Two married chefs

Tim and I partnered on a dish for dinner tonight.  It was Tim's idea.  He wanted to recreate a dish we had at Antonio's.  IT WAS DELISH!!!!  After eating it, our daughter declared that we were "two married chefs".  I'll take that as a compiment!

This photo doesn't do the taste justice.  I wanted to share with everyone!  All 3 of my "followers"  :)))))

OH NO! They did it again!!

Upon entering the pottay room this morning, I glanced to my left and what did I see?   THIS!

And they even had a sign this time to assure them nothing would hurt them when they changed the roll.  YEESH!!!!!!

Who's birthday is it, anyway??

Last Sunday was an awesome day!  Our kids sang some rockin' Christmas songs at church!

I wasn't able to go to service, but my oldest daughter, Shelby, did.  I asked her who gave the lesson.  She said Pastor Mark.  She said he told some pretty funny stories at the beginning.  She thinks he's a pretty funny guy.  Then I asked her what the lesson was about.  Her answer made me so thankful that we go to Granger Community Church.  She said Pastor Mark said that we need to remember that Christmas is Jesus' birthday, not ours.  Such an amazing, true statement.

We have this tradition at our house.  On Christmas morning, when we first get up (often waaaaay too early), we read the Christmas story from one of the Gospels.  We pray and give thanks for all that Jesus has given to us.  Then we have a "birthday brownie" cake.  We put one candle for each of us on the cake then we sing happy birthday and blow the candles out.  We think it's very important to make sure we put Jesus first on Christmas morning.  Before we do ANYTHING else, we celebrate Him first.

We hope you and your family have a blessed Christmas and take the time to celebrate the gift that God gave us through His son, Jesus.

Thanksgiving

I thought I'd better write this post soon about Thanksgiving before it gets too close to Christmas and a post about Thanksgiving would seem...well, odd.

We were blessed to have our friends, Joel and Shari, over for Thanksgiving dinner.  Joel and Tim watched football and Shari and the girls played games.  Later, we watched Iron Man I and II.  It was a nice, relaxing day!

In preparation for the big feast, I had lotsa help.

For the weekend, Grandpa and Grandma came out for a visit

Rori is sooooo happy to get her picture taken.  Oh and "peek a boo" Grandpa!

Love Shelby's look here with Rori

Got everyone but Rori

Who needs a time out chair???

Who needs a time out chair when you can have a time out dog cage????  Especially when she puts herself there!

What helped me to organize my time and clean my house!

I came across a blog from the TIME WARP WIFE.  She has very traditional values.  One of the things that she wrote about was her schedule on cleaning her house.  I've loosely tried this before.  Emphasis on "loosely".  After reading her blog, I decided to recommit myself for 2 reasons. 

• It's important to my husband to have a clean house, so therefore, it's important to me
• It makes sure that I get the little things done each week. 

It's been 4 weeks now and I've done it every week.  For me, it is soooo much easier to do things a little everyday.  By the end of the week, I've got my house cleaned and ready for the weekend!

Here is my schedule.  I've changed it to fit my life.  How I do it may not work for you, but you could always change it to fit your schedule.

• Monday -- Clean the bathrooms, THOROUGHLY!  I clean the sinks, toilets, shower, mirrors, and floors.  Every other week I wipe down the cupboards.
• Tuesday --  Clean bedrooms.  I change the sheets, organize closets, clean windows, attack the cobwebs.  On this day, I also dust my whole house.
• Wednesday -- Deep clean the kitchen.  Organize pantry, clean refrigerator, clean microwave, clean all counter tops, wipe down appliances, wipe down cupboards, clean windows.  This is the hub of our house.  When this room is clean, it makes me feel like the world is good! :) 
• Thursday -- Grocery day.  Plan all meals for the week, write down all supplies needed, collect and organize coupons (if you coupon, this could take most of the day alone), call husband to see if he needs anything.
• Friday -- vacuum all floors.  Clean all other floors
• Saturday -- Outside work.  Clean your car.  Wash the dog and comb her out.
• Sunday --  RELAX!!!

My washer and dryer run at least 4 days a week.  I wash laundry, as needed, though out the week.   I make sure I put the laundry away when it's done so it doesn't become clutter.  My older girls do their own laundry.

The weekends are a time when "stuff" gets laid down and not put away.  It's OK, though.  It's easily picked up, knowing everything else has already been done throughout the week.  By Monday morning, my house is ready for some attention again.

There it is! Now you know what I'm doing on any day of the week!

Rori is 15 months old!

I can hardly believe how the time has passed!  Rori is a blessing to all of us.  She makes us laugh alot. We love her so much!  Here are just a few things that Rori does now...

• At her 15 month check-up, she weighed 21.9lbs, was 29 and 3/4inches long and her head circumference is 18.85inches.  This relates to...30% for her weight, 30% for her height and 93% for her head.  She kinda reminds me of a bobble head.  She's our "bobble-baby" 
• She started walking the day after we got home from Disney.  We were so thankful she waited til we got home.  Her walking would have added a whole different element to the trip.
• She falls down...ALOT
• In honor of her walking, she got her first pair of shoes.  She walked as tho they were concrete blocks on her feet for about a day.
• she says doggie, daaaaadeee, mom, and she waves hello and good-bye.
• when I tell her it's time for bed, she always goes..."mmmmmmmmwaaaaaaa" getting ready for her night night kisses
• When she hears the beeper go off when a door opens in our house, she says "hi" and gets up to go greet whoever is coming in
• I'd say she puts AT LEAST 20 miles in on a average day from walking

Each day brings new and exciting and wonderful developments from her.  She is the apple of her sisters' eyes and, of course, her mommy and daaaadeeee too :)

1 step forward and 2 steps back...at least

This is what it looks like when I clean.  While I'm cleaning the bedroom, Rori decides to "redecorate" the living room.  I love being a stay at home mom :)

What Happened When I Yelled Back at the "Christians" Calling My Wife a Murderer | | AlterNet

What Happened When I Yelled Back at the "Christians" Calling My Wife a Murderer AlterNet

Happy Fall!!!!





hat day at school

Some pictures from October, 2010.  Fun was had by all!!!!

Zion of Jefferson County Launches - NewsReel

This is our home church. They just launched a 3rd site on 10-10-10 and ALREADY adding a second service!! Thanks be to God!

Time Warp Wife: The Gender Gap

Time Warp Wife: The Gender Gap: "We were created by an almighty God who fashioned us to uniquely fit the desires of man. Because of that master design, we shouldn't let any..."

Tim is "reading"

I went in our room to talk to Tim because he was in there reading.  As a side note, this is also how he watches golf on tv.

Baby got her first pair of shoes!!!

Rori was walking in her new shoes like they were concrete blocks!

Stop me if you've heard this before....

On a recent trip back to PA, my girlfriend gave me this.  She said she was walking through a craft sale and saw this and thought of me.  I LAUGHED OUT LOUD when I read this!  I love when friends think of me...even if it has to do with toilet paper!

This was AFTER she came home from school

This is what August wore to school.  I wish I could say it was "crazy" something day, but this was her choice.  WOWZERS!

Technology Detox

this is all the technology that our girls have at their access!

Recently, we (Tim and I) decided to take away ALL technology (among other things) from our older 2 girls as punishment for a wrong choice they had made.  They went NUTS!  I'm not talking slightly upset with this punishment.  They were freaked out!  It was at that point that we realized that they were too heavily involved in technology and too removed from our family. 

I don't know how this happened.  I mean, after all, we are good parents.  We had set down the rules in the beginning when the girls got all of this technology.  They knew and agreed  to such rules.  I think over time they pushed the rules and we let them.  In reality, maybe we're not such good parents.

We have decided that we need to focus on the old fashioned stuff.  Stuff that doesn't require a cord or charger to be attached.  We need to cut the cords!  So, over the next couple of weeks, we will be a family going through technology detox.  We will be focusing on the "good stuff".  God willing, we will refocus on the "stuff" that REALLY matters...good ole fashioned family!

Zion Ladies Retreat--part 3 "The Perfect Storm"

Recap from part 3 of the retreat I was blessed to be at last weekend.

***Jesus had emotion.  He was not driven by emotions, but He had them.

***Jesus on earth was not swayed by other people's expectations of Him.

***We all need to drink in the water of the word.

***How to respond to emotions***
  1)  accept that you have them
  2)  restore
  3)  dedicate our mind, will, and emotions (actions) to God
  4)  identify the thought
  5)  practically speaking..get enough sleep
  6)  anticipate the time you will be weak
  7)  know what your triggers are

***We are not given a license of happiness to serve ourselves.


I, as a woman, know that I need to be extremely careful how I deal with my emotions.  I need to realize that they have been given to me by God.  They are a wonderful and blessed gift from God.  As with everything else in my life, I need to make sure I make wise choices with how to react to my emotions.  It's not always easy, but it's always worth it!  I GUARANTEE IT!

The beautiful castle

for all of my Indiana friends..that land that is steep and going down is called a "hill"

some people will do anything for a prize.  Even trying to get an oreo from your forehead to your mouth the quickest!

Holly..our speaker.  The picture is blurry..sorry

our "lady of honor".  Pastor Paul, our sound guy extrordinaire!

Zion Ladies Retreat...Part 2 -- "Riding the highs and lows"

`Here is some more information from my weekend.  It was such a great lesson..I can't keep it to myself :)

***God made us how we are with what we are and that includes our emotions

***Our emotions are like the wind, we need to set our souls on the word of God

***Emotions are anything that moves us

***Reasoning from your emotions is dangerous.  My feelings will override the right and wrongs

***We balance our mates

***We don't shut our emotions off

***Do you reason from your emotions or from the truth?

***Unpredictable emotions are a woman's greatest danger.  This is SOOOOO true.  I, as a woman, have to be extremely careful where I let my emotions go.  When I use them for the good, it can be an amazing thing but when I use them for the bad, it could affect my life in a dangerously negative way.

***You are the first victim of your own heart

***What you react to comes out of your heart

***God is looking for the conduct we choose.

***Feelings are rarely a gauge of reality

***Whatever you're fighting, stand on scripture to combat it.  That's how we fight it!

***As I'm riding my highs and lows, am I getting glory for myself.  I need to remember that in all I do, it's for the Glory of God..not the glory of man!

***Your balance is to be anchored in the word of God.  That is where I need to seek my knowledge and where I need to learn how to handle situations.

Here are some more pictures from this weekend! 

Miss Sandy getting an awesome case of the "I can't stop" giggles :)

Doesn't this make you want to LAUGH OUT LOUD!