Friday, May 27, 2011

The Wooden Bowl!



A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law,and four-year grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult.
Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess We must do something about Grandfather," said the son.

I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor. So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.
Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy responded,"Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor
wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

Children are remarkably perceptive. Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds ever process the messages they absorb. If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The wise parent realizes that every day the building blocks are being laid for the child's future. Let's be wise builders and role models.

Lord, we ask not that you move the mountains, but that You give us the strength to climb. "Life is about people connecting with people, and making a positive difference"

Take care of yourself, ...and those you love, ...today, and everyday!

~~~~~~

I know I have posted this before, but some things are worth repeating:)

Violin Concert!

Alexis had a Violin Concert last night.
I put her hair in a ponytail and put ribbons in her hair.





This is her all ready to go in her new dress.






She played beautifully. The lighting is super bad in the assembly room that she played, with my camera, my camera never gets good pictures, always so dark. A friend took a few pictures at the school, and said she will email them to me. If I get them I will share them:)




Thursday, May 26, 2011

Sunflowers and Cows!

I love to collect cows:)..and my favorite flower is the sunflower...so this picture always makes me smile!

I have little collectible cows all around the house.
When I go to buy flowers for my home, I seem to always gravitate to sunflowers, they just seem so happy to me.

..Oh, and another thing, PINK..I love the color pink:) It is such a girl color, and I am 100% girly girl..LOL.

My daughter has a violin concert tonight. I bought her a new dress to wear and I went to Walmart and bought some matching ribbons to put in her hair. I will take pictures when she is all dressed up.

I am thinking of baking chicken for dinner tonight, it is easy and I won't be home at dinner time, I will be at her concert while Kevin stays at home with Little Kevin. I would like us all to go, but I know my son, he would not last sitting at a concert for an hour and half....

It is almost the weekend, YaY!

Happy Thursday:)

...........Now off to put away a load of laundry!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Squirrel




I have a bird feeder in my backyard. This little squirrel comes by to get the seeds that fall in the planter and on the ground:)

My husband calls him Rocky...LOL.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Jello!




My daughter requested Jello.
So I made some Grape Jello and poured the Jello into these little individual cups I have. These are cups I save from the fruit snacks I buy. I am so glad now, you can buy fruit cups in there own juice instead of heavy syrup. I save the little bowls because they are perfect to put little snacks in them. I also bought some at Walmart that have lids, so I fill some up with things such as goldfish, cereal and so on. They are also nice to put ranch dressing in for my daughter's school lunch so she can dip her veggies:)

The hardest part about Jello, is waiting for it to set...LOL. Every 5 minutes, my kids ask, is it ready yet?

Monday, May 23, 2011

Roasted Asparagus

(Photo courtesy of whole foods)
This is how I made my asparagus last night for dinner.
I broke the tough ends of the stalk off, layered them on a foil lined cookie sheet, a little oil and salt and pepper. Roasted the asparagus in a 425 degree oven for ten minutes.
They are so good, and I did not have any leftovers:)

BLOGS!

Top 25 Faith Blogs By Moms~~Circle Of Moms

There is an amazing list of blogs here. They are picking the top 25 for the list. I am familiar with so many. Every time I go to that page, another wonderful blog is there..Even if you don't want to vote, the list is amazing, and you will find some old and some new blogs to read:) You can vote for more then one too:)

Happy Monday!

P.S. I got a new computer, YaY!!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Artichokes!

I am going to change my menu a little bit today:) Artichokes were on sale at Albertson's this morning, so I am adding that to tonight's dinner:) How do you like your artichokes? Growing up, my grandmother always stuffed them with bread crumbs, garlic, cheese, parsley. I used to dip mine in Mayonnaise, now I just like them plain. My kids like them dipped in butter.

Hopefully I will have my computer back by the weekend, I am so lost without it. It is just not the same with this one downstairs.

This one does have a camera thingy on it, and it makes videos, I will ask my daughter how to work it and maybe I can post a video...LOL.

Not much is going on here, it is cold and rainy so we are staying in except for the grocery store runs I make. So we are playing inside until it warms and dries up outside. Plus I am doing housework; cooking and cleaning and all that fun stuff:)



Have a Happy Wednesday

Monday, May 16, 2011

Hello!

My computer died last night:(

I am using the one downstairs.

It happened late last night, so there was really nothing we could do about it. My husband did look at it and the hard drive seems to be kaput.



The one downstairs is a touchscreen, it is really nice, but it doesn't have any of my favorites or saved places or pictures on here. Until, it can be fixed or replaced, I will be hanging out on this one:)

It is quite chilly today and it is supposed to rain tomorrow.
Baked chicken is on the menu for tonight!
Happy Monday everyone:)

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Weekly Menu Plan:)

Tonight's dinner is going to be :

Steak on the grill
Shrimp on the grill
Baked Potatoes
Grilled Veggies
Salad

This will be on the menu for the rest of the week:

Baked Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes
Salad

Little Cheddar Meatloaves
Steamed Rice
Steamed Broccoli
Salad

Pasta with oil and garlic
Chicken tenders
Steamed Carrots
Salad

Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Onions
Mashed Potatoes
Corn
Salad

Spaghetti and Meatballs
Salad

Hamburgers
Macaroni and Cheese
Steamed Veggies
Salad

I like to make fresh green salads with my dinners, they include two types of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, radishes, and what ever other veggies I have on hand. I will sprinkle a little cheese on the top of it too. They like either vinegar or Ranch dressing on their salad. I do like to homemake my Ranch dressing. I also found some really good potato salad recipes on the net, so I may include that into one of my meals. This menu is also a rough draft of my menu. It is what I have on hand. I did a major shopping trip on Wednesday, and then my husband and I did another one Saturday, so I really don't foresee having to go shopping for awhile. I may need to go to get more milk, but I am pretty much stocked up. I will keep you posted as to any changes I make through the week with my menu. I also intend to make some fresh dinner rolls, so that will be served with dinners too.

As, for breakfasts this week, homemade juice will be served. I try and make breakfasts different each morning for variety. I have turkey bacon to serve, along with sausage another day. All sorts of fresh fruits. Eggs will be served, scrambled or I also like to make eggs in a basket. Pancakes, french toast and I also have some Lean pockets stuffed with eggs and bacon and sausage. Little Kevin really likes cottage cheese, so he will eat that along with a side of strawberries:) I am going to make granola this week, so if that turns out and the kids like it, they can have that, maybe topped on yogurt.








Friday, May 13, 2011

Friday!


HELLO!




After watching some of Betty's Kitchen YouTube videos on casseroles, I took some of her ideas and made a casserole of my own:) It is a ground beef casserole. It has rice, cream of mushroom and cream of broccoli soup and lot's of cheese:)





It turned out really good. I served it with Corn on the cobb and salad.

We had the casserole on Tuesday, on Wednesday we had Tacos, and last night we had baked chicken. Tonight for dinner, I am going to use up the rest of my chicken and make chicken enchiladas.

It is Friday:)
Happy Weekend!
Alexis has a birthday party after school at my sister's house.
I am not sure what our plans our for the rest of the weekend, but just being all together makes me happy!

I got all the info for my son's graduation, He has to have his picture taken and I have to order(pay) his cap and gown:) This is such an exciting time, and I am so proud of him. Getting his Highschool diploma is a BIG deal!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Grocery Shopping!


Hello!





I did my Grocery shopping yesterday. I needed to stock up on a few things. I clipped my coupons, made my list. I use a clip board and a little coupon holder. I had a coupon for free bakery bread, it had a 4 dollar value, I picked out a loaf of SourDough bread:) My favorite!
I ended up spending 200.00 dollars but in coupons and club card I saved 88 dollars:)
YaY!

Have any of you seen the go squeeze applesauce? Well, my kids love them. I went to buy some on Monday to put in Alexis's lunch and the shelf was cleared out, so when I went back yesterday, the had restocked. Must be popular. They were on sale, so someone must have cleared the shelf. I also had a great coupon for string cheese, and that was cleared empty too, so I went with the other cheese I had a coupon for, not as good, but I was happy!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Alexis on a Horse!


When we we were in Georgia, Alexis went horseback riding. SHE LOVED IT!!! Here is a picture of a picture of Alexis on her Horse...LOL. I have it framed on my wall:)



Monday, May 09, 2011

Betty's Kitchen!

I am not sure if I have mentioned "Betty's Kitchen" on my blog before, but I so enjoy her cooking videos on youtube:) They are southern and simple, just the way my family likes it. Here is a video of a chicken casserole I want to try~~~>




Strawberry Plant!

The little strawberry plant, I planted last year, is getting bigger and it has some strawberries~~I couldn't believe it!

After I took this picture, I have been making sure I water it.





Sunday, May 08, 2011

To All The Dear Mothers!




Happy Mother's Day!
Hope this day is a very Happy Day for all the beautiful Mothers:)
Be Happy, this is your day!
XO

Friday, May 06, 2011

Friday:)

Last night I made a Pork Roast, so tonight I am using the leftovers to make BBQ Pulled Pork.


It is in the crockpot cooking slow.



The Pulled Pork will go on the homemade rolls I made






Also, on the menu is corn on the cob:)






So that is our dinner tonight, along with a salad!

This week seemed to just fly by.
Summer is almost here, and school will be out.
It has been really pretty outside lately. The windows are open and my grass seems to have come back really nice.

I don't have anything planned this weekend, just hoping to spend a nice, quiet weekend with my family:)


Thursday, May 05, 2011

What Are They Looking For?

I was watching them the other day and they were looking this way for sometime, I couldn't figure out what was so interesting in the little drainage hole there, but they sure did...so I snapped some pictures, because they were so cute, looking at something. I later found out after I snapped the pictures, Alexis has dropped the *diamond* ring I had given to her in the drain hole in the grass. Daddy went out there and unscrewed the cover and got the ring, WHEW:) She was so worried about getting that ring back, and her little brother was trying so hard to help her.





The ring was just a piece of costume jewelry...but she loves it:)

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Tuesday:)

Hello!
Today I am going to be in my kitchen~~> RE-Organizing it!
Happy Tuesday.

Just got back from the market , so I am going to be busy putting things away and making it neat again after the party we had:)

Sunday, May 01, 2011