Elizabeth's Treasure Chest

Crazy Cooking Day

2012-02-09T07:54:00.003-05:00

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!

Beef BBQ Sandwiches
Bird's Nest Pie
Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken Caesar Casserole
Chicken Nuggets
Chicken Pie
Dill & Lemon Pepper Fettuccine
Goulash
Ham & Broccoli Braid
Ham & Cheese Quiche
Ham, Vegetables and Bows
Hearty Beef Chili
Italian Slow Cooker Chicken
Lasagna
Maple Glazed Roast Pork
Meatloaf
Mexican Casserole
Parmesan-Dijon Chicken
Stromboli
Taco Pie
Tortellini Spinach Casserole
Turkey Wild Rice Casserole

Super Yummy Sunday

2012-02-06T11:48:00.001-05:00

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

2012-02-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

"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

2012-01-26T09:56:00.000-05:00

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!

2012-01-08T13:54:00.002-05:00

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

2012-01-06T09:03:00.002-05:00

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

2012-01-05T10:47:00.000-05:00

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.

Truffles

2011-12-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

Last week I went to a Christmas party. I was asked to bring a dessert, a chocolate dessert of some kind. I originally decided to make Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles. I found the recipe on Pinterest and decided to try it out.

But after that decision was made, a good friend told me her Christmas wouldn't be complete without some Oreo Truffles. So, I decided to make both!

Oreo Truffles are rather easy. There are only 3 ingredients. Yup, only 3. A package of Oreo's, a package of cream cheese (softened), and some white candy wafers (or white chocolate chips.)

First step is very simple, put all the Oreo's in a Ziploc bag, seal it with most of the air out. Go ahead and double bag it. Then get a hammer out of your husband's tool box (or your own hammer, or a food processor or some fancy equipment that you may have that I don't) and smash the heck out of them. You want a very pulverized bag of cookie crumbs.

Dump the bag of crumbs into a big bowl and combine with your cream cheese. Really work it in until it's all combined.

Roll them into balls and place on a wax paper covered cookie sheet and put in the fridge for a few hours. Let them firm up nicely. Once they are firm, melt your candy wafers in a deep bowl. I microwave mine for one minute, stir, and then microwave for 30 second intervals until completely melted.

Dip your truffles into the melted chocolate and using 2 forks, try to drip off the excess. Place back on the cookie sheet and let harden in the refrigerator for a bit. If you want to get fancy, you can melt some regular chocolate and swirl it on top. Yields about 30 truffles.

Now, on to the Cookie Dough Truffles!

You need:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate morsels
1 1/2 pounds chocolate wafers, (candy coating, or chocolate chips to melt)

The original recipe I found also added 1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts. But quite frankly, I don't want nuts in my chocolate chip cookie dough. I just want dough, and chocolate chips. So, I didn't put the nuts in my truffles. Call it bakers license. You know, like artistic license? Just bear with me, I'm trying to make it work here.

In your stand mixer (or large bowl with hand mixer) cream butter and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add the vanilla. Gradually beat in flour and add the sweetened condensed milk.

Add the chocolate morsels (and the nuts if you want them) and mix well. At this point, I found that the dough was too sticky to mold into balls. So I stuck them in the fridge for a couple of hours. My couple of hours turned into overnight just because I started these at 8 pm. Goofy me.

Shape into 1 inch balls, just like your Oreo Truffles. Put these on waxed paper also and chill for at least 2 hours.

Melt chocolate wafers how ever you want. I do mine in the microwave like the white candy wafers. Using two forks, dip the truffles into the chocolate to cover. Place back on the waxed paper to harden in the refrigerator for at least an hour. If you want to get fancy again, take some of that white chocolate that was left over and swirl it on top. Yields 40-50 truffles.

Both recipes are easy and extremely tasty! Enjoy!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T22:24:00.000-05:00

It's Christmas Eve, presents are wrapped, kids are tucked into bed, and my husband and I are killing time until the kids are sound asleep before those presents can be put under the tree. Until then, I'm sitting here and thinking about the ultimate gift I have received from Jesus and singing my favorite Christmas carol, O Holy Night.

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born;

O night divine, O night, O night divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here come the wise men from Orient land.

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise us,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born;

O night divine, O night, O night divine.

During this Christmas holiday, please take time to remember the reason for the season.

Luke 2:1-20

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news og great job that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Happy Birthday!

2011-12-21T14:45:00.001-05:00

Today my son turns 11. I'm so proud of the young man he is turning into. Here's a picture of his birthday cake.

Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, surrounded by Kit Kats and topped with M&M's. Yes, it's a sugar high just waiting to happen. But that's ok, I'll deal with the sugar coma's later, I'm just blessed to have had 11 years with my boy and am looking forward to many, many more.

Holiday Humor

2011-12-12T14:49:00.001-05:00

So, I'm kind of a geek. I saw this comic this morning and absolutely cracked up. It came from George Takei's facebook page.

Hope you understand what it means. :D

Surprise

2011-11-21T17:00:00.001-05:00

I recently made snacks for our youth group. Today the pastor dropped off my casserole dish that held the snacks.

I went to put away the dish and took the lid off because I don't store it with the lid on.

What's this?

Candy canes may not seem out of the ordinary just over a month before Christmas. These candy canes however, have a life of their own. You see, my best friend moved to Pittsburgh a little over 3 years ago. The Christmas prior to her moving she came over and left these at my house one night, and knowing that she was going to be moving, I decided to play a little game.

When she started packing her belongings I had her husband hide these in a box with a card from me saying the game was on. She had to find a way to get them back to me, making her visit me or during one of my visits to her. For the last 3 years we've been passing these back and forth in creative ways.

This August I slipped them into her car just before she left my house to go back home. I haven't seen her since. However, since our church went on a missions trip to her church in October, she enlisted some help.

While I'm not sure the rules of the game require us to personally hide them, I think it's cheating for these to come back to me without a visit from her. Anyone agree that she needs to visit me to make up for this?

Either way, it was fun to find these and I can't wait to actually talk to her about them. She got me good and it was a fun treat that I certainly needed today. I miss you, Becky!

2011-11-11T16:17:00.001-05:00

Do you use Pinterest? I absolutely love it! I haven't been on there long but I have gotten so many great ideas from that site. Pinterest is a place where you can make virtual pin boards and collect pictures that link back to blog posts. For me it's a cook book, a kids hair idea place, decorating tips, and a place to keep things that make me laugh and smile.

All the wonderful ideas for food is what keeps me going back. Today I made these cute pilgrim hats. I found the idea on Pinterest and it took me a whopping 15 minutes to make 40. I did have my little lady helping me unwrap all the PB cups so my time was shortened. 1 package of chocolate wafer cookies, 1 package of PB cup miniatures and some orange frosting, that's all these are.

I've also tried the Bacon & Egg Toast Cups which were a breeze to make! Now when my hubby has to get up really early (before 5:30), I make these the night before and all he has to do is pop them in the microwave and he's got a full breakfast.

But the best recipe I have found so far is the Man Cookies. I blogged about them a few weeks ago. They were so good. I would never have thought of adding bacon to cookies, but I've already heard from a few soldiers in my husband's troop that I need to make them some more. But the next time I make them, I need to have enough to go around. I can deal with that!

If you're not on Pinterest I recommend you try it out. To get an account you need to sign up and wait for them to add you, or you can find someone to send you an invite. You can message me if you need one, and once you're there, don't forget to look me up.

Healthy Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

2011-11-07T10:42:00.000-05:00

This is one might tasty cake. Yes, it's a healthy pineapple upside-down cake. And by healthy, I mean it's Vegan and diabetic friendly. That's right, I made a cake that is vegan and diabetic friendly and it tasted good! My family loved it. It was a bit of a challenge to find a recipe that I liked, and I did have to tweak it a little for the diabetic part, but overall I was very pleased.

I got the original recipe from Vegan Dream and I only modified the sugar. I found out in my research that Splenda is not Vegan friendly, so I ended up using Truvia (TM) in place of the sugar and I used Hain organic brown sugar, and just lowered the amount I used.

Healthy Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

1 20-oz can pineapple slices in unsweetened pineapple juice (reserve the juice)

6-8 Maraschino cherries or pitted fresh cherries

2 TBSP Hain Organic Brown Sugar (more or less as desired)

1 cup white flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

3 TBSP Truvia (TM) sweetener

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup pineapple juice reserved from can of slices

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 TBSP white vinegar

Spring-form pan or angel food cake pan

Non-stick spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your pan with non-stick spray all the way up the sides. Arrange the pineapple decoratively around the pan, filing in the gaps with pieces of pineapple. Place cherries in holes of the pineapple rings to look pretty. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the pineapples and cherries.

Mix together both flours, Truvia (TM), baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, set aside. In a smaller bowl mix together the reserved juice, applesauce and vinegar. Quickly mix the wet ingredients into the dry. The batter will foam up a bit.

Pour the mix into the pan immediately and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the center is firm.

This is a quick and simple cake. Mind you, I'm not going Vegan, and no one in my immediate family is diabetic, I was commissioned by a friend to make this cake for an office birthday party. But I'm so glad I did! Actually, I must clarify, I made one on Saturday to try it out and a second on Sunday for my friend. I just couldn't see making this cake and sending it out the door without finding out if it tasted great or horrible. Glad it was a winner!

If you'd like to make this and not worry about the diabetic part, 3 TBSP Truvia (TM) is equivalent to 1/2 cup of sugar. That's quite the difference! And Truvia (TM) has no calories, so that's a bonus. I didn't feel so bad when I had seconds. Or the last leftover piece yesterday. As for the brown sugar, the original recipe called for 3 TBSP to be used, I cut it down to just under 2 when I made it.

This cake was very tasty and I would definitely make this again.

Forgiveness

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

I'm blogging today over at Today's Housewife. Come read what the Lord

has been working on in my life right now.

Photo by Elephant.

(Not) Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-02T13:06:00.003-04:00

Today is normally my Wordless Wednesday. Unfortunately, October has been such a crazy month that the majority of the posts I've written have only been Wordless Wednesdays. So here's a post with a bit more substance.

In October I turned 33, my hubby spent a little over 2 weeks gone with the National Guard, my son got a horrible chest cold, my oldest daughter has really started driving, and my youngest daughter is excelling in her ballet and jazz classes. Yup, that about sums up the month. I've been running here and there and everywhere with the kids.

On a sad note, I did stop working with the Awana program at my church. After September's 3 1/2 week migraine, the docs said I need to cut back on my stress. Unfortunately, how busy I was on Sundays were a big stress inducer and I ended up with a migraine every Sunday night after Awana. So I decided for my own health to step-back and let someone else step-up to teach those wonderful kids.

This week's game plan includes a shopping and cooking day. When exactly I'm going to find the time to shop is beyond me, but I'll make it happen. Here's what I'm cooking this month if you're interested:

Broccoli, Ham and Cheese Casserole
Cheesy Ham and potatoes
Chicken and Broccoli Rotini
Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken Bowls
Chicken Pie
Crock Pot Peppercorn Steak
Dijon Pork Chops
Farmers Casserole
Fragrant Sticky Chicken
Goulash
Ham and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Hearty Beef Chili
Lasagna
Meatloaf
Orange Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Oven BBQ Chicken and Cheesy Biscuits
Sausage Pizza Twist
Sausage Stuffed Pork Loin
Stromboli
Tuna Casserole
Vegetable Beef Soup

There are lots of yummy meals in there. If you're interested in any of these recipes please send me a note and I'll send you the recipe. I'm looking forward to having my freezer stocked again.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T11:54:00.003-04:00

My cat sleeps in the strangest places.

Typical Tuesday

2011-10-25T15:20:00.001-04:00

Today is not a typical Tuesday. Today started with me sleeping in. Yes that's right, I slept until almost 9:00. My husband has today off of work and decided to go hunting. So I didn't have to get up at 5:30 and make his breakfast and lunch. It was so nice!

Our youngest 2 kids got up and made their own breakfast and started school without me. What good kids I have! I got up and decided to try my hand at baking bread since I now have a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. I used the basic wheat bread recipe that came with my stand mixer. Sadly, after over an hour, it didn't rise. I decided to find a different recipe online and here are the results:

They literally just came out of the oven and smell so very good! I can't wait to try a piece.

Today in school #3 had an art project. She made a mask that looks very similar to herself. She even decided to use tan construction paper to represent her skin tone. I'm rather proud of her for thinking of that.

#1 is out and about in town with my hubby right now. And when I say out and about, I mean she's driving. She's got her permit and today she is driving in town traffic. It's wonderful to see her learn how to drive so she can be more independent.

#2 is still hanging on the couch. He's had a bad chest cough for a week now, but it's clearing up and his earache is virtually gone. He's missed church, scouts and Awana for 2 weeks, but he should be cleared up enough to return to a normal routine this weekend.

Lots of different things today, but all have been good. Now, it's time for me to go and see how my bread baking adventure went.

** Update -- The bread is delicious! Here's the recipe I used. **

Man Cookies

2011-10-20T14:39:00.001-04:00

Ok, so maybe these cookies aren't just for men. I mean, I totally love them. The official name for these cookies are Brown Butter Bacon Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Now you see why I just call them Man Cookies!

I made these last week for my husband's National Guard Troop and they loved them. The soldiers ate them up so quick that my poor husband came in looking for one and they were all gone. I told him to come in early! Needless to say, being the good wife that I am, I decided to make my husband his own batch of cookies. This time, I documented my adventure for you all to share in.

These cookies are amazing. I got the original recipe from Mouth From the South and adapted it slightly. I couldn't find bittersweet chocolate chips anywhere so I used a baking bar and chopped it up. It fits better with the "Chocolate Chunk" title. Overall though, the recipe is the same.

Here's the ingredients list:

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
4 oz semisweet chocolate bar, diced into 1/4″ chunks
1/2 cup (3 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, diced into 1/4" chunks
3 tablespoons milk chocolate, grated

1 cup bacon that’s been fried until crispy and diced into roughly 1/4″ pieces

This is definitely a recipe that calls for preparing your ingredients first. I started by getting the bacon ready, then dealing with the chocolate. For my milk chocolate, I used a Hershey's bar and froze it for about 5 minutes first. This helps with the chocolate not melting in your hand while you're trying to grate it.

I also prepared my flour and baking soda mixture, then the sugar, brown sugar, salt and vanilla mixture. I also got my eggs ready in a bowl then I got started. This will help once it's time to start combining ingredients. Here's the official directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees with your oven rack in the middle. Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking soda together in a medium bowl then set aside.

Heat 10 tablespoons unsalted butter in a skillet over medium-high heat, swirling constantly. Cook the butter until it is dark brown and has an amazing nutty smell. Watch it carefully because it will burn. Pour the cooked butter into a heat-proof bowl and add the remaining 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Mix until all the butter is melted.

Add your sugar, brown sugar, salt and vanilla mixture to the butter. Whisk until smooth and sugar is dissolved. Add the egg and egg yolk and whisk until combined. Let this mixture stand for a few minutes. Whisk for 30 seconds and then let the mixture stand again. Whisk again for 30 seconds until thick, smooth and shiny. This allows for the sugar to completely melt into the mixture.

Using a wooden spoon, add the flour and baking soda mixture until combined. Don't over mix, but make sure that all the flour pockets have disappeared. Add the chocolate and the bacon and mix.

Using a teaspoon, put your cookie dough onto your lined cookie sheet. In this picture, the pan is 9x13 and I only put 11 cookies on it. Due to the small amount of flour in these cookies, they spread. Here is the same pan before and after baking.

Cook for 10-14 minutes at 375 degrees. Take them out when the edges are brown and center is slightly uncooked. Leave on the pan and place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. This will allow for the centers to finish cooking.

These cookies are delicious! My family has already started scarfing them down and I am once again in favor with my husband. Last week with the soldiers, and again today with my family, I heard the phrase, "Bacon makes everything better!" I completely agree!

Grandpop's Pumpkin Pie

2011-10-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

I'm blogging today on theFood Channel of Today's Housewife. Come over and read about my Grandpop'sspecial pumpkin pie recipe.

Beautiful You

2011-10-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

I'm blogging today over at Today's Housewife about inner beauty. Check it out!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T16:04:00.003-04:00

Compromise:

I bake my birthday cake.

My kids decorate it.

I love my kids!

Tea and Toast

2011-10-04T10:32:00.005-04:00

Black and Green balloons for the
Philadelphia Eagles!

Thismorning I woke up to a tray of tea and toast and my kids singing HappyBirthday. It was wonderful! As of last night I didn't have any bigexpectations for today. My husband is gone with the National Guard rightnow and won't be back until later this month. So birthday plans for mehave been put on hold. But my kids woke up extra early so they could makeme birthday cards and breakfast.

Later this evening we are going to dinnerwith my mom and step-dad. I don't know where we are going yet, but my sondecided to skip cub scouts so we can all go together.

Purple tulips because they are my
favorite! From #3.

Last month I received a really cool birthdaypresent from my dad. A fishing rod with LED lights in it. It is soneat, and the best part is it's pink! I got a pink fishing rod! TheLED lights glow when you spin the reel. They aren't very bright, so noscaring the fish away. Unfortunately with all the rain, I haven't had achance to use it yet. Hopefully I will be able to go fishing this weekendor next weekend.

So despite going to bed alone, after havingthe following conversation with my kids:

Me: Who made me a birthdaycard for tomorrow?
#2 & #3: Deer in headlights looks.
Me: I wonder if I'll get a birthday cake tomorrow.
#2: Sure, go bake yourself one!

it looks like I'm going to have a greatbirthday after all.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T14:31:00.001-04:00

This makes me happy. My son has had a difficult time comprehendingmultiplication. Today he's happily working on multiplying 2-digit by2-digit numbers.

And he understands it!

What has made you happy today?

Thankful Thursday

2011-09-15T15:25:00.000-04:00

51) A God who provides for all my needs. Phil 4:19-20.

52) Neosporin and Hydrogen Peroxide.

53) Adults willing to teach my children in Awana and Sunday school.

54) Non-rainy days.

55) Coffee. Enough said.

56) Quiet time to spend with the Lord.

57) Friends who continue to challenge me to grow in my walk with Christ.

58) Phineas and Ferb. That is one funny cartoon and my kids love it!

59) A glorified body when I get to Heaven.

60) Daily hugs from my kids.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T09:15:00.005-04:00

Happy National Cream Filled Donut Day!

How 9/11 Influenced My Day Today

2011-09-11T16:17:00.008-04:00

Today is the 10th anniversary of the attack on the United States. I was asleep as the first plane crashed. My husband, son and I were living with my mom in California, so for us, the attack started before 6 am. Mom woke us up and we watched in horror as the second plane crashed, the Pentagon was hit and the plane went down in Pennsylvania. I tried for hours to contact family back on the east coast, finally reaching them later in the afternoon. It was a stressful day, not wanting to leave the television, but needing to care for my 9 month old son.

The next day, my husband contacted the Marine Corps and tried desperately to re-enlist. It wasn't meant to be at the time, but that day set things in motion. In 2003, he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves and spent some time in Iraq with them. After he returned, he enlisted in the PA Army National Guard, went through Officer Candidate School and is now an officer with them. He spent last year in Afghanistan and is getting ready for another deployment in the near future.

All of this has shaped my life today. Specifically today. Today I spent part of my afternoon in a meeting with other family members of my husband's troop. Today was the first Family Readiness Group meeting for our troop. The very first one. I have to admit, I was nervous. I've never been a part of an FRG, in fact during my previous two deployments I had no contact from any FRG group. So when I was asked not only to be involved but to be President of our group, I readily said yes.

Why would I agree to not only be a part but be the President? After going through two deployments with the only information I receive being from my husband, I don't want anyone else to go through that. I want this deployment to be different. I want the families to be able to rely on each other and step-up to help each other. I want us supported so our soldiers will KNOW that their families back home are being taken care of. They will feel better knowing their families are being looked after. No, I cannot be everything to everyone, but I've got a shoulder and I can listen and empathize with the other family members.

I am already feeling better about this deployment. I know I'll have other wives to talk to, other mom's who are dealing with the same child separation issues that I'll be dealing with. I can't tell you how good it feels to know that I won't be alone this time.

I don't know that my husband would be back in the military had 9/11 not occurred. I did know from our first date how much my husband loves his country and that he had served in the Marine Corps in the 90's. But I had no idea I would be a military wife and be so involved with the families. Would I change it? No. I'm glad to be here. I'm glad to support my husband. I'm glad he helps protect my freedom. I'm glad I am able to work with the families. I'm glad to be exactly where I am today.

Ham and Broccoli Ring

2011-09-09T20:11:00.003-04:00

I haven’t made this meal in a long time. It’s a very simple recipe and very tasty. I’ve decided to go ahead and post this here for anyone who is interested. Did I mention it’s soooo good? Well, it is!

2 cans crescent rolls (keep refrigerated until ready to use or they get sticky)

1 lb. sliced deli ham, chopped

½ lb fresh broccoli, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 block Swiss cheese, shredded

4 Tbsp Dijon mustard

4 tsp parsley flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients in bowl except for garlic. Place your crescent rolls on your round stone. Looking at your stone like it is a clock, place the first can of crescent rolls at 12, 3, 6 and 9, then place the remaining rolls in the first can in the gaps. With the second can, fill in the rest of e gaps so you have 16 pieces around the stone. There should be a well in the middle and the rolls should hang off of the stone. Press the rolls together to make a flat ring on the stone. Spoon in your mixture and then wrap the excess rolls around the top of the ring and press into the center to close the ring. Press your minced garlic on the top of the ring and bake for 20-25 minutes or until mixture is heated and rolls are golden brown and cooked.

Very simple, very good, and the one I made for dinner tonight is very gone. Enjoy!

Thankful Thursday

2011-09-08T15:38:00.000-04:00

41) Rain to water my grass and plants.

42) A working dehumidifier and sump pump in my rained out basement.

43) A good first week of school for my kids.

44) A first job for my oldest daughter.

45) A freezer full of meals.

46) Healthy, growing children who eat all of our food.

47) Books to read to help me grow closer to God.

48) Tylenol. Yes, I’m thankful for Tylenol.

49) The sound of kids playing happily.

50) A husband who loves me and shows it in his actions towards me.

Back to Cooking

2011-09-06T11:44:00.002-04:00

With summer over and a full schedule of kids activities looming ahead, I absolutely need to get back into once-a-month cooking. I've taken parts of the summer off but now I'm back into full freezer mode. Here is what we'll be eating this month. As always, if you'd like a recipe, please let me know which one and I'll send it to you.

1. Bacon Wrapped Tenderloin

2. Bird's Nest Pie

3. Chicken and Dumplings

4. Chicken Enchiladas

5. Chicken Manicotti

6. Chicken Pie

7. Crock Pot Corn Chowder

8. Crock Pot Cowboy Stew

9. Dried Beef Casserole

10. Fragrant Sticky Chicken

11. Ham & Broccoli Ring

12. Maple Glazed Stuffed Roast Pork

13. Marinated Flank Steak

14. Meal-in-One Potatoes

15. Oven Baked Pork Chops

16. Parmesan Dijon Chicken

17. Pasta and Sausage Bake

18. Pesto Chicken Packets

19. Pork Tender Wellington

20. Saucy Chicken Sandwiches

21. Steak Fajitas

22. Stuffed Sausage Balls

I realize I'm only doing 22 meals, but with leftovers, it rounds out to about 30. The only problem now is that I need to shop today, and it's raining. In fact, it will rain all week here. So, I guess I'm just stuck shopping in the rain this month. Oh well, at least I'll have something to do inside of the house in the rain over the next few days!

Oh, and if you're on facebook, check out these two pages: Eat Now, Eat Later:The Art of Planning Meals in Advance, the owner of this company is who I learned to once-a-month cook from. Also, one of my newest favorite pages, Crock Pot Girls. Lots of recipes there and they are all crock pot meals! A big time saver since 3 days a week I'll be gone during normal cooking times.

Summer Vacation

2011-09-05T13:22:00.004-04:00

Today is officially the last day of summer vacation. #2 and #3 start back with their cyber school tomorrow and #1 starts her first job tomorrow. It's been a fun summer and we're spending our last day with Grandma coming over for a birthday dinner for my husband. Here are some pics from our fun summer.

#3 in her ballet recital.

#2 playing chess with friends.

Seth, #2 and Grandpa shooting BB Guns.

Seth and his mom eating crabs.

Me with 2 friends in Kentucky at the National Volunteer Workshop for the Army National Guard.

Kid #1, my brother Sam, #3 and #2 at a Phillies game.

Kids #1 and #3 at a special Tinkerbell Tea party.

Labor of Love

2011-09-02T06:30:00.004-04:00

Picture from fanpop

I'm blogging today over at Today's Housewife. Come read about my Labor of Love and how you can labor with love.

Thankful Thursday

2011-09-01T07:45:00.001-04:00

31) Birthday celebrations.

32) My whole family living together.

33) One more weekend of Summer vacation.

34) An undamaged house after the hurricane and earthquake last week.

35) 2 devoted cats.

36) Friends for my kids.

37) My friends.

38) A God who loves me when I don't deserve it.

39) The gift of peace working in my life.

40) Going out to dinner and getting dessert just because it was my hubby's birthday.

What are YOU thankful for today?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T18:58:00.002-04:00

See that handsome man? That is my husband. It's his birthday today! Happy birthday, my love!

Book Review

2011-08-30T11:23:00.002-04:00

I recently had the pleasure of reading In Front of God and Everybody: Confessions of April Grace, written by K.D. McCrite. First and foremost, this was a fun book.

The book is written from the perspective of April Grace, an 11 year-old girl from Arkansas on her summer break. The story is about trying to learn to live with Christ-like attitudes while dealing with the stereotype of a dumb hick from the new "big city" neighbors. As April Grace likes to point out, just because you're from the sticks doesn't mean you are dumb.

The multiple story lines are easy to follow as April Grace is trying to adjust to a sister who is becoming anorexic, a grandmother who wants to start dating again, and live-in neighbors who refuse to accept the house rules. April Grace tries to emulate her parents in the grace she gives, but it’s a hard road to learn when everything seems to be against her.

This story is extremely funny. It’s well written and comical at times and is an easy read. I read it quickly, partly because of the easy read, partly because I just couldn’t put it down. I definitely recommend this book to anyone with preteen girls in their life.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Summer Fun

2011-08-26T15:09:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I have blogged. We've had quite the eventful summer. It started with our oldest child moving in with us from California. (Technically, my step-daughter, but I hate the word step.) She's been here since mid-July and we've loved every minute of her being here.

I've had 2 trips to the doc, one for 4 stitches and one for crushing my opposite hand resulting in a bone bruise that has lasted over 3 weeks with me not having full use of my index finger. Real fun when it's on my right hand and I'm right handed.

My hubby has spent time away with the National Guard in preparation for his upcoming deployment. Sorry, not giving dates or locations away due to security reasons.

The youngest 2 have had a great summer playing and enjoying themselves. They start back to school on September 6th and they are both pleased that they will be continuing to cyber school. It works for us and we love it.

As fall approaches I hope to get back into blogging once we are back into a set schedule. I miss the routine of school days, cub scouts, ballet and AWANA. Yes, it's a busier time for us but all the things we do are worth while and fun.

Enjoy the rest of your summer! I'll check back in soon!

Thankful Thursday 6/16

2011-06-16T06:00:00.001-04:00

31) All three of our kids living in the same house for the first time ever!
32) A husband who believes in me enough to put me in a leadership position over all the families in his military troop.
33) Cats who will cuddle with me even when I want to be alone.
34) God's word written in the Bible for me to read.
35) Ballet recitals with my little ballerina.
36) A full freezer after cooking day.
37) Music! I love music and am thankful for it!
38) The ability to learn new things, like golf.
39) Friends who give me gifts, like a full set of golf clubs complete with Philadelphia Eagles golf balls and towel (who remain anonymous even after a year!)
40) I'm thankful for the sun, moon and stars in all their loveliness.

Psalm 136:7-9 Give thanks to the Lord who made the great lights: sun, moon and stars.

***Abbreviated verses as the Cubbies say them in Awana, the class I teach.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-15T22:20:00.000-04:00

#3 will be dancing in her recital this weekend. Tonight was the dress rehearsal.

She's a beautiful girl and a beautiful dancer.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-08T19:40:00.000-04:00

This makes me happy!

God's In The Details

2011-06-03T12:54:00.000-04:00

I'm blogging over at Today's Housewife today about the details in our lives that God is a part of. Come check it out!

I've been AWOL, but with good reason!

2011-05-22T13:50:00.000-04:00

I realized today that I haven't posted in over a week. Yikes! I haven't updated my April or May goals and guess what? I'm not doing it today. I will however let you know what's been going on in the last week to make me AWOL from my blog (in chronological order from my last post on May 12th.)

1 -Stupid allergies strike again. Let me rephrase that. I ate a cookie. Not just any cookie mind you, a Macadamia Nut cookie from Shari's Berries. It was heavenly. It was amazingly good. It had the bottom dipped in chocolate that had coconut oil in it. It took 30 seconds (I kid you not) for my tongue to start itching. 2 minutes later, I was covered in hives from head to toe. Thursday night, round 1 of Benadryl.

2 - Friday morning - round 2 of Benadryl. Hives did not clear up yet. I was supposed to go on a ladies retreat with my church, ended up sleeping Friday afternoon, evening, night and into Saturday morning - late morning. (Waking up for rounds 3 and 4 of Benadryl.) Thankfully kids #2 and #3 spent the weekend at Grandmom's house.

3 - Kid #1 turned 18. Yes, we have an adult daughter now. Granted, she's in California so we couldn't celebrate with her, but phone calls were made and pictures sent to us. It was also her prom that night and she looked amazingly beautiful!

4 - Field trip to the local minor league baseball game. It was my last field trip as Community Coordinator, so that was sad. But we had a great time.

5 - Last club night of Awana. It was a fun time and I even baked a giant Cubbie Bear brownie that was enjoyed by all!

6 - Big push for kids to finish all their school classes early. We spent the week finishing up classes so that #2 and #3 could be finished before item #8 down below. (Keep reading.)

7 - Kid #1 called and asked if she can move in with us. Um, YES!!! We are super excited about this turn of events. We can't wait to have her with us full time. She'll be coming out to live and go to school. SO COOL!

8 - Kid #3 turned 7. No one wanted to do school work on her birthday. Dinner at California Pizza Kitchen with 2 sets of her Grandparents. It was the aforementioned Grandma's birthday too! Yes, they share a birthday which is really fun!

9 - Kids #2 and #3 spent the night at the other Grandma's house this weekend.

10 - Last night Seth and I attended the 55th HBCT Officer's Mess. Look at that picture and tell me I don't have a handsome hubby! I dare you! :)

Now we're up to today. Seth is stripping paint and sanding the entry way to start painting this week. Tonight is the awards ceremony for Awana so I'll be leaving shortly to set up for it.

I have to admit, the next 2 weeks will be pretty sparse on the blog. This week I have a few meetings, dentist appointments for us and need to do a big clean of #1's bedroom which has been a storage room for a while. I'm also getting ready to head to California to see #1 graduate from high school. We'll be returning with her after graduation and she'll be spending a month with us. She'll then fly home, go to a previously scheduled conference, pack her things and come back full time. The month here was planned before the decision to move was planned. Really though, it's all good, I'm just excited that she's decided to come live with us.

Thankful Thursday 5/12

2011-05-12T06:00:00.017-04:00

21) Clean floors to walk barefoot on.
22) A new (to me) couch that actually looks great!
23) A mouth to spread the word of God to others.
24) Little children excited to learn about God.
25) Families who bring their children to church to learn about God. (I love Cubbies!)
26) Spring days to play outside.
27) Flowers picked by my daughter.
28) Dresses that fit when you didn't think they would.
29) A military husband who's willing to fight for my freedom, and yours.
30) Medication - despite it being a pain to take every day, I have it and am thankful for it.

Perfect Purple Flowers

2011-05-06T06:47:00.001-04:00

I'm blogging over at Today's Housewife today. Come check out my perfect purple flowers and find out what last week's Wordless Wednesday photo was all about.

Thankful Thursday 5/5

2011-05-05T12:43:00.000-04:00

11) Sunshine and no rain today.
12) Less than a month of school left for my kids.
13) A husband who's willing to sit through ballet class with our daughter so I can spend the day in New York with friends.
14) Children who love me, not just on Mother's day, but every day.
15) A house under construction - it means I have a home and a husband who is willing to work around the house to make it better.
16) Hot tea.
17) The gift of baking yummy things.
18) Friends who love eating the yummy treats I bake.
19) Tulips.
20) Purple flowers in my garden.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-04T17:27:00.000-04:00

The story on these fun cupcake pops will come tomorrow!

Thankful Thursday

2011-04-28T06:30:00.000-04:00

On Thursdays I'd like to start telling you some things that I am thankful for. These are in no particular order, nor will they be. Here's my first 10.

1) A God who loves me.
2) A husband who cares about me.
3) Rain for my gardens and flowers.
4) Kids that want to be home all day with me.
5) Freedom to read my Bible.
6) My cats that love me unconditionally, if not temperamentally.
7) An amazing church family.
8) The gift of song that God has given me.
9) My husband's job that pays enough for me to stay home with our kids.
10) A husband who takes out the trash. I really dislike doing that.

What are YOU thankful for today?

2 Tulips

2011-04-27T06:12:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

*The story on these tulips will come in the next week. :)

2000

2011-04-25T20:19:00.000-04:00

Wow! I hit 2000 visitors! Thank you all for coming and reading my site. I hope you can be encouraged and laugh with me as I go through life in the way that God has laid out for me. Thank you for visiting!

Cake Pops

2011-04-22T10:40:00.000-04:00

Last week we had a luncheon after church. I always try to bring something fun and I've been wanting to try to make cake pops for a while. I ended up making close to 6 dozen cake pops, all of which were gone by the time Sunday was over. And I was VERY good and only ate one of them!

I made two types of cake pops. At first glance, they are purple and brown. Well, the purple ones were Golden Butter Yellow cake with white frosting and a purple-vanilla candy shell. The brown ones were chocolate fudge cake with chocolate frosting and a chocolate candy shell. Both types were garnished with white candy sprinkles.

This weekend is Easter weekend. I have 2 different family dinners to attend and I hope to try my hand at something a little more difficult. I'm going to ~~steal~~ borrow Bakerella's design and try these cute Easter Bunny Pops. They look so cute don't they? I'll be sure to post the update on how my pops turn out.

Here's how I made my cake pops:

1 box cake mix
1 cup of frosting
36 paper lollipop sticks
2 bags candy pieces ( I used these)
sprinkles to garnish
Piece of styrofoam

Bake 1 box cake mix as directed in 9x13 pan. Cool completely. In large bowl, crumble entire cake into small pieces. Add in 1 cup of frosting. (Not the entire tub of frosting.) Using the back of a large spoon, mash the cake and frosting together till it's combined. It will be a gooey but sticky consistency. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a pan lined with wax paper. Place in refrigerator for 2 hours or until firm.

When the cake balls are firm, melt 1 bag of candy pieces. Take one lollipop stick and dip it in the melted candy. Stick the stick in the cake ball, no more than halfway in. Dip the entire cake ball into the candy and let it drip off back into the bowl. Once it is done dripping off, immediately decorate with sprinkles while the candy shell is still wet. Place the cake pop into the piece of styrofoam.

Pretty simple isn't it? With the chocolate ones that is exactly how I did it. With the vanilla ones I ended up putting all the sticks in first and letting them harden before putting the entire cake pop into the candy shell. Either one worked fine, so you can find which way works best for you.

A Different Weekend

2011-04-15T08:24:00.001-04:00

This morning I got up at 5:10 (yikes!) to make my husband breakfast before he went to work. I've been doing that for the last two weeks, but usually it's at 5:30. What a difference 20 minutes make! I am tired and ended up napping from 7 to 8 before the kids woke up. Even worse, I still want to go back to bed. No wonder I'm not pushing for kid #2 to wake up right now.

Seth had to leave early this morning, hence the early breakfast. He's got his National Guard weekend starting immediately after work. And when I say immediately, I mean it. He works full time at the base now so there's no coming home before starting his weekend. He'll be gone until sometime tomorrow night or Sunday, we're not sure which. Looks like I'll have the night to myself.

Tomorrow kid #2 will be attending a conference for gifted children up in Harrisburg. Unfortunately, it's 1 hour away and starts at 7:30 am and goes until 3:00. Tomorrow #3 has ballet from 11 - 12 and I just can't be in two places at once. So tonight #2 will be going to a friend's house after school and spending the night there. His friend is part of the same gifted program and will be attending the conference with #2. That leaves me and #3 together for the evening tonight and the day tomorrow. Woo hoo! Girl Time!

Mother's Day 2008. I love this little lady!

I told them yesterday that #2 would be going, but somehow Daddy not being home didn't get mentioned. (At least the not coming home at night part, they knew about his NG weekend.) I don't think it's clicked yet for #3 that she's going to have undivided Mommy time for the next 24 hours. I wonder what fun things we can get into tonight and tomorrow?

One of Those Days

2011-04-13T15:10:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

DVD Review: Read and Share DVD Bible Volume 1

2011-04-12T17:36:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of reviewing the Read and Share DVD Bible, Volume 1. This DVD was a compilation of 13 stories from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. They were done in easy to follow 3 minute segments, perfect for little children to follow along to.

From the start the stories were fun and captured the attention of the viewer, in this case, me and my daughter. The stories were very basic, covering the needed information, but also not going too deep. All the information given in the stories were accurate, but with omissions that still allow the story to continue. I enjoyed watching all of the stories and think they would be a welcome addition to any Sunday School lesson or even as home Bible study time to younger children.

There were a couple of parts that I was not thrilled with. In the story of Adam and Eve, the tree they were not to eat from was just the "tree in the middle of the garden", which is ok because actually listing the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" may be a bit much for a 3 year old. However, the snake was just a snake, and not referenced as Satan and there was no mention of sin at all in that story. In the end, God was just "sad" and had Adam and Eve leave the garden. That story is the first story of sin in the Bible and sets up the entire premise of Jesus's salvation because "...all have sinned...". Romans 3:23.

The last segment on the DVD was the parables of the Lost Sheep (Matthew 18:12-14 & Luke 15:3-7) and the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). The parables were told quite well, but unfortunately, there was no explanation given. They were just stories at the end and unless you already know what they mean and can explain them, a child really won't understand them.

My favorite part of the DVD was the segment titled Jesus Loves the Children. This segment was very well done showing good stories of Jesus's love for children, his healing of them and how he used them (feeding the 5000 with the loaves and fish.) This segment truly hit home for the kids and shows Christ's love for them.

Overall, I would recommend this DVD to anyone who would like to share basic Bible stories with younger children. The short, quick stories were informative and kept the attention span of a younger child.

Disclosure: I received this DVD free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

SIck of Sickness!

2011-04-08T16:34:00.000-04:00

Ok, small vent post here. I am so sick of the sickness going through my house this fall/winter/spring. Kid #3 has been sick for the last month with cough, chest congestion and leaky nose. She finally has kicked that earlier this week. Kid #2 has had the leaky nose on and off all season. I've had it on and off, had a UTI/kidney infection two weeks ago and now I've got viral lymphadenitis. I feel like one of us has been on some type of medication non stop since October. I just want us all to be healthy and happy again! Please pray for us.

Father, you see our household and our struggle with sickness. Please place Your healing hand on us. Help us to continue to see Your blessings despite illness.

April Goals

2011-04-04T10:44:00.003-04:00

So March came and went and I once again completed only part of my goals. Here's what was up for March:

Exercise 3 days a week. FAIL Just didn't happen.
Plan 2 field trips in May. MIXED I got April and May trips planned, one in each month. No more since I won't be continuing as Community Coordinator. That is one of the items I cut in my prayer request post.
Continue reading my Bible. WIN
Plan another cooking day. WIN That one came and went. The next is already planned and shopping will commence tomorrow.
Organize the school room. MIXED Hubby decided this month to drywall the basement. Desks were moved to their new location, but nothing else happened. Some things were organized, the rest have to wait. This one goes on hold until hubby is finished.

April is now upon us and some new goals are here. Some are repeating and some I've already started working on.

Exercise daily. With my Bible reading time shortened (not gone) and with getting up at 5:30 am to cook my hubby breakfast, I now can exercise and shower before the kids even get up. Like I did this morning!
Clean out kitchen cabinets. This one is ambitious. I know hubby & I want to paint the kitchen cabinets and to prepare for that I'm going to empty each one and weed out the stuff that I don't use. While I am at it I'd like to...
Reorganize kitchen cabinets. I've never liked the placement of my kitchen items. From the dishes to the food, I'm unhappy. I wish I had someone who was more organized to do this for me. (hint hint to anyone out there, I'd even pay you with baked treats!)
Continue reading my Bible daily. Just because I finished reading the Bible in 90 Days doesn't mean I am finished reading the Bible. It's a continual relationship with Jesus, not just on Sundays or when I'm doing an in-depth reading program.

I think that's a good list for now. I don't want to give myself too much, it's going to be a busy month with Easter, choir practices, Awana continuing and various meetings and appointments I have this month.

April Fool's Day!

2011-04-01T21:39:00.002-04:00

This morning I woke up and went downstairs to the kitchen to make my husband breakfast. I took one look outside and walked right back upstairs. I told my husband to look outside and asked him if he was still going to work. What a lovely April Fool's laugh God gave us this morning. One more morning of beautiful snow.

Happy April Fool's Day!

I've never been one to celebrate April Fool's Day. Mainly it's because I'm not quick enough to actually come up with pranks that will fool anyone with a brain. Thankfully, God made me smarter than my kids! Well, at least for now He did.

I decided this was the year that I'd have some fun. I didn't really plan anything in advance, I just saw some facebook posts from friends and some ideas from blogs and started having fun. The first thing I did was break out the glue and the pop tarts.

Yes, that plate is upside down. The kids came down for breakfast to find their pop tarts glued to their plates. They found it funny till they realized they couldn't eat them because they were stuck. Lucky for me them, I had some more pop tarts waiting for them to enjoy.

The rest of the day continued like normal, school, lunch, finished school. Grandma & Grandpa stopped by for a visit and they stayed to watch the Phillies win their opening game. (I'm now very happy.) Now, on to dinner...

The kids came to the table to find a special treat. Ice cream sundae's with caramel sauce! Too bad for them it was mashed potatoes and gravy. They were both so very excited, and they dug in first to their special dinner treat! Before the spoons even got to their mouths they could tell the consistency was off. tee hee! After dinner it was time for grilled cheese sandwiches for dessert. Wait, what?

That's right, we had grilled cheese sandwiches for dessert! Actually, it was pound cake slices that I toasted with my mini blow torch. I dyed vanilla frosting with some yellow and a drop of red food coloring to make that cheesy color. My son, even after learning that it was cake, still thought I put cheese into it because it was just the right color. Score one for mom!

This was one grilled cheese sandwich that they could enjoy! Before bedtime they asked for a drink. Well, being the extra special mom that I am, I made them some lemonade to enjoy.

What a shame that they couldn't actually drink this lemonade! In fact, it was lemon Jell-O in cups. Muahahahaha! My little girl tried so hard, she finally was able to start drinking it and managed to drink half of her Jell-O through her straw.

Overall, it has been a most fun day! The kids enjoyed the jokes and no one played one on me! That is a sign of a successful April Fool's day for me. I like it when I'm not the one getting pranked!

Sanctification through the Cross

2011-04-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

I'm blogging today over at Today's Housewife. Come on over and find out what the cross means to me.

Photo credit.

I Finished the Course

2011-03-31T07:07:00.000-04:00

This morning I finished reading the Bible from cover to cover, in 88 days. The program I was using through Mom's Toolbox was a 90 day plan, but there were 2 days built in for make up days. Thankfully, I didn't need to use them. I kept with the reading plan and finished on time. Wow!

It was wonderful reading from start to finish. Some days were difficult and others were easy. Most of the Bible read like a wonderful story, going in chronological order from the beginning of man to the end of days. The prophetic parts were a little difficult for me, but they just require more in-depth studying in the future.

There were so many benefits of reading through the Bible from start to finish. Here are a few:

Reading verses and a song comes in to my head. There are so many, many songs out there that stemmed from Bible verses! For a musically inclined person like me, this was such a blessing to see where the songs got their origins.
Reading verses and knowing them. There are so many verses I have heard over the years that I just can't remember where they came from. It was good to read them and to put them into the proper context.
Reading verses and realizing they are a lot longer than I know them. Being a Cubbies teacher at church, I teach verses to 3 & 4 year-olds. These verses are usually shortened so they can remember the key parts of a verse. I've been saying them for 6 years now and it was fun to see how some of them are so much longer than how we study them. For example, according to the Cubbies, Romans 5:8 says, "While we were sinners, Christ died for us." But Romans 5:8 actually says "But God shows His love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The first part of that verse is wonderful!
The blessing of knowledge. Do I pretend to know it all? Nope! (If I do, smack me.) But reading through the entire Bible has allowed me to gain knowledge of God and His perfect plan. It also helped me to understand and get a clearer picture of what happened to lead up to Christ's life, death and resurrection on the earth. Admittedly, the Old Testament is what I have read the least in my life as a believer. So reading through the entire Bible has been wonderful to see all the history.
The blessing of time. I don't know how He did it, but God granted me time each and every day to read His word. Yes, my house isn't spotless, but everything that was essential to my household was completed every day. I was able to add reading 12 pages of the Bible into my schedule and still get the essentials finished daily. I've learned that in honoring God and putting Him first, He grants me time to still accomplish things I need to get done.

I've been asked if I'll do this program again in the future. Yes! Not right away mind you, this is something that does require a lot of time, for me it was 1-2 hours of quiet reading daily. But in the future I would love to go back through and read it all quickly again. For now, there were some books in the Old Testament that I would like to go back through and study, like Isaiah and the minor prophets.

If you've never read through the entire Bible, this is a great way to do it. It's also a wonderful way to jump start your reading and get you in a daily habit of reading God's word. There is another group starting up on Monday, July 11, if you are interested please head over to Mom's Toolbox and check it out.

A Sad Sight

2011-03-30T10:16:00.000-04:00

I went to grab some milk for my hot tea this morning and was greeted with a sad sight. A virtually empty refrigerator. Yes, I had milk for my tea, but there really isn't much in my fridge. So I hesitated for a moment, then opened my freezer door. YIKES! I desperately need to do a cooking day.

I sat down with my cup of tea and got cracking. I don't know what the worst part of cooking day is, shopping, prepping the foods, putting the meals together or writing the list. For me, honestly, it's writing the list. How do I decide what we are eating for a whole month? Will it be warm so I can grill meals? Will we be cold and want chicken pot pie? Decisions, decisions...

Without further ado, here is what we are eating this month. Seth, if you are reading this, which I know you are, let me know if there is something you want to add to the list. :)

Baked Chicken Pecan
Chicken & Broccoli Rotini
Farmers Casserole
Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Ham & Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Ham, Vegetables & Bows
Italian Slow Cooker Chicken
Maple Glazed Turkey
Marinated Flank Steak
Mini Italian Meatloaves
Oven BBQ Chicken and Cheesy Biscuits
Pesto Chicken Packets
Seasoned Turkey Breast
Spaghetti
Steak Fajitas
Stromboli
Stuffed Pizza
Taco Pie
Teriyaki Chicken
Tortellini Spinach Casserole

As always, if a meal looks interesting to you, leave a comment and I'll get you the recipe. I'm rather looking forward to this month as there are meals in here that we haven't had in a while. The Tortellini Spinach Casserole is one of my favorites! I even get to buy Gouda cheese for it. Yum!

Day 85

2011-03-28T10:50:00.000-04:00

It's day 85 of 90. Yes, I am only a few days away from reading through the entire Bible in 90 days. Actually, I'll be finished on day 88, there were 2 "freebie" days built in that I didn't use. Today I'll be starting in Hebrews and by the end of the day I will have finished James 3. It really has been amazing reading through the whole Bible so quickly.

As I've said before, this isn't an in-depth study. It's just a motivational tool to read through the entire Bible. Has it been beneficial to me? Oh yes! I can honestly say my walk with the Lord has grown and I don't think I will go back to not reading my Bible once this is finished. I don't believe I'll continue reading 12 pages of the Bible daily, but I will continue to read and continue to grow closer with the Lord.

On Friday I will be blogging about the whole experience. I'm anxious to see what the Lord has in store for me this week.

Prayer Request

2011-03-20T15:03:00.000-04:00

Photo from Watton on the Web

Over the last week I have been evaluating what all I do. Not just at home, but everything. I'm involved in quite a lot with my church, I cyberschool my kids, and set up field trips for the cyberschool. I will be taking on some new responsibilities within my husband's National Guard unit in relation to the families which will be more intensive over the next year or so as we prepare and go through a deployment to Kuwait.

You may be asking why am I taking on a new responsibility if I feel I already have too many? Well, with my husband being the Executive Officer of his unit right now, it's kind of falling to me to take on the family duties. And having gone through a couple of deployments with absolutely no contact from the family volunteers, I don't want any other family going through what I have gone through and I want to help in that area.

With the new responsibilities coming in, I feel like something needs to go. There are days where I feel like I am involved in so much stuff, that I can't focus on my family, or my home. At that point, I need to cut something. There are 3 things that I am torn about losing. All three I'd be ok with stepping back from, but all three I do enjoy doing. So what do I do? Do I cut one of them? All of them? If only one, which one? I just don't know. So over the next week I am going to be doing some focused prayer into what I should do. If you think of me over the next week, please be in prayer for me as I make a difficult decision.

The Best Cupcake EVER

2011-03-11T19:58:00.001-05:00

Have you ever tasted something that was just so delicious, you had to tell everyone. Yeah, this is one of those times...

A few weeks ago, a friend posted on facebook a link to Bake at 350's blog post about Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes. She said she would like someone to make them for her birthday and a mutual friend suggested that I give it a go. Well, I'm always up for a challenge!

These cupcakes are amazing. I don't mean they are good, I mean amazing! These aren't for the feint-hearted, oh no, with 6 1/2 sticks of butter, 2 1/2+ cups of brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and powdered sugar, let me just say if you have diabetes, stay far away from these! But be warned -- eat, enjoy and don't think about what's inside. Here's the link to the printable recipe.

With that being said, these are the best cupcakes I have ever made. They will go into the "repeat because they are delicious" recipe file. The cupcake is denser than a regular cupcake, almost a cookie texture. It tastes like a big fluffy cookie. In the middle is homemade cookie dough filling. Wow, just wow. On top is a brown sugar frosting that I would love to just keep in my fridge to snack on, if it wouldn't make me fat, which it will.

The recipe made 24 cupcakes. I gave 12 cupcakes to my friend for her birthday yesterday, Happy Birthday, Sandra, and am keeping the other 12 for my anniversary. Yesterday was my 11th anniversary to my wonderful husband, Seth. I love you honey! I hope you enjoy the cupcakes!


My first time decorating cupcakes by piping the frosting.

A Relaxing Weekend

2011-03-07T09:34:00.000-05:00

I had an amazing weekend. My husband and I got away for the entire weekend. Alone. No kids. Just us. It was heavenly. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, but I love my husband too. This was the first time that we have been completely alone together since, well, since a weekend when he was home on leave from Afghanistan. I spent that entire weekend sick as a dog, so that doesn't count. So before that... well, I honestly don't know. I'd have to say it was probably in October of 2009. Yes, that's right. That was the last time that the kids spent a weekend at Grandma's house where Seth and I were alone together. Needless to say, we had a great weekend.

We spent the weekend up in Harrisburg. We ate at some local restaurants, went to a Hershey Bears game, and did some shopping. Overall it was a quiet, relaxing weekend.

Surprisingly enough, I had some time to read. Not much though, as I found myself still doing Friday's reading on Sunday morning. But I had a little over an hour in the car on the way back and during random times during the day yesterday, I managed to get myself completely caught up in my reading. In fact, it was 5 minutes to midnight last night and I finished Daniel 8. I had to laugh because I don't know how He did it, but God sure stretched my time to allow me to finish 3 days worth of reading in 1. I read from Ezekiel 31 through Daniel 8 in one day. Wow.

What I read was mostly prophecy, some of it was chronology for Daniel. Some parts were easier to read than others. All of it was wonderful. I'm so glad that I'm still on track and reading so much of God's word right now. This week I have 2 field trips and a whole house to clean before my grandparents get here next week. I'm sure God will provide time for me to continue to stay on track and read His word. It's such a blessing to be reading the Bible!

Is Your Check Engine Light On?

2011-03-04T08:40:00.000-05:00

I'm blogging over at Today's Housewife today. Come over and find out if your check engine light is on.

March Goals

2011-03-02T09:45:00.000-05:00

Here we are at the beginning of the month again. It's time to set goals and I hope to succeed on all of them this month.

Exercise 3 days a week. I'm going to go for this one again. I may have missed my opportunity to look good this weekend in a swimsuit at the hotel, but I'm going to be ready for swimming this summer.
Plan 2 field trips in May. I'd like to get at least 2 scheduled and also start working on some for the fall.
Continue reading my Bible. Yes, this one is going to keep being on here.
Plan another cooking day. I'd like to get some more ladies involved in this, but if it's just me, that's ok too. I like the benefit of cooking one day a month and not worrying about what we will eat for a whole month.
Organize the school room. The room has become cluttered and what we have for storage is minimal. Extra computer paper, construction paper, envelopes, etc. are all sitting on a shelf at the moment and get scattered and look terrible. I'm trying to find creative ways to keep papers, art supplies, extra books, all of it. I'm open to suggestions if you have some!

Overall, it looks very similar to last month. Here's to hoping I can get this month accomplished!

February Wrap-Up

2011-02-28T09:25:00.004-05:00

So February has come and gone and I have to admit, I didn't do so hot this month in my goals. Here were my goals and how I did:

Exercise. I hope to do my exercise DVD at least 3 days a week and the other days I will try to spend some time dancing on my Dance Dance Revolution game my husband got me for Christmas. FAIL - I exercised only one time this month, and it was running on the treadmill for just over 2 miles.
Continue reading my Bible every day. This is something that I need to keep myself accountable to others. SUCCESS - I am still on track in my Bible reading.
Set up field trips for the remainder of the school year. I need to spend some time and focus on getting field trips set up and stop putting it off. MIXED - I've scheduled trips for March and April, but need to get something set for May still.
Shop and have a cooking day. I blogged about a cooking day last week, but I haven't even made it to the store yet. SUCCESS - I had my cooking day, but of course we ate those meals so now I need to plan another one.
Clean the basement, 1st and 2nd floors extremely well. MIXED - I cleaned, let the cats out, then my husband started construction in the basement. Everything moved up to the first floor and now everything is dusty and cluttered again. :(

That's where I stand. I have to admit, I'm not pleased about the exercising and the field trip planning. I need to really get moving on both of those. I'm going away this weekend to a hotel with my husband for our anniversary and there is a pool there, but I'm not sure I want to be seen in my suit yet. Here's to hoping March is better for me!

DUH!

2011-02-24T09:30:00.001-05:00

Have you ever had a DUH moment? You know, one of those times where someone has to tell you something so basic, because you didn't get it? I've had a few situations this week where I just wanted to curl up and hide because I missed something so obvious, it should have smacked me in the head.

Last week I reported that I was reading through Psalms and Proverbs and how difficult I found it to read through so quickly. Well, they had nothing on Isaiah. I confess, I'm reading Isaiah just to read it, but I know that I'm missing a lot. I told my kids last night that I am looking forward to getting a good study guide and reading through Isaiah again. If you have any suggestions on a guide to use, please leave me a comment with the name of the guide.

Again, like last week, God has chosen a few verses to speak to me. I am so very thankful that through the Holy Spirit, I am still able to be blessed in my reading of the Bible in 90 Days. I read the following verse last night and just started laughing. I happened to be in bed with my hubby and read the verse to him and he started laughing too. It was a total "DUH!" moment.

For thus says the LORD,who created the heaven,

(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it

(he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!):
"I am the LORD, and there is no other."

Isaiah 45:18

I did not add the parenthesis, they are in the ESV Bible. Seeing those words in the parenthesis made me laugh. I mean a true, LOL (laugh out loud). Read it again, but this time add a DUH at the end of each parenthesis, go ahead, I'll wait.

"...remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me..."

Isaiah 46:9

The Israelites had to be reminded repeatedly that God is God. In these passages God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah telling them, God is God, the only God! DUH! I just have to laugh, because I'm not the only one who needs a slap in the face every now and then. In fact, in 9 verses God says "I am God" in the Old Testament. "I am the Lord" is written in 184 verses in the Old Testament. Really? God needed to establish Himself 193 times? Wait, no He didn't. God is God and it's us who needs the reminder. Even I have to be reminded every now and then. Do I doubt that God is God, no, but sometimes even I need a reminder that He is the center of my life.

Picture from Stupid Fat Hobbit.

Repayment of Sin

2011-02-14T14:16:00.000-05:00

Reading the Bible in 90 days is amazing. I honestly never thought I would read the Bible in it's entirety, straight through. It's been great to read each story and I have loved reading about the kings and the history of Israel. But now I'm in Psalms. Psalms has been a bit difficult for me. You'd think they would be easier to read since each chapter is a story unto itself, but for me, it's not easier.

This program has me reading roughly 20 Psalms a day. It does mean it won't take me very long to make it through Psalms, but with going through that many chapters a day, I feel like I'm not retaining much. It's been rather discouraging to me to realize that.

Of the books I've read so far (everything prior to Psalms in the Bible) I can give you a basic overview of each book with quite a bit of detail. For Psalms, it's just all meshing together. Someone asked me 2 weeks ago, "How can you possibly learn anything by reading the Bible that quickly?" Thankfully, God reveals to us, what He wants to reveal to us when we study His word.

Today I read Psalms 81 - 108. That's quite a few chapters. But in there, God revealed to me a set of verses that stuck with me and I felt compelled to go back and review.

Psalm 103
⁸The LORD is merciful and gracious,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
⁹ He will not always chide,
   nor will he keep his anger forever.
¹⁰He does not deal with us according to our sins,
   nor repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
   so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
¹²as far as the east is from the west,
   so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
¹³As a father shows compassion to his children,
   so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.

Verse 10 is the one that stuck out to me the most. Can you imagine what it would be like, if for every sin we committed, we were repaid how we ought to be repaid? Let's think this through.

What is the punishment for sin? Death. Not just death, that's not the scary part. The part that should truly frighten you is the eternal separation from God. I cannot begin to imagine being anywhere where God is not present. I am so very thankful that "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities." God is so merciful! As a believer in Christ, all I have to do is ask His forgiveness and I am forgiven!

Every word that I have read today is important and I look forward to the time when I can go back and read Psalms slowly. For now, I am thankful that God is teaching me this lesson today. Thank you Lord, for being merciful and not dealing with me according to my sins.

Regular Bible vs. eReader Bible

2011-02-07T14:03:00.001-05:00

Top view of my bible, laying on it's back.

It is day 36 of 90 and I am very pleased at where my bookmark is in my Bible. Technically, I just put a bookmark in my Bible where I'm supposed to be at so I could see it, because I'm doing this reading on my eReader version of the Bible. But the view is wonderful.

I am reading in Nehemiah today and heading into Job as well. It's been wonderful reading in the Old Testament and learning things that I've just nodded my head and agreed to when people were talking before. I was able to have a relevant conversation with my husband last night and our questions challenged each other. Even more special than that, I was able to directly look up the verses I wanted to use because I had read them and knew where they were at. WOW!

A bonus of reading in my eReader is that I am able to insert a bookmark at each stopping point. If I ever want to go back and read the Bible in 90 days again, I'll be able to just read to my next bookmark. To leave 90 bookmarks in a paper Bible would be a little ridiculous, at least for me. I keep 4 in my regular Bible as it is, and to me, those are too many. My eReader is light, easily transportable for reading on the go, has a print size I can adjust and is a pretty pink color too.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Bible. It's also pink and it is an ESV Study Bible. It has these great columns on the sides of each page so I can take notes in it. (I'm all for taking notes in my Bible to read later.) But for this reading plan, the bulky Bible wasn't working for me. In this fast-paced reading outline, I'm not reading to study, I'm reading to read. It sounds almost blasphemous to read the Bible and not study it, but even with the amount that I am reading through, I am still learning.

What is your preference in reading the Bible? Have you tried reading it on your eReader? Do you prefer one translation to another? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

February Goals

2011-02-03T06:00:00.002-05:00

It's February and time for me to set some new goals for this month.

Exercise. I hope to do my exercise DVD at least 3 days a week and the other days I will try to spend some time dancing on my Dance Dance Revolution game my husband got me for Christmas.
Continue reading my Bible every day. This is something that I need to keep myself accountable to others.
Set up field trips for the remainder of the school year. I need to spend some time and focus on getting field trips set up and stop putting it off.
Shop and have a cooking day. I blogged about a cooking day last week, but I haven't even made it to the store yet.
Clean the basement, 1st and 2nd floors extremely well. Sort of like a Spring Cleaning, but not. My parents have a cat and it's had free reign of those floors since November, while my cats have been locked on the 3rd floor. Before I let them loose, I want to clean as well as possible to remove the other cat smell.

Some of these are easy and some are difficult, but each one can be accomplished. Over the last month I have learned to ask for help when I need it due to not being allowed to do anything. For some of these goals, I'll be asking my family to help me. I am sure they'll be willing to help out, especially the kids when they find out if they clean, they get their cats back!

January Wrap-Up

2011-02-02T22:31:00.000-05:00

It's time for my first monthly wrap-up. In January, my goals were:

Stay on track in my Bible reading
Rest and recover from surgery
Organize my closet and weed out clothes I don't need
Quit smoking

So how did I do?

I am right on track in my reading. I'm using the Bible in 90 Days plan and I've read from Genesis to 2 Chronicles 7:10. It's quite a bit of reading and I'm glad to be doing this plan. I've also started reading during meal time with my family and we're doing the New Testament in 100 Days with Stewartstown Baptist Church.
As of tomorrow I will officially be off all restrictions! I'm going to exercise and get back into my normal world. I'm very excited that everything has gone so well with this round of surgery.
My closet looks amazing! My husband has created a walk-in closet out of a room that used to be our bedroom on the 3rd floor of our house. But we removed the dressers and hung hanging shelves from bars on the wall, so in moving all the clothes around, I was able to weed out a lot of clothes.
Quitting smoking went well. I had one bad day last week and I went and bought a pack. It tasted gross. I finished it off (only because I felt like I had to after spending $6.00 on them) and haven't bought more since.

Overall I am very pleased with how well I have stuck to my goals.

Exciting Things!

2011-02-02T20:05:00.000-05:00

Can you believe that this is my 101st post? I've broken the 100 mark! How very exciting for me.

Speaking of exciting, I've got some interesting news this month. For starters, my parents have an apartment now and will be moving out next week. It will be wonderful to have my house back, but I will miss them too. They have been an amazing help to me, especially over the last month during my recovery from surgery.

Second, starting Friday, I'll be posting on a monthly basis over at Today's Housewife. On the first Friday of every month, I'll be posting something on the topic of faith. I am honored that I'll be joining a wonderful team of ladies who blog on the topics of faith, family, finances, home, food and hobbies.

Lastly, this month my husband is starting a new job. He will be working with the National Guard on a full-time basis, training teams as they are getting ready to deploy next year. It's not too far from home, so we will still be able to have dinner every night together.

Overall, there are quite a few things for me to be excited about. Not to mention the fact that I am officially restriction free as of tomorrow regarding my post-surgical limitations. I'm looking forward to exercising tomorrow and running around with my kids. I haven't had a chance yet to use my new Dance Dance Revolution game that I got for Christmas. I think I'll be playing that as soon as I can!

Short and Sweet

2011-01-31T15:17:00.000-05:00

It's Monday and one of my monthly goals was to post Monday updates for my Bible in 90 Days reading. Today I read 1 Chronicles chapters 1-9. With that reading accomplished, I am up to date with the reading plan.

Tomorrow I'll post my update on the rest of my monthly goals along with my goals for February. As for me today, I've been living on the couch just trying to warm up. For some reason I am extremely cold and my stomach is upset. Could it be I've finally caught the dreaded stomach bug going around? I sure hope not! Back to the couch I go...

Tasty 2 Weeks

2011-01-28T13:51:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I have posted a meal list for cooking day. I'm only doing 2 weeks of meals right now because with 6 people in the house (4 of which are adults), I'm doubling the meals. My freezer tends to fill up quickly with double the meals.

Here is what is on the menu for the next couple of weeks:

Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken Pot Pie
Chili & Baked Potatoes
Fish Sticks
Hamburgers
Hot Dogs
Maple Glazed Stuffed Roast Pork
Milanese Beef Grill
Pepper Steak with Blackberry Glaze
Pork Tender Wellington
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Stuffed Shells
Sweet Onion Pork Chops
Turkey Meatloaf

I have some fun meals in there (hot dogs, hamburgers, fish sticks) per the request of my mom. My kids are rather excited to see them in there too. I think my favorite this month is a toss up between the Pepper Steak with Blackberry Glaze and the Milanese Beef Grill. It's going to be a tasty 2 weeks!

Again, if you'd like the recipe to any of these meals, please send me a note and I'll be happy to pass them along.

Choices

2011-01-25T21:54:00.001-05:00

If I put a chocolate cupcake in front of you, covered in delicious frosting, would you eat it? If you're like me, you probably would have it gone before it was even offered. If I put some broccoli in front of you, how fast would you eat that? Probably not as fast as the chocolate cupcake. Knowing the cupcake is high in fat and calories, I would still choose to eat it over the broccoli, no matter how well I am sticking to my diet.

Why is it, that when it comes to choices God has laid before me, I want to choose what is wrong? I know it's my sinful nature. I can not say, "The Devil made me do it!" because in all reality, that's not true. But, I'm not the only one who struggles with making the right choices.

2 Samuel 15 tells us of how the Lord spoke to King Saul through Samuel and told him what to do with the Amalekites in battle. Everything was to be destroyed; people, livestock, all of it. But Saul chose not to obey. He chose to spare the Amalekite king as well as some of the livestock. The Lord was displeased and told Samuel, “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” 2 Samuel 15:11 King Saul claimed he wanted to give the best of the livestock to the Lord in an offering, but that's not what the Lord wanted.

I look at this passage and think of two things. One - it has nothing to do with me, I certainly don't sacrifice animals to the Lord. Two - Are there things I do, that I think will be pleasing to Him, but really, it angers the Lord?

This week I am going to take a good look and what I do in my life. Things that I do to serve Him and things that are not worshipful at all. The Lord is my priority and I need to cut out things that do not please Him. It's always hard to give up things, but in the end, as long as what I do is pleasing to God, I will be blessed by it.

Lyrics for Rebecca St. James' "I Can Trust You" can be found here.

Chocolate Cupcake Photo from Sweetest Kitchen

Going to the Ball

2011-01-19T22:11:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, Tom Corbett was inaugurated as Pennsylvania's 46th Governor. Last night I was able to go to the Governor's Inaugural Ball. My husband and I went with State Representative Seth Grove and his wife, Kasey.

We went to dinner first and then headed over to the ball. When we arrived there were about 1,000 people there. By the time the Governor's cabinet was introduced, the room was packed with 2-4,000 people. We were over on the side platform talking with friends when the Mummers came out. Being a Philadelphia gal, I was excited to see them!

The platform we were on was rather far away from the stage, as you can see in this next picture. We saw Governor Corbett's cabinet introduced and then Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley and his wife were introduced. They danced on stage then headed down to the crowd. After they exited, Governor Tom Corbett and his wife were introduced. They danced as well then headed down to mingle with the crowd standing below the stage.

At that point, with so many people in attendance, we figured we would not be able to see or speak to Governor Corbett. We took a few pictures, including this one on the left, and just started enjoying the music and the friends. It was quite a shock about 30 minutes later when a large crowd started to gather up on the platform where we were standing. We looked over and not 10 feet from us was the Governor and his wife.

Governor Corbett and Seth.

After about 10 minutes of waiting, my husband was able to find his way into the crowd and speak to Governor Corbett for a minute. After they chatted, we decided to head down off the platform to check out the food. There were several stations set up all around the room with foods from the different areas of Pennsylvania. There were perogies from Central Pennsylvania, mushrooms from Southeastern Pennsylvania (my neck of the woods), candy apples from Northeastern Pennsylvania, and even a salad with steak and french fries on it from Southwestern PA. We didn't get to try all of the different foods, but we did have some delicious cherries jubilee and cotton candy, along with some Hershey's hot chocolate.

After our tour of Pennsylvania foods, we decided to take a rest on the platform on the opposite side of the room. Surprisingly enough, Governor Corbett decided to visit that platform while we were up there. At this point, many of the attendees had left and the party was back down to about 1,500 people. The crowd was considerably smaller surrounding the Governor and I decided to put myself out there so I could write this blog. After all, what good is a blog post if you don't have some fun pictures?

Asking Governor Corbett for his picture.

Kasey Grove and I with Governor Corbett.


Mrs. Susan Corbett and myself.

The entire evening was wonderful. I wish I could dress up and go out like this more often! Congratulations Governor Corbett! May you do well as Pennsylvania's 46th Governor.

2 Weeks

2011-01-18T11:33:00.001-05:00

It's January 18th and I thought I would give a mid-month update on my goals for the month. Here were my goals for January:

Stay on track in my Bible reading
Rest and recover from surgery
Organize my closet and weed out all the clothes I don't wear or need
Quit Smoking

So far, I am doing great! I am 2 weeks smoke free today. I'm not 18 days smoke free, but as I said before, I was a bit stressed about my surgery. As for my rest and recovery, I spent a whole week in bed with my family waiting on me hand and foot. I spent the next week on a couch, doing very little. I did venture out of the house yesterday for a few hours, still not lifting or moving anything heavy. My mother told me I am not going to lift anything heavy for 2 weeks. So she decided she's doing all my laundry during that time. *Score!*

My closet is amazingly organized. Seth has hung bars, shelves, hanging organizers, put in baskets and more. Almost all of my clothes have been sorted (I had a lot of free time the last 2 weeks) and I have quite the donation pile. I think my husband and I filled 4 huge trash bags full of clothes that we are going to donate to a local Rescue Mission.

As for my Bible reading, I've only missed 1 day. But, I knew I would miss the day of my surgery. I started the Bible from the beginning and today I'm reading in Joshua. It's quite a bit of reading each day, but it has been wonderful. I'm glad I've been able to stick to my goals so easily this month. I hope that as I get back into doing more, I will be able to stick to my reading schedule.

How are you doing on your goals? Leave me a comment and let me know if you've been successful with your resolutions.

Back to Reality

2011-01-16T16:56:00.001-05:00

I got up this morning (around 10:00) and had breakfast. I watched a little tv and then took a shower. After my shower I did something I haven't done since January 3rd... I got dressed in day clothes. I've been wearing pajamas since January 4th. Yes, I've changed them and I've showered too, but today was the first day I've put jeans and a shirt on.

Since my surgery I've been living either in my bedroom or on one chair on the first floor. My husband, my kids, and my parents have waited on me hand and foot. While I've loved it immensely, I can't take it anymore. I feel like a slothful glutton. It's time for me to get back to reality.

After I came downstairs this morning (closer to noon) I did the dishes, put dinner in the crock pot, and sat down to do my Bible reading. (Everyone went to church without me this morning.) I've been reading the Bible straight through since January 3rd and I'm in Deuteronomy now. The Israelites are being given a lot of information by Moses before he dies and they are allowed to enter into the Promised Land. All I have to say is God gives a lot of rules.

As I've been reading Leviticus - Deuteronomy, I've been amazed at how many rules there are. They are so very detailed too! There are rules on how many lambs to slaughter on each day of the feasts, there are rules on what animals they can or cannot eat, there are even rules on owning slaves. I've sat here and thought, "I'm so glad I didn't live during that time."

I've spoken to a few people about these detailed rules. One person told me that there were so many rules is because of how disgusting sin is to God. Specifically in reference to the disgusting smell of the burnt sin offerings. Another person said there are so many details because God cares about all the details of our lives. Both of these suggestions I agree with. God loves His people and He cares about every little thing that we say, think and do. He also detests sin, it is disgusting and repugnant to Him.

Do I treat sin that way? I should. There are certain sins that I just sweep away, others are worse. It doesn't matter though, sin is sin. Do I look at the little details? I should. I had a fit when I first came downstairs this week because there were no clean kitchen towels and someone wrote on my calendar in a sloppy manner. Yet, I really don't care if there are crumbs on the floor or if all the toys are picked up. Am I focused on the right details?

I should be focused on the right details. Making God first in my life will allow me to focus on Him and focus on making every detail of my life a blessing to God. Reading and learning His word and His laws will keep me focused on Him eternally.

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:11

Week 1 Wrap Up

2011-01-09T15:55:00.001-05:00

I've completed week one of my Bible in 90 Days reading. I've read through Genesis and Exodus. There was a lot in there that I had never read before. I had no idea the elaborate detail that went into the Tabernacle that Moses erected for the Lord, or in the garments that Aaron and his sons wore. It makes sense to have them so elaborate, wouldn't any gift I give to the Lord be like that?

After I finished reading today, I spent some time thinking about what gifts I give the Lord. I tithe, I serve at His church, I honor Him in the way I follow His commandments. Those are all well and good, but are my gifts elaborate? Do I honor Him in the way that only He deserves? I don't think I do.

While constructing the tabernacle, the Israelites brought gifts of gold, silver, and bronze; fabrics in blue, purple, crimson and fine linen. I don't exactly have those gifts to give the church, nor would my church have a use for them.

And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people

of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept

bringing him freewill offerings every morning. Exodus 36:3

Here's the kicker. The Israelites kept bringing gifts. More and more gifts. And they did it of their own freewill too! Is that how I'm bringing my gifts to the Lord? Do I go to church and pass out the Sunday school roll sheets with the heart of a servant who wants to serve the Lord with this gift? Or do I pass it out with the mindset of, "they better fill these sheets out right this week"? I think I know the answer to that question.

I don't have to have gold and crimson fabrics to give. I do have me to give. I have my attitude and my heart to give to the Lord and my service. But I continually need to refocus my attitude and serve Him elaborately and with all my freewill.

Loyal

2011-01-07T10:00:00.004-05:00

I received an email last week from someone who said she valued our friendship. She said I've been steady and real to her and she's never not trusted me as a friend. What she didn't know is that has been my prayer for years.

I've seen friends torn apart by petty fights, gossip and back-stabbing. I don't want to be that person. In all honesty, I used to be such a gossip! I still to this day struggle with it. It's my sinful nature and I recognize that. But it's not who I want to be and it's not who God wants me to be.

"Loyal" is my word for this year. It is the word that I am going to strive to become. When someone thinks of me, I want them to think of me as a loyal and trusting friend. This means no gossip, no back-stabbing, being truthful, sincere, loving. There are so many things that go into being loyal!

When God thinks of me, I want Him to think of me as a Loyal and trusting servant. I want to tell others about Him, to do what's right according to the scriptures, to read His word and grow closer to Him. This is the person that I want to be!

Psalm 31:23
Love the Lord, all you godly ones!
For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him,
but he harshly punishes the arrogant.
NLT

Falling in Love with a Good Book

2011-01-05T17:46:00.005-05:00

Most of you know I had outpatient surgery yesterday. Needless to say, because of the drugs and sleeping afterwords, I didn't get any of my Bible in 90 Days reading accomplished. So today I played catch up.

I just finished reading Genesis chapter 40. So in a few days, I have read 40 chapters. I've never been able to do this before. But for some reason, it's easier this time. I've read a lot of tips on the Mom's Toolbox site and during our Twitter party Monday night, someone gave what I think is the best tip of all... Read the Bible like a story.

The Bible is a story, a true story written by God. It is perfect and error free. 2 Peter 1:16-21 attests to the validity of the Bible. It's not a chore for me to be reading this book. It is a story for me to fall in love with. If I can read novels and other books happily, why shouldn't I read the Bible in the same way?

Using that outlook has totally changed how I desire to read the Bible. Here God has given me a book that allows me to learn about Him and grow closer to Him. How can I not read this book that has an amazing story to fall in love with?

If you've never read the Bible completely through, I encourage you to reevaluate how you look at it. Do you see it as a duty to read your Bible? Or do you see it as a great story with a bonus of growing closer to God? It's easier than you think to read the Bible.

Day One ... or Three

2011-01-03T15:30:00.004-05:00

Today is the day! I began my Bible in 90 Days reading program today. I read through Genesis chapters 1 - 16. Yes, it may seem like a lot, but I am so glad to be doing it. I've read the main stories of the Bible, but usually I skip over the "begat's". Not this time!

I say Day Three because this is January 3rd. It was my NY's resolution to read the Bible every day. So far so good! I'm glad to say that this is the first year that I didn't give up on day 2.

Tomorrow will be tricky though. I go in for surgery at 6:00 a.m. and I'm not sure what kind of happy meds I'll be coming home with. As long as I can find time to read through my verses, I'll be happy. Keep me in your prayers tomorrow!

New Year's Resolution

2011-01-01T00:00:00.002-05:00

2010 is now behind us and 2011 is here. What a year 2010 has been. If you're reading this then you probably already know all about my year without my husband, so I won't get into that. 2011 is going to be a wonderful year full of family and friends. My husband will be home most of the year (save a couple of 2 week trainings), my mom and step-dad are living in town (currently still in my house), my dad is getting married and I'm starting the year off with several new changes.

For starters, my resolution for 2011 is to read my Bible every day. I confess, I don't read it every day. I truly have no excuse. This year will be different and I will also read the entire Bible this year, something I have never done before. To help me in this endeavor, MomsToolbox.com is sponsoring the Bible in 90 Days program. You can click on the link in my sidebar. Not only am I excited to be reading through the whole Bible, but I'm excited about the habit that I will be forming in order to do this. I'm also looking forward to the accountability that I will be held to in order to be a part of this program. On Mondays, I will be blogging about what I have read and learned over the course of my weekly reading, starting January 10th.

The only hiccup I see in this plan is that on January 4th I'm having more surgery. This surgery is a little more in-depth than my last one. I'm expecting more of a recovery time and I'm thankful that my husband is home and my mom is living with me so they both can help take care of the kids and me. But with all my rest and quiet time in my room over the next week, I hope to still get all of my reading accomplished.

I hope to also blog more this year. Yes, I know I say that every January, but I mean it. Monday posts will be a regular and also posts on the first of the month will now be regular. I plan on making a set of goals for the month and coming back and reviewing them at the end of the month.

Here are my goals for January:

Stay on track in my Bible reading
Rest and recover from surgery
Organize my closet and weed out all the clothes I don't wear or need
Quit Smoking

That last one might shock some of you, others may already know it. I smoke when my husband is gone and I've been smoking since right before he left for Afghanistan last year. Am I quitting today? No. Why not? Because I'm a little stressed about my surgery and I figure a few days of being banished to my bedroom (where I can't smoke) will do the trick. So, I've got about 3 more days of smoking and I'm finished.

I know the list of goals is pretty light, but really, I don't know how much I'll be able to do physically this month. Reading and recovering are really my main goals.

Please, help keep me accountable! Feel free to email me on a Monday afternoon if I haven't posted, or just send me a note to see how I'm doing in my reading. I hope you have a wonderful and blessed New Year. If you've made a resolution, please share it with me as I'd love to hear it!

Together Again

2010-12-15T13:54:00.005-05:00

Once again our family is back together. This past Saturday, Seth returned home after being gone for almost the entire year. We are so thankful that he made it back safely. He had a great deployment, earning several awards including a Bronze Star. But the awards don't mean anything in comparison to him being with us.

Now we're spending time getting the Christmas decorations out and figuring out where to put everything. My parents are still living with us so we're trying to find places for all the decorations to land. Frankly, I don't care where they go, so long as we're finding places for them as a family.

January is going to be an interesting month for me. I'm having another round of surgery on the 4th and starting the 90-Day Challenge with Moms' Toolbox. The 90-Day Challenge starts January 3rd and each member will be reading the bible completely through in 90 days. If you are interested in joining us, check out the link above or on my side bar.

Also, don't forget the most important thing right now, the true meaning of this holiday season. The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Luke 2:4-14

Waiting, waiting, WAITING!!!

2010-12-04T13:00:00.003-05:00

I hate waiting. What's at the end of the wait is going to be so very worth it though. I'm waiting for a phone call. Not just any call mind you. This call is going to be one with an immense amount of relief attached to it. What's so important about a phone call?

I'm waiting for my husband to call me to tell me he's back on American soil.

That's right, my husband, who has been gone nearly all year, is almost finished his tour. I haven't spoken to him in a few days and I know he's in transit somewhere in the world. Frankly, I don't care where he is, I just want my phone call saying he's back in the United States. He still has a bit of time to serve in Indiana and unfortunately, I'm not allowed to visit him there, but Indiana is in the USA and that still is relief to me.

This year has been hard, but I survived. This year has had fun times, but I survived. This year I've cried a lot, but I survived. This year I learned that even in my darkest, loneliest hours, I can survive. How did I survive? I had help. My friends have been wonderful this year, my family has been great, my church has been so very supportive and helpful. Most importantly, God has been there to see me through the dark times. He's been the one sending people to help when I needed it most. He's been the one who has provided me with amazing friends, family and a wonderful church family. He's the reason that I have been able to get up and keep moving every day. I am so thankful to be so loved.

I'm not sure when my phone call will come, but I know I will be celebrating when it does. And when it does come, I'll be saying a prayer of thanks to God who has kept my husband safe and heard all my prayers this year.

Welcome to Pennsylvania

2010-11-10T11:15:00.002-05:00

On Sunday, November 7, my parents arrived safely to Pennsylvania. Of course the kids and I are very excited to have them here and it's hard to focus on any mundane things, like oh, I don't know, school work and cleaning.

But it's been a fun few days and we are slowly adjusting to having a few more adults in the house. I forget what it's like to cook for more than just 2 kids and me, so dinners have had way too much food right now. But that just means leftovers, right? We're working on finding homes for all their stuff and adjusting time zone differences, but I'm sure in a few days we'll have all the bumps smoothed out.

For me I'm still listening to a little girl cough and it's just breaking my heart to hear it. She's been coughing for over 2 weeks now and if she's still coughing tomorrow, she goes on steroids. To make matters more interesting, I've come down with a sore throat and have caught myself coughing from time to time. I know bronchitis isn't contagious, but I sure picked something up somewhere.

On a Seth note, we're under a month until he returns. I can't post actual dates for security purposes, so I'll just say that he'll be home well in time for Christmas. :)

One Month, One Week

2010-10-30T20:00:00.001-04:00

I'm sitting here on a Saturday night listening to my daughter cough. Last night we spent the evening at the urgent care facility getting her diagnosed with bronchiolitis. She now has an inhaler that she uses every 4 hours and I can't see it doing any good. Thankfully she hasn't passed it to her brother or to me.

Right now I should be walking through a corn maze with a flashlight in my hand. My kids should be laughing and trying to find their way out with me. I should have spent the weekend attending a conference in a hotel. The kids would be doing crafts and swimming in an indoor water park. But no, #3 got sick so #2 and I had to stay home. Don't get me wrong! Being a mom comes first to me! But I can't deny the fact that I really wanted to go to this conference.

As I sit here on this Saturday night listening to the persistent cough, I realize that this is my last Saturday night alone for a while. Tomorrow my mom & step-dad start driving here from California. Not for a vacation, but for good, they are moving here. I'm very excited that they will be here in about one week. It will be wonderful to have them here and I know the kids are very excited to have all of their grandparents close by.

One month. That's about how long I have until I see my husband again. In about a month he'll be leaving Afghanistan. From there he'll make his way back to a base in the states and back home. He thinks he'll be home around the 1st - 2nd week of December. I'm just counting it at about a month. It will be wonderful to have him home again. Not just because he could stay home and watch sick kids, but because he is an integral part of my life and I love him.

It's been a long year. It's been a happy and sad year. We've had ups and downs but really, they would have happened no matter where Seth was. I've tried to make it the best year possible for the kids despite daddy being gone. I've tried to have a good year myself despite my husband being gone. No matter how many fun things we did, we will forget all of it once Seth returns home to us.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2010-10-09T23:15:00.009-04:00

Happy Birthday to me! Yeah, well, it was my birthday on Monday and today is Saturday, but I'm just getting around to blogging about it. Quite frankly, I have been out of the loop of blogging this year. Best laid plans... been busy... school started for the kids... Seth's been home and left... I've got 100 excuses and they are all 100% real. So now that I've made my excuses for not blogging, on to the blogging!

I had a wonderful birthday. I actually started celebrating in September while Seth was home on his two-week leave. With his birthday being in August and mine in October, we split the difference and celebrated together. We got each other some presents, went to dinner at Red Lobster, and sent the kids to his mom's house for a birthday weekend to ourselves. Other than an intestinal virus I picked up that weekend, it was wonderful!

Last Saturday the gals took me out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse which was a blast! I didn't know where we were going or who all would be there, which made it much more fun. I did get coerced into riding the saddle (there are pictures on facebook to prove it) and everyone "yee-haw'ed" for me.

On Monday, my official birthday, I baked a cake and my kids each got to decorate half of the cake. It turned out very cute. My son's side was a picture of my red car and 3 green dots in it representing him, his sister and me. We are on our way to California Pizza Kitchen, where we had my birthday dinner. My daughter's side was her and I holding balloons and there was a big heart. Then the sprinkles attacked her picture and all "fell" out of the sprinkle container. At least I got to see it before it was attacked.

Honestly, I had a great birthday. I didn't get all sad and mushy that Seth wasn't home or that my best friend didn't realize that Monday was actually October 4th and not the 3rd and missed my birthday. (<3 you Becky!) I just had a great day. My husband did send me flowers and made a special call to us early on skype so he could wish me a happy birthday. Overall, the friends and family I have went out of their way to make sure that I didn't feel that way. And it wasn't just that, it was a peace in my heart knowing that God loves me and pours out that love through others around me. Even my kids were extra special to me all day long. Do I need to have everyone give me an "all about me" day? No, but it was cool to have it!

On a quick Seth update, in 49 days he will be leaving Afghanistan and starting his journey back home. Needless to say, the kids and I are very excited. Having him here for 2 weeks in September was wonderful, no one can replace him in our lives. I certainly am looking forward to the day when he's back here in my arms for good.

Just Another Journal Entry

2010-08-06T22:29:00.004-04:00

With the best of intentions, I decided earlier this year to journal about my life while Seth is in Afghanistan. Looking back over the old posts, I don't seem to be doing a great job with this. It's been an interesting summer for me. I had a great time visiting with my mom & step-dad who came out for a few weeks, just finished a week of VBS at my church and am looking forward to a week in Pittsburgh later this month.

In the beginning of June, my kids finished school with superb grades. On the 3rd I had some surgery which so far has had the best possible outcome. I did have an infection from it, but once we figured out what was wrong, I got on the right medicine and it cleared right up.

I've had happy days and sad days during this deployment. I had a very sad day recently where a friend's husband returned from a month in Afghanistan. We were at the church when he returned home and I was there to see the family reunion. Truth be told, I was overwhelmed with anger and jealousy that my friend's husband returned home and mine was still there. The feelings were so bad that I couldn't even speak or look at them and I finally had to just leave the room before everyone in there saw me cry. Thankfully, God sees me through these difficult times. The next day she and I were able to talk and I told her everything and apologized. I'm so glad that I have a wonderful church family who is understanding and forgiving.

Tonight at the VBS Carnival, I was able to talk with my friend and her husband and truly enjoy the conversation. He told me that he had been on the base with my husband, but it's such a large base that he wasn't able to track Seth down. I really am happy and thankful that he is home with his family (and I really did feel that way when he returned that night) and think it is sweet that he wanted to go see a familiar face and try to say hi to Seth.

In 29 days, Seth will (hopefully) be boarding a plane to come home. It's not a permanent trip, it's just his 2 week vacation so he'll be going back over there by the end of September. But still, a countdown has begun. I won't see him right away, it will take at least 2-3 days before he'll be back here, but once he's in PA, he's mine, all mine! Oh, I'll share him when I feel like it, but for the most part, I'll be staying within arms reach of him. More than anything I just want to hug him and tell him in person how much I love him.

So for the next 29 days I'm trying to keep us busy. A trip to Pittsburgh, some fishing, even some days with friends are planned. I hope this month passes by quick so Seth can be home again.

Help Bring Him Home

2010-06-05T22:07:00.009-04:00

My pastor and his wife are in the early stages of adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. You can read all about their family and the adoption progress at their blog Celebrate Every Day. Part of the process for them is to raise $15,000 in the first 90 days. They've already raised $2,000 but they still have a way to go.

In order to help them raise the money, the family is hosting several fundraisers. There is a yard sale on June 18 - 19, a Blog Auction, and a Father to the Fatherless Father's Day Fundraiser. Many people from our church and other family and friends have been donating for their yard sale, even my kids gave up some of their toys for them to sell. I'm also helping in another way, I'm donating some cards for the Blog Auction.

I used to be a demonstrator with a rubber stamping company. I never made enough sales to keep with the company, but I still love to stamp and make various cards and gifts. Christmas cards have always been fun to make and up for auction is a set of 35 Christmas cards that I hand made. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given..." The card is set on red and green card stock overlaid on cream card stock. Unfortunately, the cream didn't show up very well when I scanned the card. The inside of the card says "Merry Christmas" in the same color green as the words on the front of the card. All cards come with an envelope.
Also up for auction is the "Handle With Prayer" cards. These are a single sheet and do not open. They are perfect for a quick note of encouragement. I love making these cards and sending them to others. There are 30 of these cards and they also come with envelopes.

Both sets of cards will be up for auction and all proceeds will be donated directly to the Peoples family. I will cover the cost of shipping to the winner of the cards. For more information on bidding on any item in the auction, or if you've got something that you would like to donate to auction, please visit their blog post Sew, Want to Help Too? You can also follow their progress by visiting their facebook page Bring Joel Home.

Baking Pancakes and Bacon

2010-05-29T09:05:00.009-04:00

This morning I am cooking breakfast for the kids. We're having bacon and pancakes. Sounds like a normal breakfast, but I'm preparing this one a little different. I'm using 1 pan for everything.

I hosted a Pampered Chef cooking show a few weeks ago and purchased a Large Bar Pan. During the show, my consultant told us how we could cook bacon and pancakes on the bar pan. Well, I decided to take a shot and blog about my results.

The first thing I cooked was the bacon. I am amazed at how easy this was. Literally, put the bacon on the pan, put in a 425 oven for 15-20 minutes and you're done. The bacon does have to be put onto some paper towels to drain the grease, but I don't think I have ever made such straight bacon! It was delicious too.

Once the pan slightly cooled and I removed the grease, I cleaned the pan quickly and made the pancakes. I already had the pancake mix prepared while I was baking the bacon, so now it was time to cook. I poured the entire batch of pancake mix into the pan and put it in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes. When finished, I got one big pancake. I used a pizza cutter to cut squares out and served everyone breakfast at the same time.

A little thinner than I expected and they stuck a little to the bottom, but they did taste good. Actually, once I got the edge pieces out and used my little spatula, the pancakes came off the pan rather easily. They are a little light in color, but had I left them in the oven a little longer, I'm sure they would have browned more. But hey, they aren't black, and that's how my pancakes usually turn out.

The Real Test:
The kids liked the pancakes and the bacon and we enjoyed sitting down to breakfast together.

Ever heard the line, "Mom hasn't had a hot meal in 9 years?" Well, I can't seem to find the exact number from the movie A Christmas Story, but you get the idea. With this meal, I was able to bring out the pancakes and the bacon that had been left in my bottom oven warming, sit down and eat with my kids. By the time the meal was over, we still had some left that we can eat for breakfast on another day. Yum!

The Good, the Nervous and the Confused

2010-05-24T11:19:00.005-04:00

On May 14th, kid #1 celebrated her 17th birthday. She lives in CA with her mom so we mailed her a gift and cards and called her to wish her a happy birthday. She loves the laptop that we gave her and I'm very glad we were able to chat for a while. Seth was even able to call her and talk to her that day. On May 20th, kid #3 celebrated her 6th birthday. We celebrated with a birthday party to Build-a-Bear complete with a bear cake. She had a lot of fun and she even got a special call from Seth as well.

With all the fun stuff out of the way (save a trip to Hershey Park this Friday), my mind is starting to worry. On June 3rd I'm having some surgery. It's going to be an outpatient surgery and supposed to be fairly easy, but with some pain and a moderate amount of recovery time. I'm not one for pain. In fact, I have a very low tolerance for pain. So when someone says they bounced back in 3 days, the same situation could mean a week or more for me. Yuck!

However, after weighing the pain issue, the post surgical side effects, being house bound for a few days and not being able to lift anything for weeks, I'm still convinced that this is the best course of action for me. Temporary inconvenience will give way to a long-term solution to some problems.

Going through this alone is making me a little nervous. Of course my husband won't be here to help me out, but not only that, I've made arrangements for my kids to be gone from June 3rd to the 6th. I'm already preparing to make myself as comfortable as possible. I live in a 3 story + basement house, with my bedroom on the 3rd floor and kitchen on the 1st. I'm not going to be up for walking steps, so I purchased a mini-fridge and have it hooked up in the kitchenette I have on the 3rd floor. I already have a microwave up there, so now I just need to get some microwave meals and drinks and I won't have to leave that area at all.

I've started cleaning like crazy. I know I'll be house bound and want to mentally be comfortable as well. I also know some people will be coming by to check on me, and I want the house to be clean when they come over. The best I can relate my insane desire to clean to is nesting before having a baby. You just want it all to be great. Why? I have no idea. I'm sure that anyone coming over will look at my not perfect house and go, yeah, she's recovering from surgery, it shouldn't be perfect. However, people coming over does present a problem of me staying on the 3rd floor and not taking steps... hmmm, will need to think that one through.

I now also have to take other things into consideration. I'm supposed to be walking in the Relay for Life on June 11th and 12th, but I am not sure where I will be in my recovery progress. For some reason, no one will donate to me this year. The team (in which I am captain of) has only raised $25 and there is only 1 other person who is walking this year, down from the usual 5+ that our team has. Is this a sign that our team needs to just take the year off? I don't know. I'm putting those ideas before the club members to get their opinions.

So many things rolling around in my brain. None of this even covered things going on with my hubby right now. It's been a very active week for him, that's all I can say. But active and fun to him equal fear and prayer to me. Please keep lifting him up in prayer with me, and please lift me up and I go through this surgery and have decisions to make.

Being Busy

2010-05-03T10:55:00.003-04:00

It's been 2 months since my last post. I thought I would be able to journal on here 2-3 times a week, but that doesn't seem to happen. Not that I'm overly busy, which at times I feel I am, just that some things I feel are more personal and have been staying in my private journal. I'm sure you understand.

Over the last two months a lot has happened around here. I went on a fun ladies retreat, my daughter and I had chicken pox, (that makes #6 for those counting how many times I've had it), my son won 2nd place in the Awana Grand Prix for speed in the T&T division, my daughter is excelling at reading, writing and math, and we're all looking forward to school ending in 1 more month.

May is going to be busy for us. I am having a Pampered Chef party on Thursday, kid #1 is turning 17 this month, kid #3 is turning 6 this month and having a birthday party at Build-a-Bear Workshop. Kid #2 is bridging from a Bear to a Webelo in Cub Scouts, Cubbies/Awana will be ending and at the end of the month the kids, my mother-in-law and I will be going to Hershey Park for our end of the year school picnic. #3 will even have a kindergarten graduation ceremony while she is there.

I'm glad to be so busy. Being busy helps me keep my mind off things that would just worry me to death. Seth is doing well in Afghanistan, he's got his own room and internet access which means we get to email daily. We also get to skype with each other 2-3 times a week. The kids love being able to see Daddy, as do I.

But still, seeing him a couple of times a week and getting a short email from him doesn't assuage the fear that I continually feel. He'd tell me I'm ridiculous but that won't stop how I feel. He is now going on patrols occasionally, which makes him happy, but not so much for me. I just pray that he is safe and makes wise decisions in all that he does.

So bear with me as I try to journal on here and continue to keep myself busy. Keep praying as we can always use your prayers. Hug your loved ones today, I'll be sure to give my kids lots of hugs.

Happy 10th Anniversary

2010-03-12T13:43:00.003-05:00

Tuesday night I spent a good hour scanning wedding pictures and uploading them to facebook. Why you may ask? Because I wanted my husband to have a little reminder of our wedding on our anniversary.

Wednesday, March 10th was our 10th anniversary. I spent the day working at my church and Seth started the day in Kyrgyzstan (don't ask me to pronounce that) and ended his day in Afghanistan. We did manage to chat online with each other for about 20 minutes around 10 am my time, 9 pm Kyrgyzstan time. He sent me a beautiful bouquet of tulips that are next to me right now.

Prior to the 10th I expected to be miserable. I wanted to sulk and cry that I was spending my 10th alone. But God knows more than me and he provided a way for me to not be miserable. Our church secretary was out this week and I filled in for her. I packed up the kids school books and my laptop and had them do school while I worked in the office. My mind was distracted enough that I didn't have time to feel down or depressed. Going to sleep that night was a different story, but not as painful as I thought it would be, much the same as any night.

I'm learning to look at the positive side of things. Seth and I were able to chat for 20 minutes when we had previously thought we weren't going to be able to talk at all. He sent me beautiful tulips which I was not (totally) expecting. We did have an early celebration while we were in Indiana where I received a beautiful necklace and gave him several presents. Many friends wished me a happy anniversary and I spent the day surrounded by friends while I worked at church.

On a side note, I did get a chance to talk to Seth this morning. It was the first time chatting with him since Wednesday morning and the first time speaking on the phone since Sunday night. He arrived safely on his base in Afghanistan but doesn't have his permanent living quarters or internet access yet. So we have a little while longer of minimal contact before he gets his room and internet for his laptop, after that I'm hoping to be able to communicate with him almost every day. We'll see how well that goes! ;)

Indianapolis

2010-03-02T16:51:00.001-05:00

I've been in Indianapolis since Saturday. The kids and I drove the 9 hours here and picked up my husband Saturday night. He had a three day leave from the military and we have had an amazing time. We have gone swimming, shopping, and even went to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. When I download all the pictures, I'll post them over on the family blog.

Sadly, our time is winding down. With every passing minute we are brought closer to our final goodbye. I'm spending every minute trying not to cry, and I'm failing miserably.

I want to just grab him and take him home with me. But I know I just can't. The kids are in the next room crying over a game and not playing well together. To me, it's a sign of what I'm going to deal with over the next 10 months alone. How do I do it? No relief, no having Dad take them for a while, no man to punish them when they just won't listen to Mom. He won't be home to shovel snow, clean the cat box (he does this for me), fix the heater, lug the 40 pound bags of pellets into the house, fix broken toys, BBQ out on the grill, sit with me in church or hug me when I've had a bad day. Yes, I can and will do most of those things myself, but those last two can only be done by him.

How do I say goodbye to him tonight? How do I let him go and drive away? I'm watching him pack his things right now and it's more than I can bear.

So here's my request to each of you. Please pray for me. Pray for my sanity as I switch to single mom mode. Pray for my strength, my courage, my loneliness, my sadness. Pray for my children as they deal with no Dad around. Pray for my husband as he leaves in 6 days to fly to Afghanistan. Most importantly, pray that during this time, my husband, my children and I grow closer to the Lord and can learn to wholeheartedly rely upon Him.

2 Corinthians 1:9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

First Day Back

2010-02-22T17:22:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was my first day back to church after being gone for 6 weeks. It wasn't my intention to be gone that long, but with snow storms and sicknesses, 6 weeks was the magic number.

It was so good to see everyone again. I missed worshiping with my church family. I also missed seeing the wonderful Cubbies that I have the pleasure of teaching. When I told the kids that I was glad to be back, but would be gone next Sunday, one child told me that I wasn't allowed to leave again. It warmed my heart to be missed too!

But today has just dragged along! Saturday can't seem to come fast enough. On Saturday, the kids and I are packing up the car and driving to Indianapolis. My husband has been blessed with a three-day pass with the stipulation that he remain in the state of Indiana. His three days are Sunday - Tuesday, but the kids and I are driving Saturday and Wednesday so that we get as much time with him as possible.

I know that when we are there the time will just fly by. But I'm hoping to make every minute count. We already have our hotel rooms booked (yes, 2 rooms), and I'm planning different things to do while we are there. If you have any family friendly suggestions on restaurants or things to do, please let me know!

Seth will be going to Afghanistan on March 8th. I don't know when I will see him again after I leave him on Tuesday night, but that is over a week away and I really want to focus on seeing him first. Oh, and I want to find out what's been sitting in a box on my kitchen counter for two weeks now. It's an anniversary present that he bought for me that I can't open until I am with him. We're going to celebrate our 10th anniversary early, so we've been buying each other gifts and having them shipped here since he can't receive packages where he is. But to have it here for two weeks and not let me have it? So not fair!

God Cares About My Sink

2010-02-18T21:02:00.003-05:00

Rebecca and I have known each other forever. She was my maid of honor at my wedding and I was a bridesmaid at hers. Unfortunately, we haven't seen each other for 6 years. Today she stopped by with her husband and her new baby girl who was just a doll! It was so good to see them again.

Earlier this week I posted on facebook how my kitchen faucet was leaking. Rebecca's husband tried to help me online and finally asked, "So... what happens if I tell you that a faucet is really not that hard to replace..." I replied with, "I sit and cry, get mad at being alone, then get over my pity party and fix it." Well, that wasn't good enough.

They were on their way to Lancaster today and decided to stop by and take a look at my sink. It was dripping enough to fill a good size bowl with water over night. After about 5 minutes of looking at it, Daniel came out and said, "How would you feel if I replaced your faucet?" I happen to not like my faucet, so of course I said ok. He pulls out a faucet still in the box and said, "Do you like this one?" What?

Recently they renovated their kitchen and had bought that one on clearance. After buying it they decided on another one and just stuck that in their basement. They brought it with them, just in case, and ended up installing it for me. How cool is that! So not only did I get to spend a wonderful morning with someone I haven't seen in forever, I got my sink fixed in the process.

I am constantly amazed at how God provides for me. Who would have thought that my dripping faucet would have led to reconnecting with Rebecca? I am truly a blessed woman.

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

What an idea! God cares about ME! I can give my leaky faucet over to Him and He provides for me! How easy it is to give Him the little things, shouldn't I also give Him my big things too? If God can provide a new faucet, can't He take care of my husband? Of course He can!

Philippians 4:6 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T16:14:00.004-05:00

Today is Valentine's Day. It's supposed to be a day filled with love and romance. My day is filled with puke.

The kids spent the weekend with their grandmother and I had a weekend to myself. I had lots of fun things planned and I got to do some of them. Friday night I went to a girls game night, Saturday I planned on going to a Pampered Chef party and in the evening I went to see New Moon in the cheap theater with some friends.

I didn't make it to the Pampered Chef party because I was waiting for Fed Ex to arrive. My husband sent me two dozen beautiful roses. I think missing the party was worth it!

After I got home from the movie I didn't feel so well. I ended up sick all night long. When I called my mother-in-law this morning to let her know I wouldn't be able to pick the kids up, she informed me that kid #3 was sick last night and this morning (and subsequently all day long). #2 had been sick earlier this week and I think we got the bug from him. Not a fun Valentine's day.

Of course, there isn't much romance involved when your husband is many miles away. Or is there? My husband sent me those beautiful flowers with a note that had the first verse of Longing by Matthew Arnold written on it. He's posted on facebook and twitter love notes to me today. He's called to wish me a happy Valentine's day. Do I really need anything more? Nope!

So my day has been filled with unexpected surprises, but it's still filled with an immense amount of love from my family. But there is one love that is more important than all the rest.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Fun Week

2010-02-04T19:25:00.003-05:00

It's been a fun week out here in Pitt. It's also our last week here. I was planning on packing the kids up and driving home tomorrow night, but God's got other plans for us. There is a big snow storm hitting the east coast and it is supposed to start snowing in PA at the exact time I want to be on the road. So, I guess we're leaving on Sunday then.

In kid news, #2 and I had a date to Big Daddy's Donuts today. Donuts and hot chocolate were a great fix for us, that and a little one-on-one time. #3 got her first pair of glasses, you can read about it at The Benge Family blog.

Seth is doing well over in Indiana. His unit packs up tomorrow night and heads to Louisiana for most of February. At the end of February he'll go back to Indiana and get a 3 day leave and I'll be bringing the kids to meet up with him there. I'm looking forward to seeing him, as are the kids.

Time to put the little ones to bed. #3 is ready to pack her glasses into her Disney Princess Purse that is her case. Too cute!

Blessings All Around

2010-02-01T17:08:00.000-05:00

So much for journaling on a regular basis! It is so hard trying to start new habits. But at least it's only been a few days, so here I go. :)

We had a nice visit with my parents last week. After they went home, it was a different story. The day after they got back my step-dad, Ray, was laid off from work. He was devastated. Why couldn't they have told him before they came out here on vacation? So many different choices they would have made during the weekend. However, my Mom got excited. She really felt like this layoff came from the Lord. She told him "Just wait and see, I don't know what's going to happen, but God has something wonderful in store."

Ray went home that day and started working on their house. It's been a work in progress for 11 years now. They are finally in the home stretch, but to lose their chief income is a strain. But God is good! The next day my mom received a call from a lady who has been trying for a few years to move into the senior care facility that my parents have been turning their home into. She called and said the house she is in is shutting down in 60 days. Oh, and can they take 4 other women as well? 5 clients total need a place in 60 days.

Habakkuk 3:17 - 19 says:
Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer's; He makes me tread on high places.

So how is this relevant? Without the loss of his job, Ray would not be home right now to finish their house. He would not be able to continually work on it so these ladies would have a place to move to. Ray isn't getting a paycheck right now, but he is rejoicing. He isn't at his job working, but he is praising God. He said the song "Awesome God" has been playing over and over in his mind since Wednesday. He knows God is in complete control of this situation and he is praising Him for His goodness.

Watching this play out has been a blessing to me. I saw the initial hurt and despair; the immediate desire for him to do something and work on the house; and the joy in the prospect of getting their senior care facility open with clients in just 60 days. Watching God move in their lives is as much a blessing to me as it is to them.

Busy Week

2010-01-27T14:40:00.002-05:00

It's been a week since my last post. I know I wanted to post at least 3 times a week, but already I have a good excuse. My parents flew into town last weekend and I was very busy with them. I drove back from Pittsburgh on Thursday and picked them up Friday. We drove to Philly on Saturday to surprise my brother at his 30th birthday party. Yes, it's my younger brother and yes, him turning 30 makes me feel old.

We had a great time at his birthday party and we went out afterward and bought bathing suits and went swimming in the hotel pool. That was fun for January! We went to church with my brother on Sunday morning and after lunch we headed back to Red Lion. Monday we shopped for clothes, new bibles for my kids and even bought some newborn baby clothes that fit the build-a-bears we got a couple of weeks ago. Overall, it was a fun weekend with my parents.

Yesterday we drove back to Pittsburgh to spend another week-and-a-half here. We'll be coming home on February 5th so that the little lady can make it to ballet on the 6th. I'm looking forward to being back at my church because I sure do miss the fellowship and the sermons. I'm also missing the Cubbies that I teach on Sunday nights.

I hope to be back on a normal journal schedule beginning this Friday. It's hard to make new habits, like keeping a journal when you never have. I've tried before, but this time I want to make it work. So if you don't see me posting, feel free to pop me a note, ask me how I'm doing and tell me to post something. :)