First day of school

Ah, the first day of school.  I have been looking forward to this day for weeks.  As much as I don't like structure, I need it.  I have missed early bedtime!  Some quiet time at the end of the day--yea!  I have kids (one in particular) who needs an agenda for the day, and today the agenda is not my responsibility!  My kids are good for other people, but they save the arguing for me.  Today they can be good, and I don't have to hear arguing all day!  I can pick up the house and it will stay picked up for more than 2 minutes!  Yes, I still have one at home, but I can usually keep up with him! 

But there is nothing like dropping your kids off at their classroom to remind you that these days are passing way too quickly.  I didn't think I would cry, but I did.  Barely got SweetBoy to his class before the tears started spilling over.  I'm thankful for their great teachers, and they are going to have a good year.  But I do miss them already.  I guess that is what it is to be a mom.

The kids and I walking to school.  (That is my attempt at artsy photography!  I thought it was a cool shot!)

Watch out here we come!

Which way, Mom?

God stop in the mountains...When we were camping, the kids and I went on a hike.  SweetBoy and SweetDoll headed out and blazed the trail.  SweetTate was the leader for the two of us, but we were quite a bit behind the big kids.  Sometimes there was a fork in the trail or maybe the grass was tall--as tall as he is--and he would say, "Which way now, Mom?" 

God got my attention in that moment that my job as a mom is very important.  He has entrusted me with these kids and it is my job to steer them in the right direction, and teach them how to make those decisions. 

It also reminded me of the time last fall when we went to the corn field maze with SweetDoll's class.  That was way over all of our heads and we got totally lost! 

Thankfully, one of the makers of the maze was on a tall stand watching us.  She was trying to give us directions, but when we got really, really lost, she came down and led us out.  I feel like I'm in over my head as a mom a lot.  I'm so thankful that God is watching out for me to give me directions in His Word.  And He promises that He will be with me through it all.  He is so faithful and close enough for me to ask, "Which way now, Abba Father?"

I raise my eyes toward the mountains.

Where will my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.
Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep.
The LORD protects you;
the LORD is a shelter right by your side.
The sun will not strike you by day,
or the moon by night.
The LORD will protect you from all harm;
He will protect your life.
The LORD will protect your coming and going
both now and forever.
Psalm 121

Camping 2010

It seems like I have said this a lot lately on here, but here is another one of my favorite places on earth.  For as long as I can remember we have gone camping in Colorado.  This year was a little different in several ways.  One was that we had to change campsites in the middle of our trip.  Now we have done that by choice before (I wouldn't recommend it) :) but this time they were closing the campground we were in for renovations.  Everything else was full and we had to wait for a newly renovated one to open to move into.  It was a little chaotic, but it worked out.  And it was different because we had a smaller group for a shorter time.  Here was the crew...my family, my parents, and both sets of my grandparents.  A pretty special group I must admit!

We did the usual things.  Fishing...these were near our first campsite.

Once we moved, the river was not as close, and we found other entertainment.  Thank God for grands and greats!  SweetTate and SweetDoll going on a "bear hunt" with Granny!

Cutting wood.  We missed Uncle Justin, but SweetBoy tried to step up and keep the firewood pile stocked.

Playing washers with Grandma and Granddad.

Leave it to Granddad to find a good stick to use for a bat and introduce the kids to "cone ball."  They had so much fun!  And we got tickled watching SweetTate run the bases hollering, "Papa, you got to tag me!"

Lucy took it all in stride!  This was her first camping trip and she did great!

The kids and I went on a hike from our campsite down to the river.  Up to the top of the mountain where they climbed on this huge boulder! Down to the river and back up to our campsite.  Why did we go all the way down and back up again?  SweetBoy was the leader!

Of course, we enjoyed the campfire after supper.  Oh, and that was different too.  Instead of cooking mostly over the fire, Daddy cooked in dutch ovens.  YUM!  We had gourmet camping this year!  Not to mention the gourmet camping kitchen.  Two burner campstove for heating water or cooking, a table top grill, two burners to cook with the washer lids on, AND a cook area for the dutch ovens.  Camping with my family is far from roughing it!  ...except for the whole running water thing! 

The first campsite is pretty dense trees, but this one gave us wide open spaces which was wonderful for star gazing!  The kids even saw the Milky Way for the first time!  I love it!  Like I said, one of my favorite places on earth!

Scripture Memory Team #13

Whew!  I'm still working on 1 Corinthians 13 and Psalm 121. So this time I'm choosing one that is somewhat familiar.  I noticed it many years ago, but it came up again in my Bible study in a little bit of a new light (don't you just love God's Word!) and I thought it would be a good one to really commit to memory.

Deuteronomy 29:29
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.  (NIV)

I love that there are things way to big for me to understand and God has those under control.  And I love that He wants to be known and reveals Himself and those things belong to us and our children.  I may not have a huge monetary inheritance to leave my kids, but I want to be diligent to pass on what God reveals.  That is an inheritance!

new recipe

The other day I got a new workout video--Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred.  Then I looked at her web-site and found a lot of good information, including a meal plan complete with recipes and it will even make my grocery list!  I enjoy baking, but I really don't like to cook, so trying something like this is way out of my comfort zone.  I hate to chop onions!  I've often said, "I have to really love you to chop onions!"  I'm approaching it kind of like the movie Julia and Julia, one recipe at a time.  This was my first attmempt.  SweetHeart came up as I was chopping onions and said, "I feel so loved!"  Oh, and it smelled wonderful while it cooked!  It was healthy, fast, easy (no wierd ingredients), tender, delilcious--my kids even liked it. We, moms, are always looking for those kind of recipes, so I'm passing this one along.  Enjoy!

Chicken With Oranges and Almonds


Ingredients
4 chicken, broiler-fryer, breasts, without skin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper, black
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1/8 teaspoon cloves, ground
2 tablespoon oil, salad
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 cup(s) onion(s), chopped
1 cup(s) orange juice
1/4 cup(s) nuts, almonds, slivers
1/4 cup(s) raisins
2 orange(s), pared and thinly sliced

Preparation
Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, cinnamon and cloves. Heat oil in large skillet; place chicken in oil skin down and brown a golden color. Turn over in pan. Put garlic, onion, orange juice and 1 cup of water over chicken; cover and cook at a simmer for 35 minutes.

Spread out almonds in shallow pan and place in 350°F oven for 5-10 minutes or until fragrant but just barely toasted. Add almonds, raisins and sliced oranges to chicken. Cover and cook 5 minutes.

(I'm not exactly sure what a "boiler fryer" is--I don't like dealing with raw meat either--I just used the skinless chicken breasts ready to go from the package.)  :)

Ballpark #4

SweetHeart and I have a goal of going to games in all of the major league ballparks.  We have been to the Pitsburg Pirates Three Rivers Stadium, the Seattle Mariners Safeco Field, the Texas Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, and now the Colorado Rockies Coors Field.  We were rooting for the home team, but they lost.  It might have been...the curse of the scorebook.  Dun-dun-dun

{That was supposed to be dramatic music.  Did you get it?}

Baseball is Sweetheart's thing.  When we started dating, I knew nothing about it.  So to learn the game, keep me focused on what was going on, and learn the lingo, SweetHeart taught me how to score a game.  I bought a scorebook and even have my baseball pencil sharpened and ready!  It has become a scrapbook of sorts--I staple our tickets on that game page.  (It has been interesting to see how the tickets have changed over the years.)  Anyway, for the last 10 years or so, I've scored at least one game a year (except the years I had an infant attached!)  We have seen more games than that, but the ones I choose to score it seems that our team loses!  We noticed this phenomenon recently and counted to just prove it.  Out of 18 games, there are only 7 winning games recorded in it!  We have considered retiring this scorebook and starting a new one!  We will if our team makes the playoffs, and it looks like they might have a shot this year!

While we were gone, Meme entertained the kids...or they entertained her!  Thanks, Meme!

Down in My Heart Kind of JOY

*Doing a little housekeeping again.  This will be on the sidebar under the Bible studies title.  Thanks*

This is a personal Bible study that God has been teaching me about joy that I want to share. Sometimes I struggle with being down, but I really want joy in my life. This helped me realize joy is not about how I feel or what situation I am in. It is all about being in the presence of the living, loving God. I hope it encourages you too.

Lesson 1  Down in my heart kind of Joy
Lesson 2  My Source of Joy
Lesson 3  Seeking Joy
Lesson 4  Seek Instruction
Lesson 5  Choose Joy
Lesson 6  Joyful Praise
Lesson 7  Joy because God is Good
Lesson 8  But what about...false joy
Lesson 9  But what about...when I just don't feel joy
Lesson 10  But what about...stolen joy
Lesson 11  But what about...trouble
Lesson 12  Complete Joy--the Ten Commandment Connection
Lesson 13  Complete Joy--Jesus' example
Lesson 14  Complete Joy--focused obedience
Lesson 15  Complete Joy--more benefits of obedience
Lesson 16  Complete Joy--position ready to obey
Lesson 17  Complete Lasting Joy

Scripture Memory Team

LPM Scripture Memory Challenge--24 verses in 2009!
On Beth Moore's blog she challenged us to memorizing 24 Scriptures in 2009.  I did it, loved it, and it changed me forever!  The link above is to Beth's blog and the verses she chose and info about the challenge.  The verses below are the verses I memorized in 2009.

Psalm 86:11-13
Colossians 3:1-2
Psalm 25:5
John 1:16
Ephesians 3:16-21
1 Corinthians 2:9-10
Psalm 143:8
Proverbs 15:14
Isaiah 33:6
Psalm 90:17
2 Corinthians 3:4-5
Romans 15:4
Lamentations 3:21-27
2 Peter 1:3-9
Psalm 57:2
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Hebrews 1:3
Romans 5:1-5
Romans 8:37-39
Psalm 119:175
Psalm 16:7-8
Psalm 119:92-93
Siesta Scripture Memory Celebration Part 1 and Part 2

Scripture Memory Challenge 2010
After the victory I experienced in 2009, I didn't want to stop even though Beth wasn't officially hosting the challenge again in 2010.  (But I hear it is coming back in 2011 if you want to get in on it!)  Here are links to the posts I had on my blog and the verses I chose.  I put all this on here more for accountability for myself than anything else.  (It is amazing how motivating it is to have to write it down somewhere that another person might see!)  My purpose is certainly not to brag in what I have accomplished, but to give testimony to the work that God's Word is alive and active in me.  If you would like to join me on this part of the journey, that would be great!  It is never too late to jump in!
Isaiah 43:10
Colossians 3:23-24
2 Corinthians 3:12
John 17:3
1 Peter 2:9
Isaiah 43:18-19
Matthew 11:28-30
Psalm 16:5-6
1 Peter 3:8-9
Romans 8:15-17
1 Corinthians 13
Psalm 121
Deuteronomy 29:29
Philippians 3:10
Philippians 4:13
Proverbs 21:26
1 Peter 5:5-11 (DIY)
Psalm 57:7

Siesta Scripture Memory Team Challenge 2011
Yea! It is officially back on Beth's blog!  As I said before, I would be doing it anyway.  I would not trade this for anything!  God's Word had become precious to me before, but now it is even more so.  I need the strength, hope, power, goodness, and love that can only come from my Father.  I need the renewing of my mind and attitudes and emotions.  So these are the verses I'm working on this year. 

At the Grand Canyon
Romans 15:13
Psalm 34:4
Ephesians 4:22-24
Philippians 4:19
Isaiah 26:3
Judges 5:21b
1 Corinthians 15:58
Galatians 6:4-5
Galatians 5:22-25
Colossians 1:29
2 Timothy 1:14
Psalm 119:57
Galatians 5:1
Deuteronomy 30:11, 14
2 Corinthians 9:8
1 John 4:4
1 Peter 2:11-12
1 Peter 2:20
1 Corinthians 6:12
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
1 Peter 1:13
Colossians 3:12-14
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Luke 1:37  For nothing is impossible with God.

Scripture Memory Challenge 2012
It is not officially on Beth's blog this year, so I will be posting mine here.  Again, it is not a brag thing, just accountability for me and hopefully encouragement for you.  This is what I'm memorizing this year because I've gotta have Him!
Psalm 21:7
James 1:19-20
1 Corinthians 4:3-4
Daniel 2:19b-23