It's funny how ONE thing can alter so much more...
Like one little tooth means hours and hours lost of sleep. Yes that's lots of hours times 2!
Or one little tiny teeny piece of a toy cupcake that becomes lost forever...Holy heck was someone shot?! Why is that child screaming non stop?? So loud...
How about when you want to take a cute Valentines picture of your kiddos, and another stinkin' toy causes more drama than yo mama can handle.
Or an abundance of one simple thing after another making you second guess a decision to move to another state for 'better opportunitues' away from family and everything you were comfortable with...
All it takes is one thing.
But did I mention that all it takes is one thing to bring you back and reminds you of everything your blessed with and all with be ok.
Like when your sitting on your couch at 7:30 at night, tired and worn out from life, and someone rings your doorbell. Only to find that it's your parents who just drove 3 hours to surprise you and say "Hello!"
And that one gesture created relief, smiles, laughter, a full nights rest, and a fridge full of groceries..
Not to mention an overwhelming feeling and sense of Love, knowing that someone above is taking care of you!
And after one good thing, comes another good thing, and then another...
Soon you find yourself making homemade bread, making the house smell delicious and inviting, and forgetting about toys and enjoying a slice of fresh from the oven bread...
Homemade Oat Bread
*This bread is not whole grain or whole wheat, which is not something that I would necessarily go for. BUT, this was my first experience making homemade bread so I wanted to follow the recipe exactly as is. Usually afterwards I tweak the recipe because I know it works well. BUT ALSO, I would go out and say this bread is a whole foods bread. It's made from scratch, I used organic dairy, and everything I used was unprocessed and natural. Stay tuned for a whole wheat version!*
Recipe from King Arthur Flour
Ingredients:
3 c. unbleached bread flour-I used king arthur brand
1 c. old fashioned oats
2 Tb. butter, diced
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 TB. honey
2 tsp. instant yeast or 1 packet active dry yeast
1 1/4 c. lukewarm milk
Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together until the mixture comes together. (I used a dough hook on my kitchen aid!) Afterwards, place dough on lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. If using a kitchen aid, let it knead for 5 minutes.
2. Form dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour. The dough won't double in size, but it will increase a little.
3. Afterwards, take the dough out and form into a log. Place in a greased bread pan and cover with a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap. Let rise for about 60-90 minutes, or until the bread is close to 1 inch over the rim. At this point I let mine rise over night because I started this process at 8 at night :)
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once heated, bake bread for 35-40 minutes. If the crust is becoming too golden, place a tented foil over the loaf the last 10 minutes.
5. Once done, remove from pan, and slice a piece immediately because you have little to no patience! Also, if you top it with goat cheese, herbs, tomatoes and balsamic...Yum.
Sometimes one thing can alter things for the worse. But it's much more worth it to focus on those simple one things that can make everything and anything all the better.
Like a smile.
Those smiles can change my whole day!