What's Cookin'

Mon~Chicken chili, bread
Tues~Pizza, cold veggies
Wed~Pulled pork, oven fries, cold veggies
Thurs~One pot chicken Alfredo, broccoli
Fri~Steak, baked potatoes, green beans
Sat~Chicken patties on buns, chips, cold veggies
Sun~Chicken noodle soup, bread

What's Cookin'

I only have to cook 3x this week.  Awesome.  :-)

Here's what we hope to have:

Beef and mushrooms over egg noodles,cauliflower
Cowboy cassrole, carrots
One pot Chicken Alfredo, green beans

Free clothes!

Check out this link.  I just signed up for Schoola and got a t-shirt for Luke and a sweater for me for $0!  If you don't have any kids, check out the teen girls section for women's sizes.

1.  Register for Schoola.
2.  Select what clothes you want.
3.  Your $15 credit is automatically applied to your purchase and shipping is FREE right now!

What's Cookin'

I've had a hard time coming up with meals these past couple of weeks.  I think it's because my freezer and pantry need a restock.  Here's what I've come up with for this week:

Mon~Mexican chicken, brown rice, strawberries
Tues~I have this made already since the two oldest and I are going skiing tomorrow!-Enchilada lasagna, carrots
Wed~???  Chris says he's making dinner.
Thurs~Crockpot steak and gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans
Fri~Kids are having chicken nuggets and fries while we go to the youth group's dinner they are having to raise money for their mission trip.
Sat~Pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Chicken Pot pie, green beans

Mabel and her Great-Grandma DeVisser

Here are some pics that my sister-in-law took of Chris's Grandma DeVisser and Mabel:

One of the first things Grandma said about Mabel when she was born was, "What a precious piece of humanity!" Grandma is celebrating her 95th birthday today!

What's Cookin'

Mon~Spaghetti, garlic bread, carrots
Tues~We're going out and the boys are having their favorite meal-chicken nuggets and french fries.
Wed~Fellowship dinner.  I'm making these baked beans and adding pulled pork.
Thurs~Crockpot Chicken and stuffing, green beans
Fri~Pizza, cold veggies
Sat~Taco soup, corn bread
Sun~Chicken noodle soup, bread

What's Cookin'

Mon~Enchilada pie, corn
Tues~Barbecued pulled chicken (freezer), roasted potatoes, roasted cauliflower
Wed~One pot Chicken Alfredo, green beans
Thurs~Swedish meatballs with noodle, carrots  (Anyone have a good Swedish meatballs recipe?  Haven't settled on one I want to try yet.)
Fri~Leftovers/Sandwiches/Cousin's Night Out
Sat~Pizza
Sun~Spaghetti, garlic bread, broc or beans

PRTS family

The PRTS student council organized a cultural night to highlight all the different countries that PRTS students come from. Everyone was asked to bring an appetizer or dessert from their country. PRTS has students from 14 different states and 24 different nations this semester.

Mabel and her friend, Eva, at the PRTS Cultural Night.  Eva's parents are from Malawi and her dad is actually the chief of his tribe.  These two were also baptized together. 

I couldn't put the video here, but if you go to my Facebook page, there is a video of the PRTS kids singing, "God is so Good," in multiple languages.

Andrew's day out

Blue grandpa and grandma took Andrew for a day this week to celebrate his birthday.  He had a GREAT time alone with his grandparents!

After a hearty McDonald's breakfast, they went for a walk in the snow.

 

And they did a special project with Andrew.  He helped screw this bench together and paint the legs.  He also got to take some lego men home that Grandpa found in some furniture.  Andrew really enjoyed this project and now we have a beautiful bench on our front porch.

When I was growing up, I would sometimes leave notes written in chalk around my dad's shop.  He says he kept finding them years later.  Andrew left some notes too.  This one says, "Satisfaction Guaranteed!"

Sledding!

Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma, for a great birthday gift!

What's Cookin'

Mon~Southern Slow Steaks, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans, bread (It's my mom's birthday!)
Tues~My birthday!  Oh, and its kids' night at Applebee's!
Wed~Boys and Chris have a pizza party for Boys and Girls Club.  I think I'll make Pineapple Salsa Chicken.
Thurs~Enchilada Casserole Pie, cold veggies
Fri~PRTS Culture night-I'm going to bring either Dutch meatball soup or boterkoek.
Sat~David Kwekel Benefit at Cascade Grill

What's Cookin'

Mon~Honey balsamic pulled pork, roasted potatoes, carrots, salad
Tues~Better than Panda orange chicken, loaded fried rice
Wed~Goulash, red lobster loaf, green beans
Thurs~Chicken gloria, egg noodles, broccoli
Fri~ TACO NIGHT!
Sat~Pizza

Double digits!

Andrew turned 10 YEARS OLD on December 26!  Chris took the day off from work and we all went to the museum together. 

Andrew is really into lego so he was excited when I made a lego cake topper for him.  He has a huge lego city built in his room that he plays with every day.  He also loves to read.  Mysteries are probably his first choice, but he likes history and science books.  His favorite series is the Chronicles of Narnia, which he's read 2-3x.  He loved The Hobbit, too.  You can often find him drawing pictures which usually involve some kind of super hero character.

Andrew has proven to be a big help to me, especially with a newborn in the house right now.  He loves little kids and is usually willing to play with Luke or hold Mabel if I'm busy with something else.  He can be tad forgetful, but he is very diligent in doing his school.  He just finished his 4th grade math book and is starting 5th grade math.   

 

His favorite gift?  A spy kit I found at Meijer for 50 cents!  His first target was Noah.

We love you, Andrew!

The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.

Proverbs 23:24

Mabel Anne is 3 months old!

 

Our baby girl is now 3 months old.  It's always amazing to me how fast the itty bitty baby stage goes.  She is still very much an infant, but you can tell she's getting older (and bigger!)  She gives smiles more frequently now and she sleeps about 10 hrs most nights.  We are still working on some sort of consistent schedule during the day.  She is my first screamer.  I have never heard a baby shriek and scream the way she does.  But we still love her! 

What's Cookin' and a recipe for Chicken Burrito soup

I tried a bunch of new recipes last week.  Monday's chicken burrito bowl was just so-so.  The instant rice really soaked up the moisture to make it kind of glumpy (new word).  The white bean soup I made with a ham bone and the cottage meatball pie are both recipes that I will make again.

Mon~Tomato orzo soup, grilled cheese
Tues~Chicken Tet, green beans
Wed~Youth group dinner
Thurs~Meatloaf and gravy over mashed potatoes, corn, cauliflower
Fri~PCS Spaghetti dinner
Sat~Pizza

Last week I made chicken burrito bowls and had mounds of leftovers.  On Thursday, I used some as filling for enchiladas, but still had a bunch leftover.  So I invented Chicken Burrito soup, and it was pretty good!  A little spicy, but still yummy, especially with sour cream and tortilla chips.  Here's the recipe:

Chicken Burrito Soup

olive oil
small onion, chopped
1 t dried minced garlic
4-5 cups of chicken broth, depending on how soupy you want it
14.5 oz diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
1 c of cooked brown rice
1 c of beans (black/pinto)
1.5 c cooked chicken, chopped
1/2-1 chipotle pepper, minced (depending on how spicy you want it)
2-3 T of homemade taco seasoning, or use your own variation of taco spices

1.  Saute onion in olive oil until tender.
2.  Add rest of ingredients and simmer about 20 minutes.
3.  Top with sour cream, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips.

Aww!

Aaron and one of his best buddies, Raelyn

What's Cookin'

Mon~Chicken Burrito Bowls, salad
Tues~Barbecue chicken, potato wedges, cold veggies
Wed~White bean soup, artisan bread
Thurs~Meatball Cottage pie, green beans
Fri~Goulash, Red lobster biscuit loaf, carrots
Sat~Pizza (Best pizza crust I've ever made), cold veggies

Mabel Anne and Emma

 

Mabel Anne and her first best friend, Emma Bergsma!  You can pick their best friends when they're only 2 months old.  :-)

My cousin, Annalee, took this picture.  I used to babysit her in church nursery, and now she's babysitting my baby!

Mabel Anne, 6 weeks

I had intended to take her picture at one month, but that didn't happen.  Now she is 6 weeks old!  Here she is on the beautiful blanket that her Aunt Aimee made her.

And I may see a glimmer of a smile in this one!

Fall 2014 pics

We performed an amazing feat a couple of weeks ago.  We took pictures of  6 kids!

Check out 2012 and 2013.

 

 

Luke, 20 months.

 

 Aaron, 4 years

 Joel, 6 years

 Andrew, almost 10

 Noah, 7 1/2 years

Mabel Anne Engelsma

(I've started this post about 4x but have been interrupted each time!)

We were so excited to welcome a little girl into our family on October 11!  Mabel Anne was born at 12:47 AM and weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz.  The boys were excited to finally have a little sister!  Our house has seen a pleasant explosion of pink since she's been born.  :-)

Mabel is named after my Grandma who passed away a few years ago.  I pray that she has her godly character.

 

She has the most hair of any my kids when they were born, and the darkest!  We'll see if she keeps it.

Finally home! 

1Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Psalm 103:1-5