Bowden Gets Booted!!

So FINALLY someone wised up and did what we Tiger fans have been wanting for a while now. Maybe now we can get somewhere. C-L-E-M-S-O-N T-I-G-E-R-S!!!!

Had a bad day...

The last 18 hours of our lives have been quite the adventure. On Thursday evenings I go to a ladies’ Bible study. I look forward to this every week because it is such a refreshing and refueling time for me. Our group of ladies is amazing and they have been such an encouragement to me over the last few months. So last night, being Thursday, Matt dropped me and another lady off at the house where we meet. He was going over to our friends, Jeff and Tessa’s house to watch their kids so Tessa could come to Bible study. About 10 minutes after Matt dropped us off my phone rang.

Matt: “Hey, listen, I’ve been in an accident.”
Me: “Are you serious?”
Matt: “Yeah.”
Me: “Is the car totaled?”
Matt: “I don’t know. It’s pretty bad.”

My initial reaction was nausea. We only have one car. How are we going to get to work? How are we going to get ANYWHERE? How much is this going to cost us? How bad does my car (which isn’t paid off yet) look? Why did this have to happen now, we were finally starting to break even? Sadly, my initial reaction was not to trust God. I am not proud of how I reacted at first.

One of the ladies drove me to the scene so I could be with Matt. We got things taken care of there. They towed the car. We went to the ER because Matt was in some pain with his hand/thumb and we wanted to make sure he was ok. Our pastor, Brad, picked us up from the ER and took us home around 9:30. (As a side note here I LOVE our pastor and his family!!! They have been SO good to us!!) (As another side note: they gave Matt two Vicodin at the ER and I literally saw his eyes glaze over. The giggling was totally worth the time in the ER.)
Thankfully we have a really good insurance policy which is going to cover for us to have a rental until we get the car back. Hopefully it’s not totaled and can be fixed.

All of that to say that God’s hand has already been so evident in this thing. First and foremost, Matt was not seriously injured. Considering that it was a truck that hit him it could have been MUCH worse. Our insurance people have been amazingly helpful and friendly. (We’ll see how much that’s gonna cost us when our premium is reassessed.)

I told Matt last night that I was going to have to put feet to my words. The book we’ve been reading for Bible study is all about letting go of fear and learning to trust God. These are the moments in our lives where we must walk what we talk.

On top of that Matt has a sinus infection which he went to the doctor for yesterday morning and the dog had some nasty stomach issues at 5:00 this morning. Cleaning up poo that early in the morning is just not fun. So now we get the clean our carpet this weekend. : )

My motto through this whole thing has been: “I will not be moved.” My foundation is firm. My God is faithful, yesterday, today, and forever more.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I tried this recipe last weekend and these things are YUMMY!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, 1 stick melted, 1/2 stick softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
1 2/3 cups flour
4 ounces cream cheese, chilled
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.

3. Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon**, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners' sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

5. Spread** the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.

**I used my Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator to form the cookies since the batter is very runny. I also used it for the filling. It made things much easier. : )

(Recipe taken from Every Day with Rachael Ray)

Common Sense Plan

If you're not on board with the $700 billion bail out go to www.daveramsey.com, click on URGENT! 3 Steps to Fix Our Nation's Economy and follow the instructions!!