Homemade Poptarts

These are the yummy Poptarts I made for breakfast this morning. Seriously, there is NOTHING like eating homemade Poptarts (or popovers)!! The kids gobble them up before I can blink and it is okay because I know exactly what went into them and it is actually good stuff! I actually use a pie crust recipe and I use this recipe for tons of stuff, chicken pot pie, fruit pies, blueberry crisp, and any type of popover or pastry. It works for so many things and it is very light and flaky when it is done right. I used to buy the pie crusts that are boxed and already made, not only do they cost a lot but they have some really terrible stuff in them. Google it. It’s gross.

So, here is the recipe:

1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar (I have used honey and it tastes amazing)
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup coconut oil (you can use veggie oil)
3-4 Tbsp. water or milk (I use water or rice milk)

This will make one pie crust. If your pie crust needs a top just double the recipe and divide it.

Whisk together the dry ingredients (you can do this right in the pie plate), make a well and add wet ingredients. Add more water if needed to get the right consistency. Mix only until dough forms. Spread dough into pie plate. Pull out half to roll out and make top piece. Sooooo easy!

You can use the same exact recipe for popovers, pastries, etc. just mix in a bowl and roll out!

Baking is one of my very favorite things! Go bake something!

Blueberry Season

Yesterday we went to pick blueberries with our amazing homeschool tribe.

I have never been around kinder, more gentle people in my life. Everyone should have a tribe. People they do life with. People with like-minded ways of living, along with the gentle balance of respect for each others differences. I love how they are so quick to carry some one else’s babe through the creek, the older kids gently guide the younger ones, grace is had for all typical sibling spats, etc.

My favorite part of yesterday was when the kids were splashing and sliding down the waterfalls, the moms and dads sat around the rocks, like mermaids perched, and spoke of life, family, beliefs, and history. Beautiful.

Every family needs a Tribe.

Here are the pictures from the day:

Adi and Fia feeding each other berries.

The crew.

The garden.

Creek Hopping.

This is where the sweet farmer has hung his worn out shoes since the 50’s.

The Harvest.

Now it’s time for some much anticipated blueberry crisp!

Happy 4th of July!

Tent Play!

Today, this is the scene in my house. So far everything has been done from her. Crafts, story time, meals, quiet time… They’ve already asked to sleep here. I love how a few minutes of work for a mama makes an entire day of creative play for my sweet babes. And really… Who wouldn’t want to hang in here all day!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Still Shining

It seems like yesterday I woke up for the first time to the sound of a singing baby… No really… My sweet Miss Rayne was born with her Daddy singing her a song and she began to sing right back and didn’t ever really stop. She sang in her sleep, she sang her first words. She was and is the most beautiful thing in my world. She will be 5 years old in October. I really cannot believe it. As quick as it all seems, I have had so many different emotions as a mother because she is in my world. She will sing you a song if you’re sad, try to make you giggle if you’re mad, dance and put on a show if you’re bored. She is both an old soul and a wild child, all in one very petite little body.

I’ve said it before in this space and most anyone who knows me well has heard it… But she really does shine. She shines light and happiness into everything and everyone she sees. It’s been such a sweet privilege to be in her world.

With all of that said, I am quite the opposite of her personality…unchecked I can be cynical, untrusting, and negative. It has been such a huge learning curve having her in my world. There have been phases of this four and a half year dance that I have tried to parent with those -uncomfortable kid words- “authority” and with “control.” And it always ends in a heap of tears and heart break for both of us. I am the type that NEEDS to know what is going to happen and NEEDS to have a plan for everything. I used to feel like it was my job to teach her how to do, say, and be everything.

In all of that, we both ended up a mess. It felt very unnatural and that i was overstepping a boundary that every human naturally has because I had the “I am your mother” title. I recently came across this blog post. It helped me tremendously! I also began to really dig deep into what it means to parent with grace.

The truth is that there ARE things that she needs from me, but they are very different than what I had prepared for as a parent. When she was first born and I brought her home, there was this natural connection, a natural rhythm I found by following her. We adjusted that rhythm any time we needed to and kept moving until she hit 3 years old. Three came, and I found myself not knowing whether to follow or drag. It really is true, even with a child, you can only be a leader if they’re following. In my experience, if you’re dragging, it’s most likely not a healthy relationship.

I am sinking back into that sweet rhythm with her. We sing and dance like crazy. We hold hands and talk “like friends do.” We work together on cooking and house projects. She helps me. She feels beautiful and needed.

My favorite thing that I am witnessing is her making mistakes loudly and confidently. She used to hide, cry, or pretend it didn’t happen. Now, she says, “Whoops!!” and asks me if I can help her fix it. Something so small to the adult eye but so huge to a four year old.
She shines!

Garden Friends!

This is the start of our beautiful garden. I’ve been using a lot of Pinterest ideas to make our apartment garden functional and beautiful! The kids made some little veggie friends to mark which plants are where.

Coming out of Hibernation!

By now I am used to the fact that this blog fits phases of my life and doesn’t fit others. Things are changing once again around here and I am hoping to be documenting more often. We’ve got seeds sprouting, kids growing faster than the weeds we will soon be pulling, discoveries in the big city of Nashville, and a Mama that will now be HOME once again!! It’s been a long time!! But I am sooo happy to be spending the next year at home with my babes!! My heart is full and happy! A new season in the Suo Family for sure!

Be back soon!!

Book Review: Priceless & Scared

 

I recently finished reading two of the greatest books I’ve ever read. Tom Davis is an author and CEO of Children’s Hope Chest. In the following books, he has an amazing way of pulling you into the suffering that is currently an ongoing issue in our world. Though these books are fiction novels, they are based on TRUE events. It was very eye opening to read these current events from the perspectives that he presented. Tom definiately has a gift for lighting a fire under people to feel the responsibility that Christ gave us in Isaiah… “heal the broken hearted… set the captives free…”

 Scared was the first novel that Tom wrote. This book speaks to the issues that our sisters and brothers are dealing with in Africa. For me, this issue has always been hard to connect to. I never understood the severity of the poverty, abuse, disease, and generational curses that these people are dealing with on a daily basis until reading this book. This is the story of a young girl and her journey through loss, poverty, neglect, AIDS, abuse, and the strength that she has through it all. This is the story of many children in Africa right now.      

 Priceless is the second novel in the series of novels Tom is currently writing. This takes you to Moscow and gives you a very real understanding of the Sex Trafficking trade. It tells you the story of many young women that are sold into this from young children and are raised knowing that there is no way of escape. Keeping in mind that this story is based off of true events, it paints a very vivid picture of the hell many women and children are walking through every day.

I know these are not “happy, feel good” novels. But these are the true depictions of what is currently going on in our world. I love that at the end of both of these books, Tom gives us a way to make a difference in our world.

These books really helped me realize that I never want to be that Christian that lives inside a christian bubble and never knows the suffering of others. I want to follow the example of Christ and be a light in our dark world.

If you read these, please leave me a comment! I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Pep Talk

You ever just need to give yourself a pep talk???

Just a little reminder that…

AND…

 

 

AND….

Okay. I feel better. I can do this. 🙂

Happy Wednesday!

Thankful…

So thankful for my life, my family, and all of the amazing support that surrounds us. Specifically thinking about my amazing, sweet husband who has continually sacrificed for me, adored every minute of his life with his family, soaked up every second of squishy kid time, and been the stability and peace that I so desperately needed from a life partner.

Today I am overwhelmed with the understanding that God is in a constant process of restoring what was broken, healing the hurt, giving back what was stolen, and making us whole again. I realized this morning that there are even things I never knew were broken or never asked for Him to restore… but He knows. 🙂

Happy 4th of July! Our plan includes laying by the pool, eating watermelon, and exploring Nashville until we find something amazing. 🙂 LOVE new cities!

Hope you’re weekend is great! xoxo

Seasons of Change

So…. about 3 months ago, in a mad-crazy “God-ordained” frenzy, the Suo family packed our bags and made the move to Nashville, Tennessee. When I say “God-ordained” I mean God literally made a way, in every way, for us to take this giant step to a whole other season of life. 

Seasons are amazing. God created a hot season and a cold season, a growing season and a stagnant season. It’s amazing how my life has mimicked, in so many ways, His beautiful creation. I used to think that we were supposed to live in the growing season all the time. The honest truth is that without that cold, stagnant season, there would be no room for growth… nothing to grow out of, no beauty to look forward to. 

Making the physical move was only the outward obedience to the emotional and spiritual obedience of our heart. We struggled for quite a while with the fear of stepping out, the fear of letting go of someone else’s purpose and pursuing our purpose. Living out the words God directly spoke to our hearts. Out of fear and uncertainty we made some bad calls and had to go back to the start… Kind of like, “Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.” We would have to start all over. Eventually we realized that we could not make the correct decisions or hear God’s voice and “tremble in our boots” at the same time. 

“Change of any sort requires courage.” Mary Anne Radmacher

This has been a season of growth, of growing into a new state of mind and of heart, of being strong and diving in. There is such an amazing difference in diving in head first versus tiptoeing around the waters hoping to not get wet. 

A sweet person helped me to see that I had spiritually built a wall around my family…. brick by brick and called it “mundane.” I had decided that we would live like everyone else… school, work, sleep… repeat. As God began to change my heart (you saw a glimpse here), I began to embrace the beauty of our very non-typical lifestyle. I grabbed hold of the dreams we’ve had as a couple and as a family to “venture out,” to live a life of adventure, to explore. 

“Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.” Raymond Lindquist

I have stopped setting lifelong goals to buy a house, or “settle down,” or live mundane. I finally have stepped into the freedom of living the purpose that He has given to us. We are soooo happy with every aspect of where we are right now. But we realize that nothing is certain except that God has given us specific gifts to use as we adventure, explore, and travel. We know that He has the perfect plan.