Happy Homemaker Monday- 5/1/2017

Posted on by Mary

Greetings everyone and Happy May!  Last week was nuts but God has been AMAZING!

The weather::: It’s going to be beautiful.  in the mid to upper 70’s and SUNNY !  I love the sun!

On my reading pile:::so for this month I am hoping to finish  Unglued and  The Best Yes and start Praying God’s Word, One Thousand Gifts, Keep It Shut AND the new review book I picked last week is ….ZIP IT, the $0 Day Challenge that goes along with Keep it Shut

Movies or Shows I watched this weekend:::  Dennis the Menace…(old black and white TV show) and Not a Fan (on PureFlix)

On my TV::: nothing

On the menu for this week:::

MONDAY Mashed Potato Sundaes

TUESDAY-Chili and salad

WEDNESDAY-Pro Chops, baked Potatoes in the crockpot and a veggie

THURSDAY-AWANA closing program dinner.  I will be making a dessert (no Bake Cookie)s and Potato

Salad

FRIDAY-Grilled cheese and Tomato soup

SATURDAY-Beef Stroganoff and Salad

SUNDAY-Meatball subs  ( meatballs in crockpot)

On The To-Do List:: oh man I can’t even go there right now.  After having the washing machine down for a week and a half … Laundry is definitely on the DO list.  General cleaning up, the weekend was ROUGH!  and this week I spring clean…EVERYTHING!  and the Apartment needs to be people ready, we have missionaries staying with us a few times this summer

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating::: I was to make 10 cards this month a long with 1 painting( I am experimenting with watercolor) and something crafty from Pinterest

Happening this week:::  well the kids had dentist appointments this morning,  T has his front to teeth getting fixed on Wednesday.  He broke them about a year ago and they weren’t ready for porcelain crowns but they have come in all the way now so he will be getting them  this week.  And J has weekend respite this week Then all of our other “NORMAL” appointments

Looking around the house:::  There is minor cleaning and organizing to be done   EVERYWHERE.  Like I said before it was a rough weekend.  Hubby needs to fix the faucet in the kitchen and put the top back on the washing machine

From the camera:::

the youngest turns 7

This is part of the fun we had this weekend S turned 7

What I’m wearing today:::  well Im still in comfy clothes but I will be changing into capris, my purple Purse God T-shirt and my sneakers

One of my simple pleasures:::  Saturday Planner time.  I love using my planner!
Bible verse, Devotional:::   I have been growing a lot as of late.  It has been quite the journey and so over the last few weeks I have been challenging myself to step outside my comfort zone and watch some challenging things.    Most of which have come from PureFlix.  One of the most challenging and yet oh so encouraging has been then Movie Series and TV Series call the Encounter.  It has been amazing and I avoided them for so long.  for personal reasons .  BUT I want you to know that they are life changing.  Also the Not A Fan I mentioned earlier , it is unique and it talks about the difference between being a fan of Jesus and being a true follower of Jesus.  I have not been able to get it out of my head since watching it.  (THIS IS NOT AN AFFILIATE POST)  just me sharing  things I have found to be beneficial to my  relationship with Jesus!
For More Happy Homemaker Posts Check out Diary of a Stay At Home Mom

Wordless Wednesday: Easter Eggs

Posted on by Mary
Easter Eggs Dyed Using Rice and Neon food dye

This year we dyed Easter eggs using rice and a few drops of neon food dye.  we have this tradition of trying new methods of dying Easter eggs every year.  The downside of this method is you need a few drops every egg, so you go trough your dye VERY quickly.

the upside GORGEOUS Easter eggs AND gorgeous rice that are in two mason jars on my table …What fun

Book Review: I Am By Michele Cushatt

Posted on by Mary

I Am by Michele Cushatt is a 60 day journey to learning who you are in Christ!  Basically the book is broken  into 6 parts with 10 chapters (days) in each Part,  Michele’s transparency throughout the book is both touching and humorous as she gets down to the nitty gritty and the not so pretty in our daily walks with christ.  BUT she does it laced with mercy grace and humor. Michele takes passages that speak to who we are in Christ and carefully weaves in her life experiences which are many, some humorous and some very hard hitting.  You will travel from laugh out loud moments to tears of conviction and sympathy and back to laughter again. I  greatly appreciated how Michele hand scripture with care as well.

When I think about I AM , the word that immediately come to mind is WOW.  And it is not a cop out type of wow either.  Earlier this year Through a series of prayers I realized that I had kind of lost myself.  I began seeking out books that could help me through this process of rediscovering who I am  when I stumbled upon the launch video for Michele’s book I Am.  It was an answer to prayer!  I sought out who the publisher was and when I realized it would be released for review through BookLook Bloggers I was over the moon excited.  Little did I know the journey It would take me on.  This book is not a fast read nor an easy read.  This book is meant to be digested.  It sometimes took me days to read through one short  2 page devotion.  I have yet to work through the questions at the end of each day.  They are set aside in a gray blog…they are thought provoking questions that I plan to use as journaling prompts as I work through the chapters again.  As I looked back over the last 60 days I want to find some quotes to share with you but quite honestly most of the book is highlighted.    This book is well loved and I can promise you that I will be passing on other copies of this book!  I found it to be a great encouragement to me….And I know that no matter what you are going through, no matter you are or circumstances, you too can glean truth about who you are in Christ!

Now there was one slight problem when I received this book ad it was not that of the Author.  When I received this book from Harper Collins half of the packing sicker was stuck to the back of the book which in turn damaged the book’s back cover.  I was disappointed but  it didn’t  effect the reading of the book.

damage

All in all I give the book 5 stars

Thank you BookLook Bloggers for providing this free copy for review purposes. Positive reviews are NOT expected in return

Life Unexpected: Living Outside the Normal Everyday Crazy

Posted on by Mary

Unexpected things happen ALL the time…Have you every heard the expression

“When it rains it pours”

Well, yesterday it was a monsoon.  I laugh now as I look back at the unexpected happenings.

So yesterday started out in its normal crazy fashion…Up at 5:30 (First day back after Spring Break I might add) Yeah that was easy!!   Ha!!  Lunches made kids fed, three of them on the bus at 6:25. Whew!

Finished up my study Questions from “You Are Loved No Matter What” by Holley Gerth (THAT BOOK IS AAZING)

Bus alarm goes off a second time ..Fourth child out at the bus for a 7 50 pick up.

Back inside:

Blogging

Bible Study

Reading

Normal household chores

Then I did something that is completely normal and it led to something SOOOOO completely Unexpected.  I went out to the garage to get chicken to thaw for dinner….the unexpected was that the upright freezer door wasn’t shut all the way….UH OH!  yep, so the rest of the normal plans out the window and I collected all the thawed gross things from the freezer that now resembled that of the abominable snowman fro  Monsters Inc….WELCOME TO THE HIMALAYAS was all that ran through my mind!  well after my hands we frozen and completely sticky…my sweatshirt and my pants doused int the  conglomeration of mystery liquids……I had all the Ick taken care of….found chicken in another freezer and thawed that, put it in the crockpot and what’s that?  the alarm for group #1 of our kiddos returning from school with #2 returning soon after group #1.  Did I mention I was having Bible study with a teen from our youth group around the same time?  Hubby was picking her up.

Hubby and I had realized that the freezer had been ajar since we left to visit family on Thursday YAY! Hubby also informed that while he was on a run to deliver a tractor (normal) His glasses broke and feel apart while he was driving (UNEXPECTED and dangerous)  he made it taped them together BUT now had t run to the eye place we get our glasses prescriptions filled.  At that point he offered to take the kids with him and to pick up groceries (Normal and AMZING) But half way through his trip the fan in our van  wouldn’t shut off…even when  the van was shut off and key removed (UNEXPECTED but isn’t can trouble almost always)  I finished my bible study, her dad picked her up, I finished dinner and I sat down on the couch.

Everyone cam rushing in and quite frankly if you have read  Hope for the Weary Mom or seen Mom’s Night Out  you will get what I am about to say.

I had a moment…..And my kids ate  dinner  in silence…and I felt horrible (after all hubby’s sermon was coursing through my brain….Saying” you blew it”!!

Hubby left for a meeting, saying that if it ended before a certain time he was going to run to the store to get the part for the car. Ok off he went I gave the 45 minute warning till bed….

Homework

Chores

Reading

Child #3 asks “mom can I get my shower?” (NORMAL)

” Yep you can”

10 minutes later….As he stands at the top of the stairs , “Mommy why do you have your razor in the shower?”  Ummm because it’s my shower and it’s hanging up above your reach!

Umm no it’s not and I think Im bleeding everywhere .  (SO UNEXPECTED  that it took a few seconds to register, but I snapped into  nurse mommy mod) e. let’s add to this that this is the child with Autism AND he is JUST out of the shower.

So after some minor freaking out (on his part) my little army of three non injured kids snapped into a well oiled machine f helpfulness.  And I could not with all the pressure I could get the bleeding to stop.  I had to call hubby.

Hubby came home….Off to urgent care….To sit and sit and sit some more .  Usually our urgent care is very quick….Not last night.  They finally got him in at 10-ish.    due to how his foot was cut they had to create  an imitation scab.  When they left, the battery in the car was dead from the constantly running fan (Unexpected, kind of) they came home at 12:30 am.  (UNEXPECTED)

SLEEP (normal)

Now this morning had a few unexpected things like oversleeping and leaving child #4’s math homework on the table, but compared to yesterday it was a breeze!

Thankfully in all of the UNEXPECTED events of yesterday, it could have led to major strife and minus the MOMENT I had unrelated t all the rest going on, it’s those moments that show our true colors.   Does our responses point to a Savior who is in control of every detail, or do we get bent out shape and let everyone know it , that it didn’t go according to our plan.  I know it wasn’t in my plan to smell like a garbage can. Do we moan and groan about how awful these circumstances or do we whisper a prayer and say ok LORD it’s not about me.  There has been a lot in my life that has been UNEXPECTED, soon good, some not so good and some just horrible things.   Thankfully God doesn’t expect us to be perfect through it all, he wants us to rely on Him, for everything!

Happy Homemaker- 4-24-2017

Posted on by Mary

 

The weather:::

The weather is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous today…I can’t wait to sit outside and read! This makes me oh so happy!!

On my reading pile:::

The Best Yes (for Bible Study)

I Am (book review)

Unglued (my own reading)

Movies or Shows I watched this weekend:::

Family Affair

Tiger Cruise

On my TV:::

Nothing

On the menu for this week:::

Monday-Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Veggie

Tuesday-Pulled Pork with Mashed potatoes and veggie

Wednesday-Pasta and salad

Thursday-Taco Salad

Friday-soup and sandwich

Saturday-meatloaf and mashed potatoes and veggies

Sunday-chicken and pasta salad with veggies

On The To-Do List ;;

clean bathroom cabinets (declutter)

Shelves on the back of our bed needs cleaned

upstairs desk needs cleaned

fold and put away laundry

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::

These are what I was working on…

Now to move onto the apartment.  I am working on creating some vinyl work with my cricut for our ministry apartment

Happening this week:::

Hubby has meetings coming out his ears,

it’s our last week of regular awana

And we have Ladies Bible study this week  YAY!!!

Looking around the house:::

Things are looking pretty good, though we have a laundry problem, though its related to what we think is the pump in the washing machine being fried  (UGH)  hubby ordered the new part and hopefully I will be back in business before the end of the week 🙂

From the camera:::

 

Our #3 man-child dressed in  Pop-Pop’s WWII uniform.  We got a chance over spring break to visit hubby’s grand parents who are both in their 90’s and who have been married for over 70 years…What a blessing Mimi and Pop-Pop are!

What I’m wearing today:::blue Jeans, navy blue hoodie and sneakers

One of my simple pleasures:::

Sitting out back enjoying the sun, the view, a good book and a cup of coffee!

Bible verse, Devotional:::

I just read day 49 in I Am by Michele Cushatt and on that day she talks about having faith that moves mountains.  we sometimes struggle when we have faith that something happens and it doesn’t.  and then she points us to Jesus, the beholder of perfect faith, and yet, God does not answer his prayer for the crucifixion to pass from him…..her response to this is the answer wasn’t in moving the crucifixion mountain, but in the giant stone that covered his grave  and him walking out ALIVE.  . He overcame death, that is a far bigger mountain, and sometimes we have to walk through a valley to get to that much bigger mountain….wow…just wow (this is not a direct quote I just paraphrased it)

For More Happy Homemaker Posts Check out Diary of a Stay At Home Mom