Day 16: Thankful for Snow

First snow fall of the year!

The kids were so SO so excited.  As soon as we were home, they grabbed the snow gear bin and went outside.  Luke took a nap while they played in the snow for a good hour.
After that, they came inside, hung up their wet clothes and we all had some hot chocolate with marshmallows.  Snow definitely is more fun with kids, that's for sure!

Day 15: Thankful for Emma

This girl never ceases to amaze me.  In the year we have lived in Cashmere, she has grown and matured so much.  She is such a silly, fun, responsible, persistent, headstrong, loving, caring, sensitive, happy girl.

I am so happy and humbled to be her mom.  She is definitely supposed to be the oldest.  She came to this earth at a perfect moment in our life.

She is so eager these days to help wash dishes, clean her room, do things by herself and discipline her sister & brother ;)

I am so very thankful that Emma came to our family over 6 years ago and grace us with her presence :)

Day 14: Thankful for Pinterest

I love Pinterest.  It's amazing.
I have been a faithful member for almost the whole year.
I use it for recipes, craft ideas, clothes, DIY, activities, organization, color schemes...you name it, they got it.

I just love getting inspired!
Please please please, if you do not have an account and want an invitation, let me know!  I will send you one!

BUT

A warning...
It's addicting.
You will not get anything done.

Hours will go by without you realizing it.

Make sure as you Pin, that you do things you pin to make yourself feel productive.

Here are a few pins i've found lately:

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So are you on Pinterest yet?

Day 13: Thankful for Menu Planning

A few years ago, I was at my wits end.  I just had Luke, the girls were still at home, we were in Las Vegas doing the 1-year residency for Joe's GPR.

Life = CHAOS

I finally sat myself down and planned dinner for the week.  I started small to not overwhelm myself.

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Looking back, I don't know why it took me so long to meal plan.  It is so nice to have things organized and set each day, so at around 3 pm, I am not frantically running around the kitchen, trying to figure out a meal for that night.  It has helped me out immensely.  Plus, we have save money with going to the store less and only buying things on my list, instead of a free-for-all at the grocery store.

If you haven't jumped on the meal-planning caboose, do it now!

And I do my meal planning on Sunday evenings.  It calms me down.  It allows me to feel productive and organized when the rest of my life isn't.

So here's how my week looks:

Monday: Taco Salad (romaine lettuce, avocado, egg, tomato, veggies, in a flour tortilla)

Tuesday: Spinach Lasagna

Wednesday: Creamy Baked Chickpea Casserole

Thursday: LOs

Friday: BBQ (Church Activity)

Saturday: Penne With Califlower & Capers

Sunday: LOs

Ideally, I will post this each week but no promises :)  And if you have noticed, this week's menu is meat-free.  Well we have jumped on the Vegetarian wagon.  It's been a month now and I am really liking the side effects.  I truly feel better these days.  :) :)  That's just my personal opinion.

Day 12: Thankful for Saturdays

I love Saturdays.

They are so relaxed and productive.
We usual make pancakes on the weekend.  And when i am feeling patient, I let them help ;)

They love helping and cooking.  It's really fun to see them standing together, helping.

 I couldn't help it, I had to take a picture of Kate's rats nest.  Every morning, without fail.  It's kind of cute in a deprived sort of way...

Have you seen these?  I recommend getting shapes for pancakes.  They are so fun for the kids!

And this is the best pancake recipe.  Courtesy of Martha.  Without fail, it hits the spot.

Day 11: Thankful for Freedom

God Bless America
Land that I Love.
Stand beside her, and guide her

Through the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam.

God Bless American, My home sweet home.

I would be ungrateful if I didn't post about my lovely country that we live in.

We are truly blessed to be in this country.

I am sad to see it in the state that it's in.

People don't realize what is happening to our rights and freedoms.

We need to wake up and protect what we have before it's too late!

This country was set aside by God to give us a place to live and worship in a safe place.
Things have certainly changed.  But one thing we can't do is push God aside through these troubled times.  If anything, we need Him more than anything right now!

Thank you to all those who have fought to protect and keep our freedom alive.

Day 10: Thankful for D.H.

I have a confession to make....

I am obsessed with D.H.
No, DH doesn't stand for Darling Husband...I had a post dedicated to Joe already, remember?

D.H. stands for Desperate Housewives.

Now, you are probably thinking, well, um most people are.  It's been around for 7, 8 years?

Well I am happy to say that Joe and I just discovered it a few months ago on Netflix and we have been hooked.  When it first came out, we had just gotten married, trying to be good and not watch crap...weeellllllll times have changed!

It's just good, old-fashioned entertainment.
I look forward to the evenings so I can watch another episode.  And it's become Joe and I's tradition every night.  We eat dinner, get the kids to bed and then we go and relax and watch an episode of D.H.

Right now, we are in Season 3.  So I know we've got plenty of episodes ahead of us.  And i'm looking forward to each one.

Thank you Desperate Housewives for allowing me to enjoy and relax each night.