Friday Recipe Goodness

I decided to share a recipe blog that I found this morning that looks wonderful.

Here is the site Real Mom Kitchen.

If you need a brunch or dessert recipe that is easy but so delicious everyone will want the recipe then try this one Sopapilla Cheesecake.

Happy eating!

And the winner is...

OH SUSAN!!! Drop me your addy and I have a little something to mail to you.

Because I know everyone is so curious I will let you know where all these things were in the house.




The knights helmet was in the boys bathroom, because you never know when there is going to be a dragon in the tub you need to slay.



The rubber band, mini helmet and granola bar wrapper were all in the laundry. Yes, I forget to check pockets before I wash clothes. Last week I found a package of gum I had washed. (I hope that my Mom isn't reading this today.)



This odd assortment of toys were all in my bedroom, with some of them in my bed along with the pj top that boy #4 refuses to wear.

So what is the strangest location/object you have found in your house?

House Photos

I told some friends that I would post pics of our new house. Well since it has been several weeks since I said that I thought I better get busy.

Living Room




Formal Dining Area



We just rearranged this today. We are still looking for a small table to go in here. This is where we do the majority of our school work (so a table would be nice). The boys do work on the dining room table but lately I have been sitting in the living room and they just spread out on the floor. One of the bookcases holds all our school books for the year and supplies.

Family Room




Breakfast Area



Master Bedroom



Littles Bedroom




Guest Bedroom aka Wii room/Tim's Office



I didn't get pictures of the kitchen or the my older children's bedrooms. Apparently, when I told them to clean their room this morning I didn't communicate clearly that I wanted the beds actually made and all the stuff picked up off the floor. I am not sure what they thought I wanted them to do? I will let you imagine why I didn't take pictures of my kitchen...

My First 10 on the 10th

This is my first post with Meredith's 10 on the 10th and I struggled all week trying to figure out what I would post about. Well it came to me at church this morning. My post is about Moms.

So here is a list of 10 women who have impacted my life as a mom.

1. Rudene. God definitely knew what he was doing when he moved us to Alabama. Rudene and Charlie are members of the church we served in AL. They never had children of their own. I have figured out over the years that it isn't the number of children you birth or raise that makes you a mother. You become a mother when you chose to love and nurture any child in your life. Rudene is a mother many times over. God blessed me by putting this special friend in my life. As a believer it is so important to have people supporting you that you can be honest with but as a pastor's wife sometimes those people are hard to find. Rudene is that person to me. I know I can be honest with her and I know that she will encourage or chastise which ever is needed.

2. Liz is another one of God's gifts from Alabama. Liz has raised two sets of twin boys. She is a teacher in a tough all boys military school. Liz loves boys. She is the one that I could go to when I thought I was losing my mind and she would say it will be alright. She assured me that they will grow up one day. We have watched as Dick and Liz released their children to do God's work. There youngest twins were serving a missionaries in Kazakhstan when we moved to Alabama. They returned home after 3 years and Matt got married. Matt and Johnna then got pregnant and prepared to go back to Kazakhstan. You know it is hard to let your children go, but even harder to send your grandchildren overseas. What a blessing to watch as Liz struggled but even in that struggle said "I want them to be where God is calling." How awesome to watch her bless her children with that gift. Now Will the other twin is returning to Kazakhstan. Do you see those names Matt and Will? Our William Matthew has some great namesakes in his life because of Liz.

3. Angela. One fall day a red suburban pulled into our yard at our new house in Alabama and our life became so much richer for it. Angela walked into our lives and has been a blessing since. Angela and Greg lived about 3 miles from us. They didn't attend our church so we hadn't met them. Angela "dropped" in and we met her and her 5 children (now there are 6). It was nice to find out that another family was homeschooling in our neighborhood. Over the course of three years God richly blessed me with this friendship. It was nice to have a friend that I could stop by in the afternoon, our kids could play and we could chat. It was nice to have a friend who I could call at the drop of the hat to watch the boys. It is also nice to know I have a friend I can call and ask to pray and she is faithful to do it.

4. Renee J. When we moved to south Florida we had the pleasure of serving on staff at a church where Renee's husband was the pastor. Over the course of our three years at TC3 Renee deeply impacted my life. She was a great Bible teacher. But for me she encouraged me to be true to myself as a mother. She stayed at the hospital with me when we lost Josiah, but she was also at the birth of Graham. Renee was a nurse practitioner and she walked with us through the medical side of still birth and birth.

5. Anne Z. was in our church in St. Louis. I dearly love Mr. Louis and Mrs. Anne. They were wonderful examples of missionaries. Anne and Louis had served in Israel as missionaries until they retired. When they retired and moved back to the states they settled in St. Louis. There they eventually became a part of our church plant. I know they didn't always enjoy the music and the setting was probably not their cup of tea, but they didn't complain and moan. They pitched in to help set up and take down. They volunteered to greet and serve in the children's ministry. They have a heartfelt desire to see people come to meet Jesus. I pray that I will be like that for the rest of my life.

6. Dannielle is someone that I knew online long before I met her. We are both members of a natural parenting boardAmity Mama. Dannielle is a tremendous artist. Here is a link to her blog Princess Nimble Fingers and her Esty Shop. You can see some of the wonderful toys that she makes. She also homeschools and for many years she did both of these things while dealing with debilitating pain. Over a couple of years, Dannielle has embarked on a new way of life that includes losing weight and beginning to exercise. She has totally changed her life. I was so blessed to meet her and visit in her home and she is one of the people that I have missed since we left St. Louis. She is inspiring in so many ways.

7. Grace and Don were in our church in Florida and they were active in our ministry to young adults. Grace and Don became some of our closest friends. I was privileged to work for Don and Grace and they have blessed us in many ways but they were the beginning of our goal to become financial free. In 2004 Don and Grace began the process of adopting twin girls from China. Grace asked me at the time if I thought they were crazy for adopting twins at their age. I responded in all honesty that I thought they would be the best parents I knew. Grace's little girls are blessed to be raised by a mom who loves them and loves the Lord. If you want to read Don and Grace's story of adoption check out the twins link on their website Treasure Coast Financial.


8. Jan is my sister in law but I feel blessed to call her my friend. Now before I offend any of my other sil's out there. Let me say that the reason I list Jan here is because we lived with Jan and Perry for almost 6 months. So we have walked together in a unique and sometimes stressful situation. I know all the good about her and she knows the rest about me. Jan is incredible. Jan never yells at her children and I mean never. She doesn't yell at them to come in or to come from another room in the house or yell if she is mad. Another thing about her is that she rarely loses her cool about anything. She is calm and patient and I need to be more like her. She also has a heart for Jesus and she instills that heart in her family. I feel blessed that she and I married into the same family.

9. Stacy. I don't know Stacy IRL, I know her from Amity's. also. Over the years I have come to the place where when Stacy posts something about parenting I stop and take notice. She is wise. I know that we have different backgrounds and beliefs on some things, but Stacy has a wisdom about parenting that astounds me at times. If there is someone in my life that I believe truly parents in a manner consist with the teachings of Jesus (You know "suffer the little children" and "blessed are...") than I believe it is Stacy. Stacy's has encouraged me to "respond with love" to my children.

10. Ruth. No list would be complete without my mom. She is an incredible woman. She has been a pastor's wife for 46 years. She was also a pastor's daughter. She is a lady of tremendous and deep faith. I have watched her selflessness in numerous situations. I have watched her care for her parents and loved ones. I have seen her hold babies at church and I have seen her sit with elderly. When we were growing up she always had dessert ready in case people were invited over to our house after church. She worked full time when I was a child but she still had time to come to my school programs. She had plenty of time to cook dinner every Sunday. She had plenty of time to raise a garden and can mountains of food every summer. But the one memory that will be forever etched in my mind is the one of my mother who was awake at 5:30 every day. She would be sitting in the living room with a cup of coffee and her Bible. Since the year I was born she has tried to read the Bible through EVERY year. In case you were wondering she has read the Bible through about 38 times. She had plenty of time for everything in her life because she took time for the most important thing. She always took time with the Lord.

I know why the writer of the Hebrews "chapter of faith" said "and that doesn't include..." because there are so many other women out there that are incredible Mom's. My list doesn't include Karrie, Meeshi, Jeni, Jennifer, Heather, Gayla, Gina, Kristy, Deborah, Renee S., Marilyn, Shannon, Meredith, Susan, Amy, Lori, Nieta, Ann, Lydia, Brenda or the women in your life. I could go on for days. I just want to say to every woman out there whether you are a mother by birth, by adoption or by choice thank you and I hope you have a blessed day.

In Search of THE Perfect Purse

It seems like every year about this time (Mother's Day) I begin a quest to find THE perfect purse. Once again I am on the quest. It is really quite a joke between Tim and I. So much so that the other day when I mentioned it he told me that when I found THE purse to be sure and buy one in every color. (Thanks hun!)

Anyway so here are a few that I am looking at today...



I like the "idea" of this one. I mean it is "upcycled" and all that but I don't think I am cool enough to carry it off. Plus it is a little on the big side for me. But maybe with this one I wouldn't need a bag for Will, a church bag for Josh and a purse. I don't know.



I was really excited about the possibilty of this one, but then I read on and found out it was just the shell, I would need the purse for it to go over.



And if I am purse shopping I have to look around Vera Bradley. I found this one on sale even, but I don't care for the color although I love the style.



I love this pattern but don't know if it is big enough for me. Unfortunately there isn't a local store that carries Vera here.







These three are all from Cotton Candy Boutique. I really like the style of the third one but I am not sure I love the colors. I love the colors on number one and number two (minus the burlap). She says she can do a purse in the fabric you like so maybe the red flowered fabric with black in the bottom style.

So many choices...so if you have found THE perfect purse tell me about it.

Some of these things don't belong here...

Everyone sing with me...

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?
If you guessed this one is not like the others,
Then you're absolutely...right!

So as I was cleaning up today, I kept finding items in different rooms of the house that obviously didn't belong. So I thought I would host a little contest. Here are four sets of pictures that are of items that I found in various rooms in our house. Let me have your best guess of which rooms I found them in and this weekend I will choose the winner and send you a little suprise (I don't know what but it will be cute, fun or useful).





This is a hot spot in my house, so here is the before photo...



and after...

Mother's Day Present

I have to show off this little Mother's Day Present I made for my mother-in-law.




Isn't that the cutest little thing. I went ahead and filled in all our family birthdays and I have to admit it may have been one of my favorite projects I have worked on recently.

This is what I worked on at the crop I went to Friday night. We had the crop at a friends house and she is a Close To My Heart Consultant. She has lots of great toys and had these little books and all the stamps also. It was a pretty quick project. I made three of these on Friday night in a few hours. I think they will make great little gifts for some friends of mine.

Gladitude Monday

1. Glad that we had a good school day today.

2. Glad the boys love the new history book we got. Currently we are reading A Child's History of America and a Bald Eagle's View of American History

3. Glad that our new Dave Ramsey curriculum came in for the boys.

4. Glad I get to go to a scrapbook workshop tomorrow night.

5. Glad strawberries were on sale at the store today.

6. Glad for the pack of P&G coupons I got in the mail today.

7. Glad the boys are loving their new trampoline.

8. Glad we get to visit our friends in Alabama and family in Georgia this month.

9. Glad the boys have gotten along all day with out fighting.

10. Glad that this is my first week of Weight Watchers and I hope I have lost some weight.

Week of new beginnings.

So this is a week of new beginnings for me. I joined Weight Watchers and I started a new Bible study this week. I have struggled with my weight for a while. I still need to lose the baby weight from G plus what I added with the next 3. So this week I joined weight watchers. I will let you know how it goes next week when I have my first weigh in.

Over a year ago I posted some reasons I had for wanting to lose weight. I am posting the revised version today.

I want to head off type 2 diabetes.

I want to be healthier at 40 than I was at 30 (2010).

I don't want to have to take lots of medication as I age to solve weight related problems.

I want my children to see healthy activity as fun.

I want my children to have healthy attitudes about food.

I want to love myself enough to be good to myself.

I don't want to be addicted to food or anything else.

I want to enjoy taking the boys on walks and nature hikes and not dread it.

I want to be the woman dh says I am.

My first goal is to lose 10 lbs. I'll let you know when that happens.

The new Bible study is really good, Me, Myself and Lies by Jennifer Rothschild. It is a great study about the things we say to ourself and how our thoughts are like clothing we wear.