Special thanks to Sandra for hosting!

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Cool and crisp morning...it's been much colder than normal here but today should be perfect - in the low 60's.

One of my simple pleasures:
Dark chocolate - GOOD dark chocolate...AND taking the time to enjoy it

On my bedside table:
What a Girl Wants by Kristin Billerbeck = funny!

On my TV:
Way behind on Dancing with the Stars so we will most likely delete
We have only been able to keep up with Survivor and Top Chef - that's all we've been watching

On the menu for tonight:
Football games tonight so I have to figure out something quick and easy - suppose I'll put some soup in the crockpot

On my To Do List:
So much on this list - Brad was a tremendous help this weekend even though he wasn't feeling good. I have had back spasms for three days and they are finally better today. So, the grandiose ideas for the nice weekend kind of went down the drain. Need to prioritize and get some things done today, but still take it easy

New Recipe I tried last week:
I tried a polenta lasagna last night from a magazine - okay, but not enough to make again
Also made the pioneer woman's red potatoes
Homemade fajita mix

In the craft basket:
Buttons to sew on some pants

Looking forward to:
Get together for women at church tomorrow night
Also, looking forward to having my back be at 100% - pain is so mind consuming

Homemaking Tip for this week:
I discovered that my dishwasher, which is next to my sink, kicks off a lot of heat during the drying cycle - enough heat that it may affect the flavor of my extra items that I store under the sink - olive oil in particular. I had never thought of how warm it would get under there, so now I have to find a new spot for those items!

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
I didn't get as many read this week as I usually do

Favorite photo from last week:

Lesson learned the past few days:
Middle school years are rocked with changes in mood and behavior. Many times, you just have to sit and listen and wait for the rant to end.

On my Prayer List:
My family
My pastor
The military

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
Brad and I are facilitating a very powerful class this year called Living by the Book. It shows how to really get into God's Word and study it. The bible is really coming alive. I was particularly moved this week by Isaiah 55 as it speaks to joy and hope beyond our current every day circumstances. God has a plan for us, and whether it is involving joy, or pain, he is faithful and true.

Have a great day!

When we were at my mom's this past weekend, my daughter came up from the basement all decked out in this beautiful wedding dress:


I about had a fit, thinking she had rummaged through my mom's heirloom items to pull out this dress. But, my mom, in true giving fashion, stated that she had pulled it out for the kids to wear as dress up since it wasn't doing anybody any good being stored in a bag in the back of a closet.

I was pondering that today, as I think about the things I don't use - saving them for a special occasion, or for a later date. How many candles do I have that are mere decoration, but have scents that would warm the house if I just lit them? Why do special dishes get stored away to use but once or twice a year? Is my family not special enough to periodically pull them out and make a memory just for the fun of it?

I like my mom's attitude. She brought such joy to my daughter and all her other granddaughters as well. Sharing such a special piece of her past, and seeing the joy of her grandkids as they "ooo" and "aahhh" over such a beautiful dress...what a blessing.

It seems I do this with God's love as well. I store it internally, keeping it to myself, pondering and thinking about how I can share it with others, but never quite taking that step out of my comfort zone. Thoughts of "there will be a better time", "I'm not quite ready", or "I might be rejected" all take center stage. I can justify it quite easily...I have hopes of people just seeing the joy radiating from me and then THEY'LL ask ME about what makes me tick...rather than me taking the first step.

I like my comfort zone. I like the boundaries that I have set up - the comfortableness of this lackadaisical attitude. But, that's not what I've been called to do. God didn't accept me into his kingdom only to have me take up space and sit idly by. He commissioned me to get my bum in gear and reach out to others. He's challenging me today to do that.

And every day.

I want to make my baby steps into giant leaps. I pray he gives me springs on my shoes.

And they sure fly by...

We had a whirlwind trip to Minneapolis last weekend, filled with family and fun. We experienced snow...
Sweeping views of downtown Minneapolis...
And a silly game called Hammerschlagen...
Yes, this is a silly little German game which involves hitting a nail into a piece of wood - with the wrong edge of the hammer. It ends up being quite humorous, and we were entertained for multiple rounds.

Upon our return back to the frozen ground we call home, we scrambled to get back into the swing of things in our 48 degree house. We did turn the heat on once we got home (doggone it) and are living life high on the hog at 65 degrees throughout the day. :) We're hoping for temps to head back into the 50's this weekend so I can get out and take a few kid photos on the rare chance that I find colored leaves still on the trees as opposed to the ground.

As always, life continues to fly by and we have to make a choice to sit back and enjoy it. I pray I can share with you all soon some of the many things floating around in my mind. Until then, have a great day!

We're taking a real quick break and heading up to see my family in Minneapolis this weekend...we're going to leave tonight after Brad gets done at the office, and then venture back early Monday morning. I'm looking forward to it, despite the fact that it will fly by.

Prepping to go has involved getting all the plants in, pulling the last of the pepper plants, and getting as many of the apples processed as I could since it is going to be below freezing most of the weekend with a chance of snow on two different days! I don't remember it ever snowing earlier than the end of October, so we are definitely not prepared for it to happen!

So, in the meantime, while I am gone, I leave you with these fall images. Have a great weekend, everyone!

A beautiful morning today, but it is only 42 degrees as I stand on my front porch and take this picture... The leaves are really starting to turn, but colder weather is coming so I am sure the color will be short lived. We're well below our normal temps, yet we still hold out hope that the temperatures will rebound and give us a few warm days yet in October. This guy, however, thinks his fur is not offering ample protection from the elements, so proceeds to block the entrance until someone (mainly me) lets him in the house.Little does he know, because we have yet to turn the heat on in this 60 degree ice chest, as flipping the thermostat to heat tends to admit defeat and a passive acceptance that the season of cold is here to stay. So, instead, we make accomodations. For instance, we broke down and put our heating blanket on our bed this week, by far the earliest introduction of this element compared to past seasons. It beckoned my middle child this morning, complete with Literature book, math book, and writing instruments.
My oldest also made the most of a warm, sunny spot on the floor, and, well, I'd show you a picture of it, but in the process of trying to upload it to my computer, my camera drivers crashed, and after working with Dell and locking up my entire computer, I now have a new part on its way along with a handy dandy service technician sometime in the next 48 hours. :) Archie, from Dell, was most helpful and I am soooooo thankful for warranties. I didn't tell him that maybe the parts in my computer froze up (literally) but did have to give him my cell phone number as an alternative way to reach me as I think our cordless phone batteries are being drained faster due to the temperature. :)

So, anyway, I'm way off schedule after my little computer escapade...Time to back up the photos because even a new computer can crash! Gotta go find my gloves, though, as my coffee has gotten cold and is no longer keeping my fingers warm - HA!

And, for the record, lest you think we are abusing our children by not turning on the heat, they are currently running around in shorts and claiming they are too hot in the basement. Oh, to have the metabolism of a child.

Special thanks to Sandra for hosting!

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Rainy and cool...seems to be a trend for the past few Mondays

One of my simple pleasures:
My heated/electric blanket...a necessity in our house! I haven't put it on the bed yet, but am thinking seriously about adding it this week!

On my bedside table:
In the Still of the Night
Food Matters
Living by the Book
Taste of Home magazine

On my TV:
We missed Survivor last week and for some reason our DVR didn't record it
Dancing with the Stars
It's a busy week with meetings each night so not sure if we are going to get time to watch them this week or not

On the menu for tonight:
Since it's raining, football is questionable at this point - that always screws up our evening meal plan. I've been heavy on the soup the past few days so need to get a bit more creative this week - AND, I really need to get to the store!

On my To Do List:
Grocery shopping and co-op...I am totally out of wheat, milk, yeast, and eggs!
Finish applesauce after I get more jars
Meetings this week

New Recipe I tried last week:
Tried two different apple crisp recipes from our church cookbook - they were both yummy!

In the craft basket:
I have buttons to sew on some clothes and some gardening tasks to complete

Looking forward to:
Continuing to see the leaves change and hopefully they can stay on the trees a bit longer so we can enjoy them

Homemaking Tip for this week:
Man, I seem to have nothing this morning of any relevance to share! :) How about this one? If you have the space, keep all of the cleaning supplies for a bathroom in the bathroom. Make a list for your kids to complete - a step by step process, and teach them how to clean the bathroom and take ownership. Plus, if all the supplies are right in the bathroom already, you can do a quick clean up as necessary.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
Bella Mella continues to amaze me as she journeys with her son who has cancer. This post is quite the witness to how the bible applies to our everyday situations.

Favorite photo from last week: I've got two (equal time for all the kiddos. :))



Lesson learned the past few days:
Life needs to be revamped and reorganized - well, actually rePRIORITIZED often, as it is very easy to get off track with what is important.

On my Prayer List:
My pastor
My spouse
My kids
My extended family
The military and all who sacrifice for our country
Andrew (see button link on my right column)

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
We've started teaching an indepth bible study called Living by the Book. Well, we are not teaching it per se, but facilitating it. I am excited about digging into the word on a deeper level, and searching for the deeper meaning. I have been a Christian all my life which sometimes can be a detriment to biblical study. Verses that are familiar get glossed over time and again, so I need to take the time to stop and inwardly digest...the word ruminating (I love that word...) came up time and again in our class yesterday. I look forward to sharing more of my journey as we become more immersed in the class.

Have a blessed week!

It seems like this is a general theme of my blog posts as of late. It's crazy, though, when I look and see that it is Friday already and I haven't posted since Monday. I love to write down my thoughts, but I am finding it harder and harder to carve out the time to do so!

This week, our receptionist was sick, so I am the back up! We were able to juggle Brad's schedule for two days so he could be home half days with the kiddos. We filled in with Grandpa and Grandma the first day, and then I took calls from home for part of the second while he was at the office, then we switched. He was able to come home and teach while I was at the office with the other doc...Thankfully, it appears that his receptionist will make it through the day today and then have two add't days to get back up to 100%. She suffers with chronic migraines, so works through the pain much of the time. We know she is really hurting when she has to call in sick.

The weather has been cold and rainy this week, so it just begs for reading and soup! Today, we all sat on the couch and read Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle for awhile - it's fun to see the boys still wanting to sit and listen when I read to TJ. If I would have had the heating blanket on my bed, I think we would have crawled in there to read! I am fighting the temptation to spend the afternoon in my bed as I have 2 bushels of apples to put up. We went to a local orchard last Sunday and took advantage of their windfalls...I got 2 bushels for $14 total. They only spray before the blossoms come out, so they are about as close to organic and pesticide free as you can get. They are so yummy, so the applesauce should be good. I just have to clear my counters off in order to make them messy again!






So, while I may not get to sleep or read the afternoon away, I will be able to get some baking and sauce done. My kiddos have entertained themselves with building a carnival in our basement, so I am being called to the fish pond and the mini golf course. I hear I get tokens to cash in for some really cool prizes...one prize is 3 jobs of choice by a child! Sweet! I hope I get enough tokens to trade in for that one!!

Have a great day...Take the time to thank the Lord for the blessings in your life. While they are too numerous to count, pick five and praise him for those!