God's Callings

I have a lot to say about adoption! We are, of course, HUGE advocates!!! (Look at the tiny treasure that our awesome God brought our family!) So, I wanted to share this post from a sweet bloggy friend, Linny! If you have not read her story...you need to!!!

http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/2012/09/he-is-not-deadbeat-dad-part-1.html

Absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!!!

New Every Morning!

With every sunrise comes new challenges and new blessings! Open up your hearts to what the Lord has for you today and what new opportunities he will bring, because we never know what will come from it!

One Dish Dinner

I was exhausted tonight and totally uninspired to do anything besides sit on my butt on the couch! I searched through my pins and found very little 'quick and easy'. I wanted something easy and with as few dishes as possible!

We had some Zataran's Red Beans N Rice and frozen shrimp (already peeled and deveined). I thought, why not. I had made this with pork and chicken and hamburger, why not shrimp?

I cooked the rice mix according to the package and when there was 5 minutes left cooking time, added the frozen shrimp. Cooked for about 10 more minutes and Voila...a one dish, very tasty meal that my whole family loved.

 

I also made some Sweet Potato fries to use up some I had left over from my Bountiful Baskets. Here is the pin link that I used: http://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/guaranteed-crispy-sweet-potato-fries-sriracha-mayo-dip/
I was skeptical when the title said "guaranteed" but they turned out AWESOME! My husband ate over half of the himself:)

Blessings!

Clean Frig Project

In my intent to become the wife and mom that I think I should be, cleaning and organizing is HIGH on the list of things that need to be done. So, I decided  to get started and the frig was cleaning destination #1.

When I started I was pretty disgusted with myself. I consider our house to be pretty clean, not always picked up, but clean enough. 

(Disclaimer: do not judge me on my frig. There are 5 of us and 4 are avid cooks)

Here are some before:

Then I took EVERYTHING out. Every part I could...food, shelves, baskets,etc. And this is what I found, YUK!!!! (Do not judge me, I have done enough of that by myself!)

I then took all the shelves and baskets and soaked them in HOT water, Dawn dish soap, and some vinegar. I let them soak for a good 30 minutes while I took a bucket and rag and wiped out the shell of the frig.

When it was all clean Teh decided that this was a great play spot:) And look how clean it is.

I then returned to the bathroom with my rag to scrub up my shelves. They came clean very quickly! I pulled them out one by one, rinsing with Hot water to remove all the suds, then put them on towels on the floor to dry. They took about 15 minutes. (I did take another dry towel to thoroughly dry the corners though.)  Then, back to the frig with each of them. I did end up lining each shelf with wipeable, removeable shelf paper.

Voila! The nice, clean, organized frig! WooHoo! Yippee! (Sorry, just a little excited)

I am a "Kept" woman!

I Am a ‘Kept ‘ Woman

You see, there were a few times when I thought I would lose my mind,

But GOD kept me sane. (Isa. 26:3)

There were times when I thought I could go no longer,

But the LORD kept me moving. (Gen 28:15)

At times, I’ve wanted to lash out at those whom I felt had done me wrong,

But the LORD kept my mouth shut.. (Psa. 13)

Sometimes, I think the money just isn’t enough,

But GOD has helped me to keep the lights on, the water on, the car paid, the house paid, etc.., (Matt. 6:25 -34)

When I thought I would fall, HE kept me up.

When I thought I was weak, HE kept me strong! (I Pet. 5:7, Matt. 11:28-30)

I could go on and on and on, but I’m sure you hear me!

I’m blessed to be ‘kept ‘

Do you know a ‘kept ‘ woman?

If so pass it on to her to let her know she is ‘Kept ‘

I’m “Kept” by the Love and Grace of God.

Blessings Today!!!

Baby Emery

I recently took some pictures for a dear friend of mine. She has taken pictures of my kids and actually got me interested in photography. Now, not only can I take quality pictures of my family (in Manual mode) but I don't have to spend $1000 for every session!! WooHoo!

This is the pic I took of her 4 days before she delivered...

And these are sweet Baby Emery, 10 days old (Pre-Photoshop)...

Blessings!

I AM BACK!!!!!!

Hello!

I am back. It has been a year and a half, seriously, I have been so busy! We have been cooking, and decorating, and remodeling, and trying to do tons of things as a family. I am going to "try" to start posting about our adventures.

Here is the lastest decor project:

I found this sign for 50% off and had to find somewhere to use it. With help from my obsession with Pinterest, this is the outcome:)

Our entry way is small and with 5 of us, we need the storage. As winter approaches, our hooks are so crowded with coats and sweatshirts. Now we have a coat tree (left), the 4 new hooks (shown), 3 hooks (right), and 3 Dbl hooks (not shown). So much better.

I also recovered the bench seat with fabric I found at Hobby Lobby for $5.99 a yard.

What do ya think?

Blessings!