Works for Me Wednesday!!!

I'm just loving these WFMW, thanks Shannon for such a great idea :)
As always don't forget to check out her site for the list of other participants, I'm sure you'll find at least one whose idea will blow you away.

So here is mine for today:

With spring here and summer just around the corner, I find that I'm craving ice cream a LOT. Now since I know how expensive it can get and how fattening it is, last year out of mere necessity, I tried something new.

It was a summer afternoon, the kids and I decided to go have some fun on the trampoline. Before we did though I had told the kids that if they behaved and didn't throw a huge fit when I said it's time to come back in the house, we would have ice cream sandwiches. I was convinced I still had some in the freezer.
While the kids were getting their sandals on etc, I decided to check. I DIDN'T HAVE ANY!!!

But now I was really craving them. So this is what I did, IMPROVISE!!!
I grabbed a box of Honey Graham Crackers and a Tub of Fat Free Cool Whip. I made my own ice cream sandwiches, wrapped each one individually using Cling Wrap, and stuck them in the freezer. I must have made 24 or more since the kids got involved helping too and it was fun.

Let me tell you, they turned out really good and so much healthier than the usual ice cream sandwiches. The kids and I loved them and from that day on, every summer I've kept a stash of them in the freezer. It definitely Works for Me!!!!

EDIT: Just wanted to let you all know that I've tried different flavor graham crackers and different flavored Cool Whip, even the Strawberry one and they turned out really good :)

Treasure Tuesday and others......

Boy has blogger been PMSing today. It's been like pulling teeth trying to get on ANY blogs associated with blogger, and let's not even mention trying to post anything.
It seems to have given me a few minutes so I'm going to try and get this posted as quick as possible.

I'm going to start with my Treasure Tuesday. For more info and a list of other participants be sure to check out Faith at Faithful Mommy :)

My treasure today is a scrapbook that I started when I met hubby. As a lot of you who read my blog know, we met online and talked back and forth for a year. During that time, I accumulated a lot of letters, photos, emails etc.

This may seem like a small thing to others but it's a HUGE treasure to me. I brought it all the way from South Africa and it's lasted 9 years so far, hope it lasts many many more.

One of the first thing Curt sent me was a poem he had written for me. He sent it about a week or two after we had met. I actually entered this poem online a few months ago and it has now been picked to be part of a Poetry Book being published this year. How exciting!!!!

I even kept the backs of CD's that he had bought and sent over to South Africa. The kids LOVE going through the scrapbook and reading the letters daddy sent mommy.

Nothing like picking up the scrapbook and going through it. There's so many memories in there and it always makes us smile and remind us of why we fell in love. :)
So that's my Treasure for Today :)

Alright now moving on, yesterday after picking up Jasmine from school I was faced with one of the issues I've always hoped I wouldn't have to deal with.
Apparently she took some candy from the teachers desk. Now if I didn't care I honestly would have just let it go, but I think that it's extremely important to teach kids right from wrong at an early age.
Today it's a piece of candy, tomorrow it's a car, know what I mean?

Jasmine didn't exactly understand what she had done. When I brought it to her attention then she started getting the picture and was extremely embarassed to have done it. I made her take the piece of candy back to the teacher, I think she learnt her lesson and will never do it again.
Anyone else out there had to deal with this issue already?

So yesterday I told you I would start posting my weight.

136 lbs

I found a really good site that I'm sure will help me. My goal is to go back down to 125 lbs by July 1st, 2006. If you are wanting to loose weight too and don't know where to start, or maybe you want a good place to keep track of your calories, then THIS is the place to go.
It's called SparkePeople and it's a free site. It's got tons of awesome calculators and tools, exercises you can do, menu plans, printable shopping lists etc.

Let me tell you, I had NO idea how many calories I was consuming until I tracked them yesterday. For me to loose this weight I need to eat between 1200-1550 calories a day, by dinner time yesterday I had consumed 2100. OMG, OMG, OMG.....I was soooooo upset with myself. It was that pineaplle upside down cake I tell ya. And those Lay's Chips didn't help either, but then again, maybe it was the Milky Way Bar I had.........SEE, even writing it down, I can't believe I ate all that in one day as well as my normal meals.
So I'm determined to make this work...wish me luck LOL

I was laying in bed last night, after the kids had fallen asleep, and I thought that I would read, but wasn't really in the mood for any of the books I had on my night table, so I went looking for one and then came across a book on my TBR (To Be Read) Pile. It was by Debbie Macomber and it's called "Navy Brides". It's a compilation of 3 different stories and I read the first one last night, I just couldn't put it down. I could relate to so much in the book due to being a military wife.
I think any military spouse could relate to the feelings portrayed by the characters, that feeling of comraderie, knowing that when your husband is deployed you have others to turn to, others feeling the same way and going through the same notions. Can't wait to finish the book tonight.

Before I close this post I want to point you in the direction of some blogs I found are worth checking out and just love visiting. Everytime I add a new blog to my blogroll I'll be sure to post it so you all can also check them out.

5 Minutes for Mom - What a great site, it has tons of information, tons of links to other mom, christian, military sites. It's definitely a must read.

Midnight in Iraq - Jeff is a Marine officer deployed to Iraq right now. His blog and his words give us true insight as to what their daily life is like over there. He always has tons of pictures and great stories to share. Please go on over to show your support, the soldiers always love knowing that us back home are thinking of them and praying for their safety.

The Desert Excursion: 365 days in Iraq - a 24/7 Soldier Medic - Nick Bope is deployed to Iraq with Emily's hubby Dan. Nick also gives us first hand insight as to their days spent in the sandbox. Another worthwhile blog to visit and show support.

Well ladies, hope you all have a wonderful tuesday. Oh and don't forget to head on over to Kisses of Sunshine for today's "Tuesday Toss-up", she is sharing MercyMe's latest video, really neat :)

Also, if you have little ones and are wondering how to approach the whole "Allowances and Chores" subject, check out Shannon's blog today, there's loads of great tips.

And that's it for today. I have more laundry to finish and some ironing to do, then the usual daily housecleaning. Don't know how much I'll get done, my sinus headache went away but seems to be returning today, yuck.

GRRRRRRRR!!!!

If you've been visiting my blog for a while, you know that I don't like my scale, and that's putting it mildly. If you read my other scale post back in march, you will understand one of the reasons why.

Yesterday I had said that I was going to start my weight chart today, and would post it on the blog etc. Well, I decided to start tomorrow LOL
The reason is that this weekend while running around with the family and with the sinus headache going on, I didn't watch what I ate, or rather, I watched and kept eating. *Sigh*. Yeah yeah, I know, but I have this love affair with food and if my body even suspects I'm wanting to diet it goes beserk on me and I find myself literally raiding the refrigerator or running to the nearest fast food place. It's weird!!!!
If I don't mention the word diet and just start eating more veggies and fruits, drinking water and so forth, then my body is fine with it, so I have to lie to her (my body). LOL

We got a lot done yesterday, rearranged and reorganized Jasmine's room. We finally found a desk for her computer so now she's all set. But in doing all this we realized just how spoilt she really is. We found gifts from Christmas and her birthday that have yet to be opened.
It really does go to show that things nowadays are so different from when I was a child. I remember getting presents and being so excited, I opened every single one and played with them all. Not now, nuh uh, there are toys and books in Jasmine's room that she had totally forgotten about.
So this is what I did, I took all the toys that haven't been opened and put them away in a separate area, then I told Curt that next Christmas I will just wrap these back up and give them to her again. She wouldn't even know the difference. (well, I won't really do that, but it's a nice thought LOL)

I mentioned before that I take all my old books that I don't want to keep, and I post them on Paperbackswap.com, when you first sign up you get I think 9 credits which are good for 9 books. You then post your books, if someone wants one of them, you get an email saying the book has been requested. Then you print out the wrapper, wrap the book and attach 4 stamps and mail it off, once the person gets the book they go to their paperbackswap account and put it down as being received, and then you get another credit in return. Well that's what I've been doing since last year and I've been able to get a lot of nice christian books that I wanted. Last week I was able to request "Another Fine Mess, Lord!: Finding Simplicity, Order & Insight in a Complicated World" by Karon Phillips Goodman. I'm SO looking forward to this book, this is from the same author as "You're Late Again, Lord!: The Impatient Woman's Guide to God's Timing". Now THAT book has taught me a lot.

Chaotic mom has a really funny post this morning, so go on over and read it. I think all women can relate to that feeling.

This morning while reading my email I got this from a friend. It's called "Don't Drive on Sunday". Check out the site and see what you think. This will be easy for me because since spring started and the weather is so nice, I try to get as much walking as possible, just don't like being cooped up in the car.

I don't know if I'm getting old or what it is, but I find myself doing really stupid things lately. One of the biggest ones definitely has to be the dishwasher and washer/dryer. I'm so good about loading them and getting the detergents etc in there, then I walk away, YEAH, just walk away as if by some invisible force they will remember to start on their own. Come oooonnnnn.....how many times do I have to do this before I realize that it's ME who has to tell them what to do?

So in keeping with the spirit of this, I noticed that I would put something on the stove or oven and when I went back to check it, nothing was happening. I really thought I must be loosing my mind, until yesterday afternoon, I walk into the kitchen and find my 3 year old turning the knob off. So THAT is what is going on....unfortunately I can't blame him for the others. Oh well, I tried!!!

Traci over at "Mostly Precious Moments" started at new column named "On the Menu Monday". I just had to jump on this train too, I think it's a great idea to swap recipes and see what everyone else is cooking.

So this is what we're having today, the kids and hubby love this roast because it just falls apart and is soooooo tasty. Enjoy!!!

Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
* 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
* 1 1/4 cups water
* 5 1/2 pounds pot roast

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water. Place pot roast in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture.
2. Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low setting for 8 to 9 hours.

Well this was fun and now I have to go finish my laundry, if it were up to me I would be on the computer all day long, just blogging away and chatting with friends.....but reality calls. I have a 3 year old feeding the dog "french toast sticks". Time to go do the mommy thing.....hope you all have a great monday :)

If I could just get rid of

this Sinus pressure, I would be a much happier person today. For the past 3 days I've had the worst sinus headache and even though it's nothing new to me, for some reason this time it's worse because the daylight is bugging me.
Doesn't help either that I can only take my medication when I KNOW I'm not going out the rest of the day, those pills knock me out. Alright, enough complaining from me :)

Yesterday turned out to be a really awesome Family Day for us. We started off the morning having fun on the trampoline and then I had to take Jasmine to a birthday party at the bowling alley. After the party, Jasmine and I headed back home to pick up the boys for lunch and we all decided to head on back to the alley for some bowling. WHAT FUN!!!

We got home around 4:30pm and it was such a gorgeous day outside that we decided to go out for a walk and to the park with the kids and Lola. I'm just loving this warm weather, it feels great to get nice fresh air instead of being cooped up in the house.
So, here is a little video of yesterday. Enjoy!!!

But now that I'm looking outside, the weather is looking kinda yucky, it's cloudy and it's supposed to rain this afternoon, so I think we may be stuck in the house again. We have a few library movies to watch so it won't be too bad, although we are all thinking of going for a game of bowling AGAIN, since sundays it's only $1 a game. Guess we caught the bowling bug!!! LOL
Unfortunately, I think Nicholas and I are also coming down with a spring cold, feeling a little congested this morning and I heard him coughing too, I'm just hoping that Jasmine doesn't get it, she's missed way too much school this year due to sickness.

Every morning while reading my favorite blogs I always come across a useful tip or link. This time I found something that most of us using blogger, have been looking for. A way to make categories on our sidebars. If you go HERE, you can follow the simple instructions and in no time have your own blog categorized. Look over at my left menu, just under my "Recent Entries". How neat is that?

Another fun quiz or tool I found is called The Mom Salary Wizard. You enter how many kids you have, the zip code you live in and also the hours you spend each week on each household task. It then calculates the salary you should be getting a year. Well, mine is $128,270!!! If only!!! LOL
Go ahead and give it a go and let's see what yours would be :)

After reading "Ramblings of a SAHM" and Katie's weight loss journey, I've decided it's high time I start doing the same. So every week I'm going to post my weight until I'm down to where I want to be, which is 125lbs. Boy this is going to be tough, but I think that if I can post it on here I will really feel compelled to do my best and start loosing those pounds. Wish me luck, I have a strong love affair with food, it's going to be hard to let go.
Will post my weight tomorrow morning and then next week monday again to see if I've managed to loose any. If anyone wants to embark on this journey with me, feel free to jump aboard the "Weight Loss Train", should be an interesting ride LOL

Well I better get off the computer, have to go start the grill for lunch. I missed BBQ's, it's always so cold during the winter and with all the snow we get here I don't even TRY to get out there to grill something for dinner. Even though it's cloudy today, it's in the 50's so it feels good being out there.

Have a great sunday everyone. I'm going to have a burger and then relax in front of the tv with a good dose of Sinus medication........ahhhhhh heaven. :)

This and That!!!

While surfing the net yesterday I came upon this site called Pathways to Peace. It's such an uplifting place.

"Our goal is to create beautiful, inspiring presentations that make a positive difference in the lives of millions of people around the world."

They have two powerful presentations which you can view here, please do, I promise you will be touched by the messages and also reminded of how wonderful God is :)

Pathways to Peace
Interview with God

This morning I want to start by bringing your attention to two beautiful and amazing ladies that I have met through the blogging world.

The first one is Courtney, she is married to Matt who is currently deployed to Iraq. They have 3 beautiful children. Courtney is the typical military wife, totally supportive of her husband while having to endure months and months of separation, being the mom and the dad for the kids and keeping the house running while daddy is away.
I ask that you go over to her site "Waiting on my Soldier" and show some support, and say a prayer for them during this rough period.

The next lady is Emily. Now a lot of you already had the pleasure of meeting Em through the blogs. She's another amazing military wife dealing with the daily struggles of life while her soldier hubby Dan, is away in Iraq. Emily is so devoted to God that it's truly inspiring to read her posts and her journey through this deployment. So again I ask, if you have some time, please go on over to "Consider how the Lillies Grow" and show her some support and also keep them in your prayers.

Being a military wife myself, it's always wonderful to hear a word of encouragement and know that there are people supporting us and our husbands and praying for us.

Yesterday was the school's Annual Carnival. Because Curt was working "late man", which means going in at 8pm until everything and everyone is done for the night, he was able to go with us for an hour. The kids had a blast. Jasmine got to ride a horse which was the highlight of her night, boy that girl loves horses, she even asked the owner how much she paid for hers.
Yeah I can just see us dishing out $800 for a horse that mommy is too scared to get on. LOL

Inside the school we played all sorts of games, well, the KIDS played the games. They got tons of prizes and candy so they were happy, and they even got their faces painted.

Julie from Everyday Mommy, had said in my comments yesterday that she wanted to see a pic of me sans the coffee mug LOL So just for you Julie, and I don't do this for everyone because I HATE having my picture taken LOL, I let the kids snap a couple of pics of me. Enjoy!!!
Don't say I didn't warn you though, I'm not photogenic at all, I always think I look weird in my photos and I'm extremely self conscious, but anyway......here you go LOL

And I just had to post these because I LOVE how they turned out :)


Alright that's it for photos LOL

So today Jasmine has a birthday party to go to, it's also at the Bowling Alley just like hers was, so she's excited. I'm excited too because I get to go and Nicholas stays with daddy :)

Later we are rearranging the living room/office area, we have to make room for Jasmine's new computer. I think we're running out of room in this house, I just can't wait until we get moved to new housing, but knowing my luck we will finally get orders somewhere just after or before we move LOL

Yesterday while reading my favorite blogs, I saw that Momrn2 at "My Quiet Corner", had posted her 100 things, and that got me thinking about mine which I posted sometime back in February, so if you want to see my list and learn a bit more about me, then go HERE.

As I'm sitting here typing, I have the most gorgeous sunlight coming in to the living room. The weather has been amazing lately, temperatures go up to the 80's and it's made for some much needed outside time. So with that said, I'm going to get dressed and start my day. I will probably be back later with an update of how the day went, hope you all have a great saturday :)

Are you READY for this??????

So we've been hearing stories of badgers being spotted on base. Yesterday afternoon, Jasmine had gone to play at a friends house and when I went to go pick her up, I saw Jamie (friend's mom) walking with Jasmine towards me and looking a little scared of something.

I asked what was wrong and they told me they had just seen a badger on the school grounds. Now mind you, Jamie's house is RIGHT behind the school. Jamie informed me that the badger was really big, so Janet another friend and neighbor had called up the base housing informing them.
Do you know what they told her????

"We can't do anything about that, we have a refuge out there!" WHAT?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!
A badger refuge on school grounds? Now I've never personally seen a badger, only on tv, but those things have HUGE claws and they are big, they are also quite vicious. So this morning I'm calling the school, the security desk on base AND Animology on base. Something has to be done, our kids are out there during recess playing and the last thing I want is one badly hurt because people were just not taking this issue seriously.

Anyway, you know even though I'm 31, some of the jargon used nowadays, really confuses me. It took me forever to figure out what "Bling Bling" meant. Now that I know, I find it funny that my daughter has a shirt saying exactly that, especially since she informed me the other day that she wants to get her ears pierced but only if she can get diamond earrings. Ummm YEAH, I'll get right to work on that one.

Today is only half day at school, so they get out at 1:30pm to prepare for the Annual School Carnival. Kids always have a blast. Each classroom is decorated for different games where they can win prizes. The gym also has tons of games they can play plus food like hotdogs, nachos etc. It's not a big deal but the kids love it and it's one of those nice times to have kids and teachers interact on a social level, just laughing and having a good ol' time. So we're definitely going today.

Yesterday before Curt left for work, Nicholas asked daddy to make his hair spiky. They both took off for the bathroom and minutes later they emerged with spiked hair. Nic was all proud and showing off what daddy had done for him. When Curt tried to walk out the door, Nicholas ran straight to him and grabbed his legs crying "I want to go to work with you". We told him he couldn't do that, especially since daddy works with the F-16's. He cried and cried and kept asking and we kept telling that he just couldn't go and we were sorry.
Next thing we know, he runs into the living room and we hear "I DON'T WANT MY SPIKY".
We find him in there wildly and frantically rubbing his hair to get the spiky out LOL
It was hilarious for him to even do that, it's like, "well you can't take me to work with you, then forget it, I don't want the spiky you gave me" LOL

I know this post is full of pics of my kids, but they're just so gorgeous, I couldn't help myself today. Sorry if I'm bragging!!!
They were goofing off this morning and gave me perfect opportunity to snap some pics :)

Ok so on to today's "Remember When???". This one is about our trip last summer to Utah. I'm sure my mother in law and brother in law will get a kick out of it again. Everyone had a good laugh at my expense, including MYSELF LOL

Last year June, my MIL and BIL came to visit for about a month. We always love having them over because we laugh and play games and just enjoy talking and having fun. This time though since they were staying longer, we had a couple of outings planned. One of them took us to Ogden, Utah, four hours from where we live. We were going to the Ogden Dinosaur Musem/Park, which the kids just love and though we'd been there before, we wanted to take Mom and Chris.
So we get there and we are walking around and looking at all the great dinosaur exhibits etc. They have this big outside area where you walk around and there's dinosaurs all over the place, in the trees, bush etc.

We were having a great time!!! We start walking towards this exhibit which is located through a small trail covered in trees etc, which leads to almost like a small cave with a dinosaur skeleton inside. Curt, the kids and Chris all went ahead first and then mom and I were last, on the way up from the trail, for some unknown reason, I decided to step in front of mom and walk ahead. Next thing I know I hear birds flying and then feel what seemed like HUGE rain drops. In my mind I'm thinking "Good Lord, those are HUGE rain drops, I mean I felt them on my arm and legs". I look down and instead am met with the biggest bird poop I've ever seen. LOL
Instantly this light bulb goes off in my head and I'm almost afraid to look down at my clothes.
YEAH, I got pooped on!!!! And not just a small little drop, these were like 5 or 6 HUGE droppings on my arms and legs. LOL
It felt like the birds came out of nowhere and just flew low over me and dropped their bombs. I just burst out laughing, even though I realized that now I have to finish the outing looking like I just stepped out of a paintball session. LOL

Alright this is a really long post, so I hope no one fell asleep, I promise to keep the one tomorrow short and sweet, how's that?

Well it's time to pick up the phone and start Badger Hunting, hopefully we will have the badgers cleared out of the school areas soon. As for today, Jasmine and Scottie have been told to play near the school building, I'm just terrified of a kid getting hurt out there.
Have an awesome friday everyone.
I leave you with a little insight for May 5.

MORE TRUTHS BROUGHT TO US BY CHILDREN:

• Don't let your mom brush your hair when she's mad at your dad.
• If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. It's always the second person who gets caught.

Weathering the Storms!!!

Storms come to every life. Threats to income, conflict in marriages, rebellion from children, disease, disaster, and death - the storms attack with a fury. Some weather the storms; others are blown away by them. What makes the difference? Is it accidental? Is it just luck? No. The difference lies in where we choose to take shelter.

The power in those words is unbelievable. For so long I've been saying that "it's the way we choose to look at things that makes the difference" and especially WHO we choose to put the burden on that affects the outcome.

It's easy to get blown away, to give up and think, well, I tried (not really), but this is just bigger than me!!! The fact is that there IS something bigger than you, but it's not the problem, it's God.
Why do we constantly fight the urge to put everything in his hands? Is it because we want to continue controlling every detail of ours lives and putting all of that in the Lord's hands somehow makes us weaker?

I know that for me, the past struggles I've had, miscarriages, financial problems, conflicts in the marriage and so on, only caused me to turn towards God. But I also know that there are those who choose to do otherwise and end up in a spiral, their whole world falling apart.

What got me thinking about this, was the post on Gibee's blog "Kisses of Sunshine" yesterday. Go on over and read it if you haven't yet. She talks about Trusting the Shepherd, and oh my, what powerful words she has to share with us all.

So here is my question to you. In which shelter will you choose to weather the storms - God's strong house, or a flimsy tent?

I pick the strong house!!!

"And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible."
Mark 10:27

We're almost at the end of another week, time just seems to be flying by. This morning while leaving to take Jasmine to school, I talked to my neighbor, she was cleaning out her car in preparations to take her husband to the airport. Her husband leaves today on a 1 year tour to Korea. I could have just said hi and kept walking, but I made it a point to ask her how SHE was doing. See, it's always so easy to think about the soldier heading out, and yes we need to worry about them too, but I think it's a good feeling to have someone ask about YOU and how you are feeling. She just shrugged and said she was OK, but I could tell she had been crying.
My heart breaks for her.
Our husbands are our lives and when they get sent anywhere in the world, no matter for how long or short a period of time, it's always a hard thing to deal with.
So I let her know that if she ever needs anything, we are right next door. If you could today, pray for her and her husband, so they both may have the strength to get through the next year.

So my kids think I'm some sort of SuperWoman. The reason is that ever since I've had kids, and I know a lot of moms will agree with me, I've developed or rather INCREASED my senses.
I can be upstairs and the kids playing downstairs in the living room, and I will tell them to stop doing something without even seeing them.

Kids - "how did you know?"
Mom - "I just do!"

I'm sound asleep and one of the kids just stirs in his bed, I jump up and run to check on them.

Hubby - "What the heck are you doing?"
Mom - "checking on the kids"
Hubby - "Why? I didn't hear them cry"
Mom - "they didn't, I just felt them stir in their sleep"
Hubby - (looking at me like I grew two heads) "ooookkkaaayyyyy"

Giving the kids a bath yesterday.

Mom - "I think Lola just did something in your bedroom Jasmine."
Jasmine - "did what?"
Mom - "I think she went potty in your bedroom, I can smell it"
Jasmine - "no you can't, I can't smell anything"
Mom - "ok why don't you get out of the bathtub and go check and then let me know?"
2 minutes later........
Jasmine - "mommy, Lola pooped on my rug".
BINGO!!!!

So yeah, these abilities are great but at other times they can become quite frustrating, as I'm overwhelmed with conversations or smells that I don't want to be familiar with.
Any other mom out there suddenly become SUPERWOMAN??? If you did, let me know LOL

I think I've babble on long enough today. My coffee has gone cold and my toast has now become a rock hard piece of bread, I'm sure it could do bodily harm if flung across the room.
I have laundry waiting to be switched from washer to dryer, so I better get on that........hope I remember to turn it ON afterwards, you know, maybe these extra refined senses are taking away from my brain power? That wouldn't be a good thing, what good could come of a dumb mommy with an incredible sense of smell?

WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAY!!!

I'm loving this "Works for me Wednesday", and I've picked up some amazing tips from all the ladies. Can't wait to read the new ones today. :)
For more WFMW participants, head on over to Shannon's Blog :)
So here is my tip for this week.

Usually during the summer we take trips from Idaho to Oklahoma to visit my mother in law. Now having two young kids, you know that it's going to be one heck of a ride LOL

Kids get bored easily and not even 4 hours into our 24 hour drive, they are already fighting, crying, wanting to get out of the car etc.

So, last time we went to Oklahoma I decided I had to come up with something to keep them busy. The first thing I did was obviously, use the toy boxes that we got for them.
Then I went online and printed out a map of the USA showing some of the major cities we would drive through. They each got one of these maps and a highlighter. I mapped out our route on each one and the kids were able to follow along on the trip and cross out every place we went through, it also gave them a sense of how far or how close we were.
Another good idea was to give them each one of those disposable cameras which they used to take photos of every spot we stopped at, along with little souvenirs they would pick up along the way.

When you get back home, you can just sit down and make a scrapbook of your summer trip. It's a nice keepsake to have!!!

One other tip is to try and travel as much as you can during the night, the kids are asleep for longer and don't get as bored, PLUS you can get a few more hours in the trip before having to stop.

*************************************

On to something else......this morning I got an email from my mother in law. She volunteers at this Pregnancy Resource Center and this is what she had to say:

It is a Christ-centered organization. I had to sign a statement of faith before they would welcome me aboard. All the women are good Christian women.
Our goal is to give God the glory as we help young women who find themselves in a
crisis. We prepare ourselves with prayer. We meet together before
our shift and pray for the young women who will be walking through the doors. We tell them up front that we are a Christian organization and are funded totally by donations of churches and individuals. We share God's love and encourage them to find their strength in God's love and compassion for them. We let them talk and share their fears or concerns.

We offer free pregnancy tests and one free ultrasound right there at the center. Everything is kept confidential. They can trust us. We also provide diapers, formula and baby clothes to meet the client's needs. All our services are 100% free.

We give special attention to teens. We have abstinence-until-marriage programs.
And we have excellent videos the girls can watch in a quiet private room that shares knowledge and education regarding choices they make today - that will effect them tomorrow.

I think it's just amazing and a great opportunity to share the Lord's love and work with others.
They are having a Walk for Life on Saturday the 13th of May, and that is their main fund raiser, so if you're anywhere near the Lawton, Oklahoma area, and would like to check it out, that would be wonderful.

The reason I'm posting about this is that they really appreciate prayers for the ministry and the work they are doing, so if you could just send out a prayer for them, I would be so grateful.

So last night I'm watching tv, and in between one of my shows I was AGAIN surfing the channels. I stopped at MTV's "My Super Sweet Sixteen" show and I am appalled.
Yes absolutely disgusted with what I was seeing. Now mind you, I'm not against spoiling your kids, Lord knows I've spoiled mine but to a certain extent. There's a point in time where you have to draw the line and encourage children to learn about money, allowances and working towards what you want. You start giving them everything and they just don't appreciate what they have and later grow to be stubborn, greedy and ungrateful adults.

That unfortunately is what I saw on the show. Ok so for those that don't know what it's about, it's pretty much rich families throwing "Sweet Sixteen" parties for their teens. That's all fine and dandy but when you see a 15 year old girl throw a tantrum because she wants a car NOW, and her dad had to work out the details so she could only get the car (OF HER CHOICE) the following morning....that just makes me sick.

On a different note, I am so excited, I got my mail this morning and had a movie from Netflix waiting. I had forgotten about it, and when I opened it I jumped for joy......."The Hiding Place", movie about Corrie Ten Boom's book. Guess what I'm watching tonight??? :)

Well I gotta get going, have to start cleaning my carpets, managed to get a carpet cleaner from the Self Help on base. Will let you all know how I liked the movie. Hope everyone has a great day, and again don't forget to head on over to Rocks in my Dryer for the list of Works for me Wednesday participants :)

TREASURE TUESDAY!!!

My greatgrandmother was by far the most influential woman in my life. She taught me SO much and I only hope that one day I can pass on if just a tenth of what she instilled in me.

So my Tuesday Treasures are ALL about my Bio (it's pronounced Bee-awww, not bio like something else LOL).

First let me tell you a bit about her. She was born in 1906 and when she was 4 years old her mother died of cancer. Her father then took on the sole responsibility of raising her and her older brother, until he remarried and then had another son. Within a few years, and when her older brother was 29, he was suddenly killed while out fishing. Apparently he was struck by lightning and fell into the ocean. Now my greatgrandma had been cooking and taking care of the house since she was a little girl, around 8 or 9. Her dad had to work so she would make sure he had his meals ready when he got home.
Unfortunately when she was 13 years old, she came home from school only to find her father had hung himself in the kitchen.

Such a tragic life she had and you would have thought it would be enough to keep her down, but it didn't, she was the strongest and most courageous woman I have EVER come across.
She married when she was 16 years old and her husband, my greatgrandpa, was 26. They had a wonderful life together, but he unfortunately also later passed away with cancer when she was just 40 something years old.

My bio was the family matriarch. She pretty much raised me and my brothers while our parents were out working, she cooked meals for sometimes 20 people, took care of the housework, the kids, anything and everything. One of the things I most treasure and remember was her nightly ritual. She would get ready for bed and then sit down, kiss the photo of her husband and pray, then go to sleep. This went on for years and years and years.
She got really sick when she was 94 years old, and I remember the day I left South Africa to come to the States. I kissed her goodbye and gave her a huge hug and told her I loved her, she just smiled back at me so sweetly and said "I love you sandra, you be a good wife and a good mother and I hope to see you someday soon".

That was September 1998!!!
March 24, 1999, I was laying in bed and the phone rang at 5am, it was one of my older brothers and I knew what he was going to say. She passed away a month before Jasmine was born.
My heart still aches for her and I miss her terribly, but I know she's watching over me and the kids.

I will forever be greatful for what she taught me, I am the woman I am today because of HER.
I have a few items that belonged to her, and I treasure them dearly. So these are my TUESDAY TREASURES!!!

This is my greatgrandfather. I have the original jewelry box which contains this pendant. It's so beautiful and I love looking it at it every chance I get. :)

This is an old old old pin that my greatgrandmother used to wear. She passed this on to my daughter Jasmine. I am keeping it for her until she's old enough to take care of it :)

This ring belonged to my greatgrandmother and was given to her by my greatgrandfather. I always loved looking at it, so when she passed away, it was one of the things that came to me. I try not to wear it too often for fear of loosing it. :)

And there you have it, my Tuesday Treasures. Sorry the post was so long, but I hope you all enjoy it :)

Before I close though, I want to send out a Happy Birthday to my sister in law, Lilian.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIL!!!

Sis, I hope you have a wonderful day and that you get everything you've ever wished for. I wish I was there to celebrate with all of you, but just know that I will be there in spirit and thought.

We love you sis and miss you tons.

Wow it's May!!!!

I just can't believe how fast this year is going by. It feels like just yesterday we were putting away the christmas decorations and now we're almost heading into summer break.

I'm going to be running around today, it's always like that on payday. See, being military we get paid on the 1st and the 15th of each month, so those are two sure HECTIC days for us.

Jasmine woke up this morning with a cough and she felt a little warm, but not warm enough to stay home from school, I just hope she isn't coming down with another cold, you all know how easily she gets sick, so I'm praying to God that she gets over whatever this is FAST.

My dad sent me two more photos from the Kruger National Park, so I'm posting them here for you all to enjoy. How amazing that the animals are that close huh?
I remember a certain story that my dad always tells us, about how they went to the Park when they were little, and they had their windows wide open. They came across some monkeys and before they could close the windows the monkeys jumped into the back seat and proceeded to eat the bananas they had back there LOL
I think I would have passed out with fright!!!
So here you go, a photo of another elephant (I can see dad is getting adventurous again and not sitting back a mile away lol), and one of a mommy and baby monkey. :)

Again last night as I was searching the tv for something interesting to watch, I was lucky to catch another program by Pastor McBath. This time the topic was "The purpose filled Life", and wow it blew me away.

Something really stuck with me.

You'll never find life until you find purpose in something bigger than yourself.

• You cannot be a blessing in your own strength.
• You cannot be a blessing and walk in pride.
• You cannot be a blessing until you're willing to serve.
• You cannot be a blessing until you listen to God for instructions.

How true is that??? Something else that I was reminded of is that once you give your life to God the REAL work begins. It's almost like being selected for a class or course and then you study and you work for it, you don't just get accepted and that's it. It would be so much easier if it was that way, but what would we learn?

So here's my weekend recap:

The good: We spent saturday morning and afternoon cleaning, mowing and planting out in the front yard, it was hard work but the yard looks great.

The bad: At about 5pm I was watching tv and got a SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH. Next thing I know we are being hit by hail, 60pmh winds, thunder and lightning, which in turn destroyed my newly planted tulips.

The good: I was finally able to fit my comforter into my washer, so I wouldn't have to drag it to the laundromat every friday when I change the bed, therefore I washed IT, plus all the sheets and the mattress protector at home.

The bad: I was so thrilled with the newly discovered ability and money saving technique, that I quickly made the bed back up only to discover that I totally forgot to put the mattress protector back on.......it now reminds me WHY we need a new mattress, those springs killed me all night.

The good: Managed to watch "Flighplan" and "Narnia" on sunday.

The bad: Started the movies at 1pm and didn't finish watching until 6pm because of the thousand interruptions by little ones. "I want a snack"...."no nicholas you can't play my game"...."leave me alone jasmine"...."can I have popcorn?"......."this movie is boring"....."I'm tired"....."can you get me a drink, I'm thirsty". You get the idea right?

The good: Got all my laundry done.

The bad: woke up this morning to realize that for some insane reason, I put the last load in the dryer, threw in the dryer sheets but FORGOT to turn it on, so now I have wet, moldy smelling clothes which need to be washed again.

So there you have it, my weekend summary, sounds exciting doesn't it? lol

I better get a move on, gotta get my menus and grocery list ready, have tons to do today.
Hope you all have a wonderful first day of May :)