delicious tiramisu.

tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts, if not my most favorite. i am having company tomorrow and made some refreshing tiramisu for us to enjoy. thought i'd share the recipe ;)

ingredients: 

2 boxes of sara lee all butter pound cake

4 cups of fresh coffee mixed with 1 tbsp of sugar

2 cups of mascarpone cheese

2 cups of fat free cool whip 

1 and 1/2 cups of sugar

cocoa powder for dusting 

i know most recipes for tiramisu call for lady fingers, but i never have any luck finding them, so i opted for pound cake. 

1. take the first box of pound cake and cut into slices, length wise.

2. then cut each slice in half, length wise, and place them in an 8x8 baking dish

3. take your freshly brewed coffee (mixed with your 1 tbsp of sugar) and pour it over your pound cake until each slice is soaked (should only take about half of your coffee)

4. next, prepare the filling/topping by mixing your mascarpone cheese, cool whip, and sugar

5. spread about half of that creamy goodness on top of your soaked pound cake slices

6. take your second box of pound cake and repeat steps 1-3

7. spread the remaining mixture on top and dust with cocoa powder

8. let chill in refrigerator 

YUM!! i cannot wait to dig into this refreshing goodness tomorrow!! 

easter weekend.

hope you all had a great easter weekend! 

on good friday, boo and i ate mexican and went shopping for each other's easter baskets. its always so fun trying to discreetly shop for one another in the same candy aisle at kroger. then we went home and baked cookies and watched the help... one of my favorites. 

saturday my car overheated on my way to work and that was kind of a big deal. we had to have it towed and taken to the shop. thankfully, i got it back on monday evening :)

on easter sunday boo and i did our tradition of finding each other's baskets. he took his typical 2 minutes to find his (buried under clean clothes in the dryer... it was literally the second place he looked) and i took my typical half hour to find mine (inside the box that he uses for his nightstand...lol). i wish i had taken pictures because our searches are always humorous. i got lots of goodies in my basket, but this is by far my favorite (it is already almost halfway gone):

lindtusa.com

we also had a great easter service at church and lunch with my family. i am so thankful for my freedom to live in communion with God because of what Jesus did. i hope your easter weekend was a good one!

worship band: all sons and daughters.

just discovered this awesome duo from nashville. their lyrics and music are fantastic. here's a song called "wake up." enjoy! 

His Love is stronger than mine.

a quiet & rainy evening... warm green tea...a house that smells of freshly baked cookies & vanilla candles... i love the romance of a perfect setting conducive to reflecting. 


in a classroom of 23 kids, all with a story, it pains me that i cannot flat out tell each one of them that Jesus loves them, that He died for them, that He wants them to be kind and selfless, that He can heal the brokenness they already have at seven/eight years old, that He can set them free...more than anything i want to take them right then and there and pray with them. 


 i know that nothing in this life matters unless it is about loving God and loving others. if i cannot preach the gospel in my classroom with words, i hope i can preach it with an abundance of hugs, homemade cookies, validating words, meaningful lessons,  a nurturing environment, tough love and gentle correction, offering grace, etc. 


i have realized that loving 23 children like Jesus loves them is so much harder than i ever thought it would be. how i need the Spirit to love them through me. believe me, there are times when i am not feeling gracious. there are times when twelve of them all need me at the same time and all i want is my space. there are times when i feel like being harsh. there are times when i am completely impatient. loving each of them and giving them individualized attention is challenging--sometimes it feels impossible. i am so thankful that the same power that conquered the grave, and the same love that rescued the earth, lives in me. i need to not only remember this truth, but believe that it is stronger than my weakness, my sin, and the "impossible."