• Jesus dying on the cross for my sins and giving me a hope of eternal life in heaven
• The best husband in the whole world
• A home—a comfy one at that! With plenty of nice things!
• Food to eat—I've never had to go to bed hungry
• Snacks in excess—when I finish something, I can just open another!
• Clean water
• Hot water to shower with
• Warm clothes
• My iPhone!
• Netflix and plenty of DVDs—a constant source of entertainment
• Religious freedom
• My ability to read
• The Bible in my language
• Friends—both in England and America!
• Technology—allowing me to talk to my friends and family in America at the click of a button!
• Chocolate
• My supply of Cheetos—gonna restock soon!
• Coffee
• Books & my kindle

Two years ago, my life forever changed. My crush asked me to be his girlfriend. It is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Today, 731 days later, we are no longer in a long distance relationship. We are no longer on two separate continents. We are man and wife, roommates, best friends, slumber party buddies for life and I couldn't be more overjoyed! I love my Craig more than I ever knew I was able to love.


Thank You, Lord, for giving me so much more than what I dreamed for! Thank You for my Craig. 

Everyone got my hopes up. November was supposed to be super cold and stormy. There was supposed to be more than the usual amount of snow for this time of year. But has it snowed yet? No. Has it been stormy? No.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Too bad I'm going to be in California for Christmas. At least I can have a white weekend-before-Christmas. I can only hope and dream.

God, please make it snow!

I can spend hours just in this folder of my phone. Ah smartphones.

Today, I am thankful for the internet.

I mean, think about it. Can you even imagine your life without the internet?! Crazy to think that I have lived through its invention.

Thank You, Lord, once again for technology! I can't imagine what life would be like without it! Thank You for the ability to communicate with my friends and family back in the States at the click of a button!

Homemade Pumpkin Pie
Makes 2 traditional sized pies

Ingredients: 
• 2 cups pumpkin purée
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (increase to 1 cup if you like your pie sweeter)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 tsp ground cloves if you don't have any pumpkin pie spice on hand)
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy, almond or rice milk (I prefer soy!)

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and mix thoroughly.
2. Pour mixture into pie crusts.
3. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 15 minutes.
4. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake for 45 additional minutes.

Shallow Day!

Today, I am thankful for pumpkin! Truly!

Thank You, Lord, for making such a wonderful vegetable!

Pumpkin is a vegetable, right?

Today I am thankful for a country that doesn't understand the concept of traffic. I DO NOT miss SoCal traffic. Traffic here barely even delays you. When an English person complains of traffic, I can't help but laugh—laugh at the irony that they have lost mere seconds of their lives while I calculated a loss of over a month of my 2012. 

I thought living in a country that lacked Target was bad...and then I realized I lacked more than Target...Trader Joe's is lacking too! What a catastrophe!

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water (or apple juice!)
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon clove
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée

Instructions:
1. Combine everything in a medium saucepan over medium-low, stirring occasionally.
2. Once mixture begins to bubble, lower heat and allow to simmer.
3. Check roughly every 10 minutes and stir so the mixture along the edges of the saucepan doesn't burn.
4. When mixture becomes thick (so it doesn't slip off of a spoon—roughly 40-50 minutes), remove from heat.
5. Allow to cool, then enjoy!
6. Store in a glass jar inside the fridge.

Giving to the Lord has always been a strong conviction of mine. God has blessed me so abundantly, so giving should be a natural response of worship. But how can you give when what you are giving already rightfully belongs to the Lord?

Growing up, I experienced this phenomenon many times with my parents. As Mother's Day would draw closer, as a young girl, I would go ask my mom for some money in order to buy her a gift. Now, as a housewife, I'm experiencing it once again. My husband's hard-earned money will be used to purchase him a Christmas gift. This is something I am having a hard time rectifying in my mind. I guess it is something I will always struggle with.

There is one thing I know for sure. While I do feel silly giving gifts with money I haven't personally earned, it isn't as silly as trying to give to the Lord. Nothing I give to the Lord belongs to me. The firstfruits of my harvest —of my income— are already the Lord's. Leviticus 27:26 says, "But a firstborn of animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the Lord,* no man may dedicate; whether ox or sheep, it is the Lord's."

Pastor Chuck puts it this way in The Word for Today Study Bible: "There were certain things that you could not offer to God, because they belong to Him in the first place. If you said, 'Lord, I give You this firstborn lamb of mine,' or 'I give You my firstborn son' —no, those already belong to the Lord. The same with tithes. Those are His. If you use them, you're taking that which belongs to God."

Chew on that.

*Emphasis on Scripture is mine.