Our Dad.

I am so thankful the Daddy in our home,can do some of the things I can’t do. 

For example: Jex comes home from scouts with a piece of wood and four wheels, and he is supposed to turn it into a car.

I just say, “ask your dad.”

…and the beauty is that I know that he can accomplish this task and is willing.

We have a great Dad around here.

Last week, we participated in Jex’s Cub Scout Pinewood Derby.

We had a great time.

 

Jonathan and Jex did such an amazing job with his car.  Jonathan is so good at this kind of stuff.  The boys spent hours cutting, sanding and painting.

 

Jonathan even helped another boy from Jex’s troop; so he actually made 2.

After the official race, any one who wanted to enter a car could; Stella entered Jex’s old car.

It was fun to watch the two cars face off.

What a fun night.

I am off to spend some time with the kids, and enjoy our one day Spring Break tomorrow. Wahoo!!(impressive PA)

Oh, and to think about how grateful I am for Dad’s and their role in families.

Another little message about Dads.

My new favorite helper.

Ok.  So my crock pot has always been my biggest kitchen helper, but I am learning to take advantage of it in other ways as well. 

I wanted to share this with you in hopes that you might come up with other creative ways to use yours also.

There are many crock pot recipes out there.  I use them all the time.

I have also found that I can use my crockpot just to keep dinner warm and ready. It doesn’t have to be something I put in the crockpot to cook all day.  I can make dinner early, and put it in the crockpot to keep warm until we are ready to eat.

I am always running around doing something else during the time I should be making dinner.

Selfishly, I am either at Zumba.

…or, I am running kids around to their events.

I hate that.

I have started making dinner earlier in the day, and then just putting it in the crock pot to stay warm until we get home.

This is picture of sloppy joes.  I made these  at about 2 in the afternoon.  I put the slop in my crockpot, and turned it to the keep warm setting.

We ate dinner at 6:30 that night, and I think they tasted even better because the mixture has time to simmer together and become flavorful.

I have also made these foods early:

homemade chicken nuggets

stroganoff

buffalo chicken filling for tacos or quesadillas

Parmesan chicken

stir fry

homemade mac n cheese

I can’t wait to try other recipes.

What recipes do you have that this method would work with?

Spring… and faith and exciting NEWS.

I am beginning to wonder if spring is really going to happen or not. 

Raise your hand if this has felt like the longest winter?

Each winter; I am reminded of faith.  We all have faith that spring is coming; because it always has.

God never lets us down.

Even here in PA,  it snows, and yet there is still evidence that spring is around the corner.

Our family recently has had some very faith promoting experiences of our own.

Jonathan is wrapping up his fellowship here in PA.

That means it is time to pick a job, and finally settle in.

Who knew that would be the scariest part of this whole journey.

Who knew that moving to the Caribbean nine years ago with 3 suitcases would seem easier than choosing a job and location to settle in and raise our family?

Over the last several months, we have put a lot of faith in God while we made choices about a job and a location to settle in to.

My amazing, handsome, hunk of a doctor husband had several awesome jobs to choose from.

(this is Jonathan’s photo that is on his card at work. I just think he looks so handsome and professional)

Each job offer had something wonderful; yet each one lacking something.

Some had location, others had salary, and others had awesome opportunities.

None had all three.

It has been hard to make a decision. 

They were all good choices, and sometimes it is hard to decide between things that are gray and gray.  When I say gray I don’t mean dull.  I just mean it hasn’t been black and white.

If it was black and white, it would be much easier.

In nine years, our path has been very much guided by God.  He has had a hand in every place we have moved. (read more about that here.)

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that we would be guided once again.

That is where the faith had to come in.

The faith that God knew where we would bloom.

As with most decisions in our home, we rely on prayer.

We took this particular decision to God; and he answered.

I have found that sometimes in my life there are answers that God answers with a simple, “it mattereth not to me.”  Sometimes what God is saying is, “either choice is fine.”

In this particular decision, God had a specific answer.

This answer was not the answer that our family expected. 

At times, we didn’t know if it was the answer that we wanted.

From other angles, it was exactly what we wanted.

For days and weeks, we went back to the Lord, saying are you sure?

Each time he answered and I am sure it was in a very tired voice that he responded, “Yes. I am sure.”

God has been patient.

Let me also tell you, I married an amazing man.

My faithful husband listened to God, and followed his answer.

Jonathan is giving up a lot.  The other jobs had things to offer that the job we chose does not.

After 9 years of devoting your life to something; you are looking for the right job.

The job that offers everything you want.

He found that job, but it wasn’t the job he was guided to take.

Jonathan was very excited about that job; and has mourned the loss of it greatly.

It is hard to turn down something that you want.

Then he picks his head up, and he goes forward with faith; knowing that God has something awesome planned for him and our family.

Jonathan has always taken care of his family first, and this time has been no different.

I am so lucky to be married to a man that has enough faith to walk away from something he wants for something God wants for our family instead.

He loves us enough to take the job in the city that he knows is best for our family; not necessarily the job he thought he would end up with.

We both know that God has a plan for us. 

I know that God has a great work for my husband to do, and that he has been called to heal people.

I also know that Jonathan won’t let God down.

I am thankful that I know and understand that faith is hard. 

Having faith is like a long hard winter, but then the spring blossoms bloom.

Just like our family and my husband will in….

Logan, Utah.

I love you J.

We are glass {What I have learned}

 image source

The other afternoon, I was cleaning off my kitchen counter and wiping everything down.  As I did so, I knocked over this cute little cupcake stand and of course the glass dome fell and BROKE.

I was so sad.  Those kind of things happen all the time.  They can happen in an instant.

We do dumb things, we drop something, we loose our balance, and we break things we love.

Glass shatters.

Glass breaks.

Sometimes we do that with our life. 

We loose our balance, we forget things, and we break things we love.

We break. 

But just like glass breaks, glass also shines.

Glass reflects beautiful light. 

The shadows and reflections of the glass are often determined by the light that is let though.

After breaking that glass lid, I was sad. 

I didn’t let it get to me.  I just picked up the pieces and put a beautiful glass teapot in it’s place and moved on.

This got me thinking about people. 

I have been in love with a song for quite sometime that refers to people as glass.  I believe this to be true.

There are moments in all of our lives when we shine. 

There are also moments when we shatter.

How many times, have I picked up the pieces from something broken and replaced the heartache with a new piece of glass.

That’s what God wants us to do.  He wants us to pick ourselves up, learn from it, and become a better, prettier version of ourselves.

image source

It’s like we are creating a beautiful piece of stained glass; piece by piece.

Here on my blog, I share my thoughts about mothering, cooking, scrapbooking, and fun projects we are doing.

Most of the time, I don’t share how I burned the brownies, or forgot to send the snack to school, or.. or… or…

I am here to tell you that I am a very real mother.  I break, and I shatter.  I make mistakes, and I falter.

I hope the rest of you do too.  I hope that you have to say your sorry and repent. 

That’s what makes us good mothers.

Good mothers learn from their mistakes.

Good mothers say they are sorry.

Good mothers know when it is time to let something go; and pick up the pieces.

We can’t always be on top of our game. 

We can’t always have perfection.

I have been asked a lot:  “How do you do it all?”

I don’t.

For example, Monday, I did a sewing project all. day. long.

I shared these photos of that on Instagram.

 

What I didn’t share is that I didn’t make dinner, and Tess watched Dora most of the afternoon.

Does that make me a bad mother?

No.  Because I can’t do it all.

I can’t shine all day long, in every area of life.

I can however, let little pieces of light shine, and not beat myself up because there are a few shadows.

Sometimes letting the light through can make us vulnerable. 

The light allows others to see our imperfections and our cracks.

We all have our moments to shine.  We all have moments when we fail.

If there is anything I have learned as a mother; it is wise not to compare my stained glass window to another's, because no two can be the same.

As mothers, we would all do well to remember that we are glass.

We will all shine, and we will all break.

We can’t do it all, and we shouldn’t.

We can love one another, help one another, and find the good in one another.

We should focus on the beautiful reflections of light, and less on the imperfections.

We would do well to remember this of others, but most importantly of ourselves.

We should love ourselves and be proud of our beautiful reflections.

I stumbled upon this song a year or so ago. 

I have always loved the words.  It is about a couple and their relationship.

I like to think about it as people and who we are becoming.

Enjoy the words.

Glass by Thompson Square

Trying to live in love, with a heart that can’t be broken

Is  like trying to see the light, with eyes that can’t be open

We all carry baggage, we picked up on our way

So if you love me do it gently, and I will do the same.

We may shine, we may shatter,

We may be picking up the pieces here on after,

We are fragile, we are human,

We are shaped by the light we let through us,

We break fast, cause we are glass.

I’ll let you look inside me, through the stains and through the cracks,

and in the darkness of this moment,

You see the good and bad,

But try not to judge me, cause we’ve walked down different paths,

But it brought us here together, so I won’t take that back.

We may shine, we may shatter,

We may be picking up the pieces here on after,

We are fragile, we are human,

We are shaped by the light we let through us,

We break fast, cause we are glass.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which art in heaven.”  Matthew 5:16

Click on image to download for your own printable and reminder.

Our favorite Easter Egg Hunt

We started this little tradition last year, and the kids are already asking about it.

Yes, I plan to do it again.  It was so much fun, and such a hit with the kids.

Glow in the Dark Egg Hunt

What you need:

glow sticks(we used bracelets, and I just bought more for this year in the Target Dollar spot)

tape

plastic eggs

Instructions:

Wait until it is dark outside.

Start by breaking the sticks so they glow. 

Then gently fold them into thirds and tape. 

You must do this without breaking them so they don’t leak.

Place the folded glow stick inside your plastic eggs, close and watch them glow.

Now hide them outside in the dark.

Listen to your kids laugh and enjoy every minute.

Our kids liked finding these eggs even more than they did finding eggs with treats and money hidden inside.

After we did our hunt; we let the kids hide them for each other.  The fun just kept on going.

I found this idea on pinterest here last year.

For more of my favorite Easter pins; visit my board here.

The Lucky One

St. Patty’s day is coming up.  Here are a few prints that I made last year.

In case you are looking for something to add to your décor.

Lucky One Printables

Lucky One banner or pins.

I added crate paper to the back of these circles and turned it into a cute banner.  I also added felt to some and a pin for the kids to wear to school.(wish I had a picture)

Lucky One Pennant

Go here to download files.

Hope you don’t get pinched.

Banana Muffins and or Bread

I really love to make muffins for my kids for breakfast. They are so easy.  I like using wheat flour and flax to make them just a bit healthier.

I love to freeze them and pull them out at night so they will be ready for breakfast in the morning.

This is a recipe that I recently altered.  It is a recipe that I love, and I tweaked it a bit to make them a little bit better for you.

After a weekend away, I came home to some dark bananas.  I knew that banana muffins was just what I needed to create out of them.

I also made a loaf of banana bread with this recipe.  That little beauty was put in the freezer to share at a friend’s baptism this weekend.

Slightly Healthy, yet still appealing to little people Banana Muffins:

(this may seem like a lot of ingredients, but this makes a huge batch)

yeild: one loaf of banana bread and 24 muffins

1/2 C. butter(softened) or

1/4 C. butter and 1/4 C. applesauce(this is what I do)

1 C. brown sugar

6 eggs

2 t. vanilla

2 C. fat free sour cream

Mix well.

3 C. wheat flour(I ground mine fresh) using my favorite appliance

1 C. flax seed(also ground with my favorite appliance)

2 t. soda

1 t. baking powder

1 1/2 t. salt

add to mixture above and mix until combined

add 3 C. mashed bananas

1/2 C. milk chocolate chips

1/2 C. semi-sweet chips

scoop into muffin tins and liners, or fill bread pan half full of batter

I use both kinds of chocolate chips because milk certainly taste better, but semi are better for you.

I also like to use mini-chips when I have them on hand.  It makes the chocolate distribute a bit better.

Simple Streusel for the top: this makes the muffin

1/2 C. brown sugar

3 T. butter

3 T. flour

1/2 C. ground almonds

(I grind them in my blendtec until it is more like a flour; then my kids don’t know I put nuts on top) You could also just chop them or leave them out. 

Remember almonds are so good for you.

Sprinkle the muffins and bread with a little streusel.

Bake at 350

Muffins for 15-20 minutes

Bread for 35-40 minutes

ENJOY!!

 

Eggs, eggs, more eggs, and chocolate eggs.

Well, I must say I was a bit of a loser when it came to decorating for Valentines this year.  I. did. nothing.  Seeing that my kids love holiday decorating so much; I decided I should pull out a few Easter things.

I am not much in to the holiday decorating that happens at the first of the year.  I go crazy for those end of the year holidays, but the others just seem to be in the way of my decorating style. 

I did it for the kids.

For these beginning holidays, I keep it simple; or I don’t do it all as was proof with Valentines.

As I wonder the stores; all I see is chocolate and more chocolate.

I love chocolate, but it makes me wonder what we are teaching our kids to celebrate when we celebrate Easter.

How does your family keep Christ and the resurrection in your Easter celebrations?

Our family has decided to keep the commercial part of Easter strictly to Saturday.

That means we have asked our Easter Bunny to deliver on Friday night.  That way our kids are not digging in to baskets when we should be preparing for a special church service.

We also have our Easter Egg hunt, and egg dying on Saturday as well.

When Sunday rolls around, we can put away the chocolate and focus on what Easter is really about:

The empty tomb.

What’s in a name?

A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from the happiest woman I know.  No, literally, she really is always happy.  She always has a smile on her face.  She always has the kindest things to say.  She always finds the good.  I think that is why she is always happy.

The phone rang, I picked it up and said, “hello.” Maria said, “Hello.  Andrea.  Did you know your name means, “she who walks with God?”

Isn’t that the sweetest way to start a conversation.  Now I don’t know if that is what my name really means; but I am rolling with it.

I have thought about that almost every day since.

I hope I exemplify someone who walks with God.  Am I really walking with him?

I often find that most days; at most hours I am carrying some sort of prayer in my heart.  Almost as if I am constantly praying about something.  I wonder if he ever gets sick of my constant asking and pleading.  Then I thought to myself. If I am constantly praying to him, then I am constantly walking with him.

Of course, there are moments every day that I fall short and I trip and fall, but I always find myself trying to catch up so I can walk along his side again.  Sometimes, I can even feel him holding my hand.  God is good.

I have been keeping a gratitude journal this year. It has helped me find the good in life also.  Hopefully I can be continually happy like dear sister Maria from our church.

Here is what I wrote in my journal this last week:

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Today I am grateful for:

1. Personal Revelation

2. My Parents who listen to me

3. An extremely guided journey through medical school, residency, fellowship and up to now with the Lords hand in all things; through out the journey.

4.  The prayer that was answered 15 years ago to follow Jonathan to Utah State instead of going to Southern Utah.  It was during that next year we became engaged.  Best decision I ever made.

5. My understanding this week of how special and capable my husband is.  That God has great things in store for him. (all things I have always known.  I just have a deeper understanding.)

I encourage you to take the time to find what you are grateful for, to thank God for it, and to run and catch up to him sometimes.  Walking beside him is always easier.