Family

Beauty In Biscuits

Published on April 14, 2016April 14, 2016 by SydneyLeave a comment

The other night I was working on dinner, making biscuits and I got wrapped up in my thoughts a little. I was thinking about how fast paced our culture is. So many people don’t sit and have dinner together anymore. Everyone is going a different direction, school, work, sports, birthday parties etc. None of those things are bad but for some reason they have all become more important than quality time with our family each night.

As I stood at my kitchen counter making my biscuit dough I was thinking about the time & energy poured into my meals each night. I’m going to be honest, I’m not really a fan of cooking. My mom taught me how to cook but it just feels like such a chore each day. The other night I had a moment where I realized that I get to provide these wonderful meals for my family. We get to eat our dinner together each night.

IMG_8645_edited-1

The generations before us didn’t have much choice but to cook. We are now surrounded by fast food, processed foods and so many quick options that a home cooked meal and eating dinner together seems to be fading away. If you feel like you don’t have time to sit down together take a look at your schedule and see if there is anything you can eliminate. We eat dinner together almost every night. I guard that time fiercely. I know that nightly meals together aren’t possible for every family but I bet you could eat together once or twice a week. Make some soup, biscuits and a salad, and call it good.
Don’t let dinner become just a chore as I had done; make it about quality time together. Dinner doesn’t have to take along time, but make that time around the dinner table count.

If you need a starting point here are a couple of our families favorite soups:
Sausage, Potato & Spinach Soup (this website has tons of great recipes!)
Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
Cauliflower Chowder

My mother-in-laws biscuit recipe is super yummy & I hope you enjoy it!

IMG_8642_edited-1

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup soft butter (1 1/2 sticks of butter)1 cup buttermilk*

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix together all the dry ingredients. Work soft butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter (here is a how to video) until it’s roughly pea sized. Then add in the buttermilk and mix together until dough is formed. Turn onto a floured surface and cut out biscuits. Place on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until slightly brown.

*if you do not have buttermilk you can make sour milk by mixing 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar with regular milk. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes before using.

Don’t let the quality time around the table slip away!

My Beach Trip Must Haves!

Published on February 3, 2016February 9, 2016 by SydneyLeave a comment

So it’s that time of the year…spring break, vacations, and that need to explore. I’m not sure about you but I just love to travel anywhere that’s warmer then where I live. In the Pacific Northwest our winters are very depressing! Rain, rain and more rain! My husband and I are gearing up for another trip to Roatan, Honduras in a few weeks. This time we are building a house and then staying on for additional vacation time. July 2016 is our 10 year wedding anniversary so we are going to celebrate a little early on this amazing island!

I had the opportunity to partner with Home Away for this post to share my favorite beach must haves! These are just a few of my favorite items to bring along to the beach.

HA Getaway.jpg

CAMELBAK Water Bottel:
I’ve had great luck with these water bottles! They are a favorite in our family we all have our own! We currently have the plastic ones but I’m hoping to get a glass one soon!
Sunscreen:
I know your mom probably told you over and over to wear sunscreen but seriously WEAR SUNSCREEN!!! I know a tan is nice but protect yourself! You can still get a little color when you wear sunscreen! Last summer we transitioned to sunscreen with less chemicals. Alba has been my go to lately.
Kindle App:
I love my Kindle App on my phone and my iPad. The app is free and makes reading books so easy! Also I’m not sure if all libraries do it but our local library links up to a website call Over Drive and you can check out eBooks for free! They download right to your Kindle app! I love to lay on the beach and read while I relax in the sun!
Healthy Snacks:
I like to bring a healthy snack with me to the beach. My go to bars are Lara Bars and also some mixed nuts.
A comfy pair of sandals:
I love my Sanuk sandals! If you haven’t tried them they are so amazing! I have the yoga sling style. I wore them for 4 days at Disneyland a couple years ago and my feet were happy the whole time! They are amazing! The Yoga Slings aren’t good for water so I want to try out another style that can be worn around water.

I’m getting so excited to bless a family with a new house but also to enjoy the sunshine and the sand! What are your favorite items to take with you to the beach?

If you guys are looking for a get away check out check out some of HomeAway’s most popular rentals here. We have booked a couple vacation rentals through their site including our recent get away to Leavenworth. Check them out next time you are planning a vacation or getaway. You won’t be disappointed!

Goals for 2016

Published on January 11, 2016January 9, 2016 by SydneyLeave a comment

Well it’s 2016 already! Where does time go??

A couple of weeks ago my sister-in-law posted on Facebook asking people what their resolutions or goals were for 2016. In the past I’ve not really been a resolution maker. I’ve never really felt like it was something I needed to do, but this year her post made me stop and think about it. So I actually came up with a few goals for this year and thought I’d share them with you!

1. Open my home up to friends and family more. This one might seem like a no-brainer but for whatever reason we just don’t have people over often. To be honest a lot of the reason is that it’s expensive. We live on a tight budget and I always feel like if we are going to invite people over we should provide the dinner. But I’m going to move past that. We have been blessed with a wonderful place that we call home and I want it to be an inviting place that we can enjoy with our friends and family! So my goal this year is to have people over! It may be for snacks, or a potluck or just dessert but we are going to have our people over!

2. Be healthier then I was last year. For the last year and a half I’ve been on sort of health/fitness journey. I’m trying to find my groove. I want to make exercising and eating healthy just part of who I am. I’m not trying to join some fad diet or just make a new years resolution because that’s what people do but I truly want to figure out a maintainable way to live a healthy lifestyle. I want to be here for my family and my kids. I want to be an example to those around me. I want to feel good in my own skin. I’m currently eating clean and am part of an online fitness community called Fit By First. This group has totally changed my approach to working out and the need for community to keep you accountable and to be an encouragement. If you want more info on these challenge groups check out this website (I don’t get anything thing for promoting this – I truly just love this group!).
3. Make time for creativity. I love to be crafty, I love photography, I love redoing furniture but last year didn’t allow a lot of time for the creative things I love. I want to make sure I make time for some of those things, the things that are just for fun. I think so often as mom’s we get so wrapped up in all that goes on in our house that we forget to do the things that bring joy to our lives. Taking time for ourselves is so important.

4. Be more intentional about praying. There is so much power in prayer I believe that with every fiber of who I am and this year I want to be more intentional about who I’m praying for. I punched a hole in all my Christmas cards and tied them together. They sit next to my bed and each week I pray for one family. I pray for the things I know are going on, and for the things that are unseen. God knows what they need but I still want to be faithful to lift my friends and family up in prayer.

When I look at all my goals I see a trend – being intentional. Goals give us something to work towards and that is why I set a few this year. The older I get the more I’m learning that without direction we just sort of float through life. I don’t want that. I want to make an impact on this world. I want to look back on my life and feel like I lived it!

Cheers to a new year and fresh starts! What are your goals for 2016?

Roatan: How The Trip Impacted Me

Published on March 17, 2014March 17, 2014 by Sydney1 Comment

So I wrote most of this blog while I was sitting in the Houston airport on the way home from Roatan. I didn’t share it probably because it’s pretty vulnerable but then I realized my experience may help someone. If nothing else being open and honest helps promote changes in my heart.

Here is what I wrote on 3/8…

So I’m sitting in the airport writing this blog…I have spent the last week away from my family and my normal life serving others. This opportunity has been amazing and it has also allowed time for me to think about my day-to-day life. One thing I will say is when you go serve others that have so little you realize it’s completely possible to be happy with less. So often in life our happiness is based on how much we have. Selena has been a single mom for 12 years. She has worked her butt off to provide for her 11 kids and she was happy, laughing and ready to work hard. She has so little but you would never know based on how she carries herself.

Why do we as American’s have such high, unrealistic expectation for what our life should be? In the past few months I’ve had a hard time being at home with the kids (which is a luxury for most). I have felt stuck…so much sickness, not a lot of extra cash to go do fun things but I have lost sight of all the we have. We have a roof over our heads, we have food, more than enough clothes and so much more. After being gone for a week I’ve realized there are things I need to change. I’ve been tired, and haven’t been serving my family like I should. I need to learn to step back…enjoy the little things and be grateful for all that we have. My goal as a mom and wife is to try to care less about the details (which is VERY hard for me), laugh more and just enjoy the little moments. Sometimes you need to step outside of your normal bubble of life to realize all that you have and to reset your goals & expectations.

An unexpected thing I noticed was that social interaction with adults is very important to me. I’ve been stuck in my bubble of kids, diapers and cleaning and I haven’t made hanging out with friends a priority. Often I make excuses not to make an effort but I need to make it more of priority. Having spent a week with adults, laughing, serving & interacting with each other I’ve seen my whole attitude lighten up…this is something that I want to stick.

This trip was so amazing but what I didn’t expect was all the reflecting
I want to laugh more.
Serve people more.
Chill out more.
And let go of the little things.
We. Are. Blessed & I can’t lose site of that!

Now back to my current thoughts…

As I’ve been home I have wondered why God puts a desire in your heart when you don’t know what to do with it?? I have always wanted to live overseas and be a missionary…maybe short term (like 6 months-1year) or maybe long-term but when you have a husband and family it has to be something you are both called to. How will God use me…use this desire? I don’t know but he knows my heart and he knows I’m open.
Sorry if this post was all over the place…at times it can be really hard to process what God does in our hearts. How he changes us. Often it’s something that get sort of unfold over time.

The trip was wonderful. I know I will go back. I just don’t know when.

Roatan Day 1

Published on March 2, 2014 by SydneyLeave a comment

So I just wanted to post a quick update on our first day which was really just a travel day. Our flight was scheduled to leave Seattle at 5:55 but due to delays we didn’t leave until almost 6:45. This made things a little nerve-wracking for us knowing that we only have a 40 minute layover to catch our next flight in Houston.

The beautiful sunrise on the airplane

I tried talking to a flight attendant about it and she was no help. My hope was that they would either hold the plane or it would be delayed or something. I was talking to my brother-in-law about what to do. He told me to “use my superpowers” so I prayed!!! I prayed that God would help us make our connection and I specifically prayed that our connecting gate would be moved closer.

We landed in Houston it was roughly 12:35-12:40 our connecting flight to Roatan was scheduled to leave at 12:52. We taxied into gate A16 and they announced that our connecting flight was moved to A17!! These are the little moments that so many miss. They are the moments of God saying, hey I’m here with you…STOP WORRYING!! The flight attendant asked people to remain seated if they didn’t have a connecting flight. Of course everyone decided to get off the plane. This struck me…we are always in such a rush. Little moments like this are way you can serve other people. So back to the story…by the time we made it on our plane it was 12:50!! We made our connecting flight with 2 minutes to spare! We got on the plane…then we sat for about 10 more minutes…they were loading up our luggage! And every single piece of luggage arrived in Roatan!

While on the plane I’ve been reading “Kisses From Katie”. It’s about an eighteen year old girl who moved to Uganda and has essentially adopted something like 13 kids! Anyways it’s totally my kind of book!

“And Even as I realize I cannot always meat or mend, I can enter in. This is Jesus. Not that he apologizes for the hard and hurt, but that He enters in. He comes with us to the hard places. And so I continue to enter.”

I’m pretty sure this is going to be a challenging book!

So we all made it to Roatan safe and sound. We ended our evening at Half Moon Bay enjoying a nice dinner together!

Today our plans are to head to church, hang out at the beach for a little while then have dinner with both the families we are building for. It’s going to be a good day!!

My Wonderful Husband

Published on February 15, 2014 by Sydney2 Comments

So my husband rocks…as you know I’m leaving for a trip to Roatan in two weeks. Over the last few weeks I’ve had several friends ask who was taking care of the kids. To me it seemed like a no brainer…of course it would be my husband. He is taking a week off work to be Mr. Mom while I’m gone. As I thought about it I realized it may be less common than I think for women to get away.

This trip is for me to go and serve with my church. We will be building two houses for two different families in Roatan. But in addition to serving it will be an opportunity for me to relax, to connect with other adults & build new friendships, for me to have a purpose outside the home, for me to give back, and an opportunity for my husband to spend quality time with the kids.

I have always felt a calling to missions and my husband knows that. If it was up to me I would live somewhere far away and I would be snuggling orphans all day. That isn’t our life, so I appreciate his willingness to let me go on these trips every couple of years. Let me serve where I feel God is calling me and to fully support the things that are important to me.

Husbands figure out what your wife needs. How can you support what is important to her? Those nights away with girlfriends may be a little chaotic for you but they are so important for her. Does she like to workout or run? Be home so she can go to the gym. Whatever it is figure out a way to help her focus on something that is important to her.

Thank you Tom for letting me leave for a week! Thank you for seeing the big picture and never making me feel bad about being gone! I’m so excited for my trip and excited to see all that God is going to do!

2014 Personal Goals

Published on January 22, 2014 by Sydney1 Comment

This is the first year I’m sitting down to make some personal goals…I think having clear goals helps you have something to be working towards. Some are bigger & some are smaller but I wanted to write them down.

Read Bible daily
Monthly date nights with my hubby
Take the kids on individual dates throughout the year
Travel to at least one new place (Chelan, Oregon coast, or maybe Victoria, BC)
Have girl’s nights more often
Exercise 3 times per week (make it a normal part of my life)
Take time to rest (this is hard for me)
Create some reachable financial goals for 2014 with my husband
Be more encouraging to the people around me
Read more – 6 books in 2014 – I’m a REALLY slow reader!
Blog more!
Be a little more unplugged (less technology)
Learn something new

Have you thought of any goals for the year? They don’t have to be crazy or scary! For me I like lists to refer to and I like to think about what’s important to me and how I can invest in it.

The Sweetest Morning

Published on January 16, 2014January 16, 2014 by SydneyLeave a comment

Today was a day in the world of mommyhood that you don’t want to forget. We got up on time. I got Taylin off to school without any major issues. No attitudes. We weren’t running for the bus. She remembered her lunch. You know, all the millions of details that take over my mind each morning. Our routine is to get her off to school then Bry and I eat breakfast and then our day together begins. Today he was full of sweetness and I don’t want to forget it.

Often as mom’s our days are so full of keeping the house running, picking up after the kids, laundry, changing diapers, kissing owies and figuring out why our kids are screaming or whining AGAIN!!! Today I just sat and enjoyed the sweetness of my son. He is almost 20 months and is so full of personality. Just recently he really wants me to be part of his world, playing, showing me things, snuggling and it’s just so precious.

Here are a few pictures from our morning.
Let me be the first to admit I need to do this more. To stop. Play. Listen. It’s not in my personality to just “sit around”. I have to feel like I did something each day. Today I did. I hung out with my son. There are toys everywhere. I have no makeup on & I haven’t even brushed my hair, but I had the best morning just playing with my son.

Don’t let these sweet moments pass you by!

Taylin’s 5th Birthday – A Rainbow Water Party!

Published on January 12, 2014 by SydneyLeave a comment

My daughter requested a “rainbow, water party” this year. Her birthday is in August so we normally try do something in the back yard with family and maybe a couple of friends. I love doing fun parties for my kids but often I feel pressure…pressure to make it “Pinterest Perfect”, pressure to invite all her friends, pressure to get the perfect gift…these are the pressures of our culture. I don’t want to get wrapped up in all of that. So here are the pictures from our simple “rainbow water party”!

Water equaled our kid pool, and a slip and slide.

The rainbow part equaled some dollar store decorations, skittles & a very cool rainbow cake I made!

Just wanted to mention most of these pictures were taken by my step brother Phil. He has a knack for photography and blessed us with some great shots! Thanks Phil!

And now for the cake…it turned out WAY better then I expected and the kids thought it was SOO cool!! Taylin really wanted an American Girl doll. I got one on sale almost a year before her birthday. She was in heaven! My good friend got her and the doll matching dresses!

Now to share a few pictures of her cousins and friends! The kids had a blast and I didn’t kill myself making this party happen! I would call this simple party a WIN!

SERIOUSLY!?!? The emotions in this picture are amazing! These two are Taylin’s cousins…they are all gonna be something else when they are teenagers!! Somehow I didn’t end up in a single picture…I usually try to get a picture with the birthday girl or boy…fail! Oh well! Fun times were had and my daughter had a successful 5th birthday!

Roatan 2014…Giving Back

Published on October 29, 2013 by SydneyLeave a comment

Friends…it’s been a long time since I’ve posted…life has been crazy and my priorities have been my kids, volunteering at church and just enjoying life! I’m super excited to post about what I’m doing next year! Our church does a few different mission trips each year and his year I’m excited to be a part of the team heading to Roatan, Honduras.

Roatan is a small island off the coast of the coast of mainland Honduras. We will be building two houses for families in need. This island is an interesting place…on the water there are beautiful resorts and the cruise ships come in several times a week. If you really see the rest of the island you will see that there is a huge population of people who live in extreme poverty.This trip will be my 8th or 9th mission trip…I’ve lost track at this point. I feel like God has placed this desire in my heart to serve. Serve people locally and specifically serve people overseas. I’m not sure why but I always feel this tug on my heart to travel the world and help people! This year my husband and I agreed that I could go. He will be serving these families at home while he takes the week of off work to take care of our kids.

Our team will be building 2 houses in the course of the week. To learn about the families we will be building for take a look at this link. I am so excited to see all that God is going to do! The trip is March 1st-8th, 2014 and I truly can’t wait to get dirty, swing a hammer, shovel gravel and do whatever is needed to help get these two houses built!

We need your help in two ways:

Financially – The trip is roughly $1,500 and while I would love to pay for it on my own, we don’t currently have the finances to do that. I’m willing to clean houses, babysit, or do anything else to help raise some money. If you need help with anything let me know! I’m happy to workIf you would like to donate to my trip you can make a donation online through our church PayPal site. In the notes put “Sydney Ross – Roatan” http://tinyurl.com/lzykn3e
Prayer – Specifically pray for all of us going on the trip, for safety, for our hearts, and for our team to work well together. Pray for the families – that God will use these houses to glorify him!I’m excited for this trip! Excited for the new relationships that will be built and for the ability to give to these two families a safe place to call home! Below are a few pictures from my last trip in 2011