A New Salad Dressing

And everyone who tried it liked it!  We tend to be divided over here with salad dressings.  I keep a couple of different ones made up and now we have a new one to add to the mix. 

I don't have a name for it yet, so tell me if you think of something good. 

Nameless Delicious Salad Dressing..... (that will NOT do.)

juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 C oil

4 T vinegar

2 T Braggs (or soy sauce)

2 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp each pepper & garlic powder

Shake it all up in a quart size mason jar.  And did you know that the lids from mayo jars fit on small mouth mason jars?  A plastic screw top lid is much nicer for salad dressings than the 2 part canning lids. 

This week I'm trying something new.  Salad for lunch everyday.  I never have enough leftovers anymore and planning lunch as well as dinner was becoming too much.  So we chop up the greens and set out lots of different toppings to make a big salad bar.  Everyone seemed to enjoy personalizing their own and making suggestions for different toppings to add.  It's easy b/c even the littlest kids can help with washing and chopping.  Adding tuna, boiled eggs, chickpeas, etc. make it pretty hardy with a loaf of bread. 

When Boys Get A Hold Of My Phone .....

A New Trick

Ignore his awful mohawk (he called it his half hair cut) and my annoying voice!

Philippians 4:5

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your gentleness be known to all."  Phil 4:4-5

This is the verse I've been thinking on the last couple of days.  And for good reason!  Instead of setting my thoughts on those things that are "true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise" (v. 8) I have been griping about dwelling on everything that rubs me the wrong way. 

Instead of being thankful for the opportunities I have to correct my kids and teach them the right way, I get discouraged b/c they don't already know it.  Instead of looking forward to another day to get to be together for school, I dread the work and wonder what other moms get to do all day.  Instead of loving on my sweet and faithful man, I pick on the way he does things.  And instead of rejoicing over the abundance of food in my kitchen, I moan over the work involved to feed so many ppl. 

My gentleness is certainly not known to all.  More like my abrasiveness.  The ESV reads "reasonableness" and I'm not that either. 

So today I'm praying for the Lord to give me His perspective, to open my eyes to see the good, to open my mouth in praise and encouragement, to help me to give thanks in all circumstances knowing that it is all working together for good. 

And I want to smile.  At my kids.  At my man.  At everyone I get to see today. 
It's a perfectly beautiful storm outside and wonderfully peaceful in my house.   Quiet and still.
We're going shoebox shopping...the kickoff of our Christmas traditions.
We're going to love on some friends at a funeral and take supper over later.
I get to buy my tall dark and handsome a tie. 
I hope to get to call my dad.

And I get to spend the day with the people I love the most.

Courageous

3 of our sweet kids gave us some date night money to go see Courageous tonight.  Wasn't that precious?  They do that now and then and it blesses my heart every time. 

FANTASTIC movie!  I cried through the whole thing and put the pretty kleenex that Ms. Donna gave me to good use.  And shared one with the lady beside me cause she was crying too. 

And know what?  I have a shirt that was in that movie!!  I know!!  I'm practically famous I'm thinking. 

It was in the scene where they were doing the ceremony outside and Jade is wearing my cupcake shirt! 
It's my ugly white ruffled shirt that we call the cupcake shirt b/c it  makes me feel like a floofy cupcake.  Hate it.  But her's was green.  I'm fairly positive that it's polyester.  And I'm extremely anti polyester!  Jeans and t-shirts over here thank you. 

So if you see the movie, watch for it ok? 

Anyway, it's my favorite of all their movies and I didn't want it to end.  Thank you sweet kids!  Your mommy is blessed. 

IBC Block Party

Oh just look at the fun!!  Certainly the best thing of my week seeing as how I had to miss Awana and all.

My kids had a blast!  All except Meg who had to miss b/c she was sick.  :-(

My family playing music in the gazebo.  Jes is in the back on the drums.  He loves playing drums but was worried  he'd be there the whole time and not get to do any of the games.   It got too dark to play around 7pm and he was set free to enjoy the rest of the party.  And since he's a kid that likes all things party related, he had a super fun time.

LB face painting.  This was supposed to be Meg's job but when she got sick LB had to take her place.  Even though it was her first time, you'd never know.   Spiders, rainbows, crosses, all sorts of cute faces walking around.  She was busy all night with a continuous line of kiddos. 

My girl Desiree.  Pretty pretty!  She reminds me of my own little Bird a few years down the road.

Precious!  Love my IBC friends!  Hotdogs, chips, and lemonade.  Delish!

Funny picture?  My kids asked where they were supposed to keep their treat bags when they jumped on the bounce around.  I told them to set them flat on the ground and put their shoes on top of it.  I didn't think about it again until I went to check on them and this is what I saw.  So I had to take a picture to show their daddy how they followed directions so well.  

My guys Hayden and MJ.  Lookin good fellas! 

T'was a great night!

Blah.....

It's too bad every day can't be the weekend.  Our work weeks are far too crowded.  And I can't figure it out exactly.   School takes forever.  We don't do a lot of extras.  Kitchen work is ridiculous....seriously.  And I feel like Honey and I barely see each other until Sunday night.  Then it starts over again. 

I've tried getting up earlier.  I've tweaked our schedule.  And I'm tired of thinking about it. 

I'm nursing a cold...which I haven't had in a LOOOONG time.  Like what's up with my immune system this year????  I even had to miss Awana over it.  Which oughta tell you something.  I figured I'd hafta be practically dead before I missed that, but when it came down to it I was afraid of getting my guys sick.  So I stayed home.  And pouted.  But I got a very good report that they were angels. 

Maybe that's why I'm in such a crummy mood.  Plus my house is a mess.  That never helps. 

Well enough of that......how 'bout some randomness?

~Did you know that I made it through the whole summer without one. single. snowcone?  I know.
And even more surprising is the fact that they were able to stay in business. 

~Nov 1 I get to make lunch for the ladies at IBC.  And I'm just a teeny bit excited and thinking over what I'll do.  Pinterest is wonderful.

~When we were first married, Honey and I bought 2 4-drawer dressers.  Plain little wooden ones.  And over the last 23 years they have been painted every color.  Except red I think.  This week I moved them from the girls' room to the boys' room and painted them again.  Purple Blue Blurple.  Not exactly the color I thought it'd be but good enough. 

~I'm also cleaning out every nook and cranny in that room.  Today I took the curtains down and washed them.  Cleaned the windows.  And worked on clothes.  Now that I think about it....that's what the mood is about! 

~Tomorrow is the block party at IBC!!  Super funness I'm guessing and the perfect way to kick off the WEEKEND!!

New Jammies!

Aren't they adorable? 

It's so nice to see Nate in footy jammies.  When he was a baby it was a nightmare trying to make him wear them.  They are so warm and cuddly and he'd have nothing to do with them.   In fact, if he did make it to bed with them, he'd wake us up in the middle of the night crying to take them off. 

He came in my room early yesterday morning all decked out in his cuteness.  Right away I called him up so I could snuggle on all his yummy self.   It's even better than Jes has them too and they match. 

Love me some sweetie boys!

Thank you Amy!!

Calico Salad

I heart this bean salad. 

And I've tried a lot.  A LOT.  I've tried different beans.  Different dressings.  And this one is my all time fave.

When this is in the fridge I eat it all day.  And I've even been known to have it for breakfast! 

If you want to make it super fast just open some cans, use jarred jalepenos and leave out the onion. 

Calico Salad

2 C. each kidney, chick peas, and green beans

1 jalepeno seeded and chopped fine

1/4 red onion chopped fine

Mix all together.  And make the dressing....

8 oz olive oil

juice of one lemon + enough apple cider vinegar to make 4 oz.

1 garlic clove minced

1 squirt of dijon mustard

1 tsp each salt, pepper, italian seasoning.

Shake in a jar and pour over beans.  Refrigerate and TRY to wait patiently. 

Went Fishin'

Honey had the day off and invited ME to go fishing!  Not a son, not his dad, but ME.  So how could I refuse?  It's been a looooooong time since we spent the whole day alone together.  I spent all week looking forward to it.  And last night I spent some time packing our snacks while he and CT went to Academy for some last minute "essentials". 

We got up early.  WHY???  I don't know.  I told him we should let the fish sleep.  But he didn't see it my way. 

We started hooking the boat to the van but it wasn't working.  The metal piece didn't fit.  I had to hold the flash light....remember it was early.  And Honey hammered on it and cussed at it (not really, but I know he wanted to.)  Finally there was nothing to do but take the piece to Walmart and get another one. 

Finally on the road but not going where we originally intended b/c of the delay.   We went to a little lake on Chaffee that was just right.   Putting the boat into the water was a huge hassle and we broke a piece off the trailer. 

The water was beautiful but the place was not very hospitable.  Hard to find with no signs and me reading the map.  :-)  It was hard getting the boat in partly b/c the boat-putter-in place was all rocky and messed up.  There were no trash cans.  And the port-a potty was not meant for girls. 

But once on the water, floating in the boat, all was nice.  I felt like a queen in my brand new lawn chair with the fancy umbrella attachment and the potty that Honey rigged up for me.  For a lot of the day we were the only ones there. 

Did I mention I'm not really a fisher person?   I caught a fish though!  Kinda by accident, but still. 
So what did I do? 
~I sat.
~Talked.
~Ate most the food I brought for both of us.
~Read my book aloud to Honey.
~Pushed the button to put water into the live well.
~Ducked when he casted.... let's just say they didn't all end up in the water the first time.
~Untangled his back lashes.
~And cheered him on when he reeled another one in. 

Then it was time to go.  

 I was stationed at the boat while Honey got the van.  And GASP!!  Right before my eyes my lawn chair and umbrella blew off the boat and into the water!!  My new one!  And where's my man???  Who knows.
There was nothing to do but go after it.  In the water. In my socks.  And jeans.

It also knocked my book bag into the floor.  Which also held his wallet and both our phones.  Did I mention that the boat was holding quite a bit of water (for no reason) AND it was a borrowed book??

Finally he brings the van around and has the nerve to ask, "Why are you wet?"  
Oh laugh it up Honey.

As hard as it was to get the boat into the water, it was nothing compared to loading it up. The rope broke. The wind was blowing. And we couldn't back the trailer into the same place we put in.

Then it was MY turn to be in the van and HIS turn to be in the water.  But it didn't matter.  Too much wind, too hard.  I had to drive to the other side of the lake while he met me with the boat.  That place was easier but still not great.  I finally retrieved my book bag which was all wet....but dry inside b/c it was a canvas water proof one.   Phones and books were saved!

Finally we were back on the road.  Sigh of relief!  Until he handed me the map.  Oh please. 

We made it home and then had to back the boat back into the driveway.  I'm guessing marital counseling offices are full of couples backing boats in together.  

Anybody need a boat?

Another Great Night At Awana

And I forgot to take any pix.  I haven't taken pix of them in a long time, huh?  That's ok you know what they look like. 

Besides it was super busy with the Spears being gone AND it was pretty much a full house.  

We started the night with a couple more songs than usual w/Damian shaking the egg.  Then Honey was going to pick someone else and he said "Raise your hand if your name starts with M".  A couple of hands went up.  "Keep your hand raised if your 2nd letter is J". 

And MJ huffed and put his hand down!  M.....J.....he didn't get it.  But then he was thrilled when he finally caught on.  He shook the egg.  Upside down. 

In my 2nd grade class we talked about Vincent's verse..."Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right."   And how are you known when someone says your name? 

Emily passed off her start zone.  (She's so quiet and sweet.) 
And Hayden practiced all of Psalm 23 while doing jumping jacks. 
Vincent decided to run his mouth when it wasn't his turn but a sideways look sent him to the floor for push ups.  It's my usual consequence for talking.  But it was cute that he did it without me telling him! 

Third Grade ...6 boys and....A GIRL!!  Yup, you read it right.  Shakira graced the room that has only seen boys for about a year now.   So we had a talk to remind the boys of how to act when we have a girl.  The girl always goes first.  And she is always the line leader.  Or she would be, if we could ever form a decent line.  I hafta say they were super good to her.  And I think she liked it.  She passed off John 3:16 and I really hope she comes back! 

We prayed for sick grandpas and better grades.  It's the first time that I can remember that we didn't pray for someone's dog or hamster.   In both classes we prayed about bullies for the first time.  I don't know if that's the new buzz word in elementary school or if that's really an issue. 

Dinner was corn dogs and carrots and Ms. Joy told me not to give them raisins anymore b/c they were spilling them all over the floor.  Oh well.  I'm out anyway. 

It was another good night. 

Isaiah 26:3-4

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, b/c he trusts in you.  Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. "  Isaiah 26:3-4

This is the verse I've been thinking on today and trying to keep my mind stayed on the Lord.  Trying to praise Him for who He is and what He's done....
~ He created me for His glory.

~He redeemed my life from the pit.

~He will never leave me nor forsake me.

~There is none His equal.

~He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

~The Lord is near to all who call on Him in truth. 

My neighbor's brother is dying.  I don't know him.  I'm pretty sure he doesn't know the Lord.  I've been praying for him since yesterday.  And I pray that he will have the perfect peace that only comes from Jesus.

This Week...

I love this picture!  Homeschooling at its finest.  Lane is teaching the littles history this year and there she is in her "class room" with all her interested pupils.   Sweet! 

~Whenever anyone asks her about her history lessons she always answers, "I think I like it more than they do!"  Teaching is something that she's very good at.  3 times a week she tutors a boy at Union and I've enjoyed watching her learn different techniques to help him learn.  She has also been asked to substitute at Union next week for 3 days.  Exciting!  I've been praying for her and asking the Lord to give us opportunities and show us the way He has for her.  Maybe this is an open door. 

~My highlight of this week was the ladies' missions meeting at IBC.  Those ladies are so much fun!  Lane and I went and next month we'll take LB.  Of course tonight is AWANA!!  So that'll probably be my new highlight. 

~Do you have Netflix?  I have 3 great food documentaries (if you're into such things).  Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, Food Matters, Fork Over Knives.  Watch them in that order.  I'm even using them for part of my kids' science this year.   If you struggle with any type of health issues, you'll want to check it out.  So interesting!

~Today my kids discovered the goodness of veggie sandwiches.  Lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, pickles, and olives were what was on hand.  Now that I know they like it, I'll be sure to have some ready made stuff in the fridge.  I wish avocados weren't so expensive right now.  I actually ran out of bread b/c they kept coming back for more. 

~How'd you do with the September challenge?  I did ok.  Actually, I'm not even sure I can count it.  We still had some company and my schedule wasn't normal.  And then on some of the normal days I changed things around a bit and walked in the mornings.  My kids were/are doing much better at starting the day lately.  Maybe I'll hafta visit that challenge again some month.  :-)

Anyway, I'm doing a new one for October.  One look at my Discover bill and I noticed that I spent WAAAY too much time in Walmart grocery shopping.  Like every other day!   Really?  Cause it didn't seem like I got out that much.  But maybe I sent Eldest.  Or Honey.  I don't know.  Anyhow, my October challenge is to grocery shop only once a week and NO more.   So far, 5 days into October, I've been once and we're very well grocery wise.  I also have a list on my phone of anything I can think of for the next time I go.  Menu planning will be even more important b/c I think preparation is the key. 

How 'bout you?  Do you have an October challenge? 

~Graduation meetings have started.  Can't believe I'll have another graduate in the spring! 

~TaeKwonDo campout this weekend!  Doesn't that sound like fun?  We won't stay overnight but will join in on the daytime fun.   I bet there'll be lots of pix. 

A New Member?

One night there was lots of this...

And this...

The next morning I woke up to this guy. 

Looks like the family band is expanding! 

LOVE this boy and his red blankey!

Some Oswald Chambers This Week

"God does not ask us to do the things that are easy to us naturally; He only asks us to do the things we are perfectly fitted to do by His grace." Oswald Chambers

~Awana is a perfect example of this! It something I never dreamed I'd be doing! "not my thing" kinda sums it up. How glad I am that God had something different in mind.

I'm learning that everything does not need to be comfortable for it to be right. And I'm trying to keep it in mind when my kids are not so happy with my decisions for them.

~So often I get excited about a thing and ask God to bless it instead of asking God where He wants me to go.

And then there are the times I've refused to go, justifying it by saying "that's just not me".  The fact is, I don't want to be just me.  I want to be conformed to the likeness of Christ..... and sometimes that's not so comfortable. 

 "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."  2 Cor 3:18

AWANA Last Night!

It was a terrific night last night.  This year I have Vincent in my 2nd grade class.  He didn't have a way to iron/sew on his patches to his vest last week so I took it home with me.  LB sewed them on for him and he was SOOOO thankful.   He was just gushing his thanks to her at dinner.  It was sweet. 

I've noticed a lot of growth in him this year.  Both he and Cole seemed to have matured quite a bit over the summer.   And when I had the opportunity to tell them how to be saved, he looked into my eyes with full attention.  I don't think I would've gotten that last year. 

Desiree is precious!!  She is just genuinely happy to be there.  When I asked her what I could pray for, she said to pray that she'll get to come back next week!  I got to meet her mom at dinner and I asked her if she needed help with her patches b/c they don't have an iron.  She told me that it might be hard to get the vest away from Desiree b/c she loves it so much!  

 

Look at these hard workers!  MJ finished his whole start zone and then helped Caleb to finish his.  Know what that means?  Next week they'll all have their shirts and books!!  Way to go boys!

Speaking of shirts.  How handsome is BigBoy in his new T&T duds?  I'm super proud of this guy. 

At the end of their start zones it says to tell what it means to trust Christ.  I felt like they could probably do this pretty well since we talked about it so much last year.   When I had Caleb tell me, we hit a bit of a snag.

He said you have a "pretty good chance" of going to heaven if you trust the work of Christ.   While it's cute, it's wrong.  So I had the great opportunity of clearing that up for him.  I'm glad they asked that question.  And we'll certainly talk about it more (as a class) next week.

Dinner was chicken nuggets, chips, and carrots.   Vincent came up to me at dinner and said his face was itching.  Well, I blew him off and told him I thought he'd be fine and it was almost time to go home anyway. 

Getting no help from me, he went to Lane who was far more sensitive to him.   She took him and washed his face all over.  Later she told me she thought his face was breaking out with something. (???)  

I hate that I was so insensitive and blew him off like that.  I certainly missed a blessing to serve him.  I'm really glad Lane was there and handled it better than I did.  

 

Happy Birthday LB!!

Yay!  Another birthday!

And this kicks off the next b-day season around here.

3 more to go before Thanksgiving, though the fall b-days are not as close together as the spring.

The excitement starts the night before with decorating after the b-day girl goes to bed.

Everybody gets in on the action.

And when morning comes its all smiles and Happy Birthday and excitement.  So sweet.

Breakfast was bread and gravy and waffles and juice.

We spent the morning at the park playing and soaking up the beautiful day.

LB's birthday always has the nicest weather!

While we were gone, I had Eldest make LB's bed with the new bedding we bought her.

SURPRISE!

Lunch at Olive Garden. 

(and btw, they are very accomodating to vegans)

TKD! 

Then dinner at home with burritos.   A big family fave.

PRESENTS!!

Um. Yeah.  We give our kids light bulbs for their b-days.  Doesn't everybody?

no?

B-day brownies which is what she almost always picks.

2+3+4+5=14.  Get it?

Good lookin party folks.

And the birthday girl!  Doing her favorite thing. 

Curled up in her bed with her new bedding, lamp, and book.

Happy Birthday Sweetie Pie!

We love you so much!

Fixed!

The washing machine was rebelling. 

The clothes were too wet and sometimes there was standing water in the bottom.

My friend Jodie told me it was the pump.  (How does she know these things??)

She told it was easy to clean out and even sent me a youtube video. 

But still I didn't know. 

Cause we're not generally the kind of ppl that just tackle such a job.

We're more like...We'll never figure that out. We better call a guy.

And Honey had a LOT on his plate.  So I thought it would be nice if I could figure this one out myself.  And then I reasoned, that if we really messed it up we'd call a guy like we were planning on anyway.  Nothing to lose, right?

So I called my son and told him that I thought we he could do it.  He watched a couple of youtubes and then just tore into it like he's done it a million times!  Fearlessly. 

And it works!!!  He did it!  

And we were all impressed.

(Did you notice his little apprentice looking over his shoulder?)

UPDATE:  It's back to it's old ways. :-(
Now what??  Jodie?  Anybody?

The Morning After

He thought the stitches were cool but not the swelling.
He cried when he saw himself this morning!

Battle Scar

I'm making breakfast this morning listening to the early risers wrestle in the living room.  Then I hear it. 

Crying that lasts a little longer than it should from someone like Jes.   

Seconds later he was in the kitchen and (oh God NOOO!!)  he's holding his eye and there's blood everywhere!  You know how the head bleeds.  I was scared to see what was under his hand. 

But when I moved it I was relieved to find that it was a little gash in his eyelid.  (Thank you Jesus!) The stupid dog stepped on his face. 

Not too bad once it was cleaned up but would be hard to butterfly w/o taping his eye closed.   Besides his momma didn't want much of a scar on that handsome face.   So I called Honey and told him I was bringing Jes up to his office so we could look at it together.  We took him up to one of the nurses he works with and she thought it would need a couple of stitches. 

This took the entire morning.  We waited.  And played cards.  And waited.  And took pictures of ourselves.  And waited.  And played more cards.  And waited. And he texted his sister. And waited some more. 

A loooooong time later....

Jes was quite thrilled with the whole thing.  I mean how cool are stitches to an 8yo boy! The only disappointment was that they didn't have any good colors.  Only black.  

 He got 2 stitches to show off to G'ma and Aunt Mich and Mason, and all his siblings, and his soccer team. 

Honey and I took him to lunch since we had him all to ourselves. 

This goes down as one of his favorite days ever!