Romans 12:1-2

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Multitudes on Monday - September 20


It's Tuesday again...I'm really not meaning to make this a habit. I'm still having computer woes and am doing what I can when I can. However, my blessings overflow!...
683 Someone to wait with me at 4am when I don’t feel well
684 Unexpected lunch out
685 Moms in Touch
686 Leadership of Hubby
687 It feels like fall outside!
688 Steady rain
689 God knows my heart.
690 Numbers aren’t the most important thing
691 Lunch at Panda Express with L.
692 Road hazard warranty and tires that are okay
693 Good test scores
694 A change in schedule
695 Friendly faces
696 Exposed brick work
697 A coffee shop in my hometown
698 Son walking J with me
699 Being present
700 One son in red plaid and the other in blue plaid on a Friday night to watch
a movie
701 Conversation and patience with conversation
702 Hubby texting me to ask me out
703 Voyage of the Dawn Treader
704 Unexpected visit with a family from church
705 Seeing a different perspective
706 Carpooling
707 Morning walks

Saturday, September 17, 2011

On the Home Front - September 17


A peek through my window… S-84, M-85, T-86, W-81. It’s finally mostly cloudy instead of so dark. I was beginning to wonder if football games would go on today or not, but for now there is no lightning. Early this morning there was a rabbit in our front flower bed that Hubby called me to see. It was fun to watch it while it couldn’t see us or be frightened away.

What’s going on this week…Downtown missions (for M. and Aunt), museum visit, meeting friends after school, faculty meeting for Hubby and concession stand all day for me next Saturday. I’m thankful for the opportunity to earn money towards L’s soccer stuff.

What “the boys” are doing… M. is/has been very noisy lately. L. is getting ready for allergy testing. He got a new maintenance med. and right now is only taking it and one other. No zyrtec til after testing – praying that goes okay.

On my mind… being present in the moment & “watching” moving to prayer

On my bedside table… I got my new book from Multnomah/Blogging for Books early this week – As Silver Refined by Kay Arthur. I love her writing! It’s definitely not quick reading, but has to marinate.

I am richly blessed… my tire light came on when we were getting ready to leave the city yesterday. I was able to get in and have it checked quicker than originally told and there was nothing wrong with the tires – just needed air. I’m thankful there are no problems as Hubby is taking my car for an out of town soccer tournament.

I’m praying for… babies. Friend had her’s this week; also for a set of preemie twins and for the local crisis pregnancy center.

Our home… is hosting small group this month on Sunday nights.

Menu planning… roast in the crockpot this week. Lots of good fruits and veggies I got at Aldi on Thursday.

A photo or two…




Forgive my logo for being so HUGE - I just really didn't want to change it. The ice cream is from Labor Day and the one of Hubby was mentioned last week in "On the Home Front" is when he was cleaning up the front of the house.

Giveaway and Blog to Check Out

One of my blog friends, Heather, is hosting a giveaway at Marine Corp Nomads. It is for the Beverly Lewis Shunning dvd. I've followed Heather for a while now. I like her blog for several reasons - homeschool and military insight; her photography; gluten free info (we're not, but I have friends who are and I like to be aware); and most of all, currently her family is stationed someplace we used to live so I love hearing and seeing about Arizona.

One of the things I've been doing in blogging lately is entering giveaways and looking at money saving blogs. I love free things!! We finished up some free cereal bars earlier this week and our video for family movie night last night was free!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Multitudes on Monday

Multitudes on Monday (It's Tuesday and I couldn't get the graphic to load either!)

669 Tipping of a hat with a hello
670 Finding a fleece for a morning walk!
671 Opportunities
672 A flag left in my front yard
673 Able to take a forgotten paper
674 Sleeping
675 Protection and provision
676 9 turtles sunning on the bank of the pond
677 No cobwebs
678 Airplanes flying down the stairs
679 Seeing my son at school
680 Salsa
681 Friends from high school
682 Extended time in Psalms

Saturday, September 10, 2011

A New Year

Well it's not a new calendar year, but it's a new school year. Last year I had the opportunity to teach second grade at a local elementary school. It was a gift. This year the school's numbers were down and other positions didn't work out, so I am not teaching full time.

I have chosen to see this as a gift also. God has already revealed so much to me! I am subbing (and would like to be subbing more) and I made these cards...



Of course the real cards have my name, phone and email on them!! The printing looks much better on cardstock than a blog post too.

That was just a little update on me and an opportunity to show off something I created.

Monday, September 5, 2011

A Three Day Weekend

Four soccer games later.....

I attended three of the four games. One was dreadfully hot with most parents crowded under one shade tree behind a fence (but we could still see the game!) where it was still 110 degrees! The game the next morning was after the cool front came through and had me begging to borrow a blanket.

On Saturday night, we went shoe shopping and had dinner at Qdoba. Aunt and I were so excited to find this:



This was absolutely one of the coolest things I had seen in a long time! The sign on the front door advertised 100 drink choices and I believe it - you could have Sprite with one of 9 different flavors. Sprite!? Of course this was my choice...



Hubby ended up waiting in the truck while we took photos. He only got water so maybe he wasn't too excited to see the new machine. Or maybe he was embarrassed that we were taking pictures of it?

Between church and games yesterday, we mowed at Dad's. Boy did it need it - had been neglected way too long. That's a whole nother story. We need the "old house fairy" to come in and zap everything the way it's supposed to be. Exciting thing on this day is that M. got his first riding lawnmower lesson. I'll spare him the details.


Today we cleaned out the attic and I mean cleaned out the attic. We sorted and restacked and went through boxes we should have, but didn't on one of our moves. It was great to condense and Hubby and the boys made a trip to the dumpster that was close by for neighborhood cleanup and Goodwill. We had lots of great finds...


#1 Our china (confession I haven't used it - yet!) When we got married 16 years ago we registered for a beautiful ivory pattern that had silver and gold both on it. I still love it. However, it was probably expensive and not terribly practical. We have seven sets - I think I didn't use it because we didn't have eight. Pure silliness! Any time we have a special dinner (or even if it's just because I want to) and have seven or less people eating, I'm going to use it! Makes more sense than leaving it in a box in the attic! However, I did leave the dainty cups and their saucers packed away. I promise I will never use those - I don't drink coffee and if I drink hot tea it's at Starbucks. Now, if we could have registered for big plastic cups from BBQ restaurants....... (I digress).


#2 Our ice cream maker. This was a gift to Hubby from me several years back.. He's lucky enough to get gifts like this since his birthday is the Fourth of July. On their trip out to Goodwill the guys got all the ingredients for Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream. After reading the instructions and realizing the steps and time we opted for Easy Vanilla Ice Cream. After getting about $10 worth of ingredients into the canister and setting everything together right we plugged it in and nothing. Didn't work - Hubby took it apart and found gears were broken. Since we couldn't let all those ingredients go to waste I headed to Walmart where I found they sold out 4th of July. JC Penney and Ross also did not have them - I texted friends and Hubby put our dilemma on FB and checked with neighbors. While I was in the Big Lots parking lot, I got a text back from a friend who had one and yes I could borrow it!


We enjoyed bowls on the back porch after dinner and mowing for Aunt. It was nice to have a long weekend and a change of pace. Now, back to the new normal.


(Sidenote: Hubby hung my new picture for the boys' bathroom. That's not what I got it for originally, but it matches and I love it. It reminds me of all the fun travels we've had together as a family.)

Multitudes - Sept. 5


635 Abilities
636 Simple things
637 A great school
638 Black pants I don’t have to buy
639 Being welcomed
640 Haircut in my hometown
641 Sandwiches for dinner
642 God is showing me what to do
643 Wood
644 Watering plants in the morning – toads jumping
645 Someone who understands
646 An encouraging call
647 Hard eucharisteo
648 The closet
649 Limes
650 Funny pronunciations
651 Fabulous new pop dispenser
652 Decongestant
653 Doing something that needs done even when you don’t want to
654 Kindle
655 Psalm 61
656 Tomatoes
657 Candles burning
658 M. learning to use the riding mower
659 Growing pains – me too
660 Whatever wonderful scent that is in my kitchen
661 Windows open!
662 A friend who texts during the hunt
663 A friend who rescues with her ice cream maker
664 Clean attic
665 All the fun memories we got to see while cleaning
666 Time to just be
667 Finding a special card
668 He carries me.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

On the Home Front - September 3

A peek through my window… S- 100, S – 85, M – 79, T – 82, W – 83 Amazing, isn’t it? Right outside my office window is my lonely rocking chair. I sit there each morning as the boys catch the school bus, but maybe with the forecasted nice weather I’ll use it and the swing on the back porch more!

What’s going on this week… Labor Day, checking out a Moms in Touch group, free Chick-fil-a, training to work in the concession stand @ soccer

What “the boys” are doing… tournament for L this weekend, but no football game for M. M. came home with books from the book fair yesterday. He made a 100 on his spelling test! I’m so happy because the preparation was painful. M. found new shoes after only an hour and trying on about 15 prs. (this was quicker than his brother).

On my mind… cleaning my glasses. They’re filthy! I know that’s some deep thinking, but that’s really what’s on my mind. That and crawling into bed early to read.

On my bedside table… no more dust! I cleaned it today. In addition to the books mentioned before there is also a silver “Pray for China” bracelet and my garita pin from Puerto Rico.

I am richly blessed… even though I complain about our hectic sports schedule, we have life so easy! My husband is employed, we have plenty to eat, we’re healthy and our children have great abilities and opportunities.

I’m praying for… a blogging friend and for God’s direction in ordering my days. I found this verse tonight too – It’s after Psalm 61:1 that starts out “Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer”. Psalm 62:2b “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I”. I thought it had beautiful imagery.

Our home… all the rugs got washed yesterday. Hubby can probably get used to me being around more often.

Menu planning… banana pudding for dessert! Dinner last night was zucchini pizza casserole. Sun – Italian Bow Ties, Labor Day – Burgers, Homemade Fries, Other days: French toast and bacon; BBQ boneless ribs; and Broccoli Chicken.

A photo or two…

This is M. with his solid gold plastic trophy he won in "Sports Trivia". It wasn't a kid competition either - he beat all the grown men there too! I was going to post a picture from the fantasy league draft today, but it had too much identifying info. in it. M. had all of his picks (each position 1-7 choice) on sticky notes in front of him. That was draft one - I'm in his second league and I actually took part in the live draft for it! It was fun - now let's see what kind of season I'll have...





Thursday, September 1, 2011

The Chocolate Diaries

The Chocolate Diaries, Secrets to a Sweeter Journey on the Rocky Road of Life by Karen Linamen delivers everything you would expect from the title. It is very personally written and offers personal stories and insight (diaries) to dealing with life’s struggles in order to have a “sweet” life instead of being bitter. The author also interviewed several others who have endured intense struggles and included their secrets. She did an excellent job of weaving the theme throughout the entire book – chapter titles, readers’ answers to “What’s your secret to a sweeter journey on the rocky road of life?”, food for thought and chocolate recipes.

My favorite chapter was 8 “For a New Taste in Life, Look for a New Recipe” where Linamen talks about regrouping and perhaps reinventing a portion of your life. This chapter as well as all the others is very practical and anyone reading the book can take many nuggets of wisdom away to use in difficult spots in life. However, overall I was disappointed with the book. From a Christian standpoint, there were many areas that were weak and sometimes inappropriate. Honestly, I got very tired of hearing of the author’s love life woes. Share that with your best friends, not the whole world in print.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing for this review.