Last week we celebrated Silas' seventh birthday. I realize that's not generally a milestone birthday, but it could have been a really horrible day for us. Honestly, the the whole month of June has been a little weird for me emotionally.
Ten months earlier Silas was dead, a drowning victim without a heartbeat. Let me just tell you that it's pretty surreal to see your husband doing chest compressions on your son, to think "I have two kids now" when you had three just a few minutes earlier, to explain to your questioning four year old why his brother isn't moving and what Daddy is doing to him.
Ari, Tim's niece who had just turned nine, died three weeks before Silas drowned. It was a freak accident, a horrible tragedy.
Why did one kid survive and the other die? Why did CPR work for one child and not the other? We'll never know. Life doesn't always make sense.
I'm just thankful that God gave Silas to us. Twice.
And I'm praying for Ari's parents and sister as they enter July, the month Ari was born and the month she died.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
FREE ADVERTISING #5
I just discovered that I did a #6 back in October, but never did a #5. Oops. Don't want the #5 to feel left out, so we'll do it now. Actually, I'm going to change things up a bit. I'll go ahead and give you a couple sites to check out, but then I'm going to ask you to leave a comment with a link to and description of a site (or two or three or ...) that you'd recommend. You can toot your own horn and try and get business for yourself or you can try to send business toward someone you know. All I ask is that you not link us to big, well-established companies (Old Navy, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, etc) and stick to people who are working for themselves. Okey dokey?
So, here are a few sites to get you started.
Dani is someone I've known since childhood. She now lives in Tigard and is wanting to establish her Partylite business in the Portland area. She has lots of customers where she came from, but it's time for a fresh start. So, if you're out of honeydew, mulberry, velvet rose, or french vanilla (or whatever scent floats your boat) candles, have the perfect spot to hang a sconce, or want to earn some free stuff to keep or give as Christmas gifts, then she's your girl!!
I met Tiffany back in our college days. She started a site called Mommy Goes Green back in the spring dedicated to helping moms find ways to make more earth friendly decisions. While I realize that not everyone, for various reasons and myself included, has a goal of being as "green" as humanly possible, I'm confident we could all do a thing or two to take better care of world. So, head over and check out the site, join the forums, or do some shopping.
I'd really love to link you to Sachi's site, but she doesn't have one. Yet. I'm thinking she needs to get on etsy (that's a site for people to sell handmade items, in case you aren't familiar with it) pretty soon! Check out these bags she just created. Aren't they awesome?!
All righty, now it's your turn. What are some businesses or individuals that you think we should support?
So, here are a few sites to get you started.
Dani is someone I've known since childhood. She now lives in Tigard and is wanting to establish her Partylite business in the Portland area. She has lots of customers where she came from, but it's time for a fresh start. So, if you're out of honeydew, mulberry, velvet rose, or french vanilla (or whatever scent floats your boat) candles, have the perfect spot to hang a sconce, or want to earn some free stuff to keep or give as Christmas gifts, then she's your girl!!
I met Tiffany back in our college days. She started a site called Mommy Goes Green back in the spring dedicated to helping moms find ways to make more earth friendly decisions. While I realize that not everyone, for various reasons and myself included, has a goal of being as "green" as humanly possible, I'm confident we could all do a thing or two to take better care of world. So, head over and check out the site, join the forums, or do some shopping.
I'd really love to link you to Sachi's site, but she doesn't have one. Yet. I'm thinking she needs to get on etsy (that's a site for people to sell handmade items, in case you aren't familiar with it) pretty soon! Check out these bags she just created. Aren't they awesome?!
An Old Navy bag, a Target bag and a Gap bag.
5 Fred Meyer bags, a Target bag, a Toys R Us bag, and lined with a Target bag.
All righty, now it's your turn. What are some businesses or individuals that you think we should support?
Friday, June 26, 2009
ENTERTAINMENT, BARGAINS, MEETUPS, & ANSWERED PRAYER
Answered Prayer - Remember Person A that I told you about on Tuesday? The one who stole a bunch of money from us and kept lying about it? Well, Tuesday afternoon, just hours after I'd shared my feelings on the matter, we received an envelope from them in our mailbox with just over half the money they stole from us. We were totally shocked, as it was much more than they'd ever admitted to in their two partial confessions, and totally blessed, as we've simply wanted them to take responsibility for what they did. I have no idea if we'll ever the rest of the money returned, but we're so thankful for the part that was paid back.
Entertainment - Last night Tim, the boys and I headed out to watch a Portland Beavers baseball game with tickets we got as birthday presents. The evening started out with a ride on the MAX, which was one of the highlights of the evening for the boys. We've lived here almost four years and have only ridden it once, just a couple months after we got to town. They loved it! Anyway, it was great to get out and do something fun and new. Saw some home runs, clapped to the music, and ate yummy snacks ... and the guy doing the scoreboard tossed a game ball over the fence to us as we were leaving! Fun times!!
Bargains - I had to walk down the road to run some errands this evening and decided to take along some Old Navy gift cards that I got for my birthday. I figured I'd just zip in, since I was in the area, and see if anything grabbed me. Well, that was a brilliant idea, if I don't say so myself. I ended up getting three pairs of shorts, two pairs of jeans (discovered I can fit into the kid sizes, which are half the price of the adult ones), one cami and a shirt for Naomi. I'm too cheap to spend almost $5 on a toddler shirt, but ..... here's the deal. If you spend $50 from 6/26-6/28, then they'll give you a coupon worth $20 to spend from 7/6-7-8. So, I figured I'd snag a shirt for Naomi (it's hard to find reasonably priced, non-sexy shirts for girls and they actually had a few in stock) to bring me over the $50 mark.
Original price - $132.50
Sale Price - $52.49 (which was paid for with gift cards)
Plus, I'll get to go spend the $20 they gave me in about 10 days!
Entertainment - Last night Tim, the boys and I headed out to watch a Portland Beavers baseball game with tickets we got as birthday presents. The evening started out with a ride on the MAX, which was one of the highlights of the evening for the boys. We've lived here almost four years and have only ridden it once, just a couple months after we got to town. They loved it! Anyway, it was great to get out and do something fun and new. Saw some home runs, clapped to the music, and ate yummy snacks ... and the guy doing the scoreboard tossed a game ball over the fence to us as we were leaving! Fun times!!
Meetups - It's been a while since I've had a meetup with someone from the Sonlight forums that I haven't met before. So, I was excited to have Heidi come over to my house and cease being just an e-maginary friend. She was passing through town, so she popped in and spent the afternoon comparing parenting notes, chatting about homeschooling, comparing gardens (mine is bigger, but hers is way cooler) and watching my kids show off for her (Mrs. ____, look! ... Mrs. ____, watch this! .... Mrs. ____, do you want to play (fill in the blank) with me?). It was great spending some time with her face to face!!
Bargains - I had to walk down the road to run some errands this evening and decided to take along some Old Navy gift cards that I got for my birthday. I figured I'd just zip in, since I was in the area, and see if anything grabbed me. Well, that was a brilliant idea, if I don't say so myself. I ended up getting three pairs of shorts, two pairs of jeans (discovered I can fit into the kid sizes, which are half the price of the adult ones), one cami and a shirt for Naomi. I'm too cheap to spend almost $5 on a toddler shirt, but ..... here's the deal. If you spend $50 from 6/26-6/28, then they'll give you a coupon worth $20 to spend from 7/6-7-8. So, I figured I'd snag a shirt for Naomi (it's hard to find reasonably priced, non-sexy shirts for girls and they actually had a few in stock) to bring me over the $50 mark.
Original price - $132.50
Sale Price - $52.49 (which was paid for with gift cards)
Plus, I'll get to go spend the $20 they gave me in about 10 days!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
THREE WEEKS, THREE PEOPLE, TOUGH LESSONS
Let me introduce you to three people who God has used to teach or remind me of some things over the last three weeks.
Person A - Three weeks ago today we discovered that PA had stolen money from us, including money from one of our children. Each time we talked to PA about it they changed their story - they "borrowed" it, they only took "x" amount, they only took "y" amount, they think someone else took some, etc. They've never apologized. They've never made a full confession. They've never made made any restitution. We reported the theft, but can't press charges because we don't have enough evidence.
Person B - We requested something from PB, basically a boundary that our family needed. Nothing major. PB agreed, then confronted me about it a couple days later, upset and visibly shaking. Apparently they'd taken a request that was about our family's needs and interpreted it as a personal attack against one of their family members, lost two nights of sleep, considered ending our friendship, and had contacted the sheriff's office to see if they could disregard our request.
Person C - I've known PC since childhood. They recently publicly and rudely accused my family of treating them a certain way during our childhood. The accusation was entirely false. I privately and politely asked PC how and/or when I (just me, not my family) had treated them this way. They said they couldn't think of an example, then continued publicly complaining about my family.
Before I go on, let me say that I like all three of these people and am going to ask that their real names not be used. I intentionally left out details about each scenario that would make it clear who the person was. If you know or think you know who they are, then please keep that information private. A few people know who PA is because we sought their counsel in dealing with the situation. A few people know who PC is because they witnessed the accusation about my family. I've talked to no one about PB. I like these people and don't want their names publicized. Fair enough?
Needless to say, I've run the gamut of negative emotions over the last three weeks - frustration, shock, confusion, anger, sadness, and worry. I've yelled, cried, swore, locked myself in my room, taken my frustration out on my family, been nauseated, been creepy calm, rolled my eyes, had tension headaches, and used the phrases "good grief", "you've got to be kidding", "oh my word", and "for cryin' out loud" way more than usual. All really helpful and mature things, don't you think?
Somewhere in the midst of my frustration with and confusion about humanity, God's been showing me some things I need to work on. Don't you hate it when he does that? When he interrupts your pouting about other people to remind you that you've got flaws of your own to work on? Well, here are some of the ways he's used the three situations above to work on me.
Anger - The first thing, and perhaps the biggest, is that I've realized my capacity to be really angry and bitter. The situation with PA is much more complicated than I've presented here and it really fires me up. A lot. While I do think a certain amount of anger is normal when you've been the victim of a crime, and perhaps more so when you know the criminal, I've realized how much I can wallow in it. I'll think about one aspect of it and get really tense and worked up. Then that thought leads to another and another. Pretty soon I'm obsessed about all aspects and mad as can be. I have imaginary conversations with PA in my head where I'm harsh, sarcastic, and dredge up other foolish choices they've made. I have a selfish and immature desire (which I promise I won't give in to) to let everyone who knows this person know what they did to us. It's horrible.
The thing is, as angry as I am about the situation, I don't want to stay angry. I don't want to be one of those women who goes through life mad and bitter toward everyone who's ever done her wrong. I want the anger to subside, otherwise it will make my life much more miserable than PA's theft ever could have.
Psalm 37:8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret - it leads only to evil.
James 1:19-20 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
Clearly, I need to let go of the anger toward PA.
Lack of cooperation and/or obedience - The situation with PB really confused me. Our request was not unusual or unreasonable and the response truly surprised me. I suppose I just expected a friendly "sure, no problem" rather than a call to the local law enforcement in an attempt to justify disregarding our request.
Then one day I was folding laundry and pondering the situation, thinking it seemed like such a simple request to cooperate with, when the thought "it's kinda like how you treat your family" went through my head. Now, I know that was a God thing because I don't generally tattle on myself. But once the thought was there I could see some striking similarities between my behavior and PB's perplexing response.
You see, there are lots of times where Tim or one of the kiddos makes a request - give a backrub, read a book, play hide and seek, scan a document, dig up a file, watch a cool trick - and I say no. Or I cooperate, but I do it with a bad attitude, complaining, etc. Other times there are things God tells me to do - submit to Tim's leadership, be kind, don't let unwholesome talk come out of my mouth, etc - and I try to justify my disobedience by pointing out how stressful my circumstances are, how wrong the other person is, how right I am, or that I simply don't feel like doing the right thing.
James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
So, in addition to not turning into a bitter, angry old woman, I also need to work on cooperating with the requests my family makes of me and obeying what the Lord asks of me - without excuse.
Justice - It's pretty frustrating that PA is, from a legal standpoint, going to get away with their crime. While I think the guidelines set by the legal system are fair and understand why we can't press charges, it really bothers me that this person will suffer no tangible consequence for what they did to our family. It also bothers me that PC can tell blatant lies about me and not be held accountable. They're presenting a very skewed and dishonest view of their past (and their present, for that matter) to the people they know in the present and it's not right.
I do think there's a time for pursuing justice from a legal standpoint, but that's not always possible or realistic. While there's a part of me that just wants to make PA and PC suffer in the same way they're making other people suffer, at least until they make things right, what I have to remember is that God is ultimately in control. Even if things don't seem fair, like people are getting away with doing things that are wrong, there will be justice. There are always consequences for our choices, even if they don't come when and how we'd anticipate.
Let me clarify that I'm not saying that I want justice in a "Make them pay!!" manner, but I'd simply like PA and PC to be held accountable for what they've done or said and to make restitution.
Isaiah 3:11 Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done.
Romans 12:19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"says the Lord.
Numbers 32:23b But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
So, where does that leave me? I need to not be angry, stop justifying my lack of cooperation or obedience, and trust that God will take care of the things that need to be taken care of in other people's lives. All righty. That's enough, right? Wrong. There's one more thing.
Not being defensive - The things that PC said about my family were simply not true and I really wanted to start listing all the ways I could prove the truth, prove that I was innocent of the things they'd accused me of.
When PB got upset about our request, they talked to some of their friends about it. I totally understand the need to vent and get feedback from friends, so that didn't bother me at all. But the way the conversation went down misrepresented me and the motives we had for making our request. I really wanted to explain myself to their friends, to prove that I neither had a malicious plan to harm anyone nor was I being superficial.
In both of these cases I felt a strong desire to defend myself, as I knew I hadn't done anything wrong. And I still feel that way. It's a bummer to know that people view you or your decisions in a negative manner based on incomplete or incorrect information.
But here's the thing that keeps coming to mind. I'm not perfect. Well, that's not a newsflash, but let me finish my train of thought. I'm not perfect and people are accusing me, directly and indirectly, of things that aren't true. I totally want to jump up and defend my reputation. Jesus, on the other hand, is perfect and he had people falsely accusing him. Do you know what his response was? Silence. He didn't say a word. He knew that there was no purpose in defending himself against false accusations from people who already had their minds made up.
Mark 14:59-61a Yet even their testimony did not agree. Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
In the rest of the last verse and the one after it he does answer the question of whether or not he is the Christ. I think it's interesting that he doesn't waste time arguing about what he's not, but simply answers questions about who he is. I need to stop worrying about whatever false impressions people have of me and simply live a life that speaks for itself.
So, there you go. I need to be a non-angry, cooperative and obedient, trusting in God's justice, non-defensive kind of girl. And that's been kinda hard the last three weeks.
I know that got kinda long. I almost didn't type it out because it's a bit embarrassing to admit that I'm in my thirties and want to deal with conflict in a junior high manner. But, I needed to write it all out for my own sake and figured that there may be someone else who needs to learn some of the same lessons.
Person A - Three weeks ago today we discovered that PA had stolen money from us, including money from one of our children. Each time we talked to PA about it they changed their story - they "borrowed" it, they only took "x" amount, they only took "y" amount, they think someone else took some, etc. They've never apologized. They've never made a full confession. They've never made made any restitution. We reported the theft, but can't press charges because we don't have enough evidence.
Person B - We requested something from PB, basically a boundary that our family needed. Nothing major. PB agreed, then confronted me about it a couple days later, upset and visibly shaking. Apparently they'd taken a request that was about our family's needs and interpreted it as a personal attack against one of their family members, lost two nights of sleep, considered ending our friendship, and had contacted the sheriff's office to see if they could disregard our request.
Person C - I've known PC since childhood. They recently publicly and rudely accused my family of treating them a certain way during our childhood. The accusation was entirely false. I privately and politely asked PC how and/or when I (just me, not my family) had treated them this way. They said they couldn't think of an example, then continued publicly complaining about my family.
Before I go on, let me say that I like all three of these people and am going to ask that their real names not be used. I intentionally left out details about each scenario that would make it clear who the person was. If you know or think you know who they are, then please keep that information private. A few people know who PA is because we sought their counsel in dealing with the situation. A few people know who PC is because they witnessed the accusation about my family. I've talked to no one about PB. I like these people and don't want their names publicized. Fair enough?
Needless to say, I've run the gamut of negative emotions over the last three weeks - frustration, shock, confusion, anger, sadness, and worry. I've yelled, cried, swore, locked myself in my room, taken my frustration out on my family, been nauseated, been creepy calm, rolled my eyes, had tension headaches, and used the phrases "good grief", "you've got to be kidding", "oh my word", and "for cryin' out loud" way more than usual. All really helpful and mature things, don't you think?
Somewhere in the midst of my frustration with and confusion about humanity, God's been showing me some things I need to work on. Don't you hate it when he does that? When he interrupts your pouting about other people to remind you that you've got flaws of your own to work on? Well, here are some of the ways he's used the three situations above to work on me.
Anger - The first thing, and perhaps the biggest, is that I've realized my capacity to be really angry and bitter. The situation with PA is much more complicated than I've presented here and it really fires me up. A lot. While I do think a certain amount of anger is normal when you've been the victim of a crime, and perhaps more so when you know the criminal, I've realized how much I can wallow in it. I'll think about one aspect of it and get really tense and worked up. Then that thought leads to another and another. Pretty soon I'm obsessed about all aspects and mad as can be. I have imaginary conversations with PA in my head where I'm harsh, sarcastic, and dredge up other foolish choices they've made. I have a selfish and immature desire (which I promise I won't give in to) to let everyone who knows this person know what they did to us. It's horrible.
The thing is, as angry as I am about the situation, I don't want to stay angry. I don't want to be one of those women who goes through life mad and bitter toward everyone who's ever done her wrong. I want the anger to subside, otherwise it will make my life much more miserable than PA's theft ever could have.
Psalm 37:8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret - it leads only to evil.
James 1:19-20 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
Clearly, I need to let go of the anger toward PA.
Lack of cooperation and/or obedience - The situation with PB really confused me. Our request was not unusual or unreasonable and the response truly surprised me. I suppose I just expected a friendly "sure, no problem" rather than a call to the local law enforcement in an attempt to justify disregarding our request.
Then one day I was folding laundry and pondering the situation, thinking it seemed like such a simple request to cooperate with, when the thought "it's kinda like how you treat your family" went through my head. Now, I know that was a God thing because I don't generally tattle on myself. But once the thought was there I could see some striking similarities between my behavior and PB's perplexing response.
You see, there are lots of times where Tim or one of the kiddos makes a request - give a backrub, read a book, play hide and seek, scan a document, dig up a file, watch a cool trick - and I say no. Or I cooperate, but I do it with a bad attitude, complaining, etc. Other times there are things God tells me to do - submit to Tim's leadership, be kind, don't let unwholesome talk come out of my mouth, etc - and I try to justify my disobedience by pointing out how stressful my circumstances are, how wrong the other person is, how right I am, or that I simply don't feel like doing the right thing.
James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
So, in addition to not turning into a bitter, angry old woman, I also need to work on cooperating with the requests my family makes of me and obeying what the Lord asks of me - without excuse.
Justice - It's pretty frustrating that PA is, from a legal standpoint, going to get away with their crime. While I think the guidelines set by the legal system are fair and understand why we can't press charges, it really bothers me that this person will suffer no tangible consequence for what they did to our family. It also bothers me that PC can tell blatant lies about me and not be held accountable. They're presenting a very skewed and dishonest view of their past (and their present, for that matter) to the people they know in the present and it's not right.
I do think there's a time for pursuing justice from a legal standpoint, but that's not always possible or realistic. While there's a part of me that just wants to make PA and PC suffer in the same way they're making other people suffer, at least until they make things right, what I have to remember is that God is ultimately in control. Even if things don't seem fair, like people are getting away with doing things that are wrong, there will be justice. There are always consequences for our choices, even if they don't come when and how we'd anticipate.
Let me clarify that I'm not saying that I want justice in a "Make them pay!!" manner, but I'd simply like PA and PC to be held accountable for what they've done or said and to make restitution.
Isaiah 3:11 Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done.
Romans 12:19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"says the Lord.
Numbers 32:23b But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
So, where does that leave me? I need to not be angry, stop justifying my lack of cooperation or obedience, and trust that God will take care of the things that need to be taken care of in other people's lives. All righty. That's enough, right? Wrong. There's one more thing.
Not being defensive - The things that PC said about my family were simply not true and I really wanted to start listing all the ways I could prove the truth, prove that I was innocent of the things they'd accused me of.
When PB got upset about our request, they talked to some of their friends about it. I totally understand the need to vent and get feedback from friends, so that didn't bother me at all. But the way the conversation went down misrepresented me and the motives we had for making our request. I really wanted to explain myself to their friends, to prove that I neither had a malicious plan to harm anyone nor was I being superficial.
In both of these cases I felt a strong desire to defend myself, as I knew I hadn't done anything wrong. And I still feel that way. It's a bummer to know that people view you or your decisions in a negative manner based on incomplete or incorrect information.
But here's the thing that keeps coming to mind. I'm not perfect. Well, that's not a newsflash, but let me finish my train of thought. I'm not perfect and people are accusing me, directly and indirectly, of things that aren't true. I totally want to jump up and defend my reputation. Jesus, on the other hand, is perfect and he had people falsely accusing him. Do you know what his response was? Silence. He didn't say a word. He knew that there was no purpose in defending himself against false accusations from people who already had their minds made up.
Mark 14:59-61a Yet even their testimony did not agree. Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
In the rest of the last verse and the one after it he does answer the question of whether or not he is the Christ. I think it's interesting that he doesn't waste time arguing about what he's not, but simply answers questions about who he is. I need to stop worrying about whatever false impressions people have of me and simply live a life that speaks for itself.
So, there you go. I need to be a non-angry, cooperative and obedient, trusting in God's justice, non-defensive kind of girl. And that's been kinda hard the last three weeks.
I know that got kinda long. I almost didn't type it out because it's a bit embarrassing to admit that I'm in my thirties and want to deal with conflict in a junior high manner. But, I needed to write it all out for my own sake and figured that there may be someone else who needs to learn some of the same lessons.
Monday, June 22, 2009
COLDSTONE - JUNE GANG
Every year we get coupons for free Coldstone around our birthdays. So, last week the June gang headed down the road to scarf some delicious and free ice cream.
Devon had mint with gummy bears.
Bethany had banana pudding with Oreos.
Silas had pink lemonade with marshmallows.
Devon had mint with gummy bears.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
FATHER'S DAY - 2009
Do you have any idea how hard it was to get a picture where everyone was looking at the camera and smiling? Impossible! And that's why Naomi looks like she's happily dreaming or praying in this one. But they all love their daddy, even if they won't pose simultaneously.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
MENU - SECOND HALF OF JUNE 2009
I just realized that I never posted my menu for the second half of June. Oops. Before I share the menu I want to pass along some of the new recipes we tried last time. Here are the three we'll definitely make again - grilled Hawaiian chicken, tropical salad, and pizza muffins. The chicken and salad were amazing!
DINNERS
leftovers x2
tacos x2
veggie pizza
hamburger pinwheels/fruit
tuna couscous salad
honey mustard chicken/rice/salad
crustless quiche
baked lentils & veggies/salad
peanut butter noodles/salad (doubled and took one meal to friends)
salmon shell salad
stuffed french toast (never had it last rotation)/scrambled eggs
marinated chicken (using a free marinade I've got recently)/biscuit-y bell pepper muffins/salad
DESSERTS
coffee pie (new recipe Silas is making it for Tim for Father's Day)
torte (new recipe)
DINNERS
leftovers x2
tacos x2
veggie pizza
hamburger pinwheels/fruit
tuna couscous salad
honey mustard chicken/rice/salad
crustless quiche
baked lentils & veggies/salad
peanut butter noodles/salad (doubled and took one meal to friends)
salmon shell salad
stuffed french toast (never had it last rotation)/scrambled eggs
marinated chicken (using a free marinade I've got recently)/biscuit-y bell pepper muffins/salad
DESSERTS
coffee pie (new recipe Silas is making it for Tim for Father's Day)
torte (new recipe)
UPDATES
I've had a few questions from people lately, so I thought I'd give a quick update here today.
Fostering - This hasn't happened on the timeline we expected, but that's ok. God will open the doors or not. We will be getting our application turned in next week. Then we'll have to wait for our fingerprinting to go through. Once that clears we'll have our home study done. If we get approved, then we'll wait for the right placement. If we get denied, then we'll pursue some other ways of helping foster kids. So, that's the long way of saying that not much has changed.
Theft - We don't have enough evidence to press charges, so the ordeal is done from a legal standpoint. We just have to cut our losses and move on. It's pretty frustrating, but there's not much we can do about it. I'll touch more on the issue in a post that's all in my head right now, probably in the next couple days.
Employment - Tim's job is secure for next year. He's finished three years in Salem and is no longer probationary.
Fostering - This hasn't happened on the timeline we expected, but that's ok. God will open the doors or not. We will be getting our application turned in next week. Then we'll have to wait for our fingerprinting to go through. Once that clears we'll have our home study done. If we get approved, then we'll wait for the right placement. If we get denied, then we'll pursue some other ways of helping foster kids. So, that's the long way of saying that not much has changed.
Theft - We don't have enough evidence to press charges, so the ordeal is done from a legal standpoint. We just have to cut our losses and move on. It's pretty frustrating, but there's not much we can do about it. I'll touch more on the issue in a post that's all in my head right now, probably in the next couple days.
Employment - Tim's job is secure for next year. He's finished three years in Salem and is no longer probationary.
Friday, June 19, 2009
ONE DECADE
Didn't we have cute wedding invitations? I saw something similar in a magazine, but interracial stick couples are hard to come by in your standard wedding supply catalogs. So, a friend made these for us. I loved them!
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In honor of our tenth anniversary and to encourage those who are still working on that first ten years (or whatever year they happen to be on, even if the tenth year was ages ago), I'd like to make a request. Could those readers who have been happily married for ten years or more (this includes past or present marriages, ones that were always happy or ones that weren't happy at 10 years but are now) please share some of the things that made your marriage a good one? Feel free to share practical tips, things you or your spouse did to benefit your marriage, verses that encouraged you, attitudes you chose to have, etc.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
6/18/09 THANKFUL THURSDAY
I'm thankful that God can use all things, even having someone steal from me, to accomplish something good in my life.
What is one thing that you're thankful for?
What is one thing that you're thankful for?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
SLOOOOOOOW DOWN. PLEASE.
That's what I want my life to do. Just slow down a little. Life has just been crazy lately - some fun stuff, some stressful stuff, and not enough sleep. Oy!
We were able to hang out with Kema and Jayden (that's the boy we watched for over 1 1/2 years) on Monday night. We hardly ever see them anymore, so it was fun to just hang out. The adults (Tim was gone, but Kema's sister was there) visited while the boys ran around like maniacs.
Yesterday I took the kids to the the Wagner's for the afternoon. I've been pretty fried on parenting lately, so the time there was good for all of us. The Wagner boys played with our boys and the Wagner girls kinda supervised. The break was nice for me and I know the boys enjoyed goofing off with a non-grumpy person. The husbands arrived after work and we spent the evening eating and visiting. It was a great time!
Today we're buying tickets for a Portland Beavers game. The ticket money was a birthday gift for the boys, Tim and I. We're all excited about the game, but the boys are ecstatic that we're going to take the MAX to get there.
Then, of course, we have swimming lessons starting again next week. That's a huge blessing! The boys finished their first class a couple weeks ago and wanted to take more. We told them we'd only budgeted for one class each, but that we'd do more some other time. Silas' response was "I'm going to pray about it". Well, they've been given two more classes each!! One just because and one as a birthday present. So, they'll be doing a lot of swimming this summer.
Plus there are grade school events, berry picking trips, doctor's appointments, photo shoots, officiating basketball tournaments, baby showers, meal deliveries, marshmallow gun war, a trip to my dad's, legal drama, softball games, and visits from friends who live out of town.
Our schedule is just crammed.
I know just the thing to relieve the stress. Coldstone. And I just happen to have a handy dandy coupon for some free ice cream.
We were able to hang out with Kema and Jayden (that's the boy we watched for over 1 1/2 years) on Monday night. We hardly ever see them anymore, so it was fun to just hang out. The adults (Tim was gone, but Kema's sister was there) visited while the boys ran around like maniacs.
Yesterday I took the kids to the the Wagner's for the afternoon. I've been pretty fried on parenting lately, so the time there was good for all of us. The Wagner boys played with our boys and the Wagner girls kinda supervised. The break was nice for me and I know the boys enjoyed goofing off with a non-grumpy person. The husbands arrived after work and we spent the evening eating and visiting. It was a great time!
Today we're buying tickets for a Portland Beavers game. The ticket money was a birthday gift for the boys, Tim and I. We're all excited about the game, but the boys are ecstatic that we're going to take the MAX to get there.
Then, of course, we have swimming lessons starting again next week. That's a huge blessing! The boys finished their first class a couple weeks ago and wanted to take more. We told them we'd only budgeted for one class each, but that we'd do more some other time. Silas' response was "I'm going to pray about it". Well, they've been given two more classes each!! One just because and one as a birthday present. So, they'll be doing a lot of swimming this summer.
Plus there are grade school events, berry picking trips, doctor's appointments, photo shoots, officiating basketball tournaments, baby showers, meal deliveries, marshmallow gun war, a trip to my dad's, legal drama, softball games, and visits from friends who live out of town.
Our schedule is just crammed.
I know just the thing to relieve the stress. Coldstone. And I just happen to have a handy dandy coupon for some free ice cream.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
WHEW! BUSY WEEKEND!!
Friday - My dad, his wife and her daughter arrived in town Friday evening. They visited for a while, then headed off to their hotel. I spent some time decorating birthday cakes for the boys and hit the sack late.
Saturday - I had a mononumeric birthday, my 33rd, which my sister acknowledged with a cute photo of the two of us. Devon and Tim headed out for the traditional "doughnut date with Daddy" for Devon's birthday. People came over mid-morning for the Silas and Devon's joint birthday party. It was a lot of fun! We played chicken (tied balloons to the boys' ankles and they had to protect their own while popping others'), had a spitting contest (ended up using popcorn kernels because watermelons with seeds have pretty much ceased to exist), hit a pinata, played tetherball and a tossing game, ate a bunch of sugar and opened presents. Good times. We even had a special appearance from Becky, who broke her bedrest rules to recline in our backyard instead of on her couch. My dad took a gazillion pics of the party that are different from the ones we got, so go check them out!!
Two of our kids napped after the party and the rest of us just relaxed for a while. Then it was off to Chuck E. Cheese for an early dinner and lots of games. When we got back to the house Tim and my dad took off to pick up a bunkbed we got from Craigslist, Debra played online, and Ashley and I played outside with the offspring. Then it was time for kids to bathe and my dad (& fam) went back to their hotel after giving a bunch of goodnight hugs and kisses.
Sunday - I hit Walgreens in the morning for some bargains. Then it was church, lunch with my dad before they headed home, a quick stop at the Walgreens across the street from where we ate, then home for naps. I rarely nap. I've just always had a hard time falling asleep during the day. However, I napped for three hours today!! Then it was time to move and assemble bunkbeds. The boys' went to Naomi, which she's in for the first time tonight, and they got the new (to us) one we got last night. We all puttered around the house, eating random food for dinner and just hanging out. It was perfectly mellow. I picked up Granny and made one last run to Walgreens. Wondering why I was there so much today? Well, I earned $4.50 for taking three bottles of St. Ives body wash and two boxes of cookies out of the stores. Can't beat that! Then I loaded a bunch of pics on to Picasa.
Now I'm here. And I'm content. But I'm tired.
Saturday - I had a mononumeric birthday, my 33rd, which my sister acknowledged with a cute photo of the two of us. Devon and Tim headed out for the traditional "doughnut date with Daddy" for Devon's birthday. People came over mid-morning for the Silas and Devon's joint birthday party. It was a lot of fun! We played chicken (tied balloons to the boys' ankles and they had to protect their own while popping others'), had a spitting contest (ended up using popcorn kernels because watermelons with seeds have pretty much ceased to exist), hit a pinata, played tetherball and a tossing game, ate a bunch of sugar and opened presents. Good times. We even had a special appearance from Becky, who broke her bedrest rules to recline in our backyard instead of on her couch. My dad took a gazillion pics of the party that are different from the ones we got, so go check them out!!
Two of our kids napped after the party and the rest of us just relaxed for a while. Then it was off to Chuck E. Cheese for an early dinner and lots of games. When we got back to the house Tim and my dad took off to pick up a bunkbed we got from Craigslist, Debra played online, and Ashley and I played outside with the offspring. Then it was time for kids to bathe and my dad (& fam) went back to their hotel after giving a bunch of goodnight hugs and kisses.
Sunday - I hit Walgreens in the morning for some bargains. Then it was church, lunch with my dad before they headed home, a quick stop at the Walgreens across the street from where we ate, then home for naps. I rarely nap. I've just always had a hard time falling asleep during the day. However, I napped for three hours today!! Then it was time to move and assemble bunkbeds. The boys' went to Naomi, which she's in for the first time tonight, and they got the new (to us) one we got last night. We all puttered around the house, eating random food for dinner and just hanging out. It was perfectly mellow. I picked up Granny and made one last run to Walgreens. Wondering why I was there so much today? Well, I earned $4.50 for taking three bottles of St. Ives body wash and two boxes of cookies out of the stores. Can't beat that! Then I loaded a bunch of pics on to Picasa.
Now I'm here. And I'm content. But I'm tired.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
MONONUMERIC
It's happened to me twice before. It's happening today. There is the reasonable potential for it to happen six more times.
Friday, June 12, 2009
RANDOM FRIDAY RAMBLINGS
Arctic Blast 2008 - We're suffering from the snow storm that happened six months ago. Tim's last day was supposed to be yesterday. Now he's working through Tuesday. Now, I realize many husbands work full-time all year and that Tim got an extra week off in December because of the storm ... but I still want to whine a little. It's been a doozy of a week and it would have been great to have him home today. Oh well.
Bad Memory - We recently read George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans and a picture very similar to this one is on the back cover. This is George.
Every time Naomi sees the picture she says "Papa". Ummmm ... nope. I think it's been too long since she's seen my dad!! Good thing he'll be here for the weekend and can spend some time reacquainting himself with Naomi.
The Grocery Budget Poll - I must say that I was a little surprised by the results of the poll in my sidebar. I knew there would be a variety of numbers, but I expected a stronger grouping somewhere in the middle. It would be interesting to see what those amounts are spent on (lots of eating out, just basic food, diapers, etc), but there's just no way to do that here. Anyway, thanks for satisfying my curiosity.
Bad Memory - We recently read George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans and a picture very similar to this one is on the back cover. This is George.
Every time Naomi sees the picture she says "Papa". Ummmm ... nope. I think it's been too long since she's seen my dad!! Good thing he'll be here for the weekend and can spend some time reacquainting himself with Naomi.
The Grocery Budget Poll - I must say that I was a little surprised by the results of the poll in my sidebar. I knew there would be a variety of numbers, but I expected a stronger grouping somewhere in the middle. It would be interesting to see what those amounts are spent on (lots of eating out, just basic food, diapers, etc), but there's just no way to do that here. Anyway, thanks for satisfying my curiosity.
The Boys & Church Stuff - Devon was recently spotted online watching a puppet show (first pic, on the right) at church. Silas showed up in some pictures from a beach trip he took with the grade school group. They spend a Saturday in Tillamook - playing at the beach, visiting the Tillamook Cheese Factory, and eating at Abby's. You can find him blindfolding Teacher Kaipo and flashing peace signs with him (first and second pics), telling two truths and a lie to Teacher Pat (first pic), listening to Teacher Josh and digging for buried treasure (third pic in the center, fourth pic on the top), heading up the dune (fourth pic, grey sweatshirt and red shorts), and concentrating or feeling confused (third pic).
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Wonderful Summer Dinner - I tried two new recipes a few nights ago and fell in love with both. These two things make a perfect summer meal, light and fruity with some chicken for substance. Go check out the recipes - Tropical Salad and Grilled Hawaiian Chicken. Yum!!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
6/10/09 THANKFUL THURSDAY
I'm thankful that Silas has access to Patanol and Benadryl.
What's one thing you're thankful for?
What's one thing you're thankful for?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
LARCENY
Larceny is defined as "the unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another".
We are victims of larceny. The police have a suspect. An investigation is underway. I'm not going to say anything about the details of situation. I will say, because I know some will worry, that we were never in any physical danger.
That's what's been going on at our house over the last week, the reason we needed wisdom and peace. I've gone back and forth over whether or not to say anything about the theft here, but I'm discovering that keeping it vague is making people's imaginations go wild. I don't know if the truth is better or worse than what you were thinking was going on, but now you know.
We are victims of larceny. The police have a suspect. An investigation is underway. I'm not going to say anything about the details of situation. I will say, because I know some will worry, that we were never in any physical danger.
That's what's been going on at our house over the last week, the reason we needed wisdom and peace. I've gone back and forth over whether or not to say anything about the theft here, but I'm discovering that keeping it vague is making people's imaginations go wild. I don't know if the truth is better or worse than what you were thinking was going on, but now you know.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
PEACE
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Last week we were needing wisdom and we got it. Decisions were made that we we're confident about.
This week I'm needing peace. Though we have a plan for dealing with the situation, it's still stressful. My emotions are moving from anxiety to calmness to anger to sadness ... then doing the cycle all over again. I'm not sleeping well. I'm irritable.
Would you just pray for me or give me some little nugget of encouragement?
And if you know the situation I'm speaking of, then please don't talk about it here. I may share some general info later, but for the moment I don't want it hashed out on my blog. Thanks.
Last week we were needing wisdom and we got it. Decisions were made that we we're confident about.
This week I'm needing peace. Though we have a plan for dealing with the situation, it's still stressful. My emotions are moving from anxiety to calmness to anger to sadness ... then doing the cycle all over again. I'm not sleeping well. I'm irritable.
Would you just pray for me or give me some little nugget of encouragement?
And if you know the situation I'm speaking of, then please don't talk about it here. I may share some general info later, but for the moment I don't want it hashed out on my blog. Thanks.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
MY SOUNDTRACK
I've often thought how handy it would be to record all the things I say on a regular basis. If I suddenly dropped dead, then my family could play the CD and feel like I was still there. Or even if I lived many more years, I could save a lot of talking time by just saying the number of a track, rather than the whole phrase. Anyway, I thought I'd share some of the things that would be on my soundtrack. For better or worse, here they are.
Who's my favorite _ year old?
Focus pocus.
Chop, chop.
Zip it.
"Because" is a word, it's not an answer.
Let's rock and roll.
Ready to roll?
Quick like a bunny.
Oh. My. Word.
Seriously!
Volume.
Did you flush?
Did you check the seat?
Did you wash your hands?
Take it down a notch.
Hit the sack, Jack.
Give me some little lovin'.
Give me some big lovin'.
What's in your mouth?
Spit it out.
Everybody buckled?
We don't do "I want" in our family.
Couches are for bottoms.
Go back and walk.
Ready Freddy?
I'm about to flip my lid.
I love you all the time.
Hey, Buster Brown.
Try that again.
Good job/nice stunt/etc, studly.
Want some Eskimos?
Water break.
Can everybody just chill for a minute?
Don't smile.
Scram-diddly-am
I'm sure I'll think of more as soon as I post this, but this is a lot of them. I think I'll ask my kids in the morning what they think I say a lot. Could be interesting.
Now it's your turn to tell me some of the things that would be on your soundtrack. Most of mine are directed to the kids, as that's who I'm around all day, but yours may not have anything to do with little people. So, let's hear what you say the most.
Who's my favorite _ year old?
Focus pocus.
Chop, chop.
Zip it.
"Because" is a word, it's not an answer.
Let's rock and roll.
Ready to roll?
Quick like a bunny.
Oh. My. Word.
Seriously!
Volume.
Did you flush?
Did you check the seat?
Did you wash your hands?
Take it down a notch.
Hit the sack, Jack.
Give me some little lovin'.
Give me some big lovin'.
What's in your mouth?
Spit it out.
Everybody buckled?
We don't do "I want" in our family.
Couches are for bottoms.
Go back and walk.
Ready Freddy?
I'm about to flip my lid.
I love you all the time.
Hey, Buster Brown.
Try that again.
Good job/nice stunt/etc, studly.
Want some Eskimos?
Water break.
Can everybody just chill for a minute?
Don't smile.
Scram-diddly-am
I'm sure I'll think of more as soon as I post this, but this is a lot of them. I think I'll ask my kids in the morning what they think I say a lot. Could be interesting.
Now it's your turn to tell me some of the things that would be on your soundtrack. Most of mine are directed to the kids, as that's who I'm around all day, but yours may not have anything to do with little people. So, let's hear what you say the most.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
6/4/09 THANKFUL THURSDAY
I'm thankful for the women who take the time to figure out all sorts of smokin' deals, then post them on blogs so that I can stretch our family's dollar without stretching my brain.
What's one thing that you're thankful for?
What's one thing that you're thankful for?
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
WISDOM
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
Tim and I have been thrust into some uncharted territory and, quite frankly, the situation stinks. There are a few different ways we could deal with it, each with some pros and cons, each able to be defended or argued against. We're asking for wisdom, trusting that the Lord will give us generous amounts of it in the next couple days.
I'm sure you have areas that you need wisdom too, so I hope you're encouraged by the verse above.
Tim and I have been thrust into some uncharted territory and, quite frankly, the situation stinks. There are a few different ways we could deal with it, each with some pros and cons, each able to be defended or argued against. We're asking for wisdom, trusting that the Lord will give us generous amounts of it in the next couple days.
I'm sure you have areas that you need wisdom too, so I hope you're encouraged by the verse above.
Monday, June 1, 2009
MENU - FIRST HALF OF JUNE 2009
Can I just tell you how lame I am? I did my two week shopping trip on Sunday night. Now, I realize that's not as bad as Sunday afternoon, but still. It's a bit ridiculous to go when the whole rest of the world is there. What was I thinking?! Oh well.
Did you notice my last post had a picture of my first pizza crust? Remember me mentioning on my last menu that I was going to give that a shot? I'm glad I did! I'll get the recipe posted onf FOR THE LOVE OF GRUB in the next day or two. And remember that I said I was trying a new cookie recipe? They were sesame cookies and I really liked them!
Anyway, here is the menu for the next couple weeks-ish. I think I'm making up for the last menu's lack of new recipes with this menu!
DINNERS
leftovers x2
tacos x3
veggie pot pie (new recipe) - not a flop, but not really a hit either
asian salad bar (one for us and one for friends)
stuffed french toast/fruit salad
pizza muffins/salad
pasta salad (new combo of ingredients, I'll let you know if it's good)
rice cooker mac & cheese
tuna couscous salad
BLT/raw veggie sticks & slices
burgers/fruit salad
Hawaiian chicken/tropical salad
Chuck E. Cheese, courtesy of my dad
DESSERTS
lemon bars (taking them to girl's night)
birthday cake x2
apple cinnamon caramel crumble (for friends)
Did you notice my last post had a picture of my first pizza crust? Remember me mentioning on my last menu that I was going to give that a shot? I'm glad I did! I'll get the recipe posted onf FOR THE LOVE OF GRUB in the next day or two. And remember that I said I was trying a new cookie recipe? They were sesame cookies and I really liked them!
Anyway, here is the menu for the next couple weeks-ish. I think I'm making up for the last menu's lack of new recipes with this menu!
DINNERS
leftovers x2
tacos x3
veggie pot pie (new recipe) - not a flop, but not really a hit either
asian salad bar (one for us and one for friends)
stuffed french toast/fruit salad
pizza muffins/salad
pasta salad (new combo of ingredients, I'll let you know if it's good)
rice cooker mac & cheese
tuna couscous salad
BLT/raw veggie sticks & slices
burgers/fruit salad
Hawaiian chicken/tropical salad
Chuck E. Cheese, courtesy of my dad
DESSERTS
lemon bars (taking them to girl's night)
birthday cake x2
apple cinnamon caramel crumble (for friends)
I'M UP WAY TOO LATE
JUST A LITTLE COMMENT AFTER SEEING MY POST - Why, oh why, does Blogger sometimes refuse to accept the paragraph breaks I put in? Please excuse the giant, run-on paragraph at the end of this post. It's beyond my control.
It's about 12:30am on Monday morning and this is just about the only time, other than church, that I've sat down all day. I'm pooped, but I know I won't be able to fall asleep if I crawl into bed. So, I figured I'd do a little blogging. Haven't done much over the last week or so, huh?
I think we'll go for a little randomness this time.
Our weekend has been busy with two birthday parties, shopping for summer clothes for Naomi, Tim officiating a couple tournament games, church, grocery shopping, errands, getting doughnuts, etc.
Speaking of shopping for Naomi, I just have to vent for a minute. Can I just tell you how frustrating it is to shop for little girls? Starting with newborn sizes, girls shirts are tighter and shorter than boys, most of their shorts have no inseam while boys shorts go to the knees , and their pants are low rise. Seriously! Why in the world do we need make our infants, toddlers, and young girls look sexy? AAAAAGGGHHH!! It drives me nuts!! Naomi, who isn't even two, has some 3T and 4T shirts and skirts she's wearing right now. I can't imagine how they'd look on a three or four year old who should be wearing those sizes.
Ok, vent over.
Tonight I made dinner for tomorrow night. I'm delivering a couple dinners to a friend tomorrow morning and so I just busted it all (except for dessert, I'll do that in the morning) out tonight after the kids were asleep. That will make life easier tomorrow. I like it when life, or at least some little aspect of it, is easy. Especially when it's a day where I'm super tired from staying up ridiculously late the night before.
You know what? I never blogged about Box Day 2009. It happened a few weeks ago and was as fun as the previous three years. Here we are, all ready to check out the curriculum we'll be starting in July. Naomi was pretty excited to join in the fun this year!
Here's a random shot for you. Devon took this picture and asked me to put it on my blog. So, without further ado, here's Raby (or Rabie, I'm not really sure how he spells it), Blooper, and the Rite Aid dog all tucked into Devon's bed. Notice the lack of a pillowcase? Devon doesn't like them. We all have our quirks and that's one of his.
Well, I'm sure there were other things I intended to talk about, but my brain is melting. I think I may try and hit the sack. Tomorrow is going to come much too quickly!!
It's about 12:30am on Monday morning and this is just about the only time, other than church, that I've sat down all day. I'm pooped, but I know I won't be able to fall asleep if I crawl into bed. So, I figured I'd do a little blogging. Haven't done much over the last week or so, huh?
I think we'll go for a little randomness this time.
Our weekend has been busy with two birthday parties, shopping for summer clothes for Naomi, Tim officiating a couple tournament games, church, grocery shopping, errands, getting doughnuts, etc.
Speaking of shopping for Naomi, I just have to vent for a minute. Can I just tell you how frustrating it is to shop for little girls? Starting with newborn sizes, girls shirts are tighter and shorter than boys, most of their shorts have no inseam while boys shorts go to the knees , and their pants are low rise. Seriously! Why in the world do we need make our infants, toddlers, and young girls look sexy? AAAAAGGGHHH!! It drives me nuts!! Naomi, who isn't even two, has some 3T and 4T shirts and skirts she's wearing right now. I can't imagine how they'd look on a three or four year old who should be wearing those sizes.
Ok, vent over.
Tonight I made dinner for tomorrow night. I'm delivering a couple dinners to a friend tomorrow morning and so I just busted it all (except for dessert, I'll do that in the morning) out tonight after the kids were asleep. That will make life easier tomorrow. I like it when life, or at least some little aspect of it, is easy. Especially when it's a day where I'm super tired from staying up ridiculously late the night before.
You know what? I never blogged about Box Day 2009. It happened a few weeks ago and was as fun as the previous three years. Here we are, all ready to check out the curriculum we'll be starting in July. Naomi was pretty excited to join in the fun this year!
Here's a random shot for you. Devon took this picture and asked me to put it on my blog. So, without further ado, here's Raby (or Rabie, I'm not really sure how he spells it), Blooper, and the Rite Aid dog all tucked into Devon's bed. Notice the lack of a pillowcase? Devon doesn't like them. We all have our quirks and that's one of his.
June is here. I can't believe it! Just looking at the calendar wears me out. It's such a busy month! Birthdays, anniversary, basketball tournaments, field trips, grade school events, baby showers, officiating camps, concerts, and finishing up our school year. Oh my!
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You'll notice that there won't be a "BOOKS I FINISHED" post for this month. Want to know why? I didn't finish one. single. book. And last month I only completed one. I'm a slacker! Actually I tried really hard to get into two different books in May, but failed at both. I rarely give up on a book, but I was really needing a book that I didn't have to force myself to read. I eventually found one and I'm enjoying it right now. Of course, you'll have to wait a month to find out what it is.
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Here's some big news. Ready? I made my first pizza crust tonight. Impressed? You should be!! Yeast scares me. However, I had bbq chicken pizza on the last two week menu and deliberately didn't buy a crust. I figured it was time to face my fear of yeast. So, the Sonlight folks shared their simplest crust recipes with me and I tried one tonight. I tweaked a couple things to accomodate the fact that I didn't have a pre-made crust, like the recipe calls for, and it turned out great! I think I'm just going to try all the crust recipes they gave me until we find the one we like the most. Doesn't this look deeeee-lish?!
Well, I'm sure there were other things I intended to talk about, but my brain is melting. I think I may try and hit the sack. Tomorrow is going to come much too quickly!!
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