A Change to the Old Mundane

You can view these recipes here Honey Lime Chicken and Chocolate Applesauce Cake at chroniclesofakeeper.com

A little of this, A little of that

Thoughts For Today:

Cooking - 

I was recently talking to some people about my love for cooking. I, always reflecting on things, thought more about it today. I believe I have narrowed down my love for cooking based on these two things. 

~ I am a people pleaser. I love to cook a meal and see the reactions of people as they eat the food I prepared for them. I could cook all day and be perfectly satisfied to just watch people enjoy the meal I just made without ever getting to eat any myself. 

~Memories. Just about everytime I go to make a meal, I think about my dear Mama Linda. My great-grandmother and I spent many times in her kitchen as I helped her make various meals. The funny thing is...all these memories of cooking with her and learning some of her recipes happened before I was even 12 years old. Those memories are priceless. I loved cooking next to her and listening to her talk (I could usually understand about half of the conversation because she only spoke in Spanish to me) about life - the big and small things. She took great pride in cooking for her loved ones; I am so glad that is something I inherited from her. Now that she is gone, I love cooking even more. It is my way of remembering her. What I wouldn't give for one more time in the kitchen with her. 

  

Speaking of cooking. A meal I made today, which I found on pinterest, was very good and perfect for a night like tonight. I tweaked it a bit...added a dollop or two of sour cream, cilantro, lime, and tortilla chips. Very good.  

                               Chicken Enchilada Soup (Thanks Real MOM Kitchen) 

A Dare; A Love Dare -

Lance and I have recently started reading a devotional called The Love Dare Day by Day. So far, we are really enjoying it. What makes it really handy, is that it is an app on the iPhone. So, it is always with us. Even if he is at work, we can do it together. It is devotional I would highly recommend. I want to share one of my favorite parts from it.

"Paul the apostle endured beatings, intense persecution, and hardship throughout his life. He did it for one reason alone: "Christ's love" compelled him. If love began fueling your decisions, what would it drive you to do for your marriage?"

"Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 replacing the words "love" or "it" with your first name." 

Our goal in doing this devotional is not to "fix" our marriage. Rather, we are wanting to build our marriage with God at the top of it. 3 years of married life have come and gone...and we have loved every moment. We know the key to keeping it great is to keep God in the forefront of our marriage.

A Few Good Men:

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

I am currently looking for some good books to read on raising boys. Well, better said, raising boys to become strong men of God. I have recently felt the pressure of who I gave birth too, a precious little boy; A precious little boy that will grow up to be a young man...and then a man. EESH. Coming from a woman's perspective...I know what I need to do to raise a woman after God's heart...I am a little lost about how to raise a man after God's heart. Please feel free to drop any good reads on this topic.

. "I'm fine(d)" -

Okay, so funny thing happened today. For all of you FRIENDS addicts out there (like me) you will appreciate this. I have seemed to catch this awful little cold. Nose is stuffy, head hurts, throat hurts, etc. My poor students have to listen to me all day as I cough, sneeze, blow my nose, and frankly, my voice sounds miserable.  Well, as it so happens, I am working with my CVCV group today (silent e) and we are reading words, making words, just having a good ole' time with words. Towards the end of the group, I say "Okay, now I want you to spell the word fine". They pop off the lid on their Expo marker...they excitedly and hurriedly write down the word on my table (yes, they get to write on my table with Expo markers during flex time). They all look up at me as the finish their word. Eyes are beaming and they are anticipating my approval and "congratulations" on spelling the word. I look at each child's word..."find", "find", "finde". I think to myself...really? So, I ask..."I want you to look at your word. Tell me what it says" Of course, they all proudly say "FIND!!!" One student explains to the other that there is no "silent e" in find..."it is a word that doesn't follow the rules, remember?!?!" I finally ask why they all spelled the word FIND instead of FINE. They look at me with confusion on their face...one brave student finally says..."Mrs. Williams, you said find twice...we did spell find". I stop to think for a moment, then it hit me. I looked at them and said, "Oh, I am sorry I meant fine (really worked hard to say it correctly), like 'I am feeling fine'." They just say "ohhh", wrote the word and we moved on to close the lesson. I had to take a moment to LAUGH to/at myself. All I could think about was Monica on FRIENDS...."I'm fine(d)...I'm fine(d)" 

Tomorrow is Friday, with it comes new reasons to laugh, to enjoy, and to love this life!

"Here We Go"

"Here We Go" is the first Fresh Beat song Lil' Man LOVED.

I am beyond thrilled that I get to go on a very special "Mommy/Lil' Man date" to go see The Fresh Beat Band. I just wish I didn't have to wait until May 10th, but still VERY EXCITED. I have been searching through their tour dates since they first announced they were going to be starting the tour. Unfortunately, they were all so far away. Finally, I saw they were going to be in Dallas...they were sold out by the next day! So, when I saw the announcement on my FB page that they added a new stop...to TULSA, I immediately bought the tickets. 


The funny thing is, I do not remember being this excited about going to a concert since the Bryan Adams concert in 2005 or DC Talk concert back in 1999. (These are my two top favorite concerts)

Love his music

They will always secretly be my favorite band of all-time

All I know is, I need to make sure I have all the "new" Fresh Beat songs downloaded so Lil' Man and I will have plenty of time to learn them so we can sing our little hearts out on May 10th!

Deliciousness

So, I don't have much time..as I am finishing up dinner. I do want to share this delightful meal we had last night. It is a MUST try.

The Main Course:  Chicken and Cheese Lasagna Roll-Ups (click to go to recipe on ivillage)

FYI - not my own picture

Side: Roasted Broccoli (This AMAZING recipe my friend found on Pinterest and made for us and I HAD to
                                     make it again)

FYI - again...not my own picture

Dessert (Prepare yourself...it is very good):  Easy Banana Bread  (another Pinterest find)

I was thinking about what sounded good for dessert...yet I was TRYING to maintain a level of "healthyness". So instead of what really sounded good (see butterscotch/chocolate chip cookie below), I opted for a new recipe I had recently "pinned".

Instead of this

I am so glad I chose the new recipe! It was so DELISH!

I chose THIS

I urge you to add this to your menu in the very near future...you will not regret it.

Happy Cooking!

Something Beautiful

Proverbs 31 - "A woman worth far more than rubies"


These last two weeks, as I have searched God out more earnestly, I have felt him calling me to search myself deeper. I try everyday to do the right thing for my family, my marriage, my students, etc. I always have done everything I could to make all the areas of my life "richer and better". Little did I know, this would be my biggest downfall. 


I truly feel that God, in the last couple of weeks, has impressed upon me to "let go". Everything that I have been struggling with understanding about that concept, I felt was brought to light today. I was sitting in church and listening to the sermon about "giving everything - every part of you to God". I sat there thinking, not bad of a sermon, one I have DEFINITELY heard more than one time in my life. In fact, I could probably give the sermon myself. As I sat there, the oddest...no, the most beautiful thing happened. I suddenly felt God's presence, and in that moment, He was making sense of everything I was struggling to understand.  


 Letting go. I did not realize that it was something I had never quite done. I have always put my faith in God, prayed to him in the good times, in the hard times, and believed that he was leading me along the right path. The part that I was missing? I was setting myself one step in front of Him.."just in case". I am a planner, organizer, and a little OCD. I think these are all qualities that God can use and has used in me. However, the part I could not see, was that I needed God to LEAD in every aspect of my life. 


Letting go of everything is not in my nature. Thankfully, I was reminded of these words "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11.  These words, again, I have heard multiple times...but I never had thought to apply them to my whole life - my marriage, raising my son, taking care of the house, taking care of finances...so on and so on. I was limiting God on what I wanted Him to be in control of. 


So, today I have a new hope; A new purpose. My goal, is still the same. I do want great things for all that surrounds my life. The only difference is it will not start with "what I can do to make it better" but "what can I do". I am an instrument of God's plan and purpose and I do not want to set limitations on those plans again. It will be something that I will have to pray daily about...but I know that He will be with me leading the way.


I started this post with Proverbs 31 because these words have been impressed on me for two weeks. I have always loved PARTS of this chapter. I decided that there were things on here that were just outdated and no longer applicable. I am making it a point to study this chapter and really take in what it is saying to ME as a mom, wife, sister, daughter, teacher, and friend. I have no disillusions for this to be something I figure out overnight...in fact, I believe that this is something that God is going to have me working on for awhile. All I know, is I am excited to start this journey on becoming a Proverbs 31 woman of God and fulfilling my life as He planned it to be. 


I love this song by NEEDTOBREATHE and it really moved me this week. I love how God uses all kinds of ways to reach us.

Cilantro-Marinated Shredded Beef Taco

You can find this recipe at my new blog chroniclesofakeeper.com

http://chroniclesofakeeper.com/2012/01/14/cilantro-marinated-shredded-beef-tacos/

Craftsmanship...A Little of What My Husband Can Do

 I thought I would brag a little bit on my husband and post some of his handiwork. He really is so talented. All his work first starts as an idea in his head, then he sketches it out himself, and goes to work starting from scratch. His next project is building two bookshelves for our living room. (I will post pics)

                                        An Outdoor Bench

Extra fence panels??? Make a bench!

                                          Coffee Table

From an old door...to becoming the top of a coffee table 

Perfect for storing things! Totes on one side full of toys and scrapbooks on the backside.

               A Bench For The Entry Way

From a bi-fold door

Side view

                      Shelf/Curtain Rod

What he can do with a few pieces of wood

If there is anyone interested in his work and would like more information on having him build you something, please leave a comment or email builtbylance@yahoo.com 

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

This blog has moved to chroniclesofakeeper.com

3,2,1...Happy New Year!

You can find this recipe at chroniclesofakeeper.com

http://chroniclesofakeeper.com/2012/01/01/321-happy-new-year/