Meals as a Mrs. ~ Soft Vanilla Milk Bakery Loaf

 Yesterday into today we had 11 to 14" of snow fall on us in Steubenville. 11 years ago to the day, Adam and I had excitedly stood in the street under the snowflakes and stars to snap this photo within the first few weeks of his big move to Ohio. The caption I gave it on social media is also shared:

For those who have been inquiring, Adam is holding his own against snowy Steubenville. 

Here are images that I took yesterday as our snow bunny enjoyed being outside in the backyard.

It's been on my heart for a while to go back to posting the Meals as a Mrs. blog postings that I used to do in the first couple years of our marriage. I don't know how consistent I'll be but here is a first attempt for 2026. 

Last night, I saw a friend post this recipe online and when I woke up with my stomach rumbling this morning, I thought, why not try my hand at this bread? Lately, I've been using my Dutch Oven to make a crusty loaf but I was intrigued by the descriptive title of this particular bread and wanted to try this one. See below for image and recipe that were shared online:

Soft Vanilla Milk Bakery Loaf

This loaf finishes the season perfectly. Simple, soft, and comforting, it slices beautifully and stays moist for days, making it ideal for post-Valentine calm days.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1/3 cup oil

• 1 1/4 cups milk

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• Pinch of salt

Methods:

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease loaf pan.

Whisk eggs and sugar until pale.

Add oil, milk, and vanilla.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

Fold dry ingredients into batter gently.

Pour into pan and smooth top.

Bake 45 minutes until golden.

Rest before slicing.

Nutrition: 255 kcal | 8 g fat | 39 g carbs | 5 g protein

The house smelled divine as the bread baked for the last 45 - 50 minutes. The recipe called for the bread to bake for 45 minutes but I added an additional three to five minutes to help with the slight browning on the top of the loaf. The bread was scrumptious! The top had a bit of a caramelized top to it and the slice I enjoyed for breakfast tasted more like a cross between pound cake (but not as heavy or dense) and a donut! I would call this donut bread as it was a sweet bread that had more of cake-like consistency to it in sliced form. Adam and I agreed it would be good as a breakfast sandwich but I think I like it just plain as is, too!

This is one of my favorite parts of baking...the transformative element of making something with your hands and then waiting to see what the outcome will be. Isn't marriage like that? A man and a woman come together from their distinct separate lives and join their lives together to create a new life and family as husband and wife. No two families are alike. Each family has its own unique elements and gifts to give both to the members of the family and outside the family. 

Engaging in baking and taking part in the pleasure of creating something from nothing this morning makes me think of how God breathed life into each one of us when we were formed and created. He knows the number of our days, how many strands of hair we have on our heads, the desires of our hearts, and has a plan for each one of us long before we were even created and known by others within this world. While we're a work in progress every single day in learning more about ourselves, in considering how to take care of ourselves, and are becoming more and more self-aware with the passage of time, including knowledge of and coping with our wounds and hurts, God knows it all already and everything has a purpose. 

What is something you can do to increase joy in your life today? There is much in the world that can bring us down (and keep us there), but we were not made to despair and are a people of hope. 

How can we increase joy, no matter how small the event or task may be, in our lives? 

For me at this moment, it is snuggling with a pup, as I dive back into grading/working from home on this snow day after taking a grading break to enjoy a slice of and to savor the warmth and sweetness of this simple but sweet bread.

"Have patience with all things but first with yourself. Never confuse your mistakes with your value as a human being. You are perfectly valuable, creative, worthwhile person simply because you exist. An no amount of triumphs or tribulations can ever change that." - St. Francis de Sales

What an inspiring quote from the saint whose feast day we recently celebrated that contains a reminder for us to remember about each of us AND about our spouses! St. Francis de Sales is known for gentleness and love - may we all be a bit more gentle and loving toward ourselves as well as our spouses within our marriages.

Ten years!

We are celebrating ten years of marriage today!! 💕🙏💍

In listening to a podcast just now, I heard the speaker say (paraphrased here), "Who are you? What are God's promises to me? My body is not broken. That is not God's truth. You have given me the cross to carry not to suffer but so that God is redeeming it and so that I may draw closer to His heart."

These last ten years of marriage have provided ample opportunities to grow closer to one another and to God's Heart.

"True love demands getting out of oneself, giving oneself. Genuine love brings joy in its wake, a joy that has its roots in the shape of the Cross." - St. Josemaria Escriva

The above thoughts are making our song after Communion during our wedding mass have even more special meaning than it did on that day: At the Foot of the Cross.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of my spouse, for the vocation of marriage and family, and for this day. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad! 

Ninth Anniversary Gifts - Willow

 Last year was our 9th wedding anniversary. The traditional gift for that year is willow-themed due to the willow representing strength and flexibility within the relationship. I have long loved the Weeping Willow tree. I recall being thrilled that this type of tree graced the yard of the church where we were married. However, on our actual wedding day, I had forgotten to ask to get a photo on the church grounds by that tree so the imagined image of us on our wedding day by a weeping willow never did materialize. Oh well! I suppose that is one way to demonstrate flexibility, right?!

We weren't together for our actual anniversary last year due to my being in Pennsylvania for a celebration of life and spending a few days with my Mom. So, upon my return to Ohio, we celebrated. First, I presented Adam with this shirt. He tends to get compliments and comments when he wears it. ;)

I had purchased the willow lights that you see on top of our hutch in the below image to add cozy lighting to our living room. I have since moved the lights into the hutch behind the glass for a different sort of look.

I love how they shine on the glass flowers Charlotte and I made last summer that we have displayed on the top shelf of the hutch!

Adam utilized ChatGPT to create a coloring book that he had designed to glong with the theme. We have enjoyed coloring in some of the pages with Charlotte here and there throughout the year. I thought it was sweet he chose to create a gift he knew we all three could engage in working on together. Flipping through the book tonight, Im realizing we have some coloring we need to do as we get closer to our mileston of ten years in a little more than a week! 

Small Encouragements

 Yesterday was a long day of three meetings held one after the other after having had trouble sleeping that night before and by the time I pulled into the driveway, I was dragging my feet. I knew I wouldn't be home for long as I was on the schedule to cover my group's shared holy hour that evening. I had even debated driving straight from campus to the chapel but had 25 minutes before my scheduled time so I opted to still go home even for just a few minutes so I could see Adam and Charlotte. 

As soon as I entered the door, I could tell Charlotte had a lot of pent up energy. A few minutes later, when it was time to go back out to the car, she asked if she could come with me. I hesitated because the last time I had taken her to that particular Adoration Chapel, she was just an infant. 

Since those baby days, she has gone to family-friendly Holy Hours, participated in Adoration with her peers at school and in Girls GIFT, recently attended Praise and Worship during a Divine Mercy Holy Hour at the local Sisters' motherhouse, and has popped in and out of chapels with me during trips and on adventures. However, she had not participated in a full one-hour silent time of devotion with me since moving out of the carseat days. In this post, from when she turned three months old, I had written about those early days in the Adoration Chapel with her. 

These were all reasons that gave me pause last night when she asked if she could come with me. Partly because I wanted to try to cultivate in her a posture of silent prayer and partly because I was exhausted from work, I gave in to her requests and said yes. In the car we went and drove the two minutes to the chapel. Upon entering the chapel, every seat was taken and she and I patiently stood in the back as we waited for the family who had the hour before us to finish their scheduled time. Within five minutes, the other individuals had filed out of the chapel and it was just Charlotte Annie, Mr. Snuggles (a large teddy bear gifted to her from some classmates after her recent accident), and me in the chapel for about ten minutes. She began getting antsy about eight minutes in so I asked if she would like some praise and worship music played. A girl after my own heart, she said yes. We were about halfway through listenting to a song when someone arrived in the chapel. I quickly turned off the praise & worship music and we settled back into silence with the third adorer.

You can spot Mr. Snuggles in the bottom right hand corner because at this point, both Charlotte and he were snuggled up on my lap in the first row of the chapel as close to the Eucharist as we could get.

A few other people came and went for the remainder of the hour and, while settled on my lap, Charlotte wound up falling asleep in my arms. I felt the stressors of the day, the worries about the unknown, and feelings of unrest I had been battling slip away as I felt her warm body curled up on my lap. God knows what He is doing. Usually, I read while in the Chapel but my arms and hands were occupied. Other times, I listen to the daily Gospel reading but I left my phone on the table next to me. I just sat and was still as I held Charlotte and let myself be held. I likely wouldn't have experienced these things had I told Charlotte she needed to stay home. 

Shortly before our hour was up, someone slid the below note into my view. I didn't get a glimpse of who it was or even if it was a male or female given I was in the front row. 

Thank you, Lord, for the small encouragements and for the way You encounter each of us right where we are. Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima. Fun fact:  the school I attended for 1st grade was named after her. Then, in 2nd grade, the school I attended had a beautiful larger than life mural painting of her in the main hallway of the school. One of my favorite pictures with Charlotte was taken with her at the foot of the mural when I took her to my old elementary school when she was a baby. 

God may show up in big ways like the encounters of the three small children with Our Lady in Fatima or He may do it through a stranger's note but He is always there. 

Spend some time looking for the ways He is working in your life today! 

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Thankful for the Workers

What a day...I am thankful we had each other to lean on and others who supported & lifted us in prayer as we navigated all that we faced today. 

We experienced a couple firsts, and I hope lasts, today.

St. Joseph the Worker, pray for us. 

We are so grateful for the workers - - first responders, hospital workers, & school staff who helped our Charlotte Annie during a first, and hopefully only, broken bone ( in two places ). It was all in a day's work for some but for us, also brought us closer than ever. 💕

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👨‍👩‍👧

Five years

Today was the first day of Easter Break and, theoretically, the first day to sleep in for all of us....but I still woke up just before 6am. It likely was my body reminding me of what happened so early in the morning on 04/17/2020. The memories of that morning lives on auto-repeat in my head and those final moments with my Dad are forever etched into my brain.

Today is also Holy Thursday which has long reminded me of my family of origin and the traditions we had as children. Dad used to be one of the men who would sit on the altar as they would reenact the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday....even though decades have passed, each year Holy Thursday rolls around, I remember those formative years and the pivotal role my Dad played, along with my Mom, in helping to shape and form my brothers and me in the faith. I really hope to do the same for our Charlotte Annie.

With it being the first day of the break today for Charlotte and me but Adam still having work, I had planned a day of surprise outings for her and a friend to keep us out of the house while Adam would be on his calls.

We first made our way to the movies to see The King of Kings. We got to Robinson earlier than I had anticipated so we squeezed in a run to Claire's for the girls to pick out earrings and to pick up an Easter bow for each. The girls were delighted to bump into their Art Lab teacher while we walked around in the mall!

We next headed to the theater to enjoy a brunch of popcorn and Reese's Pieces while watching the movie. The girls were spellbound the whole time and seeing the depictions of the life of Jesus in this way was pretty powerful. Next, we headed back to the mall for a Chick-fil-A lunch (yum!) in the food court. After that, it was time for the girls to get pampered at Sharkey's where they picked festive bright Easter colors, along with sparkly nail polish, for their nails. The ladies at the shop were so nice and let them pick out pretty princess rings, a sticker, a lollipop, and a balloon! 

As we drove away from the shop, I spied a furniture store that had come highly recommended to me so we made a pit stop for the girls to test drive alllllll the furniture while I scoped out the couches. Here's to hoping we can get a sectional, soon! As a treat for their patience, the furniture store let them have ice cream that they serve in the back of the store. Go figure!

As we drove away from Robinson, we swung by Andy's Candies where I spent far too much money on chocolate that promptly melted in the car while we played at a nearby playground for 1.5 hours. Oops! As we rolled back to town at 5:45pm, we decided to grab some dinner at Eat and Park. It was only fitting as that is one of the restaurants Mom and Dad frequented when they would come visit. I attempted to order a dessert Dad would have been all over (chocolate peanut butter cake) but they were sold out of it...so I had to settle for a Peanut Butter Cup Sundae. 

Today I'm thankful for : 

• the memories & stories that remind me of the very real impact of the larger than life man I'll never forget and who is still touching so many lives today, 
• the sunshine that followed us all throughout today's adventures, 
• the two little girls who kept my mind occupied as I tried to outrun the memories today always brings, and
• God's Promises.

Ezekiel 34: 26 - there will be rain but there will also be an abundance of blessings.

Awareness for others... And for me!

 In one of my classes last week, we recently unpacked Vocation and vocation which led me to briefly touching on Deaf and deaf differences.

On Sunday, I went to one of the most powerful performances I have attended in having a front row seat of The Miracle Worker which is about Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan. I remember as a child, upon learning about the impact the teacher had on her pupil, hoping I could be a teacher like Annie one day.

In two of my classes on Monday, I had to ask different students to move their hands as they spoke with hands obscuring their mouths and I misheard other students one or two times when they were asking questions. The below visuals are pretty good representations of what it felt like in the moment when communication wasn't entirely accessible for me the other day.

Hopefully, for my students, these are moments of modeling how to advocate and correcting missteps I have made along the way when hearing something incorrectly (in addition to my growing in humility) for my students.