Matthew West - Broken Things (Lyric Video)

Matthew West is such a great singer and song writer.  I always enjoy his music. 

Our Week at a Glance

 We kind of had a quiet week . .. especially with Nate gone at camp!  Nate brings a lot of joy, life, and noise to our house so when he is gone, it is quiet.  Even the dog was out of sorts without his "person" around!  

Darryl took off on a day trip with his dad on Saturday so my guys and I had a quiet day at home.  Sunday was church and getting Nate packed for camp!.  Monday I took Nate to camp, ran errands and then came home and enjoyed a quiet afternoon with the windows open on a beautiful afternoon!  The rest of the week was just "normal".  

Here's a look at some photos from Nate's week at camp! 

Checking in!  We stopped to pick out Nate's free t-shirt.  

This photo makes me laugh - I shared this on Facebook.  See the arm on the right hand side?  That's Nate.  I mentioned on Facebook how glad I am that the camp shares photos and that I scour them for a glimpse of Nate . .. when I saw this photo I said, "Hey!  I know that arm" LOL 

Carpet ball - Nate has the Blue and Green towel - his two friends are next to him.  

Nate loves the water!  (He is the kid with the white tank top swim shirt).  

This was Nate on Monday morning - getting ready to load up and head out! 

Nate's second cousin, Christa, is working at camp.  Nate and Christa have similarities and anytime they are together (which is not often) they just click.  It's fun to see!

Nate and his two friends he went to camp with - Monty and Coleman.  Such a great trio of friends! 

Weekly Menu

 We are all back together again!  It's always nice to have everyone back home :-)  This week I'm working on cleaning out the freezer, fridge, and cupboards. 

Friday - Darryl and I are going out for dinner since Nate is at camp and Josh is at a church overnighter! 

Saturday - Our church has a hotdog roast so we are going there for dinner tonight

Sunday - Pork chops on the grill, Acorn Squash, Green Beans

Monday - Hamburger Stroganoff and peas

Tuesday- Pulled Chicken BBQ, Mac and Cheese, and Corn 

Wednesday - Amish baked chicken, noodles and mixed veggie

Thursday - Ham and Cheese Quiche, Hash browns, and Toast. 

What We are Eating - Shrimp Fajita Bowls

 These Shrimp Fajita Bowls were so yummy!  One, we love shrimp and two, we love Mexican food. This was a nice change from tacos and tortilla based dishes.  It was fresh and tasty.  

This recipe can be found over at SkinnyTaste. 

Where has Summer Gone?

 Back in May I wrote an amazing plan for my summer.  Like, amazing.  And then somewhere between the last week of May and the first week of June things kind of changed.  I didn't even touch my to do list until the middle of July.  Now, here it is the beginning of August and I know it will go quickly.  Blah!  I'm really not ready to think about school yet or all the fall things like music lessons and youth groups.  I still want to check things off of my list and prepare for another great school year that would start in three months, not in one month!  

Sometimes life hands us unexpected things and that is one thing that happened this summer.  Our Homeschool Co-op went a different direction so several friends and I started a new Co-Op.  That was hard.  It was hard to walk away from something we had known and loved for so long.  It was scary.  Scary to let "our" members know that our leadership team felt we could no longer support the old group.  Scary to start our own group.  It was time consuming.  Instead of checking things off of my list, I was busy checking things off the list of starting a new group!  I spent hours upon hours prepping and reading and planning.  Whew!  We are thankful that our quick, thoughtful, hard work is paying off though and we are excited for the fall.  It's still work to create something from nothing but we have great support to do so and are feeling ready for another semester. 

Sometimes scheduling doesn't go as planned.  Our June started with a tough push to finish all things related to school.  The last two weeks of school were hard and full of a lot of work.  We checked off boxes, finished projects, and still worked hard on every lesson as both of my guys were working towards straight A's again this semester.  Then we had a week off - our friends weren't here, no school, no plans.  We all kind of needed to recover.  That was followed by a week of my guys at camp.  Then, finally, a week with all of us here and that week is always hard - our friends are kind of stretching to see how far they can push; my guys are not loving the fact that now they have "no electronics" time twice a day.  Once we made it through that first week things fell into a pattern.  That's where we are now except, our friends have been on vacation and then Nate will be gone to camp.  There has not been much routine to our summer that's for sure. 

So where is this post going?  Very simple, Time is fleeting.  We all know time goes more quickly as we get older (or at least it seems to do so) but I've really felt it this summer.  That makes me stop and ask myself -- What am I doing to make a difference.  A difference in my kids lives, my husbands life?  What my friends and other family?  Don't let the passing of time steal the moments where you can show kindness, joy, or lend a listening ear.  Why?  Because those are the moments that last forever. 

Weekly Worship - Steven Curtis Chapman - Don't Lose Heart

Two weeks in a row!  Another new release from Steven Curtis Chapman's latest album.  Enjoy! 

Our Week at a Glance

 We had a pretty busy weekend followed by a week full of "things".  

Our weekend started with the Free Fair Parade!  Joshua and Nate got to participate by walking with the float for the Heart Beat Music Studio where Joshua takes drum lessons.  I think they had a lot of fun :-) 

Sunday:

Fair Day!  We always attend the fair one day and this year it was determined by the fact that Joshua was scheduled to play drums on Sunday Afternoon.  The school where he takes his lessons was providing the music Sunday afternoon and he was the one drummer chosen to play.  It was pretty cool! 

Of course, after the performance, it was time for rides!  This is one of Nate's favorite rides!  It goes super fast and he has a blast!  

Another favorite ride is the Airplane.  Both guys enjoy this one!  

This is an annual tradition - the photo before the Ferris Wheel ride :-)  The three of them go on it every single year at the fair :-) 

They are in the pink car :-) 

Another favorite "ride" are the Bumper Cars.  They both love them and it is fun to watch them smash into each other!  This was taken while in line - Josh hiding his face HA! 

I think this is Nate's favorite ride ever and it was finally working this year!  (The last two years it was not working the day we were at the fair).  He is in the very back seat and it goes SUPER high!.  He rode it twice back to back and I think could have ridden it more! 

The animals are a great part of the fair - but we never spend much time because we save it until the end and we are all so tired!  My mom made a friend though!  

On Monday I had to run some errands.  I treated myself to a Biggby drink thanks to my Mother's Day gift from Nate - a gift card!  It was super yummy on a very hot day! 

On Tuesday, Nate and I headed to Grand Rapids for his twice yearly visit with his pulmonologist. Part of the fun is walking across the bridge that connects his doctor's office with the Children's Hospital.  It has an amazing view of downtown.  (And his lungs/asthma are doing well!) 

On Wednesday I treated my guys to Taco Bell.  Our friends are here this week so it was nice to be able to do something special with just us.  A few years ago, Joshua and Nate challenged my brother, Kelly, to a hot sauce challenge.  They brought him all the levels of hot sauce from Taco Bell which he promptly ate like they were candy HA!  Well, they tried the "Fire Sauce" again today and it did not end well LOL  

 We have a big project going on here this week!  Nate is moving into his own room.  We started on Monday with moving stuff out of his room, then did some big furniture moves on Tuesday before finally moving his bed in on Wednesday.  He spent a lot of time the rest of the week organizing and cleaning things out.  To say he's excited to have his own room is an understatement!  Joshua is also enjoying his own space (but no pictures yet as we have work to do in there !) 

The final room!  Nate just loves his space so much! 

One last photo!  I saw this while out and about earlier this week and had to snap a photo.  I sing this to Josh almost every morning :-)  It is "our" song. 

Weekly Menu

 This coming week is a first - one of my guys is heading off to summer camp for the week!  Both Joshua and Nate have gone to a weekend winter retreat but this time one will be gone for the entire week!  I'm excited for Nate because camp is great but it will not be the same around here without him!  It doesn't impact meal planning much though :-)  We still have to eat!

Friday - Roast, Noodles and Green Beans

Saturday - Darryl will be with his dad today but my guys and I are still heading to my mom's for dinner

Sunday - Continuing with our grilling theme - Chicken on the grill, french fries and salad

Monday - Chicken Alfredo and garlic bread

Tuesday - Tacos, Chips and Salsa

Wednesday - Pork Chops, Scalloped Potatoes and Salad

Thursday - We will treat Josh to Domino's tonight.  :-) 

What we are Eating - Triple Berry Crisp

 

I'm always on the look out for easy but delicious dessert recipes.  This one took me back to the days of the pandemic when I would make fresh apple crisp every Friday.  I always did our shopping on Friday mornings.  Then, I would come home, unload and put everything away.  Then, I would put together the crisp to have after dinner and throughout the weekend. 

Well, this Triple Berry Crisp from Skinnytaste did not disappoint!  It was the perfect blend of fruits (and the blueberries popped in your mouth!) and crunchy topping.  I will admit that I doubled the sugar because I knew it would be super sour if I didn't.  It still had a bit of a "bite" to it but I love that sourness.  I served it with whipped cream (you know - the kind in the can!) but it would be amazing with vanilla ice cream. 

You can find the recipe HERE 

An Attitude of Gratitude

One of the groups I'm part of on Facebook is an accountability group with some Christian Ladies.  The group formed about 7-8 years ago and it has been a great group of friends.  I only know one in real life - the rest I've met through the group and we have all walked different roads together.  One of the ladies recently shared this and it is spot on so I thought I'd share it here as well.  It is a great reminder - Gratitude is really a mind-changer; a life changer; an attitude changer! 

 "Change my attitude, with GRATITUDE! The Lord has been dealing with me on the subject of being grateful/ thankful.

Philippians 4:6-8 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with THANKSGIVING, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things."

We have the power through the word, the name the blood and our testimony to change our surroundings, relationships and even world situations by declaring the promises of God. Who wants to join me in a daily challenge of declaring the word over our lives and seeing the hand of God move?

What scripture(s) do you use to declare over yourself, family or others?"

I love those verses! What a list of things to meditate on! Do you realize that if we spent more time (or all of our time) meditating on that list of GOOD things we wouldn't have time to grumble and complain? Or that we can lay all of those requests; desires; hurts; questions at the feet of God and he will give us peace through him? Wow. What a great set of truths to dwell on this week.

Weekly Worship - Steven Curtis Chapman - "Still" (Official Audio)

This is one of Steven Curtis Chapman's newest songs.  He's one of my favorite artists and I always enjoy his new music! 

Our Week in a Glance

 I felt like this week was a little more busy.  We had a few things going on and were maybe out and about a little more than normal.  When I look back though, there weren't a lot of "picture moments"! 

On Saturday we headed to my nephew's house for a birthday party.  It was a great day with family celebrating a great one year old!  Lots of visiting, some amazing burgers on the grill and such their back deck is just so relaxing - you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere!  My nephew Kaleb is the oldest of the my mom's grand kids and Joshua and Nate are the two youngeset so it was fun to get a photo! 

On Sunday we went out to lunch "one last time" to a long time local favorite - Southside Restaurant.  It was originally a Big Boy but a few years ago the owner became independent and called it Southside.  After 30 years he decided to retire and, according to the rumors, the person who bought it does not plan to turn it into a restaurant. Darryl and I have enjoyed a lot of meals or desserts here through the years.  It will be missed. 

On Wednesday, one of the kids I babysit had to leave for a drum lesson mid-day.  When she returned, she surprised me with a specialty coffee form Sozo - a favorite coffee shop,  I enjoyed it while reading a great book! 

Finally, on Friday we had a meet-up with our Homeschool Co-Op at a local Ice Cream shop that also has a fun play area/sand lot for the kids to play in.  Well, they had fun burying one of their friends in the sand!  Everyone went home full (from ice cream), sweaty, sandy, and, I think, pretty content from a great afternoon. 

Weekly Menu

 I have no wise words today.  I am just trying to stick to our menu and make sure to plan in a way that I actually want to cook the food!!  

Friday - Roasted Pork Loin, Fried Zucchini, and Green Bean Casserole

Saturday - Dinner at my mom's 

Sunday - Josh actually has to play at the Ionia Free Fair today so I know at some point we will be eating some fair food.  We will have sandwiches after church to hold us over until we can get an elephant ear! 

Monday - Lemon BBQ Mini Meatloaves, Mashed potatoes, Peas and Rolls 

Tuesday - Chicken Pot Pie Bread and Salad

Wednesday - Chick-Fil-Lay Nuggets, Baked Mac and Cheese, and Fried Zucchini.  ** Disclaimer - I'm not a big fan of baked mac and cheese but most others in the family love it HA!  I do have a recipe I've made before that I like as long as it is hot!! 

Thursday - Stuffed Shells, Green beans, and Garlic Bread

No Skinnytaste recipes this week :-)  I'm reading the point of summer cooking that I'm looking for easy, "old" favorites so I don't have to think much!  

What We are Eating - Coconut Shrimp

So, I love coconut shrimp.  I order it almost anytime I go to a seafood restaurant.  Yet, I've never made it at home until recently.  This was absolutely amazing and the sauce included with the recipe is spot on.  This has become my go to lunch lately too.  (Actually, I'm the only one who likes coconut shrimp - so it is perfect for lunch!).  I just serve it with some fresh cucumbers on the side.  

This is a Skinnytastse Recipe and you can find it HERE