Andrew Peterson - "Behold The Lamb of God" (Official Lyric Video)

On Saturday evening, Darryl and I were enjoying an relaxing evening in the living room listening to Alexa play all songs by Andrew Peterson.  We both so enjoyed every single song that played so I thought I'd share one for you to enjoy as well.  I don't think Andrew Peterson has written a "bad" song so I did a random pick and this is it!  Enjoy! 

2021 Week in Photos #17

 Welcome to our week! 

On Saturday we went to my mom's for dinner and a game.  We enjoy playing Five Crowns many weeks when we have the time :-) 

We had fun and ate out of the ice cream carton HA! 

On Sunday, Josh attended his first youth meeting (how did he get old enough to do that??)  It was a parent meeting/welcome to the upcoming 7th graders activity so Josh and I went to that while Nate and Darryl hung out too! 

Tuesday was my mom's birthday and she got to celebrate with us!  She wanted Ribeye Steaks, crash potatoes and cole slaw with strawberry shortcake for dessert . .. so that is what she got! 

Weekly Menu - The one where summer unofficially begins

 Memorial Day tends to sneak up on me some years and this year is one of those years!  I'm looking forward to the nice long weekend . .. the unofficial kick-off to summer . .. with some plans to get a few things done and hopefully get some fun family time in too.  Our menu this week will have some of the same items that were on last weeks because I ended up making some changes due to leftovers and, well, getting take out one night that wasn't planned after mowing the lawn on the most humid night of the week!  (I was DONE and didn't want to cook dinner!) 

Friday - Our weekly take out night (well, it's supposed to be the once a week take out night!! Sometimes we accidently eat out twice HA!) 

Saturday - Shrimp Quesadillas.  I'll also have stuff to make both chicken and cheese in case my new recipe from Pioneer Woman doesn't taste as good as it sounds! Chili's Copycat Skillet Queso (YUM!)

Sunday - It's usually pizza night - I'm not sure what we will do yet as our top pizza lover (Josh) has a youth activity on Sunday night.  So, will we get pizza?  Do Leftovers?  Get $5.00 taco bell boxes?  I'm not sure and we probably won't decide until Sunday night! 

Monday - Memorial Day!  My mom is cooking for Memorial Day.  Yeah!  I like to do brunch on holidays since we usually have our main meal mid-to-late afternoon instead of at normal dinner time.  Brunch will be Sausage Balls, Fruit and Cream Cheese Breakfast Pastry, Quiche Lorraine Bites, bacon cream cheese roll-ups, and a cheese ball and crackers.  

Tuesday - Chicken Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and gravy and corn

Wednesday - Pork Loin, baked potatoes, broccoli and crescents

Thursday - Mexican Street Tacos, Salad, and Chips and Salsa 

Pensacola Beach Vacation Day 4

 Our fourth day of vacation was . .. my birthday!!! :-)  Yes, we planned our vacation over my birthday and, if I'm being honest, I was super excited that it worked out that way!  What a perfect birthday gift to be on vacation! 

We started our day heading back to Fort Pickin's to fully explore the entire fort.  It was such a beautiful day!  Darryl and Nate are full explorers where Josh and I are are walk-through people so it worked out perfectly. 

The fort is really amazing.  What is more amazing is that you can just wonder and explore on your own and walk down the same halls and into the same rooms that so many people did before throughout history.  

One of the things I was excited to do on my birthday was see the Blue Angels and they did not disappoint!  They practice on Tuesdays and the best view is right in Fort Picken's!  They were right above our heads and it was just amazing to see AND hear them!  Amazing!! 

Once we had our fill of exploring (and we were SUPER hot) we went back to the condo to relax for a bit.  The consensus was - it was time for my gifts and who was I to say no HA!  

Before we left on vacation, Darryl, Josh and Nate took some time to go shopping and to pick out birthday stuff to bring with us.  They brought balloons and had some fun making it look festive. (While I enjoyed sitting outside on the balcony - my favorite place!) 

It was my dinner choice and . . .well . .it did not go well HA!  It became a joke that anytime I picked dinner, it was not good!!  My first choice was a pizza place on the boardwalk but when we got there we discovered that it was really more of a take out place with a few tables outside . .. and an hour wait for pizza.  So, we went to choice too which was Water Pig - a BBQ place right on the beach.  First, they sat us at a picnic table in the sand on the beach which was so low to the ground, Darryl couldn't even get his legs under the table so we moved to the outdoor deck . .. and the tables and chairs (a high top) were so uncomfortable that I ended up standing the whole time!  The food . . .it was just not good.  Talk about disappointing!!  Oh well, not everything can be a winner, right??  

Once we finished dinner, we headed to Publix so the boys could pick out a cake for my birthday (and I could pick up the last food items we would need to get through the week).  

Back at the condo we enjoyed some delicious chocolate cake for my birthday!

Really, it was a perfect day.  I didn't even mind our not so great dinner choices because it was still an adventure.  

Weekly Worship - Hannah Kerr - Same God

On Friday night, we were all kind of tired and done from a long, fun day and were all on our devices while listening to our Christian Radio Station - WCSG when this song came on and I really like it so I thought I'd share it.  :-) 

2021 Week in Photos #16

 Welcome to another week :-)  

Last weekend was a pretty quiet weekend.  I think we were all suffering from missing being on vacation so we didn't do much.  

Monday-Thursday was a total school focus.  We pushed hard to get tons done and Josh and Nate are SUPER self motivated to finish so I didn't have much time to do anything else. 

Friday - It's Friday School Day! 

My mom helped in the Board Games class.  She and Josh plus two other students played some Uno. 

Nate played a game with friends. 

We went to the park for a picnic with lots of our Friday School friends but this is the only photo I got - Nate talking to one of the moms who is one of his teachers this semester.  

We ended our day with Nate's TKD class.  This kid is wiped out by the end of Fridays right now but he never gives up! 

Weekly Menu

 This weeks menu has one of THEE most important dates of the entire year . .. . what is that, you ask?  Well, my mother's birthday, of course! HA!  Yep!  That's right!  My mom's birthday is this coming week and that is always exciting because birthdays are well earned! 

Here's our plan for the coming week:

Friday - Our Take out night!  

Saturday - Our night at my mom's :-)  She just LOVES cooking for us LOL 

Sunday - Quesadillas - a variety.  Chicken, Shrimp, and Cheese :-)  

Monday -  Street Tacos - we had these in Florida - we bought kits from Publix Grocery store and they were amazing!  Hoping to make them even better at home! 

Tuesday - My mom's birthday!  Her requests are:  Ribeye Steak, Crash Potatoes, Cole Slaw and Strawberries and Ice Cream for Dessert!

Wednesday - Shrimp Alfredo and French Bread

Thursday - Spaghetti and garlic bread 

Pensacola Beach Vacation Day 3

 Monday was our first full day in Pensacola and we woke up to a beautiful view! Our condo was 11 stories up and we have just the perfect place to enjoy the sun and the ocean. 

Our balcony - I think I spent most of my time at the condo sitting outside.  I read alot and just enjoyed relaxing.  

Our plan for our first day was to relax and that is what we did!  I made amazing street taco's (from Publix) for lunch and then we headed to check out the pool.  Our condo sat right between the Gulf of Mexico and Pensacola Bay on a little strip of land.  From our balcony we enjoyed the Gulf and from the pool, we enjoyed the Bay. 

The pool was COLD HA!  I mean it was Lake Michigan cold LOL  We did all get it but it took a lot of courage to do so :-)  

Josh and Nate both tried out the hammocks.  Nate was not a fan but Josh hung out in his hammock for a bit and relaxed. 

Part of our "relaxation" on the first day was to do a little exploring.  We took off for a drive into the Gulf Shores National Seashore and were just blown away by the beauty.  We also saw quite a bit of damage left over from hurricane Sally.  Thankfully the things we wanted to do/see were open.  At the very end of the road/island sits an old civil war fort and it was amazing.  We hadn't planned to explore it until Tuesday but we did a little looking around on Monday. 

Nate loved the fort! 

It was just humbling to think about the men who served at this fort from as far back as the civil war through the world wars to protect our country from attack.  

As we headed back the other direction we pulled off at one of the many beach areas and enjoyed some time at the ocean. 

It was a little chilly (but we are used to Lake Michigan, right?) and the waves were amazing.  My kids were a little concerned about the sea creatures - especially jelly fish - but we saw nothing exciting HA!  The beaches are just amazing.  The sand is white and cool (we are used to tan and HOT) and it feels like flour.  We also noticed it doesn't stick to your skin like the Michigan sand does which was great for clean up! 

Once back at our condo we all cleaned up and headed out to dinner.  Our resturant of choice was called Red Fish Blue Fish.  It sat right on the beach so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the wonderful summer air!  Our dinners were so good - lots of shrimp and fish!  

We had some wonderful sunsets every night too!

After dinner, we went gift shopping before we finally headed back to the condo for the night.  

We had a glorious first day in Florida.  I think it met all of our expectations and then some!  The weather was perfect and we even got to see dolphins swimming by the condo while sitting on the balcony!  

Strawberry Lemon Parfaits

 

This year for Mother's Day I wanted to make something light and summer inspired for our dessert.  Nothing meets those two qualifications more than lemon and strawberries! 

I found a great recipe over at Pretty.Simple.Sweet and it did not disappoint.  Now, her recipe includes the recipe for making a homemade lemon curd which I did not make.  

What did I do?  I bought a butter pound cake in the freezer section of the store and cubed it up.  I used canned lemon pudding instead of making lemon curd.  (Lemon curd is wonderful but it also needs time, which I didn't have HA!).  I DID make homemade whipped cream!!  

Just layer the cake, lemon pudding, whipped cream, and strawberries in as many layers as your glass dish/cup/glass will hold.  It was SOOOOO good!  

This could also be made as a full size parfait in a glass bowl to take to a summer picnic or pot luck. 

Weekly Worship - Good God Almighty (Lyrics) - Crowder

This is a song that makes me stand up and dance (almost  - I am Baptist after all :-) ) every time I hear it!  Enjoy! 

2021 Week in Photos #15

 Welcome to a normal week :-) 

Saturday - My three men took me to the beach for Mother's Day.  It's become a little bit of a tradition.  Some years it's so cold we can't even get out of the car, some years it's so warm that everyone puts their feet in the water.  This year was about in the middle.  We started out with our favorite pizza from Bernie O's before heading to our favorite beach! 

I love the waves on the sand.  It's so beautiful! 

We ended our night with a visit to our sweet little ice cream shop, Ruth Anne's.  It was super yummy and Dash even got a treat! 

Sunday - We celebrated Mother's Day with my mom.  Darryl cooked on the grill for the first time this season.  

Me and my boys - they are both catching me on height.  Despite what the photo shows - Josh still has about an inch or two until he passes me! 

I made this yummy dessert for Mother's Day lunch - I'll share the recipe soon (and it is SUPER easy!) 

Monday -Thursday . .. .basically just school.  We are about 3 weeks out form finishing and would like to finish in two but it will be tough!  

Friday - Today we had Co-Op and Nate had TKD. 

It was a fun week and we accomplished a lot but I will be honest, Josh, Nate and Mom are ALL looking forward to being done with the school year!