Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day.  We spent the day at the beach with my mom.  We needed to all just get away from everything and do something different.  Before we had kids, my husband and I often skipped church on both Mothers and Fathers day because, well, it didn't apply to us.  This year, we skipped Father's Day because, well, we didn't want that reminded of what we have lost.  My dad has left a tremendous legacy and for that I'm so beyond thankful and I know he is far happier in heaven and wouldn't want to leave but boy, do we miss him! 

 To say the water was cold is an understatement but we all got in it anyway.  My mom was a trooper - those boys were dragging her all over the place and had her playing in the sand.  They make her smile.

 Nathan loves the beach and the water.  He's my water bug.

 Josh loves the sand.  He likes the water.

 Happy Father's day to this guy!  He's our rock and the guy that makes us all laugh. 

And of course, in honor of my Pops.

My Playlist

I love this next song.  Ironically, I had never heard it prior to my sister-in-law sending me link to it just a day after my dad's funeral but, since then, I hear it played at least once a day on our local Christian station and have had multiple people share the link for various reasons through Facebook.    This song is "Thy Will" by Hillary Scott and just speaks volumes.  It's so easy to get lost in the questions and the anger when a life event doesn't go as we want it to but ultimately, even during the darkest days, I still return to these four words, "Thy Will Be Done". 

Family Fun - Nate's Birthday

Nate was very excited for his birthday to arrive. He had it all planned in his head.  We picked out his cake from Meijer (which we didn't eat on his birthday because we weren't hungry HA) and he wanted mac and Cheese for Lunch even when I tried to convince him to go out to lunch.

 He loved my sunglasses.  I love his shirt!  Hard to believe this little cutie turned 6!

 Nate had 6 balloons to pop - each with $1.00 inside. 

 Darryl showed him how to throw the balloon at the tree to pop it and Nate thought it was awesome!

 After dinner, Nate opened his gifts from the family.

 He got a giant stuffed bear, legos, games and . . .. .

Avengers dress up gear!  The Hulk and Captain America!  Nate had specifically picked these items out and every time we went to the store he would look at them.  He was very excited :-)

Weekly Menu

I don't have anything exciting to add this week :-)  I'm thankful VBS is done and Baseball is winding down.  I love all of the fun and excitement but I'm also reading for normal evenings with the family. I'm planning on getting the boys back into Tae Kwon Do as a refresher course in July so that will add to our Monday's but one night is better than three :-)

Here's what's on the radar for the next week:

Friday - Ham and Cheese Pockets and Mac and Cheese

Saturday - My mom will be here for the weekend so I think we will do burgers on the grill again along with a pasta salad and Fruit.

Sunday - We are taking off for the day.  The plan is to head to the beach unless we change our minds HA! But, with that in mind, I'm planning a picnic to take with us to the beach and then we will eat dinner somewhere, with our sun-kissed faces and sandy feet, along the way home. 

Monday - BBQ Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas and Mexican Beans and Rice

Tuesday - Cheesy Bacon Pull Apart Breakfast Biscuits and Fruit Salad

Wednesday - Seven Layer Southwestern Salad

Thursday - Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Broccoli Grape Salad

Grace Filled Living

I came across an article recently on a blog by The Humbled Homemaker 
which I just so related too.  

I'm not a perfect homemaker - I'm far from it.  I don't enjoy cleaning but I enjoy a clean home.  It seems like as our family has progressed, it's gotten more difficult to keep up with the every day tasks.  When I was single, my house not only looked clean, it smelled clean.  It was easy to keep up with everything and I always felt like my apartment was a haven.  Then, I got married HA!  It started out "good".  Our first apartment was tiny and easy to keep up with and our second apartment was brand new with two bedrooms and two bathrooms - it was nice to have the space and with both Darryl and I working to clean it, it was easy to keep that "haven" feeling.  Buying a home added a new deminsion.  The good thing was that it was just the two of us and we had TONS of space.  We even had an empty room and the basement - next to nothing was down there!  Eventually kids came into the mix followed by "stuff".  Somewhere along the way, it's because almost difficult to move in our home at times with the stuff that ends up everywhere and along those same lines I find it difficult to want to keep things up because it takes so much work to organize everything.  In reality, it usually comes down to discipline and, well, money.  I have lots of great ideas on how to organize stuff so it will stay that way but, I work to not spend money on additional storage items which means my ideas are on hold.  Now, this isn't a "woe is me" post at all because we made the decision for me to stay home with the kids, which is the best decision ever, but it also meant we had to tighten our belts and let some things go.  Anyway, all of that to say, this article almost comes straight from my mind (if only I could write like that!) and I really like the ideas that she gives.  Some I've done and some I'm working on but it is nice to know that I'm not the only one!
 

What We are Eating - McMaster McMuffins

McMaster McMuffins
adapted from . . .My Dad

My dad "created" these wonderful breakfast sandwiches that he often made for my mom or for anyone staying at their house.  I always loved when he made me one!  

Ingredients
Sausage patties
Cheese slices
butter
English Muffins

Directions:
Using your hands, flatten the sausage patties until they are about the size of the English Muffin (this helps them fit on the muffin AND cook faster)
Cook the sausage patty.  While those are cooking, toast the English Muffin.  Butter the toasted muffin, add the cheese and the sausage patty and Enjoy!! 

I served these with a couple of eggs over easy and fruit.
 

Books To Read

This is the stack of books that is currently staring me "in the face".  I pulled together books from years past that I had ordered and planned to read but either never got to or started and never finished.  As much as I love my Kindle/ebooks because those books take up less space, I have found that some books are better read the "old fashioned way" if you want to actually learn from them.  These books are only "learning" books - books about things to help me become a better person.  This doesn't even include the list of fun reading books I'd like to get to! 

I've created a Pinterest Board to attempt to track the books I read throughout this year.  I've found that without my rows of bookcases and all of my books in alphabetical order by author, I tend to forget what I've read.  The board is a great way to be able to look back and see what I loved, what I didn't and even what authors I've enjoyed.  It's also a great way to track a series too. 

So, what are some of the books in that stack?

1. One not in the pile is "Longing for Paris. I've started this one and am already enjoying it.

2. Stripped by Lina AbuJamra.  This is a book written by a long time friend of mine.  She also has a new book out, Resolved, that is on my list to purchase.

3. Taming the To Do List.  I've had this one for awhile and, as a person who is always writing to do lists, I'm hoping to game some control over the need to always have that list!

Those are just a few in that stack.  I love to read but I also find that I let other stuff get in the way of my reading.  My plan is to spend more time reading this summer.  Maybe while accomplishing some of those items on our summer bucket list from yesterdays post -  I can read while the kids play!