Bread Making

In an effort to eat healthier, I've been making whole wheat bread at home. We got a wonderful bread machine from my sister-in-law and her husband that they didn't use. I found the owner's manual and some recipes online. It seemed pretty simple...that is until half-way through the cycle on my first loaf. I thought something was wrong with the machine, because it didn't mix the ingredients all the way. I stopped the machine and looked up some troubleshooting tips online. The first one was "make sure the bread pan is snapped securely into the machine." I thought that's so idiotic, anyone would have done that...well, anyone but me! I checked it and it WASN'T all the way in...duh! So I snapped it in and started the machine again. Needless to say, that loaf of bread was a flop.

Attempt #1



Bread is so finicky. It's such a tedious, scientific (i.e. chemistry) process where every thing has to be exactly perfect. So I tried again, sure that the only mistake was that I didn't snap the pan in all the way. Loaf #2...a flop. I thought, "I'm a baker's daughter and can't make bread. There is seriously something wrong with me!!" I put my flopped loaf into a ziploc bag and took it to the bakery to ask my dad for help. Fortunately, he didn't laugh at me for wanting to make my own bread when I can get it for free. I happened to go on a day when another master baker was visiting my dad. The two of them examined the bread's texture, color, density, and the recipe I was using and gave me some tips for successful bread making. I went home eager to try again (although you can only try so many times in one day as the bread machine takes almost 5 hours to make whole wheat bread). Well, third time's a charm and we had decent bread.

Attempt #3



I've refined the process a little bit since, and I make up "mixes" of the dry ingredients once a week to cut down on prep time. 100% whole wheat bread is hard to find, because most "wheat" breads are made of a mixture of white and wheat flour. However, we get it fresh and homemade several times a week. Yum!

Good Sleeper

Adon's been sleeping 12 hours at night for a couple of weeks now. I have to admit that it's pretty nice to be able to sleep in until 9 a.m. on my days off. :o) He's started to notice/watch his hands and grab things to bring to his mouth. He's also able to follow more things with his eyes. He's constantly full of smiles and coos. I was looking at some of his newborn pictures over the last few days and he's getting so big already.



Adon on his birthday and at the zoo at the beginning of June.

Reclaiming the Culture

J and I are constantly being challenged with how much we have integrated into society. Anyone unfamiliar with the Lord would say that we do a lot of weird things. Despite how cross cultural we have become, we have such a long way to go. The Lord is gracious and reveals to us only what we can bear at the time, and as we are obedient, He continues to show us areas we need improving on. We recently saw a video about raising our daughters (yet to be born) to be great wives and mothers and keepers at home to fulfill God's calling on their life. I would call it extreme, but it just goes to show how much we've adopted the world's perspective and how far we've gotten from God's intention for families. I am eager to learn all that I can about God's plan for families so that we can have a family that glorifies the Lord and so that our children have families of their own they'll be a step ahead of where we are. One generation at a time, we'll reclaim our culture for the glory of God. Vision Forum offers many tools to help us learn, but Kelly is giving away one of their DVD sets called "Reclaiming the Culture" on her blog. Check it out and register!

Hodge Podge & Catch Up

Here are a bunch of pictures from April to bring ya'll up-to-date with Adon. Click on the links to see more pictures of each album. More from May and June are coming.


My Wild Hair Boys




April 17 - Aunt Jamie's Soccer Game




Baseball Fan




Adon's Sweater Vest - yes, he's wearing a tie




April 20 - Hanging out with Dad




April 27 - Trip to Bloomington








April - Miscellaneous Adon Pictures

Happy Father's Day

I couldn't have said it any better than Mrs. Fuentes said. Enjoy.

Little Inchworm

It's next to impossible to keep this thing updated with a little one who changes everyday it seems. In the last week, Adon

• rolled from his tummy to his back
• had his 2-month check up and got a shot
• got a new play-gym
• started cooing and "talking" like crazy
• began to scoot like an inchworm
• slept 9.5 hours!!!
  

I'll try to get some videos of the little inchworm posted, because he's too cute. He'll start in the middle of his bed and wake up with his head smooshed up against the top and no covers on. We're trying out a sleepsack tonight to keep him a little warmer.