Blending the Sand Saturday, Jun 27 2009

Last Saturday we attended a wedding where they did such a sweet short thing in place of the unity candle. I had never seen this done before…

One the rocks were written the references to Bible verses that had principles upon which the couple wanted to build their marriage. One of the rocks had the word Christ written on it.

The two different colors of sand represented the woman and the man…two completely different individuals.

During the wedding ceremony, the couple placed each rock into the bottom of the jar as the foundation. The wife took the white sand and the husband took the brown sand and they poured it into the jar on top of the rocks.

This symbolized that even though they were still two different individuals (there were still two different colors of sand), their lives were now blended…made one. Just as it would be impossible to completely separate the two colors from each other, it would be impossible to for them to separate themselves from each other.

What a sweet visual picture of what God does when a man and a woman are married!

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Free Food Friday, Jun 26 2009

Tim’s job has him visiting a lot of different stores and restaurants. And occasionally the restaurants will offer him some free food, which is always great for him as it’s a nice supplement to the lunches I send with him. Last Tuesday Tim stopped at a Wendy’s and the manager offered to give him two combo meals for free (one for Tim and one for his coworker)!!! Wow! Since his coworker had already bought lunch, Tim ended up with two free combo meals.

And…he saved one for me! Tim always saves a little bit of his free food and brings it home to share with me. He makes me feel so special knowing that he thought of me during the day.

Tim is so special!

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6 Ways to Fit a Family of 4 in a 1 Bedroom Apartment Thursday, Jun 25 2009

1. Periodically go through your apartment and declutter/organize. It’s amazing how much stuff can get into your apartment even when you don’t buy a lot of things. Things pile up! A few months before Carter was born Tim and I went through the kitchen cupboards and found quite a few things that could go in storage. Some pretty dishes given to us when we were married, but I had never used. I want to use them some day, but I just don’t have space to keep them in my kitchen now. So they are packed away. A few weeks before Carter was born, my sisters helped me clean out underneath our bed. Things had been pushed under there that belonged somewhere else…there was trash…and after it was organized and put back I have so much extra space down there now!

2. Use all available space to store things. I don’t particularly enjoy having things under our bed. Given a choice I would keep that space stuff free. But there isn’t much storage space in our apartment! So a lot of the baby supplies are under there (i.e. diapers and wipes) as well as things we don’t use all that often (i.e. the air mattress). If you have bedside tables you can store things under them. My sewing machine is under one of our tables and 2 boxes of baby clothes and my craft supplies are under the other one. Use all the space on your bookshelves…if you can fit two layers of books/CDs on one shelf do it!

3. Get rid of unnecessary furniture. I have a really pretty coffee table that we bought before we were married. I love it! However, before Carter was born I realized that putting it in storage would be better so that we have more space in our living room.

4. Move beds around. For the first year of his life, Drew slept in our bedroom. But around his first birthday I decided that I wanted to be able to sleep well and get caught up on rest before Carter’s birth. Drew slept through the night…but he made noises (i.e. turning over) that just made it hard for me to rest. So each night we put Drew to bed in the bedroom and when we are ready for bed, Tim moves Drew’s bed out into the living room where he sleeps the rest of the night. It really helped me to get a good night’s rest!

5. Find a place where you can store things outside of your apartment. Both of our parents have offered us extra space at their houses to store some of our things and weddings gifts. If we needed to there are also two or three storage rental spaces near us. We have a washing machine and dryer, but we can’t have them here at the apartment so they are in storage. A lot of our wedding gifts are in storage. Baby supplies (i.e. bouncer, swing) are in storage.

6. Be content with what you have and be willing to live with the “inconvenience” for a short time. Even though living in a small apartment is rather crowded these days, (:-)) this is where God has us for the time being. So I’m working to love this apartment and make it into a home that blesses my family. And to be completely honest, whenever we end up moving I’m goingn to be said to leave this little apartment behind. It’s our first home together and I love it!

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Baking Update Wednesday, Jun 24 2009

Just a quick update…

I meant to take pictures today, but just as I started in on the baking both of the boys woke up. So amidst the baking and taking care of the boys, the picture taking didn’t quite get done. However, I did make everything on my list with the exception of the breakfast burritos since the potatoes I was planning on using had been in the refrigerator for an indefinite amount of time and I wasn’t sure if they would be safe to use.

So now my freezer is getting full with the makings of some good meals….it feels good…

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Baking Day :-) Wednesday, Jun 24 2009

I had been thinking recently that I needed to have a baking day and make some things to put in my freezer to make breakfasts and snacks easier during the week. So when Crystal mentioned that she was doing a baking day yesterday and invited others to join with her I thought it was a great idea! It got me in the baking mood to know that others would be busy in their kitchens at the same time I was! However, due to a water pipe breaking and not having any water yesterday from around 9:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the evening I was unable to actually get any baking done. So…today I will be cooking on my own.

This is what I hope to get accomplished today….

1. Breakfast Burritos
2. Pizza Bagels 
3. Ground Beef Chimichangas
4. Taco Meat

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Brothers Wednesday, Jun 24 2009

For more Wordless Wednesdays, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

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My Big Boy Tuesday, Jun 23 2009

It’s always amazing how when you have to do without something for awhile it makes you appreciate it all the more when you get it back.

Having a newborn in the house again, makes me so grateful for all that Drew has learned over the past sixteen months. (Although having a newborn again is so wonderful…babies are so precious!!

1. Drew can feed himself. While I do try to sit down with him for at least part of his meal, it’s so nice to not have to sit down and give him a bottle or spoon feed him every meal. It’s great to be able to give him a sandwich and knowing that he can feed himself. It’s great to be able to make a smoothie in the morning for breakfast, put it in a sippy cup and give it to him to drink.

2. Drew can entertain himself. Drew is completely happy just sitting down and playing with his toys. This makes it so much easier for me when it’s time to feed Carter. Drew plays happily in his crib while I feed Carter.

3. Drew sleeps through the night. This is really nice! Even with the insomnia at the end of my pregnancy, I wasn’t as tired as I am now. (However, I do know that this is only for a time. Carter will only be a baby for a short amount of time and I inted to enjoy every minute of it! Even though it’s tiring… )

4. Drew is interactive. I love playing with and spending time with Drew. His beautiful smile brightens my day. He gets excited when he hears an airplane out the window. He’s thrilled when Tim gets home from work. He helps with some work around the house.

I love Carter’s baby days. But it is so eye opening to be reminded of how far Drew has come in a little over a year. And it won’t be long until Carter is doing all of these things!

To see more Gratituesdays, visit Laura’s blog.

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June 21 – 27 Monday, Jun 22 2009

 

Sunday
Breakfast – Smoothie
Lunch – Leftover
Dinner – Western Bacon Cheeseburgers, Baked Beans

Monday
Breakfast – Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Smoothies
Lunch – Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Dinner – Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Salad, Veggie

Tuesday
Breakfast – Waffles with Fruit, Smoothie
Lunch – Baked Potato
Dinner – Ham ‘n’ Swiss Chicken, Oriental Pasta Salad, Veggie

Wednesday
Breakfast – Smoothie
Lunch – Leftovers
Dinner – Pizza

Thursday
Breakfast – Smoothie
Lunch – Potato Soup
Dinner – Chicken-Vegetable Skillet, Salad, Veggie

Friday
Breakfast – Smoothie
Lunch – Leftovers
Dinner – Chicken Tortilla Soup, Baked Potatoes

Saturday
Breakfast – Smoothie
Lunch – Not Sure…
Dinner – Bridal Shower

For more menus check out www.orgjunkie.com.

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Saturday Links Saturday, Jun 20 2009

Homekeeping

Sometimes it is hard to find motivation to be a diligent worker during the day as a home maker. This post gives some great tips on how to find the motivation.

Who/what do our homes reflect? Ourselves? Our family? Christ? This post is a reminder of what the focus of our homes should be. 

This post is an encouragement to make life special for our families now instead of waiting for a less hectic and busy time.

Toddler Fun

This post has some great ideas for fun activities for toddlers…some are just for fun and others encourage them to learn as they play. It will be fun to try some of these with Drew.

Children

How do we talk about our children? This post is a good reminder that what we say about them will impact our children.

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10 Easy Breakfasts for 1 Person Friday, Jun 19 2009

1. Omelet – Whisk one egg in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Melt some butter in a small skillet. Pour the egg in. Let it cook for a little bit and as the egg starts to set, put your “filling” on one half of the omelet. Fold over to finish cooking the eggs and to heat up the filling. I enjoy using up leftovers in omelets…refried beans, chili, rice, cheese, veggies. Yummy!

2. Bagel and Cream Cheese - I love bagels and cream cheese! If you think that is boring by itself, add some of your favorite jam on top. (My favorites are raspberry and boysenberry…with seeds! )

3. Waffles - Waffles are quick and easy to mix up and there are leftovers for the next day. In fact, there should be enough leftovers for you to freeze some.

4. Touch of Spring Muffins – a.k.a. Strawberry Muffins. These muffins are very delicious, although I’ve never put the rhubarb in them. I just add replace the rhubarb with more strawberries!

5. Double Chocolate Muffins - Anything with chocolate in it has got to be good and these muffins are no exception!

6. Groovy Green Smoothie - While a spinach smoothie admittedly does not sound all that appetizing, this smoothie actually tastes really good. I found this recipe during Carter’s pregnancy when my midwife told me I needed to be eating more vegetables.  This recipe is easy to change around…add the spinach, yogurt and whatever fruit you have. I also added some juice I had on hand. Delicious!

7. Banana Pumpkin Muffins – Normally I’m not a big fan of pumpkin IN things, but these muffins did not have an overpowering banana taste.

8. French Toast – French toast is simple to make and it’s easy to make a large batch and stick the leftovers in the freezer. They heat up nicely in the toaster. I recently discovered that I enjoy French toast with raspberry jam on top. A quick and easy breakfast!

9. Smoothies -  I know I mentioned  the Groovy Green Smoothie above, but in all truth, you don’t need a recipe to make smoothies! I’ve been enjoying making smoothies recently for Drew. They are so easy and delicious!! It’s easy to get a good tasting smoothie if you start with yogurt as your base and then add some fruits and veggies. If you need to thin it out a little bit add some juice. Or start with juice and just add fruits and veggies.

10 – Carrot Spice Muffins - These muffins are really great!

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