Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!!!

In order to celebrate this wonderful holiday weekend with my family in the fullest . .. I'm taking the weekend off from Blogging :-)  So, enjoy the weekend but don't forget to come back and check out "Too Cute Not To Toot" on Tuesday!! 

Happy Celebrating!!! 

BBQ Cups

This is one of those favorite recipes that has been passed down to me through my sister-in-law, Lynnette.  I would put it up there as one of our "fun favorites".  Plus, the kids like it which is a big bonus!!!

 All you do is "squish" some biscuits into a muffin time.

 Fill them with the beef mixture and add cheese on top.

They are so yummy!  (sorry for the sideways picture - you have to love blogger!)

Recipe - BBQ Cups

Ingredients:
3/4 pound ground beef
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 package PIllsbury Refrigerated Tederflake biscuits
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions:
Cook beef and drain; Add barbecue sauce, onion and brown sugar to the ground beef and combine well.  Take biscuits and squish dough out to fit inside the muffin cups; place one in each greased muffin cup.  Fill with the meat mixture and top with cheese.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. 

My Notes:
1) If you use Grands biscuits - tear them in half or they will be too big for the muffin cups. 
2) I usually will add the onion in the beef while it is cooking.

Enjoy :-)

Tot Time - The Week my Kids were gone :-)

That's right, this past week my kids were gone.  They went to the grandparents for the "weekend" - well, Friday - Tuesday! 

With that said, I have challenged myself to look for teaching opportunities with my kids while we are playing together.  For example, today, my boys and I were playing trucks.  I was assigned  given the truck with the front loader.  I used the bucket to fill the truck with the alphabet letters.  Well, my 2 1/2 year old saw what I was doing and quickly took over the truck.  While he was lifting the letters - I had him name each letter :-)  Or when we play farm with my 1 1/2 year old, we only speak animals (make animal sounds) for all of the animals.  Nothing is cuter than hearing a kid say "moooooo"!!

The only thing I worked on this week for my Tot School with the boys is finalizing my lesson plan format.  Nothing big!  I also took time to read through lesson plans for ideas!

Thanks for all of the great comments last week!  I appreciate the thoughts and encouragement from everyone else that is also working on this process.

Enjoy your week! 

What I'm reading!

I always enjoy sharing what I'm reading.  Some weeks it doesn't change much, some weeks it does but either way, I find it nice to see what others are reading and often add their choices to me "to read" list so I never run out of ideas!

First up, the books I finished this week:

The Quilters Kitchen is a book in the Elm Creek Quilters Series that my mom loves.  She passes the books on to me and they are very good!  This one was a super easy read.  Each chapter includes alot of recipes at the end and the bones of each chapter is really just a short story surrounding an item found in the kitchen of the old mansion.  There were several recipes that looked good too! 

Next, The 6 Stress Points in a Woman's Life is a book I started a week or two ago.  Dr. Kevin Leman is a very easy to read author when it comes to some tough topics.  This point talks about the main 6 stress points that women deal with and how to work towards reducing those stress places.  Over all, it was a good book.  I figured out that I am a perfectionist people pleaser.  Not really a great thing to be HA!   The good thing is that if you can figure out what type of person you are, you can figure out how to fix your biggest stress areas.  One area he touched on lightly was the concept of "Reality Discipline" with your kids - he has written a book talking only about that topic, that is being added to my list of books to read.  Just what little bit he included in this book, really makes sense in my mind!  I don't think I will keep this book on my shelf (I won't re-read it) but I would recommend it to anyone for a first read.  It was an easy read overall and, if you had the time, would most likely finish it in a day or two :-) 

Books I'm reading:

Actually ... I haven't started either book yet.  I just finished the first two books on Monday and haven't had a chance to start the next two! 

And, of course, my devotional books:

Honestly - I've really slacked off this summer. My accountability group took the summer off from our Good Morning Girls group (because two of them had new babies a day apart in May!)  I will get back into them soon :-)

So, what are you reading?  Anything good?

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving . . .  that I got to scrapbooking on Tuesday for the day.  I got lots done and enjoyed a day out of the house, by myself.  There is something to be said for that!

I'm loving . . . the cooler, sunny weather.  The past several days - even the weekend - was fantastic! (yes even the few rainy days - I love that soft summer rainfall)

I'm loving . .. that my kids are back home.  Yes, I loved have the long weekend without them - my husband and I enjoyed getting spend time together (even working on projects together - usually one of us works, and one of us entertains the littles!) It is nice to have them home again though!

I'm loving . . . .my husband.  Enough said :-) Ok, I'll say more - he is just wonderful.  So kind, funny and caring.  I'm so thankful that God brought him in my life!

I'm loving . . .  homemade Popsicles.  Right now, my favorite is just using the Simply Lemonade, pour some in a mold, add some frozen berries (or fresh if you have them) fill up the mold with the Lemonade.  Freeze and enjoy!!!  I have new recipe freezing - we'll see if it is as good!

I'm loving . . .. my clean garage.  We can actually park both cars in there again.  I know this is weird, but I actually smile when I walk in there it is so neat and clean.

What are you loving today? 

Too Cute Not To Toot!

I'm getting a little wiser with my Too Cute not to Toot posts - I used to just think I could remember where I saw posts I wanted to . . remember . . until I kept forgetting ;-)  So now, as soon as I see something fun, I post it right here so it is ready to go the following week!  This way is SOOO much easier!

Lets start right with what I'm making for 4th of July at my parents (for real!) So mom, you don't have to make dessert!  Check out this fantastic recipe from Gina's Skinny Recipes.

Wait, there's more food!  (Sometimes, this is the best place to save these really cute recipe ideas too!) Check out these Chocolate Caramel Covered Marshmallows from Jenna's Journey.  All I can say is, Wow, these look good!

Smile Monsters shares a cute project to do with the kids when you hear those famous words "I'm bored".  They would also make really cute 4th of July Decorations too!

If you have followed me for long, you know that we love Mocha Frappes (Yep, from McDonald's!) so anytime I see a recipe for anything Frappe I like to try them out!  Check out this recipe from Smile Monsters for a great looking frozen treat (I will be adding the ingredients to my shopping list this weekend!)

This pinwheel idea is so cute and easy from Just Sew Sassy.

Another easy July 4th idea comes from Day Dreams and Pretty Things - you may even have the stuff you need to make these cute Firecrackers already at home!

I really like this Crayon Flashcard idea from Lines Across My Face - what a great teaching tool!

This button idea just pops with Patriotic Spirit!  Check it out over at Polka Dots on Parade.

I love bags.  I've gotten better and don't buy nearly as many but . .. I still love bags so when I saw this idea for a cute little kid bag, I had to share it!  Check out the idea from over at Originate and renovate.

I have seen this idea for sidewalk paint before but don't believe I've posted a link/idea so, I wanted to share this idea from The creative imperative. She gives an easy recipe and it really does look like a lot of fun for everyone.

We just cleaned out our garage this past weekend and guess what we want to get rid of?  Three pallets . .. then I saw this idea over at Tattered and Inked . . .I might need to keep one :-)

So, honestly, I'm not a big "cook once a month and freeze it" type of girl.  I have found that it is just as much work to cook once a month as it is to cook every day so I'd rather just cook BUT with that said, what I do like are ideas for the "dump and freeze" things meaning, you put the chicken in a bag, dump the ingredients in and freeze it.  (So really, if there is no work, I like it HA!)  I'm posting this idea from The Cellar Door Stories because she shares a few ideas for freezer meals :-) (When I was getting my master's degree, a lady in my class cooked once a year - she and her sisters got together one week in August for a week and cooked enough meals, cut up veggies, etc to basically last a full year.  That is insane, people!)

There is nothing else to say about this craft except it looks  beautiful!  Check out this idea from A Diamond in the Stuff.

This idea from Being Creative is super cute!  It could be used for decorations at any type of party - just choose your paper to fit your theme.

Heck Fridays shares a great activity to do with the kids - a recycled bird feeder.  I love this idea and have it book marked to do with the boys in the future.

Check out Sassy Sites for a whole list of posts showing adorable hats to make with your kids for the 4th of July holiday!  The picture below is just one of many that she shows off! (She provides links for all of them too!)

A Little Tipsy is doing a "Making Memories" series this summer and I really liked this idea that was posted this week on how to make sponge bombs.  This is another idea that I'm tucking away to use in the future with my boys.

Here is another cute idea for decorating for the 4th of July from Nothing But Country.  It is super easy but super cute!

Well, I guess that is about all for this week!  Lots of great ideas.  I look forward to making them eventually :-)

21 Days of Prayer Challenge - Day 21 - Humility

Encouragement from Brooke

It's day twenty-one.

The LAST day of your prayer challenge. Are you a mixture of relieved and sad all at the same time? What an

accomplishment! (What an amazing amount of work!) If you're finishing today you deserve a pat on the back!

Think of all the work that has been done on behalf of your sons! Congrats mom!

You might've noticed that there are actually twenty-two prayers in the Warrior Prayers eBook. I chose humility

as our last day's topic because it is such an amazing posture of the heart. Scripture just seems to scream God's

favor over those who are humble in heart.

•

James 4:10 says that if we're humble before the Lord, He will lift us up.

•

1 Peter 5:6 says that if we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God He will exalt us.

•

Most importantly, in Psalm 149:4 we find that it is the humble who are adorned with salvation.

Do you see that?

A humble heart is required for salvation. Just as Jesus humbled Himself unto the cross, we

must admit that we're sinners, admit that our own way isn't the right way, and humbly ask for forgiveness before

salvation comes.

Do you show humility before your sons? Do you always have to be right? Always have to win? Pray and ask the

Lord for specific ways you can show humility today so that when the time comes, your sons will know how to

show it too.

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." ~Ephesians 4:2

Spend this last lday praying the 10 prayers of Humility for your boy(s).

I hope that you have enjoyed this challenge and, this doesn't have to be the end!  Keep your book out and start over, continuing to pray for your boys daily.  Let them hear you pray, pray in your quiet time, pray always.  Our children need their parents praying for them daily!