The World My Children Will Grow Up In.

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The World my children will grow up in is much different from the world I grew up in.  My husband and I have been talking about this more and more lately.  It feels like every time you turn on the news you learn of more "compromise" by our nation.  It seems like the more people you cross paths with the more you learn "compromise" is becoming the standard in people's lives.  And yet the reality is not that "it seems" the reality is that my children are growing up in a world of compromise.

I have been thinking about the best way to write out these thoughts and after I saw a piece on the Today Show this morning, I felt more compelled to write these thoughts down.  They were doing a piece on sexual enhancement drugs for women.  At this time, the TV was on in our living room and I was making french toast in the kitchen for our family.  The lady being interviewed said "I think women these days want novelty in the bedroom.  They want fantasy and imagination with more than one person.  Perhaps we have been told for so long that we should live in monogamy, when in fact what today's women want is less monogamy".

Seriously?!  This is the world of "compromise" that my children will grow up in, are growing up in.  I turned around from the skillet and I said "What about commitment"?  Nothing in today's society requires "commitment".  So why should anyone live in commitment?  Don't commit to marriage.  Don't commit to self-control.  Don't commit to your health.  Don't commit to your finances.  Don't commit to disciplining your children.  Just "compromise" so that you don't step on anyone's toes.

A year or two ago our pastor did a small series called "Gumption".  It spoke so clearly and deeply into my soul.  Gumption it is the CHARACTER to COMMIT and COMPLETE!  That is what I want for my marriage, for our family, and for my children.  That we would be people of deep COMMITMENT that allows us to COMPLETE strong.

That in our marriage we would commit even when we don't always see eye to eye or it is hard.  And that as a result we would COMPLETE life together.

In our self-control that we would commit to bringing our wants and desires under HIS authority and that we would COMPLETE life with excellent CHARACTER.

In our health that we would commit to working hard and eating well so that we would LIVE life on earth COMPLETE.

In our finances that we would commit to SAVE, GIVE, and SPEND within our means.  And that we would live within the boundaries of the season of our commitment whether it be plant, grow or harvest.

In the discipline of our children that we would commit to be consistent.  That we would model out in our lives our completion to follow through on what God asks of us through obedience.

Yes, the world will be a harder place for my children to grow up in than it was for me.  And the world will be a harder place for me to parent in than it was for my parents.  But I am confident that God can raise up an army of believers, of mighty warriors, who stand for something and have the GUMPTION, the CHARACTER to COMMIT and COMPLETE.

"Gideon then crossed the Jordan River with his 300 men, and though exhausted, they continued to chase the enemy".

Judges 8:4 NLT  

Here is the link to the Gumption Series if you are interested  

http://12stone.com/series/gumption/

Summer Reading List

The next several months of my life will be busy.  But I do have a "Summer Reading" List.  When I had my first baby, I made it through many feedings by my iPhone alone.  I know that may not be the "bonding" thing to do and some may say that I am missing out by being on my phone, but honestly.....for me....it was my saving grace.

When I had my second child, my sister had just had a baby as well.  There were a lot of feedings spent communicating with her back and forth through text during feedings.  It was a sweet time for me to help encourage my sister in her new found mommy hood.

The nursing of both of my children lead to a lot of blog reading on my iPhone and various different websites.  It honestly was such a good connecting place for me.  And while this time around I want to utilize my iPhone for brainless searching of the internet, I also want pour valuable things my heart as well.

I am huge fan of the Kindle for iPhone app.  I have read many books on my iPhone Kindle App when our iPad was not available to me.  I just downloaded

  

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I have only heard really great reviews about this book and it comes highly recommended by several of my closest friends.  There is also a Bloom Book Club series of videos to go along with it.  Just click on the link and scroll down to Seven: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess and there are videos that walk you through chapter by chapter.   

I am sure if I get through this one book I will be doing well.  Here are a few more books I hope to read at least before the end of the year.

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 And of course my stack of magazines that keeps growing, and growing, and growing........

Deals and Steals: Michele Zakeri Photography

My friend Michele has a great eye for a lot of things. 

She is a jack of all trades.

She has finally started a photography business.......

Michele Zakeri Photography

And she has a GiveAway!!!!

Which is my last Deal and Steal for this week.

All you have to do is 

1.  Visit her FB page (Click on this link)

2.  Share the 1 hour session give away on your page

3. Leave a comment that says "shared"

And you will be entered to WIN!

Hurry because she will draw a WINNER 

Friday, May 17th @ noon.

Here are a few of my favorite pics she recently took of our family.

Deals and Steals: Shoe Organizer

In our old closet we had a nice built in's for our shoes.  

Not so much now.  

After 2 weeks of boxes in our closet 

and me being unable to navigate around them, 

I set out to find something to store our shoes on/in.  

And of course, I was not willing to drop a load on shoe storage.  

I ended up with these hanging shoe holders.  

I purchased them at Wal-Mart for $5.00 each.  

I used to have one hanging in our hall closet at our old house,

 so I new they were durable.

They are made by HomeStays and are found near hangers and closet organizing stuff.  

I look at it this way....if one breaks I can always replace it for $5.00!  

And that to me sounds like a great Deal and Steal!

Deals and Steals: Sibling Shirts

I have been eyeing a few Etsy sites for "sibling" shirts for when #3 makes his debut.  

I have even considered having some shirts monogrammed.  

But, in all honesty the price makes me think twice.  

I could use that $60 plus dollars for diapers!

When I was in Hobby Lobby last week, I happened upon these "iron-on"

 BIG SISTER, BIG BROTHER, and LITTLE BROTHER packages.  

For $1.99 each, I could not pass them up.

Made by SEI Crafts out of Utah

Here is the package just in case you want/need 

to find them somewhere else than Hobby Lobby.

I picked up a white t-shirt for my daughter.  

I had a hard time finding a white t-shirt for my son, but ended up with one with a pocket. 

 I simply removed the pocket with a seam ripper.  

And baby boy has tons of solid white onesies.

I followed the directions on the package and VIOLA!  

Sibling shirts for $14.00!  

Which leaves me $46.00 left over for diapers. 

Pretty good deal if you ask me.

 For #3

For #1

For #2

I am really SOOOOO Excited to see them in these!

Deals and Steals: ALDI

My most FAVORITE recent find is ALDI.  I can not take ANY credit for this.....I owe it all to my friend Michele.  She has been shopping at ALDI for a while and they built one closer to our house several months ago....so I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

WOW!  All I can say is WOW!  I am a Publix lover but I HATE their produce prices.  And since I usually make MULTIPLE trips a week for produce I needed to try and cut produce costs.  ALDI is the place where I can do just that.

It is amazing how much lower their produce prices are.  And much to my surprise many of their produce is the SAME produce brands I buy at Publix.  You do have to bag your own groceries and put your own cart back up but man I can do that!

This was one of my first purchases.

Peanut Butter

Grape JElly

Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Peppers

Lemons

Limes

Tomatoes

Cuties

Bananas

Salad

Cucumbers

Strawberries

Mushroom

Carrots

Grapes

Pinapple

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Bread

Gold Fish Crackers

Sweet Potato Chips

All for ~ $40/45!!!!!!!

That left me with a TON in my budget for milk, eggs, meat, and cheese.

I was truly AMAZED!  I am now HOOKED on ALDI.

And I am proud that I can feed my family FRESH PRODUCE for a lot less.

ALDI also has seasonal sections.

Last week I found these items in the seasonal section 

and I could not be more pleased.

Patio Table Umbrella (cranks and tilts) $29.99

Patio Table Umbrella Stand (30lbs) ($16.99)

Patio Umbrella LED lights ($8.99)

I have been eyeing these 3 items on Amazon for the last year!

NO JOKE.

Umbrella Stand $30.00-$50.00

Umbrella (crank, tilt and LED lights) $150.00

Amazon's Price &150.00

ALDI's price $55.97

I have never had to return anything but I do hear that they have an EXCELLENT return policy!

Deals and Steals: New Front Porch Furniture

I promised to write this week about a few steals and deals I have encountered lately.

First up:

Front Porch Furniture

We have never had a front porch and we now do.

I love the idea of sitting on the front porch but I hated the prices of front porch furniture.

I could not find anything in my budget at Home Depot, Amazon, Lowes or Target.

One day I happened on these steals at World Market.

This bench and chair are actually dining furniture but are the perfect height for our front porch.

They are being discontinued so you know I got a great deal

Bench $104.00

Chair $56.00

And the sales lady gave me a coupon for an extra 10% off.

They are the perfect addition to our front porch.

I dropped by Costco and picked up a 2 pillow pack for $25.00

You can't really beat that either when most places want $25.00 for ONE outdoor pillow.

I got this cute metal drum table as well. 

 It was not that much of a steal

but I loved it and decided to get it!

So all in all WORLD MARKET

&

COSTCO

get props for these Deals and Steals. 

Join World Market's Explorer Program (FREE)

and get TONS of coupons and Free stuff every week.

It really does pay to join!

Happy Mother's Day

Several months ago I journaled these favorite thoughts about my mom.  

They seem fitting to post today.

creative

she can do anything she puts her mind to

organized

clean

beautiful blue eyes

she remembers detail

she is a thoughtful gift giver

she loves me

she gave me life

she has sacrificed for me

she knows God's Word

she raised me with a knowledge and a fear of the Lord

she took me to church

she supported my dreams

she was always my biggest cheerleader

she prays for me

she let me go as God led me even when it was hard for her

she loved my dad's mom

she loves her mom

Thanks mom for giving me life so that I in turn could carry life
and become a mommy!

In the last 4 years I have carried 4 lives inside of me.

I gave my first fruit back to Jesus on April 17, 2009.

I birthed our second fruit on April 24, 2010

"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.  They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.  Such trees are not bothered by heat or worried by longs months of drought. Their leaves stay green and they never stop producing delicious fruit."

Jeremiah 17:7-8

 

I birthed our third fruit on July 18,  2011

“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.  Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”

Colossians 2:7

                                                                                                

And I wait with great anticipation the arrival of our 4th fruit any day.

"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

In the last four years I have thought a lot about what I want my children to say is true about me. 

I pray they will say,

My mom loves Jesus

My mom loves my dad

My mom loves me

I know if they have confidence in those three things, I have done my job well as their mom!

   

Orzo Chicken Salad

This is a great light Spring/Summer salad that my ENTIRE family devoured 

(and if you know my husband....that is saying ALOT)!  

I found this in a Publix Family Style Magazine and decided to try it out.

Orzo Chicken Salad

2/3 cup dried whole wheat orzo pasta

1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

2 cups shredded baked chicken

1 cup grape tomatoes

1/4 cup cilantro

1/2 cup crumbled reduced fat feta cheese

In a medium sauce pan, cook 2/3 cup dried whole wheat or regular orzo pasta 

according to package directions, adding 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels 

during the last 1 minute of cooking, drain.

Rinse with cold water to cool quickly; drain well.  

In a large bowl, combine orzo mixture, 2 cups shredded baked chicken, 

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved, and 1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro. 

 Sprinkle with 1/2 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese. 

 Cover and chill for 2-24 hours.  

To serve drizzle with Avocado Lime Dressing (recipe below)

Avocado Lime Dressing

In a blender combine:

 1 small avocado

 1/3 cup of water 

1/2 tsp finely shredded lime peel

1/4 cup lime juice

4 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

 1/4 tsp salt

*Cover and chill for 2-24 hours*


This wraps up a great week of recipes. 
 I would love for you to share in the comment section below your favorite recipes. 
 I am always on the look out for new things to make for dinner.



Next week's post will be full of bargain buys/deals
 and steals that I have recently encountered.  
Hope you will join in and share as well.


May your Weekend Be FULL of SUNSHINE!
HAPPY WEEKEND!

Crock Pot Chicken and Chicken Stock

I love buying whole chicken and utilizing almost everything I bought.  It is a great way to save money. I bake whole chickens in my crock pot a lot but a few weeks ago one of my friends told me about making chicken stock.

I went to this website link and followed the directions (well I cooked mine in the crock a little longer than over night) but it turned out great!  I have 42 oz of stock in my fridge right now and 3 more 42 oz containers in my deep freeze.  I hope you will take some time to check the link above to 100 Days of Real Food Blog.

I love to use chicken stock to flavor green beans, rice, soups, and corn.  There are TONS of uses for chicken stock.  Hope you find this as helpful, time saving, and inexpensive as I did!

Oatmeal Bake

This recipe was given to me by my sweet friend Holly, who is a much better cook than me! 

 I had this Oatmeal Bake at her house one morning and could not get enough.  

My kids LOVE this stuff!

Oatmeal Bake

3 cups of oats

1 3/4 cups of buttermilk (you can substitute with 3/4 cup yogurt and 1 cup water)

1/2 cup of coconut oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar, maple syrup of honey

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup shredded coconut (this gets left out in our house)

1/2 cup chocolate chips mixed in batter plus 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top before putting in oven

Soak oats and yogurt covered on kitchen counter overnight.  I
n the morning, beat oil, sugar and eggs until glossy.  
Add baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla, beat.  
Stir in oats and chocolate chips.  
Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350 for 20 min.

You can add anything to this recipe: chopped apples, raisins, pecans, bananas, 

dried cranberries, white chocolate, etc....

Two of My Favorite Party Drinks

We will just call this the week of recipes since I seemed to start it out that way on Sunday.  Below are two of my favorite party drinks.  They were both served at one of my wedding showers and the Front Porch Tea was a hit at our wedding reception.  Hope you try them out for yourself!

Coffee Punch

1 Cup of Instant Coffee

1 1/2 cups of Sugar

3 Cups of Cold Water

1/2 Gallon of Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream (or your favorite brand)

1/2 Cup of Cocoa

1/2 Cup of Boiling Water

1 Tsp of Vanilla

1 Quart of Whipping Cream whipped

Combine coffee granules, cocoa, sugar, and boiling water. Blend until smooth.  

Stir in cold water, vanilla and milk.  

Fold in whipping cream and ice cream (ice cream must be thawed prior) 

and whipping cream.

*This will make a lot.  Have a huge punch bowl ready or several plastic pitchers*

Front Porch Tea

1 cup sugar

2 cups of boiling water

2 family sized tea bags

8 cups of water (not boiled)

1 12oz can of frozen Minute Maid Lemonade Concentrate

1TBS pure vanilla extract

1 TBS pure almond extract

Peach Slices

Dissolve 1 cup sugar in 2 cups of boiling water to make syrup.  Set aside

Add 2 Family Sized tea bags to 2 cups of boiling water and steep for 5 minutes

In a large pitcher (1 gallon) mix sugar syrup, 2 cups of brewed tea and 8 additional cups of water.

Mix in 1 12oz can of frozen Minute Maid Lemonade Concentrate (thawed)

Add 1 TBS of pure vanilla extract and 1 TBS of pure almond extract.

Stir well and chill in refrigerator.

Serve over ice and garnish with fresh peach slices if desired.

*Makes 14 8oz servings*

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

My Favorite Crock Pot Discoveries

I use the Crock Pot a lot!  My work days are 12 hour shifts plus one hour commutes to and from.  It is important to me that my family has a hot healthy meal even on the nights that I don't get to eat with them.

I also use the Crock Pot on days that I don't work.  It saves me from having to rush home to put dinner on if we are out.  It saves me from heating up my entire house.  It usually means I have less clean up after dinner.

I have an oval Crock and a round Crock made by Rival.  They are nothing fancy.  They are both 8-10 years old but they work great!

Here are a few things I do in the Crock Pot that help save me TIME!

• Baked Sweet Potatoes: Wash them and put them on HIGH in your Crock for 4-5 hours. (You might have to experiment with your crock as every one will heat differently)  No foil needed!  They come out soft and beautiful.  

• Baked Potatoes: Wash them and put them on HIGH in your Crock for 4-5 hours.  (You might have to experiment with your crock as every one will heat differently)  No foil needed!  They come out soft and beautiful.  

• Spaghetti Sauce: Tuttorosso Crushed Tomatoes in Thick Puree with Basil, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 cup of water, 1 T sea salt, 2 T Olive Oil, 4 T dried Italian Seasoning, 3 cloves of minced garlic.  Put it all in the Crock and simmer on low all night or all day!  (Add cooked ground beef or sausage if you like).

• Crock Pot Lasagna: Line bottom of Crock with no-boil noodles (may have to break them up to fit the shape of your crock).  Then layer your favorite ingredients: Ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella, spaghetti sauce, no-boil noodles....and so on.  Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 4-5 hours.

• Baked Chicken: Put a whole chicken in the Crock.  Season with garlic powder, sea salt, black pepper, paprika, and onion powder.  Put a few pats of real butter under the chicken skin for extra flavor.  Cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours.

• Chicken Pot Pie: 2 cups of shredded baked chicken, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, 1 cup of peas and carrots, 16 oz of sour cream.  Mix all together and put in crock.  Top with crushed crackers (I have used Ritz and Saltines: both are great).  Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 4-5 hours.

• BBQ Pork:  Pork Roast or Loin of your choice.  Pour one bottle of BBQ sauce, 1 cup of Zesty Italian dressing, and 1 T of Liquid Smoke into the crock on top of the Pork.  Cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours.  Shred for BBQ tacos, BBQ sandwiches, or pair with your favorite sides.

• White Chicken Chili: 2 cups of chopped/shredded baked chicken, 4 cans of Northern Beans, 2 small cans of chopped green chilies, 4 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup of water, 2 T of cumin, and 1 T of sea salt.  Cook on High 4-5 hours or Low for 6-8 hours.  Ladle into bowls and top with shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese

Pretty much...I put any recipe in the Crock Pot!  I'm serious.  I have yet to try a cake or brownies in my Crock but hope to soon.  There are some great Crock Pot FB pages, websites and good old fashioned recipe books out there.  

If you have a crock pot recipes you love, please share!

Happy Crocking!

Garage Sale Finds

A couple of my friends and I love garage sale-ing!  We nick named ourselves "Garage Sale Gang Moms".  We always go in a gang or together.  And we take no children, no husbands, reusable bags, a minivan, and a pocket of cash.

This really has turned into a great way for us to clothe our children as well as furnish our homes, pick up craft project materials, or score steals on toys and bikes for our kids.  When you can clothe 2 kids for less than $100.00 from garage sales.....YOU DO IT!

We usually do this in the Spring and the Fall.  There are several large neighborhoods in our area that have neighborhood wide garage sales during these times of the year.  We hit them up every season.  Clothes we hardly ever pay more than a $1 per piece and sometimes we score for even less than that.  Just last week I picked up 26 pieces of clothing plus 3 pairs of gently used shoes for my kids for $6.00!  Yep you read that right $6.00!!!!!

Really you can not beat these deals!  Here is one of my "Garage Sale Gang Moms" showing off her latest "crafting" finds!

Do you Garage Sale?  And what has been your best find?

DIY Bow Tie

My daughter selected our "color scheme" for Easter dress this year.  She had to have a yellow and white dress from Old Navy.  I added a navy cardigan to it just in case the weather was a little chilly.  Which put me on the search for yellow and navy for our son.  I was lucky in the navy department.....not so much the yellow.

I searched high and low for some type of yellow bow tie.  I don't know why I thought I would find anything.  I have the same problem every time I try and find a bow tie for my son.  So I picked up materials (instead of wasting more time scouring the mall and amazon) and I made him a bow tie.

This was my second bow tie to make for him.  Last time I put it on a clip but this time I attached it to elastic and I liked it so much better.  Just better for his age (21 months).

Here is how I did it.

Hot Iron

1/2 yard of your favorite fabric

Needle and Thread

Scissors

Ruler

Iron the creases out of your fabric

Determine how "fat" you want your bow tie to be.

I cut 6 inch wide x 18 in long strip of fabric.

(It ended up a little too long)

In the end I settled with a 10 in length strip of fabric.

You will just have to play with it and see what works best for your little guy's size

Next I folded in the edges and ironed a crease

You can see that I did this for the top and the bottom of the long strip

Then I folded the creased edges in one more time and ironed them flat.

This keeps anything from fraying or sticking out of the finished product.

Next I folded the left side of the material into the middle

and ironed a crease on the outer left hand side of the material

I then folded the right side of the material into the middle

and ironed a crease on the outer right hand side of the material  

You want to make sure that material overlaps a little in the middle

I then cinched the material in the middle with my fingers

And ran a stitch from bottom to top

Up and Down, Up and Down all the way across

 Here is what it should look like when you have completed the stitching

Next I cut a slim piece of fabric 

and ironed the edges in as well to prevent fraying

I cut a piece of elastic to secure to the bow tie.

Note: Put your child's shirt on and run the elastic around the neck of the shirt in the manner he will wear the shirt.  Then cut the elastic 1/2" or so shorter than what you measured to ensure the elastic will fit properly and not hang.

Next I stitched from the back side of the elastic through the front side of the bow tie.  

Until it was secure to the elastic

It will not look pretty on the front....but we are about to fix that

Next take your long skinny piece of fabric and wrap it around the middle of the bow tie

Stitch the back side of the skinny fabric like so

and cut off the excess material. 

Your finished project should look like this!

Here is my little man, avoiding looking at the camera.

And here he is on Easter wearing the finished project!

I think it turned out SUPER CUTE!

Hope this project saves you a little time and money next time you are on the hunt for a bow tie!