What a GREAT week of VBS!

This is my wonderful group of 4th graders, well almost all of them! They were amazing, and 6 of them made commitments to follow Christ, and the rest of them had already made the commitment! AMAZING, even my three wanderers asked God to come into their heart, and be their "forever friend". He was ever so present this week, and even though when Friday rolled around and I was glad it was Friday, I loved the fact that we could be blessed by God, and feel how much HE loves us despite all that we do.
Brooklynn was amazing, she loved going to VBS, or should I really say Kid's Camp! She asked today if we were going to go back, I said next year! She kept telling everyone she knew about it and told people that is where she was going to learn MORE about Jesus! Oh my goodness, did that touch my heart. Here she is 3 1/2 yrs old and excited to tell everyone that she is going to learn more about God, not fearful of what anyone will say or question. She challenges me to be more on fire for God, and to have that "child-like" faith, never afraid or concerned what everyone else thinks! He has truly blessed me with great kids, I want to always remember times like these, where we can serve our God together, and learn more about Him. May He equip me to be able to teach my children all about our Wonderful Savior! I want nothing more than for my children to know, love and serve HIM.
Here are just a few highlights from the week!

The first picture is of Miss. Jill, we were raising money to help her purchase a new handicap accessible van. The kids raised over two thousand dollars! Amazing! One of my kids brought a $20 bill and was so excited to put it in the offering, how great is it that he would use it for this rather than a new toy or something else he desired!

The nest picture is of the kids on their last game night, of course it ended in a water balloon fight!
The next two pictures are of the kids enjoying praise and worship! I had a fun group!

And of course I had to add one in of Andrew and Brooklynn, this was from one of the nights when we stayed later, the kids were troopers the whole week!

Prayers~

Just a quick little blurb: I test tomorrow morning starting at 9 am....another 3hr. test~!
Again, please be praying for God to bless me, take my stress away and help me focus on what is at hand. I am really excited and nervous all rolled together~ I'll post tomorrow!~ Goodnight

South of the Border Corn Salad

Only because you asked~ :)
Okay this is actually a Weight Watchers Recipe:
You will need:
1 lg. poblano chile
4 C. chopped lettuce
2C. peeled and shredded jimaca (about 1/2 pound)
16 cherry tomatoes, halved
6 T low sodium corn relish

Preheat the broiler. Line a sm. baking sheet with foil; place the chile on the baking sheet. Broil 5 inches from the heat, turning with tongs, until charred, about 5 min. Wrap the chile in foil and let steam 15 min. When cool enough to handle, peel, discard the seeds, and coarsely chop.
Combine the roasted poblano, lettuce, jicama, tomatoes, and corn relish in a large bowl/ Serve at once. Points per 1 cup serving is 1)

I then added the broiled Tex-Mex Steak to it:
Marinade Recipe is:
3 T tomato paste
1 chipotle en adobo plus 2T adobo sauce
Juice and grated zest of 1 lime
1 1/2 t ground cumin
I put the marinade in a zip-loc bag and add the steak. Refrigerate, 2 hours or overnight.
Spray the broiler pan with nonstick spray; preheat the broiler/ Remove the steak from the marinade; sprinkle both side with salt (1 t). Broil the steak 4 inches from the heat until done to taste, 8-9 min on each side for medium-rare. Let stand 10 min before carving.
I used about 1 1/2 lbs of sirloin steak.
This is only 4 pts per serving.

You can also do the steak and serve over any salad greens with any vinaigrette dressing! Yumm-O~

Thanks for asking for the recipe, have a great week!
Blessings~

Wow! What a Week!

Okay so without my computer working this week I haven't been able to post.....
Tuesday the test went well! I scored in the high 90's. I was so excited and the second part of my test is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 am. It will be another 2 1/2 to 3 hour test then I will have to do an essay after finishing the test. This week also we have VBS, I will be leading one of the fourth grade classes. I can't wait to see what God has planned for them this week! Brooklynn is excited that she actually gets to go to the 4's class.....even though she isn't 4 yet. She is really ready and talking about it all the time! Okay so I still plan on making dinner for Chip and I, even though they will have dinner there, I know I won't be eating!

So here is my menu for this week!~
Monday:
Lunch-Noodles for lunch, with fruit
Dinner- South of the Border Corn Salad w/ Tex-Mex Steak
Tuesday:
Dinner-Moroccan Burgers and Watermelon
Wednesday:
Lunch-Egg Salad
Dinner-Thai-Style Peanut Noodles and Chicken
Thursday:
Lunch-Sloppy Joe
Dinner- Baked Ziti
Friday-
Lunch-left overs
Dinner-Balsamic Chicken with Caramelized Onions

I am not sure about Saturday but Sunday we will have MeatLoaf!

Today I am going to be cleaning house, as I know the rest of the week will be crazy! Although when I put the kiddos down maybe for a second I will get online and post pictures of Brooklynn's Pretty Pretty Princess week! Oh and Friday I took the kids for the first time to the Holland Aquatic Center....it was amazing not to mention kids 3 and under were free! I will post some pictures of that too!
Have a great day! Blessings~

Prayers Please~

Tomorrow I will have a test that starts at 9 will be about 3 hours long. Please pray that God will bless me during this time. That my nerves would not be evident, and that I would focus on what I need to be focused on! God is in control, I know that with all my heart, now I have to believe it will all of my heart tomorrow! Thank you ahead of time for all your prayers. It's now midnight and I have to leave here tomorrow by 8:10 latest......
Blessings~

Menu Planning Monday!

Okay so this is my first week doing the blog menu planning, but here goes!

Monday: Pancakes with Bacon Lunch-soup & sandwich Dinner- Chicken on the grill, green beans, and spring mix salad.
Tuesday: Eggs with Sausage Dinner- Spaghetti with garlic bread
Wednesday: Eggs and Toast Dinner for the kids- PB&J, carrots, and string cheese
Thursday: Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Dinner-Meatloaf, carrots, salad
Friday: Homemade Pizza and salad
Saturday: Hamburgers on the grill with a potato dill salad

Hope you have a great week of meals planned too! Blessings~

What a busy week!

Literally I feel like this last week was about two weeks rolled into one! :) This last week was Pretty Pretty Princess week for Brooklynn, a camp held at the Y. She had an absolute ball, and wants to go again. Monday they had stylists come in from Red's salon and do all 35 of the girls hair! It was rainy that day and of course Brooklynn's naturally curly hair was in ringlets, and stayed. They loved doing her hair and said it was the easiest of all to do! She may like it now, but let's see when she is 15! Tuesday they had a lady from an etiquette school come and teach the girls proper table etiquette! Wednesday they had a tea party and got to decorate their own tea cup, which is displayed in my china cabinet! Thursday they had mani/pedi's and Friday they did a fashion show! She loved, loved, loved every min of it! I was not only the transporter for the week, but I still watched kids, cleaned two houses, catered for 28 people, and cleared out a portion of our closet! I know that this week is going to be just as busy. I will have 5 kids on Monday and Wednesday, and Brooklynn has school M-W-F, Tuesday I will be in Grand Rapids doing a test for 3 hrs. and then home...to rest and relax, and pray! I will have to be there at 8:45 the test starts at 9, pray if you think about it! I will be cleaning another house this week, and then hopefully finishing some yard work and some more organizing at our house! I have the label-er out and ready to go! Oh and Wednesday night we are going to have a babysitter, it will be probably the only night I will actually get to have a conversation with my husband, lol, but we are going to be going out with some friends who need some uplifting time! I suggested we go karaoke or country line dancing....lol....where else can you laugh more or have a great time just smiling! We all need just a little bit of time to escape from our lives and not care about anything, no stress, no frustrations, no sickness, nothing but laughing at each other, and enjoying finding the love of life and youthfulness again... and I can't remember what else I have to do right now. Chip has just as busy a week, he is an amazing man!
So maybe here is my wish list of accomplishments for Monday: getting our sheets washed and folded tomorrow, oh and maybe I could throw in another load after that too! I also want to finish my closet during nap time!! (maybe, if they sleep!) Monday night, I would like to reorganize my cold closet in my kitchen....did I mention I have the label-er in working order...I'm going to go crazy!!! I'm excited, I love to organize...I just hate the messiness of how life can get especially in a small house! Then I am going to put the kids to bed and read, and then hit the sack.
For the week, I plan on walking Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I will make out my menu for the week tomorrow, I am going to do pancakes in the morning with bacon, and sandwiches and soup for lunch, and then chicken on the grill with salad, and green beans for dinner. Easy day of food....I'll do the Monday's Menu post tomorrow! I plan on rolling dough on Tuesday to make fresh cinnamon rolls and freeze some too. I am really excited about the new recipe I will let you know how they turn out and post some pictures too!
Hope you had a great week, I can't wait to destress on Wednesday night...this is the first time we are going to do this but maybe it should be a more frequent event, or as frequent as we can afford a babysitter, lol! And singing and dancing are really free events....maybe as a Wesleyan PW I shouldn't talk about dancing...lol!
I had more I wanted to post, but I am tired and can't think anymore. I will post some pictures of Brooklynn at her Pretty Pretty Princess camp tomorrow night! Sleep well...
Blessings~

Amazing Parents!

One of my MOST favorite pictures of my mom and dad!

Okay so, this was taken a while ago, and of course is taken by me but that isn't why I love it so much. It isn't professional, and isn't staged; they are having a fun time, enjoying a cruise, and most of all I see joy exuding from their inner souls! This is my parents! They are happy people, God has richly blessed them! Story behind this picture: I know we were finished eating, I think we were getting ready to go to the show, or maybe just coming from it. I always have a great time with my mom and dad, I love when they are smiling, and love to make them laugh!

They are amazing people.

My mom is my best friend, and truly my confidant. I don't know how I would ever make it through anything without her. She is concerned about everyone else but herself. She works for the hospital treating cancer patients. She is great at what she does! Almost always when I go home we will see one of her patients, or family of a patient, and they always thank her and tell her how much she did for their family. She volunteers for the church, actually all of my life she has been a part of the church some way or another. She is an amazing, driven, independent, happy, smart, inspiring woman. She is an amazing mother, she always made sure we had what we needed, and wanted. She isn't finished mothering, she continues to look after us. She has done a great job, and would never give herself as much credit as she deserves, but she did the best job raising us. I only hope one day to be the woman, mother, wife, and friend that she is! I only hope that Brooklynn and I will have that close of a relationship one day. I love that my kids adore their Mimi, she is so good with them. I could go on and on about how wonderful she is, simply she is the best mom ever!
My dad is amazing as well! He as well as mom is busy looking after others, he works hard at comforting people every day. He is a gentle, consoling, smart, quiet, determined, happy man! Both my parents are prayer-saturated, but I will always remember my dad kneeling to pray every morning in his room, door slightly ajar. He has such a gentle way of bathing things in prayer, and I am more appreciative of it now. Being that my dad is a funeral director he is used to getting calls all hours of the night, which makes it easier if needed to call for prayer~ he never scuffs about it he will just pray! (Let me tell you, I have called in the wee hours more often than not!) Bu they are amazing parents that love their children!!! He is such a hard worker, he has made sure that he has provided for all of us, and he has also planted that determination in our souls. My kids also are Papaw kids, they always ask to talk with him on the phone, and care so much about him! Again, same as with my mom, I could go on and on about how wonderful he is~ he is amazing and the best dad ever!

So this picture probably will continue to be on my "most" favorite list. I know there are a lot to choose from! Chip laughs at me, because they are in an elevator on a cruise we were on together. He says it's just because I wish I were on the cruise again! :) I do wish I was on a cruise too~

I love you mom and dad!

First day of the Sale!

QUICK UPDATE:

It went well today, sold a lot of things! Wish I could sell a lot more tomorrow. I have our kitchen island and changing table that are our bigger items that are left from today. Brooklynn did a great job with the lemonade today! It is amazing how much little kids can make from a lemonade table! I told her she could keep all the money and buy something special with it. I am actually really surprised how well we did today seeing as how I didn't put it in the paper. I hope tomorrow is just as successful! It is amazing to see just how much stuff you end up with once you have kids. I seriously have enough to have three more days of sales.
Funny thing: Brooklynn loved all of our "costumers" she wanted us to have more come and really didn't want to take a nap. Thank goodness there wasn't anyone outside when they went down.
Andrew wanted everyone to see Bailey, he kept saying "Baey Dog"
So since Chip is gone all day, I am going over to a friends for dinner tonight. I was going to bring Bailey with us but I think she will be fine for about 3 hours in her house.
So I have to go get the kids dressed, pack things up from outside, and shower. I will blog about tomorrow! Please pray we at least sell our big items! Otherwise Chip says they go to Good Will. He has a good point, there is a great feeling getting rid of things and blessing others with our things! I told someone a memory about one of Brooklynn's dresses....seriously funny, she didn't mind!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!

Yard Sale~

So I am going to attempt to have a yard sale this weekend....Lord willing we will get rid of a lot of things! My hope is to completely clear out our basement, with exception of our winter clothes, and one box of my favorite baby things. Let me be the first to admit, I have clung to the kids clothes saying what if we have more kids or do you remember when they did this in this outfit. CRAZY! So, for some reason this week I have been in a purge mood....maybe it will help make a lot of money and get things out of our house. A lot of the items will be kid related, and our clothes that don't fit or something Chip hasn't worn in forever! I do have some/most of my scrapbooking things and Stampin' Up items that are going out too. I still love to scrapbook and need to do Andrew's book, but I need to get rid of a lot of my things too. We also have some huge things to purge too, the baby swing, a night stand, etc. So tomorrow will be pricing everything! This time, I will have everything starting out on the tables according to size and gender! I am really prepared for it! Hopefully the weather is as nice as they were forecasting for. Seeing as how last weekend was supposed to rain (60%) and it only drizzled in the evening but didn't rain all day like they thought. This weekend is supposed to be sunny and rain free, not even a little percentage. Watch, my luck being so ready it will turn out to be bad weather....
This week has gone by so quickly:
Tuesday I went to the beach with the kids, they had sunscreen on but unfortunately I didn't put any on....not really thinking I would have a problem....well by 5:30 I was hurting, and bright red. I would love to show a picture but I'll spare you! I had Chip put on aloe and it felt as if he was rubbing it on with a knife....and today I have blisters on my back. Needless to say I will never forget to have sunscreen on myself too.
Wednesday again I had the five kids, we played inside and built with the blocks. We even played with some domino's counting for the girls and colors for one of the boys. We ate yummy lunches and then headed out to swim since the sun was still out! We finished right before it got cloudy and started to hail and rain. It actually hasn't stopped since then...bummer~

Here are a couple pictures: not of all the kids but most together :

Benjamin, Brooklynn, & Abigail posing for a second!
Andrew hamming it up!

Brooklynn and Andrew taking a break!

This was the best teeter-totter I found for $2 at a yard sale!

Thursday will be spent pricing and cleaning house, and then we are probably going to get together with Christine and Becca for a playdate!
Friday will be the sale and then I have to clean at one of my houses I clean for...then home to rest and prep for Saturday.
Saturday will be the sale in the morning and then I have to clean another one of my houses in the afternoon.
Sunday I will be taking the kids to church and then leaving to go serve 50 people brunch...this day is giving me the most stress. Chip will be taking care of the kids until I get back. So if you can pray for the change between services....as this will be the most stressful time with Chip getting ready for the 11:00 service and trying to keep the kids in one area. I am already packing a bag of snacks and juice, paci's, books, etc. Total time between service is about 30 min. I am sure it will be fine, Andrew just has a hard time going to the nursery without me taking him down. I will be sure to have my phone on vibrate! :)
On a happier note, I love being able to cater and serve people. I have not served 50 at one time by myself....last time I was able to bring someone in with me....I'll be sure to post about how it goes!
Have a great night~
Blessings~