Connect: A Christ Centered Video Project

Have you ever wondered how Christ fits into the world today? Not just in Biblical times, but how Christ is relevant in today's society? Connect: A Christ Centered Video Project is doing just that. This video series will teach everyone how to live like Christ. It will share the word of God in a Bible study environment with answers to questions coming from the Bible, the true source of answers. It will teach us how as Christians we are to act today, how we are to live out our lives as a new creation in Christ, how we are to love our enemies, use our spiritual gifts, and utilize the armor of God.

I say the video series "will teach" because this is a project that God has called Sam Berrier, Jr. to start. This project is in the fundraiser stage and I am asking for your help. I believe in this project and I believe in the author behind these videos. Sam Berrier, Jr. happens to be my younger brother. As his older sister I've been blessed to watch him follow Christ and grow in his walk with the Lord.

I'm anxious to see the final project, but the project won't be happening without your help.  Will you consider donating to this video series? Please visit the two links that I embedded. The first was to the official website, the second is to the donation page. Both pages have more information about the vision of the video series. Thank you for taking the time to visit these pages. Please pray for this project as God's word reaches those who need to hear it.

A Thorn In My Side

I'm blogging over at Today's Housewife today.  Come read about how God answers 

prayers in His time, and how He uses those who are imperfect.

Turkey Hill Experience

Turkey Hill is a chain of local stores that produces milk, iced tea, ice cream and other food items. It's the only iced tea that my husband likes and I love their ice cream, specifically their Eagles Touchdown Sundae and Phillies Graham Slam. They recently opened the Turkey Hill Experience which is an interactive factory tour that teaches you the history of Turkey Hill, how they make the ice cream, all about the different flavors of tea, and lots more.  We each took a test to see which flavor of tea best suits us and then were able to sample that flavor of tea.  #2 was orange tea, which he loved, #3 was diet white peach tea, which she loved, and I was green tea, which I didn't care for.  But they have come out with sun tea that I did sample and I absolutely loved.

We also sampled different flavors of ice cream and were able to make our own virtual ice cream.  After we made our own ice cream, we even made the packaging for it and created a commercial for it.  I personally liked mine the best, it was called Flyers Faceoff Sundae.  It was chocolate with fudge swirls, chocolate caramel cups and pecans.  Yum!  Enjoy the pictures!

 

Tough Mudder

I'm crazy.  I mean, my husband the soldier wants to run in the Tough Mudder which is cool for him.  I mean, he's a soldier, he can do that kind of stuff.  But when he asked me last week to do it with him, I said sure honey!  That's where the crazy comes in!

The point of Tough Mudder isn't to finish first, which is good because I won't, it's just to finish with your teammates.  Tough Mudder is an 11ish mile race with several obstacles along the way.  Obstacles like monkey bars, jumping into freezing cold water, slugging through waist-deep mud, carrying logs up a mountain, tunneling through pipes filled with water (hello claustrophobia), running through fields of live wires carrying up to 10,000 volts of electricity, etc.  WHO SAYS I'M NOT CRAZY?  Here's some pictures of PA's Tough Mudder this year.

What can I say?  I'm actually excited about this!  For the first time in 11 years I'm at a weight that I can actually work out and breathe in.  Thanks to the migraine medication I'm on, I'm down to almost 120 pounds.  I'm actually able to exercise and move around and I'm loving it.  Not that I need to exercise and lose more weight, I'm just ready to strength train.

My son happens to be working on a boy scout project where he has to run 1/4 mile every day and do as many push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups that he can in one sitting.  I've decided that I'll be joining him in this project.  Today I had my husband teach me how to do a pull-up.  It wasn't pretty.  I can hold on to the bar if I stand on my toes, so it's not easy for me to get started.  I tried to pull myself up and my husband grabbed my legs and pushed me the rest of the way.  We did that twice.  He then pulled out a short stool to get me a little higher and had me jump up and slowly lower myself down.  This will at least start building up muscle in my arms so I can do them properly on my own at some point.

Thankfully, we're not planning on doing the Tough Mudder until 2014, so I have time to train.  This is because of my husband's deployment.  The Tough Mudder in PA is held in April and we missed the one this year, he'll be gone for the one next year, so we're shooting for participating in 2014.  We're hoping to get some soldiers to compete with us as well as some friends from church.  The more people the better because the more help you have with some of the obstacles, like climbing over walls, the better.  I'll blog from time to time on my progress.

The Power of a Single Gospel Tract

80,000 people die each day in Asian countries without knowing the love of Jesus Christ.

Today I'm blogging over at Today's Housewife on how a single Gospel Tract can reach dozens of people.

Could you be the person who provides that one tract to reach a lost soul?

Recipe List

It's time again for another cooking day.  We're out of dinners in the freezer and I dislike it when that happens. So I'll be going shopping tomorrow and here's what we'll be eating for the next month.

1.      BBQ Chicken

2.      Birds Nest Pie                                                                                           

3.      Broccoli Chicken Cups  Casserole Recipe Cards

4.      Cashew Chicken Casserole Casserole Recipe Cards                               

5.      Chicken Pot Pie                                                                                        

6.      Crunchy Ranch Tortilla Chicken  101 Quick & Easy

7.      Fragrant Sticky Chicken

8.      Ham Potato Scallop  Casserole Recipe Cards

9.      Jack Burgers

10.  Kielbasa

11.  Maple Glazed Turkey

12.  Pasta and Sausage Bake

13.  Raspberry Glazed Chicken

14.  Roasted Pork Loin

15.  Saucy Chicken Sandwiches

16.  Stromboli

17.  Stuffed Meatballs

18.  Stuffed Shells                                                                                           

19.  Sweet Onion Pork Chops

20.  Taco Pie                                                                                                   

21.  Teriyaki Burgers

22.  Upside Down Pizza Casserole

There's only 22 meals on the list but we'll probably be eating out a few times this month since we have Mother's day and two birthdays to celebrate.  If you want the recipes to any of these meals send me a note and I'll send the recipes to you.

Deep Breath

I lost track of time.  It's not that I don't know what today's date is, because I do.  I know that we're in the 4th marking period of school and both #2 and #3 are on track to earn straight A's this year.  #1 is following through on her enrollment process with school.  Everything is moving along as it should.

This month our Family Readiness Group is hosting dinner for our soldiers during their drill weekend.  I've been busy baking cookies and making tons of chili and meatballs.  I made Man Cookies by request of the soldiers and even though they didn't turn out flat and big, they have the same yummy taste.  I think I might have put too much flour in when doubling the recipe.  That's what happens when you bake at 11 pm.

But that's not why I need to take a deep breath, why I lost track of time.  Earlier this week I was asked to look at my upcoming summer schedule to see if there was any blocks of time I'd be gone so the praise team at church could be properly scheduled.  That's when I realized that it's already April and I'll be singing only through August and then I'll be coming off the praise team.  It's a personal choice that I make each time my husband is deployed.  I prefer not to have my kids stand without a parent during the praise and worship time of the service.  My husband won't be leaving right away, I just want a little time to worship with him before he does leave.

It was one of those moments that just side swipe you out of nowhere. One minute I'm fine, the next I'm reduced to tears. He's leaving soon.

It's easier and harder this time.  Easier because the kids are getting older and can do more for themselves.  #1 is also here so if I need to run out for a minute, I have an adult living here to watch the younger two.  It's also easier because of the aforementioned Family Readiness Group.  I've never been through a deployment with a family group in place and I can honestly say that I am looking forward to it.

It's harder because the kids are older and understand more.  Granted, my husband will be in Kuwait and it's a bit safer than Afghanistan, but he's still gone and they will still be taking it hard.  It's also harder because being the Family Readiness Group Leader, it's not like I can just break down in front of the families.  I need to be a source of leadership and support for them.  So despite having the family group, I have to be careful as well.

Pray for me as I face the upcoming months.  Pray as I get ready to spend a year without my husband.  Pray for me as I switch back into single parenting mode and pray for my kids as they try to adjust.  Pray for my husband and his troop for their safety.

Happy and Sad

This last month has been great!  We completed our third quarter at school with both #2 and #3 receiving straight A's again.  #2 is very excited because if he gets straight A's all 4 marking periods, he'll receive a special medal from the cyber-school we attend.  #3 has to wait until next year before she is old enough to participate in that program.

#1 is doing well in her quest to drive.  Parallel parking was a snap for her and we just need a bit more practice on the road before we conquer the driving test.  She also registered at the local community college and will be taking her entrance exams next week.  Please keep her in your prayers!

#2 has transitioned extremely well into Boy Scouts.  He went on his first weekend-long camping trip with them and had a great time.  He's also helping several boys with their Eagle Scout projects, willingly giving up time during his Spring Break and other Saturday's to do this.  I'm so proud of him.

#3 is a dancing queen!  She's getting very excited for her dance recital coming up and even more excited for her birthday next month.  I guess it's time to start planning for real!

It's also been a sad month for us.  We're still adjusting to the loss of my parents moving back to California.  When they move completely across the country, and you can't see them ever, it feels like a loss. We did lose a family member this month.  Sadly, my cat Duckie passed away.  It was all very sudden.  Within 1 week, he had lost most of his body weight, stopped eating, stopped coming up to the third floor to sleep with me, and started breathing very heavily.  I finally couldn't stand it anymore and took him to an all night animal hospital where the did x-rays and found a large tumor in one of his lungs and fluid filling 75% of his remaining lung capacity.  I stayed with him and made the choice to euthanize him.  As far as my kids know, he passed away peacefully on his own, at the animal hospital.

It's just a cat.  Yes, but it's my cat.  It's my cat who sleeps on Seth's side of the bed while he's deployed.  It's my cat who follows me around when he's gone.  It's my cat who keeps me company.  Here I am 2 weeks later and I'm still upset.

We do have another cat, and technically, he's mine.  Dunkin was a Valentine's gift to me the year Seth and I got married.  He was 6 weeks old when I got him, and it turns out I was 6 weeks pregnant at the time.  He grew up with us.  But he adopted my son and he really became #2's cat.  He's starting to come back to me now that Duckie is gone, but it's not the same.  And I don't have the heart to tell the kids that he's showing some of the same signs, with the scabs around the neck that showed up 2 months before the tumor.  Are they related?  I don't know.  It will be hard to watch and see.

Trying to get the birds on the wreath.

Freedom at the Foot of the Cross

At Today's Housewife, I had the honor of posting on Good Friday about the Freedom that can be found 

at the foot of the cross.

Reading Your Bible

I'm blogging over at Today's Housewife about Bible reading plans.  Do you have one that works for you?

A Month in Pictures

When I last posted, it was cooking day on February 9th.  It's been a rather busy month since then.

We had a small snow fall resulting in a few inches.  Jenna was able to clean the snow off her car for the first time then drive in it.

The birds are coming back.  They are sitting on my wreath in the mornings and teasing my cats.

The little miss has had the stomach bug twice this month.  Poor sickie chickie.

 

#2 received a special award at cub scouts titled God and Family.  Pastor Lee Peoples, our pastor, came to cub scouts, on Valentines day, and presented him with the award.

That same night #2 also received his Arrow of Light award and crossed over to Boy Scouts.  He's no longer a little cub scout, he's growing into quite the young man.

We went out later in the month and tried out a new restaurant in the area called Cheddar's.  We absolutely loved it.  Huge portions at a great price.  We will definitely be going back there.

Overall it's been a pretty fun month, with one exception.  Last week my mom and step-dad moved back to California.  It was very sudden, the job offer and move all happening in under two weeks.  I'm very sad to see them go, but I am very glad that such a great job opportunity has opened up for my dad.  Now they just need to get settled so we can start planning our next trip to California.

Crazy Cooking Day

So Tuesday was cooking day.  I had 22 meals lined up and ready to go.  I got up at 5:30 with my husband, as usual, to make him breakfast and lunch and saw him out the door by 6:20.  I got my cup of tea, had my Bible time, ate breakfast, and was ready to get started.  Then the kids got up.

You know what they say about the best laid plans?

#3 started throwing up.  #2 had a lot of school work that I needed to help with.  Somewhere in there I also needed to do laundry.  Needless to say, cooking day did not get completely accomplished within my 24 hour time goal.  But I did get 17 of the 22 meals finished on Tuesday and Wednesday I completed the remaining 5 meals.  Thankfully, #2 is caught up on school and #3 is feeling well enough to go back to school today after 2 days on the couch.

Here's my meal list for this month.  If you're interested in any of the recipes, please let me know.  We had the Turkey and Wild Rice Casserole last night for dinner and it was delicious.  I don' know why I don't include it in the rotation more often.  Even the kids ate it all up!  The roux that I made for the rice is just yummy!

1. Beef BBQ Sandwiches
2. Bird's Nest Pie
3. Chicken and Dumplings
4. Chicken Caesar Casserole
5. Chicken Nuggets
6. Chicken Pie
7. Dill & Lemon Pepper Fettuccine
8. Goulash
9. Ham & Broccoli Braid
10. Ham & Cheese Quiche
11. Ham, Vegetables and Bows
12. Hearty Beef Chili
13. Italian Slow Cooker Chicken
14. Lasagna
15. Maple Glazed Roast Pork
16. Meatloaf
17. Mexican Casserole
18. Parmesan-Dijon Chicken
19. Stromboli
20. Taco Pie
21. Tortellini Spinach Casserole
22. Turkey Wild Rice Casserole

Super Yummy Sunday

Yesterday, America celebrated Super Bowl Sunday.  Two teams that I really could care less about, played for bragging rights.  The Giants won, which I was pleased about, only because, to me, they were the lesser of two evils.  So to celebrate the game, my hubby and I invited my parents over and some friends from church and had a little party at our home.  We all brought snacks and our menu consisted of the following:

Pizza (Poppa John's yes, we did celebrate in the coin toss and we will get our free pizza)
Buffalo Chicken Dip, oh man was it spicy! And good!
Lil' Smokies
Buffalo Wings
Chips
Popcorn
Football Oreo Pops
Dump Cake

The Football Oreo Pops were a big hit.  I made those on Saturday to save a little prep time on Sunday.  They were amazingly simple.  I bought the Oreo's that were in the shape of footballs and split them in half because the lollipop stick was a bit too thick to just slide into the middle.  I melted chocolate candy wafers and put some of the melted chocolate in the center, put the lollipop stick in the middle and put the Oreo back together and let it harden.  This helped the Oreo adhere to the stick, since the Oreo is rather heavy, the added "glue" really helped.

Once the chocolate firmed up, I dipped the entire football into the melted chocolate and put it down onto waxed paper.  After the chocolate dried, I melted some white candy wafers and drew on the strings.  The chocolate was just thick enough to be fudgy but not overwhelming.  They were delicious!  

The dump cake I made was a simple recipe, 1 can crushed pineapple, 1 can cherry pie filling, 1 box yellow cake mix, 1 cup chopped pecans, 1/2 cup (ish) butter.  Dump the ingredients (in order) into a greased 9x13 pan, spreading evenly.  Bake for 50 minutes at 350 or until the cake is golden brown on top.  You may need to check the cake and add a little butter to parts that are still powdery.  Simple and yummy.

What super yummy treats did you make for Super Bowl Sunday?

Love

"I have loved you with an everlasting love"

Jeremiah 31:3

I'm blogging over at Today's Housewife on God's love.

Time to Breathe

Source GetEntrepreneurial.com

If I thought December was a busy month, I had no idea what January had in store for me.  Between meetings and conferences for the National Guard (for me, not my hubby who's actually in the National Guard), ballet, jazz, cub scouts, church, bridal showers, and field trips, I've hardly had a chance to breathe.  Well, I guess God decided to make me breathe.  I not only have my car out of commission, but my husband's car is down as well.

How is that a good thing?


Put aside the fact that we can't afford to fix either car at the moment, I have decided to look at the blessings in this situation

1. The week after Christmas we were financially able to help our oldest daughter purchase a car in preparation of her getting her license next month.  Since she doesn't have her license yet and isn't working, my husband is able to drive her car to work every day.  So despite both cars needing work, he still has the availability to get to his job.  That is a big blessing.

2. I have time to breathe.  Yes, we're skipping ballet and jazz this week.  But because we're skipping, I'm getting caught up on some cleaning, and basic household chores like baking bread that I haven't had time to do all month.  It's been two weeks since I've baked bread.  Quite frankly, I've missed it, and so has my wallet.

3. I have time for my family.  With running around so much I haven't had much time to sit and play with my kids.  Being home this week has given me that time to play on the Wii with them, play some regular games, and just sit and talk.  I think I'm enjoying that more than anything.

Ever have those times when you are forced to breathe?  To just stop and make time to rest?  By looking at the blessings, I can be thankful for what I have rather than be mad about what I'm missing right now.

1000 Posts Giveaway!

Today's Housewife has written 1000 posts!  As a writer for Today's Housewife, I am continually blessed by the comments here and there by the readers of both blogs.

Let us be a blessing to you!  Go over to Today's Housewife and leave a comment so you can be entered to win a $10 gift card from California Pizza Kitchen.  Everyone is welcome to enter.  The contest ends at 12:34 on Saturday 1/14/12, so don't wait too long to enter!

*CPK is in no way affiliated with Today's Housewife.

Be a Blessing

I'm over at Today's Housewife today talking about my word of the year, blessing, and how I will be a blessing to others, and how you can be a blessing to others.

New Year

It's 2012 and this year my word of the year is blessing.  I am going to strive to be a blessing to all those I meet. A blessing to my family, a blessing to my friends, and a blessing to my neighbors (which effectively includes everyone else in the world.)

I hope in some small way you will be blessed by my blog this year.  I hope to focus a bit more on my food posts and I'd like to get a bit more creative in my cooking and baking.  I'll continue to post once a month over at Today's Housewife on Faith (in fact, I'll be there tomorrow talking about blessings), but I'll still be here, hopefully getting back into more of a routine now that the holidays have passed.

On a good note, my hubby will be sticking around for a few extra months.  The deployment has been pushed back, I can't give you an exact date, but I am glad to say we'll actually have 2 anniversaries in a row together.  It's been a while since that has happened.

On to the cooking!  Since I happen to get up every morning with my amazing husband and make him breakfast and lunch, and then have 2 hours until the kids wake up, I killed a little time on Pinterest this morning.  If you haven't read about my love of Pinterest before, go ahead and go read about it here.  (And check out my Pinterest boards here.)  While I was there, I saw the cutest pic of cinnamon rolls that were in a heart shape.  Very cute and very easy.  I happened to have one extra can of cinnamon rolls just sitting in my refrigerator so guess what the kids got for breakfast this morning?

They thought this was one tasty treat!  I have to say, they are some of the easiest kids to please.  They seriously thought I had slaved over making them in this special shape.  They also thought they were twice the size of a normal cinnamon roll.  When I told them that each one was just one normal Grands roll unrolled and rerolled into the shape of the heart, they hardly believed me.

Tonight for dinner we're having pork chops with sweet potato fries and green beans.  A nice homey meal on a cold day.  I'm really in the mood for chili, but that will have to wait until after cooking day next week.

So blessings to you in this new year!  I hope you enjoy the recipes that I will be sharing with you and the tidbits of faith that I will share.