Birthday Girl!!!

Today we celebrate the 8th birthday of our, dear, sweet, fiery, acrobatic, hilarious Gianna Marie!  I am more than grateful for the blessing she is to our family.  She’s a deep thinker, persistent, organized and a hard worker.  I think everyone needs a “Gianna”!  Love you sweetheart.

June 26, 2005 – Baptism Day!

Photo Courtesy of Kreps Photography

May 6, 2012 – First Holy Communion

Top-notch Big Sister!

 

Friday “FAST” tip

I don’t know if this will become a mainstay for Friday posts, but it has a nice ring to it and is easy to handle with a busy schedule.

So today’s fast tip is for making an easy meal even easier!

We love quesadillas around here, but to make enough for everyone to be satiated, keep them warm, and not take forever, can be a challenging conquest.

Have no fear, I figured out a sure fire wire to make all those things happen and no one complains.

BAKED QUESADILLAS

It’s really quite simple.

Ingredients:

Tortillas, Shredded Cheese, Butter

How-to:  I used smaller tortillas which helps me fit them on a baking sheet.  I make sure my cheese is shredded and a 1/4 cup or so of butter is melted in a bowl before I start assembling.  Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees while your at it!

Take a small handful of cheese (1/4 c. or so) and put on side of tortilla and fold tortilla over.  Place on baking sheet and repeat.  I line them up so they look like rows of upper case D’s.  Once you’ve filled your baking sheet, taking a pastry brush and spread on the side of the tortilla facing up.  Then flip all the tortillas over and repeat.  Once that’s done and your oven is pre-heated go ahead and stick them in the oven.  I do about 5 min and then flip again and bake for another 5 minutes.

I probably made that sound more difficult then it is, but I hope not.  From start to table, you can have quesadillas hot, slightly crispy and ready to serve in 25 min.

Serve with tortilla chips, salsa and fresh fruit.  (not all together, though!)

ENJOY!

 

 

Of course!

Do you ever get the feeling that God is using any means He can to get a message through to you?  

Have you ever read something somewhere and then again somewhere else and possibly again elsewhere?  

Maybe you’ve tried to “stick to your guns” thinking all along that you know what’s best but things aren’t leaning that direction.

Don’t feel bad if those fit you to a “tee” because I’m right there with you.  I’m hard headed and stubborn.  I want things my way and generally sooner rather than later.  I have no patience.  When I get a plan in mind, I want to execute it as quickly as possible.

All the while, I’m prayerfully saying things like, “If it be your will, Lord.”  or “Come on Lord, you know what I want please just show me it’s going to happen.”

Cause that’s how things work with God.  Bargaining.  Begging.  Pleading.

That’s not say God isn’t listening to us or that He doesn’t understand and appreciate our needs.  The thing is, He always knows best.

Much like parenting has taught me, sometimes it hurts to say no to a child or to teach them patience and redemptive suffering, but God chooses those times and occasions to bring about blessing.

So, if you’re struggling with accepting God’s will right now?  If it seems as though, His timing just isn’t going to jive with your schedule, take a look at this short but poignant reminder:

From “Sharing the Power of Jesus” on Facebook

Getting REAL about “real” food!

© Justmeyo | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

Back in January, I wrote this post based on my goal, as head chef and grocery shopper, about bringing more “real” food into our home.  Since that time, my family has experienced a slow but sure change toward a healthier menu and a healthier outlook on eating.

BUT….(isn’t there always a disclaimer?)

We still have a ways to go.

Like many things in life, there are always obstacles to overcome.  From budgetary concerns to a practical use of my time, there are obstacles that I’m constantly meeting but not always conquering. I choose to give myself grace in this area because every  little change I make, no matter how long it takes, will benefit us all in the long run.

Today I wanted to share with you 10 very specific obstacles in our “real” food journey and possibly an approach for how we are trying to conquer that particular bump in our journey.  (Some may never be conquered due to human weakness!)

1.  Soda 

-This has to be the one area that I find hardest to change.  I absolutely know and understand that soda has no health benefits whatsoever, but that doesn’t change my love for a fountain soda with pellet ice!  I plan on attempting to make some infused waters to spice things up a bit and see if I can at least limit my soda intake to pizza and burger nights!

2.  White sugar

-I love all the new natural sugar substitutes that I’ve tried in baking and cooking, such as succanat and organic raw sugar.  However, I still can’t find anything I like better in my iced coffee than a spoonful of white sugar.  Maybe I’ll be more likely to change my ways after baby is born!

3.  Ice Cream

-There’s nothing wrong with a bowl of ice cream, in fact I think it’s food for the soul.  However, I want to find some that is healthier without breaking our budget – not there yet by any means!

4.  Boxed Cereal

-Always a staple item in our house.  That’s what my hubby eats every day for breakfast.  I’m fine with cereal, but I want to explore other homemade options (besides granola) that please the palates of my peeps!  For now, I think we’re doing okay with choose the closest to whole grain w/o high fructose corn syrup, but there’s always room for improvement.  Not to mention that the cost of boxed cereal is pretty crazy – even at Aldis – the way we go through it at times.

5.  Chocolate Chips

-There are some fantastic, healthy chocolate alternatives out there, places that offer the most natural and awesome tasting chocolate.  Unfortunately, I would need to get a job to afford to buy it.  So we go with the good ol’ Nestle Semi-sweet chocolate chips for now.  We use them in our oatmeal (which I do use soaked oats now!!), cookies, homemade granola bars and in our own trail mix.

6.  Crackers

-Despite absolutely loving the homemade cheddar cheese crackers from Healthy Snacks to Go, I usually buy crackers at the store.  It’s one of those items I just haven’t made the time to practice and become efficient at making.  So to save time, I still by our crackers off the shelf.

7.  Coffee Creamer

-After several attempts at making my own flavored creamers and only coming up with mediocre results, I still buy my creamer at the store.  I’ve switched to Natural Bliss by Coffeemate and it’s good stuff, BUT not quite as good as the regular old French Vanilla!

8.  Organic/Non-organic

-I love the idea of eating all things healthy.  Fruits, veggies, canned goods, etc. that aren’t laced with laboratory made chemicals and artificial sweetners.  Unfortunately, there are some items I just can’t seem to justify buying the organic over the non-organic usually due to price.  For us, this is a budgetary issue as much as practical issue.  There are times I wonder if money were no object would I still pay $0.40-$1.00 more for an item???

9.  Meat

-Oh man is this a tough issue for me.  I’m surrounded by opportunities for good quality, healthy, locally raised meat, yet I don’t buy it.  This is simply a budget issue right now, but I do try to get some good stuff every so often!

10.  Milk

-All I have to say is this one comes down to getting free milk so beggars can’t be choosers!  BUT, someday I would love to be able to buy some yummy, organic, oh-so-delicious milk.

Any suggestions to help me in these areas?  Have you been able to find a good deal on organic items?  If so, tell me where!!

Not what we get out, but what we put into our worship matters most!

When you think of going to Church on Sundays, maybe you think of Scripture readings, singing hymns, or listening to the sermon.  Those are seemingly obviously experiences we might encounter at Mass and they cross my mind mind, too.

Before we had kids, worshipping at Mass was fairly easy.  It really didn’t take effort to listen to the readings, join in the singing, or to hear the homily.

After having children and in the trenches of raising them, worshipping at Mass on Sundays is a whole new ballgame!

Most Sundays I’m lucky if I hear the readings – I might have a wiggler on my lap or a curious toddler asking Church oriented questions or I might be taking a child to the restroom, I might even (possibly) be quieting barnyard noises coming from a wee one!

I love singing and while I’m not very talented in that area, I find it to be a very powerful means of prayer.  Generally, I’m able to join in the singing portions of Mass, but if I don’t already know the lyrics, forget it, because trying to hold a hymnal is almost always a bad idea!  More often than not, the hymnal becomes a projectile object aimed at the nice folks who dare to sit in front of us!

Listening to the homily, well, let’s just say I sometimes get the gist of the message!

So there are a lot of opinions out there about children in Church and after reading my above laments, you might be shaking your head at me and thinking things like bring duct tape or snacks or toys or why do we even bother having children in Mass.  You’re definitely not wrong to feel or think that way, and for some the idea of children in Church is appalling especially if they make a squeak.  For others, though, children need to be in Church, they need to learn to worship.

I just read a great quote from Four Moms + 35 Kids Answer Your Parenting Questions, KimC said,

If you invest time in training now, you will reap bountiful harvests later.  Our worship is our service to God, and He is pleased when we train little ones to serve Him as well.  He won’t mind if you missed part of the sermon yet again.

So despite the fact that I might walk away from Mass with little recollection of what happened during the Liturgy, I can be sure that on most Sundays I’ve done my best to help my children learn to worship and grow closer to God.  In doing that, I’m being drawn closer to Him through my children – the smells they smell, the sounds they hear and the other ways in which they experience God at Mass.

If you’re like me and have felt discouraged about what you’re getting out of Mass or your church service on Sundays, don’t despair but have hope in the little ones we are training to serve Him.  Someday we’ll have empty laps and quiet children at church and we won’t know what to do with ourselves!

What would I be doing?

I’ve always wanted to be a mom. 

I don’t know that I always understood what I was wishing for but nevertheless aspired to have a family.

I’m not sure that even 11 or 12 years ago, when my hubby and I first met, I actually knew what I was hoping for when I told people I wanted a “big” family.

Now I’m living that childhood dream and I have my “large” family.

Wow!

Being a mother is everything I ever imagined and a whole LOT more. 

No book or conversation with other moms or advice column can ever prepare a woman to be a mother.  Those are all great resources and means of support, but until you literally walk in the shoes of motherhood it’s all lip service.

If I knew what being a mother meant when I spoke of that dream so many years ago would I still choose this path?

Yes…10 Times over.

If not for this vocation, this gift that makes me whole, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

I can’t imagine anything different, not even for a second.

A mother is what God made me to be and being a mother is exactly how I will find my way to Heaven!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all the amazing mom examples in my life.  I thank the Lord that He put you there to help guide my steps.

What would I be doing?

I’ve always wanted to be a mom. 

I don’t know that I always understood what I was wishing for but nevertheless aspired to have a family.

I’m not sure that even 11 or 12 years ago, when my hubby and I first met, I actually knew what I was hoping for when I told people I wanted a “big” family.

Now I’m living that childhood dream and I