Chocolate Oatmeal Cake and Pasties Recipes

By request of Jessica, here are the recipes for Chocolate Oatmeal Cake, and Pasties. Enjoy!

Chocolate Oatmeal Cake is pretty much the favorite in our household! Almost everyone asks for it for their birthday! =)

Chocolate Oatmeal Cake
3 3/8 cups hot water
2 1/4 cups oatmeal
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
3 jumbo eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/8 tsp. salt
9 Tbsp. cocoa

Pour hot water over the oatmeal and let stand. Cream the sugar and butter. Beat the eggs into creamed mixture. Sift flour, soda, cinnamon and salt. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, then stir in the oats; beat well. Turn into a greased and floured 9x13x2" cake pan. Bake at 350* for 35 minutes.

Pasties are also a family tradition! They are my favorite food, and many of my family's as well. They're a Finnish recipe, and we got them from my dad's side of the family. They're really good! We usually make one pasty per person, which is half of a pie. Not everyone always eats that much, but leftovers are good! We usually get a lot of helpers when making them as well, to do all the chopping. I've included the recipe we use for pie crust as well.

Pasties
Inside per pasty:
1/4 lb ground beef
1/2 cup diced carrots (quite small)
3/4 cup cubed potatoes (larger)
1/4 cup diced onions (optional)
salt and pepper

Put in half of the potatoes, salt, half of carrots, salt, half of meat, salt, pepper, then repeat. Finally sprinkle on onions. Close crust (1/2 of pie). Crimp. Bake at 350* for 1 hour. Serve with ketchup.

Never Fail Pie Crust

3 cup white flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp. ice water
1 beaten egg
1 Tbsp. vinegar

Place flour and salt in mixer bowl. Cut shortening into flour until mixture is the size of peas. Remove 1 cup of mixture, and place in medium size bowl. Add water, egg, and vinegar. Stir with a fork. Add to the mixture in mixer bowl, and mix just until dough stickers together.Divide dough into four equal portions. Place one portion in the center of a 12x15 inch piece of waxed paper. Place another piece of waxed paper on top. Roll with rolling pin to 1/4 inch thick. Remove top sheet from dough. Crimp edges of crust.
*For an unfilled pie shell, prick dough with a fork every 1/4 inch. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
**Freeze unused portions of dough either in balls or rolled out and placed on cardboard to keep flat.

Hope you enjoy!

16th Birthday Celebration

Since I'll be gone for my birthday on July 5th, we celebrated a week early. Miriam Hart got to come, which was a lot of fun! Lydia made my favorite food, pasties, and my favorite cake, chocolate oatmeal. Yum! I'm so blessed!

Enjoying the food. Pasties is a family favorite!

Singing Happy Birthday

Showing off Lydia's handiwork. She worked really hard on the cake!

Sharing the gummy worms from Lydia. I got lots of nice gifts from my family, I'm so blessed!

Picture of Ashely

Here's a picture of Ashley, a fellow dancer for the Lord. She wanted me to post this picture of her so that you all could see what she looked like. So, here it is!

Bread Tip

To all you bread bakers out there, I've found something wonderful! A bread recipe I had used some called for "wheat gluten", yet, until today, I'd never used it. Wheat gluten is wonderful! It made my bread rise higher, and seems to have improved the texture, making it softer. Plus, it's supposed to improve the freshness, we'll see how that works. But I'd highly recommend baking with wheat gluten!

A Posture of Excellence

Last summer I went to the Heroes of Today Challenge Week at Christian Training Center International. I learned a lot of things that week, among them, the importance of good posture. At CTCI, they taught us how to stand and sit like a lady, and we had to practice by walking around with books on our heads! It was a bit hard, but it was so fun to walk straight and tall, like a true lady!

Since coming home, I have tried to practice having good posture. I don't always have good posture, especially when tired or sick, but I have learned that practicing an excellent posture is good for a variety of reasons.

First, maintaining a good posture gives one a measure of confidence. Before Heroes, I would often walk around with my arms crossed, shoulders slumped, and eyes on the ground. I wasn't very confident for a variety of reasons, and my posture showed it. Now, when I walk I try to do so with my back straight, arms gracefully at my sides, chin up, eyes alert, and a smile on my face. Before I wanted to sink into oblivion, whereas now I want to be an example of a young lady following after God. And one's attitude is there for all to see, on display through one's posture.

Which bring me to another matter, the crossing of one's arms. I used to do it all the time, and still find myself doing it occasionally, because to me, it is quite comfortable. However, did you know that crossed arms are a sign of anger or disinterest? When you sit or stand with your arms crossed, you are telling everyone that you aren't interested in what they have to say, and would prefer to be left alone. Something to think about, is it not?

Now, back to posture. Good posture is also good for you! When one sits or stands up straight, one is more alert. In fact, sitting up straight will actually improve your attention, and allow you to learn more while in class. Are you having trouble doing schoolwork? Whey I find myself sleepily solving math problems or answering history questions, I often find that I am sluggish and sleepy because I am slumped over my desk. I straighten up, and I begin to wake up, resulting in my finishing my schoolwork faster. It's a good incentive, but often hard to implement.

Good posture can also prevent back trouble. One of the ladies who was teaching us girls could speak from experience. She had slouched so much s a teen, that her back had grown crooked. She had to wear a horrid, uncomfortable brace to straighten it out. This is yet another good reason to straighten up!

So, our parents are right. When they tell us to "stand up straight!" it is for our own good. I used to resent them telling me this, but have since learned better.

"Well then, what is the correct posture?" you may be asking. The proper way to stand, I was told, is to have shoulders and hips squared, back straight, chin up, and one foot placed in front of the other slightly. Basically, fourth position for the ballerinas out there! =) The proper, ladylike way to sit is to sit erect, not leaning back in your chair, but to sit with the legs either crossed, knees together and legs slightly slanted, or, my favorite, ankles crossed and legs slightly slanted. The proper way to walk is erect, chin up, and arms gracefully hanging at your sides. The best way to practice this is, indeed, to walk around with a book on your head. In fact, the ladies that taught us, said that their mother used to make them walk around with a book on their head for 30 minutes a day! I admit, I haven't done book practice very much, but it must have worked! These ladies had a most exquisite posture!

You may be think that having such a posture would mean never relaxing! One does need times to rest. I admit, I don't always stand or sit that well, and often catch myself slumping and slouching, often while at the computer. It will take some discipline, but will you ladies join me in truly developing a posture of excellence? I'm sure you'll be glad if you do!

And, to give you something to look forward to, good posture makes you feel, and often times look like a queen! We are princesses, daughters of The True King, so why not look and stand like one?

Green "Springy" dress

Yes, I've sewn another dress! For this one I used the same pattern as the purple ruffle one, except didn't make a ruffle, and made back ties instead of a sash. I like the simplicity of it!

Categorization

Hi all! I've just categorized all my post, and the categories are in the sidebar. Click on any category to view the links of the posts in those categories. I've always enjoyed blogs that have categories, but Blogger unfortunately doesn't have that built in, so I manually categorized the posts using my website. Thankfully it didn't take too long! I have an upset stomach (comes from babysitting a little boy who got sick while I was there), so I thought it'd be a good use of my time when I don't feel like doing much. Hope you enjoy checking out the categories!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Happy Birthday Grandma!
I hope that on this day
You'll have fun and will enjoy
The things we've planned for your stay.

Enjoy the yummy food that's made
In honor of you.
Enjoy the presents that we gave
And all the things we'll do.

Eight-two years, what an age!
Yet you're still spry and going strong.
It's been a joy to have you here,
And I'm glad your visit's long.

Thank you for all the things you've done
For us down through the years.
The hugs, the smiles, the gifts you've given,
The laughter and the tears.

Thank you for the legacy you are
Giving us as we are growing.
Thank you for raising Daddy in God's way,
So that he's showing

Us the the way to go, down the
Straight and narrow way.
Thank you for the prayers you've prayed
For us so many days.

I hope that this next year ahead
Will be the best one ever!
Thank you for being such a good Grandma!
I love you, and will, forever!

Your granddaughter, Anna Naomi Lofgren

Purity of Mind

Every girl wants to be loved. From the time we are little, we dream about our wedding, and the day when our own Prince Charming will ride up and sweep us away.

As the ten years approach, we begin to realize that the longing to be loved by a man increases. Pretty soon, you start hearing from your acquaintances about "who likes who" and their secret crush. You look about you and sometimes, it begins to seem as though you're the only one without "someone special."

Hopefully, as in my case, you find close friends who share your values and morals, but al around you, you still see couples your age, pairing up. Even some of the people you thought shared your convictions begin to stray, until they too have "someone."

Why can't you too have the special closeness with a young man? Well, God commands us not to. Three different times in the Song of Songs, we are told to "not arouse or awaken love until is so desires." (Song of Songs 2:7, 3:5, and 8:4) So, what does that mean? One aspect of it is that we're not to spend hours daydreaming about the most desirable young man at that time, when you are not ready to marry, and God has not told you that His timing is perfect. Even if you never even have a boyfriend, it is still all to easy to dream about "what ifs." I know, for I've done it.

Matthew 5:8 says "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." If we give a little piece of our heart away to every passing fancy, what will we be left with to give our husband one day? Wouldn't you rather have a heart intact, to offer him is spotless purity?

"Well, how can I help it?" you may ask, "My thoughts just naturally start thinking about him!" If I find my thoughts thinking about things contrary to what I know I should be thinking, I find that it's best to turn my eyes and thoughts to Jesus. I give Him the situation, and ask Him to help me keep my thoughts pure. I try to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Finding a close group of girls, if possible, that share your convictions and can help keep you accountable is also extremely helpful. It helps a lot sometimes to share with them how you are feeling and your thoughts, and ask them to pray for you. Just getting things out in the open often helps a lot!

So what should we think about? Paul answers that in Philippians 4:8 - "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Quite a high standard, no? But it is what God commands.

So the next time your imagination begins to wander, take your thoughts captive. Began to think about God's lovely creation, His true Word, other's admirable attributes, or God's noble character. "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." - Colossians 3:2

God will help us. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, Paul tells us: "No temptation has seized you, except what is common to man. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

Saturday, June 17th

Here's pictures from Elijah's graduation and Lydia's return home celebration. It was a lot of fun, especially since Luke's, Maria's, and the Granparents were there, and I got to see friends I hadn't seen in a long time!

Sara, James, Zach, Alex, Nate, and Danielle wore the matching clothes I'd made them

The whole group. Mr. James, Mr. Jimmy, and daddy played guitar, Miriam Hart and I played flute, and Lydia played violin.

Elijah recited Romans 8

Mom and dad gave him his high school diploma, from Jesus is Supreme Family Institute.

I danced...

to Held.

Lydia spoke about her time in West Africa and showed pictures, all in her authentic garb.

Jubilee sang Psalm 34

Miriam Hart and I did a Mary and Martha double monologue. Here we're looking "We're almost on!" to each other.

Miriam was Mary, and beautiful one at that!

I was Martha, very practical and hardworking

Another cute nephew, sweet Nathaniel Mark

Miriam Lofgren and sweetie Zachariah John, her little buddy

Well, everyone except the Grandparents left after lunch today. It's sad to see them go, we had a lot of fun! We did usual Lofgren things, playing a LOT of games! :-) I also cooked huge meals... it's amazing how much 19 people eat! I look forward to getting a bit more rest, having 18 people staying in one house gets one tired. But I'm so glad they could come!!

Family visits

My cute nephew James, again! They love getting pictures taken

Jonathan and Ben traveled all the way from Minnesota to Arkansas to bring Grandpa and Grandma down to Alabama. They only got to stay 2 days, but it was fun, and we played a lot of games!

Somebody was tired...

Sweet Sara, she's very photorific!

My Dear Daddy

My dear daddy is
A very special man.
He's loving and kind,
And do many things he can!

He grew up in Africa,
An authentic M.K.
He got older and went back,
For 2 years to stay.

He went to college in America,
Met mom, and got married.
He became a doctor at Harvard,
So he could help those in need.

Luke was born in Boston,
Maria in Georgia,
Miriam came along in Missouri,
And in Belgium, there was Lydia!

Elijah was born in Arkansas,
Then at home, along came Anna.
Jubilee a was the very last,
Born at home in Alabama!

My daddy is a fix-it man,
And keeps things in good condition.
"Why bring it in when I can fix it?"
Is the motto of this mission.

Many projects he has done,
A guest house is the latest.
It's not done yet, for he's built
It all to make it the very best.

My daddy's not afraid to
Do bold and daring things.
He's danced with me twice,
And can harmonize and sing!

He's taken our family on many trips,
To make many memories.
"Many things you may forget,
But travel is memorable," says he.

He's a wonderful father,
And leads our family well.
He makes sure we have family time,
And of God he 'oft does tell.

He's done many more things,
Far too many for me to say,
But I wanted to honor him,
And say, "Happy Father's Day!"

I wrote this for daddy for father's day. I know it's a bit silly, but I only had an hour this morning to do it while there wasn't many people around, and it was quiet!

Thoughts on Sweet Sixteen

In less than a month, I will be sixteen. Sweet sixteen, as it is called. My birthday is July 5th, and I'll be dancing away at dance camp when it comes. (By the way, my newly-found "twin" Jennifer will also be 16 on July 5th!)

It's amazing to me that I am already almost there. For years 16 has been the "oh wow!" age when I would be mostly grown. Now, I am almost there! I'll get to drive, and with that will have more freedom to go places, which will be fun... and at times scary!

It doesn't feel the way I thought it would feel to almost reach this milestone. In fact, sometimes I still feel like a little girl. But other times I feel I could easily be older than 16! Yes, feelings are weird things! :-) I know that many of you, who are a lot older than I must be suppressing a smile, but to me 16 is quite "so grown up!" :-)

As I contemplate Sweet Sixteen, I don' get images of being grown up and free to do whatever I feel like. It might be nice, but I, in this year ahead, want to be truly sweet. I want to be a true young lady of sweet disposition and gentle character. I want to be sweet and loving to all I come across, and not be aloof and withdrawn. I want to be sweet and loving to my family serving them with my time, instead of trying to get them to accommodate my wants and needs. I want to be sweet and loving to my friends, "spurring them on to love and good deeds" (Hebrews 10:24) instead of gossiping or using them for my selfish gain. I want to present to the world a sweet young lady following hard after God, instead of being like the stereotypical 16 year old girl of today, concerned with only shopping, boyfriends, and having a good time. "For charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." (Proverbs 31:30)

I know that it won't be easy, but "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13)

I'll also finally look my age! :-) Us Lofgren girls seem to look to everyone else as 16 years old, from the time we're 12 to the time we're 24, so for a year people might actually be able to tell how old I am, but then I'll start looking younger...

So it is my prayer that in this next year of getting a little older, I shall get even sweeter and truly live out the verses of Proverbs 31:10-31, so that one day I shall have noble character and be worth far more than rubies. (Proverbs 31:10)

"Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." - 2 Timothy 2:22

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity." - 1 Timothy 4:12

This is only the beginning...

Yesterday a friend of Mom, Dad, and Lydia's flew in from California, and is leaving this afternoon. But this is only the beginning of the weeks visitors!

Tonight Maria, James, and Sara come to stay a week with us! Tomorrow Grandpa, Grandma, and cousins Jonathan and Ben come. On Wednesday Jonathan and Ben leave, but the grandparents don't leave until June 30th. On Thursday Luke, Michele, Danielle, Alex, Zach, and Nate come until Sunday! And all these people are staying at our house! Yes, we'll have a very full house, but it'll be tons of fun to have all my siblings around, as well as my grandparents! Saturday is the celebration for Elijah's graduation and Lydia's return home, and we'll have a lot of friends coming for that.

So, don't expect to hear much from me this next week, though I may get a few pictures to post! Have a good week all of you!

My Dancing Story

Recently I got an email from a fellow dancer, Ashley, who came across my blog. In it she asked, “Why do you want to dance? ... I'd love to hear your story!” It suddenly struck me that I had never written down my dancing story in its entirety. So here it is. Enjoy!

I've been dancing all my life, even before I was born. You see, while I was in my mother's womb, she danced at church. So, in a way, I danced as she danced, even before I came into this world!

Maybe my mother knew that I would grow up to dance, for when I was born, she named me Anna, meaning one of grace, or graceful one. God in His greatness even gave me a name befitting a dancer, and I have tried to ever be His graceful one.

As a little girl, it was natural for me to dance, and I was always dancing! I would dance around the house, and my mom would get me to run errands for her by saying things like, “Here, go dance this to the kitchen!” Cheerfully, I would do as bid, and go happily dancing on my way.

When I was around 5 or 6, I, along with my older sister Lydia, became a part of a worship dance group in Montgomery. Along with a bunch of other girls, we learned simple movements and sign language to Christian music. We got to wear full, twirly, white dresses, and I had a wonderful time praising God with dance! My heart's desire was to do ballet, but Mom wisely wanted to wait a find a good Christian teacher to take from. It wasn't classical ballet, but I think the worship dance group helped prepare me somewhat for the beginnings of ballet.

When I was about 8, mom, along with a friend, started the Lion and Lamb Worship Company in Prattville. Lydia, Elijah, and I were all a part of it. We mostly signed, but the girls did a few simple dance moves, still in our white, twirly dresses. As I got older I longed more and more for ballet lessons, but for the time, they weren't to be. I lapped up all the information I could get about ballet however! Our family had a Ballet Magnificat! video which Jubilee and I watched over and over. We would often dance around our living room while watching, trying to do exactly what the dancers on the video did! Mom says that it was one of the only videos she allowed us to watch, so is it any wonder that I turned out the way I did? :-) We sure did wear out the Ballet Magnificat! Symphony of Movement tape!

Whenever someone would ask me what I wanted to do when I grew up, my answer would be the same. “I want to major in ballet at Belhaven College and then dance with Ballet Magnificat!” I would declare. Lofty goals indeed, but in order to do so, I would need ballet lessons...

The summer I turned 11, we finally found a Christian praise dance teacher. I began to take lessons from Danette Ellis. Jubilee took as well, but after a few years decided that ballet just wasn't her thing! In dance class, we still did a lot of signing, but we also got to do quite a few “real” ballet moves, and it was so fun! I still take from Mrs. Danette to this day. I have learned a lot from her, and she has instilled in me ever more a love of praising God with dance.

The fall after I turned 13, I started pointe. To go to a Ballet Magnficat! Summer Intensive, one needed “at least a year of pointe.” To go to a Ballet Magnificat! camp had been my goal ever since I started dance lessons, and I wanted to make sure that I reached it! The studio in which Mrs. Danette taught, Tonya Speed's Dance Connection, was able to arrange pointe lessons from a ballet major at Huntington College. A friend from praise dance and I took the classes with some other students at Tonya's, but we had a really hard time. We were taking classes with other girls who had been on pointe before, and who had more extensive ballet training. The teacher was also very fast at showing the different combinations, and it was hard to keep up. I stuck with it however, although at times it was tear-jerking.

After Christmas holidays of the same year, I began pointe classes at Lisa's Dance Dimensions. It was a little easier to keep up in class, and I learned a whole lot. I've gone on to take 2 more years of pointe classes from them, and have learned a lot more of the technicalities of classical ballet.

I now take ballet classes twice a week, one praise dance and the other pointe. Oftentimes I have wanted to take more classes, but have not wanted to take from places where I would have to wear revealing costumes. I've thought that I would enjoy daily classes, yet would miss all the time I have to pursue other things and serve my family. So for now, I have stuck with twice-a-week classes, and have tried to work some on my own, using the Ballet Magnificat! Conditioning and Ballet Class DVDs.

This summer one of my dreams will come true. I will be able to attend the Ballet Magnficat! Summer Intensive this July. I have fulfilled the requirements, having 5 instead of 4 minimum years of ballet, and 3 instead of 1 minimum years of pointe. I will be required to dance 4-5 hours day, which I'm sure ill be quite challenging! Yet I look forward to seeing if I am able to keep up, and hope to learn a bunch of ballet!

I'm no longer so definitely sure about majoring in ballet. I don't think that I'd be able to dance professionally with Ballet Magnificat!, and I'm not so sure that I'd want to. Touring may be fun, but more that that I would love to be able to teach other girls ho to praise God with dance. I want to be able to provide Classical ballet lessons with God-honoring music, moves, and costumes. I want to be able to instill in other girls the love of worshiping God with the beautiful art of ballet.

Next year I hope to be able to do just that. Lord willing, I will teach The King's Praise Ballet to girls around here. And most of all, I hope and pray that I will will be a good teacher, honoring God in all I do, and leading other girls to gracefully glorify God, using dance.

Praise God!

The Alabama primary was yesterday. Sadly, Judge Roy Moore lost the race for Republican govenor candidate, Justice Tom Parker lost the race for chief justice, and the three other judges running with him also lost. It's quite disheartening that the Godly men we so prayed to be elected lost, but God has a plan in everything. Even though it seems bad, it's important to praise God anyway.

The big praise is that my sister Lydia got back from West Africa late last night! She had been in a very hot part of West Africa on an internship for 5 months, and is glad to be home! Mom and I drove to pick her up at the Atlanta airport at 10:30 p.m. our time, and then we still had 3 1/2 hours to drive home! I drove the last leg of the journey, and we didn't arrive until around 2 a.m. Praise God that I didn't fall alseep! I was getting pretty tired...

Anyways, it's wonderful to have Lydia back again!

Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together. - Psalm 34:3

Dresses Completed!!

We completed the dresses this afternoon around 3:30 p.m. I was amazed at how quickly we got them done, especially since we didn't even have Friday evening to work on them, as Miriam was accompaning Ben Simon in a recital. But we did, and they're lovely, if I do say so myself! I just had to post a lot of pictures!

The full skirt is so pretty and fun! I also really like the fabric we got, little flowers with white and whatever other color we chose.

Miriam in her lovely dress. I made chokers from the leftover ribbon, so that we truely looked colonial. Plus, it really finished the look of the dress!

Wonderfully sewn dress of blue, her favorite color!

My dress, in my favorite color, light pink!

Admiring each others dresses :-)

Feeling quite elegant, and wishing we could go to a ball!

A view of the back. We used the leftover lace to have hairbows!

Friday afternoon and Saturday morning progress

Friday Afternoon

I completed the bodice and sleeves, minus ribbon (mom hadn't yet gotten it) and the zipper, which is put on after the skirt

Miriam got her bodice done, and sewed most of the sleeves!

I messed around with my yet unattatched skirt... Look! I have a train!

Saturday Morning

Miriam got the bodice done

I got the skirt attatched, and then zippered!

Then Miriam attatched her skirt!

Morning Sewing!

Here's some pictures from this morning's sewing:

Pausing to smile

Miriam busy at work! She's doing really well, especially since this is her first ever dress to make!

The morning's progress, most of the bodice intact, minus the sleeves and some lace, and oh, then there's the zipper...

We're having tons of fun!

Stitching and Snipping

Farewell for the weekend! Miriam Hart is coming over tonight and will stay for the weekend to sew! I'll be showing her how to use the machine, and helping her understand patterns, and hopefully we'll have two new dresses by the time we're done! We're making an old-English type looking dress, with 3/4 length sleeves with lace, a long flowy skirt, and a square necked bodice with lace. We had to get the Simplicity costume pattern, since like Elijah said, "You're so old-fashioned, you have to sew your dresses from costume patterns!" :-)

I can't wait to sew with Miriam for a few days! Hope you all have a blessed weekend! I know mine will be fun, as I stich seams and snip threads...