Friday Funnies...

Hey your tree is wigglin'! ( when we went to Aunt Barb's for Thanksgiving we hear Ryan yell from the front room where the Christmas tree is - " Hey your tree is wigglin'." Right....)

Logan now says "CHEEEESE" and will pose for you.

"You pray, I eat." - Ryan

Ryan loves to make up words right now - his favorite right now is "tinko"????

Ryan also has discovered its funny to "fart", so you will frequently hear him say "oh I fart in my pants - then laughter follows."

Logan is quite clumsy - the other day he : grabbed on to the stove handle bar and then just let go when it started to open and fell on the back of his head; fell down 3 stairs hitting the front, back , AND side of his head; was running around being silly when SMACCK! ran face flat into a wall. (We couldnt stop laughing); and fell and hit his chin (of course leaving ANOTHER mark). ALL IN ONE AFTERNOON!!!!

SO much to be thankful for

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
So today I was thinking about how blessed I am... kinda sad we only make a point to do it one day a year, we should have Thanksgiving once a month! Ok... so I guess that's a bad idea with all the food intake on Thanksgiving. Well, for me anyways. In a recent posts I asked for suggestions on starting traditions, and well one just fell right in line. Yesterday I was looking for a recipe for a squash casserole http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Autumn-Squash-Casserole/Detail.aspx and found one that will now be our official squash recipe! It was SO yummy! But, back to my point. As I was searching for recipes I found one for pumpkin pancakes and nutmeg whipped topping - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Pancakes-with-Nutmeg-Whipped-Cream/Detail.aspx. Not only was this yummy but different for us. I made pancakes and we watched the Macy's Day parade - while I snuck in often to cook other delicious treats. This is something we hope to do every Thanksgiving morning from now on.

What am I thankful for?

Of course I am thankful for my AMAZING husband, and 2 beautiful boys. My home, and transportation God has provided. But let me be specific.

I am thankful for the FREE car we were given, in GODS PERFECT TIMING.
I am thankful for the job I just received - that I prayed for specifically, with specific desires within the job.
I am thankful for my neighbors who consistently befriend us, help us whenever needed, and would sacrifice their desires to help us if needed. Sometimes I am amazed by their generosity compared to others who "have a relationship with God." I love them like family.

I am SO thankful for a community group who is open, honest, generous, and down to earth. There have been weeks that the only thing that kept me going was this group of people. They are amazingly devoted to God and to learning more about who he is, and deepening our relationship with him.

I am thankful for disposable diapers!!!! I know some of you out there use cloth diapers (you will probably receive some kind of award in heaven for this), but I am not that person. As quickly as the smell arrived it can be out the door!!!! Especially since my lil LJ is VERY regular - eat poop sleep - eat poop sleep!

I am thankful for my mom and her friendship and love. I love that I can call her no matter when and she will listen to me --- I miss her, and am grateful I could spend a week with her last month.

There's more --- but these are on my heart right now.

What are you thankful for?

Friday Funnies...

So several things I remember saying - gotta write that down for Friday, and then I didnt and now I'm sitting here wondering what it was that was so funny! Silly me. So from now on I will keep a draft as things happen throughout the week and save it til Friday! But I did have something to share...

RYAN:
So Ryan is in Cubbies at Church on Wednesday nights. Each week he memorizes a verse. A couple of weeks ago his verse was "and Jesus grew in wisdom." Then this past Wednesday we were on our way home from church and Ryan started to talk about growing and how it hurts his legs. Then he says "Jesus grewed." I said, yes Ryan he did. Then he said his verse "Jesus grewed in wisdom and thats why he grewed very big". It was cute that he related his growing to that of Jesus'.

LOGAN:

Logan absolutely LOVES music. He now hums (or sings in his own language - always getting the tune right) the B-I-B-L-E, I'm in the Lords army (his fav), ABC's, and as of today the theme song to WONDER PETS. Lord, HELP ME! (That show drives me nuts with its repetition!)

Also, not one of the things I'm happy about but later it was funny. Last night about 1/2 hr. after I put the boys in bed I heard screaming. I went upstairs to see about the problem, and Ryan was crying and Logan was just looking at me holding a toy light sabre in his hand. Ryan said " I was sleeping and he hit me". I can only imagine - Ryan the innocent one sleeping peacefully and all of a sudden being woken as a toy is coming right at you! As I looked at Logan he said "UH-OH". It was a little ironic - I mean usually its the other way around. I think Ry better watch his back from now on!

My little snow"man"

Today Ryan and I decided to play in the snow while Logan was napping. I had SO much fun!! Really, I enjoyed Ryan chasing me and saying "look mom!" only to throw a snowball in my face! I am amazed at how much he has grown mentally, physically and spiritually since last winter. He physically is now enjoying playing in the snow. Mentally he enjoys the games - the tricking me only to throw snow at me! And then there's the spiritual. He noticed the snowflakes. Not just snow as a whole. Then we proceeded to talk about how God made each and every snow flake different. As I was telling him this he said "mom I know - I learned it in cubbies." So here are a few pics from our day in the snow! He Got me! Cant you tell how excited he is!

Ryan attempting to make a snowball.

Trying to throw the snow at me as I ran away!

A look down our street on this beautifully snowy day.

Obvious : Snowball in action! Coming at me!

Meals - 11/21-12/5

I dont neccessarily need to assign these meals a day, as long as I have between 12 and 14!

Soooo.... here it is:

Potato Chowder ( SO easy!) - http://mommabeesrecipes.blogspot.com

Ravioli Primavera - from an old taste of home mag. Will post later.

Enchilada Casserole, corn, tortilla chips

Chili - recipe from the FLY lady herself:), and cornbread

Cream Baked Chicken, Veggies

Meatloaf, potatoes, and mixed veggies

Lemon pepper chicken, wild rice, and veggie

Salsa Chicken quesadillas

Stuffed Veggie Shells - http://mommabeesrecipes.blogspot.com

Eggplant Supper Soup

Spaghetti with meatsauce and garlic toast

Smothered pork chops ( watch for recipe post later)

Tacos

Baked Pesto Chicken http://mommabeesrecipes.blogspot.com

Homemade Pizza http://mommabeesrecipes.blogspot.com

More to come

Getting ready for the job interview - no long posts right now:) more to come....

Salsa Chicken... compliments of Terri!

Recently a friend sent me a recipe for Salsa Chicken. This is the EASIEST and a very tasty meal!

However many chicken breasts you choose. ( 3 large to 1pkg. of seasoning)

Then generously spread taco seasoning (powder) all over the chicken.
Then generously cover with salsa (I use mamma mia salsa - Vicki:)).

Then bake the chicken until it is cooked through.
Next dice the chicken. This is where you can be creative. I believe Terri eats this with chips and salsa... we have made chicken wraps, quesadillas, and also enjoyed as a chicken taco salad. The quesadillas are our favorite! Simply put a tortilla in the frying pan or on a griddle. Put whatever you want on your quesadilla on one side of the tortilla. Then fold. Let that side brown lightly and flip. Then remove and cut into 4 triangles.

Enjoy!

Tricolor Casserole ... like a warm pasta salad.

A friend gave me this recipe a yr or so ago. It is a great potluck casserole because it's so easy, but also VERY kid friendly. My boys love it. They dont like everything in it but they like to pick the ham, corn, and the color of noodles they like out! Hope you enjoy!

Tricolor Casserole

1 pkg (16oz) of tricolor pasta
1 1/2 cups fully cooked cubed ham
1 can whole kernal corn, drained
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 can (2.8 oz) french fried onions, divided
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth1 can condensed cream of ckn soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp each: celery salt, garlic powder & pepper

Cook pasta according to directions; drain. In a greased baking dish, combine pasta, ham, corn 1 cup cheese & 3/4 cup onion. In a bowl, combine, broth, soup, milk and seasonings. Pour over pasta mixture; mix well. Bake @ 350 for 30 min. Sprinkle w/ remaining cheese and onions and bake 5 min longer or until heated through. Makes 8 servings.
For freezing: cook pasta a little less...follow same direcions, except don't bake . Cover and then I put the extra cheese and onion in a baggie on top of the foil covered dish. I like to split this into 2 square foil pans or it will freeze in one 9x13 pan. I let thaw in the fridge or just cook longer if frozen solid. Sometimes, this will need a little more milk if the noodles appear to dry out.

Fall 2008

Nana and Ryan looking cute together - Just wanted to share some more pics from my visit with my mom... I love her!
Joe in his wolverine costume talking to some hot chick (Rick)

Carving the pumpkin - silly faces.

Ryan and I at Charlotte on a brisk fall day!

We really enjoyed this fall... and now it looks like winter has arrived!

Christmas... YEP I said it!

CHRISTMAS is around the corner! Yes, I know we haven't even made it through Thanksgiving, but I am trying to get pumped up! I have been very sad lately as we will not be with any of our immediate family this year other than ourselves, for Thanksgiving OR Christmas. I started thinking last night about the last 4 years Joe and I have been married. What our Christmas' have been like. I am finding that we haven't really started any of our own traditions... and I'd like to. I'm just not sure what! Also I'm wondering if there is anything exciting that other people do to "stay connected" to family they are away from during this holiday season. I'd LOVE to hear some ideas. The one tradition we have kept is going out for Chinese food on Christmas Eve... that one was inherited from his family. In the past (not every year or consistently) we have made Christmas cookies, gone to see SANTA (this deserves another entry entirely), gone to look at Christmas lights.... So I am asking for ideas!!! My boys are 3 and 1... I want to make memories that will last a lifetime (good ones preferrably!).

Coronary Christian

Sometimes I get discouraged being mommy, a little more than I should lately! Then I read this and was so encouraged - I want to share!


John Piper—from his book The Roots of Endurance resonated with me:

“As I write this Preface I have just preached to my people several messages in which I pleaded with them to be ‘coronary Christians,’ not ‘adrenal Christians.’ Not that adrenaline is bad, I said; it gets me through lots of Sundays. But it lets you down on Mondays. The heart is another kind of friend. It just keeps on serving—very quietly, through good days and bad days, happy and sad, high and low, appreciated and unappreciated. It never says, ‘I don’t like your attitude, Piper, I’m taking a day off.’ It just keeps humbly lub-dubbing along. It endures the way adrenaline doesn’t. Coronary Christians are like the heart in the causes they serve. Adrenal Christians are like adrenaline—a spurt of energy and then fatigue. What we need in the cause of... [motherhood] is not spurts of energy, but people who endure for the long haul. Marathoners, not sprinters.”
Being a wife and mother—or doing any other long-term kingdom work—requires us to be “coronary Christians.” It requires faithfulness even when we don’t see the fruit. It requires joy in the mundane, unglamorous tasks. It calls for confidence that God will bless our gospel-motivated labors.
So if you are weary, discouraged, or even bored with the work God is calling you to today, join me in asking for God’s grace to be a “coronary Christian.”

Friday Funnies...

ME: Ryan, you need to take care of the things God gives us. (after he tore a page in one of his books.) God is not going to give us new things if we don't take care of what he's already given us.

RYAN: God will fix my book mom.

Hmmmm....

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An old one that Ryan has said several times is "my mouth farted."... and recently he learned that he "farts" and thinks it is quite funny. So yesterday he burped and said "my mouth farted, no thats silly... my mouth is stinky not farts!".... Not sure about this kid.

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Logan is truly coming into his own personality, but has so many traits that Ryan does also. It is amazing to watch. He has been "giving kisses" for awhile now, but Ryan is disgusted by the drool. Lately he has gotten better and will close his mouth to kiss and say "mwaah"... so the other day Ryan was laying on the couch and Logan snuck up beside him and kissed him right on the lips. I laughed as Ryan is screaming "EWWW! Logan ONLY kiss my head - thats GROSS!"

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Logan also loves music. So recently I was singing "I'm in the Lords army" with Ryan and he caught on. Now when we get in the car he often starts out with "yes sir! hmmm hmmm hmmm".... He cant pronounce the words but definitely hums the tune and when he gets to the "yes sir!" you know it!

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Now this one I'm not proud of, but it happened and it was hilarious at the time. The other night I was annoyed by Joe and I was exhausted and wanted to go to bed. So as Ryan Joe and I were standing in the bathroom getting ready for bed I think I must have rolled my eyes and walked into our room and shut the door. As I did, Ryan said "where's mom going?" to Joe. And Joe said " I think she wants to go to bed", and Ryan's reply was " I think she's pissed." Both of us couldnt help but laugh, then proceeded to tell Ryan we shouldn't use that word and neither should he.

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Friday Funnies...

Recently I read a blog from another mommy, who posts funny things her children do each week. I thought this was a GREAT idea, as I have had several little notebooks lost of sayings and things Ryan has done. It makes me sad to lose those, because in all reality I do forget the little things they do that bring me joy. So each Friday I will post sayings or things the boys are doing throughout the week. This is mostly for us to look back on, but if you enjoy reading -- go ahead!!

Eatin' Good in the Neighborhood...

Ok. I'm no Applebees, but I will admit we have been eatin' good around here lately. (Not always the best thing for my weight... but most has been healthier!) I recently went to a friends blog who moved away to AZ. I check her blog frequently to keep up with her life, and she always has new and great ideas to keep the kids busy - for free! (thanks Terri!) So as I was looking at her blog I saw a blog for recipes... little did I know this woman goes to my church but we have never formally met! The recipes have been amazing AND easy! A few new things we've had lately are:

Veggie Stuffed Shells
Potato Chowder
Baked Pesto Chicken
Oatmeal Carmelites

I say if you're a woman (or man) with a busy family like ours, you should totally check out her blog! http://mommabeesrecipes.blogspot.com/ Let me know if you try anything yummy from there... I'm interested. I can't make EVERYTHING there.... so I'll be waiting for you to do the taste testing!

Bittersweet Weekend...

This weekend wrapped up my mom's 2 week visit (actually just 10 days...). Friday we spent the day at Strong Museum with the boys trick-or-treating and enjoying the Halloween festivities there. I dont know which word describes that best - fun - or insane! There were so many people there, the line extended around the building. I think I should look back next year as a reminder of just how crazy that was!! After that we came home and mom watched the boys while Joe and I went to hunt for last minute costumes... totally fun! We dropped by the good ol' V.O.A.... to find some interesting and downright hilarious costume ideas. I'm sure my husband trying the spandex jazz costume on in the middle of the store added to the event! Needless to say, we found costumes! Joe decided he would purchase a Wolverine costume that will fit Ryan next year and pinned it to his upper half of his body... then made his own claws out of hangers and duct tape. I was impressed with his idea. I went as bat girl or woman.... and Ryan was batman. Logan - Blue, from Blues Clues, and my mom went as a high school graduate. After all the hustling to get costumes on etc, we were on our way out the door for an evening of trick-or-treating at the Dyer's house. (our community group) Fun was had by all... but as the night progressed I became all to aware that my mom would be leaving very soon. So we left a bit early so I could spend the last couple of hours with her. She left early that morning, and Saturday was quite emotional for me. I really am praying that it will be possible to see her again before next year... I miss her already. While she was here we had a great time! Not only did we do lots of sight seeing... mostly looking at the fall leaves, we managed to get to the Strong Museum of Play, the Seneca Park Zoo, a garbage plate was appreciated, we fed the ducks, strolled Medley Ctr while the boys played, had a girls day of SHOPPING and relaxation (THE BEST PART BY FAR!), and mom even watched the boys one night so Joe and I could go on a date! We also enjoyed lots of baking, painting pumkins, and chatting. Here are a few pics from our time together with more to come:

I'm sure there are others out there who live great distances from immediate family (Heidi...), how do you stay connected with those you love? I would love to hear ideas. With Joe's family living in PA, and mine in Tx, no matter where we lived we'd always be far from one of them. I really would like my boys to know all of them... any suggestions?