summer cleaning ... day 3

our Bedroom...

My two dressers and the cedar chest... I love the cedar chest but it seems to be the catch all.  Piled high with clean and dirty laundry. :/  It drives me mad.  Only took a few minutes to tidy up.  And it'll stay that way at least until the mister gets home and changes his clothes ;P

The BEFORE Shots~





... & the AFTER...

Now to finish packing for Grammy's and make a quick trip to the library :)

day 2...

The mantle and sewing machine...

Before:

After:

And since its nearly July I think it maybe time to put away my snowmen...

Liam's quilt

My sweet friend Jessica and little Liam

A bit ago Jess texted me this pic of Liam lovin' his new quilt!  Makes my heart happy!

summer cleaning

Hannah's room {much like most of this house} has been a disater lately... I been thinking about the 21 days challenge and my "New Year's Goals" and how I have completley and utter failed on both counts.

Well yesterday I decided to get back on the horse...I started with the worst hoping maybe each day we can go down hill and things may just get a little easier. {I can hope}.  Yesterday was back breaking work.  But Hannah and I are very happy with the results.  Hannah has pledged to keep it tidy everyday.  She "cleaned" it four times yesterday between the time Daddy came home and bedtime.

I did not take a before pic but here are a couple "afters".  As you can see her dresser still needs a bit of work.  Hopefully that shall be one of my projects this afternoon.

YUM!

Tonight I made pulled pork sandwiches and fries for dinner.  So good!  I went the super easy route with the pork.  I tossed the tenderloin in the  slow cooker this morning and just let it cook away until it was practically falling apart and begging to be shredded. After shredding the pork right in the slow cooker, I simply mixed it with the kids favorite Honey BBQ sauce.

The sandwich rolls I actually made from scratch and am quite proud.  They turned out nearly perfect.  I found the recipe yesterday via pinterest. On this blog... I just love the name of her blog...and her button! ;)

The actual recipe you can view here.

And here is a picture of how my rolls turned out.  I made twelve and they turned out roughly the size of your average hamburger buns. :) They were soft and delicious and all I had hoped! I just love it when a recipe lives  up to your expectations!

To go with our sammies I made oven fries using my new handy dandy french fry cutter from pampered chef.

Disclaimer: some of the potatoes were kinda hard to cut, sometimes a lot of muscle is required. But the end result was so worth it! I made the recipe right on the use and care card that came with the cutter.

Perfect Oven Fries

Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs (700 g) russet potatoes (about 3 medium) 2 tbsp (30 mL) vegetable oil 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt Directions: Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Trim top and bottom of potatoes, creating a flat base. Cut potatoes using French Fry Cutter. Soak fries in cold water 5 minutes. Drain and blot dry with paper towels. Combine fries, oil and salt in a large mixing bowl; toss to coat. Arrange fries in an even layer over Large Sheet Pan or Large Bar Pan. Bake 36–40 minutes or until deep golden brown. Yield: 4 servings Nutrients per serving: Calories 190, Total Fat 7 g, Saturated Fat 0.5 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 300 mg, Carbohydrate 31 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 4 g © 2012 The Pampered Chef used under license. www.pamperedchef.com

Happy Father's Day

I am blessed with a couple great men in my life. My wonderful father who helped me become the person I am today.  I am so thankful for the godly example he displayed in my life.  My marvelous husband.  Whom  I love with all my heart, my best friend, and who is the father to all three of my darling children. 

Mikayla made this super cool candy card for Rhett.

I made this for my Dad.  Didn't come out as well as I would have liked but he seemed to like it ok. ;P It says...

The only thing better

 than having

 you as a

D A D

is my children

having you for their

P A PA

We had a great cookout yesterday at Mom and Dad's.  I just love my family, and the times we share.  We looked at pictures toegther from Laura and Rich's recent trip to DC and Florida as well as Mikayla's pictures from DC.  Mom and Dad showed us a few from their trip to DC earlier in the spring as well.  It was interesting to see how the different perspectives of the same city from different people. ;-)

Saturday we also had the priviledge of attending the wedding of a young couple in our church.  It was a beautiful ceremony and a marvelous afternoon.  I wish them a lifetime of love, joy and happiness.

I am still a little behind on my gifts.  But I am coming up on the 500 mark so I am nearly halfway to my 1000 gifts :D  also I think I am going to add a gifts tab here and list them all in one spot...so be on the look out for that addition sometime soon.

Some gifts I have seen in the last week or so....

• a day at the beach with friends :)
• discovering Jess loved "The Buttercream Gang" movie as a kid as well!
• Watching Mamma Mia with Mikayla
• laughing together
• planning Summer Fun
• Seeing the buses oulling in a the Girl Scout Council
• Having my girl home :)
• Hearing how moved she was by the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
• Two baeball games won
• The confidance of true friendship
• being able to lost a friend in prayer
• phone calls from my sister
• an encouraging word
• being able to make lasgana for the rehersal dinner
• Ryan learning he will play the Sax next year
• Singing with Ry in the car
• New Women of Grace BLOG
• having Housewives here
• an encouraging "thank you" card
• fnidhing the 5 love languages of children study
• hearing brids sing
• a dance with my Dad
• being a guest at a beautiful wedding
• Mikayla's piano party
• father's day cookout
• Time spent with my Mr
• a mr who can fix a flat tire

love

Marriage is on my heart today.  Mine has seen its share of troubles. But God has brought us through, sustained us, healed us.



I am thankful for my husband. For the 13 plus years we have been husband and wife.  For the laughter and the tears we have shared.  For our three wonderful children.  It is my hope, my prayer, my pledge that I will never leave a legacy of divorce and brokenness to my children.


Lake Champion-- July 1996; the week we met

November 1998, Marine Corps Ball             

Photo booth fun at wedding we attended a couple weeks ago. :-)

a little slidehow I made for our anniversary last year, orginally posted here

This free slideshow personalized with Smilebox

: ~)

God loves Broken People...

This is the first book by Shelia Walsh I have read.  I found it up lifting and encouraging.  The book talks about how we can come to God just as we are.  That it doesn't matter who we are or what we have been through but that God will accept us and can use us just as we are.  You never know how the struggles you face in your own life will help someone else.  She tell lots of stories  from her own life and the lives of others but always brings it back to be deeply rooted in  scriptures.  She has many of scripture verses interlaced in the chapters of her book.

In the very first chapter she speaks of how we must move on from the past.  We can not spend our life staring in the rear view mirror but must keep our focus on the road ahead of us.  God is continually doing new things in our lives, helping us to grow and preparing us for the future He has for us.

See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.  Isaiah 43:19

She also spoke of "bummer lambs" .  The abandoned or rejected lambs in a flock.  These lambs she states are truly the most blessed because they are "personally and intimately cared for by the shepherd.  They develop a relationship with the shepherd that other sheep can't even dream of".

There is also a Bible Study includeded at the end of the book.  I am hoping to do it with our Bible Study group this fall.

I read this book in the mornings as part of my devotional time.  The chapters were short and engaging.  I was always eager to pick it up and read the next chapter.  It was so encouraging to read stories of people that God used, that they did not have picture perfect lives.  But God can and will use them to touch others all around them.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”