Quote of the Day

Date Night with the Boys

We look forward to Thursday nights in our home.  It is DATE NIGHT with the boys!  
Since we are a family of 4 the math works out simply.  Danny takes a boy out and I take the other boy out.  We try to go out on a date with each son once a month.  
Just about anything goes for Date Night.  Dinner and movie out, dinner and movie in, mini golf, art projects, science experiments, high school plays, hikes...  
Whatever we end up doing there are a few expectations for our date:

1. The boys have to have at least 1 question for us about life and 1 question about God.
2. Distractions are put away - texts, phone calls, emails, to do lists.  
3. The point of the Date is spending time with each other, getting to know each other and building memories.

Danny and I also try to use the one on one time with the boys to teach them about life, teach them life skills, and teach them how to become a man with integrity and character.

Last month I focused on teaching the boys some cooking skills.  I let each of the boys pick a meal they wanted to learn how to make.  We created a plan, wrote down the ingredients we needed at the store, went shopping, then went to work in the kitchen.

Cody loves Mediterranean flavors, and I had found this Greek Pizza recipe on Pinterest.  We didn't make our own dough (but used our favorite Trader Joes Pizza dough).  Cody made the Homemade Tzatziki sauce, chopped the veggies, and helped assemble the pizza.  
For me to watch my son get excited about feta and avocados and trying cucumbers and tomatoes on his pizza is a big deal for me.  This boy used to be the pickiest eater I knew.  He has come a LONG way in trying new foods and enjoying them.
End result... Cody loved the pizza and wants to learn how to cook more meals.

For dessert we tried a Nutella Mug cake.  We love Nutella.  The cake was good, a little dry but was more than enough for Cody and me to share.

Colton chose one of his favorite meals to learn how to make, Chicken Enchiladas with rice.  This is a recipe that I just threw together.  Thanks to this pinterest post, shredding chicken for this meal is incredibly simple.  After I shred the chicken I add red enchilada sauce from Trader Joes, nonfat greek yogurt and shredded cheese.  We enjoy fresh baked tortillas (one day I will venture out and make them from scratch).  After the tortillas are baked we added a little sauce then the meat mixture and of course a little more cheese, fold it up and place it in a glass bowl.  Once we made all our enchiladas we baked them till the cheese on top was melted, and enjoyed every bite.  

A special tradition we have created is having dinner picnic style enjoying a movie.  I don't remember what we watched but I remember having a great time with Cole.  He was so proud to make his favorite meal with me.

I am sure we will have more Date Nights making meals together, and I look forward to learning new recipes with my boys, and one day learning from them.

why I don't need Valentine's Day

I don't need February 14 to know how much I am loved...

 Danny loves me every day of the year and goes out of his way to make sure I never forget how much I am loved.

 He leaves me notes anywhere and everywhere, like here on my car...

 Ever since high school he has showered me with flowers, and not just roses for nothing other than to say "I Love You"

He not only takes care of me when I'm not feeling good, but takes care of the little things for me so I can get better...

 He makes sure I remember I am his princess and treats me as such even if I feel silly.

 We face adventures TOGETHER, encouraging, supporting, and laughing. 

  He lets me be silly and joins me in craziness.

He encourages me to create and become a better me especially when I risk mistakes.

So today February 14, is just another day that I am loved by my best friend and am better because of his love.

 tomorrow and the days after will be just like today.

I'm a Writer but I'm Not a Writer

I was not your overachiever in school, especially when it came to my english classes.  Books didn't interest me, and writing didn't interest me and combine the two for research papers -- yep really no interest there.  Now it wasn't that I did bad I just did not find English to be interesting or that important to me.

I remember that I had to learn sentence structure in high school and I learned just what I needed to get a good grade on my test and then forgot it because it was of no interest to me.  I get to college and in my tiny English class we have to do it again -- I did not find that funny.  But learned enough to do well on my test to then forget it.

I may not have been an overachiever in school but that didn't mean that I wasn't interested in learning.  As a family we value learning all the time.  Danny inspires me to continue to learn all the time.  And now there are books that interest me, and writing interests me, and I love to research and write now.

A big part of being interested in all of those things now is what I am reading and writing and researching.

A few summers ago some of my high school girls wanted to do a summer Bible study and they wanted to study women in the Bible.  I was excited about this time with the girls.  I don't remember if I did some research to see if there was something out there already done.  But I decided to I was going to write this study for the girls.  I didn't know how to do it but I just started and had a lot of fun doing researching and digging deeper into the Bible.  I started to write down notes and thoughts and was amazed at how easy things seemed to flow.

Now 3 years later those studies are being shared with others to learn about the women in the Bible and all that we can learn from them here on this website (Download Youth Ministry).

I am so humbled that I get the opportunity to share these with others.  And I share with you the story about me to say that I truly believe that my ability to write and research is by the grace of God.  I love to see God use me in a way that I am not skilled or strong in but do something great when I obey and let Him lead me.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love this time of the year.

I love the colors, the smells, the food.

I love the decorations around every corner.

I love the anticipation for a day to celebrate with family.

I don't love shopping or the crowds or the stress to find the best deal.
Yep I am not a shopper and I'm okay with that.

I do enjoy watching the boys open gifts and I enjoy building and playing with them on Christmas.

Even though this time of year is busy we still try to make some special moments where we can.

Like grocery shopping together because it needs to get done and why not make a family date out of it?

A New Experience Waits Ahead

I just registered for my first 5K.

Yep, and I signed up my whole family too.  They are going to being doing this with me.

I am not a runner and have never liked running unless I was playing soccer or football or some game that gave me a reason to run (like capture the flag).

But this 5K gives me a reason to run -- COLOR!!!  I am going to covered in colors by the end of this race!  How could that not be a reason to run a 5K?

I am also not a morning person but chose to do the morning run!

Who am I becoming?!?

And I am so excited about this 5K Color Run!!!

I discovered the Color Run last year and I was to late to register.  But now I am all ready to go in May to run, probably more like walk my first 5K.  But who cares?  It will be so much FUN!

I am hoping a few friends join us on our team as well, the more we have, the more fun it will be!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Wow a year has pasted since I have updated anything here on my blog.

This past year has been a fun one full of adventures and lessons and growing and memories with friends and family.

It has been a year full of creative meals and projects (thanks to Pinterest).

Even Danny is getting creative building things we find on Pinterest 

God has been teaching me about submission and obedience and waiting on His timing.  It has been good but hard at the same time.

 

As a family, we watched God provide for all 4 of us to travel to Uganda.  We fell in love with the people we met and our hearts broke saying goodbye.

Beautiful friends at Jireh Children's Center

We ventured out on new adventures as a family, like visiting Washington DC for the first time, going on a safari in Africa, discovering a new favorite spot in Yosemite.

We had fun being tourists in DC

On our safari we saw elephants, lions, hippos, crocs and God's creation

First time to Glacier Point in Yosemite and saw the Blue Moon there.

Our family celebrated 12 years of being established with a yummy treat.

7.8.2012 = 12 years married to my best friend

The boys began a new year of school, excited to see their friends and to learn more.

We don't know what lies ahead in this adventure but we know that we will travel it together having fun and trusting God to guide us.