Redneck Hot Tub

What?!?

 What is this?!?

Rocket scientist gone redneck.  Nice farmer's tan too, I might add.

Book Review - Story by Steven James

Story: Our Journey of Heartache and Grace from Eden to Evermore by Steven James is a book unlike any I've read before.  If you are someone who enjoys the art of language (words choice, imagery, voice), you will be amazed my the skill of author Steven James.  I was caught time and time again going back to read a paragraph just to unpack the beauty of his words and meanings. 

If you like poetry, unlike me, you may find the poems sprinkled throughout the text intriguing.

But there was a lot more to this book than just the language.  The ideas were ones that were fresh to me.  In the familiar biblical stories I've known for years, I saw things in new ways.  New perspectives.  New insights.  I would not allow myself to read more than one chapter, or sometimes part of a chapter, just to give me time to digest and reflect on what I had read.  I figured this would just be a summary of Genesis to Revelation but it was so much more.  God's character was exposed again and again.  His power, majesty, and grace shined throughout.  His mercy, humility, and gentleness were hard to miss.

I could see countless discussions coming from a group reading this book.  It would be ideal for a book club or a small group study.  It's also great for personal study time which is how I used it. 

It was a truly captivating book.

This book was given to me to review by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.  All opinions are my own.  I was not paid to write this review.

In Five Year Old World

I found this poem recently and it just about brought me to tears....and I'm not a crier.  I decided to share it with you for there is so much we can learn from a 5 yr old!

In five-year-old world …
There is freedom.
Freedom to tell it like it is.
Freedom to wear raspberries on your fingers—no matter what anyone else thinks.
Freedom to make up the words to the song that plays within your heart.

In five-year-old world …
There is time.
Time to stop and admire mystic clouds and find the beauty in a dandelion.
Time to give your waitress a hug.
Time to do it yourself … even if it takes longer … even if it’s not perfect.

In five-year-old world …
There is confidence.
Confidence to celebrate bathing suit season.
Confidence to pair unusual style combinations and wear them in public.
Confidence to dance when everyone is watching.

In five-year-old world …
There is safety.
Safety in the familiar glow of a bedroom night-light.
Safety in Daddy’s arms.
Safety in homemade forts built with your sister as rain beats against the windowpane.

In five-year-old world …
There is beauty.
Beauty in freckle-kissed noses and grass-stained feet.
Beauty in mispronounced words like “liberry” and “funder storm.”
Beauty in open-mouth laughter and disobedient curls on a warm summer night.

In five-year-old world …
There is comfort.
Comfort in mother’s scent.
Comfort in that certain pair of worn pajamas despite being two sizes too small.
Comfort in magical pink bunnies that sleep under your breath.

In five-year-old world …
The gaps between the teeth are wide.
Individual differences are noticed, but openly accepted.
Laughter between friends cures all ills.
Apple seeds can become trees if planted with love.

In five year old world …
Forgiveness is an abundant commodity.
Flaws and shortcomings are easily overlooked.
Bad breath and unruly hair are signs of good sleep.
There’s no such thing as having too many stuffed animals in your bed.

In five-year-old world …
There is no need to hurry.
Time is our friend.
We are loved.
And the world looks beautiful from down here.

By Rachel Macy Stafford, Author of Hands Free Mama

Thanks my little 5 yr old, for helping me learn so much about life!

Big Red Tractor

There's a commercial out there that has a man "starting a farm".

But then his wife says, "It's a garden."

"It's a farm!"  "A garden."

Later he pulls up in a super giant tractor.

"Hey honey, I got us a TRACTOR!"

I sort of understood how that wife felt when I witnessed my husband bringing his new tractor home.

(It's not really new.  He bought it off Craig's List.)

Galina grabbed her boots and cowboy hat (in her cheerleading outfit) and jumped right on.

Oh my....what have we got in store for us now?

I Bought a Planner Today

It started off as a typical Monday.  I got all four kids up and fed and dressed before 7:45.  After finding everyone's shoes, we got in the car.  This was a bit tricky as I had a large area rug over the seats I was going to return later.  Now you can picture me in the mom-mobile with a giant rug heading off to school drop off.  I got the boy there on time and headed off to do some errands. 

Less than 10 minutes later I received a phone call from his school.

Oh dear.

It turned out that today was testing day for elementary kids.  I dropped him off even though there was no school.  Just the middle schoolers met today.  He was to have a 15 minute reading assessment later in the morning.  So I got off the freeway and turned around to head back to his school.  I was almost at my destination, mind you.  A little frustrated with myself.

I got the boy and apologized profusely.  We headed to the playground after I changed Ainsley's MAJOR poopie diaper.  I managed to contain it so thankfully it didn't get all over her clothes.  About 5 minutes later we headed back indoors for Treyton's test.  He returned and we headed to the van.

But where were my keys?  I looked in all my purse's outside pockets where I always put them,  No luck.  In my frenzy to get my stranded boy and helping Galina over the area rug, did I leave them in the car?  I decided to do the full purse check (while holding Ainsley) and found them at the very bottom of the main bin where I never put them.  Oh for heaven's sake!

Finally we were off....again.

Just remember that any Target trip that should take 10 minutes usually takes 20 when you have 4 kids trailing.  Needless to say I was a little short on temper as the morning wore on.  Especially since every time we went anywhere we had to maneuver around a giant area rug.

Our last stop (so I thought) was at the area rug store.  We got the thing out and I upgraded to the next size up.  Crazy that it cost almost double what the next size down cost yet was only a few feet bigger in circumference.  Dang!

About 10 minutes later I got another phone call.

Oh dear.

It turned out that I left my credit card at the carpet store.  Doh!

So we headed back to the store to pick it up.  By now I was racing the clock because I had to get the kids fed lunch and Galina to Jr. K.  I realized that I didn't have enough time to make it home for lunch so I ran through the Jack in the Box drive through.  After making SURE I had my credit card back, I headed to Galina's school.

Now it dawned on me that I didn't get Galina's homework done with her.  We were suppose to count the number of trees in our front yard, how many steps from our front door to the mailbox, number of windows in the house, etc.  Living on 4.6 acres makes this assignment a little challenging.  I had originally planned to do that with her over the weekend but completely forgot.  So then I planned to do it after those couple of morning errands but.....do parents get pink slips?

Nothing like explaining my incompetence to a preschool teacher.

Of course Brielle fell asleep on the ride home from Galina's school.  And wet her pants while sleeping in her car seat.  And Ainsley was full of joy as she was an hour late in getting her lunch. 

So I bought a planner today.  I think it's time.

Estes Park 2012

This summer we took a trip to Estes Park with my family only to be welcomed to this...

 A big giant fire.  They were even helicoptering in water to help put it out.  It was right across the street from where my family was staying!

Since the road was closed and we couldn't get to my family's timeshares, I took the kids to the beach.  There was a little park nearby that we actually spent more time at than the beach.

 Treyton loves to show off his skills at the monkey bars.

 Galina laid claim to this little house.

 The bookends--my oldest and youngest.

 Here they are!  My gifts from heaven.

Finally they opened the road.

Galina wanted to see Uncle Brent first.

 

 Hiking is always a part of the story.  Unfortunately I couldn't join them due to Ainsley and Brielle this time around.

 Here's the whole family!

 Cousins galore.

Here are all of my parents' grandkids together.

This stroller from the timeshare doubled as Ainsley's high chair.

Elk are always hanging out in Estes.  These were in our campsite.  Yes, they were as close as they look!

Cali and Brielle became friends and enjoyed a snack together. Cali always has a gaggle of toys with her wherever she goes.  She's very good as sharing which is a good thing as most 2 yr olds like to swipe.

Nap time was especially important on these busy days.

Ainsley enjoyed crawling all over and investigating all the new nooks and crannies she got herself stuck in.  Quite an inquisitive little girl that one!

One very exciting thing....Bryce and Treyton went horseback riding for the first time.  Marat and Madina go every summer and this year Treyton was old enough to join them.

My brother Brent pays my dad's way so he doesn't have to go.  Dandy Don just loves it!  It's a win-win all way around.

The other activity the kids did every day was swim.  Sometimes twice a day!

Grandpa and his girls watching Dora.

Daddy enjoying watching the grass grow with Smilers.

Galina and Carter spent gobs of time on bikes and big wheels.  Carter can already ride a bike!  I was so impressed.  They would walk up the hill and then fly down it hooting and laughing which made us all do the same.

We enjoyed celebrating the summer birthdays together.  Galina would turn 5 next month.

Treyton just turned 7.

Opening presents is so exciting!

Grandpa Don and Grandma Kay actually get to see the birthday kids open presents from them.

My family likes to take a morning to walk around Lakes Estes with Grandpa Don at least once while we're there.  Brings me back to my Minnesota lake walk days.  I love it!

Daisy gets a chance to swim.

Gotta love the scenery.

 My sister Amy, Madina, and Cali cuddling and watching a show.  Amy's pregnant with their 3rd kid.

 Here's her family.

 And Brent's family.

And my family.

Another great year in Estes!

Book Review - Food Family Style Cookbook

When it comes to the kitchen, I love easy.  And fast.  And stuff that doesn't include ingredients that I need to go shopping for.  The Food Family Style Cookbook is a book filled with recipes that are just that: easy, fast, simple and common ingredients.

Like most cookbooks, it is divided into segments.  This one includes:
~Kids in the Kitchen
~Snacks and Beverages
~Breakfast
~Sandwiches, Burgers, Pizza
~Table Talk
~Soups and Salads
~Main Dishes
~Side Dishes
~Proportion Distortion
~Desserts
~Menus for Special Occasions
~Back to Basics

As you can see there are more than just recipes in the book!  I liked the little quotes at the beginnings of each chapter too.  For example, to kick of the dessert section the author quoted Bill Cosby (who doesn't love that man?) as saying, "Dad is great.  He gives us chocolate cake."

The book is further organized by using code symbols: doubles easily, freezes well, gluten free, healthful, MOPs favorite, slow cooker, and vegetarian.  I appreciate that because I can look at a glance to find what I'm looking for within each section without having to read through the recipe.

I have dog eared and am trying recipes throughout this book.  The most recent one was for Honey Lemonade Chicken which was really good.  Perfect for hot summer days.

Honey Lemonade Chicken
6 oz lemonade or limeade concentrate, thawed
1/4 C honey
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin (I used chicken breast tenders)

Preheat oven to 350, and spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  To easily mix the liquids without the lemonade thickening the honey, place the baking dish with the 4 liquid ingredients in the oven while it is preheating, then remove dish and stir ingredients together.  Place chicken in dish, and turn to coat.  Bake 15-20 min, until chicken is no longer pink.  Serve over rice.

I give this cookbook a 2 thumbs up.  For busy families or just families that has a mom who doesn't want to spend any more time in the kitchen than absolutely necessary, this cookbook is a great addition.

This book was given to me to review from Revell Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group.  I was not paid to do this review.  All opinions are my own.