We had the Salaita Lab and other friends from various labs over at our house for the first time this past month and it was amazing fun! John grilled out hot dogs, hamburgers and marinated chicken! My parents got us a brand new grill for the occasion. Thanks to all my friends for making this an extremely great time! My parents and mother-in-law also got to come and enjoy it.
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Roxanne and I went blueberry picking! She picked 9.35 lbs of blueberries and I picked 9.53 lbs. I made blueberry muffins and blueberry coffee cake so far! I'm so excited! They taste great. It took about 3 hrs of picking to get all these - and on the last day too. Even so, there were quite a few blueberries to go still to be picked. I got the recipes from the Hard Labor Creek Blueberry Farm website. Check it out! RecipesBlueberry MuffinsINGREDIENTS: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup white sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 egg 1/3 cup milk 1 cup fresh blueberries 1/2 cup white sugar 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup butter, cubed 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon DIRECTIONS: 1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. 2.Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture. 3.To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking. 4.Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done. Blueberry Coffee CakeINGREDIENTS:
¼ cup butter, softened 4 oz. cream cheese 1 c. plus 2 tbsp. sugar 1 egg 1 c. all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking powder ¼ tsp. salt 1 tsp. vanilla 2 cups blueberries 1 tsp. cinnamon DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan. 2. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and cream cheese until creamy (about 3 minutes). Gradually add 1 c. of sugar and beat well. Add egg and beat well. 3. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture. Stir in vanilla. Gently fold in berries. Batter will be very thick. 4. Pour into prepared pan and smooth top. Combine the remaining 2 tbsp. sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over batter. 5. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes. Cool on a rack. Ms. Harmon got to visit this Saturday!!Yesterday was a perfect day to me. Ms. Harmon came over to visit and we got to watch Extraordinary Measures together, about a scientist and businessman who went into business together to make a drug for Pompe disease. We've been planning to watch this particular movie for about two years. Then, we got Chick-fil-a and discussed Brandon Sanderson's books (she and Ian are reading Words of Radiance) and other books. Over food, I discussed all the latest stuff in my research and told how excited I was about the next week. She asked enthusiastic questions and re-explained stuff to make certain she had gotten it right. It made me realize that even though I thought I knew how to explain things to a non-expert in the field, I actually do not. I need to work on that. It was SO much fun!! I had often imagined and dreamed of having Ms. Harmon over for a day and I got my chance. It was a perfect day. Photos from the past weekEpic Brownie Making - A Triple Batch Is Too Big to StirYvonne's Birthday During Lab MeetingMs. Harmon's Visit to EmoryOther random photosSawyer has touched not 7,000 people, but 75,000. Whoa. That's a sight more than I first knew about!
Sawyer passed away quietly on Monday night at 9:00 p.m. God chose not to heal him. This left me heartbroken and I struggled with his death. Why, Lord, would you take one so young? I was praying Monday night for Sawyer and Murphies. I felt compelled. While I was praying, I suddenly saw Sawyer laughing. I thought it meant he would be healed. But that wasn't it. I spoke with Esther later, my prayer partner, and told her I just didn't understand. She said she'd had the same questions. While praying on Monday, she'd seen Sawyer's death, but had rejected it, because she didn't want it to be true. But she finally felt that, in spite of what it might appear, his death was an act of mercy, to keep him from further suffering. His condition was so severe, that had he lived, he might have been in so much worse pain. I decided that when the Lord released me from prayer Monday night at 9 p.m., perhaps showing me Sawyer laughing was His way of letting me know he was releasing him from his suffering. I have continued to pray for the Murphies and my heart is broken for them and their family. I thank the Lord that He is with them, spreading His angels around them and giving them peace. Ashlyn and Josh's sweet spirit during this time speaks so much more than any words I could say. They pray that the Lord shows them the full meaning and purpose of Sawyer's short life, and are thanking Him for the 18 days that they had with him. Already, God is moving. Ashlyn says that nearly 7,000 people have been touched by Sawyer's life, through her blogging - far more than most of us will ever touch in a 70-80 year life span. The outpouring of support they have received is overwhelming. Some are even telling her that their stance to remain firm in their faith despite this tragedy has led them back to the Lord. Sawyer is now with God. But his life continues to speak and touch hearts. I cannot but thank God for this and that He knows best. I would appreciate prayers for my sweet friends Ashlyn and Josh Murphy. I don't know what else to do but pray very hard and make others aware of their situation through posting to facebook, blogs and word-of-mouth. I'm sitting hear crying in front of my computer for the second time in a week, reading about what they are going through. Their young 18-day-old son Sawyer (and first child) had open heart surgery to correct a heart defect (tetralogy of fallot) and was seeming to do ok. But they couldn't close his chest, because they couldn't stabilize him. Had to put a flexible patch over it. He went into cardiac arrest on Wed and they put him on a heart and lung machine. He's continuing to cling to life, but has since suffered a blood infection, internal bleeding and now seizures of an unknown origin. The doctors are beginning to say he probably won't make it. Please pray for them. Please pray that God will do a miracle and save their son. Thank you. I'm re-posting the poem that Ashlyn posted on her wall today. So much pain. They are suffering a lot right now, and so is Sawyer. I'll never know why God allows evil into the lives of such sweet people. But I trust in His goodness, still. More details and updates of their situation can be found on their baby's facebook fan page here, as well as Ashlyn's baby blog here. Thank you in advance for any prayers you pray. |
AuthorWant to find out what it's like to be a mother in graduate school? Come on the journey with me as I find out! Due date Dec 25, 2016! Archives
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