Wishing you sweet dreams tonight and every night... | Bedtime for the littlest one started out as one of those times you try to sear into your memory - a cute little man, dressed up in his chosen attire declaring himself ready to sleep. Little man #1 never plays dress up except for wearing his parent's shoes, so when little man #2 does, it always brings a smile to my face. It was truly amazing how quickly he went from completely adorable to totally atrocious...all because those crocs he was wea ring weren't allowed on the furniture during his bedtime story. So much for an easy and sweet bedtime. Thankfully, I got the picture (too bad it was with my phone and not my camera!) before the meltdown, so when I look back on tonight in ten years...the adorable is what will be remembered. For any young moms reading, take a deep breath and know that many mommies across the planet just dealt with a toddler tantrum too! Alas, the tears were mostly due to being tired and soon faded into the soft breathing of a child drifting off into a dream in my arms. Although little boy's laughter is one my favorite sounds, the sound of his deep breathing, fast asleep, is a close second! |
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Tastē Tuesday:I love an occasional indulgence in the form of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory when the opportunity arises, but I have actually only made two, three tops, including this one. There are a ton of "how-to's" on-line, so I am not going to write a diatribe on how to create the perfect cheesecake. After all, with two or three attempts under my belt, who would keep reading anyways? I did make a cheesecake last fall that looked amazing but didn't make the cut for sharing here. However, Easter Sunday's dessert was luscious and creamy, and definitely worthy of passing along. Since I was happy with how this cheesecake turned out, I will share a few tips along the way so if you try it out for yourself, you aren't doing it completely blind. Cheesecake screams calories to me, so I adjusted the recipe a little bit to try to lighten it up. I didn't go overboard as I would prefer a special holiday indulgence than a dry cheesecake that no one wants to eat. Here is the recipe...a few tinkering suggestions can be found at the end. Triple Layer Lemon Cheesecake adapted from Creating A Stir 2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans 6 tablespoons light butter, melted 1 cup sugar, divided 1 (8-ounce) package 1/3 less fat Philadelphia cream cheese, softened 2 (8-ounce) packages Regular Philadelphia cream cheese, softened 3 large eggs 2 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, divided 2 cups light sour cream Lemon Glaze Using a food processor, finely chop graham crackers and pour into medium size bowl. Using food processor again, finely chop pecans and mix with the graham crackers. Pour in butter and 2 tablespoons sugar. Press mixture onto bottom and sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan. If looking for a more traditional cheesecake with crust only on the bottom, pour mixture in a little bit at a time and press only on bottom to desired thickness. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. I did bottom and sides though if I were to make again, especially for company, I would probably just do the bottom crust. The sides were hard to get in uniform thickness and made clean slices more difficult to cut. If presentation is important, stick to the bottom crust only. Easter has taken on a new significance to me since I have had children. I always struggled with the idea of how difficult it was for God to watch Jesus die since he knew it was going to happen, allowed it to happen, and knew he was going to rise again and be with him. To put it in a different way, since God knew the end of the story before the story ever began, was sending Jesus to Earth any less difficult? After having little boy #1 and going through the first six months of his life that we did with him, I have a much deeper understanding of the sacrifice that was made so that we could all live. I knew when little boy #1 was born basically what was going to happen to him. He was going to undergo three open-heart surgeries, we were going to allow that pain and suffering into his life, and that in itself was our best case scenario. His first summer and fall of life ended up being much more difficult, and we were also faced a craniotomy and living with the "fact" that he was going to die for four months. Despite this knowledge, my attachment to my son, my incredible love for him, and my devotion to him was just as strong as it would have been if he would have been born without health issues and I hadn't been faced with contemplating and learning to accept his "eventual" death. Although I can only appreciate God's gift of His son to us and never truly fathom the immensity of His love that enabled him to willingly send Jesus into this world, I have grown in my understanding of how hard this must have been despite His purposeful gift to the human race...and that makes his gift of Jesus and Jesus' sacrifice even more incredibly amazing! "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..." 1 Peter 1:3 I wish you all a very happy, sunshine filled Easter. If you have been caught up in the Easter bunny's appearance, cooking a splendid feast, or just too busy to contemplate the importance of the day, spend a few minutes to think about this question: "What does it mean in your life and to this world if the resurrection is indeed real?!" |
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