Recent Crafting

 In my last post I mentioned that I would post the finished oval mat/doily that I was making.  It's more of an eye shape than a full oval but I do love how it came out.  I was looking for a way to brighten up the table for Valentine's Day.  I had some leftover red cotton yarn from a previous project and some leftover white.  The yarns are not the same weight as the red is technically a 4- worsted weight and the white is a baby cotton 2 - fine.  Despite this I think it still worked up nicely; however, I do want to do another doily for spring/Easter using just the fine weight.   The pattern I used is a free pattern from craftorator.com

Another area that I wanted to add interest to is our front door.  Due to the fact that it is mostly window I haven't tried to decorate it much.  This year for Christmas I decided to use an adhesive backed hook and hang a decoration.  I really liked having something on the door.  After Christmas, I was trying to decide what to put up and remembered that I had had a tree of life wreath craft pinned for awhile.  All of the supplies for the wreath can be purchased at the dollar store; so I figured even if it came out awful I wouldn't be out much money.  I used the instructions from The Shabby Tree. The wreath came together nicely and I love how it looks on the door.  

So, that's the bit of crafting I have been doing.  I'm currently waiting for some yarn that I ordered so I can start on another hat project.  I'd love to hear and see what you have been crafting!

Advent Season: December 1st

Back in 2021 I took the suggestion to read a chapter in Luke each day beginning December 1st. I would read a chapter and then note what I learned about Who Jesus is from each chapter.  There are 24 chapters in Luke so you end on Christmas Eve (I ended a bit after this).  

You can read my thoughts from Luke chapter 1 here.  As I was looking over my thoughts from that first chapter I noticed the truth that Jesus keeps His promises.  He is faithful and trustworthy.  

This year the theme for the advent series at church is A Season of Promise and today the message was about the "Promised Forerunner" John the Baptist.  We were encouraged to keep praying and trusting that God's promises will be fulfilled.  

I recently saw a quote that said "when we get to Heaven it will feel like a big sigh of relief" and I felt that to my core.  The striving and struggles and sin will be over.  The promise of Heaven is real and available to all who come to Jesus, repent, and submit to Him as Lord of their life.  This Advent season I pray that you will come to Jesus, rest in His promises and find joy and rest. 

We sang this song at church this morning and the message of promised rest was such a gift:

** You can find the complete series I blogged about the book of Luke in 2021 by going to the posts from December 2021 in the side bar**

Happy Homemaker Monday 9/9/24

I've been wanting to jump back into this weekly post for some time now; the end of summer and beginning of the new school year have been very busy and it seems the weeks just keep flying by.  I'm thankful for a minute or two (which I probably should be using for other things...) to sit and blog

Let's jump right into this week's Happy Homemaker Monday with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom.  

The Weather:

The weather is sunny and in the 70's.  It's definitely feeling fall-ish in the mornings and warming up throughout the day.  I was joking with one of the girls that this season should be called Layer Season.

Outside my Window:

Sunny, gorgeous blue skies.  Some of the leaves are just starting to change color a bit.

 

Right Now I am:

Blogging and drinking my coffee before starting the to-do list.    

Thinking and Pondering: 

A lot of different things. A lot of things going on here lately and more fall programs restarting this week.

  
 Health Goal Accountability:

Haven't been great about doing yoga since the kids started back at school; hoping to get into the swing of this once we are in a good routine. 

Podcasts I'm listening to this week:

None this week.

On my T.V this week:

Probably will just watch some YouTube as new episodes come out.  .

On the Dinner Plate:

Salad with chicken

 

On the Menu this week: 

 

Lasagna

Red beans with rice & pork

Salad with chicken

  

 

What I'm Reading:

Bible

On Bended Knee by Crickett Keeth - study on prayer the women's group is doing through the summer. We are finishing this up this month.

 

I just finished reading Yet In The Dark Streets Shining: A Palestinian Story of Hope and Resilience in Bethlehem by Bishara Awad; the founder of Bethlehem Bible College.  This is a book that I'm still processing.  It challenges some of the thinking of western Christianity (in a good, Scriptural way) and calls on us to see past our earthly identities of culture and nation and see that all Christians are heirs with Christ and part of the Body.  I highly recommend it!  

 

 

On my To-Do list today:

Laundry (working on this)

Blog ✔

Clean up kitchen

Take care of kiddo that isn't feeling well

Pick up kiddos from various places this afternoon

 

Plans for this week:

Catch up on laundry

PTO Meeting

AWANA Open House

Work on basement project

Drop off donations & get some needed clothes for the girls.

What I'm Creating:

I'm playing around with making an alpine stitch blanket/throw with all the leftover blanket yarn that I have.  I love the look of the alpine stitch and started working with some leftover yarn. I don't like the colors I started with (red & black) since I mostly have neutrals.  So I'll probably start over and just use the neutrals and leave the bit of red and black for something else.  Sometimes it's fun to just play with different stitches and make it up as I go.  UPDATE:  I have started this throw.

From the Camera:

  We had a wonderful family road trip a few weeks ago; I posted several pictures of our adventures in that post.  I haven't really taken any pictures since getting back.  You can see the pictures and read about our adventures in the post Family Road Trip 2024

 

Highlight from Last week:

Highlights from last week were: watching one kiddo start a new adventure, and celebrating a family birthday.

 

Bible Verse/Devotional Quote:

 

 

On My Prayer List:

Family & Friends who are ill.

Kids as they get back into the school routines and other fall activities.

Wisdom in parenting.

Direction, time & diligence for a project.

Peace & the willingness to let go of things that are not mine to carry.

Wisdom for how to deal with difficult things and to trust God with all!

Five for Friday

This summer is flying by!  Every time I think about sitting down to blog it seems that something else takes priority.  Not in a bad way...it has just been busy.  After seeing Mrs. T over at Across My Table, do a few Five for Friday posts, over the years; I thought it would be fun to do one here.  

 

 

1) DEVOTIONAL: 

What do we do with those hard things that seem to always keep coming up?  Two things recently have helped me think about this differently. One is a line from JJ Heller's song God Is Still Here.  

"What if the thorn deep in my 

side is only there to help me see

That though I never ask for it 

the desert is God's gift to me?"

 

This summer I've been having Maisie read to me to keep up with, and improve, her reading skills.  She will sometimes say "mom, can't you just read it to me", "I hate reading" or will continually stumble over a word she's read before.  In talking to a teacher friend, she mentioned that some kids see a word once or twice and get it while others need to see it up to 20 times before they remember it.  

 

I continually encourage her that while it is hard and may take a lot of practice, the reward of being able to read well will be worth it.  The world will open up in amazing and exciting ways.  All her future learning will be so much easier. 

 

I thought, how like us is that.  God could just do it for us,  but often we will face the same challenge over and over because he knows that we need to learn.  That once we can learn the lessons of the struggle, the reward will be so much better.  Those lessons will equip us for the future purposes He has for us. 

2) COOKING: 

 

We have been enjoying a lot of salads this summer.  One of our favorites is this Israeli Pearl Couscous Salad from No Spoon Necessary , Someday I'm hoping to do a salad round-up post with many of the recipes we have enjoyed. 

 

 

(Image from NoSpoonNecessary site)

 

3) FAMILY:

 

This summer has been filled with highs and lows.  The beginning of the summer included some deaths in the family, hospitalization of another family member, and some other really hard challenges revealed for another family member.  Through it all we have also seen God's hand and grace over and over.  These hard things have given us opportunities to reconnect with some family members and rekindle really precious connections.  This summer has also allowed for many great memories to be made.  Having all the kids home has been fun and we've enjoyed hikes, trips to the beach, friends visiting and of course road trips for delicious seafood.  More fun plans are still to come as we squeeze every bit of fun family time in while our college kiddos are home. 

 

4) READING: 

I'm happy to say that I hit my Goodreads reading challenge for this year.  Last year I had a hard time reading 15 books so I left that as my goal for this year.  Currently I'm studying through the book On Bended Knee by Crickett Keeth, a study of prayers in the Bible.    For "fun" reading I'm reading The Book of Charlie by David Von Drehle, the story of his neighbor who lived to be 109 years old.  Both are wonderful reads. 

 

5) CHALLENGE: 

 

I recently saw a challenge on Instagram (can't remember who posted it); where women were challenged to pray for other women.  The challenge was to choose 12 women and match them up with a month, then spend a month praying for that "month's" woman.  The challenge mentioned not to let them know.  I love this idea.  While I obviously pray for men in my life also, I think the unique challenges that we have as women can help us to pray in a very special/understanding way for other women.  So, I sat down the other day and as God brought someone to mind I jotted down their name next to a month.  There are two months still without names.  I have many women in my life but want to seek God's leading for this challenge and at this time He has only impressed 10 women on my heart.  I fully trust that He will bring to mind those two women as those months get closer.  So, will you join me in this?  As a further challenge, maybe choose some women who are "sandpaper people" to you.   

I hope you enjoyed this quick post and the pictures from some of our summer adventures.

  

Happy Homemaker Monday (on a Tuesday) 7/2/24

I thought about not jumping in this week but figured it's only a day late and I do want to be better about blogging this month.  With all the kids home from school it's fun but busy.  A lot to schedule, celebrate and just enjoy each other's company and being able to be outside.

Let's jump right into this week's Happy Homemaker Monday with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom.  

The Weather:

It's a gorgeous day here.  Supposed to be in the 80's all week with some random showers near the end of the week.

Outside my Window:

Sunny, gorgeous blue skies.  We've also been enjoying watching a mama turkey and her 6 baby turkey's in our yard (not right at this moment but we see them pretty much every day).   

 

Right Now I am:

Blogging and drinking my coffee before starting the to-do list.    

Thinking and Pondering: 

A lot of different things.  Frustrated about a few things, needing extra prayer time today.

  
 Health Goal Accountability:

Keira asked to do yoga this summer so we have been doing a yoga workout pretty much every day Monday-Friday.  We are doing YouTube videos from Arianna Elizabeth .  I love her channel, at the end of each workout she puts up a positive quote, a Scripture verse, etc.  She makes no apologies about the fact that she loves Jesus.  I also went to the gym with Matt on Sunday. 

Podcasts I'm listening to this week:

None this week.

On my T.V this week:

Probably will just watch some YouTube as new episodes come out.  .

On the Dinner Plate:

I think I'm making Spinach Pie tonight.  

 

On the Menu this week: 

 

Morrocan Quinoa Salad

BBQ Chicken Salad

Spinach Pie

Chicken Parm  

 

What I'm Reading:

Bible

The Farthest Shore by Ursula Le Guin (#3 in the Earthsea series)

On Bended Knee by Crickett Keeth - study on prayer the women's group is doing through the summer

On my To-Do list today:

Workout ✔

Laundry (working on this)

Blog ✔

Clean House (vacuum, litter box, etc)

Wrap birthday gift

Pick up kiddos from various places this afternoon

 

Plans for this week:

Catch up on laundry

Family time on the 4th (hoping to do a hike)

Take Maisie to friend's birthday party

Host Youth Group

What I'm Creating:

I'm playing around with making an alpine stitch blanket/throw with all the leftover blanket yarn that I have.  I love the look of the alpine stitch and started working with some leftover yarn. I don't like the colors I started with (red & black) since I mostly have neutrals.  So I'll probably start over and just use the neutrals and leave the bit of red and black for something else.  Sometimes it's fun to just play with different stitches and make it up as I go.  

I've also been trying several new recipes lately.  One is for a Keto bread made with eggs and almond flour and the other is a new couscous salad I made last night.  

Keto Bread - This recipe is a nice substitute for traditional bread.  It holds together well but the texture is more like a pound cake.  My tips are: mix everything very well, make sure it is fully cooked (maybe add a couple minutes after to think it's done),  when cooling place the loaf on it's side so it doesn't collapse too much (even well baked I found that it collapsed a bit).

Moroccan Cauliflower and Couscous Salad - This is going into our regular meal rotation.  We all loved this salad.  I doubled this for our family and used fresh mint from our yard.  I used 1/2 the dressing on the salad and used the other half to marinate some chicken that I then grilled.

From the Camera:

We have been trying to get out and enjoy the gorgeous weather as much as possible.  We enjoyed a beautiful hike with friends on a local trail, have spent some time at the local lake and last night we took an evening ride out to the ocean to enjoy some ice cream and time on the beach.  

 

Highlight from Last week:

Highlights from the week were definitely the day trips shown in the pictures above.

 

Bible Verse/Devotional Quote:

 

I love to dig into the original words of Scripture.  I recently blogged about this post titled Digging Into Prayer

On My Prayer List:

Family & Friends who are ill.

Kids as they enjoy the summer.

Wisdom in parenting.

Direction, time & diligence for a project.

Peace & the willingness to let go of things that are not mine to carry.

Wisdom for how to deal with difficult things and to trust God with all!

Jumping into June...finally!!

 I noticed tonight that it has been over a month since I have blogged.  I have thought about it several times but life has been completely crazy (in both good & bad ways) so I haven't had time to sit and blog.  

From spring band concerts, to fun run fundraisers, to field days, 8th grade graduations, graduation parties, celebrating the last day of school with friends, attending celebrations of life, dealing with sick kiddos and family members and just life in general.  God has been faithful through it all this past month.  

We are enjoying having the older two at home and praising God for summer jobs for them.  We have had fun hosting the youth group and I'm looking forward to the three ladies meetings this summer.  We have also been working to reclaim an overgrown back patio area and install some stone steps going down to the fire pit area.  The landscaping was put in many years ago and is just too overgrown now.  

Here are a few pictures of the fun we've been having.

Here's to a great rest of June and a wonderful summer!  ...and hopefully more blogging!

Happy Homemaker Monday 5/13/24

Happy May!   It has been a very busy month so far and looks like it will continue that way.  Our oldest girl came home from college.  It's been great to have her home.  God has provided a summer job for her, in the field she's studying! She started her new job today, so I'm praying it's a great fit. Last week was filled with school activities, our church's AWANA closing program, appointments and prepping for a couples weekend away. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!  I came home to a clean house, thanks to all the kids working together;  and fresh flowers from our oldest girl.  

Let's jump right into this week's Happy Homemaker Monday with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom.  

The Weather:

Another sunny warm day here.  It's supposed to be in the 70s today but then cloudy and back in the 50's for the rest of the week.  Almost the same forecast as a few weeks ago.

Outside my Window:

It's sunny and very green in our yard. 

 

Right Now I am:

Blogging and drinking my coffee while I wait for laundry to finish.    

Thinking and Pondering: 

Thankful for ways that I've seen God's provision in the last couple weeks.  Continuing to pray about some decisions. 

  
 Health Goal Accountability:

I worked out a couple times but not as much as I should have.

Podcasts I'm listening to this week:

None this week.

On my T.V this week:

Probably will just watch some YouTube as new episodes come out.  .

On the Dinner Plate:

Some sort of salad with spinach and chicken.  

 

On the Menu this week: 

 

Israeli Couscous Salad

Lentil Soup  

 

What I'm Reading:

Bible

Wizard of the Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin (fantasy book, new-to-me author so we'll see how I like it)

Be Confident: Live by Faith Not by Sight by Warren Weirsbe

On my To-Do list today:

Workout

Laundry (working on this)

Blog ✔

Make phone call(waiting for call back on this)

PTO Meeting ✔

Pick up kiddos from various places this afternoon

 

Plans for this week:

Catch up on laundry

PTO Meeting today & Event later this week

Continue spring cleaning the house & yard

Clean out fridge

Lunch with sister & cousins

What I'm Creating:

I finished the cardigan.  It's probably my favorite wearable I've made so far.  The yarn is soft and it fits great. 

 

From the Camera:

While we were away this weekend we went to see the show Hadestown. It's based on the story of Hades & Persephone from Greek mythology.  It was a good show but not one I'd see again.  One cool thing was that the main instrument was a trombone.  Our girl plays the trombone so it was fun to show her videos we found on YouTube of the opening number.

Highlight from Last week:

The highlights from last week were our girl coming home.  Seeing God provide in incredible ways for her.  The AWANA closing program.  Having a night away.

 

Bible Verse/Devotional Quote:

 

I've mentioned before that my word for this year is Faithful.  Last week I wrote a blog post about being Faithful in the Waiting.

On My Prayer List:

Family & Friends who are ill.

Kids away at college and kiddos here this school year.

Wisdom in parenting.

Direction, time & diligence for a project.

Peace & the willingness to let go of things that are not mine to carry.

Wisdom for how to deal with difficult things and to trust God with all!

Happy Homemaker Monday 4/29/24

It's another beautiful Monday here.  I'm so thankful for the warm, sunny weather.  This past week was full of appointments and yard work.  We spent the entire day Saturday clearing brush & leaves, burning some of the smaller branches from the tree that fell, and doing a bit of landscaping.  Our youngest planted some sunflower seeds so I'm really hoping those come up for her.  

On Sunday we had church and then our boy had a few friends from school over to celebrate his birthday that is coming up.  It was nice to meet a couple of his friends that we hadn't met yet and to see one that we do know.

Let's jump right into this week's Happy Homemaker Monday with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom.  

The Weather:

Another sunny warm day here.  It's supposed to be in the 70s today but then cloudy and back in the 50's for the rest of the week. 

Outside my Window:

I'm actually outside now!  It's wonderful to be able to enjoy the weather while still getting things accomplished.  So, right now I'm sitting by the fire pit monitoring some branches that we're burning. 
 

Right Now I am:

Blogging while I wait for a return phone call and watch the branches burn.    

Thinking and Pondering: 

Just a lot of decisions that need to be made.  Definitely needing God's wisdom and direction!

  
 Health Goal Accountability:

I'm pretty much back to normal.  I did still take it a bit easier last week but managed to work out a few times.  We did a lot of yard work this weekend and so far, so good with my back.

Today  I did a workout, mowed some of the lawn and have been moving wood around a bit so I've gotten a good bit of exercise today. 

Podcasts I'm listening to this week:

None this week.

On my T.V this week:

Probably will just watch some YouTube as new episodes come out.  .

On the Dinner Plate:

Still deciding this; it will be something with chicken as that's what I've pulled out to thaw.  

 

On the Menu this week: 

 

I still need to do one.  I haven't been great about this over the past few weeks.  I've got many of our staple ingredients so I've just been putting things together.  I really do need to sit down and see what we do have that I can make meals from.  I'd like to "shop" my pantry a bit as part of spring cleaning and use up ingredients that we've had on hand for awhile.  

 

What I'm Reading:

Bible

Fugitive Telemetry (Book 6 of the Murderbot Diaries)

Be Confident: Live by Faith Not by Sight by Warren Weirsbe

On my To-Do list today:

Workout ✔

Laundry (working on this)

Blog ✔

Mow✔

Burn branches (working on this)

Set up needed appointments (waiting for call back on this)

Clean house from weekend ✔

Meet @ school this afternoon to help with PTO task

 

Plans for this week:

Catch up on laundry

Help with PTO tasks for upcoming event

Continue spring cleaning the house & yard

Hair Appointment

Help friend as needed

What I'm Creating:

I'm currently working on a hooded cardigan for myself.  I'm very excited about this project and hope it comes out well.  The original pattern used a now discontinued yarn so she suggested Lion Brand Heartland yarn as a suitable substitute.  I have to say, I love the colors and texture of the Heartland yarn.  I'm using the color Yosemite, which is a burnt orange/brown colorway.  

 

I've got the main part of the cardigan done.  So far, I am loving it!  I need to finish the sleeves, add the hood and do the trim.  

 

From the Camera:

 I'm not sure if I've mentioned here or not, but a couple years ago I saw a copper music box at Savers.  It was shaped like a bridge and the boats turned as it played a tune.  Since then I've found a few more at Savers.  They just make me smile.  This truck is the latest.  

Our yard has beautiful landscaping that was here when we bought it; however it had not been properly cared for so it's really overgrown in many places.  This fence had three sections but when we were removing a, mostly dead, bush the fence pulled down as it wasn't made with pressure treated wood so it had rotted.  I actually really like the more open look and am hoping it will make this area more usable. 

 

And lastly, what do your kids do when they all want to cuddle?  They make a cuddle train.

Highlight from Last week:

The highlights from last week were working together as a family on the yard and also getting to head up the games for Awana. 

 

Bible Verse/Devotional Quote:

 

On My Prayer List:

Family & Friends who are ill.

Kids away at college and kiddos here this school year.

Wisdom in parenting.

Direction, time & diligence for a project.

Peace & the willingness to let go of things that are not mine to carry.

Wisdom for how to deal with difficult things and to trust God with all!

Happy Homemaker Monday 4/22/24

Happy Monday! I'm so thankful to report that my back is doing much better.  Still a little sore in the morning and I'm taking it easy with lifting things, but I'm almost back to all my normal activities.  I'm also very thankful for wonderful kids and husband who picked up the slack and helped with everything from cooking dinner to helping me get my socks on.  It was a very humbling week! 

Let's jump right into this week's Happy Homemaker Monday with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom.  

The Weather:

Another sunny warm(ish) day here.  It's in the 50's so not too warm but still nice.

Outside my Window:

 It's a beautiful spring day!  Yesterday the kids planted some perennial geraniums.  The ornamental pear tree is also blooming now.  The yard is really colorful!

 

Right Now I am:

Blogging and resting a bit while I wait for laundry to be ready to swap again.    

Thinking and Pondering: 

 Praying about a possible summer project. It's something that has been on my heart and mind for awhile now, I'm just not sure if it's just my desire or God's prompting. 

  
 Health Goal Accountability:

Needless to say, I didn't get much activity in last week.  I was hoping to take the kids on a local walk last week but by the time I was feeling up to it, the weather had changed and it was rainy.

 

We did do some yard-work and cleaned out the shed yesterday afternoon.  I also did a workout today and have spent the day cleaning the house. (we'll see if I regret this much activity tomorrow morning!)

Podcasts I'm listening to this week:

None this week.

On my T.V this week:

Probably will just watch some YouTube as new episodes come out.  I really enjoy Location, Location, Location and also Tasting History.  I've also recently discovered that The National Gallery (Britain) has a channel and they do half hour talks on the art and artists in their collection.

On the Dinner Plate:

Chicken & Vegetable Stir fry with brown basmati rice 

 

On the Menu this week: 

 

Need to do a menu.  

 

What I'm Reading:

Bible

Fugitive Telemetry (Book 6 of the Murderbot Diaries)

Be Confident: Live by Faith Not by Sight by Warren Weirsbe

On my To-Do list today:

Workout ✔

Laundry (working on this)

Blog ✔

Make Bread ✔

Clean house from weekend ✔

 

Plans for this week:

Watch another round of the Academic Bowl at the school

Go drop off donations and look for a few things at the thrift store 

Continue spring cleaning the house & yard

What I'm Creating:

I'm currently working on a hooded cardigan for myself.  I'm very excited about this project and hope it comes out well.  The original pattern used a now discontinued yarn so she suggested Lion Brand Heartland yarn as a suitable substitute.  I have to say, I love the colors and texture of the Heartland yarn.  I'm using the color Yosemite, which is a burnt orange/brown colorway.  

Oh, and I also made this pillow.  It was a silly project to learn the waffle stitch before making the washcloths I posted about last week.  I had this bright yellow blanket yarn leftover from another project and I have a lot of poly-fill.  My daughter loves it and has since claimed it as her "movie-watching" pillow. 

 

 

From the Camera:

I didn't take any pictures last week.

Highlight from Last week:

I'm thankful to say that I was feeling well enough by Wednesday to meet up with friends.  We were trying to remember the last time we had gotten together; I thought it had been about a year but one of my friends said she thought it was closer to two years!  It definitely was time for catching up! 

 

Bible Verse/Devotional Quote:

 

On My Prayer List:

Family & Friends who are ill.

Kids away at college and kiddos here this school year.

Wisdom in parenting.

Direction, time & diligence for a project.

Peace & the willingness to let go of things that are not mine to carry.

Wisdom for how to deal with difficult things and to trust God with all!

Happy Homemaker Monday 4/15/24

Happy Monday! It's been a crazy couple of weeks around here.  On the Thursday before last we had a snowstorm with very heavy snow; which caused a large tree to fall across our driveway.  Praising God that there was no damage done and we were able to get in cleared quickly as we were heading to NYC that evening to visit friends.

Last weekend we spent time with some good friends who recently moved to NYC.  We arrived late Thursday evening.  On Friday we went to the MET; it was incredible but definitely not enough time to see even half of it.  We then walked in Central Park and had dinner at Ellen's Stardust diner.  On Saturday we headed back into the city and walked through Times Square, Chinatown and spent some time at the 9/11 memorial. It was so wonderful to see our friends.  We headed home late Saturday night and arrived home about 2:30am on Sunday

On Sunday, after getting some sleep and repacking, we made the trek north to the area of totality for the Solar Eclipse. We spent the night about 1 1/2 hours from where we wanted to view the eclipse. Monday morning we headed up there early.  We had a gorgeous and private viewing area!  The eclipse was breathtaking and pictures just don't do it justice.  It took us about 5 hours to make the same trip back to where we stayed Sunday night.  We had expected the high volume of traffic and made the best of it.  The kids did great and we all agreed it was definitely worth it.  We packed up and headed home that night since we all had things to do Tuesday.  

This past week was pretty normal until Saturday.  I was doing some cleaning and moved wrong which resulted in a pulled back muscle.  To say I'm frustrated is a huge understatement.  I've been working out, doing core exercises and staying active so that things like this don't happen. Sigh...I'm still in a lot of pain but it seems to be a bit better today.  On Wednesday, I'm supposed to have lunch with friends I haven't seen in about a year, so I'm really praying I will be able to drive by then. This is also April vacation for the kids so I want to be able to do things with them too!

Enough about that...let's jump into this week's Happy Homemaker Monday with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom.  

The Weather:

It is gorgeous here!  Sunny and almost 70 today!  I'm so glad for the warmer weather and that the kids can get outside.

Outside my Window:

The sun is shining, the sky is blue and the magnolia tree, ornamental cherry tree and other flowers are blooming. It's a beautiful spring day!

 

Right Now I am:

Blogging and trying to stay in a comfortable position for my back.    

Thinking and Pondering: 

 What I can still do with the kids this week even with the limited movement. 

  
 Health Goal Accountability:

I was doing really well with working out last week.  Knowing that I'd have to post about it today did help keep me motivated. I had a busy week of meetings, etc so I had been active as well...until Saturday afternoon. :( 

Podcasts I'm listening to this week:

None this week.

On my T.V this week:

Probably will just watch some YouTube as new episodes come out.  I really enjoy Location, Location, Location and also Tasting History.  I've also recently discovered that The National Gallery (Britain) has a channel and they do half hour talks on the art and artists in their collection.

On the Dinner Plate:

Big Mac in a bowl 

 

On the Menu this week: 

 

Need to do a menu.  

 

What I'm Reading:

Bible

Network Effect (Book 5 of the Murderbot Diaries) -This is the first full length book in the series.

Be Confident: Live by Faith Not by Sight by Warren Weirsbe

On my To-Do list today:

Workout

Laundry (kids are working on this)

Blog ✔

Continue work on school newsletter ✔

 

Plans for this week:

Hopefully meet up with friends for lunch

Spend extra time with the kids

What I'm Creating:

I made these waffle stitch facecloths to send down to our NYC friends as a thank you/housewarming gift.  I'm planning to add some fun soaps or face masks.  They have two girls so I thought this would be fun for them.

 

 

From the Camera:

A peek into our NYC trip and eclipse day.

Highlight from Last week:

Visiting friends in NYC

Seeing the solar eclipse with other close friends.

 

Bible Verse/Devotional Quote:

 

We so often hear Proverbs 3:5-6 quoted but I was struck by verse 7 this week.

On My Prayer List:

Family & Friends who are ill.

Kids away at college and kiddos here this school year.

Wisdom in parenting.

Direction, time & diligence for a project.

Peace & the willingness to let go of things that are not mine to carry.

Wisdom for how to deal with difficult things and to trust God with all!

Happy Homemaker Monday 4/1/24

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter yesterday.  Our Easter celebration always starts on Friday with the Good Friday service at church.  It's always a great time to reflect on what Jesus endured for us.  This year, as part of the service, they shared a powerful poem. I'll link the video below; it really is worth the few minutes to listen, stop and reflect on all that He accomplished for us.

Saturday morning I helped at church for a little bit to set up and prep a few things for Sunday brunch.  After, we took a trip to Bass Pro Shops; it's not close so we don't go often but it's always fun to look around.  Then it was back home so I could bake up an Orange Chiffon Cake for Sunday dinner.  I had never made one before but this was fairly easy and came out nice.  

Sunday was lovely.  Our church does an Easter brunch before service and a baptism service as well.  I was serving in the nursery but we turned on the livestream downstairs so we were able to watch the testimonies and baptisms before doing the lesson with the littles. 

We did a non-traditional dinner of Lamb Saag, Garlic Butter Rice and homemade naan. It was delicious and great to have a team effort preparing the meal. My husband's mom joined us so we visited for a bit after dinner.  Nice and relaxing.

 Jumping on really quick to join in this week's Happy Homemaker Monday with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom.  

The Weather:

We have finally had some sun again the past couple of days.  It's cloudy today, but the sun is trying to peek through.

Outside my Window:

The sunrise this morning was breathtaking.  I tried to take a picture but of course it doesn't do any justice as to how bright and vibrant the colors truly were. 

 

Right Now I am:

Taking a minute to sit and blog before getting started with my day.    

Thinking and Pondering: 

Changes that need to be made.  I have not been as good recently about working out regularly (I know, it's on my list every Monday but has not been getting done).  I really want to be mindful of staying healthy and active as we still have a busy life and I love to hike, bike, etc when the weather is nice.  So, I'm praying about specific changes that will help me  since everyone is different in what works for them.  I'd love to hear any tips/tricks that have worked for you.

 

One thing I'm going to be doing is adding a bit of accountability into this post.  I'm planning to post each week how many workouts I did...now I will say right now...we will be out of town next Monday so I won't have a post next week but I'm adding in the section for this so I don't forget about it.

 

  
 Health Goal Accountability:

I did work out today, so yay!  One day for me.

Podcasts I'm listening to this week:

I've been listening to David Platt's podcast; Radical.  I so appreciate his teaching.   I've also listened to some more American History Tellers recently.

On my T.V this week:

Probably will just watch some YouTube as new episodes come out.  I really enjoy Location, Location, Location and also Tasting History.  I've also recently discovered that The National Gallery (Britain) has a channel and they do half hour talks on the art and artists in their collection.

On the Dinner Plate:

Baked Ravioli w/Casaer Salad

 

On the Menu this week: 

 

Need to do a menu.  We will be away starting Thursday evening so a shorter week to plan.

 

What I'm Reading:

Bible

Network Effect (Book 5 of the Murderbot Diaries) -This is the first full length book in the series.

Be Confident: Live by Faith Not by Sight by Warren Weirsbe

On my To-Do list today:

Workout ✔

Laundry

Blog ✔

Weekend cleanup/straighten house

 

Plans for this week:

Catch up on laundry

Prep and mail packages to college kids

Attend Honor Roll assemblies (2 days)

Prep for time away

Visit Friends in NYC

Go see the eclipse!! (technically next week/Monday) 

Continue to research some things for a possible project

Hopefully meet with school principal about a project I proposed to him.

What I'm Creating:

I finished the Easter dress, just in time!

From the Camera:

We made Resurrection Cookies.  We try to do this tradition each year.  Each ingredient and step are linked to a Scripture describing the events of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. 

 

Highlight from Last week:

Attending our daughter's band jamboree.  It was great to see all five schools perform together. 

Attending the Academic Bowl and watching our son compete with his team. (District-wide trivia and STEM competition)

Attending the Good Friday & Easter services.

 

Bible Verse/Devotional Quote:

 

On My Prayer List:

Family & Friends who are ill.

Kids away at college and kiddos here this school year.

Wisdom in parenting.

Direction, time & diligence for a project.

Peace & the willingness to let go of things that are not mine to carry.

Wisdom for how to deal with difficult things and to trust God with all!