Strawberry Soup and Pizza Sauce

The picture is boring but the snack is delicious. It comes from my friends Tracy and Lana...a sweet mother-daughter team of good cooks.

We made this the other day for tea and served it with graham crackers. It would also be good as a fruit dip or poured into popsicle molds.

Tracy and I have known each other a long time and first met in a mother/daughter Bible study at her church. Now I'm here and we're good e-mail buddies. She is a wonder at sewing and just sent me 6 of the softest sweetest diaper inserts that you can imagine. She's a fellow frugal zealot and has taught me lots of good stuff...like making your dish soap go farther. She also makes her own laundry soap and diapers!! I wish I could sew.......

Lana is sweetheart and I love following her blog. We were honored to attend her most gorgeous wedding and I got to spend a little time with her momma too. Her courtship story is not to be missed! Her love for the Lord and devotion to her family has encouraged me as a mom of teenagers. Thank you Tracy and Tyler for raising such a sweet girl. And thank you God that she's a friend to mine.

Strawberry Soup

1lb frozen strawberries almost thawed.

1/4 C. honey + extra for drizzle

1 3/4 C. sour cream

1 1/2 T. vanilla

1/4 C. half & half

Drizzle berries with honey. Run through food processor until small. With electric mixer mix in sour cream, honey, and vanilla. Gently stir in 1/2 & 1/2. Refrigerate 2 hours.

Here's another...

Bulk Pizza Sauce

1 #10 can tomato sauce (aprox. 12 cups)

6 T. onion powder (3/8 cup)

2 T. each garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt

1/4 C. honey.

Mix all together and freeze in 1 cup portions. 1 cup is enough for 1 large pizza.

Canning

I'm in such the canning mood and have been all summer. But, alas, no produce. Or at least not enough to can except pickles. And if you can't can at least of few jars of tomatoes then it's not really canning in my book. Summer is coming to an end and so is my garden. But Honey I have big plans for next year (Pleeeeeeeze!!! cause you love me so much)

So to satisfy my canning lust I'm moving on to jams. Blueberry, apricot, and strawberry to be exact.

I need some more jars.

Dinner Menu Woes

I don't know what I was thinking when I menued for this week. I think I was being lazy. I had a couple of meals left over from last week that I didn't get to fix and I guess I just added to that. Really I don't remember since it's been like 3 days ago and I can barely remember what I did 10 minutes ago. But it looks something like this....

meatloaf and mashed potatoes w/salad
sloppy joes with oven fries
roast with mashed potatoes (whatever!)
lasagna (impossible since I forgot to buy noodles at the store)

Doesn't that look incredibly boring? And to top it off I left it at 4 meals. What was I thinking I was going to do for the rest of the week?

I did make 4 meatloaves last night and was so busy preparing them for the freezer that I forgot to thaw something out for tonight. I have a few chicken breasts so I'm thinking chicken pot pie since it doesn't use so much chicken.

I need some new ideas.

My Take On Halloween

Quick disclaimer: This is just my own opinion and experiences. I've worked on this post for 3 days and wanted to shorten it. However I felt the Lord leading me to post the entire thing. I know I usually blab about anything and everything on this blog but this is a glimpse into a past that I am very much ashamed of and a piece of my testimony that I rarely share. And while I don't think I struggle much with the fear of man thing, I find myself afraid to push the publish button. Well, deep breath....here goes....

I hate Halloween. All of it.

I used to love it. As in love it like my favorite day of the year. It was in my teenage years when I did not know my Lord. My friends and I would go out on Halloween night spending all our $$ on haunted houses. None of them were scary b/c I was calloused to such things. It was just fun.

It moved a bit beyond fun and become something I fixed my mind on. I was very interested in the evil spirit world. Thankfully I never had the opportunity to delve too deep and I look at that as the Lord's protection.

There are so many lessons in my story of Halloween and I want to stop and interject one here. I did not grow up in a Christian home and had few Christian influences around me. I can't explain it very well but somehow I felt different. Maybe it was the prayer I prayed on the 700 Club when I was seven. Having no instruction, I never grew beyond "I believe in God".

I look back now and can fully appreciate "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us". He was always there protecting me even though I was rejoicing in evil. I was His and He wasn't going to give me up.

There came a night when I was out where I wasn't supposed to be with "friends" I shouldn't have been with. They wanted to show me something and we went to a deserted field with a single house standing. There was nothing and nobody else around. As the sun was setting it was very eerie and scarier than any sort of haunted house. Remember, at that time I did not scare easily. We walk up to this gutted house with no locks on the door. Above the door hung a crucifix. There was blood on the walls. I have no idea what this house was but it was clearly all wrong. It looked like a house of sacrifice. I was suddenly terrified to be there and wanted to run.

That was a huge turning point for me. Evil was no longer fun and it was something that I felt I experienced a little too closely. It was hard to sleep that night and it's something that I still (unfortunately) think about.

~~~~~

Fast forward a few years. I'm now a wife and mom and above all a follower of my Lord Jesus Christ. It is my desire to please Him in all things.

Now that I have my own children I have to decide just what to do with this day of Halloween. It is advertised as innocent fun. Merchants make loads of money selling plastic masks and candy and it gets far more shelf space than Thanksgiving ever will. Sadly it draws the attention of my kids and creates in them the same desire to know what it's all about. I can't see how celebrating evil can ever be innocent or even more importantly, be pleasing to God.

I know there are fairy princesses and little noble firemen but children dress up like that in everyday play. Hardly a day passes that my little super hero doesn't have a cape safety pinned around his neck. But that is not really the point of Halloween. It is all about fright and children don't usually dress as the Grim Reaper in July. That is saved for the special fun of Halloween.

Every church that I've ever been a part of does some sort of Harvest Festival. Some tie it to All Saints Day but they are all the same...a Halloween party, an outreach and safe place. Here's my concern:

"be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, "How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same." You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates." Deut 12:30-31

He's not talking about serving their gods. He's talking about serving Him in the same way they served their gods and not to do it. We're not to be like the rest of the world.

Honestly there are years when I feel like a fuddy dud for not participating--and there have been a couple of years that we actually have. But in my heart I feel that by participating I am no different than the rest of the fallen world. I don't want to follow along or be part of anything the Lord hates. God hates evil. The whole premise of Halloween is having fun with evil. I don't see value in putting a Christian twist on it. To me it's like having a foot in both worlds.

"Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." 2 Tim. 2:19

Kitchen Fun-ness

I did quite a lot of cooking to get ready for the weekend.

These are my favorite oatmeal muffins that uses leftover oatmeal. Sometimes I make extra oatmeal just to have leftovers for this. And even though I've shared this one before, it's a good enough to post again (on the bottom). I made 2 1/2 dozen for snacks.

See my new muffin pan? It's one of those that make big muffins like at Sams. I got it at the thrift store a couple of weeks ago. Too bad it only makes 6.

We made 2 pizzas.

And 5 loaves of bread.

And while I had the camera out I took a picture of an easy tea snack. Cheese, crackers, and grapes.

I also made salsa and pickles but forgot to take a picture. So here's the closest it gets...a picture of the harvest of the day. I think this will be about the last of my cukes as they are just about dead. I'm going to pull them up and see if I can squeeze in a crop of lettuce before the freeze.

Here ya go...

Oatmeal Muffins

1 C. WW flour

1 C. brown sugar (if your oatmeal is already sweet cut this in half and DON'T use honey. It doesn't work)

1 t. each baking powder and baking soda

1/2 t. cinnamon

Mix all dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add ...

1/2 C. oil

2 eggs

1 C. leftover oatmeal

1/2 C. raisins

1 t. vanilla

Mix all together. Fill muffin pans and bake about 18 minutes at 350.

This Weekend

~A mixture of rain and sunshine. Good for growing gardens.

~I drove to Boulder with a friend for Stick's soccer game. It was a good time to get to know her better. My son's team won and he scored 2 of the 3 goals.

~2 other winning games! I missed one of them since I was out of town.

~A picnic with friends! We took a pizza that #1 made for us as well as the free granola bars from WG's and some grapes.

~Kids and dads played flag football. After dark we all played kickball. Seriously it was so dark we couldn't see the ball! I think we won though.

~3 kids with runny noses. I stayed home from church today with them. We just got new First Baptist dvds in the mail so we'll do that.

~ Honey's going to work on our roof leak as well as the light/outlet problems in the bathrooms.

~You should see my laundry! I really pay for it when I skip a day. Problem is that I'm quite low on laundry soap. A friend of mine sent me some of her homemade soap and I'm hoping it'll get me through.

~Before church I had to make an emergency run to WG to get toilet paper. Somehow we got all the way down to 1 roll for the whole house! With all my coupons, I only paid a quarter for 36 double rolls.

~To get ready for the weekend I did a bunch of cooking on Friday. I'll post the fun of that later. It was nice to not worry with food on a fun filled Saturday.

~We don't have quite enough for lunch today though. Like I said, food just isn't lasting as long around here. I dug in my freezer and pulled out some enchilada filling as well as some frozen enchilada sauce. It wasn't enough for a whole meal so I put some brown rice and a can of beans in my rice cooker then added it all to the crock pot. I'll serve it over chips with sour cream and cheese.

~I noticed my freezer is getting low. I need to cook up some more freezer foods. Add that to the plan for next week.

~Date night tonight! Homemade mac & cheese for kids and a new chicken recipe for us.

~Today I'll clip coupons and plan out my shopping for the week. I'm sure I'll fit in a nap and maybe a game of Uno with my littles too!

Good Bye Unfaithful Ones

Apparently there was a mutiny in my kitchen and BOTH of my bread machines decided they were done. And until yesterday I counted both as faithful servants. As a matter of fact I was just bragging on how "Zoey" was the workhorse of my kitchen. I'm rather disappointed in her since I forked out quite a lot of money and this is the second type of problem she's given me in only 2 years. I'm more forgiving on the second one since it is a newbie I just picked up at a g-sale a couple of weeks ago for $10.

So now it's back to making bread the old fashioned way. Or at least with my mill and Electrolux which actually do most of my work. I'm extremely happy with both but will miss the convenience of making a quick 2 loaves every morning or hearing tortilla or pizza dough working. I am so spoiled.

But I think I'll rediscover benefits that I forgot about. Like not being so limited in size and experimenting with making a triple batch of cinnamon rolls for the freezer!!

Just One More (I think)

Another fun deal at Walgreens this week!

South Beach Bars are on sale 2/$5

Buy 6 and spend $15

Use 6 of these $2/1 IP coupons (You'll need to access multiple computers)

Pay $3 out of pocket

Submit for Easysaver rebate #31

Get $5 back when you Spend $15 in Kraft Products

$2 Moneymaker!!

Change Is In The Air

Becky told me this would happen. I never believed her at the time but now I'm living it. She told me that there would come a day when everybody *didn't* go to bed at 8pm. That big kids would stay up and want to chat and that my time with my husband would be limited.

Well that came to pass a few years ago I guess. All of a sudden we had company every night. I'm used to it now and don't think anything of it. However, I noticed yesterday that my afternoon time is also gone. It used to be that *everyone* had naps/quiet time at the same time every afternoon. Everyone. Now I have littles that do that still but I also may have someone finishing school in the dining room, someone working on the computer in the music room, and someone doing whatever in the kitchen.

Someone has a math question, someone wants to show me something on the computer, and "how many ounces is a cup"? I go downstairs to watch a light saber show and to answer another robot question. No door on the office or the laundry room so I'm a listening ear in every room of the house. And do my kids like to talk!!

The revivalist Vance Havner said, "If you don't come apart, you'll come apart."
That's how I felt yesterday. Usually there is some snippet of time I can go into my room and close the door. I can nap or read or clean my bathroom. I emerge ready to listen again.

With our new growth spurt and spending more time in the kitchen, trying to finalize our new chores and schedules, and school that goes well into the afternoon, there has been no time for that this week. My babies have been needy and high maintenance and I'm needing to do something different all the way around.

It seems like just when I get comfortable in a routine things change. I'm glad. Glad for kids who like me. Glad for busy work to do. Glad for noise and swords and legos in the corners. And glad that I'll not get stuck in a rut.

I'm enjoying this new phase of life and watching my big kids grow and formulate opinions. I listen to them talk football and their finances and watch them as they fit into the adult world. So happy to be a part of it! But I'm also glad for quiet times that I need to carve out. Glad for date night when I have a million things stored up to say. And glad for a door on my bedroom.

Walgreens (again)

I must post this one more time, just a little differently. Renee sent me this great Windex coupon that I'm passing along to you. You can print 2 from 2 computers or add a couple of Scrubbing Bubbles coupons. So here's the deal again....

Windex and Scrubbing Bubbles $2.49 each
Buy 4, get $5 RR

Buy 4 for $9.96
Use 4 of the $1/1 MQ
Spend $5.96 OOP, Get $5 RR

Each bottle will cost only $.24!

I was recently asked what to do with RR that are near expiration. My answer is buy toilet paper! The prices are close to WM and there is usually some brand on sale that I can use coupons for.

Menus and Shopping

Here's my menu this week...

Breakfasts-
fruit and....
oatmeal
cereal
cinnamon raisin bread
overnight french toast

Lunches-
chicken soup and bread
black bean burritos
tomato soup and grilled cheese
sandwiches
leftovers

Tea-
cinnamon rolls
peanut butter apple dip & apples
carrot cake
spinach artichoke dip & crackers
cheese & crackers
oatmeal muffins

Dinners-
Fajitas w/refried beans and rice
burgers and oven fries
meatloaf w/ mashed potatoes and crm spinach
salisbury steak w/ rice and green beans
lasagna w/ salad and bread
pizza
new recipe w/?
Date night- new chicken recipe and mac & cheese for kids

With meat from my parents (thank you again!) my menu leans heavily on beef.

I have already spent over half of my Sept grocery budget!! I'm trying something new b/c I hit a snag last month. I'm buying as much in bulk to last the whole month as I can...especially honey and cheese. It's scary to fork out that much at once with the whole month left to go but it's nice to see it in my pantry and know that it's not something I'm likely to run out of.

So I feel pretty much stocked up on the basics and will only need "fillers" for the next 3 weeks. However...another biggie, we've hit a growth spurt. The batch of cereal that used to last 5 days now lasts 2. There's hardly any left overs and there's lots more dishes. With 5 growing boys it's something that just keeps on happening! I'm praying for the Lord to show me how I need to adjust. Any thoughts? Does my menu look extravagant to you?

Today

It's cold! To me anyway. My Yahoo weather says it's 50. My room is always cold in the morning b/c we sleep with the windows open. It's quite nice but hard to get up and go walk. Today is a busy Monday with some errands and such.

~Cereal for breakfast
Soup for lunch
Burgers for dinner
No tea today

~Today's soup: I had 2 chicken carcasses to boil for broth and 1 1/2 breasts to chop up. I added an onion, 5 garlic cloves, and mushrooms. I pulled some rice from the freezer and added a few noodles. Ta da!

~An ortho appt, pick up contacts, and swing into Rite Aid across the street. They have a good deal on Cascade (with coupons) and Lane even got a couple of Christmas presents!

~Can you believe we have so many presents that we need to start wrapping?! I'm thrilled that my kids are so on the ball. My son wants to put up the tree! And while it is tempting, I think it's a little premature.

~While waiting at the ortho office I copied down a new recipe out of a Family Circle magazine. I was glad I had my planner with me. I take it almost everywhere and it usually comes in handy for something. It's not a real planner but just a smaller spiral notebook. (Cheap!) I write everything in it from my memory verse of the day, to school ideas, menus, recipes, phone numbers, appts, everything! My whole day is basically mapped out in my planner.

~I'm doing a new thing with the little boys' school. I introduced it today and will start it tomorrow.

~I read Deut 7 & 8 and working on memorizing 2 verses in Romans.

~I worked on my menu this weekend and have my lists all ready. Library, Walgreens, Sunflower Market, Walmart, and soccer practice. If I knock it all out today I will have nothing for the rest of the week. That's motivation....plus the fact that since Honey rode his bike I have his car!

Walgreens Deals This Week

Now I know there's some better deals than this one but my printer didn't seem to like some of the coupons. So here's the ones that work for me this week.


Buy 2 of the following products, Get $5 Register Rewards
Buy 3 of the following products, Get $10 Register Rewards

Advil PM--$6.99
Advil Liquigels--$6.99
Advil Pain Relief--$6.99
Dimetapp--$3.99
Robitussin--$3.99

*BIG Money-Maker Deal!*
Buy 3 Robitussin at $3.99 each Use 3 $3/1 printable coupon
Spend $2.97 plus tax out of pocket and get $10 in Register Rewards Back
Free plus approx. $7 in overage after coupon and Register Reward!

*Good Money-Maker Deal*
Buy 3 Dimetapp at $3.99 each
Use 3 $2/1 printable coupon
Spend $5.97 plus tax and get $10 in register Rewards Back
Free plus approx. $4 in overage after coupon and Register Reward!

Scrubbing Bubbles and Windex
on sale for $2.49 (as well as some other cleaners)

Buy 2, get $2 RR
Buy 4, get $5 RR
Buy 7, get $10 RR

Buy 2 scrubbing bubbles and 2 windex.
Use SB coupons : .75/1 and $1/1
Use Windex coupons : 2 .75/1
Spend $6.71 out of pocket, Get $5 RR
43 cents each!

Thanks to MoneySavingMom for posting these. Check out her site and see if any of the other coupons will work for you.

My super genius husband...

He's so smart, handsome and wonderful...He has posted some neat vids of the family. Even one from 2003 of JM.

Check it out here

Did I mention how smart and handsome he was...Just making sure!

Ok, confession. This is the husband posting for his lovely bride. But, I am sure that she would say that. I think.

Honey

Revelation 3:11

"I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown. " Rev 3:11

I read this this morning and wondered how your crown could be taken from you. My commentary was unclear and it appeared to me that they were guessing. So I've been thinking on it and wondering if these could be some ways....

• Being complacent. Never growing past where you are.
• Not paying attention. Not living carefully and with purpose.
• Living on the edge of sin.
• Walking with fools.

I want to hold on to this measure of faith asking God to multiply it exponentially. To be aware and live carefully b/c the days are evil. To seek His face and follow His direction.

Please Lord come soon!

We Did A Science Experiment!

A volcano!!

I know, I know, everyone does this one. But in my 16 years of homeschooling we never have. Lest you think I'm one of those super fun moms that turn the kitchen upside down in order to do a fun experiment, let me say from the start that I had nothing to do with it. LB loves her new science book and did this completely by herself without a bit of help from me.

Here's how she did it....

Salt dough recipe

In a large bowl mix together:

1/2 C. white flour

1/4 C. salt

1 tsp. oil

1/4 C. water

1. Make salt dough recipe.

2. Put an empty medicine bottle in the center of a baking pan. You can use rocks to make it look like it's in a rocky terrain.

3. Build a mountain around the bottle with the dough being careful not to get any dough in the bottle.

4. Let it dry for a day.

5. Carefully pour warm water into the bottle.

6. Drop a few drop of dish washing liquid and a few drops of food coloring in the bottle.

7. Pour in 2 tsp baking soda.

8. Pour in some vinegar and stand back!!

Tea Time With LB

I've revamped our family chores and given out different jurisdictions. I think the best idea has been to give LB our tea time. By 4:00pm (tea) I'm starting to fade and was getting pretty lazy with our tea snacks. So I've given her the responsibility to plan, prepare, and serve tea with full liberties...fancy dishes, candles, table cloth, whatever.

I think everyone is happy with this arrangement as LB seems to be very good at it. She loves everything beautiful so our tea time is much fancier than it has been for awhile.

Here's something she put together from our freezer. We had these little cakes that I bought on the day-old rack for $.75, frozen strawberries, and whipped cream. Pretty!

Thank you LB, you're doing a great job!

A Good Morning With My Bird

Mally and I went out this morning. Just the two of us. Yes, I had to take the van b/c of her car seat but it was worth it.

~We hit a garage sale and I bought an almost new (maybe been used 2ice) bread machine for $10. I let her give the guy the money and she was very friendly.

~We went to a friend's house where she got to play with a puppy. My friend's 12 yo daughter played with her and gave her a sparkly pink purse with jewelry and pretty hair thingys in it.

~She hit 2 grocery stores with me and found a dime and 2 pennies! Something for her purse.

~She did not ride in the cart but walked the whole time holding my hand and helping to carry the few things we bought. She said, "Holding hands is fun." I think so too.

~And last but not least...she wore PANTIES the whole time!!!!!

Becky's Carmel Corn

This is definitely a Christmas only type of treat because it is *dangerous*!!

2 C brown sugar
2 sticks butter
1/2 C. white karo syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 bags of popcorn (popped)

Bring sugar, butter, syrup, and salt to a boil 5 minutes. Add soda and vanilla. Pour over popcorn and bake @ 250 for 1 hr stirring every 15 minutes. Once cooled, break apart.

Reason No.501 To Live In The South

We've have a bountiful harvest of cucumbers
I need to get them from here....



To Here!

Problem is I only have 2 empty jars. Now in the south you have jars busting out of the cupboards and taking up most of the free space in the garage. They hold everything from bulk spices and beautiful tomatoes to screws and loose change.

Honey says, "Do we have to move these to CO?" Absolutely not! We can easily replace them at .10 a piece at any thrift store or garage sale.

So off to the thrift store I go ready to load up on canning jars. Guess what? They're not .10 they are .69! Each! Sixty-nine cents for a used mason jar without a lid? No thanks.

I go to Goodwill next. Not quite as upscale as Savers they're sure to be cheaper. Can you believe there is not a single jar in the whole store? Not one! I am not believing I'm actually going to have to buy these new. As in retail for canning jars!?

Sigh....... So I go to Walmart. I walk all over the store looking in every place they ought to be. Finally I ask a lady and do you know what she says? "We don't carry canning supplies." WHAT?! Unbelievable.

What do I do now? I could pay .69 but it's not going to do me any good if I can't find a place that sells rings and flats. Maybe Big Lots? Seems like they should have things like that.

Back across town for more disappointment. No canning supplies! No jars, no lids, nothin'.
So tell me, are canning supplies exclusive to stores in the south?? Where in the world do you find them in CO?

A Show Of Love

Isn't it beautiful? I came home from running errands to see this sidewalk chalk masterpiece by Jess. I know it's him b/c he just learned how to make stars and draws stars on everything.

Do you see "mom" under the rainbow? There's other MOMs on different parts of it that didn't show up in the picture.

It blessed me so much to think that my little boy thinks of me even when I'm not around. And he wrote MY name on his picture! Thank you Jess. I love you!!

Whole Wheat Bread by Becky

Becky is the one who taught me how to make bread many years ago. I was hooked and have made loaf after loaf ever since. I use several different recipes for different types of bread but this one is my 'go to' recipe. This is best to do in a Bosch type mixer. I use an Electrolux with a Whisper Mill grinder. If you don't have a grinder, you can buy wheat flour at the health food store or even Walmart.

100 % WW Bread

In the mixer bowl add....

2/3 C oil
2/3 honey
6 eggs
5 cups of hot water
1/4 C. yeast

Mix slightly and let sit until frothy looking. This is called the sponge.

Turn on mixer and add flour by the cup fulls. It turns out to be around 19 cups I think. I don't measure anymore. Add 2 T salt as the flour is mixing and keep adding flour until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl and you can see part of the bottom. Kneed for 10 minutes.

Let rise in bowl until doubled and it's about to fall over the edge. Punch down and kneed 4 minutes.

Oil your hands and shape into loaves. I can usually get 5 loaves, sometimes 6. Let rise in pans and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Turn out onto cooling rack or an extra oven rack. Mist slightly with cold water.
Mmmmm.......

Laundry Soap!

Grab this free sample of Gain at Walmart.com Click here.

Spaghetti Sauce

This week I'm going to share recipes from the kitchens of AR. The first few are from my friend Becky. Becky and I have been friends since we first moved to AR. As a matter of fact she and Jodie were among my first friends there. Later we moved next door to Becky and Charlie and were blessed to have the best neighbors ever. She has always been so generous with me to share from her life experience (and her kitchen) and I consider her one of the most important mentors in my life. Her wise words and friendship have contributed so much to the woman I am today. So the first few recipes will come from her yummy smelling, sparkling clean all the time kitchen.

As with all these recipes it has been tweaked a bit to fit our taste so it may not be exactly like the original but pretty close!

Becky's Spaghetti Sauce

1 1/2 lbs hamburger
1 chopped onion
5 cloves garlic

Brown it all together and add...

1 can tomato paste
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
60 oz tomato puree
1 T oregano
1 T basil
1/8 C sugar of honey
1 can of mushrooms (drained)
2 tsp each salt/pepper
1 C. red cooking wine
1 green pepper chopped
1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Stir all together and cook on low for 5-6 hours. If you cook it on the stove tilt the lid a little. If you cook it in the crock pot switch it to HIGH. Freezes wonderfully.

Free Samples

Here's some fun samples for you thanks to Budget Helps.....







Click here to get a sample of Always Infinity.



And here to get a sample of Cascade AND a Magic Eraser! 2 samples in one!





Here's a local deal that expires today. Sorry to be so late with it.

Rite Aid has St. Ives Essentials B1G1. Use the B1G1 MQ from Sunday's paper to get them both FREE. And don't forget the free Crest after rebate for this week while you're there.

Happenings Of The Week

What's been going on at our house?

~We're all glad it's Friday! No school for 2 days.

~The physical aspects of miscarriage have been difficult this week and has thrown off our usual groove in the house. It's better now though I think. A HUGE thanks to my friends in AR for talking me through this, to my big kids for holding down the fort, and to my Honey just for being sweet.

~Sticks got braces! I gotta post a picture of his new smile. I love it...especially since he seems to like to show it off.

~Honey makes omelets every Saturday. I just looked in the fridge to see that we are almost out of eggs. That won't do. I won't go to the store just for that so we'll have to come up with something else.

~Pizza tonight with Lana's sauce recipe. This week I'm gonna post my favorite recipes from my friends in AR. A few days ago I posted Kim's ziti recipe and 2 other friends are making it now. I love new recipes. If you have one for me to try send it to me and I'll blog about it.

~Meg and I saw the movie Fireproof. Great great movie. Spend the money and see it opening weekend at the theaters. We're hoping it gets a good crowd. Read Meg's review here.

~Meg and Lane are practicing the keyboard to play at church. Hmmm, we've just been there a short time but sometimes I feel like we're taking over the place!

~I'm gearing up for my first book day here in CO. I'm reading a marriage book called When Sinners Say I Do. Not a super fantastic read but it's still good and I think it will discuss well.

~I also got a new book in the mail from my friend Kim. Daughters Of Sarah it's called. Good read so far and I'm on Chapter 4.

~1 soccer game tomorrow at a park right up the road. Little boys start practice on Monday. Let the fun begin.....

~The Olympics are a fun change of pace. Did you see the USA women's soccer team win the gold in the 95th minute?

~Anybody thinking about Christmas yet? As I look at the way too much stuff we have I'm contemplating different sorts of gift ideas.

~It's 9pm and only 2 kids in bed. I have 5 kids camping out in the living room watching Andy Griffith and 2 in the music room playing with Honey. I love the happy noise....

There are so many things to pray for in a given day. I wish I could be in a frame of mind and spirit to be in constant communion with God all day and bring them before Him at any moment. Sometimes He will bring something or someone new for me to pray for like He did yesterday....

I was doing the grocery shopping and picked the line with only one guy ahead of me. He was in the process of paying and I unloaded all my stuff onto the belt. He was a very old Asian man and was obviously having a hard time. He could not understand how to use the credit card or to pay cash or even why he had to pay more than he thought it should be. He wanted Walmart to pay HIM! He was so confused and angry. He was shouting at the cashiers and causing quite a scene. No matter how they tried to explain things, he just could not understand it. I was so sad for him and stood there and prayed. I wished I had some different words to help him understand. I prayed that there was someone in his life to take care of him.

Skip ahead to unloading the cart. My son is buckled and I pick up the last thing...dog food. Underneath the dog food I find 2 small items that I didn't see and didn't pay for. I look up to see a cart guy. I flagged him down, briefly explained what happened and asked him if he could please take them back into the store for me.

He stood there wide eyed staring at me. Finally he says, "DUDE! That is the nicest thing I've ever heard! I never met anyone as nice as YOU!"

What? Now it was my turn to stare wide eyed.

Please Pray

Please pray for our friend Toria and her family. Their baby has gone to heaven in the safe arms of Jesus.

Toria, we love you and are praying for you. We will rejoice together at the reunion of our little ones.

Cereal Deal At Walgreens

Cheerios are on sale for $1.99 (the big boxes!) Use these coupons here, here, and here, to get them for .99 a box. You can print each of these twice!

Skippy peanut butter is on sale 3/$5 with a $1.50 RR but the Skippy Natural pb is NOT included...just a heads up. If you don't care about that though you can use the $1/2 MQ from Sunday's paper to get a good deal.

Lipton tea is $1.99. Use the $1/2 MQ to get them for 2/$2.98

And here's another Just Bunches coupon. These are $2.50 at my Walmart making it .50 a box. This is a pretty sweet cereal in a small box. It's good to mix into your granola!

This Weekend

I do not remember a weekend like this one..at least since we've had kids. We didn't do anything!!

~A rainy day with a high of 59! So cool and nice. Windows open. The nice trickly rain sound....awwww

~We slept in. Even Babyest.

~Hot chocolate. In August!

~Olympics and Jon and Kate + 8. Have you ever seen that show? It's kinda cute. And it's interesting to me since they have multiples and I've always dreamed of multiples. Also they have more little kids than I do. However, I've decided it's not appropriate for our family. Jon and Kate are always grouchy. The kids are hateful to each other and I don't want to bring that into our house. "A companion of fools suffers harm." Goodbye Jon and Kate.

~Long naps with blankets on the couch.

~Scalloped potatoes in the crockpot with salad and bread.

~I stayed home from church and watched Pastor Dale. I took notes b/c I only had one little one with me.

~Left overs and the Sunday paper.

~Meg cut coupons for me and I got them all separated. That was the most work of the whole weekend.

~It's over now. The sun is shining and it's a school day. Nice to get back to work. I LOVED this weekend and hope there's more of them

Cutsies

2 New Product Reviews

These are 2 new products that I got free last month. I've never used any type of disposable toilet cleaners before so this was very new to me. I used them this weekend and thought I'd share my opinions of each...





This first one is the Scrubbing Bubbles Max toilet scrubber. It comes in a box with a handle and 2 disposable scrubbers that fit onto the handle. The handle has a release button to release the scrubber into the trash when you're done. You can't flush it. I was impressed with the design. At first glance it looked too small to do a good job, but once I started using it I liked the whole shape of it and how easily it fits under the rim. The scrubber has a blue cleaner on it that immediately turns the water blue. Unfortunately as soon as I started the scrubber came loose and went to the bottom of the potty! I had to maneuver the handle to get it re-attached without having to fish it out by hand. Yuck. This happened 3 more times before I finally gave up. The scrubber is not actually a scrubber at all but just a sponge. And once the sponge is wet it's a limp useless sponge. I have never liked Scrubbing Bubbles products and this one certainly didn't change my mind. This is something I will never use again no matter how free it is!

I move on to bathroom #2 with the Scotch Brite toilet cleaner. Same nifty design with the handle and all except this starter kit comes with 4 disposable scrubbers instead of 2. I notice a difference right away in that the scrubber is more of a stiff kitchen like scrubber instead of just a sponge. It also has the blue cleaner and can not be flushed. The scrubber stayed attached the whole time and did a great job. My potty sparkled! I still would not spend money on refills since the can of Comet is cheaper but if I were ever to get it free again I would definitely enjoy it!

Today

~I've known about our homeschool potluck for awhile now. Potluck meaning I gotta take something. I could not think of a thing. So now it's the morning of the potluck, still no ideas, and it starts at 11am! My daughter had made a suggestion and I ran with it. I pulled some refried beans out of freezer, added salsa and cheese. ta da! bean dip! I also cut up some garden cukes (cause they're running out my ears) and made some dip. I picked up a couple of bags of chips on the way and we were set.

~Lotsa fun at the potluck. Visiting with friends and eating way too much food. Babyest doesn't like potlucks I guess.

~I spent most of the morning on the phone with my dr. office asking lots of questions. Good info. I guess talking about it so much has brought back some sadness. Someday *someday* I will make it though the day without crying.

~My son had a friend over for awhile. I like this kid cause he's always smiling.

~I did the weekly grocery shopping and had NO coupons. Again the cashier asked me about it. I guess I'm making a name for myself.

~Church music practice at our house tonight and that gives me a little more free time in the evening. Tonight I got to chat with a long time friend on the phone. I enjoyed every minute of it!

~Tomorrow no outside plans and no company. I want to bake a cake with Mally Bird and get back to my morning walks.

A Present!

Presents are such fun and can really lift your spirits. It doesn't matter if they're little or big. I think of things as presents that weren't really meant to be presents at all. A favorite catalog in the mail, a letter of any kind, freebies, whatever. Mail is a biggie. And if I get something during the day I put it on my bed to save it for just the right time.

The "right time" is at night when the kids are in bed. Honey's usually busy and I'm showering, taking my contacts out, and cleaning up the room getting ready for bed. The perfect time! I'm alone and if I have a present I look forward to it all day!

My g'mothers love getting presents too. I just sent them cards and pix recently and yesterday I got a note from one of them telling me how much she loved it and how proud of me G'daddy was. A present!

I was telling my kids today that while e-mail is handy it can never take the place of a hand written note. It takes time to write it(or type and print out), it takes money to send it, but it's oh so worth it!

A friend came by tonight with a present for me. This one is a present that is actually in a bag AND has a note! And...the kids are in bed!

From The Pen (red crayon) Of Jes

My 5 year old son gave me this note on my bed. He told me it was for my blog. I must agree that it's quite blog worthy!

FOR THE GOD HE IS HULY (holy)

THE GOD HE IS GOOD

Just Wondering...

I'm feeling a little better both physically and emotionally. I don't know how in the world my friends have done this more than once.

And so I wonder and ask you to help me think this out. It has been suggested that we told everyone too early. I'm scared to death that this will happen again, yet I so desperately want another baby. So if the Lord blesses us again (oh PLEASE) then do we wait until the danger zone has passed before we spread the word? Or do you just tell some but hold off on the general public? What do you do?

I'm especially eager to hear from my friends that have walked this road ahead of us. Or anyone else who has an opinion. If you'd prefer, e-mail me privately.

Here Goes...

Just for you Honey because you said it would be good for me and even though it's not the post you had in mind, I DO take your suggestions to heart!! ;-)

I apologize in advance if it's not so cheery. I'm still working on the cheery part.
(how come my spacing isn't working???)

I am so sad. And I really don't remember a time in my life when I've felt so low. I want my baby. And I want to go home. I wonder where this comfort is that my friends are praying for. Don't people talk about feeling the loving arms of Jesus or having some Scripture to hold onto? Where is that? Why do I feel like my prayers are bouncing off the ceiling? Why does everything keep going on the same?

And as I'm laying in bed this morning trying again to pray I see something out the window. It's a squirrel on my fence. I like squirrels and there aren't many of them here. So I watch him until he runs off and I realize something new....

The comfort IS the everyday...the do the next thing. It's the

~cute squirrel on my fence

~the happy girl in the backyard tending the garden

~the full canning jars in the fridge

~a daughter that takes the bread out without being asked

~School

~housework, laundry, and chores

~soccer games and babysitting dates

~perfect weather and the sun that *does* rise every morning in spite of my ideas

~the perfect e-mail from an old friend

~space to breathe

~the counsel of my best friend

~someone else to answer the phone when I can't muster up a cheerful voice

~a daughter that wants to watch my favorite movie

~diapers to change and shoes to tie

~reading the blogs of my best friends

~a quiet afternoon nap

Then there's the comfort that is in a class of its own. The gift of a faithful man.

~strong arms that hold me and cry with me at night

~words whispered in my ear

~the look on his face that says he's sorry that my body has to finish the physical aspect of this

~time and the space he gives me to be myself

So I learned that sometimes comfort doesn't come in the ways you expect. Not in the way *I* expected anyway. I don't feel some warm fuzzy feeling -- no glow. Instead it has been packaged in a much more practical way. The "keep on going and I'm here to help you take the next step" package.

I'm Taking A Blogging Break

Because I just don't have much to say. Our miscarriage is confirmed. We are all so sad to loose our precious one.

God is good all the time. And I'm thankful to have a baby in heaven that gets to spend his entire life with Jesus. Thank you God for our precious one.

It's A Party!

A recipe party that is. Over at Sunshine Princess' blog. Go see the Aztec Chicken recipe. It looks delicious!

Here's mine. It's a recipe my friend Kim gave me a long time ago. It's modified a bit for the crockpot.

Crockpot Ziti

In the crock pot pour in a box of ziti noodles.
Mix 1 egg and 1 T. italian seasoning into a container of cottage cheese.
Dump it over the uncooked noodles.
Cover with spaghetti sauce.
Add shredded mozzarella.
Pour in a little water until it's soupy.

Cook on low until it's done.

Today

Thank you #1 for fixing my blog!

~A quiet Saturday morning. The kids all sleep in someone else's room on Friday so Saturdays are nice and quiet as they are all in different rooms visiting and playing.

~Bible time in Prov 2

~I organized my coupons a little and got my list ready for the morning. Saturday morning is NOT my favorite time to shop but I had no time during the week. It's what I call "side dish shopping". Meaning it's not the big weekly trip, it's just around the corner at the local stores to pick up sales and freebies.

~Honey and 2 boys are camping/soccering. They called this morning with the report of the night. COLD!

~LB wanted to go shopping with me in hopes of hitting garage sales. She is my garage sale queen. I told her we'd stop *if* there were any on the way but it was unlikely since the store is less than a mile away.

~I was wrong. A big fun neighborhood sale! I bought some dessert cups and a set of those glass plates with the tiny cup that goes with it. Those are perfect for tea and not easy to find. Now I have 2 sets...enough for everyone. I got a big basket and LB got a bookmark.

~Shopping went fast and easy and came to $12.57. I'm going to try again to keep track of my grocery spending on my blog. I'm trying to beat my all-time low of $827.

~My son called to say he won his 1st game! So happy!! He scored once. His team lost their 2nd game but CT scored 4 goals including a hat trick. My younger son lost and plays again this afternoon.

~Such a weird thing happened. It was all nice and sunny when all of a sudden a huge wind came up. It was blowing the patio furniture around, blew down part of the fence, and the tomato plants in coffin #2 are flat. It lasted about 3 minutes then stopped completely. Wow. I'm hoping my plants aren't broken.

~Speaking of plants, I have enough cucumbers to make pickles! My mil brought me jars when she visited so we're all set.

~Mally peed on the floor. She was in a bad mood and went down for an early nap.

~Blood test #2 in a few minutes. sigh.....

~While I'm there I'll swing by the library across the street and pick up a girl movie that's on hold. How I love this library! I never have to look for anything. I go online, request the book, they pull it and e-mail me when it's ready to pick up. So nice!

~So tonight we'll eat whatever sounds good and watch the sequel to Love Comes Softly. Babies won't like it so it'll be just the girls and me.

Number Chapter 20

When I was a teenager I was driving home with a friend from an out-of-town trip. We were in her car; she was driving. The radio was blaring, we were singing at the top of our lungs. It was a great time. Until...we saw the flashing red and blue lights behind us! The officer gave us a ticket for going 102mph! I remember the first thought that went thru my head, "Boy, I'm glad I wasn't driving!"

Well guess what? When my parents found out about it, *I* got in trouble too! What?! I didn't do it! I was just along for the ride, right?

~~~~

I remember a time when I found myself in a difficult conversation. Gossip. And while I wasn't the one talking, I did nothing to stop it. The Lord spoke to me about this later. He gave me the gift of His Holy Spirit and I had ignored the promptings. I felt uncomfortable and I should've spoken up. I didn't. I was just as guilty.

"Who can say 'I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?'" Prov 20:9

~~~~

In Numbers chapter 20, The Israelites are mad b/c there is no water. God tells Moses and Aaron to gather the assembly, go to a rock, and speak to it. From the gentle act of speaking, God would bring forth water before their eyes.

Moses had another idea. In anger he whacked the rock with his staff Water gushed out and the people drank.

God was not pleased with the change of plans and said that b/c they did not trust him, neither Moses nor Aaron would enter the promised land. Aaron didn't do it. Moses did. Aaron didn't stop it and was held just as guilty as the one swinging the staff. And while Scripture doesn't record Aaron's thoughts and feelings we can assume that like Moses, his heart was not aligned with Gods.

"The accomplice of a thief is his own enemy. He is put under oath and dare not testify. "Prov 29:24

Baby Update

After a very disappointing doctor's visit yesterday we learned that I'm probably in the middle of miscarriage. I know that some of you read it on Honey's blog and I wanted to thank you for praying. We'll know more on Monday and I'll blog about it as soon as I can.

Anyway, I'm feeling wonderful and we're doing ok..just sad and disappointed you know.

God is good and I'm thankful for my family, my church, and my friends.