SO encouraged...

My grandmother raised me... she was an incredible cook.  Everything she made tasted amazing.  Seasoned with lots of black pepper and bacon grease - she made vegetables taste out of this world.  She made biscuits and gravy taste better than any restaurant any where... as you can tell I was raised on good southern food.  I've also learned a lot from my wonderful mother-in-law.  She can whip up an amazing meal in nothing flat!  She can cook a huge meal with many sides - choreographed beautifully having everything on the table hot and ready!  She makes it look so easy...

Last weekend I had the honor of attending Carrie's cooking class.  I've been in a bit of a rut with my recipes and cooking - this visual inspiration was just what I needed!  I appreciate Carrie's heart behind cooking with organics.  She was really sick... and organics helped her.  During the class she was full of grace, never overwhelming and full of wisdom.  I walked away inspired and motivated.

I began this journey of learning about and implementing organics and unprocessed foods 4 years ago... it was then that I switched out our salt to a better salt because my husband loves salt... loves it. I have not changed back.  Carrie gave many tips and information in her class... this information is also in her cookbook  (it's on sale right now) and her blog.  One thing she said was to make one change a week.  Don't overwhelm yourself to change every ingredient in your kitchen all at once - that would be crazy and very expensive!

Last week I made "Pete's Black Olive Pesto Dip" page 116, so flavorful.  And I felt so fancy making this dip!  "Tuscan Lemon Chicken" page 128 - which I had never made chicken like this before and the whole family loved it including my picky eater!  We could cut the chicken with a fork.  And Carrie's "Chocolate Chip Cookies" page 168 - pictured above.  I made these for the cub scout group... every boy ate these and loved them!  They are to die for.  There is nothing white in these cookies... and I can not believe how amazing they taste and so easy to bake!

HAPPY Wednesday

A few Valentine decorations today making me happy... thought I'd share.  I love blog-land for this reason... you can get lots of practical, pretty and fun ideas.

My sweet friend Greta made this frame for my family for Christmas.  I love it.  She even added our family photo... she asked me before Christmas what our family verse was... I told her Deuteronomy 6:5-7...  I love what she did.  It goes great in our home all year but especially appropriate during "love month".

This tray sits on our kitchen table right now... the whole tray decor is inspired by Bless Our Nest... she is SO good at placing things together... especially in a tray!

I made this frame last year inspired by Shannon's here... it makes me happy. Follow that link and you can see all her v-day decor from last year... so lovely.

And I can't help but have some pre-school art E made when she was 3 and 4 years old... the flower on the left is her hand print from the side.  And the one on the right is a photo of her holding the poster board.

Food is Personal

It's amazing to me how bent out of shape people can get when you begin to discuss food, nutrition and organics... the conversation can get heated pretty quickly.  It's so easy for us as moms to begin feeling guilty that we're not doing enough... that you're better than me or you think you're better than me because you do this or don't do that... man... we're so hard on each other!

Extend grace to others.

I'm preaching balance... I am.  Every family has their struggles.  My son is the pickiest eater in the world!  I have taken a lot of criticism to my face and behind my back. It has been a journey for us since the beginning... since he was a toddler.  This topic is very hard for me and I can find myself getting defensive when people give me unsolicited advice or their opinion on how to get my child to eat certain foods... trust me - I've done everything... I am not proud of the fact that he does not eat food!  It's humbling. And I'm okay with that... it's been my journey and the LORD is teaching my family. And we will continue to work on this... the journey is not over... meanwhile I will remain teachable.

Extend grace to myself.

SO, what I'm saying is grace friends... let's learn and make improvements in baby steps - if you need to.  Let's not judge or criticize our friends for doing this or not doing that... we're all in this journey together. We need to always be teachable... we will always be learning.  You can see in His Word God wants us to love one another John 13:34... He wants us to be good stewards to what He has given us... we need to take care of ourselves to work towards His glory Phil 4:8... let's remember the goal here Phil 3:14.

Okay, so I'll just be stepping off my soap box now...

Field Trip...!

What a fun day...  Got to support my friend Carrie and her new book Deliciously Organic... I love this cookbook - it has GREAT photos and recipes and I can not wait to cook my way through it... she has a blog...  She is fun, amazing, humble and she loves the Lord.  I'd like to be Carrie when I grow up.

Next stop on our field trip... my sweet and wonderful friend, Jen and I explored a few shops like this one...

Gathered inspiration and ideas... took a few notes... and had yummy lunch at this place...

Zoe's Kitchen... top notch!  Good pita...  and then we visited a little place that has cupcakes to take back to the family...

Truly a good day...

Do Your Best - HAPPY Wednesday

The family took a field trip to the National Scouting Museum... we're fortunate to have this museum close by... 

We committed to Cub Scouts over a year and a half ago and it's truly been a great experience for our family.  We're in a wonderful pack... and our kids enjoy the program.  Yes... even little sister E... more on that in a minute. 

The museum is packed with historical collections, art and activities.  You truly get a picture of the history of the organization and the impact it has made on our country... on our men and women. 

Original Norman Rockwell paintings that will truly take your breath away... catch a glimpse into history from the eyes of one of the most talented artists in the world... I loved this one... generations of Scouting men and women...

And this painting below "Family Camping" by Joseph Csatari truly touched me because it reminded me of our family... NOT because we look THAT happy when we go camping -- because trust me we are such novice when it comes to camping... we do not even know yet WHAT we are doing and I want to be THAT happy when we go camping...  *sigh* I don't know if we'll ever get there but we will give it a try...

BUT I adore the Cub Scout...  the Boy Scout and the little sister with her doll and seeing the chipmunk...  Scouting is truly for the whole family... learning together, leaning on one another, loving each other.

"A life dedicated to the service of others is a life well spent." ~ Dr. E. Urner Goodman, Co-Founder, Order of the Arrow

Let's Make it Monday

Inspired by my neighbor's sign making abilities and ideas... I had a scrap piece of wood.  So using the same techniques I used for these signs I decided I needed a better "no soliciting" sign than the one I had hand written and taped to the door bell.

With some white paint I white-washed the scrap wood.  Painting with paint then wiping it away before it dried.  I printed out the words I wanted to paint and with a ball-point pen, traced around the letters leaving an indention behind for my "lines" to paint in between...

See?  Look closely... it's there...

With patience I began painting in the lines... using a small and even smaller paint brush.  (This may sound weird but I quite like this process and find painting these letters relaxing!)

Added a gray paint color for the "please".  Now this is fine and nice...  but it needs some roughin' up.  Sand paper... sanding the letters... the edges... sand away!

Looks better... more worn and aged...  now it just needs some stain.  Just brush on some stain -- rub it around... thicker in some areas -- thinner in other...  love the results.

Posting to:

Cottage Instincts "Make it for Monday"

Skip to My Lou "Made by you Monday"

Sad and Awesome

Disappointments... life is full of 'em.

Small ones: Like my daughter's play date (that she has been looking forward to ALL week) has been canceled for this afternoon because of a little stomach bug she has.  My heart aches for her and her friend who have been truly counting down the days.

Bigger ones: Major changes in my husband's job/schedule... seeing much less of him and more responsibility on me.  Not fun...  not what I'd choose.  Not what I'd want for our family in any way.

But when I came across this blog and she pointed me to this sign on etsy... I was reminded of my choice. I know it's going to work out one way or the other.  It's not going to be easy.  But I can rejoice. I can have mental sanity. I can't control the situation... but I can control how I respond to it.

"The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus... and the God of Peace will be with you." Philippians 4:4, 6-9 NIV

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set you minds on things above, not on earthly things."  Colossians 3:1-2 NIV

And even larger disappointments:  Edie at Life in Grace lost her entire home in a house fire. Read her story... her courage and honesty will draw you closer to the LORD.

HAPPY Wednesday

What makes me happy... Wednesday.  A new weekly blog topic... join me? A few photos around the house... observations... things that simply make me happy.  Subject matter will change from week to week... not limited to kiddos or anything... just what's making me happy.  So here goes...

How H and E play... boy/girl... no matter.  Lego playground, star wars figures with Goldilicious looking on... notice sweet elephant holding on for dear life... I guess he's trying to get a good look at the action below... imaginations in action... makes me happy.

Came home from gym then on to clean up kitchen and found breakfast plates still on the table... I wonder if E ate these or her puppies....  hummmmm.... 

This little scene has been sitting in the hall for several days now.  Just don't have the heart to have E put them away... Momma bird watching over the Zu-Zu Pet family... makes me happy every time I walk by.

What's making you happy?

My One Word for 2011

Well, It's not gonna look pretty on a necklace.  But that's okay... I've been thinking about what my One Word for 2011 will be for some time now... and "intentional" simply keeps coming up.  I hear it from my pastor, in my work, in my cleaning and organization, when training my kiddos... when simply filling my time.

I desire to be intentional with the life given to me.  Intentional in my relationships.  Intentional in my time with the Lord.  Not in a legalistic sort of way... with purposeful direction... with aim, having a goal.

"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:14 NAS

"But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." 1 Tim 1:5 NAS

2010: pray (read my post for 2010)
2009: love (read my post for 2009)
2008: joy (read my post for 2008)
2007: faithful (read my post for 2007)

Giving credit where credit is due... the One Word idea comes from the lovely Ali Edwards...  I just realized that I've been blogging now for 5 years.  It's my fifth year anniversary!