Road Trip Food

Felt like making some treats for our road trip tomorrow and came across this site

http://www.picky-palate.com/. If you haven't been there go check it out. I made the oatmeal raisinet cookies. The boys said they are yummy.

I also found these beautiful strawberries and couldn't resist dipping them in chocolate. That get a big girl two thumbs up.

Hope your week is going well!

Card

Have you all heard about http://www.vistaprint.com/ I love it. You can go on and order free stuff. That's right free. You just pay for shipping. I met a gal that made the cutest mommy contact card. She passes them out at play group or when she meets someone at school. Well, I ordered a contact card. I needed something to give when I do speaking gigs. I love the pattern and 250 cards for free. Well, I paid for shipping. They also do pens and t-shirts and all kinds of neat stuff. You could do some cute stuff for a kids birthday.

So, maybe go make yourself a cute little contact card. It's free and fun!!

Spring Break

After 3 weeks of constant working. I mean there were days I subbed and then went to my literacy job right after. I was so ready for spring break. Our plans were a little different this year. With Emm being in school and not able to go any where with us we decided to open our lake place. Well, guess what happened? The temperature has taken a noise dive. We had big plans but now we'll get some things accomplished around here. You know, clean closets, cabinets, baseboards, paint touch ups and maybe a little sewing.

I did get us in here...Clifty Falls Inn. We found this when we took Emm to college. It is such a beautiful state park and the inn is beautiful. It's always full but I was able to get us in for two amazing nights. We can swim and hopefully hike a little. There is even a cave. The boys are so excited. It's also only 4 miles from Emms college so she's even going to come and relax a little bit.

I did buy some pansies. I am so ready for all the newness of spring.

Hope whatever your plans are that you have a great time!!

Thinking

Saw this quote and loved it.

Understanding that heavy things can't fly,
she let go of what was weighing on her heart,
the things she could no more control than carry,
and she gave herself a chance,
a chance to reach into the unassuming blue,
to embrace the possibility of an open sky,
with an open heart.
She gave herself a chance to soar.
-Jodi Hills

It makes me think of what I'm carrying that is holding me back. What do I need to free myself from so that God can use me more. He wants me to soar. Do you have something that holds you back? Are you truly free from the burdens of this world? Our deliverer has rescued us and we are truly free but are we living it?
Just a little nugget to think on.

Make today count!!

Birthday Continued

So the boys birthday continued with a special dinner at Texas Roadhouse and it dawned on me. no more 12 and under menu for us. We had a wonderful dinner and the boys even got a special after dinner treat...a saddle was brought to our table for them to sit on. We had no takers but they sang to the boys and it was nice and embarrassing for them. Of course it was all my fault.

I picked the boys up from school with 6 other boys and we head to "That Fun Place". They played games, laser tag and even got in some black light golf. Devoured a XL pizza and breadsticks and were ready for home. They are all great boys and boy can they eat. We had a snack bar waiting for them at home. We said no gifts but the boys came away with quite a bit of cash.

I must admit it was a little strange not having Emm there to share all the fun but she did call and wished them a Happy Birthday. Once again life is all about change and not being together on birthdays happens. It's okay and just part of growing up. I never knew mommies had so many growing pains. So, I survived and I am learning to embrace having 2 thirteen year old boys in the house.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Birthday Greetings to our Boys

Well, 13 years ago today I was in pre term labor and they couldn't stop it any longer. By 12:30pm our boys were born 5 1/2 weeks pre-mature. They weight 5'6 and 5'4 so their size was good but not their lungs. They were transported to another hospital and put in the NICU. I had a c-section and it wasn't able to see them for 3 days. It was one of the hardest times in my life. We had been praying that God would surround them with angels and give them the best care possible. He never fails. When I was finally able to go I was amazed by who their nurse was. It was a dear friend from high school. I started crying so hard because I knew she was the angel God had sent to my boys. After ventilators and feeding tubes and daily information sessions our boys were finally able to come home.

That first year was tough, my hubby kept saying but there's two of them!! We have such great memories of pulling them in their wagon to go see sissy play softball. To this day people still say I remember you pulling those boys in that wagon to go to the ball games. It's a little different this year not having sissy here to celebrate the day but we are taking them to dinner and having an all boy sleep over tomorrow.

What I love most about our boys is that they are so different. They were in the same place at the same time but as soon as they were born they made it clear who they were. Levi is oldest by 2 minutes and he doesn't let Garrett forget that. He is very strong in his thinking. He can fix anything!! He loves football and is so disciplined. Hard work doesn't scare him. He uses all my parenting skills and some I never knew I had. He doesn't say I love you all the time but when he does he so means it. I love having deep conversations with him. He is a dreamer.

Garrett is a love bug and so athletic. He has captivating blue eyes and is so patient with people and younger kids. He is quick with compliments and says I love you and hugs a lot. He loves tennis and wants to be a pro, but he is also not opposed to becoming a pro fishermen.

These boys are a true gift to us and such a blessing. I always tell them they started off weak but man are they strong. They are so capable. It's not how you start it's how you finish. I am so proud to be their mom and I honor them today on their 13th birthday!!

Love Letters

So , we have tons of birthdays this month and everyone has a pretty tight budget. So what do you do when you want to do something for your loved ones? You write them a love letter. Recently my daughter and I had been talking about Elizabeth Barrett Browning and how she wrote love letters and her most famous, "how do I love thee, let me count the ways"
stuck with me. In a world of text messages, emails, blackberry's and face book, we have lost the art of writing letters to each other. In the good old days some of the best gifts were letters from a loved one. Jane Austen would even write stories as gifts.
With pen in hand I started writing a love letter to each of the family members that were having a birthday. I remembered those words how do I love thee and told them some reasons why I love them. I sometimes threw in a favorite memory. After our family dinner I stood and read each letter to the recipient. No TV , no Wii, just a blazing fire and words given as a gift.
One of my favorite moments was when my father in law, who suffers from Alzheimer's, called and said I forgot my letter and I really want it , so please keep it for me. My biggest surprise was that our twin boys who are turning 13 this week, both told me they liked their letter. There was even hugging involved!
It was refreshing to sit down and think about each person and things I love about them and put it to paper and actually share it with them. How often do we not share how we feel with someone? So get some nice paper and a pen and write a friend , a loved one or maybe your spouse a love letter. I highly recommend it.

Birthday Girl

This is my wonderful friend Robyn and she as you can see is an amazing mom to these three girls. It's her birthday today and I would like to honor her in today's post. She is such an awesome friend to me and a straight shooter. We all need one of those in our friendship pool. She loves the Lord and has grown so much in her relationship with him. God honored her faithfulness with a loving supporting new husband and after devastating miscarriages they were blessed with not one but two wonderful baby girls. Katey is the oldest and their first treasure .Did I mention an awesome big sister too? The bummer part not for her but for me is that God called them to Texas and I miss them something awful. I am so proud of the life she has made there and how strong she is. Man, you are strong!! She is creative, hardworking and such a great listener. I just want to wish you a very Happy Birthday!!
Big Hugs

Endorsement

Some of you may have started your spring cleaning and some are thinking about it. Well, I tried this product and love it. It's the pledge multi-purpose cleaner and it really works great. It's nice only having one can to carry around instead of 3. My only complaint ...I wish it would last longer.

Happy Cleaning!!

Please Pray

Please pray for this family. I can't even imagine this woman's pain. I do know God is our comforter and we can lift her up and ease her pain.

http://www.mckayfamilylife.blogspot.com/

Stuff

Sorry for the lack of blogging this week. I have been working quite a bit. Thank you Lord. Here is one of the bargains I got when Emm was home. The clock is awesome and only cost me $5 at Kohls on clearance. It was originally $50. I got the little frame from dollar tree and put the numbers 143 in it. I love that and I saw it on a blog awhile back and I so wanted to do it. 143 stands for I love you. I like that it's a conversation starter. My friend Holly has a number placed in her family room and it's their lot number from when they build their home. I always thought that was so cool.
I have to share something really exciting , a good friend of mines niece is getting crowned Miss Indiana tonight!! Since Miss Indiana became Miss America they needed a new one and Miss Megan Meadors is it. He is a very proud Uncle. I think it's awesome.
My mom won an awesome sculpture wall hanging , it's just beautiful. Go check it out on her blog.(sidebar blessing your socks off) Whats even neater is it was her birthday. God is so good.
Hope you have felt his presence this week .

Here She is

This is my friend Michal that you all have been praying for. She is sporting her chemo cancer fighting fanny pack. She is precious and I wanted to share this picture with everyone so you could see that smile. That I will not give up smile. Thank you for praying for her as she is battling but is so hopeful. She is on her second round of Chemo.

Time Flies

Man did this week with Emm fly. It's now time to take her back. We had a week of Dr's appts,walking pneumonia, swim meets, FFA , birthday dinners and a little shopping. We found the coolest flip flops. They are called fitflops. They are a little pricey but I am a flip flop girl. They are even suppose to trim our tooshies. I'll keep you posted on that one.
So I hope you all have had a wonderful week and I will be posting some pictures of some bargains we found.
Have a great week and a wonderful start to March!!