Bungalow of Blessing

Changes.

Hello my dears! It has been a long time, I know. These past three weeks have easily been some of the craziest, most stressful, and most beautiful of my life. So much has changed, but through it all, the Lord is constant. He has been my Rock and Foundation through this time. Since I wrote the post about family change, much has happened. My spring break happened to land during the week my family and I moved. That was a HUGE blessing and that week was….unforgettable and filled with lots of amazing memories. Here are some pictures of the goings ons:

Me and my pup a few weeks before moving. Need I say more? <3 Greta is happily settled with some friends of ours now. I miss her, but I honestly couldn’t be more excited about the home she’s in now, so it worked out all right. :)

Going out for a celebratory dinner on Daddy’s last day of work in his old job.

Bair’s burgers are seriously the best! :)

Austin and I went squirrel hunting on Monday. Usually the woods are teaming with squirrels, but we didn’t see a single one that day. Grr. We just did target shooting and it was still a jolly good time.

Ah, I now see why people like hunting. Just being able to immerse yourself in the beauty and stillness of the outdoors is such bliss!

The next day, Wesley took off work and we went to Mansfield and visited the museum and home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The Little House series are near and dear to my heart, since my Mom was intentional about reading them all to us when we were little. I would definitely say that they shaped my childhood. How amazing to see and experience some of Laura’s world!

Then we came back to Wesley’s apartment and had a pizza and movie night. What a delightful evening! It was one of those few days I enjoyed so very much that I wished I could rewind it and live the day over again.

On Wednesday, Mom and I moved my stuff to our friends’ home. This picture kinda sums up the day. Yes, I stayed in my pajama’s almost all day, and yes, there were lots of unorganized moments. :) It all worked out, though, and I was glad to get my stuff settled ahead of me.

Of course that week was filled with lots of sibling time. We played games and yes – even stayed up late being silly and watching old dingbat cartoons. :) That’s what siblings are for, right?

The day I moved went by rapidly. I worked all day until 4, then we went out for a family dinner. Settling in with my friends has gone smoothly. They are so kind and welcoming and I feel blessed to be a part of their family, in a way. Although I miss our little paradise in the country, though living in town definitely has its perks, including not having to drive so far to run errands and go to school.

Yes, I am still working as a waitress on Saturdays. It’s a little oasis of old-fashioned country eating and familiarity and a nice getaway from the craze of nursing school. This is me and Sarah. She peels all of the potatoes at the restaurant and often finds potatoes that look like fish. Then she comes and shows them to me. :)

This is a picture of my clinical group after our last clinical at the simulation center. How is nursing school, you may ask? Well, no sooner did I settle in my new home than began the most academically intense weeks of my life. Yep, that’s right. Med-Surg II started off with IV therapy. IVs are incredible. They are such powerful medical tools, yet can be extremely dangerous as well. Think about it: a medication put through your veins will be circulated throughout your entire body in less than a minute! So yes. Even though it was tough, I understood WHY it was so hard. I want someone who’s putting an IV in me to know what they’re doing! I was very thankful to not be squeamish of needles or blood, having gotten poked 3 times and poking other people 5 times. The comprehensive IV exam was this morning. It was truly the hardest test I have ever taken, mostly because of the added pressure of it being a pass/fail test, with failure resulting in dismissal from the program. It was hard not to doubt my knowledge (and application of knowledge!), but I pulled through and passed with a larger margin than I’d dared to hope. Now onward and upward to the next part of nursing school! There are exciting things ahead, including our next round of clinicals and studying OB and peds!

I am grateful for God’s enabling grace. I’m humbled that He has seen fit to bless me in such ways as these. I read this passage from Habakkuk in my devotions this morning and it was an encouraging reminder to take JOY in the Lord and remember that my strength comes from Him alone! Until next time, my friends.

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.

Thoughts

Rest.

Photo taken by Hannah Armour.

Just a quick one today, my friends, but I wanted to share with you something that encouraged me today.

“Rest is only ever found in trusting the One who has everything figured out for your good and his glory. Because he is wise, gracious, faithful, and powerful, he is worthy of your trust and is alone able to give your heart rest.”

When I read that from Paul Tripp in his devotional New Morning Mercies, it was like balm to my soul. I needed to hear that and be reminded that Jesus is the very fountain of rest. His is pure, lasting, and deeper than anything we can imagine.

Life is incredible. Baffling. Uncertain. When I try to bank my security on things other than the Lord, anxiety so quickly steals my joy. Through the ups and downs we must to cling to the strong anchor of Jesus’ name and look to Him alone for our rest.

In the chaos of life, He is peace.

In the shadow of discontentment, He fulfills.

In the flurry of emotions, He never changes.

In moments that overwhelm, He is constant.

So rest in Him today.

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, oh for grace to trust Him more!

Homemaking

Noblemen’s Favorite Pizza

Hello my friends! I’ve been missing my dear bungalow so much lately and just had to post something tonight. I decided to post a pizza recipe. Yes, I already posted Noble’s pizza recipe a while back. But I gotta say, we like this one even better. Why? Because it incorporates the use of cake pans, olive oil, and a high baking temperature, resulting in pizza that (we think) is similar in taste and texture to Pizza Hut.

Whenever I told my brothers I’d be making pizza for dinner using our original recipe, there would be a general positive response, but it wasn’t anything special. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the recipe. Upon its announcement, I wanted my pizza to solicit tears of joy, whoops of ecstasy, and exclamations of anticipation from my food-loving brothers…okay, that was ~~a little~~ very exaggerated, but you get the idea. ;)

I got to wondering how exactly Pizza Hut and other pizza chains made their pizza so tasty, and I think it’s really that hot, crispy, oily crust. How could I make something like that and still keep it relatively healthy? Sub whole wheat flour and olive oil? I was eager to try, so I got the green light from mom, looked up a mock Pizza Hut recipe, tweaked it a bit, and got to baking.

Happily, it was a hit in our family and produced a crispy, flavorful crust with a tender interior. I will say, though, that 3 cake pans makes just enough for our family of 6, so if we’re feeding a crowd, I would use the former recipe. And this pizza will not win the beauty contest either. But if you want a special treat and don’t crave aesthetic perfection, give this one a try and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I don’t claim to have found the “best pizza recipe ever,” but I have found what works for our family and I hope you like it too! I decided to name this in honor of those special guys in my life who give me so much encouragement and fuel my motivation to make them yummy things.

Noblemen’s Favorite Pizza

Dough:
1 cup warm water
⅓ cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole wheat flour, freshly ground
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast (1 package) p
2 tablespoons olive oil (for dough)
9 tablespoons oil – 3 tablespoons per pan

Toppings:
1.5-2 cups pizza sauce (either canned or homemade)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Toppings of your choice (I like our homemade sausage, mushrooms, olives, and anything else we have on hand)
Oregano and basil, for sprinkling

Directions:
Put yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add water and milk; stir to mix well. Let rest for two minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and stir until dough forms and flour is absorbed (dough will be a little sticky – just use some oil to keep it from sticking to your hands). Turn out on to a flat oiled surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until elastic and no longer sticky.

Divide dough into three balls. Put 3 Tablespoons of oil in each of three 9-inch cake pans, making sure it is spread evenly. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball a little wider than the base of the pans. Place in cake pans. It’s okay if it doesn’t go all the way up the sides. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 475°F. Meanwhile, distribute sauce, cheese, and toppings evenly on pizzas. I usually end up using 1/2 to 2/3 cup sauce per pizza. Cook until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is brown. It takes our oven exactly 16 minutes. Use a knife to loosen the edges and immediately transfer pizzas onto a wire rack. Cut each pizza into 6 wedges and serve hot. Enjoy!