Our Menu For 11/13/11 Through 11/20/11

Monday~Hearty Tuscan Roasted Chicken, Rice, and Corn
Tuesday~Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans
Wednesday~Hoagies, Chips & Yogurt
Thursday~Mustgoes
Friday~Scrambled Eggs, Bacon & Toast
Saturday~Beef Barley Soup with Beer Bread
Sunday~Taco Night

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Turkey is something we only cook on Thanksgiving. Other than that it is only eaten in lunch meat form around our home.

2. I love Grandma Rose's pecan pie. Yum!

3. On and on and on we go, such is the merry-go-round of life.

4. The last time I saw my dad was about 5 1/2 years ago. Hard to believe he has been gone from this Earth that long. I pray he knew just how much I loved him.

5. Can you believe Christmas is only 43 days away? I need to start preparing my heart for this special time of year.

6. I need a few extra hours in every day. I am sure God knew what He was doing when He made a day only 24 hours, but sometimes I wonder if 30 would have been better. ;-)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to taking the family to see A Christmas Carol at our local high school, tomorrow my plans include getting some things done around our home, as well as making pretzels with my kiddos and Sunday, I want to go to church, relax, and get organized for next week!

Have You Seen These???

Santa Diapers!

My niece posted a picture of her son in these on facebook, and I just fell in love. They are adorable and funny at the same time. I am pretty sure I would buy them if I had a young child in diapers still. Just had to share!

Extended Family Living

My father passed away 5 1/2 years ago. This came out of nowhere. I wasn't prepared to lose a parent. Are we ever? Though it changed my life drastically, I know that it has changed my moms even more.

She has always been a housewife. She occasionally worked jobs to bring in a little extra cash, but her focus was always on the home. On my dad. On me. So, when he passed away, it really changed her world.

She and I started hanging out all the time. She was here to help me keep up with housework. She helped out with the kids. Jeff works a lot of hours. Owning your own company isn't easy, and it requires a lot of his attention. My mom was there to help me, which in turn really helped my marriage.

After much consideration, Jeff and I agreed that it made sense to move my mother in with us. At church, I kept getting the message that Jesus' people need to take care of the widows. As much as she takes care of us, it just seems right that we also take care of her. So, we fixed up the basement for her. We added a bathtub to the bathroom, put in a closet, and painted the walls. She and I worked hard to sell the things she would no longer need, and we put her home on the market. Finally, we got to moving day, which was 2 weeks ago last Saturday.

The past 2 weeks have been pretty good. The kids love her being here. They constantly want to be down there. They have been going down there first thing in the morning and waking her up, which is a pain. She is not intrusive, and she is, and always has been, very respectful of Jeff's and my privacy and alone time. She actually helps me to be a better wife, since she is always encouraging me to do kind things for him.

The "typical" American family is the nuclear family of husband, wife, and kids, but I would love to know what percentage is "typical" anymore. Lots of people are single or divorced with kids. Some remarry and live in blended family situations. Living with extended family has become a bit more common again due to the economy. I like seeing family helping each other, supporting each other, and sharing life together, so I am a huge fan of the extended family living arrangement. Sometimes this needs to be done due to financial situations, sometimes because of health, and other times just because it makes sense. No matter why it is done, I think it can be a blessing as long as boundaries are in place.

We have had a few comments from people. Things like, "Oh, I bet Jeff loves that." or "I could never live with my mother-in-law." . Those comments hurt my mom, and they make me sad. People sometimes don't think before they speak. Jeff and I have known for years that this day would come. Does he love it? He hasn't complained yet. He is a loner to some degree. Loves to be alone, and doesn't feel the need to throw himself into social situations. However, he is also a loyal family man, and he is a man that takes providing seriously. He understands family obligations, and he doesn't think of that as a bad thing. Just so you know, this only makes me love him more! Not to mention that Jeff recognizes just how much my mother helps us out around here, and he appreciates that greatly.

I look forward to years of living as an extended family. I think my mom enriches and blesses our family. I know this arrangement wouldn't be for everyone, but I really do think it is going to work for us without any big problems. I also think more people should consider living this way, but maybe I will save that for another post. ;-)

Our Menu For 11/07/11 Through 11/13/11

Monday~Chicken and Dressing Casserole, Green Beans
Tuesday~Spaghetti, Sausage Links, and Garlic Bread
Wednesday~Pork Chops, Cauliflower with Cheese, and Applesauce
Thursday~Mustgoes
Friday~Taco Casserole
Saturday~Beef Simmered in Mushroom Soup, Corn, and Mandarin Oranges
Sunday~Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes

Don't Forget!

Set your clocks back one hour before you go to bed tonight. I'm looking forward to the extra hour of sleep. I'm not, however, looking forward to it getting dark super early in the evenings. Can't have it all I suppose! ;-)

Saturday Photo Hunt~Light

This balloon is light. Thank goodness Meghan held it down...even while sleeping. ;-) Love that kid!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. In November, I most look forward to family gatherings. This time of year we have my youngest daughter's birthday, Thanksgiving, my nephew and niece's birthdays, and Christmas. It is a lot of extended family time, and I love it!

2. I managed to organize my pantry this week...phew! I also cleaned up my kitchen a bit. It was getting to where I couldn't even think in that chaos.

3. It's right there, in the huge pile of stuff. Pretty much describes anything you are looking for in my house. ;-)

4. Jesus gives me peace of mind. Without Him I would be a basket case!

5. Water is essential for living things...including house plants. Trust me!

6. Mustgoes is what my grandmother used to say! That was her word for leftovers. I use it now too, and every time I do I think of her. :-)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to playing some games with my kiddos, tomorrow my plans include taking Ali to her piano practice, baking a Meghan's birthday cake, decorating for her party, and cleaning up the house a bit and Sunday, I want to go to church and then have the family over for Meghan's 5th birthday party!

Thankful Thursday

Life is filled with things for which we should be thankful. Even in hard times, stressful times, there are still bright spots.

Today I am thankful for Autumn. This is such a beautiful time of year. The trees are lovely shades of gold, orange, and red. The air is crisp and cool. I just love this time of year!

I am also thankful for my amazing children. Each of them brings a smile to my face and my heart. Josh just called to tell me he forgot his lunch money. Typical Josh. I couldn't help but smile. Ali has been super-argumentative lately, but I am learning how to handle her during those times, and for that I smile big! I just stood outside Meghan's room and watched her play with her Barbies. She was just so stinkin' cute, and I was reminded of my youth. Huge smiles! Love them!

I am thankful for so much more, but the last thing I will share today is that I am thankful my bank decided to give us back the $4 Debit Card Fee. Silliness! So glad they decided to drop that fee.

Remember, life is filled with things to be thankful for. Find them. Focus on them. It makes the rough times so much better. :-)

Thursday Thirteen

Lately life feels like one big to-do list. Seriously! So, I figured why not blog about all those things I need to do. These aren't in order of importance, and they don't include the everyday normal to-dos. These are things that are above and beyond my daily chores. ;-)

13 Things on My To-Do List

1. Put outdoor furniture away for the season

2. Clean my bedroom...it has been too long & I need to hang some things in my closet

3. Bake Meghan's cake for her family party on Sunday

4. Prepare things for Meghan's friend party on Monday

5. Focus more attention on my discipleship studies...memorizing scripture and such

6. Finish hanging pictures for my mom

7. Buy paint so Sam can paint front door

8. Paint garage door

9. Clean & organize office

10. Start on Christmas cards

11. Clean Mom's house & get it ready for new owners

12. Go to DMV and get new license plate sticker

13. Plan my talk for Mom's Life called 'Keeping Christ in Christmas.'

Okay, I feel a little overwhelmed seeing all of this in writing. On the other hand, it is nice to visualize what needs to get done, and what I can do quickly. I think I will go buy paint today, and while I am out, I will stop by the DMV. Check. Check. ;-)

Our Fabulous Halloween

We had a truly fabulous Halloween! Last week my mom and I got to go see Meghan's class perform a little show before their Halloween party. Adorable! Look at all of them.

Now look at my little stinker princess. Look at that face! Such a character. Now check out Spider Man. He was a hoot! One minute he was sucking his thumb, and the next minute...

he was making hilarious faces. Talk about a character!

I also went to Ali & Josh's classroom Halloween parties, but I forgot to take my camera. Oops! Josh even let Meghan walk in his school Halloween Parade with him. So nice.

I baked some cupcakes, and Ali helped me decorate them. We did a great job, if I do say so myself. Of course, it was easy to do, since we didn't have to make the decorations that went on top. Gotta love Peeps. So cute!

On the Friday before Halloween, our family get to go to a Witches Walk. We had endured a crazy, busy week, and I really needed this family time. So nice. We had never been before, so I really didn't know what to expect, but I was very pleased. It was held at an area Farm Park, and it was decorated very cool. Check it out...

There were different things to do while we were there. Games to play, a fortune teller to visit, and an outdoor movie was playing. The whole reason we went was to visit the witch that was telling stories in the old school house. Here are the kids enjoying the story, which was told by a very nice witch, Ali's piano teacher.

In the story, there was a cat and an owl. Josh got to hold the cat, and Ali got to hold the owl. They had to hold them up each time they were mentioned.

We also carved pumpkins. Meghan wanted a tiara, since she is all about princesses lately. I did my best. Josh wanted a scary face, and I tried to carve one for him. I learned that I am much better at happy faces. Ali wanted a scary face too, but she carved her own. She wouldn't pose in the picture below because she thought her pumpkin was horrible. The girl is terribly hard on herself!

On Halloween night, we had our traditional main dish of Sloppy Joes. With that we had some applesauce and Kraft Halloween Mac 'N Cheese. (Note: Everyone in our home, except Meghan, eats Sloppy Joes on a bun. She is a tad different.)

Here are my kids before their father took them out trick-or-treating.

My two beautiful princesses!

My oh-so-scary Zombie!

I passed out candy with Mamook, while they were out trick-or-treating. When they got back they were so excited to eat their traditional "one piece of candy" that they get every Halloween night. Never mind all the candy they apparently ate at Grandma and Grandpa's. Hee, hee! Meghan actually passed out pretty quick considering she was all sugared up.

So, all in all, a fabulous Halloween. I didn't decorate nearly as much as I usually do, and life has been super busy lately, but it didn't damper our holiday. A good time was had by all, and memories were made that will last a lifetime. :-)