This has not been my favorite week. We've had spectacular fall weather, but that doesn't do you much good when you're confined to the house! Tuesday I came down with the stomach virus that has been picking off our church staff families one by one. Jackson had it Sunday, I had it Tuesday, and Curt had it Thursday. Fun times, y'all. We're slowly getting back to normal. I used a blow dryer on my hair this morning for the first times in six days. Six days of air dried hair! These things shouldn't be!
Yesterday I realized that the only thing left in my pantry was chips, so I took a deep breath and made the world's longest shopping list. Since Curtis wasn't exactly hungry yesterday, I made my favorite meal that he hates - roasted chicken and wild rice soup. (He assured me the smell of it cooking wouldn't bother him. He went to bed when I started cooking anyway.) It was absolutely delicious. Later I decided to try baking bread - totally homemade bread without a bread machine - for the first time in my entire life. It was like a goat ropin', but a couple hours later my house was filled with the most amazing aroma known to man. And when I pulled it from the oven using the new mits that Sunni gave me from Anthropologie, I felt like I was birthing a newborn baby (while wearing a designer hospital gown). I even patted it like you would pat a baby's sweet little diapered buns. It was such a precious little loaf of bread. I immediately sawed into it and ate two pieces with plenty of apple butter. Glory to God. I was so sad that Curtis wasn't awake to praise me, nor my child old enough to rise up and call me blessed. Y'all, let's be real. I wanted my works to bring me praise at the city gate! (Click here if you have no idea where I'm getting this stuff.)
I could absolutely not wait to toast my homemade bread in the morning and have it with tea. I couldn't stop smiling, really. A little while later I heard some rustling and I thought maybe Curt was emerging from his slumber in the guest room. It was not so. What did emerge a minute later was my dog. With something in his mouth. Something that looked a lot like my precious little loaf of bread. And lo, it was.
I mourned for my bread. I mourned for the praise of my husband that I wouldn't hear the next day. I mourned the hours of anticipation and labor put into making that stupid loaf. I mourned because I really wanted to be mad at that big ole dumb dog, but I knew he was just hungry. So I didn't yell at him. I didn't throw anything at him. I just marched out to the car and got his new bag of dog food and fed him his dinner. And that is when I thanked God that 2.5 years ago, 9-month-old Beckham forced me into counseling over my anger issues, right after he tore my Bible to shreds in the living room. Loaf of bread? Gone. Consumed by the dog. Growth? Glory to God. For real, y'all.
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49 comments:
Glad your house is all better!
Congrat's on your first loaf of bread!!! There is nothing like that feeling when it comes out of the oven. I love to put it on the counter and watch the steam before I slice it up! That lasts oh, about 20 seconds. :)
And I promise that your husband will rise up and call you blessed!! My man always does.
Blessings!
steph.
Well, you know that if Beckham could talk, he'd be praising his mama all over the place for that delicious bread!
And how could anyone hate roasted chicken and wild rice in any form!?
I'm so impressed! I love to cook but homemade bread is not something I've tried yet. I have good intentions but then laziness sets in and you know the rest of the story! I'm so sorry about your loss though! I admire you for taking it so well. I'm pretty sure my reaction wouldn't have been so pleasant! Happy baking!
I admire your attitude - maybe I need counseling for MY anger issues because I would have been hot! That apple butter sounds delicious though. I've had a recipe that I've meant to try for at least 3 years. Maybe this is the one...
I haven't been fond of this week either....our dog, Bailey, has had a bladder infection...quite pitiful to say the least....but several hours after taking her tiny little white pill, she throws up a HUGE chunk and I usually don't know about it until I almost step in it. She doesn't tell me when she's done this.
Animals. You love em. You wanna kill em.
Hang in there....you have turned the corner and all will be restored at the Jones home soon!
This post just hurts.
But Glory to God anyway...I bet if Beckham could talk, he would have risen up & called you blessed.
Aw, now how very frustrating! And yet, good.
Sorry y'all got the sickness that bonded our family a week before. Yuk.
I can't wait to hear about the next loaf and the praise, which ensues from your husband! Blessed woman you are, indeed!
Girl, I really thought about baking bread today. I have no idea why but now I think this is a word for me not to!! ha ha! No but really I am dying to know if you watched the session after how wisdom looks on a wife in wising up! I thought about you as I watched that session on Tuesday!! :)
I'm sure that was a sad sad moment in your home...
growth indeed!
Amanda, I'll rise up out of my lazy boy recliner and call you "blessed" right now siesta...
As for Beckham, you really need to make your way over to my my blog and look at Ozzie floating on a raft in our pool. The same one he ate. Along with the other four including the really expensive ones.
Blessings,
Jan
threemenandamom
If Beckham doesn't slow down he's going to need his own blog page!
your dog is a riot- I think your "dog-posts" lately have made me laugh harder than anything!! that dog, what can you say?? I am glad ya'll are feeling better, and I am glad that at least you got to eat a piece before he enjoyed your homemade loaf...and may I say, I am IMPRESSED with homemade bread, you have more cooking skills than you let on too!!! Has the crock-pot inspired you to dig deeper to findthe inner-chef in you?? If so, share the knowledge, we are still sticking with making mac-n-cheese around this house!!Have a good weekend...glad ya'll are on the mend!
See, this is why I'm dragging my feet on getting a new puppy. Beckham ate your baby bread? AND he's torn apart your Bible?
Lord have mercy. My head swims at the thought.
Actually, that could be a fun post or carnival sometime. What's the worst thing your pet ever did to you -- the kind of thing that made you seriously considering giving them to the pound?
(Glad you're feeling better, by the way.)
I bake bread...sometimes so I know how upsetting it would be to find all your baking went to the dog! My previously mentioned black Lab ate half of my son's 1st birthday cake that I'd just finished frosting! But then they look pitifully sorry and you gotta forgive em! Glad things are getting back to normal at your house!
Oh no! Sorry all of you got sick! Way to go on the loaf of bread that is something I have yet to do in life:)
Oh, honey...that is just wrong on so many levels. :( I am weeping with you over this.
At least you did get to have a little of it before he partook. On the bright side, it sounds as if Beckham really appreciated your efforts....AND he has been amazing blog fodder for you of late. :)
I think Beckham needs counseling about boundries... (your neighbors would agree) sorry about the bread..sounded like it would have been great. Suggestion - next time - feed Bechman FIRST.
Oh. My. Goodness. I'd have said, "Buh-bye, Beckham!"
I've got some doozie dog stories, if you ever want to swap some tails. If it weren't for those puppy dog eyes...
Oh, and my 2 year old has the same yucky stomach virus, so I feel for you and your family!
I am SO, SO glad that you got those two pieces with the apple butter that was makin' my mouth water while I read about it.
Glad to hear you are on the other side of that stomach bug. Bless your heart that y'all ended up being taken down by it.
I rise up and call you blessed for even attempting the bread thing without the breadmaker! Kudos to you, dear Amanda.
Next time you need to take a photo so we can all see the fruits of your labor and then stash it in an upper kitchen cupboard out of the reach of that ornery doggie.
i'm paralyzed with emotional pain. paralyzed.
since my skillz in the kitchen are not even considered skillz.
seriously, i can't even write a decent comment.
emotional. pain.
the fact that you baked bread alone...big stuff.
I mean really...how could Beckham resist himself? Ahhh. The smell of freshly baked bread...
Yum homemade bread! I am so sorry the dog ate the bread! We have two black labs and before I dated Dave, the first dog ate 5, yes I said 5, couches! Thankfully she was out of that stage when we got married or it would have been a rough first year (for the dog anyway)!
Now see, Beckham was giving you the highest praise! The bread was so good he had to eat it all right then! :)
I love fresh made bread. The smell,the flavor... mmmmm. might have to bake me some tomorrow!
Thanks for stopping by Amanda! I had mentioned to a friend (your Debra at Beth) that I love to borrow your mom's quote... "do you have a sweet spirit today?" with my 3 girls. They are so used to me saying it, they reply to me before I even get it all the way out! Jackson is precious...if we had a boy in the mix, he would have been named Jackson. I still sometimes think...where is my sweet, little Jackson? :)) I will have to live through you, which is fine by me because he is TOO cute! Glad to know that you are all feeling better, even the dog with a full belly! Hope to hear from you again. You are such a role-model mommy to me!!!
Sharla
Apple butter and warm bread-my mouth is watering. I am impressed you did not yell at Beckham. That IS growth sister! Just think how that big ole puppy prepared you for motherhood. I am glad you guys are feeling better!
At least he's got good taste (literally!)
Sorry about the stomach bugs!
our dog ate my freshman's 4-H entry of chocolate chip cookies after all that labor and we laughed...but inaugural homemade bread---that's a different story...but how neat that what you saw for real was growth...a different response than irritation...that's God
What a great story. I will rise up and call you blessed for making homemade bread. And I glory in the fact that you did not tie a knot in your dog's tail! Both are evidence of great spiritual growth.
Wow, God has "workethed" some patience in you! One time I had baked a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies and had them cooling on racks on the kitchen counter. I had to run outside to help my hubby, who was building a swing set for the kids, and returned to find that our dog, Duncan, had pulled the racks down and was scarfing up the cookies from the floor! At least those cookies hadn't required proofing and rising and it only took a few minutes to whip up another batch.
Hope you all feel better real soon!
I feel your pain! Recently I made a homemade stew in my crockpot, and it took all day-for the church potluck..while cooling my very bad huskey ate 1/2 of it, and I had to go buy something to take to potluck..and I was so very proud of my efforts! bad dogs! go lay down! That is pretty much all my family heard me say all the rest of the day. LOL
ha ha! that is a funny story. I know bread is serious business. Rarely do I ever try to do that without the bread machine. Well, actually rarely do I do it with the bread machine either! My hubbie has been asking so I guess I should now-and maybe they will rise up and call me blessed! :)
Glad you are all feeling better.
Blessings,
Angela
Oh no - how totally tragic (lol) hey I think I you bet. We had company over for the grandest raost beef on earth (you need to understand I am cooking challenged) My guests are seated at the table I got the kitchen to bring them my best offering yet - only to find my dog licking the beef!!! YES LICKING IT!!!!! Did I tell me guest!! Well many years later!! But they love me anyway lo
The joys of mothering a dog hey!!
Now I want to try to make homemade bread. I would love to try your recipe if it wasn't too hard :) Did you use real yeast and everything? I've had some in my freezer for a few years awaiting me to attempt such a project :)
hey Amanda~ I laughed so hard about Bekham only because the exact same thing happened to me on Friday. We had some friends from out of town coming over for dinner and i made a pumpkin spice cake. the first cake fell apart, so i had to make another one. my second one was beautiful! we took sam to the park for a few minutes before our company came and when i walked in the door, over half of my pretty cake was gone...tex...bad. dog.
Yummy homemade bread - I can almost smell it and my mouth is watering as I type :)
You know it could have been worse Beckham could have eaten the entire loaf before you even had the chance to taste it. At least you had 2 slices :)
Girl you had a Gilgal moment - when you could have gotten mad but instead you were able to keep you cool and Praise our Heavenly Father! I love those times when I can say - Oh yeah thank you God for giving me exactly what I need to make it :)
Blessings,
Kim
Girl, I am mourning for your lost bread. I'm betting you didn't rise up and call Beckham blessed.
And just so you know, I will be incorporating the phrase "it was a goat ropin'" into future conversations.
You are making my tummy rumble. Sorry it's gone, but congrats on the strides you've made!
Nothing quite beats the smell of homemade bread. I'm so glad you & Beckham got to enjoy it!
Also glad y'all are feeling better. I've been without internet access (eeks) for 11 days while on vacation (my husband had been deployed and has just returned home, praise the Lord), so I'm getting all caught up on everything.
Oh my heart just broke for you! I am so so sorry! I'm proud of how you handled it! I'm not sure I would have given the poor dog as much grace! I guess after losing your Bible (oh Amanda...did it have a lot of writing in it?) that is my biggest fear...of anything happening to my Bible! (all the years of writing in it and taking special notes, dates, markings of all my favorite scriptures, etc) I know I shouldn't be so attached...I heard someone say you should get a new one every 5 years (was that your Mom?)...but I just can't part with it! Was it hard starting over with a new one!
Hope you all are better! Nothing is worse than the stomach bug! God Bless your sweet family and Beckham! Emmy : )
Well I am impressed! With the bread and the control! I am sad to say that my anger issues probably would have exploded all over the poor hungry thing! Good for you!
Amanda,
This is a very very sad story!
One - b/c I'm tend to find myself on th 'all-carb' diets in life b/c of how much I love bread. I honestly wanted to cry for you.
Two - You're going to have to make sure you try this one again so you can be blessed at the city gate :)
I really want to laugh! But I'm dying for you at the same time! lol. Girl...just go get some rolls somewhere!
Oh my. A whole house full of tummy troubles. Glad y'all are on the feeling better side of it.
Wow. Baking bread. I have never tried it in all my 20 years of marriage. It just seemed so hard. And I am all about easy cookin. One of these days I will venture to try it, but not tonighth. I still have to finish my Bible study for tonight. We took the grands and Lil Miss Firecracker to the Dall** Arboretum yesterday and all the hay kicked my allergies into high gear and leaving me with, according to my allergist, "multiple site upper respiratory infection".
Thanks for the baking inspiration.
Happy Monday from your Plan* fans!
ah the smell of fresh bread, and yes I agree, even though there's modern technology involved and doesn't quite take the same amount of effort as our prairie skirt wearing forewomen, a loaf of bread from the breadmaker makes me feel like I am IT. That is, the most amazing mother, wife, homemaker there is... it's fresh! go figure.
I've had my golden retriever do the exact same thing to a homemade loaf of bread!!!!
I could feel your pain. : )
Homemade bread is time consuming but I'm with you on that just like birthing a baby comment. Do you think it releases endorphins? (spell?) But, seriously, I feel like the perfect mom when I bake bread! : )
I should bake it more often. ha ha
Hi Amanda...
I am *so* excited to hear that God has shown you His growing image in your life! :) These last two years have been, (in some ways) the more difficult years of my life...and yet, I've seen God grow me to where He has helped me respond with *much* more Christ-likeness than I ever would have before, to defintely "lesser" issues. Thank you for your honesty. All-consuming anger has been something God has had to work on/root out of my heart as well, and while I can say none of this apart from our Great Savior, it has, honestly, in some ways been *so*cool* to see un-fun stuff happen in life and yet see God-responses to it as opposed to what I KNOW would have come out before! :)
Thanks for the encouragement & for sharing...Hooray for our Great God! :) Oh...and I hope you and your all-healthy get to make, eat & delight in some delectable homemade bread in the very near future! Some of my favorite memories of growing up...yum! :)
~Deborah
So glad to hear everyone is feeling better!
My mouth just about fell open hearing Beckham ate the loaf of bread (definitely not like sister). But then I think about all the things God has used Beckham to prepare you for motherhood and provided Jackson with a friend like no other.
Such as: taking stuff out of Jackson mouth; patience; and anger mgmt. Jackson's best friend: all the times Beckham stayed beside him (night/day); tail pulling; fur pulling; climbing over and on top of him.
Just his name alone will always remind you and Curt of your time spent in England.
I certainly have had my share of getting upset at Bella for her antics but when I get home from a long day - she always there wagging and smiling away faithfully and unconditionally.
Beckham has been around Jesse (aka Fweet Scruff) too many times. He is truly a Jones dog. We'll make up for it this weekend when we eat at the "Bread-something..." place. See you in 3 days. Love, Cozy
P.S. It's good you're forgiving as, remember this is not Beckham's first offense -- my Craig's Crazy Carrot Cake Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory also fell victim. HA!
I don't care what happened to the bread, you are officially my hero for making it from scratch. Period.
Oh my goodness Amanda I just came back to read the other posts and I think I may have been on drugs when I posted my comments what was I thinkig . . . "raost beef"
"I think I you bet: ??? what??
"did I tell me guests"
hahaha I sound like some red neck - I have to learn to spell check I just get way too excited. But thanks for posting the comment - I'm thinking you're good at reading between the words lol
Be blessed lady
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