Summer Recess

Hi all. Just wanted to pop on to let you know that I'm going to take a summer blogging break. There is just TOO much going on right now and I really don't have any extra time to spare for this. I will however post some photos of the new house once we are moved in. We are set to close on June 23rd. And of course I will update when baby boy makes his arrival. Not sure yet if I'll be back after the summer or if I'll just decided to shut it down. I guess I'll have to see what it's like juggling three children before I can make that decision. So happy summer everyone!

On second thought...

I guess I won't be back this week. I need to cut out the computer for a while. Life is getting pretty overwhelming right now and I need to focus on basics.

A quick hello

Hello all. I didn't intend on taking a blogging break this past week, but amidst the chaos it just turned out that way. So I just popped in to say I'll be back at it next week. I've got a meal plan ready to post as well as a book review and some great photos of the kids. For now, I'm just going to post a link to a new blog that I found today via The Stay at Home Missionary. It's Divine Calling and she has a great post taken from the book A Woman's Mission that I really enjoyed. If you're looking for a new read, she's a mom of three little ones and shares on topics such as: child training, femininity, frugality, motherhood, being a keeper at home, etc. Anyway, that's about it, hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Thankful Thursday

~I am so thankful and blessed to be Emily and Sarah's mom. These girls are the most beautiful, brightest children I know (of course I am biased). I just am beyond blessed every day by their presence in my life. This past mother's day I just found myself taking a step back and studying their faces and just enjoying the great privilege it is to be a mom. Sure it comes with great responsibility and sure it comes with great sacrifice some times, but it's the greatest 'job title' I will ever hold and I am SO lucky. Girls, you are the apple of mommy's eye.

~I am so thankful for a husband who seeks after God. I am so blessed to have him to follow after and to serve.
~I'm thankful for being 30 weeks pregnant!

I am so excited to meet our son. Along those lines, I have had no idea what to do for his room. The decor, etc. was just coming up blank in my mind, it was driving me crazy. Until now! The other day while out shopping I browsed through Home Goods and found this lamp (below). I left the store to finish my shopping but just could not get the lamp out of my head. SO, I decided to go back and pick it up and this is what I'll be basing my son's room off of. The colors will be brown, cream and red (that match the lamp) and we'll be doing a football theme (which is just perfect because my husband was captain of his football team in high school AND football pretty much rocks). Hooray!

~Notice the difference between the top photo of the lamp and the bottom one? Yup, that's the clarity difference between my old camera and my new Cannon Rebel! I am so thankful to finally own this camera in which we spent SO much time researching and pricing! Yay!

Cannon Rebel

Last week we purchased the Cannon Rebel digital camera and oh oh oh how I love it. I just got it up and running yesterday and the clarity is amazing. I still love my little hand-held Kodak digital too, it's definitely better for on the go and capturing video. BUT since I don't scrap book, I really wanted a camera that would take some clear close ups and have the ability to zoom in from far away (I'm thinking kids' soccer/football/etc. games) and also have the ability to take multiple photos quickly. Anyway, so I'm finding so far that the Rebel is VERY easy to use and I just love the quality of the photos. I have a post set to go tomorrow that shows the clarity difference between the two cameras. For now, here's our first shots:

Weekly Meal Plan

Breakfasts

Cereal and fruit

Eggs and toast

Oatmeal and raisins

Muffins and fruit

Granola and yogurt

French toast w/strawberries

Lunches

Macaroni and cheese w/green pepper

Super Salad

Tuna sandwiches w/salad

PB+J w/apples

Spaghetti w/broccoli

Take-out

Dinners

Impossible cheeseburger pie w/corn

Hamburgers, potato wedges and veggies

Marinated pork ribs, carrots, homemade bread

Chicken on the grill, salad, rice

Pizza

Snacks

Humus and veggies/chips

Breakstone cottage cheese doubles

Pretzels

PB and apple slices

Popsicles

P.S. Last week we tried Ranch Potato Wedges, a recipe from Heavenly Homemaker, and it was unbelievably delicious! A great side dish for grilled meats or fish sticks or pretty much anything, just wanted to pass that recipe along.

For more yummy meal plans, visit http://www.orgjunkie.com/.

Children's book review

Anyone who has known me for long probably knows that Elizabeth George is one of my favorite authors. She picks basic life principles to write about and does so in a way that is simply stated and easy to apply. I was SO excited a few years back to learn she had written a children's book applying the Proverbs 31 principles. If you have little girls at home I would highly recommend this book.

I found an excerpt here:

"God's Little Girl is Diligent

Can you think of something that give you delight?

That makes you feel good in your bed at night?

That brings you a feeling compared to none?

The pleasure of knowing a job's been well done!"

It's beautifully illustrated and teaches little girls biblical principles, what could be better? It's also great to build lessons on. We like to chose one page (each page has one principle/verse) to look at per week and seek to apply it.

If you have a little boy, she's also written God's Wisdom for Little Boys, and I am so looking forward to reading it to my son in just a few short months!

Wordless Wednesday

(WOW, these were shot way back in October and I guess I forgot to pass them along!)