Thanksgiving 2008

This was the funnest Thanksgiving that I can remember. Ever.

We started the day with a HUGE breakfast that the guys cooked. Eggs, biscuits, gravy, sausage, bacon, hash browns, juice. and waffles. It was SO good. Thank you guys! We went around the table and told the basic things we were thankful for that we usually take for granted....then the other fun stuff that just makes life better...like my iPod.

We put up the Christmas tree...

We knocked over the Christmas tree..... Actually this guy did. (Guess who's NOT doing the angel next year?)
Then we put it up again. And it is beautiful. Off to Aunt Mich's house for a yummy feast.

Doesn't it look great? And she doesn't even cook!

Lots of trampoline....

XBox and football...

And some pictures of course. Did I mention SNOW??

Then guess what I found just sitting around collecting dust in her kitchen?

Very similar to one that broke a couple of months ago (as in we may be able to interchange parts). I brought her home, cleaned her up, and she works beautifully!

A bonus Thanksgiving present.

Things I'm Thankful For....

• A faithful God that never gives up on me.
• A faithful man that loves God, me, and our kids.
• 9 beautiful healthy kids and 3 in heaven.
• My husband's good job and all that goes with that.
• Our church.
• Our house that is big enough for all of us and a project to keep us busy.
• The love my family shares.
• Our extended family and friends.
• I don't have to cook at all on Thanksgiving Day! Seriously, not at all! The men are making a huge breakfast and we're going to my sister-in-law's for dinner. We're taking pies that Eldest was kind enough to volunteer to make and that cranberry sauce that still looks like the can when you take it out.
• Christmas!
• Winter, egg nog, and cozy cold weather foods.
• Homeschooling and the freedom to take off when I need to.
• A WING VISIT!! (29 days)
• We painted the living room! My kids did. Because.....
• We're getting new furniture soon!

Sad News

While we celebrate the life of our sweet birthday girl, we also mourn the loss of our precious new baby. Another one of our number is in the safe arms of Jesus separated from us by only our number of days on this earth. A life to never know tears or pain or heartache. A life set apart for the Lord from the beginning.



God is still God and we praise Him with hands lifted high and tears in our eyes.

Happy Birthday Mally Bird!

She's THREE!!

~One of my favorite things about her is how girly she is. Born in the middle of 4 boys you would think her to be a tomboy. NOT at all! We waited 8 long years for this little girl and that's exactly what she is....a precious little girl.

~She plays with babies and names them goofy names like "That One". That One is her favorite.

~She has a sassy mouth and it gets her in trouble.

~She bosses her brothers around.

~She loves to help in the kitchen and her special responsibility is to lay out place mats.

~She likes telling you her Bible verse.

~She talks all the time.

~She is super smart and I think she may be reading this year. I'm continually amazed at the new things she knows that I didn't know she knew.

~Her claim to fame is going down the twisty slide....all by herself! She tends to be a bit fearful so that was a biggie. She loves slides.

Her meals...
breakfast - omelets
lunch - sandwiches
dinner- some sort of pudding thing with cool whip and m&ms.

She had a fun day playing with her babies and dishes and new dolly bed. There is nothing sweeter than a little girly girl.


Thank you God for our Birdy!

A Big Night

We celebrate Mally Bird's 3rd b-day on Saturday. Amazing! And while we've been looking around in the thrift shops and Walmart we haven't found what we wanted to get her for her present. Tonight we decided to ALL go to Toys R Us after dinner.

The kids and I wanted her to have new kitchen set toys since ours are about 14 years old. Honey wanted to get her a new baby. The search was on. Up and down the precious pink aisles while the girls ooohhh-ed and awwww-ed and the boys patiently endured it. We found just the things we wanted. She fell in love with a soft baby that she's already named Ducky. And while she was turned looking at something else I took it from her lap and put it in our other cart. It's easy to be sneaky with a 2yo. We got her new food for her fridge and a pie that you decorate with toppings.

Then on to the boy stuff, the lego aisles, the sports, and the k'nex display that was a huge ball machine. How the boys loved that! Especially my robot loving inventor! Honey made lots of Christmas note ideas on his blackberry and we enjoyed looking at what all was new.

Everyone behaved wonderfully minus a short meltdown from Babyest. He lived though.

I took everyone to the car while Honey paid and then ran next door to Lowe's for texturing spray. We sang songs and the little ones took advantage of the captive audience to show off how well they've memorized their new Bible verse.

A fun family night.

A New Way To Clean

I tried something new this week. Our cleaning routine was getting a bit slack and Meg said that is was b/c everyone treated chores more like a check list than a way to help get everything done. Makes sense.

So we played a game of Sardines. Have you ever played that? It's a new game to me. Basically like hide & seek in reverse. One person hides then everyone scrambles around to find them. When you find them, you hide WITH them until everyone is hiding together and only one person is left to seek.

LB hid. She hid in my shower which was a pretty good place b/c it's big enough for lots of people. Lots of giggles gave us away pretty quickly and Mayfee was the last to find us. Big fun.

Then I called a meeting and announced that we were going to approach chores in much the same way. Do your own stuff then help your buddy. When you're both done go to the kitchen worker and help her/him. When that's done, find someone else and help him until everyone is working together and everything is done.

Then...and this is a big one....Mom will check everything. I've been lazy in checking. This has been easier though b/c I'm working along side them and can check as I go along and as we finish each room.

So far so good!

Today's meals....
Breakfast- homemade cereal and toast
Lunch - Chicken and dumplings
Dinner - Spinach and tomato frittata w/ green beans, salad, and bread

I remember my dad used to make the best soup. Maybe that's why I'm such a soup lover now. So I make chicken and dumplings his way. Just a basic chicken soup and at the end you add torn tortillas. They really make yummy dumplings. I have some leftover chicken and leftover tortillas....so chicken and dumplings!

Dad, have you made this for Gram and Nana yet? You need to!

Our 3 Day Weekend

Finally a weekend that didn't seem to fly by! I guess that tends to happen when there's a whole extra day to it. I wish they were all 3-dayers.

~Girly day was a blast! We did lots of shopping without spending much money. HOW? Well, first we hit the thrift shops and that's where we had the most fun. We got lots of presents, a couple of books, 2 pairs of snow boots, and other handy stuff. We did all the discount shopping before we hit the mall.

~The mall. There's a reason I hadn't been there yet. I just don't understand why anyone would spend $30 on a shirt. I decided that if the place doesn't give you a buggy it's just not my kind of shopping. Too fancy. Too expensive. The pet store was kinda fun though until I realized that the iguana that was perched on the rafters above my head was REAL! Time to go.

~We were gone all day and still didn't have time to get our hair done. Just too much fun to be had. The family did great, had fun all day, and didn't even seem to notice we were gone. Babyest was VERY happy to see me though.

~I got my HCG and progesterone levels checked. Way up high! So far so good.

~Movie night at church. Big fun! And to make it even better, the neighbors we invited CAME!!! It was nice to get to know them better. Maybe they'll come to church too.

~I made a huge pan of enchiladas and splurged on one of those disposable pans since I didn't have a pan that big in my house.

~We moved some off-season clothes to the new storage spot downstairs. I love re-inventing space!

~Another try at the Christmas picture. We'll see, it's so hard!

~Date night tonight and I forgot what we were having. I hope it's not too late to thaw it out.

Tomorrow Is The Day!

My 16yo daughter and I are spending the ENTIRE day out together! Shopping, eating, getting hairdos. You know, gurly stuff. It's the first time we've gotten to do this and I think we're long overdue. I've had precious babies for so long that shopping has become an only-if-you-have-to thing. But tomorrow will be different. And while I'm looking forward to it, I already miss my little bitties. A whole day w/o being slobbered, how will I cope?

It's also the first time in a LOOONG time that Honey has had the whole crew for the whole day without the help of extended family. Obviously I don't get out much...and that's perfectly fine. He's taken the day off work for us and hopefully it'll be a fun day for them too. Mayfa-roo was asking to have candy for lunch while I'm gone. Oh my.

The Books I'm Reading (and other uninteresting stuff)

(And the bookmarks that go with them.)

Ruth - my Bible ribbon marker

The Finishing Touch (Chuck Swindoll) - ribbon marker

The Welcoming Door (a pretty one that I made with beads)- Kenny Kemp
I bought this at the used store in the library. Really good fiction about the parables. I was reading this to myself when the girls came into my room. I started reading aloud and now they're hooked.

A Father's Promise (a napkin b/c it's our tea book) -Donna Lynn Hess
Historical fiction. A read aloud to the kids

The Mouse And His Motorcycle (no bookmark for this one) - Beverly Cleary
Aloud to the little boys. Dumb book.

Little Men (a pretty paper one that one of my kids made) - Louisa May Alcott
Will I ever finish this book?

What are YOU reading??
~~~

My son made dinner tonight. I decided that his kitchen skills were lacking and he needs some more practice. He made 2 whole chickens and rice. He loved the chicken job! Lots of......

"Look what happens when I push here!"
"I'm glad I'm not a chicken."
"It looks like old people skin."
"Do I wash it with soap?"

He asked if he could make chicken every time. Girls, I think we're off the hook with this one!

Today's meals....
Breakfast- cereal
Lunch - leftover spaghetti and sandwiches
Dinner - roasted chicken, rice, gravy, bread, and salad.

Chicken Gravy

1 stick of butter melted in saucepan
1/2 C. flour
2 T. soy sauce
Chicken broth and milk
s/p

Saute garlic in butter. Mix in flour and cook for about 1 minute. Add soy sauce and enough milk and broth to make it thick and creamy. It thickens as it heats. Salt and pepper to taste.
~~~

One more thing. Honey changed his work schedule and gets home at 4pm! I love his job b/c it seems like he's always home.
~~

The Muir Glen tomato coupon has been reset here. A good deal on tomatoes!

I Have News!!

We're having another sweet baby, God willing! Our first summer one too!
Awww........

This Past Week

~My son's soccer team won FIRST PLACE!!!

~We opened the pantry and were overwhelmed by a horrible stink! I had my son start pulling stuff out. At first we thought it might be a rotten potato. No. Then he found it...and EWWWWW! Remember those tomatoes I just canned? Well one of them rebelled. It was spewing out the lid and all over the shelf. I don't know how this happened. I'm always careful to check my lids. Any thoughts??

~I'm borrowing a new history book from a friend. I had a fun time pouring over it and planning out our week.

~My kids did rock climbing in gym this week. Such fun! I think everybody's sore. My babies did preschool gym for the first time. That was fun too.

~I think our Christmas letter is almost done. No picture yet though.

~Most of my kids are sick.

~Thanks to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law we got a lot of wood. We laid it in the storage area that we haven't been able to use yet. So much more room!! We'll use it store Christmas stuff and have some room leftover.

~Shoe box shopping!! Such cute stuff. It's a fun tradition. One of the only times in the year that I take everyone to the store at the same time. They behaved wonderfully and it was a lot of fun.

~I tried a few new recipes this week. I was going to make "Texas Sheet Cake", then changed my mind since everyone was sick and I didn't want them to have sugar. But in light of my son's soccer victory, I changed my mind again. LB was going to make it while I worked on dinner. Everyone one of my kids have done this.....instead of reading a recipe, a new cook will just start dumping in ingredients. This was sort of a fussy recipe and it didn't turn out quite right. So we each ate one small piece and threw the rest away. I told her not to worry, everyone has done it at least once and someday she may even ruin a whole dinner and we'll have to get take out. She thought that was funny.

~We stepped out of our comfort zone and invited 2 neighbors to church. I hope they come.

~Last week of Bible study. I won't commit to anything else until February.

~Date night tonight! We're going to watch a Pastor Dale dvd. I got to watch one with the sick kids this morning. So a double whammy for me!

Walgreens Deals This Week

Walgreens has some good deals this week! Get your printer ready...



Progresso Soup 4/$5 with in-ad coupon
Use printable to get them for $.15 each.


Libby's Pumpkin $.99 each with in-ad coupon
Use $1/2 printable to get them for $.49 each.


Betty Crocker Frosting $.99 each w/in-ad coupon
Use $.55/1 printable to get them for $.44 each.


Coffee-Mate creamer B1G1 or 2/$2.49
Use $1/1 printable to get them for $.49


Glade Aerosol on sale $.99
Use $1/2 MQ to get them for $.49


Reach toothbrushes $.99 with in-ad coupon
Use B1G1 MQ


Kelloggs Cereal 4/$10 with $2 RR
Use all those great coupons from 2 weeks ago to get them for $1/box (Thanks Mom for sending me your coupons!)

Samson and Obama

Judges 13-16 records the life of Samson. He was somewhat of a miracle baby given to a God-fearing couple who was sterile. His parents prayed for wisdom in how to bring him up (13:8). But despite their best efforts he grew up to be a disappointment.

Samson grew up to be angry, proud, foolish, full of vengeance, and controlled by sensuality. He was disobedient to the Lord and to his parents.

In light of the recent election I was thinking of the mysterious ways that God works. If Samson were elected president of the US, the country would be spouting opinion of gloom and doom. Yet knowing Samson's character in advance God chose him to begin to free Israel from Philistine oppression.

Obama is a disappointment. So was McCain. But we can not put a limit of the power of God in the life of man. Samson, Saul, and Pharaoh were all used by God in completely different ways to accomplish His purpose. The mighty hand of God reaches beyond our fears, doubts, and shallow reasoning to show the limits of man and the unlimited power of His being. The loving Creator of the universe is in control. There is nothing (and no one) that is beyond His reach.

Older Kids

Teenagers to be exact.

When my kids were little we were blessed to have friends with older kids. Friends we loved and respected and who had the same visions for their families as we had for ours. I paid close attention to these children, their parents' decisions, and the way things worked in their families. They were transparent with us, sharing successes, failures, and ideas. Through their examples, the Lord was quietly training us up for our own set of teenagers.

Now we have 2 - almost 3- teenagers of our own. We also have babies and ages in between. And while I feel like its an often frustrating stage, I also feel like its the most satisfying. We hear parents relate the woes of rebellious teens or warn young families, "Just wait until they are teenagers". It's enough to make you wish they'd stay babies forever. But I'm here to say that it doesn't have to be that way.

Yes, there's frustrating times, miscommunications, and disappointments. But the fun conversations, interesting topics, and soul-searching questions more than make up for it.

I feel like I have more of an opportunity than ever to help shape their opinions, ideas, and thoughts--and do they have a lot of those!! They also do the same for me and challenge me to look at something from a different angle. I like that.

The talks go long. Sometimes they're short. They are deep. Or silly. It doesn't matter. You leave feeling like you know each other even better.

Becky was right. They don't go to bed at 7:30. ;-p

Meg, Lane, and Kitch, I love you just as you are and I'm happy to be your mom!!

FREE at King Soopers!

King Soopers is having another "mega event" where you buy 10 participating products and get a certain amount off. Here's some things that come out FREE with double coupons.....

Quaker Oats $1 (use .50/1 MQ)
Colgate toothpaste $1 (use .75/1 MQ)
Colgate toothbrush $1 (use .75/1 MQ)
Scotch Brite sponges .50 (use $1/2 MQ)

You do have to buy 10 so pull out your coupons and see what you can match up. Here's some others I came up with....

C & H sugar $2 (use .30/1 MQ) final price $1.40
Dial soap 3 pack $1 (use .30/1 MQ) final price .40
Bryers Ice Cream $2.50 (use .50/1 MQ) final price $1.50
Betty Crocker potatoes $1 (use .35/1 MQ) final price .30

They also have Old Orchard juice 10/$10. This includes grape juice..which is always expensive.

Garden Goodness

I canned tomatoes last week and salsa too. Nice! Gardening is different in CO. The growing season is shorter. We had to pick the garden a couple of weeks ago to avoid freeze. So I put the green tomatoes in paper bags to ripen. That was NOT the right way to do it. I've since learned that I should've wrapped them individually in newspaper. The way I did it made everything ripen at once. Live and learn. It was fun work though.

Time Alone

Oh what shall I do with myself? 6 kids and Honey are in Pueblo at a soccer game. LB is at a b-day party. Babies just went down for a nap. I have 2 1/2 hours before nap is over and I have to pick up LB. Wow.

Time to scrapbook! I don't think I've a done a singe page since I moved to CO. I'm way over due.

I might just drink the last of the egg nog. Egg nog is at Sams! I paid way more than I should've so from now on I'm making my own.

Call Mom. Didn't get to talk earlier b/c I was getting everyone out the door.

Cook dinner. New recipe called Chicken Salsa Pasta. Looks yummy in the picture. I just canned salsa a couple of days ago so I have more than plenty.

Clean house? I doubt it. Who wants to clean house when it's soooo quiet?

Walk on the treadmill. Maybe.

Today's Meals....
breakfast- omelets
lunch - spaghetti and pineapples
dinner- chicken salsa pasta, refried beans, salad
tea - blueberry muffins

Oh guess what? I went to Sams yesterday and noticed that the price of 2 things had gone DOWN! Eggs and cheese. Nice.

I Got An Award!

Ain't she pretty? Mom2Three was so sweet to bestow it and I'm very happy with it.

So here's the meme that goes with it....

7 Things I Did Before

• Ate oreos for breakfast.


• A lot.


• Crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.


• Bit my fingernails.


• Worked at Payless Shoes.


• Ate Lucky Charms out of the box for dinner.


• Shopped retail.

7 Things I Do Now

• Eat granola for breakfast.


• Shop thrift stores.
  
• Pray for God's favor.


• Hardly ever wear makeup.


• Read.


• Love watching my sons' soccer games.


• Run when I can.

7 Things I Want To Do

• Go to TX to visit my parents.


• Go to Renee's house.


• Visit with Mr. Walker and let him tell me of the political woes.


• Paint my living room.


• Scrapbook.


• Play more games.


• Read faster. So many books. So little time.

7 Favorite Foods

• My mom's potato salad


• Burgers


• Ice cream


• Oreos


• Mexican food


• Salad


• Chinese chicken salad

7 Things I Say Most Often

• I'm the show.


• Where's my planner.


• If it's not Dad, I don't wanna talk.


• Did you brush your teeth?


• What time is practice?


• Who made this mess?


• This is not your personal space.

Here's my tags. My own sweet family! Eldest (b/c I love you and you need something to write about right?), Lane and LB (b/c I love you and I think you'll think it's fun), my step mom (b/c I love her and maybe it'll make her post more.) Sorry Honey and Sticks. No award for you since it's gurly and pink and I didn't think you'd like it.

Monthly Menuing

With one day left to go I can now give my opinion on my monthly menu experiment. It was WONDERFUL!! Budget wise, I came in at $59 under budget!! I don't know if I can expect to do as well in November b/c of holiday foods and company but we'll see. My husband gets paid once a month so this made perfect sense for us. It was very freeing to know that I had dinners planned for every day and didn't have to make that decision again. I was able to sit down and work out the whole month of meals in about 30 minutes. For this month, I haven't found a full 30 minutes to devote to it so I've been working in snippets of time. Here's what I did.

~I got pen, paper, and recipe book. I got the calendar out to see how many Fridays and Sundays were in the month. Friday is pizza so that was 5 dinners already done. Sundays are date night so there's another 4. 9 meals with just a glance at the calendar. I also looked at our soccer games to see how many times we'd need to take lunchboxes so I could have that stuff ready too.

~This month includes Thanksgiving and Baby Girl's b-day. Since we don't know what the plans are for either of those yet, I can't really plan a full menu for those days. I am counting one day as leftover Thanksgiving food though, whatever it may be. Another 3 days down.

~Turkeys will be going on sale this month. I've found that I can use chicken and turkey interchangeably so I've planned more some chicken recipes. This will help stretch the beef in my freezer for awhile longer. In my recipe notebook I have a "Stuff To Try Later" section. This gave me 7 new dinners, 5 lunches, and 5 tea snacks. 19 dinners down, 11 to go.

~Then I asked my family what they'd like to have. Besides the old standbys they weren't too helpful. Superbowl Wings were mentioned so that brings me down to 10.

~Now it was time to fall into the recipe notebook and see what I haven't made in awhile. Between that and the family favorites it was not too hard to come up with 10.

I did not plan certain meals on certain days except the pizza, dates, and lunchboxes. I just kept a sort of "bank" of planned meals to draw from as the week approached. When planning my week, I just pulled from my bank taking into consideration the activities of the week and the amount of effort for the meal.

I did not plan out full lunches, breakfasts, or tea. I made sure I had plenty of baking ingredients, breakfast options, and so forth. I counted on leftovers or sandwiches for lunch. This is something I'm doing differently this month. Breakfast and tea worked out fine but lunch was a different story. Leftovers aren't something I have a lot of anymore so I found myself scrambling for lunch ideas way too often. This month I will plan out at least 4 lunches a week.

Sometimes I planned side dishes, sometimes not. We usually have salad, bread, and potatoes or frozen veggies. I don't usually do a side dish recipe in addition to a big main dish.

For the meals we had more than once, I doubled or tripled it and had it ready next time. I also did this with pizza sauce, beans, salsa, etc. I banked *a lot* of baked goods in my freezer and found that it really came in handy on days that didn't go as planned.

That said, here's a peek at what's coming up for November...

Pizza (2)
Chicken Pizza
Date night (5)
Chicken Salsa Pasta
Birthday
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving leftovers
Fajitas w/ black bean avocado salsa & rice
Tacos and fiesta rice
Burgers & garlic fries (2)
Veggie lasagna
Chicken enchiladas
Spaghetti
Chili
Meatballs & mashed potatoes
Breakfast Burritos (2)
Frito Pie with leftover chili
Spinach & Tomato Fritatta W/green beans
Pancakes & eggs
Ziti
Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Beef Pot Pie
Taco Salad

Good Deals

Click HERE to get a $1/2 Hunts coupon. The small cans are .36 at my Wamart making these free with a small profit.

Click HERE to get a $1/1 Vlasic coupon. The small jars of relish are $1 at my Walmart.

Free pickles AND free tomato sauce!