when words fail

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when words fail, the only thing left to do is grab a camera.

my (awkward) first vlog

Please ignore...

...the awkward repetition of 'so', 'yeah', & 'umm'.
...the 'I think' after 'I'm so sorry about the bad quality'. I meant to say that I think the quality will turn out bad... it came out different. :P
...the fact that I only smiled about three times in this video. I'm not usually that serious. ;)
...the awkward and quite embarrassing thumbnail (which I tried to change, but apparently, it needs 36 hours to update).  

If you can ignore these four things, you're awesome, and if you can't, you're still awesome. ;)

Keep a look out for those photos next week! :)

Baking with Memories // Guest Post By Kati

My grandmother, Mommom as she is affectionately called, is a wonderful woman. She loves the Lord. She loved her husband of sixty-six years and still loves him even though he has left her to be with his Lord and Savior. She loves her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She has an excellent memory! She can remember every birthday of every single family member (and that is quite a lot since my dad is one of eight and she has 18 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren plus those who have married into the family.) She can listen to another conversation while taking part in another. She can put her finger on anything she has in her house, one of her children's school picture shirts, a receipt from 20 years ago, birthday cards, party favors, lunchboxes, Easter baskets... Since she lives just three doors down from us, I will occasionally walk down to her house and we will spend an hour, sometimes two, sitting in her living room talking. She can make the best coconut cake, peanut butter cake, and boiled cookies.

Ever since I can remember we have made her recipe for boiled cookies. Dad or my sister Kristin would make them some evening and sometimes we couldn't even wait for them to cool. :) I always think about Mommom when I make boiled cookies. We have made these cookies so many times that the original recipe card that Mommom gave us faded so that we could hardly read the recipe. We copied the recipe over but kept the old card in her handwriting. In our recipe book we have the new copy and the old recipe side by side.

They are so easy to make and so yummy. They use some of the best ingredients out there: chocolate, peanut butter, oats... I mean, what could get better than all those ingredients put together? ;)

  In a medium saucepan put together:

• 2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 stick butter

  Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 1 1/2 minutes. Take off heat.

  Add:

• 3 cups oats
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

  Place tablespoonfuls on waxed paper lined cookie sheet and refrigerate until hardened.

I'm Kati. I am 18, a child of the Heavenly Father, daughter, sister to two sisters and a brother, sister-in-law to two I think of as a brother and a sister, proud aunt to eight, and a homeschool graduate. I like to bake, read, craft, blog and take pictures of anything and everything from my nieces and nephews to my kitties to nature with my trusty friend Nick (my Nikon D3000). We have lots of fun preserving memories together. I look forward to the day when I have my own home and family to take care of. In the meantime I take comfort in this verse, 'For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.' --Jeremiah 29:11

Please take a minute to stop by Kati's Little Corner of the World for a visit. She'd love to have you, I'm sure. :)

on rainy days

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**The winner of Emilie's banner is Nela of Beloved Star. Congratulations! Please e-mail me by Thursday to claim your prize.**

Every day is different, and each one has its own charm... but rainy spring days have an unique loveliness. Just hearing the pitter-patter of raindrops makes this small part of me, that I didn't even know existed, come alive. I can't help but throw open a window or simply step outside... close my eyes and get lost in the fresh, evergreen, indescribable scent of rain. During spring, there's also the faint, but sweet, aroma of blooming lilacs, which becomes one with the gusty breeze, and blows across my face, tugging on my hair. Mmmmm... sometimes I wish could lock moments like these into place & always be able to come back to them later...
What moments inspire you?

giveaway // sponsored by Emilie

Emilie approached me awhile back, about sponsoring a giveaway on my blog with two premade banners. Now I'm not much for 'premade' things, I really like to customize as much as possible, but when I saw her banners - I was hooked. They're so bright and cute, perfect for just about any blog!

(click on either one of the banners to enlarge)

See?! I absolutely love all the colours and fonts she used! And the little smiling tulip in banner #2 is SO cute!
You can enter to win your choice of one of these banners via the widget below. The giveaway ends on May 10th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Hurry up and enter! I know you want one.

and April slipped into May

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May is a lovely month, don't you think? It's when flowers show off their bright colours and sweet aromas. When soft lilac-scented breezes caress your face and play with your hair. When the weather warms up, and when snowflakes don't suddenly appear and settle themselves in your hair. May is that single month of the year when the weather is perfect - not too cold or too hot, but right in-between.
And this particular May? Changes will be hitting the blog! Nothing too big, like a name change or anything, but I am in the process of putting together a new blog design, so keep an eye out for that. ;)
As for April, I want to apologize for not posting that much, it was quite a busy month for me. Many thanks to Emily Grace, for her lovely guest post on my blog! :) And since we're talking April, I might as well mention that I made cookies for the first time ever last week... and burned them... a little (I've done cupcakes, and normal cakes, and six layer birthday cakes before, but never cookies :P). This April, I also had my first ever Skype call with a bloggy friend & I guest-posted over at Nela's blog. Those were three major achievements that I simply had to mention.
Also, if you're interested in guest-posting on Essence of Eve during May, please e-mail me at swordmaidenforchrist(at)gmail(dot)com. I'm planning on posting at least two times every week, but with the design and all the work I have to do, guest-posters are welcome and much appreciated. :)
I'm going to bed now. It's 11:30 and I'm so tired - which is mainly why this post is not that very organized. That first paragraph has nothing in common with the other two... but I really can't think straight right now. Please ignore this messy post, enjoy these April photos, and goodnight.