Christmas with the Blue Grandparents

Tonight we went to my parents house to open gifts. We are celebrating a bit earlier since my mom and Michelle are both working the days around Christmas.

Andrew and Noah both were more aware this year of what was going on, thus the huge grin.

Can we say EXCITED?

And their favorite gift of the night...glow stick guns from the dollar store!

As the boys grow older, we hope to continue to teach them the value of giving. Its hard to communicate to little kids that it is more blessed to give than receive. This week the boys and I hope to bring some goodies to the neighbors. I read them the Christmas story this week from Ramsbottom and hope it made an impact on them.

GR Children's Museum

The boys and I headed to the GR Children's Museum yesterday with a bunch of their cousins. This was Joel's first time there where he was actually able to play. Noah like the car at the entrance the best while Andrew liked the bank the best. Not sure when we'll be back since admission is crazy expensive (Auntie Alice finagled a deal for us!), but the boys had a lot of fun.

The museum was featuring rescue personnel. Here the kids are being water rescuers. Maybe Coast Guard is the technical name?

The ball pit was a big hit with Kaiya and Jayden and all the kids. Auntie Alice got some cool air shots at this exhibit.

The picture of concentration. Notice the tongue?

Jayden

Joey with Bob's hat.

Noah thought this hat looked like Bob the Builder's.

The kids all loved this part of the museum. There was a kitchen, restaurant area, grocery store and bank, complete with a drive up teller window.

Chocolate Mint Brownies

Here's a recipe for a quick treat to bring to holiday parties.

Chocolate Mint Brownies

Make one 13x9 package of brownie mix as directed.

Filling:

4 T butter, softened

2 c powdered sugar

3 T milk

1 t peppermint extract

4 drops green food coloring

Beat filling ingredients together and spread on cooled brownies. Place in the refrigerator to harden.

Glaze:

2/3 c chocolate chips

3 T butter

Melt chocolate chips and butter for about 1 min in microwave. Mix until smooth and spread over mint filling. Chill to harden. Enjoy!

Adapted from here.

Life's Journey

Some of you have read the story in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. There’s a point in that story where Edmund, Lucy, and Caspian are on a voyage from Narnia, headed east, toward Aslan’s country at the end of the world.

At one point, their ship, the Dawn Treader, anchors near land, and they all go ashore. Some of the sailors are tired of the long journey. They want to stop and spend the winter there where they are and then head back west and return home to Narnia in the spring. They’re told that if they stay where they are, every evening they will be given a feast fit for a king. That makes them even more reluctant to press on eastward toward Aslan’s country.

Then Reepicheep speaks up. Remember Reepicheep, the valiant talking mouse? He expresses his determination to keep pressing on no matter what. Here’s what he says:

My plans are made. While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle [small boat]. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws, and when I can swim no longer, if I’ve not reached Aslan’s country, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise.

God hasn’t promised us that the journey will be easy, but He’s promised to go with us. He’s promised to go with you wherever you’re going into the battle today. He’s promised that one day prayer will be praise, faith will be sight, every tear will be dry, and our journey will be rewarded.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss, ROH Dec 15, 2010

What's Cookin'

Mon~Chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice, salad

Tues~Pancakes, bacon, fruit (for daddy and boys)

Wed~Bean and cheese tostadas, salad

Thurs~Chili, salad, cornbread

Fri~Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad

Sat~Christmas with my family

Sun~Beef and mushrooms, mashed potatoes, green beans

I actually have the whole month of Dec planned. I may start doing that again in Jan since it makes it easier to grocery shop for two weeks at a time and keeps me out of Meijer, saving us money. :-)

60 photo cards for under 5 bucks!

Check it out here!

I think you actually get free overnight shipping also. I already ordered my cards, but I ran out so I'm going to do this deal too.

Update 12/14 AM: Not exactly sure what their idea of overnight shipping is. I ordered them on Thurs and as of Mon I have still not received them. Maybe this afternoon.

Patience

I think impatience is one of my besetting sins. I become frustrated so easily with the boys lately. Today I prayed for patience, was tested with spilled milk, spilled yogurt, loud kids and I failed. I became impatient. Thankfully, we serve a patient God.

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalm 86:15

And so I will keep praying for patience and remembering verses like these:

My dear brothers, take note of this; Everyone should be quick to listen slow to speak and slow to become angry for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

James 1:19-20

Cinnamon Bread

Image and recipe from © Happy Little Homemaker 2008-2010

So, so good. Make it. ASAP. And omit the raisins if you're funny about things like that in your bread like some members of my family are. :-)

Oh, and its very good with gobs of butter or gobs of this icing.

Need a new winter coat?

Check out this deal at Target.com. I paid $19.07 for the above coat.

(I don't know how to get the pic bigger. I'm computer illiterate like that. :-) )

December 7, 1941

Yikes!

How would you protect yourself from this?

What's Cookin'

Mon~Making Swiss steak with pork chops (from Andrea's recipe), carrots, mashed potatoes

Tues~Baked chicken pieces, rice, broccoli, french bread rolls

Wed~Spaghetti pizza for church potluck

Thurs~Pizza with the E's for mom's bday

Fri~Pancakes or something easy for daddy and the boys, mommy may not be home

Sat~Tacos, salad, fruit, chips

Sun~Leftover beef and mushrooms, egg noodles, green beans

Notable Recipes of Late

Here's a few links to some good recipes I've tried lately:

Supreme Strawberry Topping~I made this with 2 cups of frozen strawberries and added a little cornstarch water to thicken it and then put it on top of my no-bake cheesecake. Yum!

Chocolate Frosting~Put this on chocolate cake a few weeks ago. I love how it turns out smooth. I have another recipe that I use because I love the taste, but it turns out a bit grainy. This is perfectly smooth and tastes great too (and super easy!).

Crusty French Bread~I found this recipe when reading Rachel's menu plan. I skip the egg yolk brushed on top and rub butter on it after I take it out of the oven. I place the loaves on a cooling rack and lightly cover until cool. We had this with pea soup this week and it was delicious. The cat liked it too, she climbed on the counter and destroyed a loaf! The cat will be moving to Grandpa's barn soon.

Missing Menu Plan

I fully intended to post my menu plan this week, but all of a sudden its Saturday! So instead I'll share a super yummy meal I made this week. It actually turned out to be pretty economical also.

Beef and Mushrooms over mashed potatoes

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c beef stock
1/3 c red wine (I used more beef stock)
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/2 t pepper
1 8 oz package sliced mushrooms
2 lb roast

Whisk together first five ingredients in crockpot. Stir in mushrooms. Add roast and turn to cover. Cover and cook on low about 8 hrs or on hight about 4-5 hrs.

My roast was very lean so after it was thoroughly cooked on low for about 6 hours, I sliced it thin and put it back in with the mushroom gravy and put it on high for another 2 hrs. It was very tender after that. I made mashed potatoes with yellow potatoes and served the beef and mushrooms with that. We also had homemade bread and carrots. Very good! And we had enough left over for another meal.

So what was the cost?
Beef~4
Mushroom gravy ingredients~2
potatoes~33 cents
Carrots~50 cents
Bread~40 cents (not too sure about the price, but can't be much)
Total: $7.23 and have enough beef for another meal

Must Read: Rick Warren Interview

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California .

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life?

And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity..

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life..

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.

That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Pie anyone?

Just read this post over at PW's website. And now I have an overwhelming compulsion to bake about a dozen different types of pies. Too bad I just got home from Meijer and will now have to go again tomorrow to gather ingredients. I am going to make this pie as well as the one from my previous post for Thanksgiving. Maybe I will finally be able to make a good pie crust if I go ahead and buy real butter instead of using shortening. Maybe. :-)

Thanksgiving Pie

Making this next week. Minus the whiskey! :-)

What's Cookin'

Mon~we had tacos with leftover meat from the freezer

Tues~Spaghetti pizza, cauliflower, bread

Wed~Sloppy joes, oven fries, salad

Thurs~Pork tenderloin, rice, carrots

Fri~Homemade pizza, fruit

Sat~Out

Sun~Soup, bread

Seriously??

I was at the dentist office with Andrew today (no cavities, yay!) and I pulled out a TIME magazine to read while I waited. There was an article in their about the tough economic times, people losing their job and how 17 million American families are hungry. It also said that the average amount families of 4 spend on groceries is $14,000 per year! Are they crazy? That is almost $1200 per month, about 4x more than I spend on groceries. Our whole country seriously needs some budgeting classes.

Thank-you Veterans!

What's Cookin'

I still don't have much of an appetite from being sick this weekend, but I suspect my family would still like to eat so I guess I should probably plan a menu. :-)

Mon~Leftovers

Tues~Chris made pizza this weekend so I have a crust in the fridge and I'm going to try make a pizza with alfredo sauce, mozzerella cheese, ham, chicken, and fresh tomatoes. Fresh basil would probably be delish on top.

Wed~Dessert for fellowship dinner at church-possibly a sheet cake to feed lots of people

Thurs~Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad (possibly with friends)

Fri~Paula Deene's black bean soup, crusty bread (didn't get to this last week due to the sickness)

Sat~Perhaps out? Then to Chris's grandparents to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary!

Sun~I have a cassrole in the freezer, can't remember the name of it, but I know we should eat it, so that's what we'll have!

Sick

I extremely dislike being sick. :( Chris is being great taking care of the kids even though he is still recovering from strep, but I know they still need me. Noah keeps crying for me and he's sat by me a little, but we really don't want them to get sick. I feel like I've been run over by a small bus. Hopefully the antibiotics take care of this quickly.
But good news, Andrew learned how to ride a two wheel bike today without training wheels! He rode all the way to grandma and grandpa's and back. And I watched him riding around in the driveway. He was so proud of himself!

Powerful Words

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

Albert Pike

American Lawyer, Journalist and Soldier

1809-1891

Abortion Stories

I stumbled across this website called RealChoice and started reading some of the stories.

This one really touched me. So, so sad. We seem to think that no one we know could ever have an abortion. But I think its more likely than we realize. We can never stop praying that abortion will end in this country.

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

~Ephesians 5:11

I made two batches of these this morning. I, um, kind of had to because the first batch kind of got eaten. We won't say by who. But I need to bring a snack to choir tonight so I had to make a 2nd batch, because as I said, someone ate the first batch. And we aren't saying who!

Chewy Coconut Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, then mix in the coconut. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly toasted. Cool on wire racks.

(I used a med. cookie scoop, baked for 10-12 min. Yield: 2 dozen)

What's cookin'

Mon~Worcestshire chicken, roasted potatoes, green beans
Tues~Teriyaki pork chops, rice, corn
Wed~Bbcue meatballs, cheesy potatoes, bread, salad
Thurs~Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, carrots with friends
Fri~Paula Deene's Black Bean soup, crusty bread
Sat~Homemade pizza, raw veggies
Sun~Veggie beef soup, bread, applesauce

Great Reminder from Nancy Leigh DeMoss

A friend from church sent me this. I'm sure everyone needs to be reminded of this once in awhile.
The right side is cut off (I am not real computer savvy so not sure how to fix that!), but you get the gist.

October 28, 2010 Circumstances and Excuses “I was never an impatient person—until I had these twins!” Nancy Leigh DeMoss: We’re all tempted to think that we’re the way we are because of the situation we’re in. We feel that if our circumstances were different, we would be different: more patient, more loving, easier to live with. If our circumstances make us what we are, then we’re all victims. We aren’t responsible. We can’t help the way we are. But here’s the truth: Our circumstances don’t make us what we are. They justreveal what we are. The exasperated mother had always been an impatient person. She just didn’t realize it until God brought new circumstances into her life. He wanted to show her what she was really like so He could change her. The circumstances of life can be really hard, but they’re no excuse for sin. Ask God to show you what you’re really like, so He can change you. With Seeking Him, I’m Nancy Leigh DeMoss. This transcript is taken from the nationally-syndicated daily radio program Seeking Him with Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

What's Cookin'

Mon~Leftover lasagne and tacos, salad, veggies

Tues~Quesadillas, fruit, salad

Wed~Grilled chicken, rice, corn

Thurs~Roast beef, egg noodles, red cabbage, green beans

Fri~PRTS dinner

Sat~Reformation party

Sun~Veggie beef soup, bread

Escape!~II Thessalonians 1:9

I stayed home with Joel and Aaron this morning and listening to this sermon from Dr. Murray on the second coming of Christ. Very serious reminder and clear explanation. I recommend listening to it when you have a chance. Dr. Murray has a way of making the mysterious things of the Bible more clear and showing how different parts of the Bible relate to each other. It was very interesting to learn more about the "mighty angels" that will accompany Christ on the last day.

Book Recommendation: Nine Day Queen of England by Faith Cook

This is an excellent account of Lady Jane Grey, Englands nine day queen who was executed by Bloody Mary. She was one of the first martyrs during Mary's reign. I learned many new things about Lady Jane and was encouraged by her faith and calm spirit during the days leading up to her execution. Read more here.

Boys Photoshoot 2010

Auntie Alice took pictures again!

Precious baby Aaron.

My biggest boy. This was after he sat on Aunt Alice's prop barrel and fell through, scraping his back up, so good job Andrew!

Joel, my smiley boy. I think he did the best job. :-)

Cutey patootie Noah~I don't know how many shots Alice got of him, but they turned out cute!

4 boys together, all looking at the camera! Not an easy task!

Thanks Auntie Alice! Some of the pics will grace our walls soon. :-)

What's Cookin'

I got this book out of the library and am going to try a couple recipes from it out this week.

Mon~Chili, Crusty French Bread, salad (try Boston lettuce, I bought some this week and I really like the texture)

Tues~Cowboy Spaghetti from Eat What You Love, salad, corn

Wed~Grilled Chicken, Sour Cream and Cheddar Faux-tatoes from Eat What You Love, green beans (Try and guess what's faux about the potatoes!)

Thurs~Pea soup, Crusty French Bread

Fri~Stromboli, fruit, salad

Sat~Tacos, chips n salsa, fruit

Sun~Meatball veggie soup, jello, grilled cheese

Name that baby!

Baby A


Baby B

Name that baby!

4 Men in a Tub!!

Aaron's first experience bathing with his crazy brothers. He's not too sure what to think of it...

Hmm, I think he likes it! But we may need a bigger tub. :-)

Best Deals at Meijer this week

Head over here to see how to get Coffeemate for $1, 4 boxes of Barilla pasta for $1, and 6 cans of Campbell's Great for Cooking soups for 9 cents each!

What's Cookin'

Mon~Spaghetti, salad, cheesy bread
Tues~boys are having grilled cheese, mommy's meeting daddy for lupper :-)
Wed~Fellowship dinner-PW's barbecued meatballs
Thurs~Red Hot-Meeting daddy for dinner
Fri~Stromboli, salad, chips and salsa
Sat~Grilled steak, baked potatoes, green beans
Sun~Meatball veggie soup, bread

Raspberry Cherry Pie

Made this tonight for the home school moms meeting. Very yummy, especially with vanilla icecream! My crust was a bit tough, but had good flavor. May cut back on the salt next time. Love having lots of frozen fruit in my freezer for these kinds of goodies! Tomorrow I am making quarts upon quarts of applesauce. My freezer will be full!

What's Cookin'---Work in progress

Can't think of a menu right now, so I'll update this when I've figured it out. :-)

Mon~PW's meatballs, baked potato wedges, cauliflower, salad
Tues~Chicken alfredo, green beans
Wed~Crockpot Dutch soup, rolls, apple crisp
Thurs~Louis Benton Steak house with our Groupon
Fri~
Sat~Pizza with family
Sun~

Prayer

Formality - We are creatures of habit and routine. We all tend to have our own phrases and manner of approach to the Lord. It is therefore easy for prayer to become so predictable. Interestingly, John Newton used this observation as an argument in favour of the use of written prayers in public worship. In most extemporaneous prayers, he maintained, you recognised the beginning, could discern the middle and you knew when it was coming to an end, so why not use written ones, was his conclusion. The problem of excessive length and formality was dealt with very succinctly by D. L. Moody when he said: 'Some people's prayers need to be cut off at both ends and set on fire in the middle.'

Vagueness or being unspecific - Although prayer involves communion with the Lord and a worshipping frame of mind yet we are to make requests. The story is told of a prayer meeting where one brother seemed to be preaching rather than praying. One sister felt especially troubled by this, so she interrupted by calling out: 'Ask for something!'

Prayers that are unduly personal - very little prayer or desire may be expressed for the conversion of sinners and the furtherance of the gospel: instead, the time is spent in an introspective rehearsing of numerous personal doubts and fears. One preacher described it as 'hanging out the dirty washing for all to see'.

Pride - a desire to be seen and heard. The heart being uplifted at the thought of an opportunity to show others one's 'gift in prayer'. This was the downfall of the Pharisees: they wished to be seen of men. To quote the theologian, Robert Reymond: 'When you pray, remember whose attention you wish to gain.’

To quote Spurgeon again: 'It is necessary to draw near unto God, but it is not required of you to prolong your speech till everyone is longing to hear the word “Amen”'. The only exception I believe is if a spirit of prayer and supplication is poured out upon one member in a special way. They will know, and every spiritually-minded person will know, and will lose sight of the time.

Source

(Taken from our church's bulletin meditation, emphasis mine)