Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Show and Share

Three boys plus one craft loving Momma... let's see what we get into!

Banana-peanut butter smoothie

Protein, smoothie, protein, smoothie, protein!!! These two things have been a big deal around here lately. One of my favorite ways to look up smoothie recipes is from Whole Living. Some of them sound a little too much for my taste. BUT recently a co-worker of mine was telling me about a Banana-peanut butter smoothie. Guess what, it's on the recipe list! The boys and I definitely made a couple of these guys.

Need:
1 banana
1 cup milk
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup ice (about 4 or 5 ice cubes)

BLEND IT UP and enjoy!

What one shall we try next?!?!?!

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Two for Twosday

Two for Twosday: two thoughts/ updates/ photos/ something that I don't want to forget or am flat out oober excited about.



1. The boys finished off the last of their T-ball season. Louis had three games last week. All make up games to all the rain outs. So So So proud of the boys. They played in some hot weather this season.


2. I finished my first TRIATHLON!!! I'm pretty stoked about it. There were some absolutely amazing people that I met along the way. I finished and I didn't fall! BIG shout out to my Aunt Susie, I literally would not have done this if it hadn't been for her. I blame her also for the addiction to triathlons that I have now as well. An equally as BIG shout out to my hubby, who only laughed a little when I brought the idea up and encouraged me all the way. Thank you to Dana and Sam for your encouragement. Thank you to Ryan and his bike expertise. It was a very empowering experience. Power, Grace, Style. Here's to the next one... yep I'm signed up for my next tri ;)

Monday, July 29, 2013

{this moment}

{this moment} -  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

A Sweethaven Summer

A Sweethaven Summer
By: Courtney Walsh
THREE out of FIVE stars




my thoughts:
Cute summer read. Loved the twists and turns in the story. This may sound like a very simple book however there are some very heavy topics that Walsh brings in to play. I liked the book enough to want to read the other Sweethaven titles.

the run down:
A faded scrapbook reveals secrets that reconnect old friends in a place called Sweethaven. Campbell Carter has come to Sweethaven in search of answers about her mother's history. Just before losing a battle with cancer, Suzanne Carter sent letters to childhood friends from her hometown of Sweethaven, Michigan. Suzanne's three friends -- Lila, Jane, and Meghan -- haven't spoken in years, yet each has pieces of a scrapbook they made together as girls. Suzanne's letters have lured them all back to the idyllic lakeside town, where they meet Campbell and begin to remember what was so special about their long Sweethaven summers. As the scrapbook reveals secrets from the past, old wounds are mended, lives are changed, and friendships are restored -- just as Suzanne intended.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Broken

I'm joining in on Lisa-Jo Baker's Five Minute Friday. The rules are pretty simple. One word. Five minutes of writing. No editing.

Broken




When you brake a bone they typically put a cast on it. There is an outward sign that something is broken. There is an extra weight that you carry from the cast. You are limited to what you can and cannot do. The simplest task, before being broken, are now a big ordeal. If your leg is broken there are times where someone might have to carry you to get you to where you need to be. If your arm is broken you can't always reach what you want. 

When something is broken, not physically, on the inside it gets a little trickier. There isn't always an outward sign. There is a weight but you can't always put it into words. When you're broken in this way, I beg you to be thankful for it. In this brokenness, He can find you. In your inability to carry on, He will carry you. When you can't reach that point, He will bring it closer. 

I don't know what it's like to have a broken bone. I do know what it is like to be broken just to be built up and sister it is BEAUTIFUL!


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Show and Share

Three boys plus one craft loving Momma... let's see what we get into!

Weaving Loopes

Okay, you might remember this from elementary school. Basically it's a square board with tiny prongs all along the sides. Then you have these pieces of fabric that are circles. You can loop the fabric in different patterns on the weave. It is super relaxing.

Loops
Weave  
Sam's creation

Stay calm and create!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

SPECIAL Two for Twosday

Special Two for Twosday! Josh had his 28th birthday on Sunday! So in Define These Three fashion, let's define how AMAZING this hubby of mine is.

Here is Josh year round!

1. He is a great friend.

2. He is a hard worker.

3. He is such a thoughtful hubby.

 4. He is loving.

5. He is sooooo handsome!

6. He knows how to rock PJs.

7.  He'll help you in a crafting pinch.

8. He remembers.

9. He's brave enough to eat my meals.

10. He has beautiful hair!

11. He makes our family whole.

12. He is an outdoorsman.



HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!
We love you!

xoxo
Momma, Maverick, Goose, Squishy, Cooper and Lilly

Monday, July 22, 2013

{this moment}

{this moment} -  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.


Saturday, July 20, 2013

The Penny

The Penny
By: Joyce Meyer
FOUR out of FIVE stars




my thoughts:
Definitely read this book. I've listened to Joyce Meyer speaking a few times, some on podcast, some on TV. I had heard of this book a few times. I finally picked it up and am so thankful that I did. Heads up it does have a slow start, but you will not be able to put this book down.

My German Irish Grandma always had a love for pennies. Luck had a bit to do with it. It was the awe in her face when she found one though. The joy of each penny that she would pick up. Meyer relates the penny to the small things in our lives. God blesses us with these little things, these little blessings. When big crazy things are happening there is a 'penny' there.

the run down:
Jenny Blake has a theory about life: big decisions often don't amount to much, but little decisions sometimes transform everything. Her theory proves true the summer she's 14, when she makes the decision to pick up a penny embedded in asphalt and consequently ends up stopping a robbery, getting a job, and meeting someone who changes her life forever-Miss Shaw. Together they form a friendship that dares both of them to confront secrets in their pasts-secrets that threaten to destroy them.

Jenny helps Miss Shaw open up to the community around her, while Miss Shaw teaches Jenny to meet even life's most painful challenges with confidence and faith. This unexpected relationship transforms them both in ways neither could have anticipated, and the ripple effect that begins that summer goes on to bring new life to the people around them, revealing how God works in the smallest details-even in something as small as THE PENNY.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Belong

I'm joining in on Lisa-Jo Baker's Five Minute Friday. The rules are pretty simple. One word. Five minutes of writing. No editing.



I'm homesick. It's been a little over two years since I've gotten to see my family, friends and my home-state (GO DUCKS). When you're homesick everything seems like it's done wrong. Perfect example, the pronunciation of crayon. In the NW we say it right, *cran. Out here in the Midwest though they say *crown. I distance myself, Missouri becoming they and them. I envy the weather back home. 

I get into a funk.I get frustrated that we can't go to the beach on Friday and come home with sand in our shoes. I get so annoyed that you can't just go for a drive to Mt. Hood and star gaze. I get so mad that we can't have BugerVille shakes. GRRR!!!!

I'm not sure really that the homesickness will ever just go away. It will probably always be there. The thing that usually centers me though is my little family, my husband and our boys. This is their home and I belong wherever they are. It hurts, but that's life, that's love in a very small form.
 
We belong together like... Peanut butter and Jelly, Leia & Hans (Star Wars), Cookies and milk, Ross & Rachel (Friends) Cheese on pizza, Noah & Allie (The Notebook). 

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Show and Share: Library Totes

Three boys plus one craft loving Momma... let's see what we get into!

This one is for our library going friends out there! We love going to our local library! The only problem that we run into is the carry our plethera of book finds from the library to home and back. Solution, library tote.

-need
tote
iron
pencil
hot glue gun & colored glue sticks
iron on patches
card holder

-steps
1. Take your tote and let the kiddos place their iron on patches where they want them to be.
2. Have the adult iron on the patch. Follow the directions on the iron patch. Some use the steam setting others don't. *Tip, once you do the front make sure to flip the tote inside out to iron. Most of the iron patches tell you to do this.
3. Let the tote/iron patches cool down.
4. Let your kiddos use a pencil on their tote to design how they want their name or snazy-ness designs to look.
5. The adult can go over the pencil design with the hot glue gun. Let the kiddos pick out what color. *Side note, I couldn't easily switch the glue sticks out so each kiddo got one color glue stick.
6. Your card holder should come with a ring. Slip the ring around the handle of the tote.
7. Let the kiddos put their library card in the card holder. If they don't have a library card, put a picture of them in there or let them draw a picture and put it in the card holder.


Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Two for Twosday

Two for Twosday: two thoughts/ updates/ photos/ something that I don't want to forget or am flat out oober excited about.



1. Impromptu Louis, Momma date. It was so much fun! We don't really get to do one on one dates with the boys. I'm thinking we are going to need to start though. Louis and I had a blast. We went to a car show, got movies for later and slushies!

2. Slushies, this summer we have been acquainted with our local gas station slushies. They are perfect!

{this moment}

{this moment} -  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Happy, Happy, Happy

Happy, Happy, Happy
By: Phil Robertson
FIVE out of FIVE stars




my thoughts:
A family that comes together at the end of the day to thank the Lord for the meal that they have been blessed with. You don't really see that these days, especially not on TV. When I heard that Phil had written a book I bought it the day it was released. It is a beautiful testimony of Phil's life. Not just his, it gives you an idea of what Ms Kay and their boys went through as well. The more I read the more I wanted so badly for this family to be blessed. They weren't handed this business. They worked, they struggled. They did it together. The Robertson family testimony is truly beautiful. They are most definitely in our prayers.

I had a conversation about 'Duck Dynasty' the show a while back. My view, great family, yes some of the shows seem a little staged, but hilarious. The person that I was talking to had a very different view. They weren't fond of the way they presented Christian hunters as hicks. I hadn't even thought of that. Honestly, if they acted any other way than who they are though... it would be... horrible. They are who they are and that's that. They have a love for the Lord. They hunt. Take 'em or leave 'em.

At any rate, there is great testimony in Phil's book. He keeps it real.

the run down: 
This no-holds-barred autobiography chronicles the remarkable life of Phil Robertson, the original Duck Commander and Duck Dynasty star, from early childhood through the founding of a family business.Life was always getting in the way of Phil Robertson’s passion for duck hunting.

An NFL-bound quarterback, Phil made his mark on Louisiana Tech University in the 1960s by playing football and completing his college career with a master’s degree in English. But Phil’s eyes were not always on the books or the ball; they were usually looking to the sky.

Phil grew up with the dream of living the simple life off the land like his forebears, but he soon found himself on a path to self-destruction—leasing a bar, drinking too much, fighting, and wasting his talents. He almost lost it all until he gave his life to God. And then everything changed.

Phil’s incredible story tells how he followed a calling from God and soon after invented a duck call that would begin an incredible journey to the life he had always dreamed of for himself and his family. With great love for his country, his family, and his maker, Phil has finally found the ingredients to the “good life” he always wanted

Friday, July 12, 2013

Present

I'm joining in on Lisa-Jo Baker's Five Minute Friday. The rules are pretty simple. One word. Five minutes of writing. No editing.



Present

I just read an email from my father in-law. He loves to send emails that make you ponder, serious emails, terribly funny emails, so you never really know what you are going to get. This one was more of a ponder/ cute story and it went a little something like this. 

These salesmen went on a trip, they promised to families they'd be back for dinner on Friday. In their rush to catch their plane home one of the salesmen knocked a stand of apples over. Two of the salesmen kept on without an apology. One stopped and hollered for the others to explain to his wife he would catch the next plane. When the salesmen went back to apologize he noticed the girl was crying. She was blind and no one was stopping to help her. The salesmen got down and helped pick each apple up. He helped the girl put her stand back in order. Putting the bruised apples to one side in a basket. The salesman told the girl he was sorry and gave her $40 for the apples that they had damaged. As he was walking away the girl shouted to him, "Hey mister, are you Jesus?" The salesman, shocked, turned to the girl "No, I am nothing like Jesus." The girl responded with a smile "I only asked because I prayed for Jesus to help me gather the apples. He sent you to help me, so you are like Him- only He knows who will do His will. Thank you for hearing His call, Mister."

We are called to be like him, to be so like him that we are mistaken for him. I get so caught up in life that sometimes I'm not present with everything that is going on. I get caught in the checklist of my life that I miss moments that Jesus is calling me to do a little things. I am at fault, I don't always walk the walk, I don't always pour out the love that was given to me to others. 

How present are you to hear Him calling to you?

Thursday, July 11, 2013

July's ten on ten

One photo, ten hours, on the tenth. Find out more at a bit of sunshine!!! Then join in on the ten on ten photo project.













Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Show and Share

Three boys plus one craft loving Momma... let's see what we get into!


At camp we had an Opportunity Plus class, in the class they learned the power of staying positive, to not use the negative. They focused on 'I am' statements. I am brave, I am kind, I am strong, I am generous. I found the "I am project" by the Brave Girls Club. It pretty much fit perfectly for our art class.

need-
canvas board
modge podge
decorative paper
scissors
download the I am project

Steps-
1. Cut out the body, face, words.
2. On your canvas board use modge podge to glue down the papers, body, face, words, etc.
GET ARTSY!!!
3. When you are all done playing put a thin coat of modge podge over the top to set everything in.




Our campers were so proud of how their self portraits turned out! So proud of each of them!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Two for Twosday

Two for Twosday: two thoughts/ updates/ photos/ something that I don't want to forget or am flat out oober excited about.



1.We had an absolutely beautiful time at Camp Opportunity this past week. Josh was a fabulous pastor, Sam and Lou were campers, Rian was a helper and I was honored to be on staff and work with the kiddos in art class. We met new friends that are more like family. Such a blessing. The staff, counselors and campers all hold a special place in our hearts.

2. Then there was the FOURTH of JULY! The boys had a GRAND time! I think there is something just built in to most boys about fire and fireworks. We had a great time spending the afternoon with our church family grilling, playing on a massive slip n slide, and lighting fireworks. Then we lit off some fireworks at home while making s'mores! My sister gave us the idea to use Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, if you haven't tried it, DO IT!

Monday, July 8, 2013

{this moment}

{this moment} -  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

June's Photos

No rules. Just a prompt and a camera. Check out Chantelle's photo a day challenge.