{ Happy Homemaker Monday }

Welcome to my Monday feature, a place where I'll be writing about my day, what I've learned the past week, any new recipes I've tried, scriptures that made an impact and everything else in between.

Every Monday, I will post a Mr Linky, you are more than welcome to join me, all you need to do is grab the button, copy the categories and fill in your answers, then come back here and add your post so that others can come and visit you.





On my bedside table:
The Help by Neta Jackson. I'm loving this book, it is so so so good....can't wait to review it here.


On my TV:
Catherine Cookson's Anthology "Tilly Trotter"
Bride Wars
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas


On the menu for tonight:
Lasagna with Garlic Bread


On my To Do List:
Laundry to put away
Floors to sweep and mop


New Recipe I tried last week:
I didn't try any new ones last week but I'll be trying a few this week, like Garlic Wings and Beef Pitas


In the craft basket:
Valentine's Crochet Heart Garland
Little crochet birds


Looking forward to:
A new mattress coming in this week, desperately need it.


Homemaking Tip for this week:
Wash greasy dishes and pans in a snap...just add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the hot soapy dishwater.
The vinegar will cut right through the grease.


Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
Come What May by Marie at A Year from Oak Cottage.


Favorite photo from last week:

Lesson learned the past few days:
That sometimes you need to make the best decision for yourself and your children irregardless of whether you think others will approve.
When the school nurse called me last week to pick up the kids on a thursday, I knew that I should keep them home with me on friday too but I couldn't help but feel bad that they would be missing another day of school. But I had to do what was right for my children and to make them better, they NEEDED to be home and taken care of. I'm glad I followed my heart.


On my Prayer List:
My husband
Troops overseas and at home
My children


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?
~ II Samuel 22:32 ~

{ 31 Days of Prayer for my Husband } - Day 1

I feel that behind every wonderful blogging woman I have come to know, there is an amazing man, they are the ones working in the background. The ones providing for our families, fixing what is broken around the house, giving us a hug when we're down, listening to our bad days, putting up with the constant flashing of cameras in their eyes (admit it, you tote that camera around just as much as I do LOL).
So I think they need to be recognized and admired and acknowledged for the wonderful husbands they are and what better way to do that, than to devote a whole month of prayer to them. Will you join me?
Embark with me on a journey for the next 31 Days, in which we devote ourselves to prayer for our husbands.

Everyday I will put up a prayer and a Mr Linky. Now, you don't need to go to your blogs and do your own post, you can if you want to but it's not required. But I would like you to sign your name on Mr Linky if you do say the prayer for that day, just so that we can see how many wonderful women are praying for their husbands.

Day 1

Pray that your husband will grow spiritually and consider his accountability before the Lord. Pray that he will guard his heart by developing spiritual disciplines—Bible reading and study, prayer, meditation, scripture memorization, etc. (2 Peter 3:18; Prov. 4:23)

2 Peter 3:18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Prov. 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.

{ A day of Thrifting }

We had an easy quiet morning, the kids are feeling so much better and I'm sure it's not just the extra TLC I've been showering on them, I'm sure your prayers have had a lot to do with it :)
So I thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

It's starting to heat up around here again, so we're back to short sleeves and flip flops....YAY!

While I got the car cleaned out and ready to go, the kids had fun playing with a bubble blower. It's always amazing to me how happy and thrilled they are with something as simple as bubbles.

We took off around noon today to go out to lunch at one of our favorite restaurants....you all know Cracker Barrel, it's inexpensive, it's delicious food and it's the kind of place that we could stay lost in for hours and hours. There's something about that place, perhaps the old remnants of years gone by, the burning fireplace, the antiques hanging from the roof and the homey atmosphere.

After a great lunch, we took off in search of a few more thrift stores.

I'm sure by now you all know that The Cardinals are playing tomorrow and it's absolutely NUTS around here. Now, I'm not a football fan, I don't ever watch the Superbowl but I can't help but root for The Cards, I have to support the place I'm living in right? No? Well I'm doing it anyway and besides the stadium is like 5 minutes up the street, I've showed you all photos before.

Anyway, lots of cars and people with Cardinals gear and then we see this on the street corner:

The sign says "Honk for your Cards" and you should have heard the honking going on LOL It was hilarious.

I'm sorry this one is a little blurry but we honked a heck of a lot and he got all happy, I thought this expression is hilarious.

After visiting two thrift stores, we decided that we would just head back to the Goodwill again. Look, I'm no snob and I don't mind thrift stores, but when I walk into one and it smells funky and everything is dirty and over priced, I just get frustrated and want to leave.

We lucked out again, Goodwill was having another 50% off, so I was one happy camper because now I'm going to show you what I got and you won't believe how much I paid for it all.

This is what I got....2 huge 1 lb white yarns, a small bag of pink yarn, that cute wall country clock that says "love one another", a white ceramic colander which I LOVE, a really cute plate, a wire basket and mason jars (I'll show you underneath what it's for), that adorable little pig with the basket of apples, a prim shelf, 3 lantern candle holders, tea lights and 2 pillow cases.

I also got some really cute tops for myself, NEW with the tags on, two pairs of capris, a pair of shorts for Nicholas, 3 dresses for Jasmine and some new curtains for the kitchen. ALL NEW with price tags still attached.

Now I know you're wondering how much I paid for it all right? Well, I paid $15. LOL

Yeah I know, I couldn't believe it, $15 for everything and I think I did pretty well and found very cute things.

So now let me show you why I wanted the wire basket and all those mason glass jars. See a while back I was looking at one of my favorite sites online Country Home and I saw an idea that I just HAD to make. But I didn't have what I needed and then I forgot about it, but I remembered it again a few days ago, so I've been on the lookout for everything.

Based on this idea, here's a close up showing the salt shaker.

Here's another view, I have my forks, knives and spoons in each mason jar, then I have the salt and pepper shakers and some napkins. It sits in the middle of my kitchen table and I think it will make it so much easier during mealtimes for everyone.

And here's a closer look at my little lantern candle holders....I absolutely LOVE these.

All in all I think it was a great day and I'm happy with my finds.

I think the key to thrift store shopping is to go in with an open mind and to really look, take time to get in there and look through the many things available. Half of the items I got today weren't visible, they were behind and underneath others.

Anyway, it's late and I'm about to go take my shower and then hubby and I are getting into bed and watching Fireproof together. I can't wait!

Have you watched the movie yet? What did you think?

{ Coming up to Breathe }

I've managed to climb out of the kleenex pile and take a breather, a much needed breather.

I don't have much to share with you today, I think my brain has taken a break, it's needing rest, it's needing restoration and I think I'm on the road to getting that now that my beautiful children are well on the road to recovery.

So today was a quiet, easy, unplanned, do whatever you like day for the kids. And me? I was the caregiver, the nurse, the cook and the provider, I ran myself ragged, I poured numerous cups of juice and handed out various kinds of snacks. But it's worth it, because they're feeling better.

My sweet boy playing with his cars

Miss Bella napping near Nicholas. One thing I love about the pugs is that no matter where the kids are, they are near them and especially when they're sick.

Miss Lola stayed by Jasmine's side

My beautiful girl spent the day in her bedroom, laying on her bed, watching tv, reading, crafting and just relaxing.

When the kiddos are sick, mommy lets them pick their own lunch....

So now that it's evening and they're bathed and watching a movie, I'm going to finally sit down and relax with my crochet.....but first, here's a quick recipe for you. Rotini with Chourizo and Bacon. Yum Yum!

{ Nurse Calling }

If you're anything like me, when the phone rings and you see certain names and numbers on there, you get nervous. So it went this morning when around 11 am, I was just about to start mopping and the phone rang, knowing that it's probably a telemarketer, I just wandered over and took a peek at the caller ID.

The number on there was from the kid's school and right away my heart clenches, I don't know what it is, but the minute any call comes in from that number, my mind immediately goes to "what if's".

So I pick up the phone and it's the school nurse informing me that Jasmine's teacher had sent her down to the Nurses Office with a sore throat, sore stomach and a headache. She asked me if I wanted her to just give her tylenol and see how it goes or if I wanted to come and pick her up seeing as she has been sick this week and was home yesterday because of it.

If this had been any other time, I probably would have told the Nurse to go ahead and give her the medicine and keep an eye on her, BUT being as both kids have been sick this week I felt it better to pick her up. I did go ahead and grab Nicholas too....apparently he was just going to recess. He comes walking around the corner with his little backpack on, a runny nose and coughing. Yep....I made the right decision, so they're both home for the day.

I'm a very protective mother, I don't like knowing that I'm not in control when my children are not feeling well, so having them both with me at home where I can keep an eye on them, is just what we all needed.



So that was my day, surrounded by kleenex, clingy miserable kids, blankets and teddy bears, medicine, soup and juice. I'm exhausted right now, it's hard enough when one child is sick but when they're all at the same time, it's double the work for little ol' me.

I have to tell you earlier today I felt quite overwhelmed, because at one point I had laundry needing to be switched from washer to dryer, the dishwasher open with dishes waiting to be loaded and I had both kids crying at the same time and asking me for different things. I literally felt like I couldn't breathe, like I wanted to just dig a hole and climb in and come out when everyone was feeling better.....and then I remembered this book that I absolutely love, "Diapers, Pacifiers and other Holy Things".

In one Chapter the author says "If you faithfully wipe your child's runny nose, I will give you a mansion." LOL

Which of course we know is from Luke 19:17 "Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities."

It always reminds me that in order for me to be responsible for big things, I need to be faithful in the little mundane ones.....far too often as a mother and wife AND especially military wife, there are many times that I want to throw my hands up and give up, cry out "UGH, enough, I don't want to do this anymore". You know when you're having a super bad annoying, everything goes wrong, kinda day?

But this book always snaps me back to reality, when I feel that way I grab it and I page through it and see things like:

God entrusts you with little things to teach you faithfulness in big things.

God wants you to see that each little thing you do can have eternal impact.

WOW! Yes, Yes and YES! Everything we do matters, even the little things which we think of with no significance, like cleaning runny noses and scrubbing toilets, if your motive is right.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
Colossians 3:23, 24

And that's what I try to do everyday! I don't always succeed and I don't always remember this, but I try.

I did get a chance to sit down and do some crochet for Valentine's Day. Curt and I don't do anything specialy, as you already know, but I do usually make little chocolates for the kids Teachers and a nice dessert for dinner.

This year though, I'm going to take a page out of Bella Dia's book and make this adorable Crocheted Heart Garland. I've had my eye on it for so long, but alas my crochet skills were non existent. So glad I can do it now.

I'm going to stick with red, white and pink hearts for my garland and I've already made one and started the second. I couldn't believe how easy and quick they crochet. It's the perfect project for when you want to get rid of leftover yarn.

(click each thumbnail to enlarge)

Here soon I need to get the kids in the bathtub and ready for bed, I've decided to keep them home from school tomorrow, no sense in having them go back only to get called by the nurse again. Baths and pj's, milk and medicine and off to bed early, I'm sure with some good rest over this weekend they'll be healthy and ready to return to school on Monday morning.

Tomorrow it's payday so I'll be out all morning, thank goodness that Curt is home to watch the kids. So I'll be out getting groceries, running errands and picking up lunch and whatnot. It's usually an exhausting day but it feels good to come home and see the cupboards and refrigerator overflowing with food.

Anyway, I think I've babbled enough for today, hope you're all having a wonderful Thursday night. Stay warm and stay safe and God Bless!