The Move – Part 3

Friday night I went to bed worried and a bit defeated but still trying so hard to hold onto a thread of hope. I’d called, texted, emailed everything and everyone I could find. What in the world was going on that people wouldn’t even return our calls and texts about homes?! It was frustrating.

Yesterday morning Cade woke up and looked online one more time.

And two homes were newly available.

I drove like a mad woman, shocked that they had agreed to let me walk through.

And now, we are moving to Farmington.

I’m so grateful.

The Miracle Comes

I guess it really is true that you go until you have nothing left to give and then the miracle comes.

We move in just a couple of days and need to figure out schools, doctors etc. so it’s going to be a week to get through. But it’s also going to be the beginning of a story yet to be written and how exciting is that?!

I still have a summer of miracles to tell you all about. Miracles, I’m learning are often not in the ask, the real miracles are in the people and moments along the way. But yesterday, that was a miracle for sure and I’ll never deny that while it’s not the plan we’d set out for, it’s certainly going to end up even better for the people we find there.

Waiting

Someone, gosh maybe EVERYONE saw me do it.

I cried a broken cry on the freeway as out loud I said:

“Where are you?!”

I was driving home from having found a house that we could rent until we find a more permanent forever, but I didn’t experience the feels like you would have expected.

It didn’t feel miraculous.

Though I’m certain it was.

I didn’t feel that acknowledgment of peaceful or right though it is.

Instead, it felt empty.

We’d prayed, fasted, hoped and acted all summer in faith that we were to move north.

We paused buying a home when nothing felt right and turned our attention to renting. I will be honest, that’s hard for me. I like to be settled and to be home but I could see that there might be a better story in “waiting” – the motto of my life
Out of all the homes we contacted about renting, I’d guess only 2% even responded to texts, phone calls and emails.

The Sunbeams that Barely Reach Us

It was BEYOND frustrating.

So where was God?

We were doing everything “right” and we felt hope and devotion to the miracle, so where was it and where was He?!

The homes on Saturday are lovely homes. The one we will move to is literally the only one that responded, was available and the nicest people own it.

So was it a miracle?

Sometimes we want to have the sun not only rise but completely envelop us in its light AND its warmth. But often its far away and we miss the streams that, like in this photo, barely reach to us as a reminder that it’s there, it’s coming, but not yet.
I think wh

The Move – Part 2

The Wait

Waiting is About Changing

Peach Crisp Ice Cream is creamy vanilla ice cream filled with chunks of peach crisp, a peach lover’s dream come true. With chunks of buttery brown sugar and oat crisp with syrupy peaches in every bite, this ice cream is irresistible.

Peach Crisp

You may have noticed that I’ve developed the habit of turning everything I possibly can into ice cream. I am a firm believer that ice cream can make almost any dessert even better.

This obsession began with this creamy and delicious apple crisp ice cream. It is the most amazing cinnamon-sweet baked apples with a crunchy, buttery streusel topping folded into homemade ice cream.

My love of ice creams with all the goodness combined in comes from those times, like right before bed when I want something sweet. But having a bowl of dessert with a scoop of ice cream on top is a bit much.

However, I feel way less guilt when I have a scoop of something like peach crisp ice cream. It is all the goodness of the fruit-filled dessert and ice cream combined and it satisfies that late-night craving.

That is, if my boys haven’t discovered it and polished off the ice cream before me. I have been known to change up which freezer and where I stash it. I can not share where that secret place is because they do occasionally read this blog now.

Ice Cream Making Tips

With over 70 ice cream recipes here to choose from, there’s sure to be an ice cream for everyone! If you’re new to making ice cream, the best and easiest vanilla ice cream is a great place to start.

Peach Crisp with fresh, sweet juicy peaches and a cinnamon, brown sugar topping served warm from the oven is a bowl of deliciousness.

Warm peach crisp is dessert perfection when topped with homemade vanilla ice cream. I am not sure there is a better combination.

Peach Crisp

Confession time – baking with peaches used to make me slightly crazy because of the way the peach flesh would attach to the pit. It was never easy to get out and I always felt like I was squishing the peach to do it.

Then I learned the difference between freestone and clingstone peaches. Now I always look for freestone whenever they’re available, which means the peach flesh is not attached to the pit and it pops out easier. I get it, it sounds silly but it was a game changer.

I have also learned that ripe peaches will smell, sweet and peachy. While that seems obvious, it wasn’t until I was able to find peaches at a local farmers’ market that were truly fresh from being picked that I really understood this difference.

Living in Ohio vs. Arizona I have really come to appreciate what we can get fresh from the farm here in Ohio. The freshness is like nothing I experienced in Arizona and I am definitely here for it!

When it comes to peeling peaches, it can be a pain if they aren’t perfectly ripe. Sometimes when baking I just don’t peel them.

If they are slightly difficult to peel and I don’t feel like letting them get a bit riper. I will go ahead and slice them skins and all and my dishes turn out just fine.

If I really want to peel them and the skins aren’t sliding off easily a quick blanch will do the trick. Just drop them in boiling water for 30 seconds and then immediately into an ice bath. The skins will literally slide right off.

Peach Crisp from Fresh Peaches

Fresh is my favorite way to make these but you can use frozen. If using frozen make sure they are thawed or adjust your cook

Cinnamon Crumb Pumpkin Bread Recipe

The most perfect pumpkin bread recipe topped with a cinnamon crumb streusel topping, which is the best topping imho!

I don’t really have any memories of pumpkin bread growing up. It was always pumpkin roll and I never ate it. But I do have very distinct memories of the smell and warmth of the kitchen. I can see perfectly the warm cake bits and powdered sugar stuck to the kitchen towel as mom rolled up the cake and placed it in the fridge to rest.

It doesn’t feel like the holidays to me unless something is pumpkin and since I tend to lean more towards the quick breads I just knew a pumpkin crumb bread was bound to make it onto the blog one of these days. 

I think I’ve made a million pumpkin bread recipes, but last year when I finally found the best, the most moist, the absolutely most delicious pumpkin bread recipe ever I immediately had to make a crumb topping. And then it flopped and flopped. And flopped. 

Too little butter, too much butter, too heavy a topping for a good rise, and on and on kept me testing away for almost an entire year. But this is it, the recipe that had my entire family begging for slice after slice. 

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