What I Want You To Know...

As social networking sites have exploded with remarks, opinions, videos, etc concerning a certain "performance"...I was left with some thoughts, musings if you will. There really is so much one can say, but I will try and keep this short and sweet.

First, I am so out of the loop when it comes to "Hollywood Happenings". I rather keep up with people I know and care about then the people on the big screen or whose names are topping the Billboard's Top 40. After seeing post, after post, after post concerning a questionable performance by a certain ex-Disney star, I did, finally, take to Google.

My own thoughts about the performance are of no consequence, really. My opinion, like everyone else's, would fall in line with some people and be totally opposite of others. I would like to share my thoughts, though, about what struck me the most in all this, the young woman. The young woman who needed to hear 5 things as a young girl and let them become apart of her life into womanhood.

Now, this list of 5 things has not been "researched", it is not coming from "a professional opinion", and it will probably not be featured in the latest "O" magazine. This is simply a quick list I mentally drew up of what I want my daughter to know as a young girl, that would be part of her as a young woman, and stay with her forever.




1. Be a woman that passionately embraces God with no holds barred. I hope she can see the absolute beauty and fulfillment in such a love for her Savior.

2. No one, no thing, can or will complete you. I'm a hopeless romantic, so it seems odd to hear myself say that. A person can lose their self in trying to find that "completion". Being complete only comes when one surrenders their life to God and has asked Him to be the center of their life...being complete in Him.

3. Take pride in who you are and love the body you have...after all, "you are fearfully and wonderfully made". Comparing yourself to others and trying to be someone "different" is like a rose wishing to be a weed.

4. Cherish the man who calls you beautiful; question the one who says "you're hot". A man who is taken by your beauty is taken by you and all the things that make you, YOU. A man who is taken by your physical beauty, but has failed to see the beauty that is in your heart, mind, and soul will simply think you are "hot". He will not be worth another thought.

5. Your body does not need to be appraised, don't let it be succumbed to inspection. "Pride" and "prude" are not related...not synonymously, not antonymously (I may or may not have made that word up). Having pride in your body doesn't mean flaunting it about so it can be "graded" by society...it means loving it, cherishing it, and guarding it.

Now, here, is where I would also like to insert something about not using social sites as a "Dear Diary,"...but by the time Miss Priss is even ALLOWED to have her own kind of "profile"...it will probably be an outdated form of entertainment that they had "back in the day" and my point will be moot.

I want my daughter to grow into a young woman that is looked on with respect and honor, rather than disdain and humiliation. A young woman who reflects the love of Jesus everyday. An easy task? No. A task worth striving for? Yes.








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From Chickens to Cable...and a First Day of School.

Friday is here, another week completed. It was a big week in our household....worked on some things, started some things, and ended some things.

The week started out with a freshly mowed lawn. LOVE all the rain...but man, we have done a lot of mowing this year. Gertie and Gracie, our chickens, had a blast chasing all the bugs around after the grass was cut. Have you ever watched chickens chase a grasshopper??? Hilarious!




Anyway...life just became a little more interesting around here. Lil' Man started Pre-K. What a fun week we have had! Rather than enrolling him in a half-day Pre-k program, I decided to use my early childhood expertise and teach him myself. Coming up with a "curriculum" to fit his needs was difficult...I had to combine 3 year old and 4 year old material along with some kindergarten stuff. It isn't perfect yet, but you learn as you go, right?
I can't believe he is old enough to even begin this process. I am cherishing this time being spent with him and being able to watch him learn and grow. Being a teacher, it was always one of my favorite things to see the little light bulbs come on in my students' minds. It was a great experience to facilitate and cause such learning to happen. It is an awesome experience to be able to experience it with my own child.

Here is a little of what we did during our first week of school:







Now, if starting school wasn't exciting enough, we decided to really shake it up by dropping our cable and phone. What???? you may be asking yourself. Yes, yes we did. We bought a good old antennae from, you guessed it...Walmart and picked up an Apple TV while we were at it. We now get all of our local channels...some weird digital channels...and can stream Stuff from our iPad to our tv through the Apple device. We first went with the Roku, but exchanged it the next day for the Apple TV. Although the Roku has more channels, we like being able to stream (via AirPlay) from our iPads to the television wirelessly. Being able to stream from the iPad to television provides us the opportunity to, say...stream current Duck Dynasty episodes from the A&E app on our iPad to our tv! Yes, don't worry folks we aren't missing anything important by "cutting the cable". So far, it is all working out great....and saving us a lot of money a month. We decided that money could be put to better use...that and it just seemed irresponsible to be spending that much money for something so insignificant.

The top pictures are of the antennae (that's right...no "bunny ears"). The bottom one is the Apple TV.



The week comes to an end with my attempts at making some "fall-ish" outfits for little Miss Priss. Hopefully, it all comes out alright...it involves fabric dye. I'm a little nervous, I'll post later how it all comes out.

Happy Friday!


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"God is Great, God is Good..."

I am sure most of us can finish that line. It is a common prayer taught to children to say before they eat. While teaching the importance of prayer is a good thing, I can't help but be drawn back to Matthew 6:5-14.  Jesus tells us not only tells how to pray, but how not to pray.

As I prepared the Bible lessons this week for Lil' Man, I felt my heart yearning for him to have a true understanding of prayer. Our focus for the next few weeks is "Praying to our Father". I want him to know what a truly wonderful, intimate, and humble time it can be. I began my Google search how to teach children to pray and I found myself dismayed with most of the search results. Many of the suggestions that popped up were rote prayers for children to learn. I found prayers for bedtime, meals, when they are scared, etc. This is not what I wanted for my children. Jesus said "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard for their many words.". I feel like that is what I would be teaching my children to do, babble.

 I think we all, in some ways, have done this...myself included. I am not only guilty of the "babbling prayer", but have led my children to believe that is how to pray. Prayer time was almost tasking. A list, if you will, that had to be checked off as you talked to God. A prayer that was not much different than a rote prayer memorized as a child. I want my children to know that prayer is not something done out of routine, but out of a desire to be close to their Heavenly Father. I would much rather them forget a prayer at meal time than say a prayer over their food "because that is what you have to do".

Prayer is intimate. I think of the conversations my husband and I have about life, love, and family. The kind of conversations no one else is privy to hearing. We are not babbling out a bunch of nonsensical words just to be heard. There are times when the conversation is light and amusing; there are times when the conversation is deep and thought provoking. I want my children to discover the beauty of intimate conversations with the Father. The kind of prayer that is not trying to sound "smart", not trying to compete in "holiness" with another person, or trying to come up with the most words...no, I want something more for them.

So, again, I was back to how do I teach them this? You don't teach them how to pray, you show them how to pray. Is that not what Jesus did? Matthew 6:9 - "This, then, is how you should pray...". I know I make a lot of mistakes in parenting, but the one area I want to never fail is in raising my children to love the Lord, follow Him no matter what the cost, and fulfill His calling in their lives. I don't have the "right" answers on this subject...or many others. I can only go by what I feel God is leading me to do and looking to His truths.

This week, we, as a family, have really focused on praying to our Father. When routine prayer has been a big part of your life, it is hard to break away. Although hard to break away, it has been a blessing to begin to see the results. Out of the prayers we share together as a family, my hope is then that my children will be able to go to their Father during their own private time and bask in the special moments spent with Him.

In clarification for some of what I have written...I am not saying we never prayed...I am saying we fell too often into the prayer of routine. I am sure there are many people who have figured this out sooner and are tsking at this blog entry. If you, however, are like me - learning and growing as I go, then I hope this blog entry makes sense. It is not an entry to judge or mystify others. This is me sharing what has been on my heart; my hope and desires for me and my family.

**As a little bit of humor to my post...today Lil' Man was praying and part of his prayer (after telling God that he liked our chickens) was that we go to Walmart to get avocados. My favorite part about it, he said it so honestly and not as a "I want a new car" type of request. He never mentioned it before we prayed or after we prayed. It made me smile (and laugh inside a little).

Baked Oatmeal "Muffins"

In an effort to help the husband have a way to consume a healthy breakfast on his early busy mornings, I decided to hunt down my mom's old baked oatmeal recipe...the one I remembered her making 20 years ago for us kids. I thought it would be the perfect "grab-and-go" breakfast for those busy mornings. I also knew it would be a good healthy breakfast for Lil' Man and myself to enjoy as we started out our day too.

My hunt for this recipe took a little longer than originally planned. I have no idea where I placed my copy of the recipe, so I had to phone my mom for help. Thankfully, she found her copy and was able to give it to me. Thanks, Mom!

Although, not terribly unhealthy...I decided to adjust the recipe some to make it a tad more healthy. I substituted the oil with applesauce and the egg with banana. I want to add some chia seeds next time...read here why chia seeds are a great addition to your everyday foods. Chia Seed Benefits: 10 Reasons To Add Chia To Your Diet.

Why should you make these???

Busy schedule in the morning? Make these Sunday night and have them ready to go for the rest of the week as a quick healthy breakfast. Have plenty of time for breakfast? Make and eat them fresh from the oven with a side bowl of fruit and yogurt. Seriously, you can't go wrong with these little gems.




Okay...the recipe.

You will need:
1/2 cup applesauce
2 mashed bananas
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup of milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Baked Oatmeal "Muffins"

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Place the following items in a large mixing bowl:
- 1/2 cup applesauce

- 2 mashed bananas

- 2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1 cup of milk

- 3/4 cup brown sugar

- 3 cups rolled oats

- 1 teaspoon sea salt

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon

- 1 tablespoon organic coconut oil

* Mix all ingredients together and spoon into muffin tin

* Place paper cupcake cake liners in muffin tin for best results




* Spoon in oatmeal mixture into the liners

* Add any topping (strawberries, blueberries, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, etc.) you would like, I added chocolate chips and dried cranberries.




* Bake for 25 minutes
* Ready to eat or cool and place in fridge

** Heat for 15-20 seconds in microwave after being refrigerated **


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Grilled Tuna Steak with Creamy Jalapeño Sauce

This past weekend we enjoyed this delicious meal. My brother wanted a seafood dinner for his birthday...so we set out to make it a yummy one. I think we succeeded.

This dinner consisted of the following:

* Fresh Tuna Steak (grilled)
* Creamy Jalapeño Sauce
* Cilantro-Lime Rice
* Fresh Tomato, Cilantro, Lime Salsa










Enjoy!