Weekly Worship Tenth Avenue North - Worn (with lyrics)

I'm not sure if this is going to work . .. .I'll have to try and remember to check.  But it is a great song! 

2020 Weekly Photos #36

 We had a pretty quite week! 

Saturday - We headed into town so Nate could get a Covid test.  No photos were allowed which is fine - it wasn't fun for him and hurt a lot.  We then went and got our favorite Tacos from Adobe and had planned to head to a park for a bit but it was raining so we ate in the car.  Everyone in the car got a good laugh because I ate my messy tacos leaning out the door . .. and there was enough cheese, lettuce, and meat laying on the ground to fill another taco HA!  When we got home we all just found something quiet to do and crashed a little.  I was fighting a migraine so I kicked pack in a chair and enjoyed the peacefulness of the house - it was quiet, a warm breeze was blowing through the window and my family was all home.  It was perfect.  

Sunday - I was still fighting a migraine, or at least the after effects of it, which means I was pretty wiped out.  We were all pretty quiet again and just enjoyed football.  

Monday - Our first official day of school. 

Tuesday - More School :-) 

Wednesday - Nate had surgery. 

Thursday and Friday - Recovery days.  I thought I would get some things done on my list but I did not.  Instead I enjoyed my book and even enjoying sitting outside in my swing and reading for the first time since June - before it got SUPER hot!  

Weekly Menu

 Last weeks menu got thrown off a little but that's ok.  :-)  I did pull chili out the freezer to use (it is nice to have things in the freezer to use!) one night and Darryl and I did eat out on Wednesday, the surgery day.  In case you were wondering, I still LOVE my new fridge.  It's awesome having food handy instead of stuffed in coolers or in the freezer in the basement!  This coming week will be quiet.  Nate will be recovering so he is eating popscicles.  We will stick close to home to avoid bringing any germs home so that he can stay healthy while he is healing too.  So with all of that said, here's the plan for the coming week. 

Friday - As is our tradition, we will order in dinner. 

Saturday - This week my mom is coming to our house for dinner so Nate doesn't have to travel :-)  On the Menu is 7 layered salad, Fries,  and Hawaiian Chicken Sliders 

Sunday - Simple Chicken and Snow Pea Stir Fry with Fried Rice and Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls w/ cinnamon butter,

Monday - Dan Dan Pork over Spaghetti Noodles and roasted cauliflower

Tuesday - Meatball Sub Casserole and Salad 

Wednesday - Slow Cooker Zuppa Tuscona and Bosco Bread sticks

Thursday - I'm writing tonight down as leftover night.  We will clean out the fridge. If there happens to be no leftovers, I have stuff for Spaghetti.  

Tonsil Surgery!

 

Nate had his tonsils and adenoids removed on Wednesday.  This is the only photo he let me take and he probably wouldn't be thrilled that I was sharing it but it's the moment.

His surgery went great.  The nurses said he was their star patient and they adored him.  

He's super tough. 

He also gets car sick REALLY bad and couldn't take his medicine today so he was hurling on the way in the morning and hurling on the way home.  He stayed so calm through it all. 

His parents were starving when we left the surgery center and drove to our favorite Mexican place to get tacos for lunch (We didn't stop, we ate the messiest taco's ever while driving down the expressway!) Which might put us on the "worst parents ever" list. 

His pain level is a 10 as I'm writing this despite taking some strong meds but this kid never gripes or complains.  He has some tears but is so tough! 

He gets at least a week off of school even with homeschool - the doctor's actual orders.  

He's doing binge watching of his favorite shows. 

He's allowed to eat anything he wants - but doesn't feel much like eating yet. 

We are praying for no complications and quick healing.  

He actually has two full weeks with no activity to ensure proper healing and then he can finally get back to Tae Kwon Do.  

We are thankful for this time where we having nothing to do so he doesn't have to really "miss" anything. 

I'm thankful for super healthy kids which means this surgery was a first for this guy and, again, he is such a trooper!

What We are Eating - Sour Cream Rice

Yes, I did!  I made something new.  Just last night we had Tacos (Fish Tacos actually) and I wanted something new to serve with dinner.  I found this Mexican Sour Cream Rice dish and it was good.  Even my mom liked it!  It's pretty mild so it doesn't overtake the main dish.  I like it because it is not tomato based like so many Mexican Rice dishes!  (I did not use cilantro - yuck!) 

Recipe Credit: Nums The Word 

Ingredients

• 1 can (14 ounce) chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked rice 
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 ounces diced green chilies
• 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
• 1 can (15.25 ounce) corn, drained or 2 cups fresh (yellow or white)
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instruction

1. Preheat oven to 350*F
2. In a large pot, bring the rice and chicken broth to a boil.
3. Once rice begins to boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Spray an 8x8 square casserole dish with non-stick spray set aside.
5. Once rice is done, all chicken broth will be absorbed.
6. Turn off burner and place pot on a cool burner.
7. Add to the rice the sour cream, green chiles, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, corn, and cilantro. Mix well.
8. Season with salt and mix again.
9. Pour rice mixture into prepared casserole dish, and top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.
10. Bake uncovered 30 minutes. Cheese will be bubbly and lightly browned.
11. Serve immediately!

First Day of School Photos

 Monday was our first official day of school!  I have a 5th grader and a 6th grader, which is just crazy!  I feel like it was just yesterday we were figuring out kindergarten and now I'm trying to figure out middle school!  I love teaching my boys at home.  Every day isn't easy but every day is worth it. 

Nathan - 5th grade

Joshua - 6th grade

We are working on navigating middle school and it hasn't been easy.  It's like going from taking a hike to rock climbing without any help! There is ton of note taking and the lessons take twice as long.  Nate is trying to be more independent (all on his own choice) which is good because I have less time to spend sitting with him, at least here at the beginning.  Here's hoping that today, Tuesday, goes as well as Monday did, or even better! 

Our Camping Adventure

 After a long 5 1/2 months of not doing much, we made a kind of last minute choice to go camping.  We have worked to continue to avoid crowds and closed in spaces so even camping during the busy summer months just didn't seem like the best choice.  Instead, we waited until kids were actually returning to school and we knew we would have the campground mostly to ourselves - which was the case!  The only other people there were older couples or homeschooling families HA!  

I always like to share the in's and out's of our trip mostly because it's a great place for me to look back at for ideas later plus, if you read this and are a camper, it might just give you an idea or two for a future trip. 

Monday: 

The Plan: Pack up, load up, hook up, head out. 

The Meals: Lunch at home - simple, just soup and sandwiches

Dinner: Steak Kabobs, Salad, and Baked Beans

The Reality:

Our goal was to be on the road by 1:00 but we didn't get on the road until 2:00.  It always takes longer to hook up then we remember :-)  The trip was uneventful and easy.  The set up was actually pretty easy - it helps that Josh and Nate are older and know what to do for set up.  Our meals were just as we planned.  We cooked our favorite steak kabobs over the fire.  The beans I made the day before and had planned to throw them in the crock pot to warm up but due to our late start, they wouldn't have had enough time to really warm up so we ate them cold (which are actually my favorite anyway). After dinner, we went down to the beach and watched an amazing sunset before enjoying our campfire and smore's. 

I have decided that I need a small crock pot for the camper - I have one I use at home and love it.  I have a large one in the camper but sometimes, like for beans, it's just too big.  So that is on the list for next year!  

Tuesday:

The Plan: Go to Lewis Farm and Petting Zoo and Drive through Muskegon

Meals: Breakfast - Donuts, Cheese Danish and Hard Boiled Eggs

Lunch:  Sandwiches and Chips

Dinner:  Bernie O's Pizza (our favorite!) 

The Reality:

Meals: Breakfast was on point:  Lunch: McDonald's; Dinner:  Bernie O's

The rain started around 3:00 AM and it rained hard and alot.  We enjoyed breakfast in the pop-up and then just hung out until about 12:30.  We were reading to go exploring for a bit but were also hungry so we stopped at McDonald's for lunch before driving around downtown Muskegon and then heading out to the public beach just to see the water. We did not go to the farm due to the rain.  On the way home we picked up coffee and cookies before spending a little time at the camper.  Finally, we did get our pizza (and it was good!).  The rain stopped in time for us to enjoy a campfire and smore's again which was wonderful!   

This year I bought a drying rack for our towels.  It's something that was on my list for a few years. Granted, it rained a lot so nothing every really dried but it was nice to have a place to put the towels under the canopy instead of on a clothesline in the rain. 

Wednesday

The Plan - The beach, taking a walk to the other campground

Meals:  Breakfast - Eggs, Bacon and Toast

Lunch: Sloppy Joes

Dinner:  Hot Dogs and Chips

The Reality:

Wednesday was another rainy day - but not as rainy as Tuesday!  Cooking outside was not an option due to lots of water (I didn't feel like getting electrocuted!) so thankfully there were plenty of muffins and donuts left.  I pulled out sandwich fixin's for lunch for the same reason.  By early afternoon the rain had stopped so even though it was too chilly to sit at the beach, we walked the channel all the way to our favorite part of the state campground which is closed this year due to flooding.  We wanted to see the flooding for ourselves.  It was eerily quiet and looked like an old deserted forest area.  The water had even receded some but still our two favorite campsites are completely under water.  From there we drove to a new ice cream shop and got some ice cream (I know, how surprising that we got ice cream at an ice cream shop HA!).  On the way back to camp we stopped at a "bunk house" that the guys always hike too.  They also went on a hike down into the forest while I enjoyed a book in the car :-)  Eventually we went back to the campground and made a last minute choice to turn around and get Subway for dinner.  By that time the rain had stopped again and we actually enjoyed a great fire with lots of chatting around the campfire.  

Things I forgot:  Cereal and eggs.  I also was not as organized as I have been in the past which meant more bags and bins making it harder to find things.  We are hoping to camp a few more times next summer so I need to get back to my "old" ways to keep things more organized. 

Thursday

The Plan: Pack up, load up, hook up, head out

Meals:  Breakfast: Cereal

Lunch: On the road

Dinner: Spahgetti or something simple at home

The Reality:

This was the best night sleep for all of us - no rain, not too cold, and maybe so tired that we slept.  With that being said, we all slept in!  Once we got up we did have breakfast but since I forgot the cereal it was the last of the muffins and donuts!  Thankfully there was no rain so that made packing up easier.  We didn't just head home, though.  Nate suggested we go to the beach since it was dry.  We were able to enjoy a great picnic lunch of sandwiches on the beach as well as feeding lots of seagulls.  Then, my dare devil Nate wanted to swim so down to the water we went.  Yes, he got in and yes, it was cold.  Once he had his fill of the water we headed for home.  Once we unloaded, I made sloppy joes for dinner - which was easy since I just needed to heat them up!  

Before we left for camping I bought a $20.00 space heater and it was a life saver.  The temps dropped into the upper 40's one night so without the heater our little pop-up would have been cold!