The Mary Poppins of our Christian Home

Christmas has come and gone yet the reason for the season remains the same. It isn't only about the birth of our Savior, but the death and resurrection as well. Christmas time is to remind us that there was no way to get to God so he came to us to save us all. The kids enjoyed Christmas this year since we had snowflakes dancing in air on Christmas Day. What a beautiful sight. It also reminded me of child like faith. You see my youngest son (12), Dustin said to me Christmas Eve that we would get snow on Christmas day. When I asked him what made him think that, he simply told me that he asked God to allow it to snow. It made me think hard about the things we ask God for that we simply ask for but don't believe will happen. He asked, believed it would happen, and then it did. Oh, what a reminder it is to have child-like faith. Both the boys left this morning with their youth group for their youth winter retreat. I know that they will receive a blessing out of it and I am...

It's that time of year again, where people are rushing around decorating, visiting, baking, and writting out cards. Last night we did our candle light Lord's Supper. A time to reflect on this past year and the many blessing that we have. We can complain the roses have thorns or we can rejoice that the thorns have roses. I choose to rejoice. Our Ladies Sunday School class decided that this year again we would adopt a family from our area plea. It was such a blessing to help another family with the essentials that are so needed. Our Youth Group decided to adopt a family as well instead of giving each other gifts. Teaching our children that the best gift comes from the heart is the best gift we can teach them. This year has been a year that many families are going back to the basics. Making candy & cookies to give as gifts. Crafting through out the year to give as gifts. This Christmas build up the treasures that are so important. Family, Friends, love ones, and tho...

That I have been neglecting my blog. Life has just be in the way. I can't believe the kids are through with the first half of the school year, it seems like they just started. I really have to learn to say no. I have let other things occupy my time and that has caused a little disorder in our lives. School started and then I was voted in as Vice President of the TAG program. So we spent time working on the fundraisers and all the fun things that go along with it. Then my oldest was playing football after church on a Wednesday night and we ended up in the emergency room. Where we found out that his left arm was broke right at teh growth plate at his shoulder and had two hairline fractures at his wrist. We were referred to a specialist. We feared surgery and the specialist even spoke of it but with God's blessing we skidded by. He was just released after 6 weeks of back & forth to the specialist. Shelby was out of school with strep at the worst posstible time. She m...

So Wednesday came and gone but not without lessons. I am a pretty organized person, knowing what needs to be done & in what order it is going to get done so that more things can be accomplished and no time wasted. But God had other plans for me today. Up at 1 AM with a sick little girl; complaining that her throat hurt and running a very high fever. Settled her down to make her comfortable, laid down for a little longer. Then up at 5 to cook the breakfast casserole for Ms. Mary's family this morning. They had plans to make and didn't need to worry about what they were going to eat. Had it delivered by 6 and back home at 6:10, to a fever that was even higher and a even sicker little girl. Sent the boys off to school, put her in the tub to try to lower the temperature. Needless to say, we ended up at the Dr. office at 10:30 and was there until 2:30. She has acute strep. Yes, God is definately in control, all the plans that I had for today was wiped away in order fo...

So Tuesday has come and is almost over. Today started as a great day, sunshining with the wind blowing and a to do list ready to be tackled. But God had different plans and proves onces again that he is in charge. We lost one of our dearest saints from our church, today. God took her home in a peaceful sleep. She will be dearly missed not only in our church but our community. Our God is an awesome God and he is the one always in control, we should never doubt that. Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. ~Psalm 25:4-5 NLT Recipes, Recipes, & Recipes INDIAN MEATBALLS In bowl, combine 1 pound ground turkey, 1/4 cup oats, 3/4 tsp garam masala and a handful of chopped cilantro. Form into balls. Saute 5 min. Toss with warm chutney, BBQ sauce or ketchup. RICOTTA 'N' OATMEAL MIGHTY BITES 1 box yellow cake mix 3/4 cup pasteu...

Happy Monday! I do hope that you enjoyed your weekend with you family and friends. We had a great time! Pizza & movies vegging on Friday, bowling on Saturday, and attending God's house on Sunday. It was a great family weekend for us. Hubby left Sunday evening for his last week of work out of state. It will be great having him home nightly again. They say that the heart grows fonder when there is a separation. This is true, but I also believe that respect for each other grows and admiration for each other; as well. Tips, Tricks, & Ideas: *Bundt Pan: Cut corn from the cob without the mess. Place an ear in the center of a Bundt pan. As you slide the knife down, the corn will fall right into the pan. *Rubbing Alcohol: Ears clogged with pool or sea water? With an eyedropper, insert a few drops of rubbing alcohol into each ear canal to evaporate it. Rubbing alcohol comes to the rescue, too, when you've gone overboard with self-tanner: Fix too-dark splotches by blo...

Oh No! It's Friday the 13th! Really? Does anyone really believe that this is a bad day? Not me! It happens to be our anniversary~16 years with my wonderful hubby. There are no words to express the trials, joy, obsticles, and triumphs that we have endured so far. Each one helping us to grow as a couple. Wishing everyone a super weekend! Remember, those that matter most to you and spend time with them. Worried about Friday the 13th? Only 13% of millionaires indicated luck as a major factor in explaining their success. - Thomas J. Stanley Recipes, Recipes, & More Recipes: FRUIT SMOOTHIE 8 oz unsweetened cranberry juice 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries 1 tbs oat fiber 1 tbs almond butter Combine all ingredients in a blender, pulse until smooth, adding ice, if desired. Then pour into a glass and serve. MAKES 1 SERVING OF FRUIT SMOOTHIE. CITRUS HERB SALT 4 tsp each dried rosemary and thyme 1 cup coarse sea salt 2 tsp lemon zest 1 tbs peppercorns Pulse together herbs, pepper...

Happy Birthday to my youngest son! Twelve years ago today, God blessed me with my second son. When they laid him in my arms he was so precious, his big brother waiting to meet him. Every day I learn something new from my children, they are such a blessing. "My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish." ~John 10:27-28 NLT Recipes, Recipes, & More Recipes: FRUIT SMOOTHIE 8 oz orange juice 1 small banana 1 tbs ground flaxseed 1 tbs flaxseed oil Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth, adding ice if desired. Pour into a glass and serve. MAKES 1 SERVING OF SMOOTHIE. PAN SAUTEED CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES AND HERBS 1/8 tsp each pepper and paprika 2 tbs each flour and oil 1 tbs each chopped oregano leaves and chopped thyme leaves 3 tbs lemon juice 1 1/2 cups chicken stock 8 oz whole baby carrots, green tops trimmed to 1" 1 pound potatoes, cut into quarters 2 small onions, cut into qua...

Happy Wednesday! So excited about tonight at church, we are starting our mission meals up again tonight. This is a great time for families to go to church together and close the door on the wacky world for a little while. Studing Revelation, in the 6 chapter. We looked at the churches historically, devotionally, & prophetically; an amazing study! "My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish." ~John 10:27-28 NLT Recipes, Recipes, & More Recipes: TORTILLA SALAD Combine chopped lettuce with diced cooked chicken, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes and avocados. Top with shredded cheese. Toss with vinaigrette. FRUIT SMOOTHIE 8 oz carrot juice 3/4 cup pineapple chunks 1 tbs psyllium husk powder 1 tbs fish oil Combine all ingredients in a blender, pulse until smooth, adding ice, if desired. Pour into a glass and serve. MAKES 1 SERVING OF SMOOTHIE. CHOCO APPLE BUTTERFLIES (Cupcakes with butterflies on to...

Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a terrific day today. Kids are back in school and my power hours are back into play so that means the "To Do" list is being completed in a more time effective manner. Are you wondering what the power hour is? Take an hour and break it up into 15 minute intervals where you work on something for 15 minutes. Uninterrupted time, 15 minutes NO MATTER WHAT! We can accomplish so much using this technique, simply set a timer and don't stop until it goes off. Do you think that you can clean your house in 15 minutes? I do! You can start clothes and dishes, then clean bathrooms, vacuum, and still have time to dust. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God's presence, assured of his glad welcome. Ephesians 3:12 NLT ************************************************************************************ Recipes, Recipes, &...

Hello fellow bloggers. I have been missing in action due to a horrible virus that sneaked in through facebook. It messed everything up on my laptop and oh how I missed you all. However, the set back on my laptop did allow me more time to do things with my family, bible study, study Esther, and catch up on some much needed items. I have really been searching what to do with this page and hope that what I am coming up with to share will interest so many other women. Studying Esther with Beth Moore we are learning that it is Tough being a woman and how to be more like her. With this blog, I am hoping that Mothers and women in general will find that it doesn't have to be stressful. We have been giving such a gift from God in the form of our husband & children. So everyday there will be several things on my blog. There will be tips, trick, & ideas that are sure to help when it comes to time savers or money savers. Recipes that anyone can fix; quick & easy meals alon...

Good afternoon... Our Sunday School class has been doing the Beth Moore Bible study of Esther. It is hard being a woman.. Yes, it is! But it is also a blessing. Esther could make for a great romance novel, it has all the makings of one. Here is a woman that shows up on scene in the shadows of another woman. Queen Vashti, a beauty beyond words that everyone was in awe of. How many of us are secure enough to be in another woman's shadow? After reading and attending the live feed of Beth Moore's Good-bye Insecurity You've been a bad friend to us... the study of Esther points out moments that made an impact on the Jews. There are ironies that when we look back shows that God's hand are all over this book in the Bible. He might not be mentioned in name, but He is there. Join us in the reading of Esther, we just finished the first chapter that introduces the King, Queen, and the parties that were going with events that will remove the Queen so that Esther can emerge a...

I am so blessed that you stopped by for a visit. We have been very busy with visits to AL to see hubby, reading program at school and the local library, VBS (Vacation Bible School), as well as our daily activities. We have a new addition to our family....a baby rabbit that was rescued in the hay patch. Just adding new members to this place we call home. We will be getting back on track with organizing and decluttering tomorrow, but for now it is all about catching up. Now that we are in the new house we are working on the landscaping and decorating so that we can have an open house for everyone to see the work that we have done on the house. We did all the work ourselves which made for a long journey, but we know how the work was done and paid for it as we did it. We know that we will need to do some extra yard work in order to put the pool in, but we are planning on doing that when Dwight gets back home and is working in MS again. We are fininshing up June and will have a busy J...

You will need 2 bags and a box for this chore. Bags: Donate/Garage Sale & Throw away Box: Store for next season To make room in your closet only have hanging what is in season. Store the turtle necks, sweaters and wool pants for next fall/winter. Make sure that you store your winter/fall clothes in a container that is waterproof and has a secure lid. Anything that you have not worn since last season...too big, too small, or just not your taste anymore goes in the Garage Sale/Donate bag. This will make room for new clothes or space so that dear ol' hubby has some more room. Anything that has holes in it, like hubby's favorite air conditioned shirt. You know they all have their favorite shirt that looks so ratty...take a pair of scissors to it and use for cleaning cloths then throw them away. You can color code each closet with hangers... that way when doing laundry clothes can be hung up immediately and everyone can grab their clothes by the color of the hangers. My daughter...

This is one of the easiest rooms to organize. Clean out your linen closet and match up a wash cloth with a towel so at bath time they can grab and shower. To make changing a bed easier, instead of having to find the sheets take a set and fold it into a pillowcase that belongs in the set. No more lost sheets or pillowcases. Medicine cabinet: Throw away everything that has expired! We all neglect the medicine cabinet when it comes to organizing it. Tomorrow we will do closets!

Thank you for stopping by, like what you see, share the page with your family & firends. Let's get this blog started... We are going to take baby steps. This is important especially if you have a mess right now. If one junk drawer turned into 10; the top of your desk is buried under files, mail, and clusters of papers, or you find yourself throwing things in your guest room when visitors are due over. So let's get started! First and foremost, start a "Tackle" box. This will have a file folder in it for each day of the month (1-31). Since we are going to be reusing the days each month, we simply need to label them by the day. The goal is to get everyone in the house to use this so that you can get done what you need to get done in a timely manner and still have the much needed and wanted time with your family & friends. Since it is summertime time, it is a great time to start this! Everything that needs to get done for work, home, school is placed under...

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at our daily lives. Everyday is a blessing and I am so thankful! So today started like any other Friday. Started the day with the daily reading of the Bible, as a congregation we are ready the whole Bible in 2010. Then read our Esther Bible Study by Beth Moore for our Sunday School. Took our oldest to work and fixed breakfast when the other two got up this am. Fixed Cowboy Breakfast Pie Shredded Hashbrowns, Bacon, Eggs (Scrambled), and Cheese. Place the shredded hashbrowns on the bottom of your baking pan, scramble eggs & pour on the hashbrowns. Take cooked bacon and layer on top of the eggs. Add cheese and bake on 375 for 20 minutes. Quick, easy, & the kids love it. Even though it is summer we still have a schedule. The kids make their beds and start their chores for the day. We are keeping up with their studies by doing 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon. We had excitement after breakfast with a snake in...

Today was the last day of school. The kids are excited and to be honest so am I. This means time together working in the flower beds & garden, spending some fun time together enjoying the summer. We will have a busy summer filled with activities. Church camp for the boys is right around the corner. They will be enjoying Student Life developing a closer relationship with our Savior. My prayer for them is to grow up Godly men that loves and serves the Lord with all their heart & soul. While they are gone, I do believe a shopping trip sounds like a good idea. Have a little Mother~Daughter time together. My prayer for her is to be a woman that loves the Lord. This will make her a better mother, wife, & friend. Then we have our community VBS! Before we know it June will be gone.

Welcome to my blog! I am a very organized Mom of 3 children, I will be sharing tips, tricks, recipes, & ideas to help the hustle and bustle of being a Mom less stressful. In today's world we are always running errands, carpooling, working, & managing a household; with little quality time with the ones we love. Not anymore! If you have questions~please ask. If you have comments~please share. If you like what you see~please share. You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses