The List Continues

“Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor Him with thanksgiving.” Psalm 69:30

In the midst of all the rain, I need to keep giving thanks.  I find it is one of the fastest and most effective ways for me to turn a bad mood into a good one!  Here’s what I’m thankful for today:

731. Kiera in one of her 3 summer dresses (this is the expression she gave me when I asked her to smile)

732. Drinking strawberry fruit smoothies while watching a movie with Jared after the kids were in bed

733. Playing nicely together with lots of toys in the bath

734. I ordered some items online and I got a notice to pick up my package and when I went to get it, they couldn’t find it.  Yesterday, I got a call that they had found it, so I was very thankful for that!

735. Food hair gel

736. Ladies brunches at church

737. Watching the kids enjoy their Easter cookies for breakfast (no, that’s not normal)

738. After almost a week of struggling with digestion issues again, things are back to normal now

739. This kiss

740. Meeting up with friends at the park

741. My new Skechers that I prayed for

742. That everything outside has turned green!

743. The lemon blueberry scones I made for breakfast this morning

744. Being able to sleep in

745. Being 27.5 weeks pregnant (just over 2 weeks ago)

It’s a Mess!

Almost 2 months ago, a friend of mine put up messy pictures of her house on her blog and asked if we would do the same.  It’s been in the back of my mind for a while and I’ve been taking pictures here + there.  Every day there is mess in the house, to varying degrees.  My kids definitely won’t remember me as the Mom who was always cleaning, as I don’t enjoy cleaning.  At the same time, I try hard to not let it get to pig sty level.  If I’m expecting company, I thoroughly clean.  If you just stop by unannounced, chances are, there will be mess.  That’s just the way it is right now!  Here are things my kids have spilled on the floor in the past few months:

Various storage containers

Books

Corn Bran squares

An entire container of baking powder (which then got tracked throughout the living room as well)

Flour

Cheerios

Popcorn

and now just the general mess…

Stuff on the kitchen counters

A piano that needs dusting often

The basement: we usually try to keep a path cleared through all the toys

It often looks worse than this, like last night.  We don’t generally get hurricanes in our area, but sometimes they manage to blow through my house!

You can be thankful I didn’t take pictures of Blake’s poop on the floor, which he has done a couple of times when we’ve let him run around without a diaper.  It worked great to get rid of his diaper rash, but fecal matter + urine on the floor were cons of that!  Having kids is messy, but I’m learning to embrace them in all their messiness, as Jesus does the same with us.  I also thank the Lord for brooms, vacuum cleaners, and cleaning products!  If you want to share your mess, feel free.  I dare you! :)

Go Deals!

I had typed this all out, and then I think Kiera touched a button, the computer froze, I hadn’t saved it, and had to restart the computer.  So, I’m trying this again! 

Yesterday, we found some sweet deals online, which I’m pretty pumped about!  I decided that I want to get the baby room ready, since it’s 11 weeks until my due date.  I wanted to get a dresser and a small lamp.

Our first stop last night was at the house where the lamp was.  It was a nice Asian lady selling it and right before I left, I said, “We’re trying to get the baby room ready.”  She asked if I knew the gender and I said, “Nope.  This is our 3rd.”  She said, “Oh, you look so young.”  I said, “I’m 27,” and then she laughed and said, “Yes, you are young!”  Looking around at my friends, I feel like I’m an average age to have 3 kids, but compared to the national average, I guess I am young. 

Anyway, when I looked online at small lamps, they started at $30 and most of them were more than $40.  We picked this up for $15.

Our 2nd stop was the house with the dresser.  This couple has a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old.  She immediately wanted to guess my kids’ ages, so she pointed and asked, “3?  Almost 3?”  I turned, assuming she was pointing at Kiera and my jaw dropped when I saw her pointing at Blake!  I laughed and said, “He’s 18 months.”  Now it was her turn to be shocked.  She said, “He’s SO tall.”  He’s in the 75th percentile for height, so it’s not like he’s off the charts or anything.  She asked Kiera how old she was and Kiera told her, and again, she thought that Kiera was tall.  Apparently her 3-year-old isn’t much taller than Blake and her 5-year-old isn’t much taller than Kiera, so I think she has short kids.  When we took Blake to the Olive Garden 2 months ago, he went up to some strangers while we were waiting for a table.  They asked him how old he was and he just happened to hold up 1 finger.  They said, “No, you must be at least 2 years old.”  I told them he was 16 months old.  I really don’t think he looks older than his age, but apparently others do. 

Anyway, when we walked in and saw the dresser, I was TOTALLY impressed!  The dresser is 5 years old and it looks like it hasn’t been touched.  It’s solid pine and we got it for $80.  Our friend came and helped us unload when we got home.  He works at a furniture store and he couldn’t believe how little we paid for it.  He said in their store, that dresser would be $400.  Here is a stock photo of it, except it actually has 4 drawers plus the 2 on top:

I haven’t taken a picture of either item yet, but I plan to do that.  I put the lamp on top of the dresser.  A while back, our friends lent us a 2nd crib (we plan to keep Blake in a crib for a while yet), another friend said we could borrow their crib mattress, and I found a brand new 3-piece Winnie the Pooh crib bedding set on Amazon for $25!  I’m excited and blessed to see how everything is coming together!  Baby, we’re VERY much looking forward to your arrival!

Enchiladas…I like that word!

Time for another Wednesday recipe.  This is another one of Jared’s favorites and the kids like it, too, which is always great!  I’ve served it for company a couple of times now and they have all liked it, too.  It’s very difficult to mess it up, unless you accidentally leave your toaster oven on broil instead of bake when wanting to bake the chicken.  That was right before my cousin arrived for supper and I had to throw the chicken out and start over, so that was a dumb move.  He was very gracious and didn’t seem to mind waiting for supper to be ready.  Here’s the recipe:

Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1/2 cup milk

2 cups diced cooked chicken (I bake a chicken breast ahead of time)

1 cup salsa (I usually leave this out because it’s too spicy for the kids)

1 tsp. chili powder (the ingredient that makes it taste amazing)

6 large flour tortillas

 

In a small bowl, combine soup + milk.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine chicken, 1/2 of salsa, chili powder and 5 tbsp. of soup/milk mixture.  Put chicken mixture on tortillas + roll up jelly roll style.  Place seam side down on a greased rectangle baking dish.  Do this with all of the tortillas and then spread remaining soup mixture over enchiladas.  Spread remaining salsa over.  Cover with foil.  Bake at 375 F for 35 minutes.  I find one of these is barely enough for our family, so last time I made double the recipe.  I’m not really supposed to eat these because of the soup, but I use almond milk as a substitute and then just eat 1 or 2 and it’s usually ok.  They’re SO good!

Things That Make Me Smile

“The more I count these blessings, the more I realize that they really are not the product of my own efforts. They are truly gifts of grace from God above. It’s incredible to open my eyes to them week after week. And humbling. That I should be graced with such wonders? Me… whose heart is weak and black, yet covered with much mercy. How great is Your unfailing love, Lord God of all!” ~Sharaya Crossan

I am so thankful for:

716. The new swing set the kids got as their birthday/Christmas present from my in-laws

717. Long week-ends

718. Peeking at her

719. The Cherry frozen yogurt that we bought: Cherry + Chocolate yogurt with black cherries + cherry chocolate chunks….YUM!!

720. Watching Kiera swing with her friend

721. Quiet reading time

722. Watching Blake’s reaction to the music in the headphones

723. Having to turn on the air conditioning!

724. What happened when I gave Blake Lucky Charms for breakfast

725. Chips Ahoy cookies, which went on sale

726. Kiera helping me with baking

727. When the kids are well-behaved at church, an answer to prayer!

728. The Mother’s Day gift Jared bought me (he gave me cash so I could pick out exactly what I wanted)…a new make-up case

729. Beautiful, sunny, warm walks to the park with the kids

730. Hitting the 6-month mark in my pregnancy at the beginning of May

Pie in the Sky

Recently, I tried making my own pie for the first time.  I had an extra pie crust left over from when I made quiche, so I decided to make cherry pie.  It was easy to make and it was SOOO yummy!!  Here is the recipe:

Cherry Pie

1 pie crust

1 can cherry pie filling

1 package cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

 

1. Pour pie filling into crust.

2. Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, + vanilla in a bowl until smooth.  Carefully spread around outside edges of pie, leaving a 3-inch circle of cherries exposed in the center.  Bake for 30 min. or until edges are brown.  Cool + refrigerate for several hours before serving.

 

When eating this, it felt like a little taste of heaven.  There are certain foods that automatically make me sing praises to Jesus and this was one of them! :)

Lots of Fun!

We had a busy, fantastic week-end! On Friday, we bought a deep freeze with money that we got back from our car insurance company and it was exactly enough! I had also prayed that God would provide money for me to buy new runners, since I didn't have any. On Thursday, I got paid for recording a bunch of piano songs for a voice teacher, so I had enough to buy some new Skechers! I am so blessed to see how God has been providing for us! On Friday, we also went grocery shopping as a family after supper. Usually I just go by myself, so it was kind of fun to go altogether. We ran into a lot of people we knew in the store, so it took longer than I had planned. Once we got back from grocery shopping, I unpacked the cold things and then left for a birthday party for 2 of my friends. I laughed a lot and just had a wonderful time!

On Saturday, Jared went to a friend's house in the afternoon to watch a movie, so I stayed home with the kids and spent time with Kiera in our back yard while Blake was napping. In the evening, my sister-in-law + brother-in-law came to baby-sit our kids while we went out for supper with a gift card that we got. After supper, we went to my cousin's bowling social (she's getting married in August). We played 2 rounds of Bingo bowling which was fun! We had never done that before. We got back after midnight and our baby-sitters were sleeping, which we expected.

On Sunday, we went to church. Jared got offered 4 free tickets from his work for a baseball game, so we dropped off our kids at my parents' house after church and went to the game with my other brother-in-law and sister-in-law. The weather was GORGEOUS and sunny and we actually got a bit sunburned (Jared did way more than I did). We went out for supper after and they paid for our meals, so that was very generous of them! We picked up our kids on our way home, put them to bed, and watched 2 episodes of "Undercover Boss." I LOVE week-ends like that!! Today, Jared took the day off to study, so it feels like a long week-end for us! Happy Monday! :)

A Recent Find

As many of you know, I am totally into all-natural, chemical-free products, specifically anything that goes onto the skin.  I learned not too long ago that whatever we put on our skin gets absorbed into our bloodstream.  There are many synthetic fragrances and harmful preservatives in most of the products found in the grocery store.  I found a website a month or 2 ago which I LOVE!  It’s http://iherb.com. They have thousands of all-natural cosmetic products, baby products, bath products, etc.  Every product lists the ingredients and has customer reviews.  The best part: the prices are WAY cheaper than in the health food store and it’s only $4.00 shipping to Canada or the States on orders up to $80.00!  I’ve ordered from there twice in the past 2 months.  So, if you’re at all interested in that sort of thing, feel free to check it out!

Gifts 701-715

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

I usually do my thankful posts on Mondays, but I still really wanted to do one, even though it’s Tuesday.  Here is my continuing list:

701. Spending time with the neighbor’s cat

702. That I got to go shopping with a friend on Friday evening and that after praying I would find some good deals, I got 3 t-shirts for $5 each, one t-shirt for $7, and one t-shirt for $9!

703. Easter baskets

704. Connecting with cousins at a family gathering

705. This little princess

706. That Jared made lunch on Mother’s Day (pancakes)

707. Finding treats

708. Reusable grocery bags

709.

710. The show “Undercover Boss” which Jared + I have started watching together

711. The kids all ready for church on Easter Sunday (the pictures of them in their nice outfits were taken by my Mom-in-law)

712. Not caring when Kiera gets dirty from jumping in puddles…clothes can always be washed

713. Ring pops

714. That “The Lord is like a Father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him.” Psalm 103:13

715. That my niece, Sophia, is finally starting to gain weight after having problems with breastfeeding for over a month, so that’s another answer to prayer!

Another First

On Wednesday, Kiera had her very first dentist appointment.  I really wasn’t sure how it would go, but I had talked to her a few times before about it and had prayed that it would go well.  When she first sat down in the chair and the hygienist lowered it, Kiera sat up and said, “I want to go home.”  I laughed and said, “No Kiera, they’re not done yet.”  She lay back down and the hygienist gave her princess sunglasses to wear.  She let Kiera hold the little mirror, so she looked at herself a lot and enjoyed that.  The hygienist said she would count Kiera’s teeth and chase the sugar bugs away.  Kiera had NO issues with any of it and I was SO relieved!  The dentist came in and checked her teeth after and asked if I brush her teeth and I said, “Yes.”  He said, “You’re doing a good job, Mom.”  That was nice to hear, as Kiera often fights me when it comes to me brushing her teeth, so it’s paying off!  Kiera got to pick a prize and she picked a bright pink ring which she was thrilled about!  When we were in the entrance just about to leave, Kiera asked, “Where’s the dentist?  I want to say bye to him.”  So, the hygienist took her back in to say good-bye to him.  They came back and the hygienist said, “She said bye and gave him a hug!  That will have made his day!”  That made me laugh!  Kiera has such a gift when it comes to how friendly she is and she blesses people without even knowing it.  I love seeing how God uses her.  After we left, she said, “That was fun!”  What a miracle!  God answered beyond what I had asked or imagined!

Quiche is an Odd Word

I recently found this recipe in a grocery flyer and decided to try it out.  I had never made anything like it before and it turned out very well!

Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 cup each chopped onions and broccoli

5 large eggs

1/3 cup miracle whip or mayonnaise

1/3 cup milk (I used almond milk)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 frozen pie crust (9 inch)

 

-Heat oven to 375. 

-Cook vegetables in skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat for 5 min., stirring occasionally.

-Beat eggs, dressing, and milk in medium bowl with whisk until well blended.  Stir in vegetable mixture and cheese; pour into pie crust.  Place on baking sheet.

-Bake 40-45 min. or until centre is set and top is golden brown.  Let stand 10 min. before cutting to serve.

This was very quickly eaten by the whole family and I probably could have made 2 of them for supper.  I didn’t think Kiera would eat it since there were mushrooms and broccoli in there, but she had no issues with it!  Yay!

On a completely unrelated note, Kiera + I spent the afternoon outside yesterday while Blake was napping.  It was SO nice to just soak in the beautiful sunshine.  At one point, we were sitting on rocks by our fire pit and I asked Kiera if we should pray.  I had somebody specific on my heart and Kiera agreed that we should pray.  I asked her, “Who should we pray for?”  She said the exact person I had in mind (someone we know who has cancer)!  I was blown away that God could speak the exact same thing to a 3-year-old as to an adult!  She prayed and then she continued playing.  That made my day! :)  

April Blessings

“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.  For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.  And always be thankful.” Colossians 3:15

Today, I am thankful for:

681. Baby bellies (this was mine over a month ago)

682. Our friends having us over for chicken wings + ribs + then coming over to our house to play games after our kids went to bed

683. Spiky hair

684. The gift card my in-laws gave us for a restaurant, which we went out for lunch to yesterday

685. Family cuddle time

686. The gorgeous weather we had last week

687. The kids enjoying blueberry muffins

688. Wearing sandals outside

689. Happy kids in the morning

690. That the cold I had was very mild and went away quickly

691. Silly hats

692. Feeling the baby move + kick inside of me…what a miracle!

693. When someone makes me burst out laughing

694. McDonald’s cheeseburgers, which we had for lunch on Saturday

695. Watching creativity in action

696. That “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

697. Brushing teeth

698. When the kids play nicely in the bath

699. Kiera trying out her tricycle for the first time

700. When we search we find Him: “I love all who love me.  Those who search will surely find me.” Proverbs 8:17