. (I can read, just not in Spanish:))

  Basically it’s four grains: Oats, wheat, corn and rice.

I omitted the wheat and added a few apples for flavor and also a couple tablespoons of raw sugar.

It’s really easy to make. Just soak your grains in water overnight and then cook them. Soaking them will help your baby digest it better.  I cooked the oatmeal by itself making it a little thinner than I would like it for myself. The rice I cooked to mush. For the corn,  I use either  steamed fresh corn or Maseca. (Tortilla flour that’s basically ground white corn.) When using Maseca or other corn meal/flour just cook it in water till it’s well done, whisking to keep it smooth .

Approximate amounts

1 cup brown rice to 3 cups water

3 cups whole oats to 7 cups water

1 cup maseca to 3 cups water

Or

2 cups steamed corn kernels

2 apples or pears, cored and steamed

3 Tbls raw sugar

For added flavor and richness replace half the water with milk in the oatmeal.

  After your grains and fruit are cooked add all ingredients to blender or food processor. Blend until desired consistency is reached.

  Store in an airtight container in refrigerator. Or you can pour into ice cube trays and freeze. I find that making up a big batch every week or two and freezing it works well for me. Just take a few cubes out every evening and thaw in fridge for the next day.

  

  The amounts I’ve suggested  above are approximate but should make 8-10 cups of cooked cereal.

  

  My little cereal monster loves this combination and it seems to settle quite well with his stomach, without any digestive problems. If your baby has problems with constipation when eating this, try adding a few tablespoons of Molasses to the mix. This should help with the constipation.

Elmer's glue for wallpaper paste?

Awhile back my husband and I were trying to finish  our bathroom decor. I wanted to put some light cheery wallpaper on the walls since it's a tiny bathroom and there's like no room whatsoever for "decorating." I found some pretty paper at a goodwill in the US and brought it home to try in the bathroom.

There was just one problem. One BIG problem.

Our walls are stucco.
Meaning... you don't wallpaper them. At least not without some super special, super expensive glue.
Obviously we wanted to use the cheapest possible solution. My husband was all for trying PVA glue, while I was a bit more leery of the outcome.

In the end we decided to give it a try.

At first I tried to do it by myself. Bad idea. I felt like Nancy on Summer Magic, when she tries to hang wallpaper by herself.
When my husband got home he laughed at me for awhile and then finally helped me hang the wallpaper. I wouldn't say it was the best idea we've had, but the point is we actually wallpapered stucco walls with PVA glue. Is that brilliant or what?

So....
if any of you feel a strange urge to try some crazy but economical.... give it a go!

Wallpaper paste, or adhesive, usually sells for around $10.00 per quart.
We paid $30.00 pesos. ($2.50 dollars) Plus, we only used maybe half of it for two walls.

So not that you're convinced about how cheap it is here's how to do it.

Mix 2 parts glue with 1 part room temp water. Measure and cut your paper and then just apply your glue as you would regular wallpaper paste.
When putting the paper on the wall you need AT LEAST two people and lots of wet sponges. Especially on stucco walls. It takes much longer for the glue to adhere to stucco, so you'll need to rub it down with a wet sponge for several minutes.
It does make a bit of a mess, but so does any wallpapering project.

Have fun!

Sweet 'n moist corn bread

 3 cups corn kernels (fresh, frozen or canned)
2 cups flour
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbls baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 sticks (135gr.) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 300 F. Grease and flour one 9x9 baking pan. Blend all ingredients together in blender, and pour into pan.
Bake for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Note: to make a heaver, sweeter bread add two eggs and 1/4 cup sugar.

Wallpaper sample bookmarks

These beautiful little bookmarks are simply a snap to make! I love how quick and easy they are. (Not to mention how cheap!) I got these pretty samples from Anthropologie. You can request free samples here.

Supplies necessary

Wallpaper swatches
Glue stick
Scissors
Hole punch
Ribbon

Step 1
These swatches come glued to a thick paper a few inches larger than the sample paper. Gently take one side of the paper and pull it back to the center.
Tip: The glue will soften and peel very easily if its moist. To moisten carefully hold the paper over steaming water until it feels pliable and the two papers come apart easily. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO LET THE STEAM BURN YOU!

Step 2
Trim off the extra paper from around the pretty paper. Cut the thick paper exactly down the center. Measure it, or just guess to get it right.

Step 3 Fold the pretty paper around the thick paper in the center.

Step 4
Glue the wallpaper to the thick center piece.

Step 5
Punch a whole in the top center and add your ribbon.
Tip: To finish ribbon ends carefully hold the ends next to a candle flame to melt them.

And your done! Beautiful aren't they?!