Solo

Josiah sang his first "solo" special music.  Actually, he just did the very end part of the song, but he did such a good job!  His buddy Calvin asked him to sing with him and he came over to our house and helped Josiah with the song.  So proud of him!  I had to cut the video down to just a few seconds to get it to load, but I did get all of Josiah's part.

Josiah's Birthday!!!

Yes, it's hard to believe, but my little baby Josiah is no longer a baby...and hasn't been for some time now.  He is EIGHT!!!  I guess the eight part doesn't seem as unreal as the 3rd grade part.  We are starting 3rd grade, yikes!  I think he is ready academically, but he is still so much a "little" boy that it's hard to think of him as a 3rd grader.

He made a list of the things he wanted to do for his birthday.  Since there wasn't going to be a big party, we tried to do as much of it as possible.  Casey was off on Thursday (Josiah's birthday was actually on Friday) so we did our fun daytime stuff then.  Josiah requested Chuck E Cheese's.  So that's where we went.  Some of the places like it are so crazy expensive, but I think I would actually consider Chuck E. affordable with the good coupon deals.  We had a good time there. Yes, we.  Casey and I played a few games together, too. :>)

Then we went to Half-Price books and let the boys pick out a few books and Josiah even picked out a used DS game.  After that we came home so I could get ready for a meeting I had that night.  Josiah did have one package that arrived that afternoon, so we let him open it. 

Friday evening we celebrated with his birthday dinner.  He asked to go to Chili's (these were all the same things we did for Ethan on his birthday), but it didn't take much to persuade him to eat a dinner of his choice at home.  His first choice was tilapia (they love fish and we had just had salmon earlier in the week).  Then next he wanted mac & cheese and hot dogs.  His final decision?  Hot dogs with buns and Mac&Cheese as the side order (his words).  I went to the store on Friday to get groceries and his special dinner items and of course I forgot to buy hotdogs, buns and mac&cheese.  Sheesh!  When it's 100+ and you've got milk, etc. you can't just run back into the store and leave it, so I went all the way home, put away the cold stuff and went back out to the little grocery in town to get his stuff.  He enjoyed his dinner and the cake and ice cream, too.

Conversation

I overheard this conversation between the boys this morning.  It reflects so much of their personalities that I thought I should write it down so I don't forget.

Josiah (the Optimist) - "Ethan, don't you just love French toast."
Ethan (the Pessimist) - "Yeah, except I don't like the crust.  I'll eat it, but it's hard to cut."
Josiah - "I just love French toast."

pause

Josiah - "Ethan, do you think we should try to go the whole day without arguing about anything."
Ethan - "That's impossible."
Josiah - "We could try not too."
Ethan - "Yeah, but it's almost impossible to not argue about stuff.  But we could try to not get upset with each other.  I mean, it's just not possible to not argue sometimes.  See, we are even arguing about this, so it's impossible."

GF Banana Cake

Thought I'd share this recipe that I've tweaked over the years.  It's been my "go to" dessert recipe for the last year.  I was making it long before my gluten free days, but I finally found a flour that works really well with this recipe.  It's quick, easy, delicious and gets great reviews from all those who've tried it.  Go figure that I don't really care for bananas and can't stand anything banana flavored, but this cake is the exception to that. 

2 1/2 cups Pamela's Baking Mix
1/2 cup butter
1 cup cane sugar (I like the flavor of the Sugar in the Raw) or use 1/2 brown and 1/2 white sugars
2 eggs
4 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup buttermilk (I use 1 tsp. lemon or vinegar with 2% milk)
1 cup chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottom of 9X13 pan.  Beat butter and sugar.  Add eggs and mix well.   Mix in bananas.  Alternate adding baking mix and buttermilk.  Stir in chocolate chips and then spread evenly into baking dish. 

You can omit the chocolate chips if you prefer a chocolate frosting on top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until set in the middle. 

Weekend review

Our exciting weekend was not really all that exciting, but I want to tell you about all my aches and pains so you'll have sympathy for me...so I have to start on Friday! :>) 

We have a ministry at our church that collects food (perishable and non-perishable) and then takes it out on one Saturday a month to some low income areas.  It really is a pretty big production getting it all ready, but it's been really neat to be a part of it.  So, I went on Friday night to help with bagging up the food (so it's ready to hand out to families).  I had a nice time visiting and helping with all that.  The only problem came when I was putting some fresh produce (watermelon) that was in a crate and putting it into the fridge.  Not the top shelf, but a middle shelf.  However, the movement of lifting it to get it into the fridge pulled a muscle in my shoulder.  It's my "sensitive" shoulder of course.  I didn't notice it Friday so much but man, it hurt on Saturday!  I found an icy/hot patch and used it and it helped a lot, even though I smelled like an old man.  If you think about the part of the shoulder muscle that you use when you put your hands on the steering wheel, kind of right in front.  So that was the first of my problems.

Casey took Ethan out with him to deliver the food on Saturday.  Josiah and I ran a few errands and then chilled out at home.  By Saturday afternoon I was starting to feel icky.  It wasn't until Sunday that I realized I had probably been "glutened."  My sweet husband brought home a blizzard for me when they came home Saturday afternoon.  It was a kind I could eat, but I got some cross contamination going on or something.   Anyway, feeling pretty miserable there that afternoon and evening. 

The one highlight to Saturday evening was skyping with our good friends from college.  I so miss "the gang" but it was so good to chat with everyone for a few minutes.  Such a blessing to have friends we can just pick right up with even if we haven't talked in awhile. 

Sunday, I was still not feeling all that great.  Went to bed Sunday with a headache.  Woke up Monday with a raging headache!  Thankfully it is mostly subsided now.  I got up long enough to drink some water, get a warm compress for my head and some ibuprofen then went back to bed.  Josiah woke me up around 9:30 and I felt a little better.  Ahhhhh. 

Do you feel sympathy for me now?  :>)  Ugh, definitely feeling a little old this weekend!

It's been awhile...

So, I haven't posted anything since March.  Ugh!  Which really doesn't bother me so much, but I realized that meant I also haven't kept up with reading my friends blogs. 

We've been a tad bit busy.  Our spring and summer are packed with activities.  I really wish I could change that, but it would mean a job relocation...and, not really wanting to do that at this time.  Not too mention trying to finish up the school year for both boys and Casey as well. 

I feel like I should fill in the gaps for the months that I've missed, but I'll refrain.  Since my mom and Casey's mom are my main two readers...I think they already know what we've been doing! LOL

We just got back from Children's camp.  Let me tell you about that!  What a crazy, fun, tiring, exhausting, joyful, muddy, wet, hot time!  We arrived at camp soon after registration opened.  Just getting all the kids, their meds, paper work, bags, etc. loaded is a major feat before we can even get going!  So, we arrive at camp and we were given our room assignments.  The girls are all excited to set up their bunks and before I even get to the cabin the girls are running out and saying there aren't enough beds for us.  The cabin holds 88 people - 44 on each side and each side has its own bathroom.  In the middle is a large group meeting area.  So our assigned side only has 16 beds left because the other two churches are already there.  Problem - we have 24 of us girlies.  That's 8 beds short.  Not one, or two...or three.  EIGHT!  Now, I'd by lying if I said I handled it well, but I tried, I really tried.  I found Casey, our fearless leader, and told him (probably not so nicely) "You need to go back and FIX this!"  Well, it wasn't really a "fixable" problem.  However, we have great girls and most of them decided instead of sleeping on cots in the group area, they would just bunk up together.  However, I did end up sleeping on a cot, so did one other girl and another sponsor.  Of course, we blocked the emergency exit and no one could actually walk through the cabin without tripping over everything...but I will just try to remember that that's how we make memories.   We squeezed 52 people into a room designed for 44 - CRAZY!!!  And, honestly, that's my only big complaint about the week.  I was not too happy with my husband...but since I didn't sleep at ALL that first night I had plenty of time to pray and work through my BA (bad attitude!). 

The kids all had a great time.  Recreation was really a blast.  The first day we got muddy and wet.  (And I do mean, WE.  They had it set up so sponsors would participate, but not in a way that would hurt the littler kids.)  The next day we were on scooters and shooting water guns. The last day was the giant slip and slide and scavenger hunt in the pool.  The speaker was outstanding!  He's a juggler and very entertaining, but I the kids and adults all really got a lot of his messages.  It's hard to keep kids engaged, but he did a great job!  Now, the lady who led worship...well, she was kind of different.  Personality wise, it was great, but it was hard to sing along with her.  I think we finally picked up a few of the choruses by the end of the week.

During free time the kids can choose from the following things:  zip line (for the older kids), BMX bike, crafts, swimming pool, archery, paintball, lake, gaga ball (don't ask me to explain that one). 

Hopefully this one very LONG post will kind of make up for my months without posting.  Now that camp and VBS are over I feel like I can begin to enjoy the rest of the summer.  I think we've got 5 weeks to enjoy before we start school.

Ethan - the last 6 years

Ethan's 10th Birthday!

It's hard for all of us to believe, but Ethan is 10 years old.  He's said several times today, "I can't believe I'm ten now."  Neither can I.
We had a great time celebrating his special day yesterday.  For breakfast I made him his request of pancakes with bacon and ham slices.  We were up early enough for Casey to have breakfast with us before he went off for work and school.  We let him open 2 presents during breakfast.  One was a paperback book and the other was the Star wars lego dictionary.  That kept him busy during the morning while Josiah was doing school.  Ethan chose to do double work on Monday so he wouldn't have to do any on his birthday.  :>)
When Josiah was done with school they played some wii and then had some lunch.  Later that afternoon we headed into Fort Worth for some fun at Chuck E Cheese.  On our way we stopped at a place called Diva bakery.  I didn't bake him a cake so I thought it would be fun for him to pick out his own special cupcakes.  He chose some yummy looking red velvet cupcakes.  They had some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies that looked amazing, so we got three of those as well.  She gave the boys a sample of the cookie (which was huge) so we took the cookies and cupcakes for later.  Then as we were leaving she gave Ethan a giant cookie sandwich (2 BIG cookies with frosting in the middle) because it was his birthday.  So sweet!  (As a side note, they will even bake gluten free cupcakes if I request them...so I may be able to participate in the future...not that I need to, but I may want to.)
So, with our sweets in tow we drove on into Ft. Worth and they had a blast at Chuck E Cheese.  Now, normally this place rates right up there with having a migraine in my estimation of fun, but going on a weekday afternoon was awesome.  There was a very small party with really little ones and mostly adults and one other family there.  So, it was relatively quiet and easy to keep track of the boys.  We got drinks and enough tokens for the time we were there for about $25. Not too bad.
We finished up there about the time that Casey got out of class so we met him at Chili's for dinner.  It's one of Ethan's favorites and they just happened to have a kids eat free coupon for that night too.  Bonus.  They have decent selection of Gluten-Free options too, so that's a double bonus for me.  (Another side note - I hate going to eat places where the only GF option is grilled chicken with salad  - I can make that at home and it doesn't cost me $10+).  We had a great server too...makes a big difference!  At the end they brought out a giant hot lava sundae chocolate fudge mound of deliciousness.  I'm guessing that it was good by the way the boys (all three of them) attacked it...with some moaning and groaning involved.  Ha!  I did manage a bite or two of ice cream out of the middle.  Ethan had some HUGE eyes when they placed it in front of him.  It was awesome.
After dinner we took the boys to Half-priced Books, one of our favorite places.  They, of course, found some treasures there.  We came on home and Ethan opened the rest of his gifts.  Lego, lego, lego, monopoly!  It was great.  He was happy and thrilled with his day.  Before bedtime, my friend Stephanie brought him a little gift and some more cupcakes!  So, glad I didn't make him a cake!  After all the chocolate goodness from Chili's they were pretty stuffed, so we will save cupcakes and cookies for the following days.  It was a good day celebrating my firstborn.  Even Josiah declared it the best day ever. 

Headache

I went to bed with a headache...even worse, I woke up with the same headache, just a little worser.  I know "worser" is not a word, but I have a headache, so I can make up words if I want.  I think it's allergy related...go figure.  North Texas and allergies go together like PB & J.  I'd rather have PB & J. 

Also, my house is a mess.  I know that's not really news worthy...but, it's bugging me, so I'm sharing it.  It's one of those kind of days. 

So, I'm going to post a few photos from the fall that I like, turn up some praise music on pandora radio, finish my Bible study lesson, do some laundry, sweep and mop the kitchen, make lunch, clean kitchen again, do some more laundry, and get dinner going and hopefully get the boys school work done too.  We'll see how it goes. 

While I'm doing that, you can enjoy these pictures. :>)

Josiah in a pile of leaves we raked.

Me and Jo on our date to see "Annie."  My date was supposed to be my husband, but Ethan was sick so Casey stayed home and let me go out. - Dec. 2011

Yay!  A microscope!!!!  Ethan - Christmas 2011

The boys and their new cameras.  I'll post some of their pics soon.  Christmas 2011.

I love my husband!

Disclaimer: it may be mushy, so if you don't want to hear the mushy stuff stop reading now.

I adore my husband.  God truly blessed me and gave me the most incredible man for a husband.  He is SO handsome, too.  Sometimes I wonder how I was so lucky to get this guy...but then I remember that it isn't luck, but God's goodness and gift to me. 

He's not perfect.  I live with him, so I know this very well.  I'm not either and never will be, so we're even.  But he loves me.  He loves his kids.  He loves God.  I'm good with that.

February has been a rough month (not in our marriage, but in life).  Mostly because I started the month off with a cold, which turned into a sinus infection, not too mention hormones and the lot.  So, last week Casey came home from work with the cutest little stuffed animal puppy dog for me AND, a couple of little lego sets for the boys.  I just cried (hormones).  I was so touched because he knew I was having a rough time (with life + my issues).  Now, the man is at a disadvantage because he can't bring home flowers, even though I love them, they don't love me.  Thanks to my allergies, flowers are a no.  And, goodness knows I don't need a box of chocolates. 

So, Valentine's day has always been a little tricky.  Not too mention that we are usually financially challenged.  I was really not expecting anything, but he surprised me again by bringing me home a mocha from starbucks.  It doesn't count as chocolate, because it's coffee.  Coffee is always good.  And, he brought the boys a Muppets movie.   We were all happy.  Especially after the boys presented him with his gift...a box of chocolates!  His metabolism can handle it...and he shares. :>) 

A little while later Casey brings me another gift.  Seasons 1 and 2 of Psych!!!!!  I really love that show, it's hilarious.  AND, he has some sort of surprise planned for me (us) on Friday night.  I have no idea what it is, but I don't care.  I'm just so thrilled with my husband for going out of his way to show me love.  He is truly the greatest gift. 

Tooth Fairy vs. God

Josiah had a loose tooth that I pulled out tonight.  It's only his second, but I've had to pull them both out because he refuses to do it himself AND it makes him eat his food weird AND it hurts when he eats.  So, really, I'm doing him a favor.  So tonight, I pulled it out.  He wasn't happy about it until it was out.  Then he was so excited.  "Yay, my tooth fell out!"  Um, hello, I had to PULL it out...  Anyway, he said, "Just in time for bed."  I said, "So you think the tooth fairy will bring you some money?"  He looks at me and rolls his eyes and with a sigh, "Mom, you know the tooth fairy isn't real."  Now, I'm not going to lie to my children and insist they believe something that is not true.  So, I asked him what happens since there is not a Tooth Fairy.  He looks at me with all seriousness and says, "That's just how God made teeth."  I needed to clarify with him that he thinks it's God who turns the tooth that is put under the pillow into money.  Yep, that's what he's thinking.  So, know what?  I giggled a little about that and we told Casey about Josiah's thoughts on the matter.  Casey said something like, "Well, dentists think teeth turn to money too."  Or something along those lines.  That's all Josiah needed to hear.  "Yep, it's 2 to 1, Mom," which obviously means the discussion is closed. 

I guess I'll have to come clean.  I hope he's not disappointed when he finds out that it's not God who turns teeth into money, but just Mom.  He's such a sweet kid and he's always doing something to crack us up!

Forever Families - Adoption

Here is a new picture of Rose Myrtha!  She is at God's Littlest Angels in Haiti.  You can read more about GLA by clicking on their tab under the "Blogs I follow" section. 


We received the terrific news that she and her older sister have been matched with a family for adoption!  Praise the Lord!  Of course, it will still be several months before the family is united so we will continue to pray for her and her new family.  I'm not sure why such "happy" news always makes me cry...but it does!  



And, our good friends just got back from Ethiopia where they met their daughter face to face for the first time.  You can check out their story under the "By Our Love" title listed under the "Blogs I follow" section of my blog.  Hopefully she will be able to come home soon.

adjustment

You know when there are things going on and you can't really change them?  Maybe it's that really annoying person that is always nit-picking everything and always seems to think the worst of you.  Of course, I'm being hypothetical, because really, who would have anything bad to say about me, my children or my husband?  Well, I'll be honest that there's been a recurring "grrrr" in my life and I'm starting to find myself wanting to hold onto it and rehash it.  It's really not doing me any good...at all! 

So, that being said, I'm really excited about starting the "Living Beyond Yourself" study by Beth Moore.  Tonight was the first night.  I've missed my bff  Beth...it's been awhile since I've done one of her studies.  Since the circumstances don't look like they will change any time soon, I think it is really important that I have an attitude adjustment.  What, me an attitude?  Well, maybe just a little one.  So, tonight was refreshing.  Heard a word from the Lord regarding the "attitude."  Guess, we'll be working on that for a bit.  So thankful that Christ is in me, not just with me.

It's a GO!

So, excited!  Casey was given the green light from the church to go on a mission trip with the school's Chamber choir!!!!  They will be going to Malaysia and South Korea - 3 weeks total.  Yikes!  I'm so excited for him. 

With that being said, it is going to be a crazy busy semester for him.  He is taking a full load of classes, plus now the 2 choirs (to be in the Chamber choir he has to be in another choir too).  Working part-time (that sometimes seems like full-time).  And, he has a vocal competition that he is singing in March.  So, we will appreciate all prayers for my sanity...and his too. 

Zucchini boats

I made these tasty little zucchini boats for lunch.  I mixed tuna with some veggies (carrots, tomatoes) and cottage cheese in the food processor then baked it in a zucchini boat.  Turned out pretty good although it did not look very good.  So, no pictures.  That, and we ate them all, so it's too late anyway! 

Tonight we are having pinto beans for dinner.  I've got about 10 pounds of pinto beans (thanks to the food line at the seminary) that I need to start using.  So, I've found about 8 recipes that I'm going to be making over the next 8 weeks.  Each week I'm going to make one dinner around pinto beans.  The good news is that we all love beans.  :>)

Opportunities

Casey has this really cool opportunity to take a mission trip to South Korea with the school's Chamber choir in May.  He just found out about it last week!  He ran it by the pastor who said he would take it to the personnel committee and see if it would work out. 

So, Casey went to audition today and they didn't even have him sing (because they know him well)!  That was kind of cool.  However, it now looks like the trip will be 3 weeks and not 2 weeks...and by weeks I mean Sundays that he would miss.  The exciting thing is this, the trip is being sponsored, so it won't cost him extra (in air fare, transportation, etc.).  The other really exciting part is that those who are part of the trip will have their tuition paid for this semester.  For us, that's almost $3000!  That is huge!  I'm excited for him and am really hoping he will get to go.  There is just something awesome about traveling to a foreign country to share the gospel!  I've had that opportunity and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

We should know soon if he will get to go.  

Josiah's drama

Last night was the AWANA game and store night.  Basically, the kids earn points for saying their verses, attendance and a whole gob of other stuff.  Last night they got to spend those points.  There are all kinds of toys and trinkets they can buy, or play games, or buy food from the "concession" stand.  Ethan had lots and lots of points.  He bought food (hot dog, chips, pop) and then a few little toys from the store and played a lot of the games.  He also "bought" a few full-size candy bars...the real stuff! 

What does Josiah do?  He got all his points and spent them at the store, which is fine, it was his to spend.  He came over to me (I was helping at one of the games) with a big bag full of toys (junk?) and a huge smile.  The purchase he was most proud of?  A zhu zhu pet with a boat...at least that's what he thought it was.  He went on and on about how he's always wanted a zhu zhu pet...really?  I had no idea.  Apparently that's what he asks for every time we go to CVS pharmacy.  I'm just used to saying "NO" so I don't really even hear what they ask for any more. 

On our way home Josiah goes on and on about how that was the best AWANA night ever.  Who knew that he would go to bed in tears only minutes later!  We get home and he can't wait to open the beloved zhu zhu pet.  And then it happens.  He's in his room bawling!  There was no zhu zhu pet...only the boat.  It was certainly a big box to just have a little boat in it!  So disappointing.  I try to be loving and tender at moments like these, but sometimes it's hard to not laugh at his drama.  I mean, you would have thought the world was ending at his carrying on. 

I told him that in the morning we'd just see if we could find something else to sail in his boat.  Bonus points to me for reminding him about how Stuart Little sailed his own little boat (we are reading it out loud together for school).  So this morning, guess what, the boat doesn't even float.  It's not really even a boat.  Just plastic that looks like a boat.  I guess the little zhu zhu wheels fit into the wholes in the bottom of the "boat" to make it run around on the floor.  It's not even a real boat!  Now I'm disappointed! 

Guess what he's going to ask me next time we go to CVS?  After all this, I might even say yes.

Calories

Ah, well, the time has come to get serious about tracking those pesky little calories.  Unfortunately they seem to add up all to quickly!  In 2010 I did really well and lost a lot of weight.  2011, well, not so much.  In fact I gained about 20 of it back!  Yuck!!!  So, for 2012 it's time to get to it again. 

Casey and I have accounts set up at caloriecount.com.  I think it's a really great tool and very easy to use to keep track of calories.  And, counting calories is really the only way I've found I can be successful, so that's the way we are going.  I completed my first full week and am down 3 pounds!  I know it's mostly "water" weight, but I'll take it!  I was going to try to stay under 1350 calories, but about half the days I ended up around 1500, which is still fine.  I think I'll stick with somewhere in between and not worry about it until I plateau.  Now, if only I could get Casey to buy me an elliptical machine.... :>)

On to week two.  Here's to a healthier new year.

Happy New Year!

Yep, I'm a few days late, but what's new with that?  We had a nice Christmas and New Years.  We've enjoyed having Casey home more since he's out of classes right now.  It's been nice.  He got his grades...all A's!  Yay! 

The boys had their first basketball games of the season today.  Josiah is much improved and almost seems to know what he's doing...sometimes.  He still gets a little confused about what he's supposed to do when HIS team has the ball.  Let's just say that he does a good job staying with the kid he's guarding...at all times.  :>)  Ethan's team is 4th-6th graders.  Ethan is 4th grade and a couple of the kids on his team are very tall!  He played well today and he's got the best coach.  His coach is a high school student from our church who is just a great guy.  He's one of God's miracles...if you knew all the surgeries and health problems he had/has, you would agree.  He loves the Lord and is a bold witness.  The assistant coach is another high school student who plays on the varsity basketball team.  It was fun to see a few high school students come out for the kids because of the coaches. 

We had our first week back to school this past week.  It went really well!  I gave the boys this choice:  they could do their work with a good attitude and no complaining and have wii time.  Or, they could whine and complain and have NO wii time.  Hmmm, I wonder why school went so well?  :>)