Sidewalk Prophets - Come To The Table (Official Lyric Video)

This is an "oldie but a goodie" .  It was a favorite when it first came out and I still sing along with it every time it plays on my play list. 

Our weekly snapshot

 Here’s a look back at our week: 

We had a good week of school.  I enjoyed my favorite Keurig drink and a good book while they worked. 🤣

Wednesday was youth group! 

Friday we headed in multiple directions.  Joshua headed on a road trip with his girlfriend’s family and got to dip his toes in Lake Huron.  

Nate attended Friday School and Darryl worked.  

I attended my Uncke Dick’s funeral.  He will be greatly missed. 

A longtime family friend.  

A few family members that were there. 

Weekly Menu

 This coming week is the first week since school started that we do not have anything "extra".  Physical Therapy for both Nate and I finished two weeks ago and last week included a couple of Library Events and Joshua had a hair cut and a field trip.  This is also the last week of Center Shot for Nate.  He has loved it and I know he hopes to attend the next round  . . .. but it will be nice to have a free evening once again! This week I'm just planning some old favorites that are pretty simple to throw together and eat in shifts. 

Here is the plan for the coming week: 

Friday - Pork Loin and Mac and Cheese

Saturday - Dinner at my mom's.  It has been a few weeks since we have been at her house.  

Sunday - I have a concert today.  I will throw some chicken breasts in the crock pot so the guys to shred them when they get home and eat a quick lunch before heading to my concert.  

Monday - Stromboli and Salad 

Tuesday - Nate and I get pizza at Centershot so I’m leaving pot pies for the other two. 

Wednesday - Youth Group

Thursday - Steak bites and Mac and cheese 

Recipe Fun

 

I might be a little bit "old school" but I love a good chili dog.  While our teens were at summer camp in July I planned an old favorite for dinner - baked Chili Dogs.  I posted the recipe on my blog years ago and you can find it HERE. When I made it for just the two of us I just made 4 dogs in an 8x8 pan.  Obviously you can use any chili you enjoy or use a can of Hormel Chili (without beans is how I roll!).  

Enjoy! 

Matthew West - To Be With Jesus (Lyric Video)

I always enjoy Matthew West.  His writing is lyrical and tells a story.  

Our weekly snapshot

 Here is look back at our week.  And it really is "back" because my photos start with Friday! 

We enjoyed our 2nd Friday of Co-Op.  We played Minute to Win It games in my Joyful Class. 

Nate is working towards getting his 2nd black belt.  He has to earn "stripes" (made with tape) on his belt by passing varies tests/memorization.  Thursday he earned his second of 8 stripes.  Once he has 8 he can test for his next belt. 

Wednesday night was the 2nd week of youth group and they had a great time playing games and studying God's Word. 

Nate is still enjoying Center Shot where he is shooting better every week.  He only has 2 weeks left. 

A friend shared this - this is were I've been spending my Monday Nights - Choir Practice.  This is was taken right behind me (so that's my hair LOL). 

Joshua had to do a science experiment on Monday - he had to talk about the process of Distillation.  He had to boil water with salt in it until the water was gone.  

Last Saturday we had a Family Fun Day.  We started at a place called Anderson and Girls that is an Orchard but also has a free "petting" zoo.  My favorite was the cow HA!  We enjoyed Apples and Cider before hitting the road and heading to Deer Park Junction for a Safari drive through.  We laughed so much.  The animals were very used to being fed out of car windows and got a little pushy LOL Then we headed to a little town that has a huge slide (this is on my 101-1001 list).  The boys loved the slide and we enjoyed a nature walk.  We ended our day at Lake Michigan with a picnic and a sunset.  It was a great day! 

Weekly Menu

 Some weeks I have great things to say and some weeks I have nothing HA!  This week I have nothing.  :-)  It was a pretty straight forward week.  

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - This isn't a new thought; when we have Co-Op on Fridays I am tired by the time the day is done so I have to have something simple or something in the crock pot.  If not, I tend to order pizza.  So, I plan to cook to have Meatball Soup and Bread tonight.  I can make the meatballs on Thursday so then, putting the soup together will be easy.

Saturday - Tonight is my choir party so Darryl and I are going to attend that together and the boys will be at home.  Or maybe Nana will want to have dinner with them HA! 

Sunday - Chili with Fritos.  Great football food! 

Monday - Last weeks meal plan changed because we had tons of leftovers from the weekend which became Monday night dinner and then I forgot that Nate and I would be gone Tuesday afternoon/evening so I picked up Pot Pies for Darryl and Josh.  So, there will be a few repeats this week!  Anyway, my Chili recipe makes a lot so I'm planning left over chili but with spaghetti tonight (Darryl and Josh love theirs over spaghetti!) 

Tuesday - Steak Bites (crockpot) and Mac and Cheese (a new crock pot recipe to try) 

Wednesday - Youth Group.

Thursday - Cranberry Crock Pot Turkey, Baked Potatoes, and Corn - also a carry over from last week

Joyful Fall 2025 - Week 1

 Our first week of our fall co-op started this past Friday.  As I did previously I plan to share my basic lesson plans for my teen class which is called Joyful.  I have taught this now about maybe 6-8 semesters and every semester is different - or at least as a majority of different things.  I do repeat items if teens ask for them but I also try to do new things as well.  I always tell them that I will teach the class as long as there is interest and, considering the fact that the class fills up (or almost fills up) every semester I guess there is still interest (a max of 15 kids - I have 14 this semester) The reason I share my plans is that I have found it super difficult to find teen co-op classes when I search.  Most of them or "for credit" ideas and, honestly, I just want to have fun with the teens.  

Week One is our intro week.  

We start our week with the "Joyful Bucket".  This is our candy/toy bucket.  We go around the room and everyone shares one things that brought them joy from their week and then take a treat.  It is always fun to hear about their lives! 

Then, we headed outside to play an "Get to know you game".  It is called "Speed Meeting" (think .. "Speed Dating" ha!)  They each received a packet of questions and then got into two circles facing each other.  I set the time for 1 minute and they started asking each other questions.  Once the time went off, the inside circle moved one space and started again.  It was a neat way to learn new things about people who they really already knew! 

Next up was a game called "Llama Llama".  I saw this game a few weeks ago at Center Shot with Nate and thought it was too funny not to do in Joyful.  At the end of each round there was an "old fashioned moo-off" to find the winner HA!  It was a fun game.  

We took a group photo before our morning ended.  

Some years the first week of joyful is chaos.  Some years it is super quiet.  This year - it was just perfect.  Everyone was kind and respectful and everyone participated.  It was a good day. 

Sidewalk Prophets - Father, Let It Be (Official Music Video)

Our weekly snapshot

 Here’s a look back at our week: 

These first photos are from last week when Darryl and Joshua went to the tigers game. 😊

On Tuesday, just one week late, we went out for our annual “first day back to school” lunch.  What? Last week was busy!!! 

Youth group started on Wednesday! 

Nate attended TKD on Thursday.  He also attends on Monday but I don’t usually stay so I don’t get any photos. 

Finally, our co-op started on Friday and it was a great day!  After we were done, we went to a friends house to meet their kittens. 😊