Special thanks to Sandra for hosting!

The weather in my neck of the woods:
What a gorgeous morning - started out below 50 degrees, heading towards 75 degrees. Feels like fall!

One of my simple pleasures:
Warm slippers on a cool morning
Sleeping with the window open
Quiet, peaceful evenings

On my bedside table:
The Secret, Beverly Lewis
The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers: Spiritual Insights from the World's Most Beloved Neighbor, Amy Hollingsworth

On my TV:
Top Chef on Wednesdays - right now it is the only thing we watch...although I haven't been too pumped about it the past few weeks

On the menu for tonight:
Want to try something new, so need to search the recipe books a bit...really want sushi but don't have a bamboo mat yet...imagine, I can't find one in this town!

On my To Do List:
Pick beans
Stay on top of laundry this week
Clean one room a day this week, particularly the kitchen (a girl can dream, can't she?)

New Recipe I tried last week:
Pickle relish(Just look away when you're adding all the sugar!!)
Oatmeal wheat bread (Yum!)I actually made it from scratch and appreciate how it doubles as a work out for my triceps when I knead the dough!

In the craft basket:
Beans, beans, more beans...they keep a comin'
Tomatoes - not as many, but they are keeping me busy as well

Looking forward to:
Lifelight this upcoming weekend...Lincoln Brewster and Newsboys are topping my list

Homemaking Tip for this week:
Um, make sure the blender cap is on securely before starting...

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
My friend Missy had a great post this past week that I feel compelled to share with all of you...don't WAIT - read it now...

Favorite photo from last week:Camping in our backyard...

Lesson learned the past few days:
I have built in knee jerk reactions to many triggers...I need to learn to retrain them and think first, then act in love

On my Prayer List:
Those torn apart within their own church due to recent decisions
Our pastor, who commits to preaching the Truth
Our children, as they grow up in this crazy world, that God will be their all in all

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
But He said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the world of God and observe it." Luke 11:28

Have a great day!

Raise your hand if you are sick and tired of me telling you all how busy I am...Yeah, I see you all raising them and waving them frantically. I feel like I've been ranting and raving about the shortage of time in a day, and I'm doggone tired of complaining. I'm picking myself up by my boot straps and knockin' it off. Eeyore, step aside...I'm turning into Winnie the Pooh.

Well, not really. And, most likely, I'll keep complaining. But, not today. I'm just stopping in to say hello, and hopefully, if all goes well, barring unforeseen circumstances, I will soon be back to my regular blogging schedule. :) Not that there is one, but more often than once or twice a week is my goal.

You see, I love to write - I really do. I love to share my random thoughts and struggles. Because, I am real - a real wife, mother, woman, friend, sister, daughter, aunt, Christian, teacher, and bonafide nut case sometimes. :) But, I know there are many of you out there who can relate, and I am blessed to have found such wonderful "friends" through the internet...I'm looking forward to sharing more with you and growing together.

We started school this past Monday, which is a whole post in itself. But, I am going to reserve judgement for a week, and by then I will be sure to have a whole gamut of things to say. So far, all is well, and the attitude in the household has been positive - even from ME! :) We're still finding our wings in our current grade levels and know we are getting some of the kinks out. But, I am confident this will be a great year for all of us.

I put up 14 quarts of quartered tomatoes this afternoon and hope to get to the Roma ones tomorrow. Thinking about freezing them as I ran out of quart jars - that hasn't happened to me in years! I'm too cheap to go buy new, so I may scrounge around with my mom and sis and see if they have any to send my way...see if I can limp through for a bit until then. ;) Seriously, freezing is an option so I need to research it a bit more. Now that I have my handy dandy food saver, I am more apt to put something in the freezer knowing that the freezer burn won't be an issue.

Well, I've had a full day and still have a couple of things left to check off. I hope to see you all soon and make the rounds again to visit you as well. Bonnie, again, THANK YOU for your info on Google reader...life has not been the same since.

A couple of pictures to leave you with tonight...

Camo - the color of fun

Little TJ on the Prairie




There are no words...

Have a great day!

Thanks to Sandra for hosting!

The weather in my neck of the woods:
The weather has been so GORGEOUS this summer...today is going to hit 86 degrees but will cool down later in the day with some thunderstorms.

One of my simple pleasures:
The first, juicy tomato straight from the garden with a little salt. YUMMY!

On my bedside table:
Eating Well magazine
My bible
Three new books from the library, yet to be started
An empty Advil PM canister

On my TV:
Top Chef started a new season so that is all that we have on - we watch it LATE on Wednesday nights - 11pm date for me my hubby.

On the menu for tonight:
Time to do the weekly planning - tonight is chicken on the grill with fresh veggies

On my To Do List:
We're starting school today and my list is still pretty long - top couple of things are to continue to get things organized for school (I hate starting when I'm not completely ready) and canning tomatoes will probably hit this week as well

New Recipe I tried last week:
I tried a couple of new ones - but BLT's and gazpacho hit the spot this week!

In the craft basket:
Still gardening

Looking forward to:
Lifelight concert Labor Day weekend - Newsboys!

Homemaking Tip for this week:
Canning jars with lids make great (and pretty!) holders for things such as herbs.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
You know, once again, so many good posts this week that I am not going to pick a favorite

Favorite photo from last week:Might not have been last week, but close...poor kid doesn't have a tee to practice from, so he made his own!

Lesson learned the past few days:
It's never all going to get done, so pick and choose, and then live!

On my Prayer List:
Our pastor and family
Our church
Our family for a good school year

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
I used this recently, but am thinking about this for our theme verse this year in school...Romans 5:3-5 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Have a great day!

I have an ongoing issue this summer with all the produce coming in...well, it's an issue every summer, but for some reason, it is particularly exasperating this year. My fridge is too small to hold everything!

I have discovered, since we made an extra conscious effort to eat healthy, that my fridge is rapidly decreasing in size. I am constantly rotating to get something out of the back, move it to the front, to find that I need the thingamabob in the back again. Ugh. With the usual big bag of beans, cucumbers, refrigerator pickles, beet pickles, milk, juice, and what-not, the leftover space is minimal. Then, I bring home spinach, watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, and pineapple from the store- what to do? I already keep apples and bananas on the counter, so my fridge space is in a constant state of rotation. Good thing I used to work in a grocery store so I know how to "face" my shelves. I seriously just want to do an "about-face" every time I open the door.

What a dilemma...but, a blessing in disguise. I'm thankful that we have refrigerator full of food, and jobs to provide the money to purchase it.

I guess the dilemma isn't so problematic after all.

Today is the love of my life's birthday. I am married to a such a special guy - one who loves the Lord and is continually working to become the man that God wants him to be. He loves his children more than life itself - and me, too! Today is going to be a crazy one for him, but we're planning on meeting him for lunch to celebrate. One way or another, this will be a special day, and we are so blessed to call him daddy and spouse!




Happy Birthday, honey. I love you!

Special thanks to Sandra for hosting!

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Beautiful morning - for August, this is going to be a cool day with temps in the low 80's.

One of my simple pleasures:
Reading blog posts of my friends - and not feeling guilty about taking the time to do it AND writing blog posts and being okay with the time it takes to do so!

On my bedside table:
Water glass
Various books

On my TV:
Haven't had a chance to watch much this summer - but looking forward to Top Chef

On the menu for tonight:
Veggies from the garden - always a staple this time of year
Need to find a protein in the freezer! :)

On my To Do List:
Too long and extensive to list

New Recipe I tried last week:
YUM - I tried this Peach Crisp from Pioneer Woman

In the craft basket:
Still canning and freezing veggies...tomatoes are just starting

Looking forward to:
Getting my school room cleaned before school starts

Homemaking Tip for this week:
Read a tip this week about making breadcrumbs by putting bread into the microwave for three minutes - DON'T DO IT! Burned the bread and my house STILL smells like smoke!

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
Love reading blogs, but this week I did it in a big hurry

Favorite photo from last week:
A taste of summer

Lesson learned the past few days:
Think first - speak second. Enough said.

On my Prayer List:
Our pastor and family
Our military leaders
My children

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
Working on keeping my eyes upon Jesus - Love the trust Peter has in Jesus as he walks across the water, but how quickly we fail when we take our eyes off the source of our light, comfort, and peace...Matthew 14:22-31.

Have a great Monday!

I'm back from our huge whirlwind weekend up in Minneapolis - we spent a lovely time with my family from Saturday through Tuesday and made the most of our time together. We had a few items on our agenda, but it was a bit of a challenge to schedule all the different ideas we had to truly make it feel like a vacation. Here is the play by play so you can feel like you were a part of our adventure!

We left Saturday morning from our little log cabin, arriving at my mom's around noon for lunch. One of our goals this weekend was to get her a new TV and get her cable set up on the main level of her home. Of course, nothing goes quite as smoothly as intended, and for some reason the DVR refused to load the channels. According to the cable company, it was due to tornadoes in the area, so we would have to wait until the power interruptions were over. Evidence of the weather:See the sinister face in the clouds?

The kids were all happy because some of their cousins were able to come and stay at Grandma's...we were setting them up to be together the whole time we were up there, so they were excited about all the cousin playmates. Sunday started out with church with Grandma, and then we headed out to my sister's place. We hit Como Zoo which has, not only animals but also some beautiful flowers
Since we were at Como with most of St. Paul, we opted to head over to the mini golf course and break away from the crowds.
Some of us opted for a walk, where we were able to take a three generation picture before heading over to the restored carousel to let Miss TJ have a little spin on her favorite pony Then, we headed down to Grand Avenue to the place with the BEST ice cream! YUM! We finished the day with a BBQ at my sister's and enjoyed some patio time on a beautiful evening.

The next morning, Brad was off to play in a golf tournament fundraiser, so my sis and I were able to catch some coffee at Bread and Chocolate on Grand Avenue. Things have changed so much since my college days up there - it was fun to reminisce and see how far we've come. From there, we were able to go to Trader Joe's (YEAH!) down the street and get some much needed and long awaited supplies. We have NOTHING like that where I live, so I had to stock up (hoard) and know I will be giving a shopping list to my sis for the next time we are together!

Later that night, we moved on to meeting up with my brother and family for a night on their boat. They have a boat on Lake Minnetonka, so the adults gathered (thanks to my niece and nephew who stepped up and watched all the kids!!!) and went out for a cruise before stopping off for supper at Lord Fletchers. Minus the rain shower that Joel had to drive in, it turned out to be a beautiful night to be on the lake. It was so fun to just hang and enjoy the company of my family

- thanks to Joel and Kelly for the memorable (and exhausting for some!)evening!


Tuesday morning dawned bright and early as Brad and I were able to head to nearby Hazeltine Golf course to take in a practice round for the US Open...the course is beautiful!
We got to see some of our favorite golfers, except for Phil Mickelson who wasn't out on the course yet while we were there. Recognize this guy?

The afternoon was spent at the beach with the kiddos, and Tuesday night Brad headed off to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes/PGA tour dessert event...it featured Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson, Kenny Perry, and J. Rollins all gave their testimonies and shared their faith with the attendees. Brad said it was very affirming and made him want to join the tour all the more! :)

Exhausted, we left Minnepolis around 10:30pm and got home at 2:30 am. Somehow, we managed to stay awake on the drive home and Brad was off to work the next morning as scheduled. Now, we are getting back into the groove again, doing laundry, picking veggies from the garden, and assuming the daily grind. But, we are thankful to have shared a wonderful weekend with family who went out of their way to adapt to our crazy ideas and schedules, and put up with us day in and day out. Their extra efforts did not go unnoticed and we were so blessed to share the time with them.

Family. Nothing like it in the world. God has blessed us tremendously.

No time to post tonight as we get ready to head up to Minneapolis for a quick trip to see my mom and family. Life has been spinning out of control, but hopefully some perspective can be gained while we are away. I miss blogging, but know that something has to give these days while life carries on...I hope to get a chance to update you this weekend on the many things going on -

Until then, please know I am reading your blogs as I am able - (THANK GOODNESS for Google Reader) and know that I will get into a regular posting pattern very soon.

Take care - until next time!