Family Fun - Christmas

It seems kind of fitting that we are at the half-way point of 2016 and I'm just now writing about Christmas HA!

I will say that we had a wonderful Christmas 2015.  It's the first time in three years that either the boys or I or all three of us haven't been super sick.  I'm even more thankful for that fact now as we didn't realize at the time the major changes our family would go through and we wouldn't have another Christmas like this one again.  It also make some of this photos extra special.  

 The boys stockings.  I always have fun with their stockings and end up going over budget and with more stuff than will fit inside but that's ok. 

 My brother Ken and his family joined us this year and it was just so much fun.  We laughed and laughed.  These pictures of my dad are precious. 

 Ken and my mom. 

 The boys love my brother.  I haven't quite figured out why since he doesn't do a whole lot other than talk to them :-)

Braedon is Josh's hero.  He loves him and wants to just hang out with him whenever he can.  I think it's pretty cool and Braedon is pretty awesome because he takes time to actually listen to Josh and play with him.

Our day was great - we had a good breakfast, opened gifts for hours (that's what happens when there are so many in one house), had a fabulous dinner and hung out playing games and talking.  I would chalk it up as pretty much a perfect day.

Weekly Menu - It's 4th of July!

Can you believe that we are at the unofficial halfway point of summer (or it is official . . .).  I can't.  June was busy which made it go fast.  We have some family stuff planned over the weekend and I think the kids will end up being with my mom for a few days too.  So, here's my half way planned - little bit sketchy menu.

Friday - After leftovers and eating stuff to clean out the cupboards/fridge and freezer I figure I need to plan something.  So, to keep things simple (and tasty) burgers on the grill, fries w/cheese sauce, and fried zucchini. Tonight is also our town fireworks so we also have Monkey Bread, Goldfish, and popcorn!

Saturday - My mother-in-law is hosting her annual 4th of July picnic so we are heading there for the day.  I think I'll make the Summer Corn Salad that we love, Cucumbers in Vinegar because I love them, Chips and Dip, and some sort of dessert.

Sunday - Monday - We will be at my mom's house.  My brother, Ken, and his family will be there too so we are having a picnic on Monday.  I'm making the Strawberry Pretzel Salad.

Tuesday - Thursday - I think the boys will be staying with my mom for a few days so . . .you know what that means :-)  I won't be cooking!! (Seriously, one night, we are going to our favorite Mexican place!!)

I think after this week, we will have some semi-normal weeks throughout July.  

Less Is More

For several years I've been intrigued by the by the concept of minimalism.  The simple art of "Less is More".

I have a couple of friends who have embraced this idea already and it has worked for them.  There are different levels of minimalism (think about the Tiny House craze right now) and I'm not extreme at all.  Rather, I just really want to make sure that what we are living with is what we love and need.  I don't plan on getting rid of everything - just the things that don't really work in our home or life.

Every year, I seem to start the project of going through everything and cleaning things out but I tend to get side tracked about half way through.  It's a distraction, really, as you start to clean things out and get sucked into those on-line garage sale sites where you " think" you can make some extra money or the thought of a garage sale creeps into mind.  (I have two friends who did the garage thing recently and as one said, she made "$0.05  an hour" HA!)

Several of my summer goals focused on organizing or cleaning stuff out so this fits right into that plan.  It starts this week with the simple cleaning off of some shelves in the bathroom, cleaning out the filing cabinet, and cleaning out some kitchen drawers/cabinets.  I've picked up some boxes so that I can place things in those boxes that we don't love and don't use and then, as the box fills, it will go directly to somewhere else.  For the most part it will go directly to Good Will.

As I move along this path to "Less is More" I'm hopeful that it will help me focus more on when I spend money and what I spend money on in an effort to buy more and spend less too. 

What We Are Eating - California Spaghetti Salad

California Spaghetti Salad
adapted from The Recipe Critic

My husband loves Spaghetti Salad.  It was served at our wedding because it was his favorite thing.  I seldom make it though.  It's so easy, light and fresh so there really isn't a good reason NOT to make it.  I cane across this recipe on Facebook and decided to try it.  It's got all of the basics of traditional spaghetti salad but it doesn't use the classic Salad Supreme seasoning.  Instead, it calls from Italian Dressing with Parmesan cheese added.  I found that I really like it better with the seasoning mix.  I think I'll be making this often throughout the summer! 

Ingredients

• 1 pound thin spaghetti, broken into 1 inch pieces
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, chopped in half
• 2 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 large cucumber, diced
• 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 2 cans (2-1/4 ounces each) sliced ripe olives, drained
• DRESSING:
• 1 bottle (16 ounces) Italian salad dressing
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon celery seed
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water. Add cherry tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, green and red bell pepper, red onion and olives in a large bowl.
2. To make the dressing: Whisk together italian salad dressing, parmesan cheese, sesame seeds, paprika, celery seed, and garlic powder. Pour over salad and toss until coated. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Book Study - Longing for Paris

The first book form the large stack of books I'm hoping to read throughout the rest of the year that I cracked open is this book entitled "A Longing for Paris" .  I heard about it well over a year ago and, is my standard practice, I dropped it into my Amazon "cart" so I wouldn't forget out it.  Darryl needed to order a few things, saw it sitting there and ordered it for me as a surprise.  It then sat on the shelf like all of the rest of the books for a long time. 

In learning to walk through this new path called grief, I started searching for books on dealing with grief and difficulties in life.  I happened to pick this up and read the first chapter and realized that this "fit" what I was looking for right now.  It's not emotionally charged nor does it specifically deal with grief but rather it deals with finding your hopes and dreams after they have been lost or misplaced. 

I have been to Paris and it is beautiful.  The whole idea behind this book is not necessarily about going to Paris, unless that is your dream, but rather finding what your dreams are; what your longings are; and then learning how to fullfill those longings right where you are living. 

This simple truth about how much God cares about us which includes our dreams is such a great reminder.  Too often it is easy to get caught up in the idea that everything has to be a sacrifice and it doesn't.  We can have wishes and dreams and happiness IN Christ too. 

I'm only on chapter three and am working on some of the challenges the author gives at the end of each chapter which I will share in future posts about this book.  So far, I'm enjoying it and am finding it encouraging.

Summer Weekly Fun

I was reminded recently (thanks to the TimeHop App on my Ipad) that I used to write a "Summer Fun" post each week that reviewed what we did the week before and those posts were very fun to read through!  I also realized that I did more a few years ago than I do now but it also inspired me to pick this back up once again.  So, here is week one of our Summer Weekly fun!

It's fitting that I'm talking about last week since Summer officially began on Monday :-)

Monday, June 20th - Today the boys attended the first day of Vacation Bible School at the church were quite a few of our friends go.  They had a blast.  I love easy summer fun - the kind that someone else plans!  We spent an hour or so on Monday afternoon working on posters for the contest on Tuesday.  Monday evening, the boys and I went up to the new medical building that was built in town to tour it.  The boys have watched that building be built from day one so I thought it would be fun for them to see it finished.  Their favorite part?  The snack tent that we got to visit after the tour HA!

 Josh's poster

Nate's poster

Tuesday, June 21st - Another great day of VBS!  Today the boys had fun doing Tie-Dye shirts.  They had to pick out "costume" ideas for the contest on Wednesday which inspired a lot of creative play.  Nate's going as a dinosaur thanks to his Halloween costume which all three boys ended up wearing during their afternoon of fun.  We ended the day with Josh's last baseball game.  I had lots of friends praying that he would at least hit the ball and guess what, he did!  Sure it was a foul but at least he hit it!

Wednesday - June 22nd - I took my animals (a Dinosaur and a Bear) to VBS once again.  We then stopped for a simple picnic in the park and then some play time before heading home.

Thursday - June 23rd - Today was the final day of regular VBS. (The decorations were amazing!)

Friday, June 24th - Today my focus is on prepping for our camping trip during the day so our fun happens in the evening - the end of VBS is a carnival !! 

My Playlist

This weeks song is one I had never heard until my friend shared her list of songs with me.  It is titled "Eye of the Storm" by Ryan Stevenson.




I believe that one of the reasons that songs speak to people is because the words can apply to so many situations.  My favorite part of this song is as follows:

When my hopes and dreams are far from me, and I’m running out of faith
I see the future I pictured slowly fade away
And when the tears of pain and heartache are pouring down my face
I find my peace in Jesus' name

In the eye of the storm, You remain in control
In the middle of the war, You guard my soul
You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn
Your love surrounds me, in the eye of the storm

I can truly feel and understand these words as I go through the grieving process since losing my dad.  I had so many hopes and dreams for my kids with their Papa not to mention my own plans and the simple truth that I really believed that we had years with him still.  Yet despite the tears and the heartache, Jesus is still the peace giver.