Family Alive

Nearly 2 weeks later, I’m finally getting to share this trip!  We had such a fun time, and there are so many great pictures to prove it!

(Ok, I’ve started this post several times and lost it, so I’m giving it one last try!)
Highlights:

• The kids were AMAZING travelers.  Honestly, our kids are super-travelers, and they’re normally better than most kids would be on all the big long marathon trips we take them on.  But this trip they were great in the car, and we made awesome time on both legs of the journey.
• Staying with our friends, the Kackerts, Mike, Michele, Emma and Michael.  They were great hosts for our whirlwind weekend!
• Amazing food… Michele cooked up some good stuff!  Six Can Soup (I got the recipe from her originally! Her seasoning was so flavorful!), the requisite spaghetti before Brian’s race, homemade bread (from my recipe, but she’s tweaked it.  I’ll try it soon, and post my results), Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes (with berries they picked and topped with Trader Joe’s Maine Wild Blueberry Sauce – delicious!), huge thick-cut steaks that were perfectly grilled, baked sweet potatoes, Mushroom Orzo, and Strawberry Pretzel Cream Cheese Ice Cream (Michele snagged me an ice cream maker at her local thrift store… you’ll be seeing a post about that soon!).  Yum!
• We took a trip to a nearby Children’s Gardens where the kids had fun running around, climbing and splashing.
• Michele took me to a couple of her favorite thrift stores.  She knows how to find some good, cheap fun stuff!  That’s my kind of shopping!  Why are the trhift stores around here not-so-good??
• Of COURSE, we made a trip to my dearly loved, Trader Joe’s.  Man, I love that store!  I chattered to the cashier about how I always have my TJ’s reusable bags when I’m doing my everyday shopping at home, but we were on a trip, so I didn’t have them with me.  I gave him my usual grilling about when we’ll have a TJ’s in Alabama.  He was so sweet and gave Michele and I both newly released canvas bags.  Do I need more reasons to love Trader Joe’s??
• Brian’s races were good… the details are all on his cycling blog, under the category “Racing” and  titled “Tour of Elk Grove”.  (Several posts on various things!  Too many to link to!)
• The kids both did a kids bike race.  Josiah rode his trike while I pushed him with the handle, and Analise got to ride a big wheel, which she thoroughly enjoyed.  She’s getting to be so fast!  They were also very good for me while we watched Brian race both days.  They’re getting to be such well seasoned fans!
• The kids loved having cats to play with.  We slept in the room the cats normally call their own, and we had a hard time keeping them out.  One evening, we’d put Josiah to bed, and when Brian took Analise up to bed, he found Josiah playing with a cat through the portable crib, offering him his pacifier.

On to the pictures.  I used Michele’s Canon Digital Rebel DSLR camera most of the weekend, so some of these are hers and some are mine.  But, man, I LOVED that camera.  Maybe someday…

I love how the camera caught the splash in this photo.

Stepping stones in the frog pond… I love the reflection of my cuties, too.

Stepping on the stones progressed to jumping in…

…which progressed eventually to swimming.

More coming soon!

Ok, I’m back on the blog 🙂  My dad left Monday, and my mom left today.  I’ve moped around missing them most of the day today, and it’s time to get moving… starting with dinner.

My friend, Michele, who we visited in Chicago 2 weeks ago (and I hope to post pictures tonight!!!), introduced me to orzo pasta, with a great recipe for Mushroom Orzo.  Tonight I came up with my own version, using what was in the kitchen.  Ta-Da!

Skillet Orzo

• 2 T butter
• 1/4 yellow onion, diced
• 2 cups orzo pasta (Trader Joe’s… you know my love for them… has a good, 2cup bag for 99cents)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups leftover chicken
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 bag frozen broccoli

Melt butter in skillet and saute onion until soft.  Add pasta, and saute for a few minutes.  Add chicken broth, and simmer for about 6 minutes.  Add frozen broccoli, and simmer for 5 more minutes.  Add chicken, and stir in parmesan cheese last.

We haven’t eaten yet, but I’ve tasted it, and it was good!  Enjoy!

Tomorrow is Brian’s birthday!!  So I’m on a mission today to put together a yummy family dinner and bday cake.  The menu is Sour Cream Chicken Tacos with all the toppings and a variation of this delicious cake (except without the peanut butter mousse… just the fudge icing and pb cup pieces in between the layers.  Brian would love the pb mousse, but since he’s on racing-season diet, he’ll only eat a small bit, and I need to please the majority who’d rather not have pb)!

Super fun day at the Space & Rocket Center yesterday in Huntsville.  Loads more to tell, but the cakes need to come out!

My mom just pointed out it’s been a while since I posted any links.  Sorry!  Not for lack of them, I promise. 

But here’s a great one with a freebie!  Shabby Princess is a site that has digital scrapbooking files, mostly to buy.  But at the end of each month, they post a free layout with a calendar so you can add your own photos and have a desktop background for your computer!  Here’s one I just made for August with the awesome pictures that Robyn & Scott took of the kids…

And from earlier this year…

Hope you can enjoy them, too!  If you need tips on how to do it, post a comment.  Or if I like you a lot, you can email me your photos and I’ll put them in for you 🙂

I’m sorry I’m so behind!  Got tons of pictures from our great weekend in Chicago (well, outside Chicago, since the closest we got was to see the skyline from 290 as we were leaving!).  Great weekend.  Brian did fabulous, and you can check his blog for all the details.  But my parents are here and we’re going to be busy having fun for the next few days!  Hope to check in soon!

The first good quote from a ChristianityToday.com article:

What’s a good way to teach preschoolers about God?

God talk was a natural part of our family life.
While Matt was growing up, God time wasn’t separate. Studies have shown
that a conversation with Mom about God is the #1 faith influencer for
kids. And a conversation with Dad is #2. Some moms feel guilty they’re
not doing family devotions or that they don’t know the Bible well. Lots
of storybooks and other resources are available to help in those areas.
But a conversation about God with our kids has such an impact on their
faith. Even asking something such as, "Why do you think God made
spiders or snakes?" It’s OK for our kids to know we don’t have it all
figured out and for us to ask questions that don’t have answers. Faith
is as much about questions as it is about answers.

It’s also about sharing what God’s doing. Every
summer we have a program at Group where more than 20,000 youth and
their leaders venture across the U.S. to serve others. These
participants are always on the lookout for what God’s doing where
they’re serving. We call these "God sightings." What if as a mom you
watched for "God sightings" with your preschoolers, then talked with
them about what God’s doing in your life? I believe it would be a
powerful experience.

The second is called My Not-To-Do List.  Great thoughts!

Life … and clutter. I think of clutter as anything that takes up space
but doesn’t add value or meaning to my life or to the lives of those I
love. And I think of life, particularly the abundant kind, as anything
that adds value or meaning to my life and to those I love.
Jesus talked about having abundant life in John 10:10, "I have come
that they may have life, and have it to the full."…

A cluttered mind means I over think, over react,
over analyze, over worry and over commit. How do I declutter my mind? I
gave myself permission to let go and have the following "not-to-do"
list:

• Not to feel guilty for saying "no" to something that’s good, but not right, for me or my family.
• Not to fear about how well-adjusted my kids will be as adults.
• Not to hang something new in my closet without taking something out.
• Not to feel over-responsible for the well being of everyone else.
• Not to answer the phone after 7 p.m.
• Not to feel compelled to say "yes" just because I’ve been invited.
• Not to schedule busy activities on Sundays.
• Not to worry about what I missed at last week’s play group with the girls.
• Not to buy something just because it’s on sale.
• Not to think I can make a dinner that
  requires more than three ingredients, do the laundry, clean the house
  and spend quality time with my kids all in the same day.
• Not to ruminate over my mistakes or the mistakes of others.
• Not to compare myself with other moms.

The more we give ourselves permission "not to do,"
the more we’ll free ourselves to live a more centered, abundant life.
The next time you grab a piece of paper to make your to-do list,
consider first what not to do!

I got out to grocery shop by myself this evening.  It was lovely.  I
can sure save a lot of $$ and get everything I need when I don’t have
the kids!

Still mourning the end of the Tour de France, Brian and I enjoyed the 5 minute highlight clips of several stages through On Demand.  Ah…  The Tour de France never gets old 🙂 

The kids and I enjoyed Chuck E Cheese this morning.  At first, Josiah enjoyed just climbing up into the little rides and buckling himself in, not needing the ride to go.  Then when I finally started one with a token, he reached for me, saying, "Iss sca-wy!"  But then he found the fun in putting the tokens in himself, not really even caring about the game or ride.  Hmm.  We were doing better before then.  But they had a great time.  Chuck E Cheese always brings back fun memories of going as a child with my report card and getting tokens for all the A’s I had received. 

I even got something somewhat accomplished today.  I’m trying to organize our craft/art stuff, which was exploding off our pretty built-in bookshelves.  I’m 75% done, and the kids enjoyed coloring and playing while I worked, not needing to be in the middle of my task. 

All in all, a good day.  Hopefully, things will be quiet and productive tomorrow.  Library and laundry are on my list.  Then Thursday we’re on the road again to Chicago!

After the "wildness" of our Vacation Bible School week (which was really fun and fantastic!), we’ve wound things down this weekend.  Brian had invited the cycling team over for dinner on Saturday, so we whipped the house into shape and cooked up a big pot of spaghetti and a side of italian bread salad (panzanella – toasted bread chunks with tomatoes, cucumbers, and mozzarella chunks tossed in garlicy balsamic vinegar and olive oil and seasoned with basil.  VERY yummy!).  It was a fun evening, but we were in bed soon after everyone left at 8:30. 

The Tour de France wrapped up yesterday, and Brian’s wondering what he’s going to do now 🙂  July is always fun as we follow the race pretty closely, and this year we enjoyed it in nearly real time on Versus, instead of on DVD days later from Brian’s dad’s recording.  We had a dilemma last night, as the Next Food Network Star finale was on at the same time as the TdF finish and podiums, but Brian’s choice won out.  I figure I can watch mine on reruns or On Demand later this week.

The kids and I are heading to storytime and a water play day at Brian’s parents church this morning.  We’ve got a quiet week planned, though, as we’re leaving Thursday for a long weeked in Chicago with my friend, Michele, and a big $$$ bike race.  Then my mom comes to visit on Tuesday, and my dad arrives on Wednesday!  Yeah!!!  We’re so excited to have them visiting! 

That’s what it’s been!  Brian and I are both teaching at our church Vacation Bible School.  Brian’s got the 4th graders (12 of them), and I’ve got the 1st graders (10 of them).  I came home from our good, busy weekend stressed about how much we had going on this week and feeling pretty unprepared for VBS.  I wasn’t really in the mood to be in charge of a busy group of kids.  But it’s been surprisingly fun and refreshing, and as much of a blessing to me as it has been to the kids.  The worship has been crazy and fun and a nice way to loosen up with singing and dancing and just being WILD 🙂 

I’ve got 7 girls and 3 boys, and they
are so sweet. The girls are snuggling all over me, saying "this is the
BEST week EVER!" I was worried I’d be the grumpy teacher, since that’s
how I feel as mom lately.  But they’re sweet, and we’re having
fun.  It’s fun to see these girls and think of who Analise will be
in a few years…

Analise and Josiah aren’t old enough to be in the actual classes, but they are
taking such great care of our kids – water play, music, bringing them into the drama/music large group, and feeding them lunch so they’re happy and not ravenous when we pick them up… ready to fall
asleep on the way home. What a relief.  Both kids have been ready for big long naps when we get home. 

Oh, and we got expanded cable last week!  We’ve only had basic with about 5 watchable channels.  But we got a promo deal, and so now we’ve got hours and hours and hours of the Tour de France, at least through Sunday.  And I’ve got my Food Network fix set on "fave" so I can get to it with the click of the button.  Now to make sure we don’t become cable-addicted in the 6 months before our promo period is over (bc then it’s going up to the regular rate of $37/mo, and THAT is not in the budget!). 

My dear, sweet friend, Robyn, just sent me some photos she and her husband, Scott, took of Analise and Josiah while we were together in Minnesota.  We had a fun, crazy lunch at a little outdoor cafe, and Analise ended up riding her little bike in circles around the tables.  Robyn & Scott do wedding photography, too, and you can see more of their AWESOME photography on their SoulCam Photography blog.  I’m so excited, though… they just have a great way of catching good angles and the right moment.  My kids are so hard to photograph!  These photos just make me smile as they caught just who Analise and Josiah are, just in our short few minutes together.

Notice Brian’s reflection in the glasses on the right.  Cool 🙂