My Playlist

In the Playlist post I shared last Sunday, I shared a song by Steven Curtis Chapman.  This article in WorshipFuel shares more about that song so I just wanted to include the link in case you would like to read the article.

One of the songs that was sung as a worship song at my dad's funeral was "It is Well with my Soul."  When I saw the song listed on the program the day before while reviewing it with my brothers, I told my brother Ken that I did not want that song used because it was not well with my soul and I did not have peace about what was going on.  He didn't listen to me and left it in the program but, for the record, I did not sing it.  Well, a friend of mine shared this version of "It is Well" with me recently and it has slowly grown on me.  It has some pretty powerful words about the simple fact "Through it all, it is well". 

Family Fun - Nate's Day of Fun

I like to use the blog to document our family memories which is what this Saturday post is all about so, due to not blogging much the past few months, I'm still working on December 2015.  

We celebrated Nate's birthday as a family on Saturday, December 19th.  Nate got to pick what to do this day so we started out at Catch Air. We then went to lunch at McDonald's where Josh lost his very, very, loose, hanging by a string tooth (and cried and cried)  We then headed to Chuck E Cheese before getting dinner at Red Robin (Nate loves the fries!!)   Finally, we ended the night by driving through the huge Christmas light display!

We then headed to Catch Air.  A favorite of both boys!

 Nate always has a plan so he asked me to follow him everywhere and posed for photos on every single item at Catch Air. 

 There are four slides to the ball pit, he went down them over and over until I got perfect photos of him on each one.  I think I took over 200 photos while at Catch Air.

 This is my favorite photo of the whole day . . .except for the creepy character in the background.  No matter what I do, I can't quite crop that guy out!

 So this is my second favorite.  I love his adorable little face.

 Look at that loosey, goosey tooth!!!

These aren't great photos but the light parade at the local baseball park is fabulous and a tradition we do every single year!

Weekly Menu

My weekly menu changed last week because my husband needs "softer" foods.  The oral surgery he had is taking much longer to heal with unexpected complications so he requested foods that he could eat carefully.  So, we ate differently than planned and I've ended up with lots of stuff in the fridge/freezer/cupboards.   

Friday:  Homemade Pizza Rolls, Chips and Salad

Saturday:  Bacon ranch Chicken Strips and California Spaghetti salad - we are actually meeting my mom for a movie and lunch/early dinner so I'm not sure if we will actually eat this. 

Sunday:  It's time to grill!  Hamburgers on the grill and fried zucchini and Spaghetti Salad

Monday:  VBS has started so it makes for a tight schedule.  Normally Darryl and I would go out for burgers at Applebees after getting the boys to VBS BUT Nate has baseball practice and he learned that at the last practice they play a game against the parents so now he wants to go to practice so I can play ball.  I'm hoping he changes his mind HA!  The last time I played baseball I took a baseball to the eye - it wasn't fun :-/

Tuesday: McMaster Sausage McMuffins, Eggs, and Fruit  (Even as I type this, I'm not sure this will happen.  The kids and I will be at the end of the school year party all day and there is VBS in the evening for one and baseball for another . . .I'm guessing we will end up with Taco bell HA!)

Wednesday: Tacos and Chips (Tonight - one goes to VBS and one has a baseball game!) 

Thursday:  Italian Meatball Subs and Pizza Pasta Salad  I might be exhausted by the time Thursday comes around . . .I'm not making any promises on this meal . . it might be Little Ceasers!)

Summer is here.  My disclaimer the past 10 years is . . if the "feels like" tempeture hits 90, Darryl brings dinner home.  Honestly, I'd rather cook than have 90 degree days so I'm hoping for a cool summer!

Lessons in Grief

I want to write about loss.  About grief. About walking a road that is tough to walk.  Why?  Because it's something unlike anything else you can experience and not many people talk about it. I've been thinking over the past week about what to share first and the reality of it is . . .I'm not ready.  I have several ideas and topics I want to touch on but . . .the words just won't form yet on the page.  So instead, I'll share three thoughts in the way of quotes.

I am a strong person and I've always known that but from the moment I got the call that my dad had had a stroke, I knew I had to be even stronger.  I had no other choice at that moment.  

Two different friends have shared this thought, in different words, with me over the past few weeks.  The simple truth is that the stronger the love, the harder the grief.  One of those friends reminded me to be thankful for the intense grief because it reflects intense love.  I don't think I'm quite to the "thankful" point yet. 

Finally, even in the darkest moments, I try to focus on God's truths.  This is a great reminder of what God can do even through difficult moments.  Again, I have a long ways to go; this is all still very fresh but I trust God to fulfill his promises through the days, weeks and yes, years to come.

Easy BBQ Chicken Salad

Easy BBQ Chicken Salad
adapted from Pocket Change Gourmet

Wow, that's a blurry photo.  I guess I need to practice with my camera more ;-)  Anyway, this is a super easy, very tasty dinner.  I served it about a month or so ago and both Darryl and I really liked it alot.  I made it again this past week and was just as impressed.  It's the perfect meal on a busy night or in the middle of summer (especially if you use leftover chicken!)

 

Ingredients

• Mixed Greens {we used Romaine and Red Leaf Lettuce}
• Chicken, sliced thinly {leftover chicken saves time}
• BBQ Sauce {Store bought or make your own:3/4 cup ketchup, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vinegar}
• French Fried Onions {optional}
• Cheese, shredded {optional}

Instructions

1. Wash lettuce, and cut into bite size pieces
2. Slice chicken and place in skillet on stovetop
3. Add BBQ Sauce and heat through
4. Add chicken to lettuce
5. Top with onions and cheese, if desired
6. Serve with Ranch Dressing

School's Out!

Yeah!  School's out!  I now have a 2nd grader (WHAT?) and a 1st grader!!

What they looked like at the start of the year:

 Joshua

 Nathan

And what they look like now:

 Joshua

Nathan

It's time for summer now!  As I shared in my goals post, I have big plans of balancing all of the playtime of summer with some learning/crafts/field trips.  We will pick up next week with Rocket Math, Sight word competition and reading practice!  (Plus some crafts, an end of the year party, VBS and yes, baseball)

Summer Goals

If you've known me long, you know that I actually enjoy writing goals. I start out the year with my overall goals and then move ahead each month with a list of goals longer than my arm with the full understanding that I won't accomplish them all but I will (hopefully) accomplish some.  Usually, when I get to summer time, I'm losing steam and tend to fizzle out for a few months.  I'm not a fan of heat . . or sweating . .  .so I tend to do not much of anything throughout the summer.  This year I thought I'd try something new in order to actually accomplish some things.  I'm going to write a summer goal list that covers June, July and August.  (Are you sleeping yet? HA!)  A friend of mine is taking a Facebook break this summer.  She deactivated her account June 1st and doesn't plan to return until September 1st.  I'm not doing that (no way, no how - I need adult conversation) BUT I do want to try and focus more on the things I need to get done and being present in the lives of my kids so I might try to limit my time on there some.  Everything in moderation, right? 

So here's my goals:

The Home
1. The basement.  Lets be real.  I kinda hate dislike my basement.  I've told Darryl that if we ever move, I don't want a basement unless it's a full walkout that doesn't feel like a basement and is completely finished but really, I just want a really long ranch house without a basement and that has a big storage room as part of the house.  That doesn't solve my problem now though.  So this summer I have the huge major goal (that I've had for like 5 years) to complete the basement clean out, clean up, and organization.  Ironically my washer has been broken for about a month so I haven't stepped foot in my basement in about that long and I kinda like it ;-)  Anyway, this is a project I just have to do and it's not something someone can help me with.  I just want it done, set up to stay organized, and cleaned.  I want all of the junk and unneeded items gone, and I want it easy to find stuff once I'm done.
2. The Garage.  Darryl and I tackle this every summer and this year is no exception.  Time to be a little tougher though and really clean out the stuff we don't need.  Plus organize the stuff we do need and just have a home for the stuff that's in there.  Really, this is just a day long project . . or even just an afternoon so it's  not that big of a deal.
3. Deep Cleaning the house.  It's that time of year again.  Time to go through each room and clean stuff out.  I have an overall goal of becoming more of a "minimalist" this year. So, I just keep working on cleaning out what we don't use and need.  The goal by the end of summer is to have gone through every room and make it neat, tidy and efficient.  The biggest challenge?  The boys room and their legos.
4. The Yard.  We've planted our garden and we will see how it grows :-)  I'm currently working on weeding the flower beds and laying down layers of mulch.  I have a specific goal - just 30 minutes a day.  I really don't like doing yard work but like the way it looks when it is done so doing 30 minutes a day is about all I want to do :-)  Once the beds are all weeded and mulched, that 30 minutes should be enough to keep them weeded and looking nice.  

Scrapbooking
1. Get my groove back.  How's that for a goal??  I've floundered for a few years but it's time to get back into whatever I'm going to do.  Order pages, order pictures, buy my photo printer, figure out how I'm going to scrapbook now and plan and prep for a Scrapbook weekend in November.  I'd like to work now towards having photos and supplies purchased so I can just sit down and scrapbook the whole weekend.

Family
1. Weekly planning.  I have an dream (haha) of having a weekly plan with the kids.  I already have it laid out and am working on plans for week one.  It's a fine balance between doing something each day and over planning so we/I get burned out.  I'm hoping to do more stuff with them this summer too - parks, splash pads and even the local state park beach (not my favorite but it is water for the kids to play in!)
2. Fun with the family - Family time is always good.  We have a few camping trips planned and I'd like to get us to the beach some not to mention movies and other events.  I'd like to try and do a few overnight trips too even just to "our" city where we can enjoy a pool and some time away from home. 

Personal
1. Reading.  In a different post I'll share my stack of books I want to work through but I want to read more.  Read for fun and read for learning.
2. Finances.  This is nothing new.  It's just trying to track daily what we spend and save.  We have some big things to save for - a trip to Texas for a wedding; a trip to South Carolina for Christmas; and a tentative trip to California in the future.  Plus I have stuff for the house to save for and just general stuff like that.
3. Bible Study.  I need to get back into my daily Bible study and prayer time.  As is always the case, I do well for awhile and then life gets in the way so I'm hoping to find something new to study and read and move on from there.

Misc.
1. Canning and Freezing.  I'm thinking about canning again this year.  (How's that for a goal?)  I miss having homemade jam here and having to buy it instead.  I also was thinking about some pickles and maybe salsa.  I wouldn't mind a few other "fun" things but it just depends on what I feel like doing :-)
2.  PLan our school year.  There isn't a lot to plan since we will be doing Connections Academy in the fall again but I'd like to add a simple Bible curriculum to our lessons and just be more disciplined in my teaching of the basics.  I was so overwhelmed at the beginning of the year with the online courses that I didn't start the year strong.  Hoping to plan ahead a little on that stuff this year.

That's the basics.  I'm sure I'll think of a few other things along the way but this is what I'm focusing on this summer.  I feel like if I can get a handle on most of these areas, we'll start the school year in September in a better place.  I've learned this year that during the school year, everything else takes a back seat so we can accomplish the boys school work.  If I don't start ahead, I'm behind all year :-)