Do you know what I realized as I was writing this post? I didn't take a single photo. I'm still trying to get into a better flow with our day. I feel like we are literally tied to the table from 9:00-2:00 and I don't like it. So, here's a bullet list of what we did this past week:
* Monday = School and swimming. The boys truely love swimming so I plan on trying to keep that going for now. I finally have a new bathing suit ordered so we might fit in some free swim time after their lessons in the coming weeks. We had a treat too as my in-laws stopped by inbetween dinner and when we left for swimming.
* Tuesday = School. That's it. Just school
* Wednesday = School and AWANA. Darryl had practice so it was just the boys and I so we treated ourselves to dinner before I had to take them to AWANA.
* Thursday = Thursday School Co-Op. This day is busy and tiring. The boys love their classes (especially their Art Class) Darryl was also home today but was running to Dentist and Doctor Appointments.
* Friday - The boys have TKD and then my mom came over for the afternoon/evening. We enjoyed dinner and just family time.
Our weekend was much quieter then the last few. The boys and I went to the store to window shop for their birthday's and Christmas. This is a great way for me to see what they are really interested in and I'm always surprised by what they pick verses what I would have picked for them. We also enjoyed dinner at our favorite Mexican resturant followed by ice cream :-)
Monday, October 10, 2016
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Weekly Song - Even If
I shared this on my Facebook page on Saturday:
It's hard for me to fatham that it was 5 months ago tonight that my dad enter Heaven; almost 6 months ago since he was silenced. Reality is really in that 5 month marker because during those last 4 weeks prior, we still had him even though he wasn't who he always was before. We still had the warmth of his hand and, well, hope for a miracle. Reality hit when the hope we had left was the simple hope in Jesus that someday we will be re-united in heaven. It doesn't take away the pain; it really doesn't even make it less because the ache of missing his wisdom, his laugh, his voice, his encouragement . . .that ache is still deep. The loss of hopes, dreams - it is all difficult to grasp. I've said before that music speaks to my soul and this is one of the songs we chose for my dad's funeral because, quite honestly, we all begged God to bring healing and he chose not to . . so Even If the healing doesn't come, He is God and He is good.
It's hard for me to fatham that it was 5 months ago tonight that my dad enter Heaven; almost 6 months ago since he was silenced. Reality is really in that 5 month marker because during those last 4 weeks prior, we still had him even though he wasn't who he always was before. We still had the warmth of his hand and, well, hope for a miracle. Reality hit when the hope we had left was the simple hope in Jesus that someday we will be re-united in heaven. It doesn't take away the pain; it really doesn't even make it less because the ache of missing his wisdom, his laugh, his voice, his encouragement . . .that ache is still deep. The loss of hopes, dreams - it is all difficult to grasp. I've said before that music speaks to my soul and this is one of the songs we chose for my dad's funeral because, quite honestly, we all begged God to bring healing and he chose not to . . so Even If the healing doesn't come, He is God and He is good.
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Family Fun - AWANA Games
Throughout the year, the boys attend AWANA at our church and one of the things they work toward is playing in the AWANA Olympics. This is something that I did as a kid so its kinda cool to watch my own boys partcipate in it now. This is another bittersweet moment because my dad was there to watch the boys. This is a photo op I missed - I should have snapped a photo of the boys with their grandparents who were there.
My two super cute sparkies! This was Nate's first year to partcipate. They boys were excited to be together this year.
Those faces though. I can't believe how much they have charged from March until now, October.
Our church brought such a big team that they had to be split up so the Josh and Nate ended up on seperate teams.
Nate had to sit out a game because there were too many kdis - I felt so bad for him but when I asked him about it later, he said he was just resting.
It really is fun to watch them play and compete. :-)
Friday, October 7, 2016
Weekly Menu
We had a good week. We ate out a little, I cooked a little . .life is good. I know I need to get back into trying to get the kids, most specifically Nate, tasting new foods. I am not a "eat it or go hungry" kind of parent; probalby because I'm a little bit picky myself but, I do find it annoying sometimes when the pickiness becomes well, refusual to try something. Josh is willing to try a little more (shoot, the kid loves sweet potatos) but Nate, he could live on Chicken Nuggets and Mac and Cheese!
Anyway, all of that to say, this is what is planned for the week and who knows, maybe Nate will learn to like something new (For the record, he has learned to like grapes, apples, and "salad" - he loves croutons dipped in dressing. . .even blue cheese dressing :-) )
Friday - We get a special treat as my mom is coming over and she is providing dinner :-) We haven't seen in her a few weeks and are going through withdrawel.
Saturday - I don't cook on Saturdays. For real. This Saturday I have plans to do a few fun things with the boys while Darryl is working, along with running a few errands, and then meeting him for dinner.
Sunday - Simple BBQ Ribs, Cheesy Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes and Biscuits; Then we will have Homemade Pizza for Dinner.
Monday - Cheesy Broccoli Soup and Ham Sammies.
Tuesday - Stir-Fry Beef Lo Mein and French Bread
Wednesday - Stuffed Shells with cheese, Salad, and Garlic Bread
Thursday -Slow Cooker Enchiladas, Mexican Rice and Chips and Cheese
Anyway, all of that to say, this is what is planned for the week and who knows, maybe Nate will learn to like something new (For the record, he has learned to like grapes, apples, and "salad" - he loves croutons dipped in dressing. . .even blue cheese dressing :-) )
Friday - We get a special treat as my mom is coming over and she is providing dinner :-) We haven't seen in her a few weeks and are going through withdrawel.
Saturday - I don't cook on Saturdays. For real. This Saturday I have plans to do a few fun things with the boys while Darryl is working, along with running a few errands, and then meeting him for dinner.
Sunday - Simple BBQ Ribs, Cheesy Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes and Biscuits; Then we will have Homemade Pizza for Dinner.
Monday - Cheesy Broccoli Soup and Ham Sammies.
Tuesday - Stir-Fry Beef Lo Mein and French Bread
Wednesday - Stuffed Shells with cheese, Salad, and Garlic Bread
Thursday -Slow Cooker Enchiladas, Mexican Rice and Chips and Cheese
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
What We're Eating
What we haven't been eating is too many new recipes. I'm just getting back into cooking after a pretty laid back summer. The few new recipes I've tried fall into two categories:
1) I'll never make it again
or
2) I took a photo but due to my computer kinda half-way craashing and backing everything up on my external hard drive so I can use Josh's school computer . . well, the photos need to be sorted.
I did try a new evening snack though!
Ok, this is a photo from Google and my version of this was much simplier!
In this house, we tend to eat dinner early. I've actually started trying to push dinner to 5:30 or 5:45 instead of our normal 5:00 just to try and eliminate the second dinner at 7:30 HA! Because we eat earlier, I am ready for snack by 8:30 and it is easy to just start grabbing stuff. I've been working on finding some new, healthier options that still meet the "sweet, crunchy, salty" craving that comes at night.
My simple version of the above is:
1 carton of vanilla pudding (you know - just a pudding cup)
A handful of raspberries (or blueberries, black berries etc)
Throw in a little bit of your favorite granola (or nuts of any kind)
It's easy, its tasty, and it is just the right amount for a snack.
Monday, October 3, 2016
Fall Fun - School, Home Depot, and Airplanes
Like my summer "series" about our weekly activities, I thought it would be fun to share some of what we do each week.
This past week (Sept 26-Oct 2) we really focused hard on school. We've had a lot of interruptions during the first three weeks - both planned and unplanned - so we needed to catch up and get back on track. Our basic schedule right now looks like this:
Monday - Wednesday - We hit lessons hard, doubling up on subjects like Math and Reading.
Thursday - Thursday School (Co-Cop) in the morning; Educational Technology in the afternoon (this is a fun lesson where they get to play on the computer)
Friday - In the morning we catch up on anything we didn't get done and do art. Nate also has a Live Lesson. The afternoon is Tae Kwon Do.
Even with the busy schedule, we still manage to find a little fun too.
On Monday nights the boys have swim lessons. This is my view for about an hour every Monday night. Once I replace my bathing suits that fell apart, we might even stay for open swim after this just so I can get into the pool and not just sit beside it!
During one of Nate's science lessons this week, he and I had to go outside and observe a plant (Practicing the scientific method) As we were talking about what the plant looked, felt and smelled like, Nate caught sight of the biggest catipillar I've ever seen. Because I'm a freakazoid about poisenous things, we looked it up to make sure it was safe (and it was) and our science lesson took a turn. Both boys enjoyed watching this guy crawl and, yes, poop.
Just love this candid shot. And yes, Josh is still in PJ's. It's a battle every. single. day.
This photo doesn't do it justice - it was about three inches long.
To add to our science lessons of the day - Josh snapped this photo of a cloud he thought was just amazing.
We ended our week with some fun too. Being the first Saturday of the month, Home Depot hosts their kids workshops. These workshops were something I reserved for my dad when it worked out for him to take them so it was a little bit emotional taking them myself. Nate said, as we pulled into the parking lot, "Mom, I have some tears in my eyes trying to come out." Then as we worked on building their fire trucks they both talked about how much Papa taught them about building.
After enjoying lunch at Olive Garden (Nate's favorite place) we headed to the Airport to the Observation Park to see the airplanes. We hit the motherload too - I think we saw a good 10 planes land and take off. These cuties just had a blast running around and watching planes.
This past week (Sept 26-Oct 2) we really focused hard on school. We've had a lot of interruptions during the first three weeks - both planned and unplanned - so we needed to catch up and get back on track. Our basic schedule right now looks like this:
Monday - Wednesday - We hit lessons hard, doubling up on subjects like Math and Reading.
Thursday - Thursday School (Co-Cop) in the morning; Educational Technology in the afternoon (this is a fun lesson where they get to play on the computer)
Friday - In the morning we catch up on anything we didn't get done and do art. Nate also has a Live Lesson. The afternoon is Tae Kwon Do.
Even with the busy schedule, we still manage to find a little fun too.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Weekly Song - I have this Hope
A week or so ago, someone shared this song on Facebook and it included the story behind the song but, of course, I can't find that post now. Ultimatly, the story doesn't matter because the song itself is so powerful. It doesn't matter what type of pain or unknown you are walking through right now - We have hope. Some days, it is what gets me through the day as I cry out to God and ask him, "Why" - "I have this hope; In the depths of my Soul." So powerful.
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