house pic 2007

i just found this picture.

this picture is the reason why we even looked at this house.

although it's now red, has a porch full of furniture (NOT an old Lazy Boy or anything trashy like that....just rocking chairs and such), and hello, the flowers, mine never looked that good and the trees in the background are now MASSIVE! 

still, don't cha just want to roll around, like a little puppy in that grass??

i love home.

 home is where my heart is. (sorry, that was SO cheesy)

but it's true. 

culinary rut

what will YOU make for dinner tonight??

yesterday, my bff asked me at NOON what i was making for dinner.

then we laughed together, both knowing FULL well...

1. i'm not a very good cook.

2. i won't actually have what i need for a full meal in my pantry/fridge.

3. i have REALLY  kind of picky eaters.

4. most importantly, i NEVER, (rarely) think about dinner before i get the daily phone call from the hub, in his sweet little voice  studly, MANLY voice asking "so babe, what you thinking about for dinner?" bless that dear man that i call my hub....he doesn't expect much and he's always so gracious when i say, "i don't know...what do you want?" which in other words means 'what are YOU making us tonight?'

here's something funny....i collect cookbooks.

yes i do.

but only ones from churches or schools and ones that have pictures. i'm a visual, i need pictures.

that's a good sign that i love cookbooks...maybe, just maybe SOMEDAY i'll learn to cook.

that being said, i don't hate cooking.

in fact, i kinda like it.

my sista made me a dang cute apron that i LOVE and feel purdy in every time i wear it.

it makes me feel VERY June Cleaver like.

  IF i actually had everything in the house that i needed to complete a full meal, i might even cook everyday. or every other day. or every 4th day.

probably every 4th day.

here's another little tidbit that you may not know:

my mother-in-law feeds us twice a week.

sunday noons and wednesday nights.

is that not the sweetest thing EVER??

it isn't a big sit down meal, it's more 'come when you can, eat what you want' meal.

sundays it's ham buns....(yes, she's Christian Reformed. that's what we do...eat ham buns).

wednesday nights it's usually a roast.

she does Hospitality well.

she always has the coffee on. everyone is always welcome.

one of these days, i'm going to do a post on my dear in-laws.

 they are a bunch of saints...i'm so honored to be a part of them.

we are a loud, crazy bunch and i love it.

so....what recipes work for your family?

what do you feed 'finiky' eaters?

do you usually have the same menu from week to week?

throw out ideas.

except for lasagna, spaghetti, pancakes and pizza.

those are the few items on your weekly/biweekly schedule.

i'm really good at those.

oh, and hot dogs. i'm a good hot dog maker.

i need to start mixing it up a bit.

trying new stuff. stepping off the 'safe food ledge'.

talk to me.

guilt...

ok, so here's the thing. one of my 'famous' sayings in life is:

LIFE IS TOO SHORT FOR GUILT.

many of you have heard me preach this to you. sorry about that.

wouldn't ya know it, i'm feeling it today big time.

am i loving my family well?

am i spending enough time with friends?

i should have called her and let her know i was thinking about her but i didn't.

i didn't pray for them like i said i would.

i eat too much garbage.

i didn't do my devotions last night, instead i played Tetris til 2 am.

i don't know Jesus like i want to.

i didn't do the laundry.

the fridge is dirty.

all i want to do today is watch HGTV or the DIY channel.

i don't exercise enough.

i don't read enough.

my car is too dirty.

blah. blah. blah.  

i didn't blog as often as i promised myself (or you) i would.

i want to think that i do it so that I'll have a running snippet of our life for my kids.

 i want to think that i made a goal and i must keep it.

but come on, let's be honest here. truth is, i've been hearing, over the past few weeks that there are a pile of people (strangers/friends) that follow my blog (those of you who read but don't leave comments!! you know who you are!:)) and i don't want to let you down.

do i blog because the weight of knowing that i may be 'erased' from someones 'favorite' list suffocates me? i know this because i've been know to NOT check those who don't update their blogs often enough.

gasp.

i lay awake at night thinking, obsessing over what i should or shouldn't have done.

why do i do this?

and WHY, WHY must there be guilt attached?

 i feel guilty to not know the answer to WHY i feel guilty.

 

 i must STOP the guilt train!

hop off and run.

RUN the other way!  

spill it...what do you feel guilty about?

and please, PLEASE don't tell me NOTHING because then i'll have guilt about that.

talk about a train wreck

what is character?

i've always loved the word Character.

i remember way back when, in the early 90's, i read a book, while i was going thru some 'interesting times'.

it was written by Bill Hybels. i don't remember the name of the book or even what the jist of the book was about but i do remember ONE sentence.

'Your Character is who you are when no one is looking'.

this one statement shaped areas of my life that needed some MAJOR shaping.

i was 'freshly' out of high school. had a few bucks in my pocket. was hanging out with a group of not-so-good-friends and a far too much time on my hands.

i was making some poor decisoin. ones that i know did not reflect the way that i was raised.

the above sentence hit me right between the eyes and part of me changed.

i was reminded that even though, no one (especially my parents.sorry folks.) were watching me,

i still had my Character to uphold.

did i continue to make some not-so-healthy choices? yes. i'd be lying if i said 'no'. but let me tell you, i definitely thought more about my way of living and attempted to live as if everyone were watching me instead of no one.

thankfully, i serve a Giant of a God who protected me during those turbulent years and for that, i am eternally grateful.

here it is, almost 20 years later, i'm attempting to teach these things to my own children.

"if you can't say it front of your mama, you shouldn't be saying it."

"even when your parent's aren't there, God IS."

these are statements that i make often to my boys.

this brings me to the question of guilt.

at what point is guilt healthy?

do i guilt my boys into feeling bad about poor choices? 

is that a good thing or bad thing?

do i let them make poor choices and then punish them?

do i attempt to stop the bad choices before they make them?

what issues are 'character issues'?

of course there are the obvious....lying.stealing.cheating.

what about being unkind? or not using your time wisely?

are those character issues?

what punishments do we dish out for these behaviors?

like with most parents,we struggle with this.

we want our boys to have a conscience when they make poor choices but how do we go about doing that without ALWAYS being that nagging parent?

what can we be doing to better teach them Christian Character?

am i more worried about their character or my/their reputation?

i feel like (especially after a FULL week inside!!) i spend SOOOO much time getting after them about the little things. then i think, are they little things??

maybe they're little things now but if i leave them 'unchecked' will they become BIG things?

do i celebrate the little GOOD choices they make or do i spend more time looking for the bad ones?

sadly, some days it's easier to see the bad.

 i'm working on this.

i have so many questions that are buzzing about in my head.

can someone please, take a few mins. and give me the right answer for each question above?

ok, at least answer this one question.....

what are you personally doing in your home to teach good character to your kids?

share the wisdom readers.

this mama needs some good, solid wisdom.

smiling jack

there is something SO endearing about jack in a backwards hat.

or little people with baseball hats on backwards.

or medium people.

or grown men.

heck, i love backwards baseball hats.

just not on girls.

girls should just stick with the bill out front.

but that's just my thought.

the end. 

snow days.....

i love snow days.

i can be inside, looking out.

i make boatloads of hot chocolate and don't feel guilt drinking 3 cups in an hour.

i love how happy my chllin's are when they're out there.

i love how well they sleep after a full day of playing.

these were taken this past tuesday......

my sweet jackson spends a LOT of his life on the ground when doing anything athletic.

 (you should see him on the basketball court)

it's not that he's uncoordinated....he's FAR from it...he's just passionate.

he puts his whole body into every move.

when daddy offers to pull him on the sled, he doesn't do what 'normal' children would do (SIT DOWN), he chooses to STAND.

i love the picture below where rye is laughing that he's once AGAIN, on his backside.

oh jack.....

......................................................

again....oh jack.

i love MANY things about my dear hub but one thing that i ADORE is that he does such a good job of teaching the boys how to have a servants heart.

tuesday night, he loaded them up and drove around town looking for people to help.

even though no one would be at church for the next 4 days, the hub thought they needed a little more exercise.

it's my prayer that our kids will grow up KNOWING that serving others is so much more rewarding than taking.

sad to say but i was disappointed to see the sun....

blue skies and sun can only mean one thing:

NO MORE SNOW.

boo.

i went digging thru some old 'snow pic' files and came across a few beauties.....

maxwell~2007

jackson~2007

samuel~2007

jack and kaid~2007

samuel~ 2005

also taken back in 2005. look how little they are!!

they barley come higher than the door handle.

sam is looking a little freaked out by all the brother loving.

little brother is loving the loving.

you'll wanna dance cake......

i have a dirty little secret.

i'm not a huge chocolate lover. oh, quit your gasping. i have other vices.

it always makes me laugh when people are shocked by that statement. (that i'm not a huge chocolate lover, NOT the fact that i have other vices. NO ONE laughs at that. everyone knows THAT isn't laugh worthy)

don't get me wrong, it's not that i hate the taste.

i don't.

i just don't NEED it the way some people do. if you told me i could never again have another sweet thing (ice-cream included), i wouldn't care.

oh, except for butterscotch. i love butterscotch.

but.....you take away my carbs and heads would be rolling.

when i want to snack at midnight, i'd rather grab a armful handful of chips.

a slice of bread.

pasta.

those are my vices.

salty and crunchy.

crunchy and salty.

salty, crunchy and fattening.

that's my weakness.

however......that being said~

i would possibly give it all up for this:

the world's BEST chocolate cake recipe.

trust me. i'm not lying.

since i didn't create the recipe, i can brag about it.

stinkin' amazing.

there's NOTHING like it.

nothing.

like i said, i may be willing to give up chips for THIS.

thank you Pioneer Woman www.thepioneerwoman.com for adding that extra 5 pounds to my backside last week.

yeah you.

if you have nothing better to do today, make this cake.

no, really, do it.

most of the ingredients you probably have in the house.

like the POUND of butter you'll need.

and the close to 3 cups of sugar.

your backside will thank you.

and...you'll thank me.

you're welcome.

CAKE INGREDIENTS~

2 cups Flour

2 cups Sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa

2 sticks of Butter

1 cup boiling Water

1/2 cup Buttermilk (i don't keep it in my fridge so i add 1 teaspoon vinegar to regular mix to 'sour it'.)

2 whole beaten Eggs

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Vanilla

FROSTING~

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (i don't put these in but if it floats your boat, do it)

1-3/4 sticks Butter

4 Tablespoons (heaping cuz more is better) Cocoa

6 Tablespoons Milk

1 teaspoons Vanilla

1 pound (minus 1/2 cup) Powdered Sugar

get baking....

use a jelly roll pan. (18x13)

~in a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

~in a saucepan, melt butter. add cocoa. stir together.

~add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat.

pour over flour mixture., and stir lightly to cool.

~in a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla.

~Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins.

~while cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. melt butter in a saucepan. add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. stir together. add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm make.

now dance. trust me....that's all you'll want to do.

dance and eat cake.

lots and lots and lots of cake.