Church Envy

One of the "dangers" of blogging, facebook, or any other networking systems is that you get to see inside someone else's life and it can cause a little envy.  It is easy to look at where other people live, what they do, or what they wear and wish for something similar.  Yet, one area I never thought would cause envy is church.  Really?  It's "just" church, right?  I don't think so.  Church is where you should get refreshed; rejuvenated; rejoice with others; meet friends; be involved.  It should be the place that fills you up on Sunday so you can carry on through the week and be encouraged not only through your own daily walk abut through what was taught. 

I grew up in church and by that, I mean, I was there when the doors were open and sometimes we were there during the summer because we didn't have air at home :-)  See, my dad is a pastor.  It was not a bad thing at all - I have great memories growing up as a pastors kid and getting to spend so much time in church.  My husband did not.  He didn't become a Christian until he was 30.  We obviously have different backgrounds when it comes to church but we both fully believe the Bible.  I grew up Baptist/Bible and Darryl grew as a Christian listening to J. Vernon McGee and Thru The Bible (which is a great program, by the way!)

So, back to church envy.  Several of the blogs I read are by people who live in the South.  As they write about their churches I'm enthralled.  They are all so excited about going on Sundays and talk about the great programs they have and attend. They also talk about things like MDO (Mom's Day Out) which I think is offered during the summer - where moms can drop off their little kids for a few hours or for the day and get things done; or FNO (I think it is Friday Night out) where parents can drop their kids off at church and enjoy a night out together or dinner with friends.  They also talk about monthly lunches with the women from their Sunday School Class, baby showers that are hosted at homes or restaurants (depending on whether it is child #1 or 2, 3, or 4!)  Wow?  Aren't you a little envious too?  This made me start to do some searching of churches in our area and was slightly disappointed at what I found.  There doesn't seem to be that good "southern" church around here LOL  Imagine that!!!  What does your church offer that you really enjoy?  And what do you wish they offered? 

To clarify, we do attend a church - a really good church. (ok, we don't attend ALL the time) It is a small church so of course it doesn't offer all of those things that are offered at those large churches.  Honestly, sometimes we get discouraged and struggle with it and being involved and how our kids can be involved but it is a great church overall.  It is one of the downsides of living in a small town - the choices are limited . .. and we currently take a 30 minute drive to church which also limits involvement.  So, I guess I'll be a "good" envious for now and just focus on staying grounded, studying God's word, and teaching my child every day!

Happenings in this House

I took last week off due to the Holiday weekend . . .. so I'll try not to picture overload but here are the Happenings in this House for the past two weeks!

 Don't you just love that face?  And people pay big money for hair like that LOL  :-) 

 Nate is always busy.  This is a favorite stepping stool (it is a computer lap desk) He loves to "step up" and "step down"

The boys playing together - notice how all of the trucks are lined up???  That was before Nate started playing ;-) LOL

 We went to Indianapolis for my nephew's open house Memorial Day weekend.  He had these awesome fishbowls as the centerpieces and Josh loved the fish.

 Nate just liked playing on the floor :-)

 Josh played volleyball with Dad and Grandma Mac . . . . .

 Nate played in the mulch, climbing the "mountain" . . . . .

And Darryl chased them all around the yard . . .and the neighbors yard too :-)

 For the past several years, we've gone to meet my Aunt and Uncle at a campground on Memorial Day Weekend.  This year, when we got there, it was at the start of a pretty severe storm.  We sat in the camper and listened to the storm hit (it was way to close!).  The thunder was LOUD and Josh was so scared . . .he went to sleep from closing his eyes.  He obviously feels very secure in his dad's arms.

Nate just camped out in this chair and played with my Aunt - he had no idea what was going on.

 We went downtown for the big Parade on Memorial Day.  The boys loved the "wee-wee's" . . .what?  The police cars and fire engines of course!!!

Then, we came home, set up the sprinkler and let the boys play - it was HOT!!!!

Those are the basics - I could have posted tons of other pictures but I didn't want to overload anyone :-)

Have a great weekend!

Creative Memories Spotlight

Have you been busy scrapbooking?  I have :-)  Over the last few weeks I completed two Graduation books from start to finish, put all of my printed pages on scrapbook pages for 2009 and edited the 2009 pages through September!!  I attended  a "short crop" (it is only 5 hours long haha) and updated my kids professional albums and got 2008 Christmas pages all done. AND I've been spending short bursts of time organizing my scrapbook/craft things so I can actually get to things and be much more productive  Oh, I also uploaded the rest of 2009 and 2010 completed pages to the site I print from so I can start ordering.  I can only do a small group at a time but that's ok, I have other projects to work on as I order and I will be current soon!!  PLUS I took time to really learn how to edit my photos in my Creative Memories Software and am LOVING it!   I edited some professionals shots we had done of the boys as well as started editing March 2010 photos.

So . . . with that said, I'm kinda buried up to my eyebrows in the Creative Memories Software - if you want to get your pictures organized quickly or even have them "put themselves in a book" this is for you!  Jump over to my WEBSITE and check out all of the digital scrapbooking items.   I personally still love the good old traditional way with pictures and paper BUT to get current or for those of you that don't have the patience for traditional . . .the digital software is the way to go!

Enjoy your weekend!  I'll be posting this coming weeks about the graduation albums so you can see what I did with that software too!  The more I use it the more I love it :-)

21 Days of Prayer Challenge

Several months ago I heard about a book called "Warrior Prayers" which is book on praying for your boys.  Being the mom of two little boys, this interested me alot.  I pray for my boys daily but this book goes a little deeper.  Recently, I saw the 21 days of prayer challenge on Facebook and started clicking away.  The author did a giveaway of her Ebook to those that signed up for the challenge at that time so I signed up!  Don't worry, you can still purchase the book by just going HERE - you'll find a link on the left side of the blog to purchase the book or the Ebook. 

Here the basics for participation in this challenge from the Warrior Prayers blog:

Here’s how to participate:

1. Purchase your own copy of Warrior Prayers: Praying the Word for Boys in the Areas They Need it Most (just $5.97)
2. I recommend getting your copy of the eBook bound or placing it in a 3-ring binder (or buying it for Kindle!) so that you can easily flip from page to page and leave your book open all day to the topics you’re currently praying. To help you go deeper, study questions accompany each of the main chapters.
3. Commit to praying for your sons ten times a day for 21 days straight. (Note: this IS a commitment. If you feel led to participate, pray and ask the Lord to give you the strength, courage and endurance needed for the length of the challenge).

This challenge begins on June 8th - next Wednesday and I've signed up to be a leader through my blog so you can join me too!  I have both the Ebook and the Leader's guide and will be posting based on that information.  I plan on printing both this weekend and will let you know on Wednesday when to expect to see posts (I'm leaning towards I'll be doing a post each day on this topic but want to read through the info first :-)) I look forward to sharing this info with you and hearing about your stories too. 

Are you going to join me?  If so, leave a comment and let me know!  I'm going to try to have a Linky set up for the posts starting next week but, if that doesn't work, we'll do it all through the comments instead :-) 

Use this weekend to get your book and prepare to make an impact on your boys :-)

Bacon Crescent Wraps

It is Show Us Your Life Friday over at Kellys Korner - and this week is Appetizers!  Amazingly, as much as we love appetizers, I don't have any of our favorites posted on my recipe page as of yet!  There are a few items such as the Frozen Hot Chocolate which is so fantastic in the summer.  It is quick and easy and I think counts as an appetizer :-)  Another favorite of many people that you can check out is Rotel Dip.  This link will take you to a post I did about the appetizers we had on New Years Eve so there are several others listed there as well!!  You can also "morph" my Baked Teriyaki Chicken recipe into an appetizer by using chicken wings instead of thighs.  We do that often and they are just so good!!

I also wanted to share another of our favorites - Bacon Crescent Wraps.  This is an old Pampered Chef recipe that I've been making for at least 15 years.  We have it at almost every party we host and often I'll make them to have on a Saturday night for something fun.  I don't have an actual picture but this stock photo gives a pretty close idea of what they look like.

Ingredients:
1 3 oz package of cream cheese, softened  (or just just 1/2 a block - 4 ounces)
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup real bacon pieces
1 8 ounce package crescent rolls
2 tablespoons chopped onion

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine cream cheese, bacon, onion and pepper.  Separate crescent rolls into 2 rectangles.  Pinch seams together.  Spread cheese mixture on each rectangle.  Roll up, starting at the longest side and seal. Cut each roll into 16 slices.  Place on baking sheet with cut side down.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes:
For parties - I always double this recipe, sometimes I triple it - they go fast. 
I usually buy bacon pieces in the jar (for salads).  This saves time and mess from having to cook bacon.

Another family favorite is Warm and Creamy Bacon Dip:

Ingredients
1 16 oz container of Sour Cream
1 - 3 oz jar Hormel Bacon Bits (the real bacon - not the hard crunchy bits)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup chopped green onions

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees.  In bowl, combine all ingredients.  Place in a 1-quart baking dish.  Cover.  Heat 25-30 minutes or until hot.  Serve with assorted fresh vegetables, crackers or tortilla chips.  Makes about 3 cups.

Tot School - The week we read and planted a garden

Last week we finished up the Letter A with lots of reading about Apples.  (My kids love books!)  In my planning, I knew that this week we would be concentrating on getting our teeny tiny garden planted as well as planting the last of the flower bulbs I had sitting  resting in my garage since . . February (what? It snowed at the end of April and we still had freezing temps in the middle of May!)

Here are a few pictures from our relaxed learning this week!

We did get our books from the library for our Letter B that we plan on working on over the next 2 weeks.

 Josh was very excited when I brought these books in - he spread them all out on the floor, looked at them and than picked the one with the big butterfly on the cover.  It is an ABC book based on butterflies - there are pictures of actual butterflies, than a close up picture of their wing that has the letter shape on it in color.  Very cool.  I was surprised that he picked that one first but he loved the pictures and kept saying "flutter, flutter" and waving his arms.

 He got right up on his dad's lap and waited for him to read the book (while watching a little Tom and Jerry too!)  (sorry for the lack of clothes - it was H.O.T.!!!  The boys were shirtless and the little boys . . .well, there is a benefit to wearing diapers!)

 We also worked on coloring skills.  We are working on holding a pencil correctly - Josh loves highlighters; he spent a long time sitting at the table coloring pictures :-)

Really?  We did a lot of this on Monday and Tuesday because of the horrible heat and humidity.  This is a rare sight in this house so you know the heat was beating him down!!

Now on to our gardening :-)  I was very thankful for beautiful weather on Wednesday - it was cool and breezy so working outside was actually pleasant (and I don't like yard work at all!)  Neither of the boys were very interested at first but . . .it didn't take long for Josh to notice the bugs crawling in the freshly turned soil.  Yes, bugs are now part of my life - he is 100% intrigued with them and has become quite the mosquito hunter.  We talked about what was in the dirt and what we were doing.

 "Ohhhh!!!"  Every time I shoveled dirt, Josh had to "clean up" and fill in the hole LOL  I finally got him to understand that we needed to plant first!

Here is one section of our final garden :-)  We have tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, onions, and eggplant . .. I think.  Josh took a great interest in the tags that I put in the ground.  I thought he was playing with them but, than I went inside and threw something away at which time I found that he was just "cleaning up" and had thrown them away HA! 

Sometimes, the best learning time, is hands on learning and that is what we are doing this week.  I've been really concentrating this week on getting Josh to help me - throw things away that I specifically ask him to do, serve himself something from a bowl at dinner - lots of practical learning right now.  Also, since we are spending a lot of time outside, we are working with him on how to take off his own shoes - this really is a hard concept to grasp!  Nate is still very absorbed with books which I love.  He is also learning how to use a spoon and to clean up his place by wiping the table with a wet wipe. 

Check back next week for some (hopefully) creative ways that we learn the letter "B"!!

What I'm Reading

This is the book that I finished this week and I really enjoyed it.  I have actually set it aside to use in my daily quiet time once I finish up with the others I'm currently work on.  Lisa writes short chapters of info (2-4 pages at the most) than includes as many, if not more, pages of what she calls "rest stops" which are ideas for incorporating the "me" in Mommy.  I want to take time to read each rest stop at the end of the chapters and look for the ideas I can incorporate into my daily life.  She gives so many ideas that all you need to do is pick the one or two that really speak to you - not all of them!   This is a very easy to read book but I would give yourself time to absorb her ideas and put them into play in your life one at a time. 

The following three books are the three that I am currently using with my daily quiet time.

Then, I am currently reading The Total Woman.  This is the book that I originally picked because it kinda struck me funny.  The premise of the book is basically how you can impact your marriage and your husband based on how you treat him.  It was written back in the 70's so I figured it would be pretty outrageous but, you know what, I haven't laughed to much LOL  Instead, what I've found is simply this - she states the exact same things that I've read in other books recently about marriage but it is just written in a way that was in touch with woman at that time.  Men still want to be respected and admired - she also has some pretty creative ideas in that book too :-)   If you haven't read this book, it is really a very interesting read.