Be Strong and Courageous

I know that there is a natural schedule of sorts that dictates my days but a specific purpose, not so much. On any given day I have dozens of things I would like to accomplish, yet at days end, I know that I have failed in some of that. I look toward this Easter Weekend with a thought that keeps coimng back to me from Scripture - Jesus turned toward Jerusalem and never looked back. His purpose was to go to the cross. As I have taken that to heart, not to turn back or look to the left or to the right but focussing on the goal set before me. I have the means to accomplish all that is set before me every day, it is just the choice I need to make. I will not type out my 'goals' here today, but the list of my to do's and want to's is getting pretty long, and with out commiting to them in 'goal' form I know that I will continue to put them off. So pray for me that I can get all my desires down on paper and prioritize, so that I too may look toward them and n...

One of the things I love to do the most is be in the kitchen, I love to bake and I am learning new twists on some old favorite meals to love cook for my family more and more. We all have pretty simple favorites and style that get made a lot. We love Pastas, Chicken dishes, Salads and course desserts. Here are just a few photos of some of my faves over the past few years that I actually photographed. Enjoy! Apple Pie , Strawbery Torte Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frositng and Walnuts (hubby's fave) - Chocoate cupcake with homemade Buttercream Frosting Pancakes are a weekend treat, I even have take time to make 'Dutch Babies' Popovers for the kids on occasion. I am learning the finier cooking of whole chickens, acheiving the crispy outer edges is coming along. . One of our all time faves is Chicken and Stuffing casserole . Anything with Pasta  and a good sauce topped with crumb coating and cheese is delicious. Well like I said just wanted to share a love of mine. We...

It has been months since I have been able to attend the monthly Scrapbooking night that my friend's Erin and Amy put together in town. I got together with my girlfriend Nancy last month, just the two of us and finished 20 something pages, so I was excited to keep moving along. It was so much fun to catch up with them both a bit and get about 15 pages done. I am 4 pages away from completing 2005 and have high hopes of power laying out 2006 this week with spring break and no plans. I have a goal to be done with all my printed photos (2006-2009) and move onto more actual digital photos by the years end. I have continued to print my photos even though I am not current, bad habit from when they were actually on film I guess. I just love to look at them even though they aren't scrapped yet.I hope to be able to attend regularly and reconnect with the girls and just get back to enjoying this expressive outlet of mine. Things are really coming along in my scrap...

So Thomas the Tank Engine is one of our all time favorites at play times. I would love to get more track since there are 3 trains and they run over each other if Addysen gets them all up there at once. Playdoh has never been my favorite to clean up, how does it all get on the floor any way, but I love the smell and feel of it. I haven't done any pottery or molding since high school but get me some playdoh and I love to create the cute fun things that only my 5 year old can adore. Addysen of course loves to cut and mix colors all the time. Hearts are one of her favorites. Two of her favorite things to watch are Happy Feet, and Word World. She even caught them on the camera for you all to see. She even finds a way to take the camera when we are out visiting, so here you get to see Andrew in Wii mode at the Shepherd's home. Here Addysen is taking a self portrait of herself and her doll, whose name is also Addysen. Then we get to look at the close up of her toes and shi...

So last week I picked up the final touch for our tile project, the grey glass border peices. I took inspiration from the Home depot display, but really only wanted a 'bit' of sparkle in the kitchen.  So Monday night after dinner decided to knock out the project, well phase one any how. We still need to grout and to the touch up paint and seal it all. The tile does continue all the way around the tope edge of our already in place solid surface back splash. Last Friday I had a Scentsy Party and my hubby came home after running one of the kids into town with flowers for me. No Reason - just love you honey flowers. They were even my favorite Blush rose. I do love this man!!!God is so good!!!! On a totally differnt note, Addysen begged for green 'spinach' smoothies the other day and I obliged. Frozen pears and bananas, organic vanilla yogurt, OJ and you guessed it Spinach! The colder the better. So good for you and so high in iron and potassium - I love that my 5 y...

HOW TO DECLUTTER - MY FAVORITE WEBSITE FOR INSPIRATION So I love to organize, and at MOPS last week we studied the - Golden Retreiver, Beaver, Otter, ???? cannot remember the 4th one. And well you guessed it I am a Beaver - hence the organization - OCD in me revealed! And there is a whole blogging world out there about how to streamline everything in your life. If I did not spen hours reading about it I may get even more done. None the less!!!

We say this a lot, yet do we really consider all things good. Sometimes I question the outcome of an event, the not knowing what is to come of it and the why it had to happen this way. I am sure that 'most' of the things I have experience have been for the good of training me or correcting me, or leading me to be able to sympathize with others in the same boat. But truth be told some of the more major events in my life that 'happened' to me are still a mystery. I am not talking about choices I made that lead to out comes I did not like, but more about the events that happened to me by no action of my own. I know that I am who I am because of the events and choices I make daily are based on the known, but I still question the why some times and just have to remember that God is God and His ways are better. He knows what we meant for and uses all kinds of events to strengthen us or break us if needs be. I am just Thanking God today for the strength to do all that He sets ...

I relaxed today, a lot, and that's about it. I hope to upload lots next week. We are starting a tile project in the kitchen!!!! Wish me luck.

 The Local "Duck Park" as Addy calls it is one of her favorites to go to. We spent the morning  feeding the ducks and playing at the playground and having a good time. The last 2 weekends we got to spend some time with our good friends and even were blessed enough to attend a new church while we were there. Willamette Christain is located in West Linn where I grew up as a little one. The Pastor is super easy to follow, and Hillarious. He had been preaching through the book of Nehemiah. The worship both weeks we were there blew me out of the water. Just praising God for who HE is the Creator of the Universe!!! Thank you JESUS for all you do, YOU truly are our SAVIOR and LORD!!!  

Another Steven Curtis Chapman song - You can look up the story about it here.  Just seeing what this family has done in the face of tradgedy and how they have leaned on GOD beyond what they believed able. What an amazing account of trials and seeing the LORD walking with them. SEE Right now all I can taste are bitter tears And right now all I can see are clouds of sorrow But from the other side of all this pain Is that you I hear, laughing loud and calling out to me? Saying "See, it's everything you said that it would be, And even better than you would believe. And I'm counting down the days until you're here with me, And finally, you'll see." But right now, all I can say is "Lord, how long Before you come and take away this aching?" This night of weeping seems to have no end. But when the morning light breaks through, We'll open up our eyes and we will see It's everything that He said that it would be An...

With my sister moving back to Portland we moved Andrew down the way to where she used to be and created a Guest/Scrapbooking/Crafting room for me and the girls. We painted most of Andrew's room and are hunting for and accent wall color, we think grey with a chalk board center, we'll see. Just a few of my canvas projects from last year. I hope to make a bunch more this year for some friends and family. They are just like mini scrap pages for your wall. Love it! I am invisioning a bright green in this room with pale yellow accents and I may even paint the shelving bright white. I am just a bit excited to just have this space. I have always done my scrapbooking at the kitchen table or in the bedroom and always hated to leave the 'mess' of a project just laying out. Now I can just close the door - whoo hoo!!! Andrew immediately started to inventory his troops upon arrival to the new room. I am thinking the 'stripe' thing that Keith that wants to add toward the ...

I was given the new CD by Steven Curtis Chapman for a Birthday present and have spent the last week meditating on the worship sung to our LORD out of Grief and great sorrow. It is a blessing to see the transparecy of what our relationship with the LORD can be. Steven Curtis Chapman's I Will Trust You Written for his new album regarding thw sorrow his family has gone through in the past year and how open we can be with our God is just an amazing thing. The love our LORD showers us with daily in the midst of the valleys.Spring is coming!! I don't even wanna breathe right now All I wanna do is close my eyes But I don't wanna open them again Until I'm standing on the other side I don't even wanna be right now I don't wanna think another thought And I don't wanna feel this pain I feel And right now, pain is all I've got It feels like it's all I've got, but I know it's not No, I know You're all I've got And I will trust Yo...

My Little who is no longer with us, (16 months ago yesterday he took his life) should have been celebrating his 37th birthday yesterday. We are only 1 year and 11 days apart, so in reality I do not remember any of my life with out him in it. We fought like cats and dogs growing up, and put up with each other in highschool, and walked totally different paths into adulthood, but understood one another and grew to love one another for sure. I was proud of him when he joined to Army in 1997, and excited for him when he married his bride Mirielle in 2003, and prayed for him constantly as he served and worked in the Middle East from 2001 - 2008 up until just a few months before his death, when we were able to see him a bit more regular and the kids got reaquainted with Uncle BJ. I am sad that he chose to end his life and pray with all my heart, and Hope with all my desire that I will see him again some day on the otherside - Only God Knows the plan.  Just the ponderings of missing my lit...

So our church's Women's Ministry had a Spa night last Week end and I volunteered to cater it. It was a blast. Wow This was fun, I have never truly zested before and this recipe called for Oranges, lemons and limes.   It was a Martha recipe, Triple Citrus pound cupcakes. yes the recipe called for a pound of butter as well as 9 eggs and some sugar flour vanilla and zext and viola, here  you have it. Then to top it all off a fresh lime juice glaze sprinkled with more zest and powder sugar.  We had Fruit with 2 kinds of dip (cream cheese fluff, and White chocolate creamcheese whipped topping), as well as a veggie tray and the Triple Citrus cupcakes and Mini tuxedo Brownie bites (a Pampered Chef recipe).  I also did (with much help from a couple of ladies) Three kinds of finger sandwiches. I did a chicken Salad with Water chestnuts and yummy Costco organic Seasoning, a Cheese sandwich (secret ingredient - pureed onion), and a Cucumber on Rye with Italian herb spread...