Life Journal

I have blogged about Life Journalling before but I thought it would be a great time to talk about it again since a lot of people resolve to spend more time in the Word for the New Year.  Life Journals are one way to have some daily time reading the Bible and then reflecting on what you read.  You can go to their site at www.lifejournal.cc and then click on "Read Now".

Their method involves reading through the Bible in a year and picking out one passage or verse a day to journal about.  You use the acronym, "SOAP"....

Scripture: write out the verse

Observation: write out this verse in your own words and what you feel God is saying in it

Application: write out what how you feel this applies to your life

Prayer: write a prayer of how you need help living out this verse or what you hear God saying to you

It is that simple.  Here is an example of how I would do it using today's passage:

S-So he went back to Nazareth with them, and lived obediently with them. His mother held these things dearly, deep within herself. And Jesus matured, growing up in both body and spirit, blessed by both God and people.  Luke 2:51:52

O-Mary probably couldn't fully process all the miracles she had experienced both before and after Jesus was born.  She did her best to raise her son all while trying to understand the words she had heard about her child from angels and prophets.  

A-As a mom, I understand what it is like to marvel at the promises of God over my children.  My kids aren't Jesus and they aren't perfectly obedient every day but I know that they have a special plan for their lives and I need to focus on holding those promises dearly.  I am here to raise them to know God and fulfill the grand plan He has for them.

P-God help me to hold the promises for my kids dearly, deep in my heart.  Remind me of what you have said is in their future and reveal to us as their parents how we are to lead them through their childhood.  God let me never be too distracted that I forget that nurturing their spiritual growth is the most important job I have as a mom.

I really enjoy this method and I find it helps me focus on what I have read.  I hope this can help someone else.  They sell journals that outline the method and have the daily Bible reading on each page but you can do this online or in any notebook.

Fall Decorating ala Pinterest

If you aren't a member of Pinterest yet, you probably will be soon.  It is finally a visual way to organize all those great recipes, tips, crafts, decorating ideas you see all over the web in one place.  It is very inspiring and I'm not just a "pinner", I'm a do-er!  I have made countless recipes and several new crafts based on my pins.

Here are some of my interpretations from my pins...

My front door wreath.  A simple grapevine wreath with rosettes made out of burlap and buttons:

and here is my indoor fall decor

I had been wanting some apothecary jars for a long time and I finally found them at a great price and for fall filled them with brown rice, split peas and pinto beans with a pine cone nestled inside based on this pin. 

Next project: thumbtack and decopaged pumpkins next to the front door!

Cheerleading bucket

My daughter does Upward Cheerleading and I love it.  We are very intentional about what activities to be involved in and this was a conscious choice because she needed more confidence, it doesn't over commit our time and it is very affordable.  I love that there is one game and one practice a week for about 2 months as well as the positive Christian environment.   My job this year was to help buy items and design the "cheer buckets" that would hold all their "accessories" (poms, megaphones, etc) and it provides a great place for them to sit before and after games.
We got 5 gallon buckets from Wal-Mart and I made a seat cushion using supplies from Hobby Lobby.  The blue cloth was some scrap felt and just some silver trim.  I traced around and then cut some Poly-Foam for the top, hot glued the felt around it and then hot glued it to the lid.  I then hot glued the trim all around and added stickers from the Homecoming Mum section and Scrapbooking sections.

7 Can Tortilla Soup

So cheap, so easy and quick.  I make this usually with cheese quesadillas for a great lunch or dinner.  Great topped with cheese, sour cream and or chopped avocado...and of course crushed tortilla chips!

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis (Rotel)
1 can corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can white meat chicken breast
2 cans chicken broth

Dump all in a pot, undrained...bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add any seasonings to fit your tastes.  I love the cilantro cubes you can find in the Mexican food section.  I also usually add diced onions and garlic but all are optional!

What we eat

So here are my most cooked meals every month.  Some with links to the recipes.  I think I may try one major grocery shopping trip for the month to buy most of the ingredients and I may even start cooking some ahead of time and freezing them so things go smoothly after school gets going.  Having a meal in the freezer keeps me from running out to a restaurant.  If a recipe involves ground beef we usually use ground turkey and look for other substitutions in these recipes to save fat/calories/salt.

Potato Soup with Paninis
Waffles and Turkey Bacon (thanks to this magic machine and the waffle plates)
Beef Stew and homemade bread
Slow Cooker Pot Roast, Mashed potatoes and Veggies
Ham and Homemade Mac and Cheese
Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Veggies
Grilled Salmon, Rice, Salad
Our Favorite Chicken, Rice, Veggies
Mostaccioli, Salad
Chili with Cornbread Muffins
Taco Salad
Stuffed Peppers with Veggies
Chicken and Dumplings and Salad
Tacos or Burritos with Rice and Beans
Spaghetti with Salad and Garlic Bread
Sloppy Joes with Sweet Potato Fries
Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup with Quesadillas
Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches with Steak Fries and Veggies
Baked Flounder/Cod/etc with Rice and Steamed Broccoli
Stir Fry Chicken or Beef with Rice (frozen stir fry veggies with the meat with this and then I make fried rice)
Marinated Grilled Chicken with Rice and Veggies


I usually try 2-5 new recipes every month so those are somewhere in the rotation and we eat out occasionally.
Share your family favorites!

Money Saving tip for Pet Owners

As many of you have heard, Wal-mart is now selling a generic version of Frontline called PetArmor.  I'm sure it is cheaper than buying Frontline throught the vet but there is another way to save money and keep those pesky buggers off your furry kids if they are smaller dogs or cats.  They charge you the same amount whether you are buying a three month supply for a Chihuahua or a Great Dane but the amount per dose is very different.  So I buy the biggest bottle designed for the biggest dogs for our Schnorkie (who only weighs 10 lbs) and just repackage and dose out exactly how much she needs.  I found an old Mylicon bottle that actually shows 0.6mL which is perfect because the proper dosing for a small dog is 0.67mL, so I just go a little over the 0.6mL line on the dropper.  I marked out the label for safety and keep the bottle inside the PetArmor box so there is no confusion.
Here is the dosing by weight as shown on an eBay seller's site who sells the larger bottles.  This is how I used to buy it before Wal-Mart began selling PetArmor.  This will help the boxes go a lot longer and ensure your furbaby is flea-free for cheap!

Cowgirl 1st Birthday

Here are some pictures from my little Charlotte's first birthday.  She is our first to be born in Texas so we thought a Cowgirl theme would suit her perfectly.  Here is her invitation (with a fake last name):

Our Menu was:

 Sliced Brisket or Smoked Sausage

Potato Salad

Beans

Watermelon

Banana Pudding Cupcakes with dark chocolate cowboy hats

Our drinks were Cowgirl Pucker (cherry limeade and pink lemonade) for everyone and Parker County Punch (Fuzzy Navel mix, OJ, and Malibu Rum) for the grown-ups

Here are the pics!

You can buy her shirt from www.leelynncrafts.com

My first attempt at fondant  for her smash cake

found the cowboy ducks on Amazon

They had this pinata at Party City.

Yee Haw!