Meal Planning in Reverse.1

I made a meal plan for our family last week and stuck to it fairly well - minus the evening that McDonald's was calling our name!  Benjamin and I agreed that taking the time to make a plan helps us to eat better and gives leftovers for him to eat during the week for lunch.  

I'm going to try something new this week and see how it goes!  Instead of sharing what we are going to eat for the week ahead, I am going to share the meals we made for the previous week and let you know what we thought about any new dishes we tried!  I like to use Pinterest as a resource for new recipes but I also like to know a) if people actually make this stuff and 2) how it really turned out!  

Monday

Pei Wei

{Winston loves him some fried rice!}

Tuesday

Seasoned chicken, fettuccine alfredo {from Trader Joe's}, and broccoli

{If you have a Trader Joe's nearby and you like fettuccine, I highly recommend theirs!  It is quick and scrumptious!}

Wednesday

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork, baked potatoes, corn and rolls

{This was the first time to make this Pinterest recipe and to be honest, I'd give it about a 2 out of 5 stars.  As I expected the flavor was on the sweeter side, but it wasn't outstandingly fabulous.  We ate ours on King Hawaiian rolls with swiss cheese and pickles.  I'm glad I tried it but it won't be a repeat meal.}

Thursday

McDonald's!

Friday

Benjamin: Taquitos and Cheese Dip

Sara: Boss Burger at Zelko Bistro

Saturday

Homemade Quesadillas and Yellow Rice

Sunday

Cereal and toast

2015: Intentional Gratitude

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, as you sing psalms, humans and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  

Colossians 3:11

As we look to a new year, I can't help but look back at 2014 with a heart of gratitude.  It was a good year for our family.  I was able to "retire" from my job to be a full time stay at home mom, Benjamin continued to enjoy his job while being able to teach, Winston grew into a terrific two year old and Luli remained in good health.  Our families are all doing well and we even gained a niece!  We joined a church and are leading the newlywed class.  Winston is enjoying school two days a week and I have had fun being room mom!  

It's amazing how fast a year goes by.  Three hundred and sixty five days.  You'd think it takes a little longer than it actually does.  This was Winston last year.  And this is him now.

Winston is energetic, vibrant, a character, lovable, and full of joy.  I have never met a kid who enjoys life as much as this little guy.  He loves adventures, trains, the zoo, playing make believe and crafts.  Man, oh man can this kid craft!  He is sensitive.  He loves to give hugs and encourage others.  He is a high-five, fist bumping, "good job!" giving little guy.  Winston enjoys McDonald's, broccoli, green beans, and goldfish.  Also those squeezie packs.  Those are fantastic!  Favorite animal these days are giraffes and when you ask him what they eat his promptly replies, "Salad."  Winston continues to be an all around great eater and sleeper.   My hope for this year is that he will continue to be sensitive to the Bible stories that we read, that as his little personality continues to develop I can find ways to nurture his curiosity and equip him to love others well.  

Instead of creating a list of goals for the year, which to be honest is always frightening to me, I have decided to do things a little differently.  Before the beginning of each new month I want to take some time to write out a wish list of activities or projects that I would like to get accomplished during that month.  I have set up a few categories: Social, Winston, Family, Dating, Personal.  Social includes attending Sunday School outings, being intentional on doing lunch with other moms or dinner with friends.  Winston's category are crafts that would be fun, outings for us to take or books that I'd like to start reading.  Family would include zoo day, monster truck rally, bike ride and picnic (when it is warmer!).  Dating would be to make sure that Benjamin and I have one evening that we do something together.  Personal - well that's for me.  It's where I want to stretch myself to complete projects I need to finish, clean out closets, learn something new.  I think this new way will be more manageable for me and both Benjamin and Winston can participate in contributing ideas!

But more than any of that, my hope this year is that we would continue to savor each moment together.  That we would be mindful of the wonderful word of God, that it will fill our home and our hearts.  I pray that this year I would be more intentional and brave in loving others.  And above all, that thankfulness to the Lord would cover everything.  

Benjamin continues to work as a real orthodontist.  I am proud to say that he does a wonderful job each day providing for our family.  He not only straightens people's teeth, he encourages the staff, takes on all responsibilities that are asked of him at work and comes home full of love for Winston and me.  My heart swells each evening that Winston runs to the door, Lulu at his heels, welcoming Benjamin home.  I love that Winston asks each night to go to the garage so that he can help Daddy with projects.  Benjamin is patient to teach Winston about tools and being safe.  Benjamin continues to teach at the school and he enjoys every moment of it.  This year we will continue to do projects around the house which means opportunities for Benjamin to be out in his garage creating!

Lulu continues to do well.  She loves that we are home more during the day and is never far away from us.  We take her once a month for laser treatments to keep any inflammation in her back a bay.  She gets lots of pets and hugs from Winston and is really looking forward to pool weather!

And as for me, I love being at home with Winston.  There are days when it is exhausting but always rewarding.  I know that there are books to read, meals to cook, new fads to try but mostly this year I just want to be more intentional in everything - in Bible study, in being present when I play with Winston, in loving and encouraging Benjamin, in connecting with others - and to do it with gratitude to the One to has given so much.  

From the bottom of my heart, may you be able to find gratitude in the minute to minute and day to day.  And when you do, rejoice!  

Monster Jam 2015

Two years ago we went to Monster Jam for the first time and brought a baby Winston with us!  As I wrote out things that I wanted to accomplish in January "look up dates and purchase tickets to Monster Jam" was one of the items!  I spoke to Benjamin about it and he was on board!  The first set of dates worked the best for our January schedule and we decided that this would be our Valentine's adventure.  I was most excited about Winston coming with us again!

The last time we went to Monster Jam we used our Ergo Baby carrier and WAC did splendidly in it.  We also used the carrier when we went overseas for the exploring terrain that wasn't stroller friendly. The morning of our Adventure, I remembered that the carrier held a child up to 45 pounds, so we gave it a test run.  That night Benjamin hooked Winston to his back and we were able to walk from the parking lot to our seats at NRG Stadium without any problem!  Winston was happy for the ride and we were happy that we weren't wrangling a very excited toddler!  I foresee more use of the Ergo Baby in our future! 

We sat in the Club Level seats again.  It's just a good place to sit with little people because of the couches and tables if they get a little restless.  Plus they have bathrooms close by, food and souvenirs available!  We used the same hearing protection as last time for Winston and he did a great job at leaving them on to protect his little ears.

Winston shared an icecream cone with Benjamin although I'm not really sure how much of it Benjamin got to eat!  He enjoyed watching the big trucks race around the track, do tricks and crash!  This age is truly a great age!

As we were leaving the arena to head home, Winston kept chanting, "Monster truck, again!  Monster truck, again!"  We are even a few days past and he is still talking about the big, loud Monster Trucks. I can say without a doubt that we will be going again!  

Preparing for New Years!

It's crazy to think that New Year's is just a few days away.  2015 will be here and a whole new list of goals, dreams, and aspirations will start fresh and new.  Here are two things that we have made in the past to add something a little different to New Years Day!

First up is the Rice Crispie Champagne Bottle dessert.  Inspired by PS I Made This {on the left}, ours didn't turn out too horrible {on the right}!  It sure did taste yummy!  

In 2013 we celebrated by baking homemade fortune cookies and writing personalized fortunes for inside them!  The whole process was easier than I was expected, they were delicious and super cute!

We will be staying in this year munching on Chex Mix and little smokies wrapped in crescent rolls!  Hope your New Year's is fun, safe and spent with the ones you love!  

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  

Wishing that you remember the true reason for all of the festivities and the giving of gifts.  Hoping that you steal away a few moments to reflect on the greatest gift we have in birth of Jesus.  What a glorious day it is, indeed!

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus;

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 

rather he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And he found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father!

Philippians 2:5-11

Hands Down, The Best Christmas Tree!

If you have read our blog over any period of time, you know that I am huge fan of hand crafts.  So it should be no surprise that this hand painting has got to be my favorite of all time!  

Using a 16 x 20 canvas from Michael's and an array of Martha Stewart paints, our family Christmas Tree was created!  For the branches we used Benjamin's hands first, mine second and Winston's for the top section.  Lulu's paw is our star!  She was a trooper and very patient while we rolled paint on her paw and cleaned her up.  The canvas was looking a little bland and it needed more pizzaz, so using two different sizes of sponge circles, Winston went to town adding color and sparkle!  

I foresee this being one of the decorations I look forward to unpacking each Christmas season!  It's not everyday that all four of us get to create art and leave our mark together.  A life long treasure!

Here is a list of the Martha Stewart paint colors that we used:

Tree

Seaweed, Green Curry, Granny Smith, Pollen {All Satin}

Dots

Glitter Lemon Drop

Metallic Gold

Satin Chipotle

Satin Habanero

Joy to the World sign from Caravan Shoppe

What is your favorite handmade Christmas decoration? 

Truth in the Tinsel Advent: Day 9 & 10

Day 9: Joseph
On this day we read the Scripture and talked about how Joseph was a good man!  We again used the little wooden people cut outs I found at Michaels, sticky-back foam and some stickers for embellishments.  Winston made sure Joseph had a hat!

Day 10: Dream

On this day we talked about how an angel appeared to Joseph and said, "Do not be afraid!"  When Winston heard this he exclaimed, "Mary! Do not be afraid!"  

I deviated from the suggested ornament on this day because I felt it was a bit out of Winston's skill level.  For our alternate pillow activity, I folded together a scrap of fabric and sewed it on two sides, leaving one side open.  Our Red Bag for the day included the piece of material and tons of cotton balls!  

Winston's job was to stuff the pillow and man oh man did he ever!!  Once it the pillow case was as full as possible, I hot glued the sides shut.  Voila!  A pillow for our good man, Joseph!

Truth in the Tinsel Advent: Day 7 & 8

Day 7: Song

The set of verses for this day was Mary's Song.  Winston and I talked about how Mary sang as a form of worship and praise.  Our key phrase for this day was "Holy is his name!"  We had already talked about how Mary was to name the baby Jesus so it seemed fitting that he learn that His name is Holy!

We did the exact craft that was suggested and Winston loved gluing sequins all over the CD.  

Day 8: Sun
For this day, we made our sun out of card stock and sticky-backed foam.  Winston enjoys putting stickers on things and it gave us a break from glueing.  Don't want to wear a good thing out!

Our phrase during this craft was that Jesus is the Rising Sun!  We taught Winston to move his arms over his head like a rising and setting sun.  I know I say this almost every post, but it truly is heartwarming to hear his sweet little voice say these Truths.  And its amazing to me that he recalls what we talked about in previous days.

Truth in the Tinsel Advent: Day 5 & 6

The next few days we pretty much stuck to the suggested crafts and had fun doing it!  It has been such a joy to have this intentional time with Winston each day.  I cannot say how glad I am that we decided to do Truth in the Tinsel! 

Day 5: Mary

By this time in the Advent, Winston now knows our routine: read a story, open the red bag for a craft!  He does a great job sitting and listening.  I try to make it an active learning time having him repeat key verses back to me.  Our emphasis on Mary was that she asked Gabriel, "How can this be?!", that she was to have a son and name him Jesus, and her response to Gabriel was, "I am the Lord's servant."

Peering in his bag for the day!  We normally do our crafts in the afternoon.  This particular day was jammy day at school!

I found these cute little wooden figures at Michael's.  To make Mary's clothes we used sticky backed foam.  Winston said her legs were naked so we made some leggings for her.  He also wanted some sequin.  Our Mary turned out a little jazzier than I anticipated, but hey, he was proud of her!  Here he is giving her some shoes.  :)

Day 6: Mary & Elizabeth

Our main talking point for this day was that Mary and Elizabeth both had babies in their bellies that jumped for joy!

I normally don't let Winston color with markers.  I'm more of a crayon and colored pencil lady when it comes to him coloring pictures.  However today was a special day and we busted out the trusty Crayolas for some coloring.  He remembered that Mary was pink and purple from the previous day so her outfit was repeated!