Simple Homemaker

Being More Intentional in 2012

2012-01-01T21:40:00.009-05:00

I'm kind of tired of floating through life. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn't. So I've decided to become more intentional in the things I do this year. One of the areas I plan to do this is in my reading. I spend way more time reading online that I should. I look at the books on my bookshelf and think....someday. Someday never comes. So this year, I will be picking out 24 books to read- 2 a month. Most of them will be non-fiction. I want things that are going to help me grow as a person and in my relationship with God. One of the ways I can do that is by becoming intentional about the media that I am putting into my head. So, without further ado. Here is this year's reading list.

January

- ~~Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman (I've read 5 chapters today and already feel myself being stretched)!~~ Finished Jan. 9, 2012

-168 Hours- You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam

February

-Simple Steps: 10 Weeks to Getting Control of Your Life by Lisa Lelas and others

-Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

March

-The Resolution for Women by Priscilla Shirer

-Becoming a Woman of Simplicity by Cynthia Heald

April

-Simple Hospitality by Jane Jarrell

-Stop Dating the Church! Fall in Love with the Family of God by Joshua Harris

May

-Radical by David Platt

-Forgotten God by Francis Chan

June

-Shaping Ordinary Boys into Extraordinary Men by William Beausay II

-A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller

July

-Making Life an Adventure by Dustin Beal

-A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

August

-Love is a Verb by Gary Chapman

-I Sold My Soul on Ebay by Hemant Mehta

September

-Jesus Freaks compiled by DC Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs

-A Woman and Her God by Beth Moore (and others)

October

-The Hole in the Gospel by Richard Stearns

-Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy

November

-Passionate Housewives Desperate for God by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald

-One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

December

-American Idols: The Worship of the American Dream by Bob Hostetler

-Open Heart Open Home by Karen Mains

Check This Out!

2011-11-16T22:52:00.004-05:00

Money Saving Mom has long been one of my favorite homemaking and money saving blogs. Now Crystal (aka Money Saving Mom) has a new book coming out! You can check it out here!

I personally am going to try to get it from our local library. I love getting new tips on how to manage our income to the best of our ability!

PW's Apple Dumplings

2011-11-03T23:00:00.001-04:00

***Warning*** The following recipe is not healthy. In fact, it is bad for you. If you are concerned about this, do NOT proceed.***

This is a recipe that I've had in my "to try" file for a little while now. It is Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings. It calls for 2 sticks of butter (Paula Deen Would be so proud!) and 1 1/2 cups of sugar. This is all before you top it off with a can of Mt. Dew.

The recipe I used said "You'll know you're doing it right if it looks kinda gross." Yep, I did it right!
The final product. The buttery smell was intoxicating. The taste was yummy. I will make these again!

Find the recipe I used here. And if you've never heard of Pioneer Woman go check her out here.

30 Days of Summer Day 3

2011-09-03T10:10:00.000-04:00

June 19, 2011

We went to our annual family Luau. It rained almost the entire time. :( We still had a pretty good time though. I mean who can be sad when there are pina coladas with little umbrellas? :)

30 Days of Summer- Day 2

2011-09-02T22:53:00.002-04:00

June 7, 2011

Watched a sweet baby sleep.
Wrote threats to quit summer school.

Played on the slip and slide with cousins.

Cuddled up on the floor with our cousins during a thunderstorm and watched "Wonder Pets".

30 Days of Summer- Day 1

2011-09-01T21:56:00.006-04:00

I thought I'd try to do something fun this month. My plan is to show how we spent our summer. I will pick 10 days from June, 10 from July, and 10 from August and blog about 1 each day during September. Kind of a take on the old "How I spent my summer vacation".

Here is June 5, 2011Playing on the slip and slide.

Playing with a butterfly (it had a broken wing when we found it).

Eating ice cream and visiting with grandpa and grandma.

For Mel

2011-08-31T23:26:00.001-04:00

Just a little something new for you to look at. :) This was taken a month or two ago when we went to the spray park.

Just a swingin'

2011-08-02T14:02:00.000-04:00

God's Promises

2011-07-31T20:19:00.008-04:00

We had a great speaker at church yesterday who reminded us of God's promises to us. Life is not easy. Everyone struggles in some area, but as Christians we have hope.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". Jeremiah 29:11

"but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint". Isaiah 40:31

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus". Philippians 1:6

Anniversary Cupcakes

2011-07-30T01:15:00.002-04:00

On July 3rd my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. As they always have the whole family over for the 4th each year, we decided that would be a good time to celebrate.

I made these rainbow cupcakes. They are nothing special, just white cake mix tinted 6 different colors and then layered in cupcake cups. The marshmallow cream frosting was sort of a flop. (Note to self: Don't take untried recipes to get togethers!) The taste was good, but once the frosting got a little warm, it stuck to the waxed paper I had put on top of them during travel. It did make for some cheap entertainment though, as my sister in law attempted to help me loosen the waxed paper by using the blow dryer to try and release the frosting with heat. (Note to self: That didn't work real well.) Just very thankful that I didn't go with my first inclination which was to pipe "40" on the top of each of them in a contrasting color. :)

Photography and Thankfulness

2011-07-29T23:01:00.003-04:00

I have loved photography for a long time. Back in the day with my 110 camera (and then on to 35mm) I was pretty hot stuff. :) I could hardly wait to pick up my film from K-mart to see what I had captured. Now, with the advent of digital photography, I get instant gratification with my picture taking.

I realize now more than ever that my picture taking is a way for me to praise God. When my eye is looking through the camera, I see simple things- things and people- that God put into my life. Capturing them helps me to slow down, to really focus on that which is around me.

I've kind of gotten away from blogging. My plan now is to share some of my photography, along with some random thoughts. Almost all of my pictures will be straight out of the camera- no editing. I like it that way. It makes it more of a challenge for me to get a good shot. Life is not perfect. The only thing I might do to my pictures is add the "1960's tint" from Picnik. I like vintage and this allows me to give my pictures a little bit of a vintage flair.

I hope you enjoy a glimpse of my life as seen by the lens of my camera!

7 Things He'll Never Tell You- Book Review

2011-07-05T22:54:00.004-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I read the book "7 Things He'll Never Tell You... but you need to know" by Dr. Kevin Leman. I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who is in a relationship, married, or who wants to be married some day.

What really amazed me about this book was that after I started reading it, I "heard" Tim say all kinds of things (both verbally and non-verbally) that I had never realized before. I started seeing what was really important to him, and also what isn't so important.

Unfortunately, the copy that I read was a library book. If it had been my book, I could have done some serious damage highlighting things I want to remember! Knowing what my husband wants and needs is only part of my job as his wife. The other part is giving it to him (and like the book says "it isn't what you think").

It's my blogoversary!

2011-06-24T22:39:00.002-04:00

It's been 5 years since I started this blog. Although I haven't blogged much lately, I do think about starting back up.

Things have changed a lot since those first blogging days.

Everyone is now potty trained!

I go to the bathroom by myself!

My baby has grown up!

My cousin, Katherine, is no longer a college girl, but rather an old married lady for 3 years now! :)

And probably many more things. But I'm tired and tempted to just delete this silly post. But I won't.

Miss Me?

2011-04-18T21:39:00.001-04:00

This is the resident ground hog at our house. Picture was taken a couple of weeks ago.

St. Patrick's Day Recap

2011-03-21T06:00:00.001-04:00

The leprechauns turned our milk green again this year (well, except for Ethan's- he chose not to believe so that he could have his milk white)! Irish Soda Bread- This turned out OK. It tasted fine, but wasn't spectacular. I searched for a random soda bread recipe and picked one that was easy.

Last year Tyler found a four leaf clover while he was with my mom. I finally got it framed and I'm really happy with how it turned out. Thought it would be appropriate to share with our St. Patrick's Day things. :)

We also watched the Veggie Tale version of St. Patrick's story and have been reading St. Patrick's Day books from the library. I didn't request them early enough, so we have been reading them after the fact. I still have 4 more to pick up from the library! Oh well.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

Love this quote!

2011-03-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

"Take this rule: whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself." -- Susanna Wesley (Letter, June 8, 1725)

The last line is the kicker in this one.

We all have an idea in our minds of what sin is. We're familiar with the "big 10" and most of us do a pretty good job on a daily basis of not killing anyone or stealing.

But what about those seemingly "innocent" things? We rationalize that "it's just a book" or "just a TV show" or "just food". We say things that are "just words".

I wonder sometimes what it would be like to have a God that you could see in day to day life (kind of reminiscent of "The Shack"). Would we really do the things we do and say the things we say if we could see Him in the room with us? I'm pretty sure that suddenly some things would seem very wrong to us. Maybe even sinful...

Got Vodka?

2011-03-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

I have been wanting to make my own vanilla for a long time. After reading this post at Heavenly Homemakers, I decided to order some vanilla beans and give it a try. Fast forward 6 months and I finally get some Vodka AND make the time to put it all together. I am such a procrastinator. Ugh!
Now the jars are tucked away in my canning cupboard where they will stay for several months (or longer if I forget about them)! Of course, I am excited about them so I keep checking them to see if anything is happening. Slowly but surely the vodka gets a darker color.

I can't wait to use my own vanilla in baking! The chocolate chip cookie recipe that I've been using takes 2 Tablespoons of vanilla- yep, Tablespoons. That recipe is here. It has gotten rave reviews around these parts.

The next thing I want to try is vanilla sugar. It's another one of those complicated recipes. Cut vanilla bean in half and put into a jar with some sugar. Let sit. Maybe I'll try that recipe today or tomorrow or...

Frozen Fruit Cocktail

2011-03-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Awhile back I had seen this idea on another blog. I have no idea who to give the credit to, but it is a clever idea. It's a pretty complicated recipe, so I'll go slow.

1. First you take a can of fruit cocktail.

2. Then you freeze it.

Yes, you freeze it right in the can. No, it won't burst open.
When you take it out of the freezer, you will have to let it sit for a little bit or run some hot water over the outside of the can to loosen it up. We removed both ends from our can and it finally slid out. Then we cut it into slices.

Some notes about this recipe. When I first saw this recipe, I thought it would be disgusting. Who wants fruit that has frozen heavy syrup around it? Then I found a can of fruit cocktail that was prepared with pear juice (it was labeled "lite"). Also, anyone who has ever had fruit cocktail knows that the fruit is not always evenly distributed, especially the highly prized cherries. They were all at the bottom of the can. Isaiah was more than happy to take that slice as you can see above! One of the other layers was also mostly peaches. I guess if you have picky eaters in your family, this might be a good way to give everyone what they want! :)

Overall, I thought it was just OK, but the boys really enjoyed it, so I'm sure we will be doing it again.

Orange you glad?

2011-03-11T03:18:00.002-05:00

My in laws recently returned from Florida and with them, gifts from the south! The boys got Legos, but I think I got a better deal. Of course, I have been sharing with them!

Fondest Memories

2011-02-15T03:24:00.004-05:00

Last night I got to be a part of something that I know will go down in my mind as one of my fondest life memories. I'm sure the other three people who were there have no idea how much it meant to me.

Our cousins brought home their brand new-2 day old-baby boy yesterday afternoon. Around 6:30 pm, I had the privilege (and yes it was exactly that!) of taking them a meal. It was a simple meal, shredded chicken sandwiches, potato chips, homemade applesauce, and chocolate chip cookies.

I probably wasn't there more than 3 minutes before I was offered that sweet baby boy to hold. For the next 2 hours or so, I was captivated by him. Long tiny fingers. Sweet baby head of peach fuzz. Things I had forgotten about having a baby immediately came back to me. My youngest turned 5 1/2 on the 8th of this month, but already it seems like a lifetime ago since we brought him home. This baby was 6 pounds 2 oz at birth and my baby was 8 lbs 14 1/2 oz. He was never this tiny in my arms.

I so enjoyed visiting with our cousins and watching them with their new little boy. I loved hearing all the details of the past couple of days. It was like watching one of those baby story TV shows, only live, complete with tears rolling down my cheeks at different parts. I was able to give him a bottle and realized that I had totally forgotten how great it is to coax a burp from a baby.

Time slipped by and before I knew it, I realized that I had left my own kids at dinner time and now they were probably getting ready for bed. I reluctantly left my new little cousin with the promise that I would be back soon.

I told his mommy that I fell in love on Valentine's Day. Welcome to the world baby Nason! I didn't know that having your heart stolen could feel so good.

Ready to blog again?

2011-02-01T05:06:00.003-05:00

Happy February everyone!!

I'm up and at that early today! So far, so good- but we'll see how I feel at 5:00 tonight! My oldest two nephews are coming to spend the day with us. Not that they will wear me out, but the combination of the 5 boys together might!!

I hope to get back to blogging on a more regular basis. God is doing so much in my heart and my life and I really should share that. :)

Right now though, I'm heading out to shovel some of that fresh snow! Have a great day everybody!

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-29T02:02:00.002-05:00

30. Living in the USA. As much as I dislike certain aspects, there is no other place in the world that I would rather live and raise my children. If there is, I haven't found it yet.

29. Puppy breath. No we don't have a puppy. I'm not even sure what made me think of this. I do love puppy breath though and I'm thankful that when God designed puppies, he gave them that certain smell.

28. Grace and mercy extended to me. Now, if I could only grasp the concept of extending it to others....

Thank you for joining me on this journey of thankfulness. I hope it's made you think about some of the things you are thankful for in your life.

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-27T16:19:00.002-05:00

27. Our favorite after Thanksgiving breakfast/brunch- potato pancakes and fried turkey with gravy. Mmmmm. Tyler loves the potato pancakes and he wanted me to tell you that! :) 26. My friends. Impossible to mention them all, but you know who you are. Bonus points if you read my blog. Double bonus points if you comment. :)

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-25T21:53:00.002-05:00

25. Great food and family. The perfect combination.

Name That Veggie

2010-11-24T23:16:00.003-05:00

We interrupt this string of "thankful" posts to bring you "Name that Veggie!". The game where we...well....name veggies. If you know what any of these are, please enlighten me.

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-24T07:29:00.003-05:00

24. Ole Kirk Christiansen- Creator of Legos. They are the first thing my boys get out in the morning and the last thing they play with at night. The ONLY toy that has stood the test of time. Of course, stepping on his invention while walking through the house has made me want to swear. 23. My house. Not my dream house by far, but it's exactly what I need and then some. I have been so blessed.

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-22T22:06:00.002-05:00

22. My digital camera. Blog posts sure are more exciting with pictures....aren't they? I love being able to take unlimited pictures. Photography makes me happy!

21. My church. Good solid Biblical teaching going on. Challenged and convicted almost weekly. It's making me become a better person in spite of myself.

20. My church family. Wasn't quite sure we would ever "fit in" or make friends, but almost 3 years later some wonderful friendships have been/ and are being made.

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-19T00:19:00.003-05:00

19. Having the freedom to home school my kids.

18. New beginnings every day. Thank you God!

17. Late night "me" time when everyone else is asleep.

16. My small town library. It's like "Cheers". They all know my name and they're always glad I came.

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-16T08:36:00.002-05:00

15. Sunny days with blue skies and clouds. 14. College Friends.

13. My favorite sister in law. The one who had a marathon freezer cooking session with me this past weekend.

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-12T01:27:00.000-05:00

12. My brother- rock climber extraordinaire and all around good guy.

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-11T07:32:00.004-05:00

11. My husband. He is the perfect man for me. He is not perfect. Just perfect for me. I once read a saying that basically said "what if marriage is more about refining you, than making you happy?". It was worded better than that, but the meaning really stuck with me. I love that thought.

Today's society puts so many ideas into women's heads about what marriage should look like. It is hard work. It's rarely (if ever) flowers, expensive jewelry, and hot steamy "you- know -what" day and night (hey, this is a family blog-ha ha). A good marriage takes refining of your character over time as you grow with the other person. I hate being refined. Thankfully God and Tim know that I have potential to grow and be better and they won't allow me to stay at "average" or "status quo". I can be so much more (through Christ who gives me strength)! This could probably be another discussion/blog post all on it's own!

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-10T22:25:00.001-05:00

10. That today is over. Yes. I AM thankful for that.

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-09T12:16:00.001-05:00

9. The beach. My absolute favorite place on earth.

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-08T21:09:00.004-05:00

8. Fried food. Yes, I know it's bad for you. But how can something so bad taste SO good? Funnel cake in the fryer and mozzarella cheese sticks on deck.

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-07T19:31:00.006-05:00

7. That my father in law still loves me (I think) even after I used HIS cell phone to call him from another room in HIS house to tell him that I needed a refill on my water...and it cost him $1 because that's the kind of plan he has on his phone. Ooops. :)

Tim, Tyler, and my wonderful father in law!

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-06T22:13:00.003-04:00

6. That my house is inhabited by 3 boys. Imaginative, creative, and yes- many times messy boys... ... and the occasional rescue guy being chased by a dinosaur.

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

5. Ice cold diet Coke.

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

4. That there was only one perfect person that ever lived on this earth and it's not me.

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-03T08:00:00.001-04:00

3. Three boys who crawl into our bed in the morning without waking me up (not all at the same time). Or, three boys who play quietly and let me sleep in. :)

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

2. Pizza (especially Pizza Hut stuffed crust Supreme pizza) Words cannot convey how thankful I am for pizza. :)

Thirty Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-01T22:53:00.003-04:00

1. Grandparents that are involved and totally invested in my boys lives.

I couldn't ask for better grandparents for them. For that, I am truly thankful!

School Pictures

2010-10-22T13:32:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was school picture day at Trinity Academy. Ethan- 1st Grade
Tyler- 1st Grade

Isaiah- Kindergarten

Four Things That Make Me Happy

2010-10-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

A good book, a hot cup of chai tea, a campfire, and fall leaves!

Isaiah's Party

2010-10-16T07:00:00.000-04:00

Last weekend Tim's parents took the older boys camping on Friday night. To get Isaiah excited about staying home (and make the other boys jealous), we said that we were having a party. We said that we were going to stay up until midnight and watch movies and drink pop. I think the older boys were starting to have second thoughts about leaving!My mom came over and made brownies with Isaiah for the party. He invited her to come to the party, but grandpa can't stay out that late. :)
Isaiah made a balloon friend and named him Guinea John. The balloon friend went with us to Bob Evans for supper (but not inside). Tim treated us with his birthday money and Isaiah had a free meal card left from his birthday.

The pop! And chocolate on his face.

Isaiah checks out the donuts we bought for breakfast (OK, and the night before).

He did make it till midnight. He watched movies on the computer and played on Lego.com. He smiled for me after this picture was taken, but he was getting pretty tired.

Friday Freebies

2010-10-15T18:08:00.002-04:00

It's been awhile since I've posted some freebies. I just don't get as many free things as I used to. This week was pretty good, so I thought I would share.The toothpaste was free after ECB's at CVS. I was so thankful to get this as I am on my last tube of free toothpaste. It's been years since I have had to pay for any! I also got the candy corn at CVS. When I went in and scanned my card, it printed a coupon for .99 of candy corn and it was .99. The spaghettios were from Meijer and were free after a coupon printed online.
My mom scored a deal on the Kashi cereal- 1.12 a box. Tim's parent's gave us 3 boxes of cereal (2 have been eaten) and their leftover camping food. Bratwurst, hot dogs, buns, pb cookies, marshmallows and teddy grahams.

I'm thankful for all freebies, whether they come from the store or from family and friends. They all help the grocery budget!

15 Years

2010-10-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

Tim and I celebrated 15 years of marriage on Sept. 2. We took this picture last weekend. I wonder which one of us is giving the other one gray hair?!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-13T21:47:00.001-04:00

For my friends who are moms

2010-10-12T20:54:00.003-04:00

Here's a little quiz for you.

Did your kids eat today? Homemade or McDonald's are both acceptable answers.

If yes, give yourself 5 points.

Did you keep your kids from killing each other?

If yes, give yourself another 5 points.

Did your kids have clothes to wear today? I didn't say they had to be clean.

5 points if they wore clothes today. You still get 5 points if they had clothes to wear but chose not to.

Did you refrain from killing your kids at bedtime while they took their own sweet time brushing their teeth and getting their pajamas on?

Add on another 5 points if you answered yes.

Did you give your kids a hug and kiss today?

If yes, add 5 more big ones to your score. If no, it's not too late. Go run and do it now. I'll wait. If they are sleeping, do it lightly!

Add up your score. If it was 25, you are a great mom!

This feel-good post has been brought to you by the letters U and R and the number 1!

Favorite Books for Kids

2010-10-11T12:26:00.005-04:00

I have read some excellent books to the boys lately. I thought I would share them with you here so that you can enjoy them too! The first one is "Pickle Chiffon Pie" by Jolly Roger Bradfield. Written in 1967 but timeless. The story of a king looking for a suitable husband for his daughter the princess. This book will appeal to boys and girls alike. There are 3 men trying to win her hand and only one will succeed. In the end, goodness and kindness win. There is silliness in this book, but also a great lesson on what is important.

(Warning: There is a witch on 2 pages of this book. At one time I wouldn't have read my boys any book with a witch in it. I now take things on a book by book basis. My thoughts on witches haven't changed and the boys know my feelings on it. The morals in the story outweigh the minimal presence she has, in my opinion.)

I can't recommend the Mrs. Rosey Posey series enough! Mrs. Rosey Posey is the endearing neighbor we all wish we had as kids. The stories all have a biblical foundation that is subtle, but definitely there. Great lessons on forgiveness, being set apart, and the greatest treasure of all. These books are Level 2 readers. Too advanced for my boys, but great for me to read to them. I plan to add these to our home library. Other books in the Mrs. Rosey Posey series include " Mrs. Rosey Posey and the Baby Bird", "Mrs. Rosey Pose and the Fine China Plate", and "Mrs. Rosey Posey and the Yum-Yummy Birthday Cake".

Check one or more of these books out of your library and enjoy them with your kids!

If you click on the pictures, they will take you to Amazon where you can read reviews by other readers.

For Mel

2010-10-09T02:43:00.000-04:00

Photo from a recent field trip!

Camping Part Three

2010-10-01T01:39:00.001-04:00

Camping Part Deux

2010-09-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Acorn flower arrangement made by my dad. Leeland brushing up on his survival tactics....just in case.
Tim makes a yummy breakfast of bacon, eggs, and hash browns. The best breakfasts are cooked on the back of a pickup truck!

The path that leads to ye ol' outhouse.

From a photography standpoint, one of my favorite shots of the weekend.

Family Campout 2010

2010-09-29T07:53:00.003-04:00

This past weekend we had our annual family camp out at my grandparent's farm. We've been doing this for quite a few years now. Over the next couple of days, I will share some of my favorite pictures. Some of them are picture perfect.
But family is not perfect. And even though the past 36 years I've tried to pretend that it was (more because I needed it to be, not because I wanted to impress anyone), this weekend reminded me that it's not. My family is just as human as any other family. Just as prone to let the stresses of life eat at them and dampen their spirits.

However, I won't take for granted the blessings that God has given this family. We're generally healthy and generally happy.

We choose to be together and we all worship the same God.

The weekend held more good than bad and I guess that's all anyone can ask for. It's always good to get away for awhile. As a mom, it's not less work, but it's different work. I'm disappointed that Tim was sick for most of it and left several times to go home (and that caused stress between us). I'm disappointed in myself that I let myself get really angry over something stupid. I'm disappointed that I didn't REALLY talk to anyone on a personal level. I realized that I know very little about the hopes and dreams of my relatives, the things they are really passionate about. I hate that my family seems to be outgrowing each other. Maybe it's just the normal growing pains of one generation passing on and another taking their place.

I'm very much a sentimental sap. I love tradition. My mom's family has pretty much been the same for me for 36 years. I don't want to see that change.

This may seem like random rambling to those that aren't family, but I felt the need to post reality before posting all of the pretty pictures.

Heading to my happy place...

2010-09-24T12:35:00.001-04:00

and this road is going to take me there!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Art

2010-09-21T09:57:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we made homemade puffy paint. We got the idea from this website which is a great resource for fun things to do with your kids that make ordinary days special. It's number 9 on the list. (We also got the idea to howl at the moon from this website. My boys love to do that. It's free and easy and fun. The next full moon is in 2 days. Let your kids go wild!). Now, back to our art.

The directions call for painting on heavy cardboard. I improvised and used heavy paper plates. The kind that are paper, not Styrofoam. That is important because you are going to be microwaving your masterpieces.

We used cotton swabs to paint.

This is Tyler's cat.

How it looks after microwaving.

My masterpiece!

Cotton Candy

2010-09-15T08:00:00.002-04:00

It's not just for breakfast anymore!

Random bits of my life

2010-09-14T21:35:00.004-04:00

I really would like to get around to regular blogging again. I so enjoy reading other people's blogs and hope that occasionally someone enjoys mine. I'm not fishing for compliments, just hope it gives someone a smile when they stop by!

I don't know where to start. I have a million things I'd love to write about, but I am not comfortable just jumping right in to them. So many things and so little time.
Amazing that I had so much more time to blog when I had 2 newborn babies or two 1 and 1/2 year olds and a newborn. Now they are all pretty much self sufficient and I get no blogging done.

Today was a pretty good day. Leeland was here which is always fun. 1 1/2 is a great age. He is so smart. I know everyone says that about their kids/family, but he REALLY is! :) He's 1 1/2 going on 5 and sometimes I forget that he really is just a baby. Today he fell asleep in my arms and I took a minute to just enjoy that feeling. I realize how fast my oldest nephew has grown up and I don't want to take this age for granted.

I made homemade egg noodles today. I tried this recipe here. I didn't get them done in time for supper tonight, so we'll probably have chicken and noodles tomorrow night. The noodles are super easy to make. I even used the dough hook on my Kitchen Aid to knead them. I'm going to try freezing some for later use too. I meant to make a batch with basil in them just for fun, but forgot, so maybe tomorrow.

Tyler read me several stories out of a school book today. I am thrilled with that! They are not difficult stories by any means, but any progress excites me! Now to work on the other two.

Tomorrow we go back for another trial run of a local homeschool group. Last week went well. Part of me wants to join. I think it would be a good thing for the boys and for me. Another part of me doesn't want the commitment. It's on Wednesday which is also church night. That makes a long day for all of us! I'm tired just thinking about it!

I should probably go to bed, but I still want to read. I have started so many books that I've lost count. There are not enough hours in the day. Until next time...

Just for fun

2010-09-11T22:48:00.000-04:00

76 words

Typing Speed Test

These are a few of my favorite things

2010-09-01T06:36:00.004-04:00

Alternate title is "What we did in August of 2010".

-birthday parties
-spray park x2
-visiting with friends
-swimming
-thrifting
-making crafts
-eating cotton candy
-babysitting

-making curtains

-climbing walls

-deep frying food

-playing and picnic in the park

-trip to the beach

-county fair

-taking silly pictures

-playing on the slip and slide

-picking peaches and pears

-freezing corn and green beans
-making Lego inventions

-making smores

-day trip to Cleveland
-military vehicle show

-gardening

-making homemade salsa

Making memories to last a lifetime.

Sunday Thoughts

2010-08-29T22:28:00.005-04:00

I don't like getting ready to go to church on Sundays. There I said it. I don't like having to shower. Don't like having to get out of my pajama's. Don't like getting out of bed. Don't like getting the boys ready. Don't like wondering what I am going to wear or if I have anything to wear. Don't like the hustle and bustle to get everyone out the door.

But, I don't think I have EVER regretted going once I got there.

My church challenges me. It makes me want to be a better person. It gives me the opportunity to be around other Christians. Are any of them perfect? Absolutely not! But then neither are my family or friends, and I still hang around with them. Watch an excellent video here about "Why Your Church Doesn't Feel Like Family". Watch at least the first 45 seconds. It's worth it! Especially helpful video for anyone who has been disillusioned by the church. Anyone who watches the video gets 50 points.

Today we had a guest speaker. The topic had to do with how to know if you are hearing God. I thought I'd share my notes here as it's something that I thought was very good, something I've been questioned about, and something I want to remember.

There are 3 ways to know if what you are hearing is from God.

1. Does God's word confirm it? Is it biblical?
2. Does the body of Christ confirm it? Talk to other believers.
3. Does the Holy Spirit confirm it? What is the voice inside you saying?

God speaks to us in many ways. When someone speaks to us in church and we say "wow, that was just for me". That's God. When we are reading and something jumps out at us. That's God. When we wake up and think of someone that we need to call or write. That's God. As long as you can answer yes to the questions above, it's God.

The speaker went on to have us close our eyes and just listen. What is God telling you? And like I always do, I questioned if what I was thinking was my thought or God's. My thought was about my family and how I need to be a better mother and wife. So then we opened our eyes and he asks, "What did you hear?". And immediately I'm thinking that I'm not sure I "heard" anything. And he says, "Why can't it be the first thing that came to your mind? Why do we always say 'that's crazy?'". And if I answer it against the questions above, it absolutely is a YES to what God wants from me. 1. It's biblical. 2. I don't have to ask my fellow Christians on this one, I know they'd agree. 3. That still small voice inside me (the Holy Spirit) is telling me that is what is right.
Sunday morning church is just one avenue of hearing from God. You have the Holy Spirit with you all the time. Many times we only hear people saying that they heard from God things like "become a missionary and go to Spain". But God also tells us things like "I love you", "Say you're sorry to Tim", "be slow to anger", "Call Sarah and encourage her as a mother", "Send Jim a note to let him know you are thinking of him" and on and on. Sometimes I think we get so good at ignoring that voice. We think it must be our imagination or our own thoughts.

I did this just yesterday. I was in a hurry and late to meet a friend. I was driving past Tim's cousin's house and saw her outside reading as I drove by. The first thought it my head was that I should stop real quick and tell her hi and give her a hug. That is not normally something I would do, but that thought was definitely there. I rationalized though as I continued down the road that I was in a hurry and how the farther I got the dumber it would be to turn around that I was too far gone and the gas it would take to go back and on and on till I had talked myself right out of it. Did God tell me to stop and hug Marcia? I think so. The Bible talks a whole lot about encouraging others and I'm pretty sure that it would have been a bright spot in her day had I stopped. Would other Christians confirm that it was something I should do? Yep. Did I have that small voice telling me to? Yep. Something that would have taken me maybe 3 minutes could have impacted someone else's life for days. God doesn't always ask us to do hard things.

John 16:12-15
12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’

When we are questioning if God is telling us to do something, we need to remember that when God tells us something, it won't be new. His word is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He's not going to change the way he's done things just to suit us or our situation. We need to go to people who love God and get counsel from them. What do they think about what you are "hearing"? We also need to ask God "Is this really you? Is this something you're telling me to do?" and then sit with it. I'm pretty sure that if we followed these guidelines, we'd have much more certainty about what we are hearing from God.

Eggplant Parmesan

2010-08-27T00:11:00.004-04:00

Before you say ewww and click on to the next blog you want to read, hear me out. This is one of those recipes that you shouldn't knock until you try it. Then, if you still hate it, by all means knock away!

How can you go wrong with something that is fried... and then smothered in spaghetti sauce and mozzarella?

The recipe that I used to cook the eggplant is here. I had never heard of putting salt on your eggplant and letting it "weep" to rid it of bitter juices.

I was the only one who ended up eating the eggplant. In his defense, Tim did try it. And stated that he did not like it. I definitely think it's worth a try. One decent sized eggplant could feed an entire family. If you grow it yourself or are given one, that's a pretty good deal. I have no idea what they go for in the store.

We'd like to thank our sponsors for this meal. Amanda- rice pasta. Tim's parents- eggplant. My uncle Randy- fresh green beans. We never turn down free food. Well, almost never. :)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-18T23:36:00.000-04:00

Fun in the Sun

2010-08-04T07:26:00.002-04:00

Thanks Grandpa for letting us use your camera. Without it we wouldn't have been able to capture this... or this...

or these...

The Beach

2010-07-30T10:20:00.002-04:00

Teaching Kids to do Dishes

2010-07-29T00:33:00.001-04:00

I've known for awhile now that I need to have the boys doing more "chores" around the house. They are old enough, and frankly I'm tired of doing everything. (Plus I want my future daughter in laws to love me). I'm also wanting to start some sort of allowance with them and I would like them to earn it.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to let them try washing the dishes. We do have a dishwasher, but I think everyone should know how to wash dishes by hand. We always have things that either won't fit or can't be washed in the dishwasher. There is never a lack of dirty dishes.

The first thing I had the boys do was check the table and the living room for any dishes/cups that may be floating around the house. Then I filled the sink for them. I wanted it to be warm enough to kill some germs, but not too hot that they wouldn't want to stick their hands in the water. I also put a couple of thick washcloths in the rinse water. That way if they dropped a dish, it would have a better chance of surviving.
I put the dish drainer on several towels. I usually keep it in the sink when I do dishes, but thought they would do better with rinse water and then the drainer to put them in.

My pictures are a little backward. This is Tyler toward the end of washing dishes. He put his apron on because he was getting wet. These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago, before we turned on the air conditioner. It was hot and everyone under the age of 7 ran around in their underwear most of the time.

Tyler was so happy to be helping!

So clean you can see your reflection! ;)
We talked about how to wash the dishes. I stressed that it was very important to not only get the food off, but also to wash where anyone had touched the dishes (ie: lips on the rim of a glass).

It was somewhat of a struggle for me to let them do this. It took time. It made some mess. The only good part was that even if only 50% of them got clean, that was 1/2 that I didn't have to do! Tyler had a much better percentage than that. I think there were only two or three things I rewashed. I did end up not letting Isaiah finish as he was more interested in playing in the water with the bubbles.

I haven't really let them do dishes since then. I really want to encourage them to be independent, but it's so hard to let them do it.

Do your kids do dishes (the old fashioned way)? At what age did they start doing them? Do you give your kids an allowance? How much? Do they have to do anything to earn it?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-28T13:40:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday Dad!

2010-07-27T21:03:00.003-04:00

Happy 63rd birthday to my dad! Thanks for throwing

Cheetos to the ducks (and all that other fun stuff you do with your grandsons)!

Pancakes

2010-07-27T18:32:00.003-04:00

Today there were 7 children in my care. The oldest was 14 and the youngest was 1. The 14 year old doesn't need a lot of supervision, so I put him to work making pancakes for lunch. I mixed up the batter (recipe x6) and then he filled the orders.

We made all kinds of pancakes. Plain, blueberry, chocolate chip, chocolate chip and blueberry, and chocolate/vanilla swirl.

We also made:

Salted caramel: Chocolate pancake with whipped cream, caramel syrup, and sea salt sprinkled on top.

Smore: Pancake with chocolate chips, graham cracker pieces, and micro marshmallows. These were really rich and yummy. I had whipped cream on mine. Unfortunately, the marshmallows and graham crackers blended into the pancake. May try graham flour next time or wait to add the graham cracker pieces and marshmallows until one side has cooked instead of just adding them to the batter.

Two that I wanted to try, but forgot...

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Chocolate pancake with strawberries and chocolate chips.

Pancake with coconut and chocolate chips and caramel syrup.

Do you have any unique pancake recipes or favorite toppings for pancakes or waffles?

Spot gets a letter

2010-07-13T12:35:00.002-04:00

Spot got a letter from Aunt Charity... First she licked it...

Then with some help, she got a taste of the contents.

Happy cat.

Thanks Aunt Charity!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

2010-07-05T08:58:00.003-04:00

My number 1 nephew turns 15 today!I love him.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-05T00:01:00.001-04:00

Great shirts....

Great location...

Still ALL BOYS!

What We've Been Doing

2010-06-17T00:19:00.004-04:00

strawberry picking beach bumming

Lego building

healthy food eating

freezer cooking

cookie baking

babysitting

chipmunk watching

playing in the rain

climbing the walls

losing teeth

gardening

lying on a blanket and staring at the sky

releasing butterflies

and thumb wrestling.

How has your June been?

Extraoridnary Ordinary Day

2010-05-24T20:43:00.009-04:00

The past couple of days I have been really drawn to appreciate the everyday things I sometimes overlook. It really is a blessing to have "ordinary" days.

Yesterday as we were walking into church as a family, I noticed our shadow. The five of us holding hands walking up to the door. It would have made a perfect picture. It did make a perfect mental picture. One I hope to remember once my boys are long grown and no longer holding my hands.

This morning I had to take the boys to the dentist for their 6 month check up. All 3 were seen basically at the same time. I'm so thankful that they are still a little nervous at the dentist. Makes for very good behavior!

After the dentist we went to the donut shop. Doesn't everyone do that? :) Now that we have gone twice, it is a family tradition. One that I personally love. The boys paid for their own donuts with their own money. They asked me "can we please pay for our own?". Who am I to stop them? Ha ha. Tyler and Isaiah actually picked out cookies. The sweet older lady even let them have their own bags, even though I was fine with them sharing one. While we were there, Isaiah dropped his bag on the floor. I didn't really think too much of it and neither did she. The lady asked if he had broken his cookie. While he was checking, he dropped the bag again. If it wasn't broken the first time, it was now! He wasn't upset by that at all, but she offered him a new cookie and let him keep the broken one (which Isaiah brought home for daddy).

Then a quick run through the coffee shop to get a frozen hot chocolate for mommy. I had a gift card.

We went to a park to eat our donuts and cookies. Then the boys played on the large wooden playground. They also walked behind the ducks, till the ducks jumped into the pond. It was perfect sitting on the park bench watching them. They weren't doing anything special, just being boys. It's what they do best. Then we walked over to a small waterfall and threw leaves (boats) into the water.

On the way home Ethan noticed some multi color clouds in the sky. Pink, yellow, and blue. It was really strange. I have seen something like that before, but I'm not sure what causes that. We also are listening to the soundtrack from "Fireproof" while we are in the van. My favorite song on there is "While I'm waiting". Great song. Check it out. I love to hear the boys singing along to a song that teaches about worshipping and serving God even while we are waiting for an answer from God.

When we got home, the boys played for a little bit and then we all laid down and took naps. I woke up and made supper and no one complained about it. That was SO nice. Tim went out and mowed part of the lawn while I trimmed bushes and the boys played. They dug in the garden- that isn't planted yet. They made trucks honk. They brought me little bouquets of flowers.

We came inside and they took a bath together. Got some cute shots of that before I yelled at them for messing around. There's a reason we don't do baths together anymore and now I remember why! Now they are watching a movie before bed.

Nothing overly special about today. Just every. little. thing.

**edited to add: There is now crying and shouts of "BAD MOM" from their bedroom. My work here is complete.

Friday Finds

2010-05-21T22:36:00.004-04:00

Today at Goodwill we found a great lot of random Legos. It cost me less than $3 and came in the cool red "Lego" case. I hadn't ever seen those before. There were tons of neat pieces in there including a horse and at least 15-20 Lego guys (space men, fireman, etc). The boys played for over an hour with them when we got home and probably would have played longer if we weren't getting ready to leave again. I found the lamp at Goodwill. It was a little over $1. I plan to paint it black. Little bench is going to get painted also. Found the enamelware type thing at a garage sale. Will probably hang it on the wall and put some sort of flowers in it. Also picked up some workbooks for school at a garage sale.

This was $1 and was marked "planter". It has a metal insert. I'm going to paint this also.

My last two finds came from the spring trash pick up. :) People were out in droves today driving around and picking things up. First up is this office chair. I can't seem to find anything wrong with it and it seems very solid. Ethan said to me "I hope dad doesn't kill you". Ha ha.

Second find is another enamelware type bowl/pot. Inside it has some zinc lids for canning jars, just like the ones I paid for several months ago. I should have waited. God knows the desires of our hearts and will often give them to us if we are just patient!

For Charity

2010-05-14T23:17:00.000-04:00

Is this what you were thinking of?

Trying Something New

2010-05-09T21:42:00.001-04:00

I’m trying out Windows Live Writer to see how it works. Love the funky fonts I can use! Now trying to figure out what else I can do with it!

"Some are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together." -Pearl S. Buck.

Now let us see, how fancy I can be. – Lura

Happy Mother’s Day!

Just Hanging Around

2010-05-03T02:01:00.002-04:00

School was cancelled Friday for a "sun day". It's like a snow day, except with sun!

I'm enjoying spring, are you?

2010-04-21T08:36:00.000-04:00

Easter Morning

2010-04-07T22:12:00.000-04:00

Cookie Decorating

2010-04-01T23:10:00.003-04:00

On Monday we had friends over to help us decorate Spring Cookies. The kids loved it! There was SO much frosting and SO many sprinkles. I tried a new cut out cookie recipe that I really liked. I usually have problems with my cut outs spreading and not keeping their shape, but these stayed perfect (June, the cookies WERE perfect, right?). :) The fact that they also had almond extract in them was a bonus!

They Were Framed!

2010-03-25T11:08:00.001-04:00

Last week's shopping trip...

2010-03-23T07:00:00.000-04:00

The free...

(All from grocery shopping with coupons minus the Burt's Bee's toothpaste which I got as a sample in the mail).

The cheap...

( I think the cat treats were .19 each. The Goldfish were .25 each and the tuna was somewhere around .20. All bought with coupons).

and the ridiculously cheap!

10 packages of bread from the thrift store. $1.20 for all. (That's .12 each)!

You'll have days like this...

2010-03-22T22:18:00.006-04:00

Today I managed to frustrate all 3 of the boys during school... Ethan did not like the music I was playing.

Isaiah's puzzle was tooooo harrrrrd!

And Tyler didn't like cleaning off his desk after writing on it!

But I was frustrated today too. So I guess we're even.

Till death do us part...

2010-03-19T01:31:00.002-04:00

I asked Tim if he would put one of these at my place of burial after I die. He didn't seem to feel it was appropriate.

St. Patrick's Day Ideas

2010-03-16T15:06:00.004-04:00

I am so bad about being ready for holidays. They seem to sneak up on me from out of nowhere! How a day that happens on the same day every year sneaks up me, I have yet to figure out. This year, one of my "resolutions" was to be more on top of holidays and to do all those fun things with the boys that I have clipped out of magazines and bookmarked on the computer. That being said, here are some of the things we will be doing tomorrow.

1.) Coloring this cute little picture of a Leprechaun courtesy of Family Fun. There are also lots of other St. Patrick's day ideas on this site.

2.) Doing this number maze to practice our numbers from 1-100.

3.) I have seen it around the internet that Leprechauns like to play jokes. One of the jokes is turning milk green on St. Patrick's Day. We will see how the boys feel about that! :)

4.) I'm still not sure what recipes I want to use, but I do know that I want to make some green food. Right now I'm thinking a mint chocolate chip ice cream pie. Just a graham cracker crust with mint chocolate chip ice cream put inside it. Or maybe I'll just look for green food in the fridge....I'm kidding!

5.) We will watch the video that has the story of the real St. Patrick on it. (You can find the cartoon version on Veggie Tale's "Sumo of the Opera" dvd. Do you remember what his name was before it got changed to St. Patrick?

If you knew that his name was Maewyn Succat, you get 10 points! Hope everyone has a great St. Patrick's Day, however you decide to celebrate it!

New Recipe Tuesday

2010-03-16T12:58:00.005-04:00

Since "New Recipe" doesn't rhyme with anything, I guess I can post them on any day of the week!

Yesterday I tried 3 new recipes. I have cut out so many recipes and bookmarked so many recipes that I could never live long enough to prepare all of them!

I had purchased a 5lb. "chub" of meat and needed to cook it up. I have also been wanting to do some freezer cooking to stock up for those nights when I really don't feel like cooking (which seems to be just about every night anymore). I really love to cook, but at the end of the day I feel uninspired and just want something easy and fast.

My first two pounds of ground beef went into making these meatballs. Tim and the boys declared them yummy, so I will be keeping this recipe. (This recipe is from the Kraft Food and Family magazine). They were very easy to make and have stuffing mix as an ingredient. To make the meatballs, mix 2 lbs. ground beef with one package of chicken stuffing mix. Add 1 -1/4 cup water and 2 eggs. Mix all together with your hands and form into balls. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 min. or until browned and cooked through. See, told you it was easy! I flash froze mine on a cookie sheet and then put them in a bag to freeze for later use.

I then cooked the remaining 3 lbs of hamburger. One pound was set aside to make Bubble Pizza. Tim said it was a little bland. I liked it, but next time I would use pepperoni and some other pizza toppings in place of the ground beef. It was quick and easy!

The last two pounds of hamburger went into Brown Bag Burritos. I have had this recipe bookmarked for awhile and just got around to trying it. This is my freezer recipe and not only will I be able to pull them out quickly and nuke them, but Tim can also take them in his lunch. Tim and Isaiah both like the taste test although Tim said he would rather have them with more enchilada sauce on top and cheese served with sour cream.

If you want to see actual pictures of these, go to the recipe link.

All in all a productive day I'd say!

Giveaway Alert!

2010-03-11T00:07:00.003-05:00

Katherine from "Days of Serendipity" is hosting her very first giveaway and you have a chance to win! Head on over there and sign up to win this bag from CSN Stores. And tell her Lura sent you.

Foggy Saturday

2010-03-08T10:08:00.002-05:00

Saturday started out very foggy. I took these pictures on my way to pick up Charity for our sister in law weekend. Every year we get together near our birthdays and spend some time together, usually overnight.
Can you see a house in this picture?

When there is fog it makes really neat ice on the branches. It is so pretty.

Leeland is 1 today!

2010-03-02T07:44:00.003-05:00

(Very happy boy with cheese on his tongue.)

(Cheesing for the camera.)

One year ago today, I got a cool new nephew. Happy Birthday Leeland!

Also keeping my sister in law's family in thought and prayer today as (if you remember) her grandfather passed away literally hours before Leeland was born.

Giveaway

2010-02-28T08:53:00.002-05:00

If you like country/primitive things, go check out the giveaway being held here. Winner will be picked tomorrow, so don't delay!

Winter Wonderland

2010-02-17T15:02:00.002-05:00

These are some of the pictures I took on Monday. None of the pictures that we actually stopped (and got stuck) for turned out. All 3 of those pictures were blurry. But I did manage to still get some good shots.

I took the above picture and the below picture in the driveway of the guy who tried to help us out of the ditch. See Tim, it was all worth it! Right? Right?

As always, it was much better in person. When the sun was shining, it was even more beautiful!

Winter Thrifting

2010-02-15T16:45:00.003-05:00

Today Tim had the day off, so we loaded up the boys this morning and headed to Denny's for breakfast. I had the brilliant idea to take some pictures of those gorgeous winter trees and asked Tim to pull off onto a side road on our way there. Well, he pulled off, a little too far (and it was my fault- you know, because I wanted to take pictures!) and we ended up partially stuck on the side of the road. Not a minute later, a guy came along and offered to help, but it didn't appear that pushing the van was going to get it unstuck. So the man offered to go get one of the local Mennonites and his tractor to pull us out. While he was gone, Tim and I managed to get the van out of the snow and back onto the middle of the road. We found the guy who helped us and let him know and then went on our ~~merry~~ way.

After breakfast we went to Home Depot where I got the lovely flowers pictured below. Only 87 cents each. Then on to a couple of other stores. We ended the day at Goodwill. I mean, after all, a visit to Goodwill is what DEFINES a good day (at least in my mind)! I hit the jackpot and actually had to put a couple of things back due to lack of funds. Overall though, I felt it was a very successful trip!

The pillow is one that I had admired somewhere in blog land and I was thrilled to find this one. Don't fret, those little drawers are going to get painted and have new knobs put on them!

The wooden bowls on the left are also going to get painted. I love the wooden box w/ "Blessings" painted on it. It is mass produced primitive decor, but I still like it! :) The little pitcher on the right says "Homer Loughlin" on the bottom. I thought I remembered that as possibly being valuable, but couldn't remember. Anyways, when I got home I looked it up and that is the company that makes Fiesta ware now. I doubt that it is worth anything, but I will keep it for now.

The boys napped when we got home. Tim and I dined on chips and dip and sour gummy worms. All in all, a pretty fun day.

Winter

2010-02-14T14:35:00.000-05:00

(Thanks Mel!)

For Mel

2010-02-09T09:03:00.004-05:00

Tasty Tuesday

2010-01-26T22:34:00.003-05:00

I have found the best bread recipe EVER! I'm not kidding. This stuff is good. The best part is that it's simple and foolproof. Really. No kneading, no punching and rising again. You can find the recipe and the details here. I'm too lazy to retype that or even copy and past it. At first, I thought I totally ruined the dough. I was on the phone while adding the flour and was sure I'd added too much. After all, my dough was supposed to conform to the bowl and it didn't look like it was going anywhere. But I decided to leave it alone and it did this...

Prepared pans in the oven, ready for the bread.

The loaf before...

The loaf after...

Pure heaven I'm telling you. That crunchy chewy yummy crust. Wow. Just like being at Panera. The best part is that the dough makes enough for 4 loaves, and you can keep the extra dough in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. This is my kind of bread!!

What's New?

2010-01-25T12:02:00.005-05:00

I seriously (in my mind) want to start blogging more. I have the ideas, I take the pictures, but somehow I just don't seem to make the time to do it. I love reading really good blogs and I admire the women who put the time and effort into writing really good posts every day!

I thought today I would do a general update on life since I haven't posted much of a personal nature lately. Sounds like I have something really juicy to share doesn't it?? Sorry, nothing that exciting!

Hm. What to start with. OK, probably the number one question I get asked on a weekly basis, "How is school going?". My answer usually ranges somewhere between "OK" and "it's getting better". School in itself is pretty simple most days. The boys want to learn, they want to do worksheets 95% of the time. They like school. The problems with school solely lie in me and my motivation. It's hard to ignore a dirty house, or the dishes, or the laundry. When those things are caught up on, it's easier for me to do school. I also struggle with making time to plan what we are doing. This is where I am sure using a curriculum would come in handy. I will probably look into that next year. I don't really fret too much about school, it's kindergarten, not brain surgery. I do try to make my major focus on reading as that is so fundamental to everything else. Tyler loves to learn to read and read his first "Bob book" last week. Ethan wants to read, but has a harder time focusing on his lessons. He is much more of a hands on type of kid and I really need to find something more focused on that for him to learn. We are currently using the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". I highly recommend it. The lessons are fairly short, it tells you exactly what to say to your child and what to have them do. It also has them work on handwriting at the end of each lesson which I think is an added bonus. Yesterday we went to the planetarium and watched a presentation. Isaiah does school with us and pretty much wants to do the same worksheets as his brothers. In fact, the other day he was explaining to Ethan how to do his work! That same day he told me the worksheets I was giving him were too easy. Guess he's going to be one of those kids!

Second most asked question is "How do you like staying home?". I really like it. It's generally better than work, even today when Tyler got the bright idea of stirring his milk with the TV remote! It seems like I've been home forever, but it's only been 5 months. I thought I would have better control of the house, but that is still something I struggle with. I am getting better all the time though. I love being home with the boys. We had some really great fun days outside in the fall and I'm glad they were able to do that instead of being in a classroom. Could we have done those things on weekends? Probably. But there is a greater freedom in being able to do and teach and learn 7 days a week. I guess what I'm trying to say is that right now in this moment, I feel we've made the right decision for our family. And that feels good. I wish that all moms who wanted to were able to stay home with their kids and not have to work.

New Years resolutions...the same as always. Read the Bible more. I had the intention of joining others at church and reading through the New Testament in a year. Just found my paper the other day. Still haven't started...I may still try to catch up.

Lose weight. This probably needs a post of it's own. I will tell you, that I have been doing the "Daniel Fast" for the past 3 weeks. Yesterday was my last day. I lost a significant amount of weight, but even more important than that, my head is in the right place. Stay tuned for a post just on this topic. If you look up the list of foods, make sure you scroll down and look at the whole list. It's not nearly as limited as the first paragraph makes it sound.

I've also been trying some new recipes and plan to post those. They are regular recipes (as in not diet) that I've been trying out on my family.

There are lots of things on my mind and heart. I hope to share some of those thoughts in future posts, but for now I'll close.

Have a great cloudy day!

Sledding Part Two

2010-01-16T08:30:00.002-05:00

THE HILL ISAIAH
TYLER

ETHAN

THE GUYS

Sledding Part One

2010-01-15T08:18:00.003-05:00

I love these guys, despite the fact that they drive me crazy each and every day!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-11T10:25:00.000-05:00