Beautiful bread-baking Becky!!

Look at her.
Check out that form!
She's a natural!! :)

Becky arrived Friday morning just as the realtor was walking in 45 minutes early to show my house.
I had her meet me at my mom's.
Then we came back here and started working!!!
But don't get me wrong...it wasn't all work.
We laughed and vented and talked and giggled.
We talked about Haiti and Africa and our neighbors and our highschool teachers.
We discussed motherhood and marriage and friendship and God.
We chatted about babies and church and food and vacation.
And that was just in the first 45 minutes! :)

Truly, I LOVE spending time with Becky. And baking bread was a good excuse to get her here.
Ayla took a nice long nap while she was here and for most of the day it was just Becky and I and our talking.
Yeah, ther was lots of talking.
We knew our time together was short and we needed to cram in as much as possible in a few hours.
Plus make 5 loaves of bread, 5 bowls of salsa and 4 bowls of hummus!

Love you, Becky. Next time we're doing a full weekend!!
(oh, and i think bread baking requires more than one lesson to perfect it anyway!)

The deal...

Showing this morning.
They showed up IN my house WHILE I was still upstairs cleaning 45MINUTES EARLY.
That is WAY early. I'm sorry. I had lots left to do.
But I was super happy that they hadn't showed up a few minutes earlier to literally see me standing on the back of th couch, several feet off the ground, trying to fix a roller shade, and falling off face first, on top of my 2-year old.
Yeah.
Glad they didn't get here early enough to see that.
That would have been embarrassing.
(we are all ok, but seriously, it was fairly scary for a few minutes.)

Then Becky came!!! We had a bread baking class in my kitchen. SO fun!!
While it was rising, I made 5 batches of salsa and 4 batches of hummus.
I never once offered her food or drink, because, well, I am super hostess.
Finally, after several hours, she said, 'Um, I'm going to get a glass of water. Is that ok?'
Geez.
I'm awesome.

Said goodbye to Becky, picked up the kids, delivered some food and returned home to find an encouraging email from my realtor.
Showing went well.
Client looked at 7 houses and ours was in the top ones.
Client is gone all weekend for a wedding, but we will be hearing back possibly next week.
I can handle that.

Now...it's time for margaritas.
Have a great weekend.
I'll be nursing my aching back (from my fall of the couch...seriously....it hurt!) and delivering food!! :)"

Exhausted doesn't even cover it....

I'm getting old! I'm so tired, it's painful.
Trying to get this house ready to show has proven to be a gigantic task. It's nearly 11:30 and I'm nowhere near ready. But I'm so tired after staying up with Ayla last night that I think I'm going to have to go to bed and set my alarm to get up early and finish.
We certainly aren't getting our hopes up about the showing, but it's nice to have some activity. We've given up on looking for a place until we get an offer on ours. Which could easily mean we end up in an apartment somewhere. After a year of having this listed, that sounds fine with me! I'm hopeful that something perfect will fall into our lap. Ya know....several acres, one story, attached garage all for a great price. If you have the perfect place, email me at cassieburback at gmail dot com.
What?!
You don't think that's realistic?
Oh well.
It was worth a shot.
Apartment living sounds good to me. Sure would be nice if Paul could just call the landlord when problems come up!
So it's tomorrow at 10:30.
Lots to do between now and then. But at the top of my priority list is sleep.
Tomorrow is a new day.
Thank goodness.

Oh geez

Today things got fun. I put labels on all the bags of goodies. All the noodles are complete (and seriously, i'm not making them again for a long long time!) and the last of the cookie dough was done today. I delivered several orders this morning and loved it!
But I have to admit something. It has been a loooooong week. And last night Ayla didn't sleep at all. I have no idea why. She's a great sleeper. But she truly was up virtually ALL NIGHT. So was I. And today I was tired.
I put together several batches of salsa and hummus so I could get some full orders delivered today. I put fresh lime juice in my salsa and as I was squeezing the lime juice and smelling it all I could think was, "I just want to sit down and drink a margarita. Or two. And eat this salsa myself."
But my mind quickly squashed that idea. :)
Tired and loopy would not be good.
So I finally sat down to organize my handy dandy spreadsheet and the phone rang.
My realtor's office.
They want to show the house at 10:30 am tomorrow.
Yeah.
I know.
We haven't had a showing in MONTHS.
Literally.
So there will be no sitting down today. And definitely no margaritas today.
But rest assured that tomorrow night there WILL.
Off to clean that a crazy person for the next 9 hours....

Bowling

When the Stewart family got together to celebrate our Christmas, we went bowling one night.
So fun!
How cute is HE....

Everyone loved helping Ayla.
but I'm not sure she loved the help.

Tater did great and was quite the little jumper!

And Ayla...
Well...
I have too many photos of her to post.
She celebrated every time.
She was hilarious.

Haiti

*UPDATE: You can go HERE to help.

And THIS is why my heart is hurting.
MILLIONS displaced.
So horrible.

Wednesday...

I hope to finish up noodles and cookies today.
3 people convinced me to add orders for them yesterday, so I have a few more items to put on the list.
But this morning I did dishes and swept the flour covered floor.
And now I'm snuggling with my baby and finding my heart so very heavy for the people of Haiti today.
Sounds like complete devastation there.
I cannot imagine.

While they were drying...

I made the huge mistake of sitting down.
I grabbed a quick bowl of soup and started printing out the tags that are going on the bags of noodles.

But then I sat there and got comfy.
And didn't want to get back up.
I called a friend to try and procrastinate.
But the noodles are screaming my name.

These photos are only 1/3 of the noodles.
Ugh.
I have lots left.
So I'm slamming a cup of coffee and getting back to work.
I should have offered granola instead.....

a break

ayla just sat down for a pizza break.
up until a few minutes ago she had been happily helping with noodles.
(notice her apron...too cute!)
i know...it's kinda early for pizza, but we aren't worried about that today!

Ooooodles of Noooooodles

Yesterday was monster cookie dough.
Today it's noodles.
21 bags of noodles.

I'm using 3 eggs per bag of noodles.
So that's 63 eggs.

And that's a lot of noodles.
A lot.

But it's super fun seeing them drying.
HA!
Ayla has been helping me put them through the noodle cutter.
But now she has retired to coloring at the table.

This one may take more than one day.
That's a lot of noodles.
Oodles of noodles, actually.
:)

Be still my spinning head...

I can't stop my head from spinning.
I completed 32 orders of monster cookies today...all the while thinking about my upcoming trip to Sierra Leone. Praying for those going and those we will be meeting.
And then my mind would wander back to selling this house. And I would become frustrated by it all. By the fact that this house isn't selling. But more by the fact that I'm frustrated that it isn't selling. Such a ridiculous thing to be frustrated about when women are burying their children daily in this country I have been praying about for years.
My selfish heart just keeps coming back...rearing its ugly head. And I hate that.
I hate the silly little things that make my head spin on a daily basis.
I am so thankful for this opportunity. I certainly don't think I will be helping Sierra Leone in my short stay there. But without a doubt, I know I will be changed by this country.
I can't wait. Can't wait to do Africa with 7 other amazing women and see how we are changed.
Can't wait. I just hope my heart is ready...

Groceries bought....

Just some of the groceries purchased for my week-o-baking.
I literally ordered 8 dozen farm fresh eggs from our local egg supplier.
22 loaves of bread are done.
Tomorrow I am working on cookie dough and noodles.
The hummus and salsa is being saved for Saturday morning right before deliveries.
Tonight I'm focusing on printing labels with baking instructions on them.
And I'm putting my handwritten spreadsheet into an electronic one.
And honestly, I'm having FUN with this!!
I cannot believe how many have supported me.
Truly amazed...

Final Food Count

Bread: 30 loaves
Noodles: 22 bags
Cookie dough: 28 containers
Hummus: 9 containers
Salsa: 15 containers
TOTAL: 104 items

Oh my.
I have a Christmas party tonight and then I may be absent from the blog until next week.
But it's going to be a fun fun week!
I'm so excited for my mom, becky and sister to help out!
But mostly I am humbled by the people who love and support me.
Kinda leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling on this Saturday evening, doesn't it?
Thanks to all for your support...

Food

Just watched the documentary Food, Inc.
You should watch it, too.
Wow.

Friday night....

Tacos made with homemade tortillas.
Wine from a local winery... Ardon Creek.
Paul is home helping cook the tortillas.
Brigg is entertained with a friend who's sleeping over.
Life is looking better tonight. :)

big...no Huge...ok GIGANTIC

Numbers are in for water for christmas.
And it's BIG.
Water for Christmas has been up and running for 14months.
In those short 14 months, people have donated
$275,000!!!! (and $175,000 of that was raised just in nov and dec of this year!)
Can you believe that?!?!
That is insane.
Truly truly amazing.
And proof that when we all care about something and come together we can achieve impossible things!
Jody wrote more about it here.
I can't say it any better, so go read it!
(that is about$650/DAY, by the way!!! HUGE!)

24 hours left to order

The tally so far:
BREAD: 22 loaves
NOODLES: 15 bags
COOKIE DOUGH: 13 containers
HUMMUS: 4 containers (what's wrong with you people? i love hummus!)
SALSA: 8 containers

Becky asked me yesterday how I planned on pulling this off.
I said "Um....I'm praying."
:)
It's going to be FUN!!

My Birthday

Today was my birthday. :)
School was cancelled early this morning, so the kids and I were stuck inside most of the day.
And honestly, it may have been one of the top 10 most frustrating days as a parent in my parenting career.
I hate that.
I hate when I'm frustrated with them.
Ick.
We did get out tonight and ate a burger and watched the National Championship game.
And I got an awesome necklace from my parents...made by an old highschool friend who is now an amazing jewlery artist. So that was fun!
The kids each painted me a picture and I did love that.
We had our brief moments of laughter, but for the most part I'm just ready for a new day tomorrow.
So thankful for another chance to get it right.
Happy birthday to me! :)

Stolen from Jody

“We know what is right, and we know what is wrong. But do we feel it burning in our bones? Do our souls catch fire at the sight of injustice? Has it taken hold of our time, money, thoughts, energy, resources, conversations, lives? Because if not, it is only because we have tragically forgotten that we belong to each other.”
(Jamie Finch)

Baking and bread and Sheku and David and Africa

*update: My sister will be in town that weekend and is willing to bring the baked good back to Des Moines and deliver them there, too! So now Des Moines and Grundy Center people can be a part, too!!

ALSO...while in Sierra Leone, we will be hosted by the WMF team. We will be doing whatever needs to be done to support them. My role will involve helping plant a garden....which could NOT be more perfect for me. I'm so excited!!!

So.
What does this bread....

have to do with this boy from Sierra Leone...

Lots.
I am going to Africa.
Sierra Leone, West Africa to be exact.
And a couple years ago some girlfriends and I started sewing Africas on bags that were sewn by the above pictured boy, Skeku.
(Actually, they are still being sold on Jody's Blog. If you're interested go HERE.)
Sheku and David are in a program through Word Made Flesh.
Word Made Flesh is helping to teach them a trade so they can get off the streets and BE CHANGE in Sierra Leone.
It's really quite amazing.
So we sell the bags from Africa for $50 with 100% of the profits going directly back to WMF.
And we hear that David and Skeku love that their custom bags are being sported by women all over the USA.

Now back to the bread.
SO the opportunity came up for a group to go to Sierra Leone.
I have been praying for this country and specifically for this team of people for 2 years now. So I was so excited to actually have the opportunity to visit this place that God has so obviously placed on my heart.
Now it's pretty expensive to get to Africa.
So I was trying to come up with a way to raise a little money to help with the expenses.
Jody suggested I bake.
And well, I kinda like baking.
So that's what I'm doing.
Baking.
I am talking local orders only because I don't think it would work to ship through the mail.
But if you know you'll be seeing me sometime before March 1 (when we leave), I will gladly fill your orders, too, and get them to you when I see you next.
My friend Becky will be here next Friday and she has offered to bring back any orders she gets from her area, too!
How fun is that?!?

I am offering:
Homemade Bread (my grandma's recipe in the photo above)
Homemade noodles
Monster cookie dough
Homemade Salsa
Homemade Hummus

I am asking for a $5 minimum donation for each item you order.
I would like all orders to be placed by THIS SATURDAY AT NOON.
And I will deliver the items to your house NEXT SATURDAY THE 16TH.
(we can make other arrangements as well)

So if you're interested, email me at
cassieburback at gmail dot com
And give me your order and address to be delivered to!

If nothing else, I'd love to hear that you're thinking about our team and praying for us.
Thanks in advance for your support!!

What's she up to now?!?

Sign up today!

Simple.
Go HERE and sign up for reoccuring giving.
$20(or more!) for 12 months.
And then tell one (or lots!) other person about it!
Go!
I can't wait to see how many sign up today!!

Representin'!!!!!!!!

GO HAWKS!!!!!

"No Ayla Sweet!"

Yesterday I started taking Ayla to the Y day care while I work out.
1 hour in the morning.
I told her she was going to "school" like Brigg and Lani.
She was all over it.
So things went well yesterday.
And today she didn't want to leave when we walked out the door.
She pointed back and said, "Ayla more school!"
It was cute.
As we were walking out the door the lady that watched her said, "She's so smiley and sweet!"
I laughed.
Then I got in the car and while it was warming up I called Paul. He asked how she did at the day care. I was telling him that as we left, the day care provider said Ayla was sweet.
And then from Ayla's car seat behind me, I heard her yell, "NO AYLA SWEET!" in an angry type voice.
Oh my.
Really?
She apparently does NOT want to be known as "sweet".
And I'm afraid she'll make sure the Y daycare people learn that soon enough...

WEDNESDAY!!!!!

Tomorrow is going to be a big big day for water!
Remember 300 Voices from last year?
It was this time one year ago that we tried to get 300 people to sign up to donate $20/month to water4christmas.com.
We didn't reach the goal of 300, but we DID get a very large group of people to join together and make a HUGE difference in the lives of hundreds of people in Liberia.
And in November Jody and Dad got to meet many of these people.
The faces of 12 of them are in the photo below...

Actual faces of REAL PEOPLE whose lives have been changed.
So here we are again. Water weekend is over.
We know the facts.
We have seen hundreds of photos that show the reality.
We have heard stories from our very own family and friends that were there.
And now we are offering another opportunity to give.
Our 300 voices reoccurring giving has expired and if you were a voice last year and want to continue to be a voice, you need to sign up again!! And then tell someone else about this opportunity.
Twelve months.
$20/month.
12 LIVES CHANGED FOREVER.
As one person you can change the lives of 12 others.
I LOVE this.
I love to see how my $20 coupled with the $20 of hundreds of others can literally change a village.
What is $20/month to you?
If we take the kids out of lunch one day, it's around $20.
If we go out for wings and a pitcher of beer, it's $20.
If I go to a movie with the kids, over $20.
One trip thru Chick-fil-A.
4 Starbucks coffees.
A babysitter for a few hours.
And I just need to give up ONE of those A MONTH to become a voice.
And I promise you, that your heart will follow.
Suddenly it won't be about the numbers or the money.
It will be about those faces.
Those people.
You will not be able to rest until everyone has access to clean water.
I think you may have seen the evolution in me and maybe in yourself.
So tomorrow is the day.
We are hoping to see a huge number sign up for reoccuring giving tomorrow.
It's set up and ready to go today if you choose to do it now.
Just GO HERE to sign up.
If you have a paypal account, it will take 1 minute.
Just another opportunity to be the change you wish to see in the world.

I got a feelin'

That tonight the Hawks are gonna kick some GT butt!!! :)

It should be illegal

to go outside in this weather.
ILLEGAL i tell ya.

New Year, New Week, New Day....

Day one of my new life is going well. :)
But honestly, I don't know how people do it.
Organization, structure, plans, yada yada yada....every. single. day.
It kind of makes me miserable.
Lots done this morning, but no interaction with anyone.
Of course I could gets lots more done if I spoke to nobody and had no fun.
Of course.
So I'm trying to find the balance of it all.
Nurturing relationships and enjoying life without be bogged down and overwhelmed by all that needs to get done in a day.
It's not easy.
But today I have done laundry and worked out and showered and planned dinner and directed Brigg in practicing piano. Kids got to school on time, everyone was dressed and fed with minutes to spare. Cleaned the kitchen light fixtures. (I signed up for fly lady again).
It's fine.
But I prefer sitting and snuggling with Ayla for hours at a time or having coffee with friends, or playinig games with the kids. :)
See...I need to find a balance.
That's my goal this year.
Unfortunately, I think that's been my goal for the last several years....

Over.

Today the holidays are officially over for us.
My brother and his family got on a plane this morning and flew back to Florida. (don't think they were sad about that one bit....the weather STINKS here right now!)
My sister and her family were loading the car up when we left my parents a few minutes ago.
And I came home with the kids to a fully decorated for christmas house.
Which is currently making my brain and stomach hurt.
The holidays may be over, but lots of work is just beginning for me.
The kids are back to school tomorrow.
We are starting a new routine.
I'm thinking about the upcoming year and how it's going to look for our family.
I think we're going to have lots of changes in store for us.
For today, I just need to get rid of the signs of Christmas. It's time to move on.
I hate this part....

Some more of the day...

Their "big" gifts...

Ayla got this chair as her big gift (the price has already gone up since my parents purchased it!).
She loves it.
And it is so so awesome.
Came with a little coffee table to match.
But she kinda liked to use it as a foot stool.

Tate got a camera...

And Lani got a wooden easel.
She's already painted 2 pictures at it.

Such a fun day.

The first look...

We had the cousins draw names.
And they opened their gifts from eachother one at a time.
From youngest to oldest.
Here's a the look on each of their faces as they opened their gifts from eachother.
(all except Lani. i didn't get a good one of her.)

Love me a good party....

And last night we had one at my parents.
The whole Stewart family was there and lots of friends as well.
Good food.
Good family.
Good friends
Good fun.

Lots of dancing, too...but I'm not saying that it was good dancing. :)

Happy New Year to all.
We are celebrating the Stewart Christmas today.
And family will be here until Sunday.
Then I will focus on giving my blog a new look for 2010.

Start afresh...

The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul, and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Years resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. (G.K. Chesterton)

I don't really sit down and write out new year's resolutions. But I do find it appealing to have new eyes, a new backbone and to start afresh to be more effective. Will it happen? We shall see.
Here's to all those things in 2010!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!