One of each

I've harrassed Bren and O to post something, but to no avail. Owen almost did, but then I got distracted and he wasn't interested later. We try to get something new on here once/week, so here goes. What to post? We've tended towards three variations of posts:

1. Random, obscure sorts of posts about not much at all

2. Posts that are insightful, spiritual, an attempt to provoke thought or inspire; cause our readers say hmmmm...

3. Sharing about our day to day experiences.

Today, here is 'one of each':

Something random - It's worth attending Bethany just for the cafeteria. Never mind that there are great faculty and the community is amazing.. the food is awesome! Every Friday Baked Oatmeal is served for breakfast. This delightful meal is totally new to me! I've actually only gotten it twice, but those were tasty Fridays!! Sydney had some friends sleep over last night, so we tried Baked Oatmeal for brunch this morning. It was a hit!

I'll put the recipe at the end of this post in case anyone is interested in trying Baked Oatmeal for themselves.

Something 'deeper' - Thinking and reading about Mary over Christmas has inspired me; it says a couple of times in Luke that she "treasured these things and pondered them in her heart" in response to situations related to being the mother of Jesus. She didn't know the magnitude of all that being the mother of the Messiah meant, but she sure knew this was no ordinary boy she was raising. What does it mean that she treasured things in her heart? How did Luke know that she did this? Why don't any of the other storytellers, maybe Matthew, communicate that little bit of info? What does it look like for me, having motherhood in common with Mary, albeit of a couple of just regular kids, to 'treasure these things in my heart'? Whatever it means, it includes noticing, remembering, praying, ... those are some of the best privileges of being a mom. I was glad to notice Mary a little more this year, to think about her more.

Something from our day to day life - Games, games, games... Owen and Syd are thrilled that we have not played Settlers at all over the holidays! Last year was the year of Settlers, to the point that both kids roll their eyes and run when I suggest a game! However, we have been playing a couple of other games - Scattergories and Cranium are big hits lately. We also got Canasta, a new card game for Christmas. Looking forward to playing that one together; maybe tonight!

Baked Oatmeal (an Inn-keeers recipe from About. com)

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes

3 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

A handful of chocolate chips or raisins if desired.
Preparation:Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together and pour into 13 x 9 inch buttered pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

Cut the baked oatmeal into squares, serve with warmed milk, a little more brown sugar, raisins or cranberries or with fresh fruit.
The innkeeper also likes to add dried fruits and nuts and pour into small ramekins for baking and serving individually. Enjoy!