Youthy News

Today we took a bunch of our youth to see a life sized replica of the Tabernacle. 
2 buses
1 car
33 people

Aren't they a good looking group?
We put the trip together on Tuesday to leave on Thursday.  This gave the kids time to come to church Wednesday night to get permission slips.   Because no permission slip, no go. 

We decided to spend Wednesday night teaching on the Tabernacle and the symbolism so we'd know what we were looking at when we went.   "We" usually means Honey b/c he does a great job preparing and delivering his lessons every week.  But this time he asked me to do it.  

Really??  Because that's hardly any notice at all!   And I've never taught this class.   And, and, and.....

But he urged me on and volunteered to do the pictures. 

I LOVED it.  I wish I had had more time, but I enjoyed preparing, practicing on my kids, and then talking to the youth.  And they behaved and listened and colored on the sheets I gave them to label without stabbing each other with the new pencils I bought.  Bonus. 

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this new role?  Even though I've mostly considered it his gig, I've liked helping him prepare, giving input, cooking Wed night dinner, and getting to know the kids. 

Doing the lesson this week added a little something extra for me.  I hope I get to do it again.  In any case, it's encouraged me to help him more and to own it as "ours".  

On to the day...
We left early (even though we left later than we wanted) and drove uneventfully all the way to Mena with only 1 stop. 

The tour was good and the guy was very knowledgable and well prepared. 

Obviously this isn't the life sized one.  We didn't get pictures of that.  This is just the introduction. 

Are they bored?  Or being good listeners?  In any case, they were good and we were proud of them.

After this we invaded the local Pizza Hut for the lunch buffet.  Bless their hearts. 
Let's just say the good behavior wore off somewhere along the way.   Sorry Pizza Hut.  ;-)

The combination of too much pizza, close quarters, 106 degree weather, and a long car ride didn't sit well for poor Shawn. 

Everybody OUT!

Gross.  And hilarious.  I'm glad I wasn't in that van! 
We cleaned up in a parking lot the best we could and finished the ride home. 
I'm wondering if the church needs to sell that van now.   Or burn it.

Thank you Youth peeps for a fun day.  I love you guys! 

this week's stuff

I took a huge nap today and I'm in a rambling bloggy mood.  Since we have 11 dentist appts starting at 8:00 in the morning, I should probably be doing something else to prepare for that.  But this is more fun.
~Glorious Day!  My two littlest ones were baptized this morning!  OH, they were so excited about this.  ZBoy was up bright and early fully dressed with his bag packed this morning. 

All of our kids have professed faith in Christ.  As their momma my heart's desire is to help them grow in their relationship to Him.  I'm praying about how I can do that better.

~Youthy news:  we're doing a "Sundae Night" on an upcoming Wednesday.  Ice cream sundaes with water olympics.  Just a fun night.  I'm thinking we need to be thinking of a ministry project next and I'm praying for that.  Tonight we had 9 lovely faces, full of energy, full of life, full of opinion.  I love them more every week. 

Honey asked the question: If you knew you only had 2 weeks to live, how would you spend it?  Interesting answers that revealed a lot about where they were in their relationships.  Have you ever thought about that question? 

~I've got a weird discontentment thing going on.  I look around me and see that every single person I know is good at something.  Except me.  The only talent I can boast is washing dishes and changing diapers.  I am real good at washing dishes and changing diapers if I do say so myself.  But somehow that's not quite cutting it.   So I guess I can say that I'm discontent with my abilities.  And when I think about the things I'm interested in or like to do it would just be reading or blogging or teaching my little kids to read and working with my Awana/VBS kids.  None of that is real helpful now since all my kids know how to read, everybody can go potty by themselves, and Awana and VBS is over.  I would also love love LOVE to do some mission work but it's not the right season for that I suppose.  Soooooo.....there's that. 

~On the same note but kinda unrelated.  Our last story time teacher retired and moved to FL.  And while I'll never be another Ms. Turner, I did kinda wish I could volunteer for that job.  I would love to do story time someday.  I don't think it was a volunteer position though and I'm not real thrilled with the lady they hired.  She has an interesting (sad) life story and I'm glad she got the job but I think we'll be driving to the Windsor branch to see Ms. Turner now.  And why is that even a a thing with me?  IF I ever did do story time, would it ever even have any eternal significance to matter to anybody?  Probably not.  So who cares? 

~I told you I was in a rambling bloggy mood.  Can you tell?

~My in-laws are here for good.  They are slowly but surely moving into their new house.  It's pretty.  My SIL and niece are here for awhile too and it's nice to see them. 

~We had our first meeting with a contractor last week.  Pretty informative I guess.   This week he comes out to take soil samples and look at the lay of the land.   We are working harder on our plans.  It's getting fun to think about.  Mally wants a kitty when we move.  Farmer Boy is chomping at the bit for everything that has anything to do with the land.  I'm want a chicken named Hazel.  Mostly I will just be happy with a space for our table. 

~Besides dentist appts and contractor appts, I also wanna visit one of our church members in a nursing home this week.  She is over 100 years old and since we have been members she has not been able to attend.  I'm hoping to go meet her and take a kid or two along.   I still haven't made it to see Ms. Ruby too and that's on my list. 

~I hate that school and cooking seem to take so much time.  I have to purposely break away to do the important things.   And I guess you could call school and cooking important b/c ppl have to learn unimportant things and they always think they need to eat.  BUT.....it sure gets in the way of living real life.   Like visiting friends and playing at the park. 

~We've been spending a lot of time at the library.  I have two new books that we are loving..

Puppies And Piggies

Sweet story.  Ivan Bates is one of my favorite illustrators and I also love Cynthia Rylant.  Excellent combination.  And even though this book is really geared more toward the 2-5 yo audience, we have been enjoying it immensely.  I'm ordering a copy for my future grandbabies.  (Is that weird?)

The Dog Who Belonged To No One

Isn't he cute?  It's a story about a lonely puppy who wants a home and a hard working but lonely little girl who is needing a friend.  I cried through the last two pages. 

~OK, time to wrap up this super long blabbering and visit with my family that is trickling in.  Thanks for reading!

First Trip To Atwoods

The kids had been wanting to check out Atwoods.  I did too.  So one time I asked Honey to take me there for date night.  Exciting, huh?

Well it wasn't.  There were supposed to be chickens.  No chickens.  No anything except seed potatoes and who cares about them?  I wasn't impressed.

The kids still wanted to go and since we had a milk pick up in the parking lot we went a little early and poked around the store. 

They had bunnies!  

We tried out all the furniture and didn't break it like we did last time.  Yay us!

Guess who liked this store best of all?  He's asking if we can go back tomorrow.  Or the day after.  Or what about next week. 

Playing with the hats!

Then we looked at all the candy and let COW pick a cow present.  I bought some jelly and bug spray and Nate got a flashlight that he needed. 

I love the way that kids make fun out of anything.

There were still no chickens but it was a fun time anyway. 

Just A Few Words

Blah.

That's how I felt tonight.  Tired.  And ready to be done.

And I don't know why considering I spent the entire day playing and didn't even hafta make dinner.  

When I feel like that my mind starts to unravel the events and conversations of the day and I start seeing all the things I handled wrong  or snapped at someone or ignored something that someone thought was more important than I did.   And when I'm feeling blah anyway then the negative thoughts lead to a downward spiral.   Sigh......

I opened my computer to check my mail and Facebook and there is a message from my cousin.   One of the sweetest and most sincere words of encouragement I have ever received.  Perfectly written, perfectly timed, with words that were very personal and heart felt.  Completely unexpected. 

Tears flowed immediately. 

I am so grateful that he took the time to type out those few sentences.  It completely changed my night. 

I hope that I can be that encouraging to someone soon.  

This Week's Menu

I've been working on a full month menu for July.  It's coming along slowly.  I think if I can streamline the prep work it'll make things much easier.  I did a trial run for 2 weeks of June and figured out that I don't like a blank calendar type meal planner.  I do better with just having a list of meals to draw from.  One problem is that I don't have that many meals in the rotation.  I need more ideas.  So please help a girl out and tell me what you're eating or how you do your meal planning. 

My other project is Sunday morning prep.  I wanna be one of those moms who prepares lunch, irons clothes, bathes kids, picks out clothes, and lays everyone's shoes in a neat line by the front door on Saturday night.  Does anybody really do this?    The reality of it is that we go to church every single Sunday morning.  Yet every single Sunday morning I act like I'm surprised that we have someplace to go.  Seriously. 

Ok, anyhow that doesn't have a thing in the world to do with my menu post except if you are the supermom that wakes up Sunday morning to an organized day then maybe you can let me in on your secret! 

Here's what it looks like in our kitchen this week....

Lunches
leftovers or....

**PB and J with smoothies
tuna sandwiches w/ carrots and dip
big salads with cucumber dip
**bean burritos
Sub sandwiches (Sunday)

Dinners
veggie balls w/Mediterranean quinoa salad
cajun chickpea cakes with rice and sweet potatoes
Youth food
black bean and zucchini enchiladas
**pancake muffins w/ eggs and oven potatoes
green pasta with fruit

**These are foods that we'll probably make extra to freeze this week.  I'm trying to re-stock our freezer from the move.

Snacks
We have a lot of leftover snacks from the out-of-state trips last week that we are finishing off. 
Also Aldi has amazing fruit deals this week that I have taken full advantage of!

Which Way To Go?

Have you ever given much thought to blind Bartimaeus?  I read about him today in Mark chapter 10. 

Jesus and his followers were leaving Jericho when Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was yelling out for Jesus' attention.  "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 

The crowd tried to silence him but he would have no part of it.  Imagine his desperation!  Jesus, right there!  When would he ever have this opportunity again?  And people are telling him to shut up. 

He yelled all the louder.

I like this next part.  "And Jesus stopped."  He stopped for a poor blind beggar on the street.  And called him. 

"And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus."  V 50. 
Can't you picture his excitement here?  He's going to see Jesus!!  Jesus called HIM!

So Jesus asks him what he would like and Bartimaeus replies that he'd like his sight. 

Jesus replies, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  Not only did he immediately recover his sight, but this also hints at spiritual salvation. 

Don't miss the next part:  "Immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way."  V 52.

Jesus told him to go on his way but he chose to follow Jesus on His way!  Imagine the possibilities open before Bartimaeus now.  He would no longer need to beg.  He could work.  He could take care of himself.  He could see his loved ones.  He could see his own face!  His entire life would change. 

But instead of going on his own way or running to tell his family, Bartimaeus chose to join the crowd and follow Jesus.  Immediately. 

I love the faith and devotion he shows.

They're HOME!

~lots of smiles and hugs and kisses

~lots of catching up and stories

~a mini date while kids were in TKD (that means we got to sit in the car in the parking lot and talk all by ourselves!)

~pictures

~showing off new pajamies

~still in said pajamies at 10am.

~the right amount of noise in the house again.

~the peaceful feeling of all the chicks back in the nest.  Ahhhh.......

LOVE!!

Look Who's Here Tonight

This is the last night his daddy will be gone Lord willing.  The little kids have been taking turns sleeping with me while Honey is in FL.   Check out his brand new (to him) Cars pjs.  Yes they are winter ones but he loves them.  So whatever. 

Littleman has been freaked out in his room without his bigger brothers there.  And even though he still had Nate, it wasn't enough.  So when it wasn't his turn on the bed, he slept on my floor.  And so did Nate and Mally when it wasn't their turn.   I love listening to their deep sleep breathing.

I know what the guy meant when he said, "No room in the inn." 

Catching Up

The week in review:  nutshell version

~VBS was awesome.  Again.  And it's already over.
~My step mom had a heart procedure done that we weren't expecting. (She's doing great.)
~2 girlys and I headed to TX after VBS to visit family.
~While we were there Honey's grandmother passed away.
~We cut the trip short.
~I got a speeding ticket on the way home.
~We cancelled our Colorado company that was due this week.
~Honey and 3 boys went to FL for a graveside service tomorrow.
~Lane was left with a lot at home.
~Mally lost a tooth and both of us were out of town.
~Both of us missed the VBS program the littles were in.

Fast forward. 

After being scattered in 3 different states, most of us are home!  

My head is still spinning from VBS and the weekend.  And like always I'm mulling over all that I said and did and wishing I had done this and that differently.  Does anybody else do this?  

While I was in TX, Meg and I visited a tiny church up the road from my parent's.  Including us there were 16 people.  I hadn't planned on going to church but it was a good idea.   I do love being with God's people!
The first thing the pastor did was start explaining how what he's talking about today was NOT what he planned but God had given him something different and he needed to go with it. 

Then he preached on Romans 7 and WOW was the Word alive!  God indeed has power over circumstances and sin and He had given this guy a message just for me.  In this tiny town.  In this tiny church.  Our VBS motto was Awesome God Amazing Power.....oh yeah.

Anyhoo......Our four biggest eaters are outa town.  It's a quiet house.  And we're just hanging out and doing some fun stuff to pass the time until they all come home. 

Like.....
~I gotta clean this messy house.
~Pick blueberries
~Library time
~Ride the train
~Sewing class
~Shop for sewing class b/c I forgot to do that at Mom's.
~Re-organize boys' room
~Take dinner to Lane's sick friend.
~Make some new muffins.
~Take one to Ms. Ruby b/c I miss her and I know she wants to see Littleman.
~Father's Day shop for my guy.
~Read lots of new library books and try not to lose any of them.
~Order a new devo that Carri had that I liked.
~Blog more.

Now we're all caught up!  Will you please pray for our family in FL?  Sweet GG was energetic, healthy, and happy for her good long life.  And she sure loved and enjoyed her family.  They are going to miss her very much. 

VBS Day 1

LOVE. 

That pretty much sums it up. 

I had 6 sweet boys that didn't like the animal crackers I bought for them...but I love them anyway. 
5 were my Awana peeps and 1 was a return visitor from last year. 

We talked about God's amazing power.  Memorized a scripture.  They really really liked their workbooks.  And we did a little puzzle activity thing.  Time went by way too fast. 

Then music (which my guys called dancing), snacks, games, and closing.  Really now, what's not to love? 

Oh yeah.  When we went to snack time the ladies had laid out oreos and milk at each spot.  Really?  Oreos?  Couldn't it have been some nasty gingerbread cookies or peanut butter or something?  NOT my absolute favorite in all the world? 

I just ignored them.  But then Ms. Joy handed me a cup of milk.  I took it, thinking I'd pass it along to one of my guys.  Then she looked me in the eye and said, "Eat those cookies." 

Now I'm not in the habit of crossing Ms Joy.  And everyone knows that the Bible says that obedience is an outward show of love.  I love Ms. Joy.  So I ate the cookies.

So there. 

Only A Weekend Away!

It's almost VBS!  And I have my class list of 3-4th graders.  So I'm asking you to pray with me for next week....

~that I will feel well even though it's morning
~I will be prepared
~my kids' hearts to be open
~reasonable behavior
~the Holy Spirit to work wonders!  Our theme is Amazing Wonders and I'm praying that He will overwhelm us! 

And here are the kids that I am blessed to work with this year..

Nick - A great kid who has made good progress over the year.  (Seriously.)
Jasmine - I hope this is the same Jasmine from last year.  I liked her.
Lillian - She's been coming to Awana but I don't know her well yet.
Shannon - A new Awana guy that I instantly loved
Cole - His G'ma has done amazing things with him.
MJ - loves one-on-one time
Andrew - I don't get to see him nearly enough.
Caleb - I have great hopes for him.  He's a good boy.
Joey - Always has something interesting to pray about.
Jason - Happy face
Justice - A shining example that I will lean heavily on.
Joshua - Love! I'm particularly fond of him and his brother.
Jesse - Love!

After you read this will you please just take a moment to pray for us next week?

RA Blog Is Back

I don't want to use my blog to talk about such unpleasantness so I resurrected my RA blog to track my progress of the latest experiment.  The link is on my side bar if you're interested in following along.

Something New To Try

I don't like to talk about my RA much but I thought I'd give you an update.  In a nutshell....

~meds were affecting my liver and kidneys
~switched meds
~some things are better, some are not
~everything remains unpredictable
~more popping, more cysts
~my options are becoming more limited
~having a harder time maintaining a good attitude

I've been doing some more research and I'm trying something new.  It's a 3 day water fast followed by a 4 day rotation diet.  The premise behind it states that it takes 3 days for a food to clear your system.  Clear the foods.  Start over by introducing one at a time.  Chart the progress....blah blah blah.  

So I've been food free since 3pm yesterday.  My reading tells me to expect detox flares.  Sure enough I woke up in the middle of the night with a throbbing knee.  My experience is that knees and shoulders don't last long but are pretty intense.  This one is not so intense, but I won't be walking my neighborhood today. 
Is it a detox flare?  Or would it have happened anyway?  I don't know. 

So my plan is to lay low for a few days.  Drink gallons of water.  Pray.  And smile. 

And yes, it would've made more sense to wait until after VBS, after Texas, and after our Colorado visit.  But I figured, why wait?  By next week, I'll be eating again and maybe even feeling better. 

In the meantime I want to be sweet to family and not go off on the person standing the closest or melt into a puddle of tears.  Both of which are entirely possible. 

Will you pray for me?  And if you have any experience with rotation diets can you pass it along?

Do Like A Duck Does

These are our latest library finds.  Ms. Martha, our newest story time lady, read this one a couple of weeks ago and it has stayed at our house since.  Now LittleMan can read the whole thing by himself and it is a new fave.  It has a catchy rhyming verse that is easy and fun to read.  The kids especially like the way that Momma outwits the brown fox in the end!

Great news!  Paperback Swap has this and it should be on its way to our house in a couple of days.  This one is a keeper and I'm going to save it for our back-to-school party in the fall. 

Our other new favorite is Pete The Cat: I Love My White Shoes. 
Mrs. Turner read this to us and what book that Mrs. Turner reads would not be an instant favorite?  She said that whenever she reads this story the librarians spend the rest of the day saying "Goodness NO!" 

Pete is the coolest blue cat ever.  I had no idea he had such a following!  You can check him out here.  You can also download his latest hits.  They make my kids belly laugh every time! 

My favorite thing about Pete is his awesome attitude.  I overheard LittleMan tell his grandmother, "Whatever you step in, just keep walking along and singing your song.  Because its all good."  Ha! 

We got this book for LittleMan's b-day this year.  There is a new one out that we are picking up from the library today.   Big surprise for my little people!  I'm sure it will be added to my list of books for the back-to-school party too. 

BTW, today is the day to sign up for the library's summer reading program!   Its one of our favorite things of the summer.   Will I see you there?

Family Worship

We can't fit our instruments into our rent house but we are slowly getting them all set up at church.
Last night we had a fun little family worship time....like old times.

How I have missed it!

This Week

We had a fun morning picking green beans out of this gorgeous garden.  Someday I hope we can be good farmers like this.

Then there was the snapping.  I know if I had to do this all the time it would become a chore, but since we never get to do it, we enjoyed it.

Now what?  All my canning stuff is packed away.  The obvious alternative was freezing so I spent a morning blanching and bagging beans for the freezer.  The whole time my kids were asking how we were ever going to eat that many green beans.  Picking and snapping was fun...actually having to eat them is something different.

~VBS signups this week.  Can't wait to meet my new class!  Though most of my kids will be familiar, I'm hoping for some new friends too.  My room is mostly decorated and next week we'll work on it a little more.  I'm planning on doing my VBS lessons with my own kids at home next week. 

~The minute I finish VBS I am taking 4 kids and heading to Texas for the weekend.  It's a girl family reunion with my mom, grandmother, aunt, cousin, and I don't know who else.  I never get to see my cousin Carri and I am super excited about getting to spend 3 whole days with her!  My kids are so disappointed to miss it.  I wish it was easier for everyone to go. 

~And then!  When we come home we will have the fun of having some more of our Colorado peeps visit us!  Love them.  And whatever disappointment my kids feel about missing out on TX will be forgotten when they come.  It'll be short but we're thankful for whatever we can get! 

~After that we're hoping for a visit from Aunt Mich and Tate and Chloe from AZ.  Oh yes, June will be awesome.

~I feel so unworthy of the blessings of family and friends I have. 

~We discovered we live walking distance from the dog park.  Have you ever been to a dog park?  Do you even know what it is?  I didn't.  Well it's a big piece of land where you take your dog and let him run all over the place.  I guess in my mind I pictured a gross dry field covered with dog poop.  But WOW, it's this beautiful lush green park, very well cared for, with a lake and pretty trees.  I'm surprised this prime piece of real estate is wasted on dogs!  But anyhow, it's been a good place for Lane to escape to every day with Buzz and Joey.

~The property in Charleston is set to close on Thursday.  We're starting to get more serious about house plans. 

~2 months in the rent house.  4 more to go (at least).  I find myself missing a few things that are in storage now.  Mainly our games and some kitchen things.  It'll be all the sweeter to finally get to unpack those things in a few months.

~I went to the used book sale and spent $5.  Living here has taught me that I don't need as many of anything (even books) as I once thought I did. 

~Sams on Memorial Day weekend is a bad idea.  At least I had a handsome young man to tag along with me.  And whatever I saved at the book sale I spent at Sams.  On books.  Jackpot!  Lots of things for our back to school party in the fall.  Shhhhh.....it's a surprise!  One of my faves is a Billy Graham book about Heaven.  That's not for the kids.  It's for me.  But I'll share. 

~Jes and I spent so much time at Sams that we missed lunch so I took him to Taco Bell and spilled beans all over my shirt. 

~My in-laws came for dinner tonight.   I love that they are living in town now and just pop in and out whenever they want.  We had spaghetti and green beans.  Surprise. 

I'll leave you with a verse I'm praying for VBS.  It's beautiful, don't ya think?
"Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands"  Psalm 90:17

Churchy Things

~Awana is over for the year.  NONE of my 3rd graders finished their books or even came close, except Jes and that doesn't count b/c he really had no choice.  I felt bad that I didn't give them any awards but honestly I couldn't think of anything award worthy of the year.  And I especially felt bad that Caleb didn't even get an attendance award b/c he only missed once.  But you can't really say "Perfect Attendance Except For That One Time That You Stayed Home To Play With Your Remote Control." 

I don't feel like I accomplished as much with them this year.  And when my own kids came on board something changed.  It was like my family and my ministry collided and my interests were divided.   I didn't feel as though I could freely give the same way when I had my own kids to think about/protect/cheer for/squeeze ketchup for/answer questions/etc. 

I'm praying about how I can do it better next year.  And for VBS.
VBS!!  Right around the corner!

This year I'm teaching 3rd and 4th graders.  I love love love VBS and the different atmosphere and the new
kids and the fresh opportunities.  I'm hoping to see some familiar faces from previous years....and especially Big Boy who hasn't been around in awhile.

~Saturday Misty and I hosted a girl day with our youth teens.  We went over this book, made pizzas, and had some good old fashioned girl talk. 

~Then last night our youth group hosted dinner and a movie night for the adults in our church.  They served BBQ along with the Courageous movie.  The fellowship hall looked pretty and they did a fantastic job.  They took it very seriously, stepped up, and behaved wonderfully.  So proud of them!!

~Youth will continue through the summer on Wednesday nights.  Since I'm always in Awana, I never get to join in on Wed night youth so I'm looking forward to that. 

Set or Sit

I am reading The Swiss Family Robinson outloud to my kiddos.

Last night I read the sentence...
"Let's set on the pot for supper." 

My boys heard..
"Let's sit on the pot for supper."

I know what they're thinking....why would they eat supper on the pot?

Sure enough....

Josh- "Where could they go to sit on the pot?  What could they even wipe with?"

Me - "In the woods, with leaves."

Mally - "But what about the girls??"

Hahahhaha!

Seed Mix

I've been trying to incorporate more seeds in my diet.   Some I like better than others and I tend to gravitate toward those.  I read this great idea about making a seed blend.  Since the size and texture of pumpkin seeds is mostly what I don't like about them, this makes it easier for me to actually eat them instead of just look at them in the pantry.

This took about 20 seconds total.  I dumped some pumpkin, sunflower, and flax seeds in my blender and gave them a whirl.  Then I added hemp and chia and just stirred them into it with a spoon.  

Ta Da!  Pretty too huh? 

Now I add this to everything.   It's best sprinkled on salads or cereal or dumped into smoothies.  But it's pretty good on most everything else too.....kinda like a salt and pepper habit it just tastes different!  I keep them in the fridge and just grab them at every meal.

Menu Plan For The Week

I've been a lazy cook.  I admit it.  This week I'm trying to do better thanks to pinterest and copying other people's menu plans.  

And have I told you how much I love my kindle?  Ok, well I still love it.  And one of the many reasons is all the free cookbooks I have loaded on it.  That means I can menu anywhere and browse new recipes no matter where I am.  Really, what's not to love? 

So here's the dinner plans for the week

Spaghetti (lunch for Mother's Day)
Grilled portabellas, oven fries, salad, and some dessert maybe (Date night!)

Pancakes and eggs with potatoes

Taco salads

Wednesday is our last Awana.  That means our last Awana meal too!  Next week I'll have to think of something else. 

Pizza

Chicken thighs, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob

Black bean chili

Sunday nights are crazy with church and there's not a lot of time for cleaning up after a big dinner.   Lately we've been having the same thing...
popcorn, fruit, cheese, pickles, pb & j on rice cakes.  For some of my kids, this is their favorite meal!

Oatmeal Cookies For The Freezer

Why don't I make cookies more often? Mostly because getting out and putting back all those ingredients take just as much time as making the cookies themselves. So today I made these mixes for the freezer.

I figure getting out 3 ingredients is much better than digging out 12.

Besides I'm trying to increase my freezer cooking.

3 Cups flour

2  1/2 Cups sugar (I used 2 cups of sucanat)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp each baking powder/soda

1 C. shortening (I used palm shortening)

3 C. oats

Mix all the dry ingredients then cut in the shortening until it is crumbly.  Then add...

1 bag of chocolate chips

2 Cups of chopped nuts

Stir it all together and measure out 2 1/2 cups into each zip lock bag.  If you use white flour you can store these in the pantry.  If you use whole wheat flour they'll need to go in the freezer.   It made 5 batches with about 1 1/2 cups left over.  I didn't know what to do with the left over.  I haven't mastered the art of measuring 1/2 an egg!  So I poured it into our granola cereal. 

When you're ready to make cookies you just need to pull out 4 things...

1 bag of mix

1 egg

1 T milk

1 t. vanilla

Mix up.  Spoon out onto cookie sheet and bake at 350. 

I baked up one batch right away to make sure we liked them.  Delish!  And they were plenty sweet even though cut the sugar by 1/2 cup. 

Missing My Girl

She's on her first mission trip.  Read: first time away from home alone.

It's all she's wanted to do since she was eight.  So it's having a dream realized in a way.  But we sure do miss her around here. 

Just as I was getting a little weepy over it all, my phone rang and I saw her picture!  YES!  She called at the perfect time. 

I got to hear about the car trip, the work of the night, dinner, the ice cream place, and the girls she's sharing a room with.  I'm thanking God for these particular girls.... they are just the ones I would've picked. 
Tomorrow they are working with Jesus House passing out groceries to the homeless.   

Pray for my girl this week....(and those of us missing her!)

Turtle-y Awesome!

Here's what it sounds like when a turtle is found...

SQUEAL!!!!

I'll carry him home.

No I will.

Z, he doesn't enjoy it when you carry him upside down. 

Why won't he come out?

He's scared of us.  He thinks we're going to eat him.

He doesn't understand how much we love him.

He's peeking!

Let's stand behind him.  He can't peek out his butt.

Isn't he sweet to let us carry him home?

Momma, isn't he just the nicest turtle ever?

"Fear not, stand firm"

Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and then the saint says – “I cannot stand any more!” God does not heed. He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God's hands. For what have you in need of patience just now? Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ by patience of faith. “Though He slay me, yet will I wait for him.” --Oswald Chambers
Again, God's perfect timing.

Honey and I were feeling somewhat defeated in our new ministry.  We're the kind that like to see immediate results.  The results weren't there.  We weren't even spinning our wheels....it seemed to me we were rolling backwards.   Patience is not my strong suit. 

Preparing for this week's youth lesson, I was reading the parting of the Red Sea.  I get so put out with the Israelites always complaining, always doubting, never trusting even after all they experienced.  I mean really.  They saw all those incredible plagues and watched God totally transform their situation.  Yet they stand at the edge of sea and whine about going back to Egypt.(?)  I don't get it. 

And yet I do.  I live that very thing!  I judge my own situation by outward appearances completely forgetting the power of God.  I whine that it's not working, that I'm not the right person for this, that this isn't what I meant.  I want to turn around and march in the opposite direction certain that there's been some mistake.

What a pitiful wimp I am! 
And there I was getting ready for youth, when God had a message for me instead.  Don't you love how clever He is? 

"Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today."  Ex 14:13

I wonder what is next? :-)

The Grand Finale

The final tour.

Oh NOOOO!!  I just accidentally deleted my bedroom picture just as I was about to type.  Good grief. 

Well this is the master bath and you can see my bedroom in the mirror.  We'll call that good enough so I don't have to upload all over again.

The backyard.  It's great.  Don't you love that tree right in the middle?  And can you see the tire swing?  I've always wanted my kids to have a tire swing but the funny thing is that they really don't play on it much.  They like the swing set better. 

He also left his trampoline with a little ladder/slide so we don't have to put our's up.

And over to the left and behind the trampoline is FarmerBoy's garden.  A friend from church came over with his tools and scrap lumber and spent the day building this fine enclosure with my little guy.  He loves it.  Inside are 2 raised beds with some vegetables.  And do you see that plant on the back side of the fence?  It's a zucchini or a squash plant that was already there.  Bonus!

So there ya have it. 

One of the best things about this place is that it takes no time to clean up.  We only brought 1/2 of our stuff with us so there isn't a lot of clutter.  At this point I'm wondering why I even thought I needed all that other stuff anyway.  They only thing I've missed is our instruments and table space. 

I have learned a good lesson.  Less is more.  And I have a feeling that once we unpack our storage units we'll be getting rid of a lot more!

Our house is very close to just about everything except church.  Honey still comes home for lunch, we are almost walking distance from the grocery store, and are even a little closer to the soccer fields. 

I don't think anyone will be sad to leave this place, but for the time being it is a perfect blessing!

Tour Some More

Here we go with part 2. 

This is the boy's room.  Again, notice the colors?  They were NOT happy about the pink room, let me tell you.  But it happened to work out best with the closet space so they got stuck with it.  As it turns out they love their closet b/c it's big enough for them to all sit in and play legos.  So I guess it's worth it.  2 sets of bunks means we're short one bed.  Nate and LittleMan share a bottom bed.

The kitchen

It's a little smaller than our last kitchen but so much easier to work in.  When I run out of work space, I pull out a little 4 foot folding table and use it as a temporary island. 

The kids' bath.

11 people sharing 2 bathrooms often means the boys have to make a trip outside.

There is no good place to store towels in this house so we stack them in a laundry basket and store them in the bathub.  You just have to remember not to turn on the shower before taking out the towels!  Momma doesn't like having to re-dry a whole load.

The girls' room...complete with a girl. 

This room has 2 small closets with shelves instead of one big one. 

A Tour

Wanna see our new place?

Some of my family might not be able to visit before we move out of this rent house. 

I thought they might like to see where we're living.

This is the front.

I think it's really cute on the outside.

You walk right into the living room.  How 'bout those colors?  It reminds me of McDonalds.

To the left of the living room is the dining room.  Obviously this little table doesn't cut it for 11 of us.  This is the one area we feel cramped.  So we eat at this table, on the floor, coffee table, and on the porch.  The book case in the corner, as well as that white cabinet serve as the pantries.  Not pretty, but they work well.  Did you notice the lazy beast under the window?  That's his spot. 

Hey where'd my picture of the kitchen go?  It was right here! 

I guess it'll have to go into the next picture tour.  My phone will only allow me to upload a few pix at a time.

I have consolidated all of our school stuff into this plastic drawer thing that the landlord left in the garage.  It's in the hall closet so it's all closed up and out of the way.  We scrubbed this with soap and water on the drive way and let it dry.  It's looks clean (enough) but it smells like sweat.  Disgusting!  This closet door stays closed at all times!  I'm trying to think of a better solution without having to install something permanently.    I started out with everyone's totes but they didn't stack well in the space.  Any thouhts?

All The Way From COLORADO

Just to see us! 

Aren't they wonderful?

Pam and Jen flew in Friday night and we hung out at the church.

Then when she was least expecting it... he sneaks up behind...

SURPRISE!!!  Rommel all the way from Virginia!

It was a fun weekend full of ....

ping pong

air hockey

music

snow cones

church

and graduating

We talked Jen and Rommel into singing at church Sunday.

Beautiful.

I sat listening and wishing I could hear them every week.

But then I remembered that I will spend eternity listening to them so it's ok.

Thank you Pam and Jen and Rommel!  We were so blessed.

Happy Graduation!

Isn't she pretty?

Diploma presentation.

Every graduate makes a slide show with music and pictures of their life.

Then the parents present their diploma, say a few words, and turn the tassel.

And this year I didn't even mess it up.

Last time I took the tassel right off and had to hand it to Meg.

I'm convinced the do-hicky on our cap is defective.

Her daddy told our favorite Lane story of when she licked the ice cream off the floor at Braums.

I can't believe she's still alive.

Her table!

Every graduate decorates a card table with special things.

Lane's had pix, her puppet, a favorite movie, candy, ect.

The Believers class of 2012

Our friends and family have been super generous in supporting Lane and loving her.

Here are our super sweet Colorado peeps. 

(More pix to come)

The grandparents all dudded up.

And some grandmas all the way from Texas.

Congratulations Lane!

We love you so much!!

Always Deployed

"There are undeployables in the spiritual domain, spiritually decrepit people who refuse to do anything unless they are supernaturally inspired."  -Oswald Chambers 

Whoa. 

Undeployable, spiritually decrepit?   Basically useless.  Oh Lord let that NOT be me!

His Scripture reading today was 2 Tim 4:2
"preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching." 

I've always loved this verse but looking at it in light of Mr. Chamber's words almost makes me tremble.  How many times I've been lazy!  Brushing someone off when I didn't feel like getting involved or engaging.  Excusing myself for a million different things when there was no good excuse.  Wasting my life by spending it on myself instead of putting in the time and energy to invest in someone else.  Ohhhh........

But how can I be ready all the time? 
2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." 

I love how God not only directs us in His ways, but equips us by his own breath.   His Word.  And do you know how many Bibles I own?  Plenty. 

I have no excuse. 

Back At It!

Our internet is working again!  We had some trouble with it this week so I was away from my computer for awhile.  Glad to be reconnected.  And to get to catch up!

I have so many pictures I want to post.  I think they are still in the editing stage so they are on hold for now.  My man is one busy guy. 

But in the meantime I'll blab about the goings on this week....

~I'm taking a friend to school for awhile until her family gets their car working again.  It blows me away to hear about her day on the way home.  So one day all the 7th grade teachers were gone and there were subs for the entire 7th grade....all classes.  She didn't have to do any work all day and just got to talk!  My question....why did she even have to go?  And did you know that they watch movies in public school (at least her jr high school)?  Alvin And The Chipmunks and The Incredible Hulk!!  Seriously. 

~Speaking of school, we had our first full week of school since the move.  We don't have a place for everyone to work together so I have 3 kids at the table.  2 at the coffee table. 1 in her room.  And one on the couch.  Meg's at UAFS and Lane is FINISHED!!

~YES!!  She is done!  12 loooong years of math completed!  Everything else too.  But math was the biggie.  So happy for her.   And what a privilege for me to get to teach her and love on her and be with her for so much of her life for 18 years.   I love being her mom. 

~Graduation plans are coming together.  This week I ordered a cake for 300 people and bought the paper goods and most of the punch supplies.  Tassel is here, diploma is done, cap and gown is ready.  Just a few more details for the upcoming week.  Somehow I think those few details will end up consuming the entire week!  But that's ok.  I'm so happy for her...my sweet girl.   We have friends coming from CO (aren't they so sweet?) and family from TX.  Can't wait!

~My neighbor kids are coming to Awana with us and I think they are enjoying it.  They seem to be sweet kids and are fitting in well in their classes from what I can gather.  And you know what?  Wednesday I got to pray with one of our youth to receive Christ!!  YES! 

And you know what is interesting?   With most of the kids that I've prayed with, I've just happened to be the person in the right place at the right time.  I'm like the guy that just goes around picking the fruit that everybody else has grown.  In most cases, I haven't been the one to invest in them, to teach them about Christ, or help them grow.  Someone else has planted, watered, fertilized, and loved.   And I kinda feel strange about that....like I'm taking someone else's joy.  But for whatever reason I've gotten to be the one to pray with them.  I'm thankful.

~I talked to my friend in Haiti this week.  I have a neat story to share....
He was driving to his mission from Port-Au-Prince, which is about 3 hours.  His friend that is with him asks him if they can stop to stretch their legs.  Jeff pulls over in some random place in front of someone's house.  All of a sudden the lady runs out of the house yelling, "Pastor Pastor I have to talk to you!  I need Jesus and I need you to pray for me b/c I'm addicted to cigarettes!  And I want you to start a church right here in my front yard!" 

Talk about surprised!  Jeff had never seen this lady before and still can't figure out how she even knew he was a pastor.  He talked to her and learned more.  She handed over her cigarettes.  And she prayed to receive Christ!!  Jeff called his associate and they have started a church in her yard that now has 24 members!  Is that cool or what? 

Also they have started an orphanage.  At this point they have 2 kids that were orphaned in the earth quake.  They were expecting 18 more this weekend.  They are sleeping in tents with no permanent structure but hoping to get something built soon.  So many things happened since we last talked!  I am cheering on the progress. 

He has a dentist coming in May and a group of 20 coming in July.  It was great to get an update.  I hope I get to go soon. 

~Lane is going on a mission trip in May.  Without me.  I know!! 
OKC working with an inner city mission.  It sounds right up her alley.  

~The land hunt continues.  The 2 places that everyone liked are sold.  One just closed yesterday.  Oh well.....today we found another one and I think it's better than both the ones we liked before.  Closer to town too.  That's a plus. 

~I'm guessing if you're still here you're at least ready for me to wrap this up.  My computer is too.  She's locked up on me twice now. (Honey, what's going on??)

But here's a couple of pictures of lately to end it all...

Mally with a friend.  Aren't they cute? 

Fishing buddies

A boy and his dog.

My sweeties.

A Great Day For Kindle Freebies

Here's what I got for Lucille today....

I think Farmer Boy will especially enjoy these first two..
The Everything Grow Your Own Vegetables
Weekend Homesteader: September

A math game for my sweets..
Math Blender

This looks good...
Practically Green: Your Guide To Eco-Friendly Decision Making

365 Days Of Thanking God
The Fitting Room: Putting On The Character of Christ

No Kindle?  No Problem.  Go Here to download a free app to read from your PC.

It's Finished!!

We closed on our house this morning!

No more moving.
No more packing.
No more repairs.
No more house showings.
No more going crazy cleaning before house showings. 
No more contracts.
No more offers.
No more inspections. 

Oh happy day!  Now it's time to just snuggle into this cozy rent house for a few months.  Ahhhh......

So many things happened during the move that I don't feel like we were able to give proper attention to.

5 kids celebrated birthdays
5 kids were baptized.
All kids were sick.

We did the best we could but I still wish we could've done more.  My sweet kids are understanding though.
And I think all are glad that

IT'S FINISHED!

Moving Part 2

I've only had one moving meltdown so far. 

Almost 2. 

Honey asked me if I were sad to leave.  No.  But I am sad to pack up the doll house and kitchen set into storage b/c by the time they come out, Mally and LittleMan might have outgrown them.  At that point, he saw the impending danger of a torrential flood of tears and suggested we make them a play area in the garage.  Meltdown averted.

We are close to being finished!  Honey has the day off and is making trips back and forth with the trailer. 

My father-in-law is here fixing some valve thing that the washer hooked up to that leaked all over the place. 

And we're having a garage sale on Friday and Saturday.  Do you need a swimming pool?  How bout a bunch of canning jars?  A shelf painted green?

There Goes The Neighborhood

And so it begins...

I got to meet a neighbor today.  He came over not to introduce himself, but to see what the emergency was and how he could help.

Me:  What?
Him:  I heard yelling and screaming in the back yard!  Is everyone ok?

Apparently he lives behind us and heard the boys playing on the swing from inside his house.

Well yes.  That would be us. 

I started explaining that all was well and we have a lot of sons.  It was happy boy noise.  There's a new swing set.  And I'm sorry.

I'm not sure he believed me.  He asked about the previous (quiet) neighbor.  I think he was lamenting his misfortune to learn that he had moved and rented the house to us. 

My eldest son figured it out. 
"His house must not be well insulated." 

Yeah.  That must be it.

Our older kids thought the whole thing was hilarious.  The little boys couldn't imagine what he was talking about.  They didn't think anything was unusual in the back yard....

except the super fun swing set!

Moving Part 1 ....Because there's probably going to be lots of parts.

Read:  Mess.

We have mess scattered at this house, at the other house, at the storage unit.  The front yard is full of junk and I'm figuring my neighbors are considering calling Hoarders. 

We still have a full two weeks to be completely out of here so I think we're doing well time wise.  We are pretty much moved in at the rent house and now cleaning up and trying to figure out where to put everything else. 

This morning I walked my new neighborhood.  It's ok.  There are no good hills though and since it's a younger neighborhood with young families there were a lot of people going to work this morning.   Its a good street with plenty of space and nice to walk so I can't complain. 

Someone asked me if I'm sad to leave my house.  NOT at all.  It's just a house.  A nice house.  But still just a house.  I will miss some of my elderly neighbors though so I'll be coming back to check on them. 

Remember how when we first moved in here everyone was so crabby to us?  I laugh at that now.  They are sweet folks.   Most of them.  I'm thinking our next door neighbors will throw a party when we're outa here.  It looks like they may have been instrumental in our selling our house since they know our buyer.  Hilarious. 

So today we're cleaning.  And packing.  And moving more junk.
I'm hoping to take some pictures soon.

Meet Lucille

WOWZA!!

BIG surprise in the mail! 

 My grandmother sent me her Kindle!!!  Because she got an iPad.  Grandmothers getting iPads...is she cool or what?

And I love it.  Like really LOVE it.  I named it Lucille.  After her. 

It has a beautiful zipper case..because my grandmother has excellent taste. 

My first book:  There Is No Me Without You. 

It is an Ethiopian book.  (Be still my heart.)  And so far it's great.  Guess how much it cost? 

A whole $3.  I know!

And the fact that I didn't waste gas, paper, or packaging appeals to the greener girl in me. 

I seriously love it.

So I'm still trying to figure it out.  I don't know how to highlight or make notes yet or loan books to others.  But it's great fun to play with.