A Letter for Laughs

If a conversation I had yesterday were a letter instead, it would've read something like this:

Dear {mostly} Wonderful Husband,

Please excuse the fact that I haven't brushed my teeth since vomiting sixteen times on Tuesday and I hope you can overlook that I haven't showered in nearly two days either. Despite my various odors, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you. Thank you for being willing to take me to the ER when I thought I was dying from the stomach flu. I know you weren't too happy about it. When we got in the car at 8 pm and I asked if you were mad at me, you answered, "It is what it is." Your willingness is a big improvement. At least I wasn't reduced to calling a distant relative to come and pick me up to take me to the hospital like I have almost had to do in the past. Perhaps after another eight years of marriage, you will be able to treat my serious illnesses with a little more sympathy.
I asked you why you have never gotten the stomach flu and you just chuckled. Although it is not something I would wish on my worst enemy {ok, or just someone I don't like}, I almost wish that you could have just a small case of it so you could finally empathize. Believe me, alternating sitting hunched over the toilet with lying in bed with a nauseous tight twisted stomach is last on my "Things I Love to Do List". But I digress. Thank you also for your concern over continuing to eat at my favorite little pasta restaurant, which you accuse of giving me food poisoning when I went out with my girlfriends on Monday night. {I know you're convinced it was those danged shrimp they put in my pasta even though I didn't order them.}
Your nursing skills and bedside manner are improving with each bout of sickness and I look forward to the day when you'll arrive at my bedside with a bowl of chicken soup and the latest scrapbooking magazine.

Love,
Your Still Recovering Wife

P.S. You did earn a lot of Husband Points last night when I woke you up at midnight because our 2 year old had left a PILE of vomit in her crib. Thank you for changing her sheets and even *gasp* starting the washing machine with all the dirty items. I appreciated all the air freshener you sprayed and sprinkled on the carpet as well. See, improving all the time!

I'm a FIRST-born

Do you find any truth in birth order affecting your personality? I seem like the description of a first-born: mostly compliant, rule follower, low risk taker, perfectionistic. Dear hubby is a first-born also. I recently attended a scrapbooking workshop with my sister-in-law. She is the youngest. I should've known I was in for an evening of antics when after the instructor demonstrates the first item & we begin assembling our own, she whispers in my ear, "You know, you don't have to make yours EXACTLY like the instructor did?" {Typical youngest-type thing to say.} WHAT? She might as well have tried to get me to run a red light on purpose. I laughed out loud. I told her she was a rebel. After awhile though, I starting "breaking the rules" as well. Placing things not exactly like the example, adding a little glitter here, a little doodle there. And it was very....freeing. After being a captive audience of our bantering for two plus hours, the mother/daughter team at our table said they would want to sit across from us at every scrapbooking workshop. Naturally I replied, "Of course that would cost extra."

Fast forward to today. I had to take 2 year old to the ER. She had a fever and has been vomiting since yesterday morning. {My sincerest apologies to the guests at the Wilderness who witnessed my daughter puke in the hot tub.} She gets her vitals taken, she eats a popsicle, the doctor comes and talks to us & says we can go. So, we pack up daughter and our things and head to the car. As I'm getting in, I asked hubby if we should've gotten some paperwork. DUH. This wasn't my first or even fifth trip to the hospital. I go back inside and ask for the paperwork. I wait. I wait for 10 minutes. I ask again. Our nurse comes out to say that she was busy but needed to take 2 year old's vitals again. She really needs to have that done before they can discharge her. She will have another not-so-busy-nurse do it. Ok. I retrieve 2 year old from the car. I come back in. I wait. I wait. After 35 minutes of waiting {with a semi-sick toddler I remind you}, I ask if I can just leave without the paperwork. I tell the receptionist that the ER seems really busy, my daughter is not critical & can I just leave without the AWOL paperwork/nurse-needed-for-vitals. She makes a call and {apparently annoyed} is discussing my behaviour with the person on the other end. Right in front of me. I finally ask what they are going to do if I just leave. What is going to happen to me? She says, "WELL...we can't keep you here." Ok. So I leave. Not a typical first-born-compliant-non-rule-breaker move. And again, I felt....free.

Does your birth order match what a typical birth order personality would be? Seems like mine does.

Mealtimes

Do you have any mealtime traditions? I like the one I read about here, regarding the rose & the thistle. So COOL! How often do you eat together as a family? Do you have any special meal traditions for birthdays? {I am asking lots of questions as of late so that I can just collect other people’s opinions instead of sharing my own occasionally controversial opinion~LOL!} Our mealtimes look something like this:

We eat together almost every night of the week, unless one of us has to be out for a meeting or whatnot. We almost always eat at the kitchen table with the TV OFF. We do enjoy music with our meals. Every now & then we all eat in the living room, with the kids at a little picnic table. We don’t have any special mealtime traditions, which I’d like to start. I’ve heard of having a “Special” plate that a family member gets to use if they are having some sort of special day. Maybe when the kids get older I will make their favorite meal w/dessert for their birthdays. In the summer, things are a little more difficult as hubby doesn’t get home sometimes until after 6:30 pm. Sometimes we wait for him, sometimes we don’t. We are just accustomed to eating around 5:30-6:00 pm. The kids do miss him if we don’t end up eating together. I think the concept of eating at the dinner table together is extremely important. I heard some statistic on the radio recently {can’t remember the specifics} that showed a positive benefit for children whose families frequently eat together. I kind of look at it as a chance to reconnect after a long day. Even Tatiana is in the habit of daily asking hubby, “How was your day at work today, Dad?”

So, what does your family do that works or doesn’t or what do you want to change about your mealtime habits?

My inquiring mind wants to know.....

...how involved your husband is in your daily life. Does he know what your daily "routine" is like with the kids? Does he know where you are going at times, even if he is not home? If you homeschool, could he do a day of homeschooling without you? Does he know what brand of laundry detergent you use? Do you wish he were more involved? LESS involved {LOL}?

Who runs the "routine" when both of you are home? I struggle with trying to submit to what my hubby wants to do & still try and keep the household running smoothly at the same time!

Christmas in July

Here are the other little cross-stitching projects that I promised to post for Chloe. The first one still needs to be framed and the second one is actually a gift tag I attached to my mother-in-law's Christmas gift since I know she really appreciates crafty things, cross-stitching in particular. The little light bulb design is so quick & easy. I made a bunch of them as gift tags. If you have never cross-stitched before, a pattern like that could be cranked out in about an hour or two:


Oh, I can't forget the paper bag album I made for my dear sweet cousin, Ky-Ky {as I used to call her when I was a kid}:

Now for my Christmas in July idea. It seems like I *never* have enough time around the holidays to do all the crafty holiday things I want to do, including making great homemade gifts which are thoughtful and won't break the bank, so here is what I am planning to do. I am setting aside one smallish rubbermaid container which will be my Christmas in July box. Any craft items I collect or items needed for making gifts will be going in this box. That way when I am looking at garage sales for mason jars or small trinkets for my pirate jars, I will have a place to store them. I bought a cool wooden Christmas tree shadow box at Hobby Lobby which is going in the box to be decorated in July. I also have a computer document started titled "Christmas in July" with all the ideas for homemade gifts & decorations, which I can add to when I find a cool idea. I also hope to make my own Christmas cards, which is another thing that gets filed in the always-want-to-do-but-run-out-of-time holiday box. As I collect the cards or paper or envelopes for those, I can put them in my Christmas in July box. I've come across instructions for making chocolate lip gloss {for my girlfriends} and some scented rice heating packs for those gift recipients with aching muscles. I think I will just pick one weekend & make that my Christmas in July weekend where I work on all these projects & maybe send hubby and the kids away to his parents or something. Maybe some of my other real life friends will join me to make their own Christmas goodies. Maybe I can have a Christmas in July party. What fun! Oh yeah, another thing I've always wanted to make is my own Christmas advent calendar. I'm still looking for ideas for that! This will be my last Christmas post until July.....

As '06 Ends....

Happy Last Day of '06! Tonight we will be having a big family sleepover at my sister-in-law's house & will be celebrating Christmas as well with hubby's side of the family. {As if my house wasn't already overflowing with new stuff.....I feel some major decluttering coming on.} In the spirit of the New Year, I have been doing a lot of planning. Didn't I previously say that I was spending a lot of time planning? For the last few months I have been working on "Goals for My Girls {and Future Children}". I just jot down ideas as they come to me of what an excellent adult should look like. I highly recommend this! I am putting the finished list in my homekeeping journal. I am also breaking that down into smaller goals for each child in '07. My two-year old only has one goal listed for '07 so far: OBEDIENCE *smirk*. Here is what I have come up, although this list is not yet complete & in no particular order:

Goals for my Girls (and future children)

• Grounded in God’s Word
• To “count it all joy”
• Salvation!
• Well-versed in domesticity
• Organized
• Godly relationships
• Right priorities
• Prepare for marriage & have a clear vision of roles
• Recognize, encourage & develop unique gifts
• Self-disciplined
• Strong & loving sibling bond
• Christian worldview
• Nurtured creativity
• View children as blessings
• Know how to be a great friend
• Compassionate
• Others’ interests before their own
• Genuine concern for lost people
• Awareness of love languages & how to love different types of people
• Well-educated in academic

I think it is a good idea to think long-term when it comes to parenting and also to write your goals down as a reference. Has anyone else done this? If you don't know precisely what you're aiming for, how will you know if you've hit the target?! Interestingly enough, as I was typing out these goals today, I found myself introspecting as to whether or not I am successful in each of these areas. *eyes glaze over....deep in thought*

The other addition to my homekeeping journal is the recipe for Homemade Laundry Detergent:

Liquid Laundry Detergent
3 Pints Water
1/3 Bar Fels Naptha or Ivory Soap, Grated
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
Bucket
4 Quarts + 1 Pint Boiling/Hot Water
optional: 15 drops Lavender Essential Oil (or whatever EO you prefer)
optional: 10 drops Tea Tree Oil

Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints of water, and heat until dissolved. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 quart hot water to bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Add another 2 quarts boiling hot water and 1 additional quart plus 1 pint hot water and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.

The cost savings on making your own detergent is just ridiculous. Several places I have read online estimate the cost to be about $.01 per load or about $.50 to $.75 per gallon. I am almost at the end of my first batch {which didn't completely gel up by the way, but still is completely usable}. I think next time I will add some essential oils for fragrance. This detergent gets your clothes perfectly clean! We recently had a poopy mishap {literally} and it cleaned the inside of the pooped-up footie pajamas wonderfully. Here is a link to some FAQ's of homemade detergent.
A simple google of homemade laundry detergent will also yield you plenty of results.

If you don't already have a homekeeping journal, I highly recommend it. Great place to keep everything together: calendars, bill-paying stuff, recipes to try, goals, etc. Could be your New Year's Resolution!

Crafty People

I *love* crafty people. I am a crafty person & I love other people who get excited about the same crafty things I do. Like starting a new counted cross-stitch project or a bag full of new scrapbook goodies or perfectly lined up rows of holiday cookies. I love opening up my box of cross-stitching floss and seeing the rainbows of colored thread lined up like little soldiers {numerically of course}. I love taking butter & sugar & flour and a few other things, throwing it all into my Kitchenaid, and then poof! Twenty minutes later I have some awesome cookies. I love painting stuff. Seems like I don't know a lot of super-crafty people in real life. Either that or you've been holding out on me. If you're ever feeling a spike of creativity or want to develop your creative side, give me a call so we can get together & make something. Know what I'm going to be doing while I chill over the holidays? {Well besides planning the next 5-6 months of homeschooling, big UGH.} Reading craft blogs! I need some inspiration & really want to do more crafty things. The only problem is that it seems like I have to weed through quite a few crafty blogs until I find one that really fits me. If you have any crafty blogs I should check out, please send 'em along. I've been reading Diary of a Rather Crafty Girl for a short bit now & am crazy about these little onesie cookies. I want to get pregnant & have a baby shower for myself just so I can make these uber-cute cookies. {Well, that's a whole 'nother topic though, eh?} I came across Kiddley & it seems so fresh & cute all at the same time. So many fun great things to do with the kids. I especially like the Christmas idea jar & the gumdrop wreath. I am SO making one of those wreaths next year for Christmastime. Speaking of Christmas, I will be posting soon about my idea for Christmas in July.....

Here is a craft I recently did for a friend's son's school Christmas party. The deal was that I just needed to write each child's name on the ornament {I was thinking like 20 minutes TOPS for this} in the hand-writing style the PTO lady chose {yes, I did submit a writing sample}! PTO lady picked out the ornaments {totally wrong type for this project}, so I ended up having to painstakingly hand-paint each one:

I did a counted cross-stitch last year of a sleigh filled with gifts amidst snow falling & found it in my stash this year {sorry, too lazy to take a picture}. I just finished up some back-stitching on it & it looks so cute! I also started a new counted Christmas cross-stitch. It's a pattern from Mary Englebreit of a really cool embellished reindeer. I'll probably try & do most of it this winter or maybe set it aside to finish up next year. I really like counted cross-stitch {although I can get kinda perfectionistic about it & will take out a WHOLE lot of stitches if I made a tiny mistake}.

Here is a picture of the girls I took for my holiday cards. I ended up altering the picture & added a holiday border and message at the bottom using Photoshop. Wal-mart cut-off the outside border though, which is shame on me since I should've known better. Anyways, I think it makes for a cute photo {although Sienna does have food in her mouth *shocker*}:

And for my final crafty share, here is our finished Birthday Cake for Jesus. We started this holiday tradition about 2 years ago. I did the baking and the frosting, while Tatiana did all the decorating. We take this cake to our extended family celebration on Christmas Eve and the entire family sings Happy Birthday to Jesus with the little ones blowing out the candles:


Hope your Christmas was a merry & bright Birthday celebration!

Sorry

In regards to the last post, I would like to apologize to the "teacher" who I may have inadvertently slandered. Although I believed I was being subtle, apparently not enough so. Even though I have the right to say whatever it is I want to say as #1: this is my blog & if you don't agree you can start your own {nice going Erin!} and #2: the first amendment, I am also distinctly aware that I need to operate under God's laws as well. I do not want to be a gossiper {which I struggle a lot with}, but do feel a need to expose/defend the truth. Some people may feel that I was questioning the teacher's intentions, which I didn't mean to do, only to say that I felt misinformed. Actually, I was misinformed whether it was by the teacher or by my own misunderstanding. So, I am sorry if anyone's feelings were hurt/feathers were ruffled/undies were in a grundie. Actually makes me feel kinda important that someone would even care about what I have to say! Also, I am sorry that I broke a rule {you know who you are}!

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{group hug}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

I still think we should all go hang out over at Erin's blog though. Keep the posts comin' girl!

A Happy Discovery

During a recent...um...{how shall I put it nicely?}...."discussion" about education with a group of ladies, a Christian public school teacher was sharing all the merits/pros of public schooling, while indicating drawbacks to homeschooling. One of her good points I thought {among many ridiculous ones} was that homeschoolers would not have access to special services, like speech therapy for example, provided in a public school. "What will you do if one of your children has special needs? You will not have access to those services provided in a public school." Several other young moms nodded in agreement. This point actually continued to bother me......

....fast forward to today. I discovered that this public school teacher is WRONG! I am actually so relieved and kind of disappointed that she so adamantly shared her information without bothering to see if it was even true. {Insert frown here.} From HSDLA's article regarding this issue:

"The determination of whether a home education arrangement constitutes private school placement must be made on the basis of state law. Thus, if home education constitutes enrollment in a private school under state law, then the requirements of Regs. 300.403 and 300.452 apply when deciding whether to provide special education or related services to a child with disabilities who is being educated at home."

The above report makes it crystal clear that if the state recognizes a home education program as a private school in that state, then those home-educated students are eligible for the services.

Here is the full article if you are interested. I'm sure this would vary by state on the basis of state law. Here is another blurb from a separate article:

As a parent of a child with special needs, you can receive special services from your school district at no further cost -- you have already paid for them with your taxes. This includes speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiologists' and social workers' services. These are all covered by Public Law 94-142.

Hopefully this information may help someone who had the same concerns I did or who has been MISinformed as I have!

Christmas Memories

I have been reading this book, The 25 Days of Christmas: Family Readings, Scriptures, and Activities for the Advent Season, on and off since the beginning of the month. Great stories, songs, and ideas for turning your family's hearts toward Jesus during Christmastime. I think it also makes a great personal devotional and am going to pack it away with my Christmas things & bring it out each year. Today's story was titled "My Most Memorable Christmas", so I've been inspired to share some of my Christmas memories.

I remember really wanting a Cabbage Patch Doll for Christmas. I believe it was around the time when they were first being released, 1980-something. I don't know if I still believed in Santa Claus or not, but after some snooping around the house, I discovered two Cabbage Patch Dolls hidden behind my parents' waterbed {back when waterbeds were all the rage~LOL!} I was crushed. I think because the element of surprise was taken out of the equation. Nothing to look forward to on Christmas morning, other than taking off the wrapping paper & playing with the discovered dolls. I never snooped again. For all the years following, I even knew where my mom hid all the gifts, but I never looked. I wanted to cherish the element of surprise.

The Christmas of 2004 was memorable for all different reasons. Rick had gotten fired from his job of 5 years just twelve days before Christmas. I was 8 months pregnant. I thought this was such a heartless act. We really didn't have a lot of money and to me, that just turned the focus to Jesus all the more. I scraped together some money to buy Tatiana a few gifts and I think when you don't have a lot to give, it makes those presents all the more precious. It's amazing, though, how God has worked that situation for the good. It was actually a blessing that Rick lost his job because through that, God has provided a really wonderful one.

I think that the Christmas of 2005 will be one that I will cherish for a long time. My parents have been divorced for almost 10 years now. My dad's parents have both been deceased for decades & he really hadn't been close to many of his siblings. I know that while they were married he considered my mom's family just as his own. Fast forward to 2005. Every year we celebrate Christmas Eve at my grandma's house with a big fat Polish extended family celebration. I mean, every year for as long as I can remember. Rick & I began alternating holidays with my parents after Tatiana was born though. In 2005, my mom announced that it would be okay if my dad {and step-mom} attended our Christmas Eve celebration, with HER family. This is one of the biggest acts of forgiveness and love I have witnessed in a long time. I pray that this will go a long way towards sharing the Truth. Just that simple act made for a very merry Christmas.

Care to share your most memorable Christmas?

Party of 12, please

So on Saturday evening we went out to dinner with the in-laws {as opposed to the out-laws...LOL}. Dear husband & children had spent the day with them and I just ending up meeting them at the restaurant after a long day of driving around for my part-part-part-time job. {What else would you call a job that you only do once every 3 months??} Anywho, dear *cough* in-laws choose the venue: Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar. Or as my friend Justine says it's affectionately called: B-Dubbs {short for B-uffalo and 2 Ws}. In case you have never been there, this post will serve as an informative review. I took it upon myself to call ahead to see if 1) they accept reservations and 2) if they can accommodate parties of 12. No to #1 and Yes to #2. I get there early to stake claim to a table. In-laws finally arrive and we're seated. It was...um...a cozy seating arrangement. Here is a run-down of pros & cons:

Pro: Awesome buffalo wings! If you are a buffalo wing lover, this place is a must. They've got about a dozen sauces to choose from ranging from mild to blazing near seizure inducing hot.
Con: If you are not a buffalo wing lover, um, you'll be snot out of luck. They do have some chicken sandwiches, wraps and ribs so maybe you could order one of those. Also, limited selection for "healthy" diners.

Con: Aforementioned limited menu {which I hardly care about since I am a carnivore & love bbw, ribs, and burgers. Also I did not like that the sandwiches did not come with a side. You would think that I could order a boneless wings meal basket, but alas, NO. It's a la carte baby. I guess you can get the basket deal at lunch, but not at dinner. I don't even really like restaurants where a salad doesn't come with my entree *cough, Applebee's, cough, cough*, so to not get a side was ridiculous.

Con: Depends on what you're looking for whether this is a con or not, but atmosphere is more bar-ish. Kinda loud with big screen TVs everywhere~I guess if you're a sports fan you put plunk this down in the "pro" column.
Pro: I doubt the intoxicated patrons will mind rowdy children.

Pro: Service was good. Didn't have to wait for a table {5:15 pm on a Saturday night}. And they seemed accommodating.

Now back to our feature presentation. I ordered the boneless wings with some Asian type sauce & they were freakin' awesome. I mean, delish. Spicy in all the right ways. The other thing I liked is that they had a nice selection of kids meals. Figures that we ended up ordering 4 mac & cheeses. The funny thing about a party of 12 is that when a typical table would maybe need just one or two more things, like extra napkins or a side of some kind of sauce, when you multiply that by about 4 the requests are as long as Santa's "nice" list.

Um, waitress! Could you please bring 2 sides of hot sauce, some tartar sauce, a lemon wedge and some extra silverware? Ok, now that you've returned with that, we need another Corona, a diet coke refill, and one more straw.....

It was actually quite comical. {I began wondering about families who, in and of themselves, are parties of 10 or 12. Do you call ahead everywhere you go? Do you even go out to dinner that often?} They also had these little handheld video trivia game thingys where you compete against other diners answering questions broadcast on a couple of the TV screens. This kept the kids nearly endlessly occupied which was great for the big people. Until that is, dear father-in-law was having a coronary over the kids dropping them, so that put a kabosh on that. All in all, it was a very enjoyable meal. And if I ever in the mood for buffalo wings, which is strangely often, I know where I am headed. Care to join me?

Christmas Trimmings

I'm sure it probably looks like an ordinary Christmas tree, not unlike others that are in millions of American homes. For me, it is a BIG deal.
I really love Christmas. I love the festiveness of everything. I love that it's an entire season in and of itself. You see, every Christmas dear husband and I debate the merits of Christmas decorations, trees, and gift giving. Even the importance is family gatherings gets put up on the butcher block. I can understand his point. To him, Christmas is about only one thing: celebrating the birth of our Savior. To me, the decorations and gifts and family gatherings are just the trimmings on the main event, the icing on the cake, so to speak. I dragged the tree out on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I even unwrapped all my Christmas decorations. Due to a lingering "bah-humbug" spirit in the house, I decided to put everything away. Yep. I even took the tree down. The whole week I prayed. I prayed for peace. I prayed that I would come to a place where Christmas means only one thing to me. I think we don't realize the importance of something until God asks us to sacrifice it. I think sometimes He likes to see whether or not we are willing to give up what He asks of us. Ya know what? He answered. I did come to place where even if we didn't have a single Christmas decoration in the house, it wouldn't really matter. I came to the place where Christmas is only about Jesus. About meditating on Him and the story of His birth. Everything else was stripped away. And then, this last weekend, dear husband announces that we are putting the tree up. And so we did. And it looks...festive. And it makes me smile when I look at it. And I am glad that I can put my icing back on the cake.

Speaking of things that make me smile, I created this Christmas paper bag album for all my holiday photos. Usually I end up with so many pictures from our {too} numerous family gatherings, that I don't know what to do with them all. If you've been reading for awhile, you'll remember that I created a Summer paper bag album so I wouldn't have to scrapbook as many layouts for the summertime. I am so happy with how this Christmas one came out! There are 12 interior pages as well as 4 hidden tags for more photos/journaling. All based on a paper bag. Who'da thunk it?

I also like to use my scrapbooking/embellishing skills when wrapping gifts. I never really thought to do it before, but I was feeling creative when wrapping this gift. I used my tag punch and Making Memories stamps to initial the tag, added some ribbon & a jingle bell, and viola! One tres chic gift ;-)

a.k.a. June Cleaver

So I always wanted to be the mom who had warm chocolate chip cookies waiting for the kids after a long day at school. Fresh from the oven. With a cold glass of milk. But alas, the school bus has gone by the wayside. If you are one of those June Cleaver wannabes like I am, then here's an idea. Make a BIG batch of cookies on the weekend or after the kids are sleeping or whenever you have some free time. Then, line a cookie sheet {or two} with wax paper and using a cookie/ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto the cookie sheets & freeze. When frozen, put the dough balls {this sounded really funny to me} in a freezer bag and mark with date & baking instructions. Then, you can have freshly baked cookies for the kiddies any day of the week just by turning on your oven. As one of my favorite food network celebs says, "Now how easy was THAT?!"

Here is the recipe I use:

2 sticks of softened butter
2/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. salt
3/4 t. baking soda
3/4 t. baking powder
1 bag of chocolate chips

Blend butter and both sugars on medium high speed until light and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the dry ingredients, beating just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Portion onto lightly greased cookie sheet {or onto your Silpat if you're a Silpat-girl like me}. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes (depends on the size of your cookies). Add 1-2 minutes to the baking time if using frozen dough.

You can also substitute any type of flavored baking chips or pieces in place of the chocolate chips. Like butterscotch, mini m&m's, or whatever else you have on had. How about 1/2 chocolate 1/2 peanut butter? YUM-O!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to wish everyone who reads A Stirring Life a happy thanksgiving! I hope that the turkey was delish, your time with family was blessed, and most of all, that your hearts are filled with gratitude for all that God has given us! Thanks to some encouragement from an ASL reader, I have felt motivated to make a couple of changes to make this blog a little more pleasing to the eye. I've added/removed some more links in the sidebar & also enabled the feature for posts to be emailed to someone by clicking on the little envelope below the post.

We celebrated yesterday at Rick's sister's house which was nice, but um...very tiring. I was so exhausted I fell asleep in the car on the way home. We are also having a meal here on Saturday with family and some friends as well. {Why is it that we only usually spend holidays with our family and not our friends too?} This last week has been so productive and enjoyable for me as I've prepared for the Thanksgiving holiday. Not only have I made 2 cheesecakes, 2 pumpkin pies, some spiced cranberry sauce, and baked macaroni & cheese (so far) but I also managed to sew the girls matching outfits. I think this productivity can be directly attributed to three factors 1) a detailed plan for the week 2) having morning quiet times 3) I don't watch TV during the day anymore. I can hardly believe all the things I have time for now that I'm not watching TV. Stuff I REALLY enjoy so much more than TV, like knitting and scrapbooking and sewing and cooking and blogging. Like going outside with the kiddies and playing playdough together and reading more books.

I am thankful for so many things, which if named, would probably fill up an entire page. To many of you, though, who are my friends outside of the blogosphere, I am thankful for you. I am thankful to the support you have given me when times have been difficult. I am thankful that we are able to enjoy life together and increase each other's faith. I am thankful for the laughs we have shared. I am thankful that you make my life better just by being in it.

I hope {to use a term from dear friend A} that wasn't too....cheesy!

"the Lump" and goosebumps too

Whenever I hear this song, which has only been a few times, I get "the Lump" and goosebumps too. You know "the Lump"? That tightening in your throat when something takes the express lane directly to your heart. Take a looky:

Third Day - Cry Out To Jesus
From the album Wherever You Are

To everyone who's lost someone they love
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough
when you said goodbye

And to all of the people with burdens and pains
Keeping you back from your life
You believe that there's nothing and there is no one
Who can make it right

Chorus:
There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus

For the marriage that's struggling just to hang on
They’ve lost all of their faith in love
They've done all they can to make it right again
Still it's not enough

For the ones who can't break the addictions and chains
You try to give up but you come back again
Just remember that you're not alone in your shame
And your suffering

Chorus:

When your lonely
And it feels like the whole world is falling on you
You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus
Cry to Jesus

To the widow who suffers from being alone
Wiping the tears from her eyes
For the children around the world without a home
Say a prayer tonight

Chorus

The way the words are written are just so powerful and truthful. I remember trying to explain to Tatiana a few months ago about a friend who had taken his own life. I almost said that it was just God's timing for him to go, but then it struck me that I wasn't so sure that was even true. I felt exactly like the first verse: "lost someone they love long before it was their time". It seems I know at least one person struggling with all the heartache mentioned here, from a marriage struggling just to hang on to addictions and chains to the widow wiping her tears away. And I can't even think about children not having homes or being in ones where they are neglected or beaten. Can't even think about it. When I think of my own pain and struggles and occasional feelings of hopelessness or helplessness, it's a comfort to remember that He'll meet me wherever I am...and wherever you are too. If only we'll cry out to Him.

Finished

I just finished reading the book Chasing God and the Kids Too by Cheryl Carter, which I mentioned in a previous post. I can't say enough what a blessing it has been. Here are two things I read today that stood out to me:

We talk a great deal about God's awesome power and our trust in him. The greater question becomes, can God trust us? Can he trust us to have a good attitude no matter how dark things become? Can he trust us to keep our eyes on him and to walk on water to the other side despite what everyone in the boat is saying

AND

Q:What is one mistake mom's make?
A: The real reason we do not take time for ourselves is because we don't feel we are worth it. We are worth it.

Thoughts?

So blessed!

I am feeling so blessed lately by other women. SO blessed. I just love the blog GirlTalk & their conversations on biblical womanhood and other fun stuff. I was totally encouraged by some posts there to wake up before my children so I can have some quiet time before the chaos of the day begins. I have found myself really more open to God's leading & better able to hear His voice since I started my "7:00 am club". Please, if you are a "sister", keep me accountable! Ask me what I read today. Rick has started asking me what I've been reading & it's really encouraging.
I also have been so encouraged/challenged/stretched by the book Chasing God and the Kids Too: balancing a mom's most important pursuits. I can honestly say it is unlike any other "parenting" book I have ever read, if you can even call it that. If you want to be challenged to take your thoughts captive, learn purposeful thinking, be provoked to meditate & be a Christ-like example for your children, then I highly recommend reading it. I have been so BLESSED by it, I almost want to do a study about it here on my blog. You can check out the author's blog here. Oh, and {A} , if you read this, she has a book on organizing & seems to really love organizing! (I think you know who you are ;-) She even has a website started by her kids on organizing for kids. I am *loving* organizing too. Makes my life {and that of my household} run so much more smoothly.
I also have been so blessed by Christian radio messages lately. Seems like they sink in a lot more than they used to and I am really taking more to heart than I used to.
More blessings have come in the way of my new email buddy, {B}, who is also a "sister". I think we have learned so much about one another through our writings. Kinda like old-fashioned penpals! I am really valuing relationships so much lately & am working harder than ever to build the ones that are important to me & develop new ones as God so leads. But ya know, not just the "hi, how are ya? how are the kids?" kind of friends. I am trying to build my friendships into the, "what burdens can i bear for you? how is your relationship with God? how can i be an encouragement to you?" type of friendships. I think, even in Christian circles, these types of friendships aren't as common as you might think. It requires a level of personal-ness (is that even a word?) that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. And vulnerability too. Scary, huh? I think our fast paced, virtual, high-tech world doesn't help much either.
Let me know what you've been blessed by lately! I guess this would be a good time to prepare our hearts for a season of thankfulness as Thanksgiving approaches.
Bless you gals today! (Oh and guys too, in case there are any of you out there....)

God feels the same way

I've been struggling lately with encouraging a positive attitude in my dear daughter when it comes to cleaning. Occasionally, when I ask her to pick up some toys or her room, she is cheerful and just says, "Ok, mom!" Occasionally. Most of the time there is sighing, sometimes crying, and always some comment about her legs cracking/breaking/crumbling or her being "too tired". She does end up doing what I ask, but not with a joyful spirit. Tonight, after Rick put her to bed, he said, "I just don't know what to do with THAT one. I mean, that BEHAVIOR. It's almost driving me nuts!" And I replied by saying, "I bet sometimes God feels the same way about us." (If you reread his words from God's perspective, you'll see what I mean.) Good to remember when dealing with our little blessings!

Saugatuck & Lemonade

I've been meaning to post for a few days now, but just have been enjoying the family, keeping the home in order, and yesterday I think the blogger server was down. So I'm finally getting a chance to do it now!

Our anniversary trip to Saugatuck, MI turned out to be enjoyable. After dropping the kids off in Chicago to stay with my dad & step-mom, we fought several hours of traffic to leave the city. It didn't help that many streets were closed due to set-up for the Chicago Marathon. Plus side was I did nap a bit on the way up. Kudos to my wunderbar hubby for driving there (& back)! So we get to our "cottage" & that is when the lemonade making begins. The proverbial kind. Our cottage was NOT like the other ones pictured on their business website. I'm beginning to think they don't have photos posted of this particular unit for a reason. I would NOT have made a reservation for this unit if I would've seen what it looked like. I just assumed it would look similar to the other ones pictured. I was so disappointed. Of course being the perfectionist that I am, I wanted the weekend to be...well...perfect. Our cottage had carpet, the others had hardwood. Ours had a 70's kitchen & furniture, the others did not. Our bedrooms had floral "grandma-like" bedspreads (no offense meant to my grandma readers), the others did not. Hey, at least the bathrooms had been updated. And it did have a fireplace like I was promised. So, I made lemonade out of my lemons. Not easy for a type-A personality to do.

The town was great! We walked around the entire town on Saturday morning & drove north to Holland and walked around their awesome downtown as well! Lots of little quirky shops & restaurants. I came across two (2!) spice shops & several specialty food shops. If you're local to me, it was kinda like Lake Geneva, only bigger & better. We hit several coffee shops throughout the weekend & spent lots of time relaxing in front of our cottage fireplace. It was very refreshing & great to escape the mundane household tasks & get a change of scenery. Photos from our trip:

8 years and counting

On Sunday night, I could not fall asleep. I tossed and turned for awhile & then stayed up using the internet til 2 am. It reminded me of exactly 8 years ago on October 15, 1998. I couldn't sleep that night but for a very different reason. It was the night before my wedding and my mom, brother and I all slept in the same room together for my last night at home. I tossed & turned and actually thought I might have to send my mom to the store for sleeping pills...

Fast forward to today. I am still telling Rick that I'm so glad he picked me. I didn't know then that he would be such a good fit for me. There were people who thought we probably wouldn't stay married this long. Guess we proved them wrong. There is still no one who I would rather discuss things with, laugh with, raise kids with, love. We are going away this weekend to Saugatuck, MI to celebrate. I am so looking forward to time away with my dear hubby, no kids, no housework, nothing pulling me in a million different directions. Just me & the one I love!

Here's to you, babe! Can't wait to see what is in store for the next 8!