Dec. 3, 2009 - ~ONE DAY ONLY!!!
*Dad & his helper making homemade fajitas for family night......YUM.
It's so very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, everyday, and lose track of what's most important.
One of our favorite things to do is to find a good book and spend our evenings and nights reading together. Several times a year we put almost everything aside to do this. There have been good books we have read and then there have been GREAT books. The great books are the ones where we can think of doing nothing but read the book! We stay up until 1:oo in the morning reading and think about the book the entire day after wards. The great books are the ones that you find hard to pull away from, but at the same time add to your character and draw you closer to the Lord.
*All the fixins......
*fresh from yesterday's garden
Go here:
The most beautiful and exciting books you could purchase
Nov. 30, 2009 - ~One income living
There was the boating trip, our journey to the Aquarium, cavern explorations, and today's trip to downtown Disney, among other things. And thinking back I am a little amazed at how little we spent, but how much fun we had!
Today's festivities began with dining at a fantastic restaurant! The Rainforest Cafe. We literally walked in to the restaurant and our children's mouths fell open as they stood in awe and silence. You seriously walk in to another world! Very much worth a visit.....
Now for the savings part of the post.....
*Before leaving the house we printed out a $10 coupon. Money saved is money earned.....right? Cha-ching! *The next savings came by way of FREE parking. That is always a perk (and something to check for as well). *Once arriving we realized we could save $20 just by ordering water! Cha-ching - $30 savings! The next savings came in the way of ordering and splitting appetizers. Gary and I do this all the time! Our last three dates have been to chilis where we get mighty full off of a specific appetizer and waters. Our bill, before tip, is around $10. That's how we can afford these often dates I suppose
but I digress.....Once we finished our meal we headed out in to the center. We walked in and out of shops and stayed at Lego land for a while. The children played with legos and played on the playground for quite some time. VERY FUN! And VERY FREE!
Lego dogs *above*
Then we meandered through the various shops and restaurants and before leaving the park were blessed with free chocolates at the chocolate shop. That could have been our desert for the evening and one of the children actually did think that was our other yummy surprise we had planned! Imagine her surprise when we stopped at McDonalds for hot fudge sundaes on our way out
Which, by the way, is less than $10.00 for 8 people! Not toooooooo shabby!
When I first stayed home......many, many ages ago....... money was much tighter than it is now. We could never go and do something like we did today. It just was not a possibility. We did things like go to the airport and ride the tram and watch the planes take off (No kidding!). I baked a cake on Sundays and all sorts of things that made each day a little special. We had fun then......we have fun now!
The most important thing I have ever done (outside of realizing my need for Jesus and marrying Gary) was to stay home. We have never missed out. There has never been a time, that I can recall, when we muttered.....'Oh bling....wish I was working so that I could buy that whizamadoottle!' But I can only fathom what we would be missing if I had not come home. Now that's a very sad thought.......
Nov. 29, 2009 - ~Post Thanksgiving fun
My cousin and his wife have recently had their second child and this was the first time we have seen their new baby.
Isn't she adorable?!
I watched as our children played together and remembered when I use to
Life sure seemed simpler then.....Anywho.....Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is on it's way! We shall soon be celebrating the birth of a very special baby. The baby who came in to this world to give us hope and new life! Now that's something to get excited about!!!
Meanwhile.....in the life of this Momma......lots and lots happen in the in between..... Like photos! Speaking of photos - here are a few from a shoot we did yesterday. We've got too many to show, but they will soon be on our Facebook page under IVL Media if you'd like to see some more.
IVL Media FB page
Nov. 24, 2009 - ~I am thankful for Sowing and Reaping
Certainly one of my most relaxing activities, even though it involves a little work-
but seeds sown today will yield reaping in our tomorrows......
Just like our pepper plants that we planted nearly a year ago. A little work..... a little time..... . Sometimes a lot of work and a lot of time.....
I have heard that sowing and reaping is a law much like the law of gravity. It's there.....real.....and you can count on it.
The Bible says in Galatians 6: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
Sometimes I hear the Lord more clearly in the garden. Jesus used parables to speak simply and I think the Holy Spirit does the same today. God uses the garden. I have never sown a radish seed and harvested a cucumber. That's the concept of the above......
Nov. 20, 2009 - ~A DEAL OF A DEAL!
This year the Christmas card photos we will mail out will be FREE!
I followed the directions at moneysavingmom.com and found out this morning that my orders have shipped!
Here are my confirmation slip totals......
Order Summary:
Items - Qty. - Price
Photo Card, 5x7 - 50 - $ 39.50
Subtotal: $ 39.50
Shipping: $ 0.00
Tax: $ 0.00
Order Summary:
Items - Qty. - Price
Photo Card, 4x8 - 50 - $ 24.50
Subtotal: $ 24.50
Shipping: $ 0.00
Tax: $ 0.00
Order Total: $ 0.00
As you can see I had to place two separate orders, but I did not have to pay shipping. The first order of 50 cards was for 5X7 size and the second order of 50 cards is for 4X8 cards. It took me about 45 minutes to follow the directions and put the cards together. And my total saved.........drum roll please....... $64.00!
Merry Christmas!
Nov. 18, 2009 - ~Three brothers photo shoot
Have a coke and a smile!
Nov. 17, 2009 - ~Sharing links so you'll be blessed too
Let me say something about my Lord..... He is good. That is not sufficient..... He is AWESOME! There, that's a little better
Here's a lesson in threes...... For some encouraging words, please read the heart of one of my dearest friends. She writes honestly, from what she lives.....
Thoughts on Phil 2
and then Saturday I had the privilege of joining some other ladies in a lesson along the same lines as the above and below links. The transparency was absolutely refreshing! These ladies want to please the Lord and have successful families. Who doesn't? It was neat to watch the older rally around the younger in help w/o judgment.
My husband spoke a quote to me last week. A quote that has been meandering through my mind for days. It goes something like this: 'When there is too much sound doctrine and not enough Love there is division. When there is too much love, but not enough sound doctrine, there is confusion.' I could write a page in regards to this quote alone, have seen it lived out in lives and churches and have experienced it personally as well. God is good!
And for another link along these same lines go here:
GUILT GRACE AND GRATITUDE
You will NOT be sorry
Blessings to each today!
Nov. 16, 2009 - ~You're eating what?!
I decided to add some sprouted wheat berries for our newest smoothie creation. It took me a few days to sprout the wheat berries. I then added them to our ingredients for the fruit smoothies for our lunch yesterday.
Sprouted wheat berries taste like healthy candy. I;m not kidding. We use the prairie gold wheat for making bread and sprouting, I think the stronger variety would have a much stronger taste. In the past I have sprouted my wheat for salads and for snacking, but yesterday I sprouted for the smoothie....YUM!
Here's a photo of the sprouted wheat berries, a handful of spinach, a cup of apple juice, and 1-2 cups water. After this, I added a bunch of mixed frozen fruit, half a banana, and a goodly amount of honey (3-5 TB). And on the second batch I added Just barley since I forgot that ingredient on the first batch. I usually add barley and a little spirulina..... and they almost always come back for seconds......
Sprouting unlocks the nutrients and makes them readily available. On top of that you're not cooking your grain either, so you're eating a living food instead of a cooked up dead food. Wheat berries are CHEAP when purchased by the bucket through a co-op group and there is a multitude of ways grains can be prepared. YUM....YUM.....YUM!
Nov. 13, 2009 - ~First time Truffles
Basic Truffle Recipe
Here's a photo of the finished product:
*truffles and photo by JoI am now a truffle fan! These were better than fudge!
Nov. 12, 2009 - ~YUM!
Cooler weather began to roll in yesterday and it brought with it a mood....... The mood for soup. Just love the Fall weather and soup! So an hour or so before Hubby arrived back home I began the making of the Salmon Chowder. Oh how I love thee!!!
It's sprinkling and a bit on the dark side as I type this morning. I love it when the rain rolls through and I love the crisp weather that meandered down during the night. Lovely, lovely, lovely! Time for cocoa and marshmallows
And although the weather has been cooler, we're continuing with the smoothie tradition. This morning I added walnuts to Hubby's smoothie. I've decided that seeds and nuts are just too jam- packed with nutrients to ignore them in the smoothies any longer. I also added a handful of from the garden salad to the smoothie since we were out of spinach
So our newest smoothie creation goes something like this:
*Aprox 2 cups frozen peaches
*Lrg handful of garden lettuce
*1/2 a banana
*2 tsp spirulina powder
*2 tsp JUST barley
*2+ TBsp walnuts
*1/2 cup apple juice
*1/2 cup water
*honey to taste
And this morning, when I mix up the childrens smoothies, I'll add a small green pepper to the whirl as well. I've got a few extra from the garden that we haven't used and it should do nothing to the taste of the smoothie. Do nothing to the taste, but surely adding to the nutrients!
Have a great day! Gotta go make the morning smoothies......
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