Sweet Annie

I wanted to take a minute to send out lots of love to Annie, who very graciously made me a signature! I mentioned how I'd like to have one and she volunteered to make me one! Wasn't that sweet of her?!!! For those of you who aren't familiar with Annie, you should really take time out to visit her blog. She is such a sweet woman and I can't say enough about her. She and her family have been through a lot with their daughter Izzy and they are such a wonderful example of perseverance. I'm inspired every time I read Annie's posts. So, what are you waiting for? Jump on over to Annie's place and read for yourself! You'll be touched and inspired!

Menu Plan Monday April 30-May 6

I'm thinking we'll have a bit of a busy week since we'll be starting up on our deck again. Hopefully we can get some walls up and the roof on this week and then we can take it as slowly as we want! I tried to pull together a menu that was quick and easy, yet still tasty. Here's what I came up with:

Monday: Grilled hotdogs w/chili, fried potatoes

Tuesday: Mexican pork loin roast, queso (I think I got this recipe from Big Blueberry Eyes)

Wednesday: BBQ meatloaf, mashed potatoes, steamed green beans

Thursday: Taco Salad (from Taste of Home), queso (what can I say, we like cheese! LOL!)

Friday: Pork chops w/apples and stuffing (Taste of Home), corn, roasted potatoes

Saturday: Tacos, rice, and you guessed it....queso

Sunday: Pasta w/tomato cream sauce, salad, garlic breadsticks

Let me just say that a few of these days I'll be feeding extra people. Since my BIL and FIL have been nice enough to help with our building project, we try and feed them every evening they are here working. They are, after all, providing free labor! For more menus, head over to Laura's. Have a great Monday!

Weekend Reflection # 12

It seems like this week zipped by before I knew it! It was a nice one though and I look forward to the new one that starts tomorrow!

It went something like this around here this week:

Sunday after church, we were invited to bring a picnic lunch and go to our pastor's house for lunch. He told us that his family was inviting a "few" families over to picnic on their land. When we arrived, there was already about 6 families there, with their stuff spread out on the lawn. After about thirty minutes, 10 to 12 more families arrived! I think it's safe to say there was more than a "few" of us! It was wonderful! I sat on a blanket and talked to some of the ladies from church while Caroline was off in the creek with the smaller kids and Logan was sitting at a table with some older girls playing Mad Libs. Jeff was sitting around chatting with some of the men and I enjoyed watching him be so relaxed. It was such a wonderful, relaxing time of fellowship!

Monday night, Caroline had a ballet recital at a local senior assisted living facility. Many of the students from Trinity Arts Center showed up and participated in some way. Some students played piano while others expressed themselves through some sort of dance. Some of the dances included Jewish worship dance, Scottish dancing, ballet, and some of the smaller children did a bean bag dance! There was also some violin playing. I felt like I was having an out of body experience as I watched my Caroline, who is 8 1/2, during the ballet portion of the program. Her body language seemed so mature but her face couldn't hide that huge smile she seems to always wear. All of the children did a wonderful job and Mrs. Tanya, the ballet instructor, did a wonderful job putting this together. It was so wonderful to see the room of older residents there enjoying themselves as they watched the children.

Wednesday, the roof on our new deck went up. Well, the plywood for the roof went up. We still have to get shingles put on, as soon as there is nice weather. It's coming along nicely and is going to be a wonderful place to entertain! I can't wait. We got our weekly dose of Lost on Wednesday night and that was about it.

Tuesday and Thursday were pretty normal. Nothing much happened besides ballet class for Caroline on both these evenings. Oh, I did forget that on Thursday, I bought Lord of the Rings Online for Jeff! He was pretty excited when I brought it home!

Friday was pretty quiet. Jeff and I went to Moto for some Japanese food. We came home afterwards and just took it easy. He's had a busy week at work so it was nice to just relax and do nothing.

I've recruited a couple of friends to do a Bible study with me. My friends Kasi and Jenny are going to join me in reading The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. We're going to read on our own and answer the questions from the study guide. We plan on getting together (either every two weeks or once a month) to discuss what we've read and our answers to the questions. I've read some of the book and it's really good. I'm looking forward to doing this study with these gals.

I'm looking forward to scrapbooking today or making some cards. Since it's chilly outside, I think I'll put something in the crockpot for supper! I hope your week has been wonderful! To read more WR's, check out Judi's place!

Family Fridays # 1

Liz, over at Monkey Kisses, is hosting a new carnival on Fridays called Family Fridays. Here's a description from her web site:

On Fridays join us for Family Fridays for some Fantastic Family Fun. Write about something You and your family have done together over the past week or plan on doing, whether it be watching a family friendly movie, a fabulous family recipe, a fun family recipe your child(ren) helped with, a fantastic family game, products your family thinks are far out, or just simply taking a family trip out and about. Whatever it may be we would love to hear about it! **This is a new carnival so please pass the word on to fellow friends and readers, and please feel free to use the button, so graciously created by Trista over at The Pumkin Patch. The first Family Friday will begin Friday April 27th.

I thought I'd give this one a go. I wanted to share what we've been doing as a family this week. I've mentioned that we are building a new deck onto the back of our house. The old one was way to narrow and we didn't use it very much. We are adding a 12x16 covered portion, along with a 10x16 uncovered portion. Since we love to have our church family over, this will be much easier to entertain on. Our kitchen is small and it's hard to fit a large dining table in there. This covered deck will give us plenty of space for adults and children too. We like to have our children with us at the supper table and afterwards for conversation. This will be perfect! Things are going slowly since we are doing the work ourselves. Actually, my BIL, FIL, MIL, husband, myself, and both of our girls have participated in some way. Last week we tore down the old deck, framed the deck, and finally got the flooring down for both parts of the deck. This week we got the plywood on for the roof and today got the felt on top of that. We need to put shingles on as soon as the rain stops. Here are a few pics from our time together on this project this week.

Here's Caroline doing her part of the work:

Logan especially likes the goofy glasses:

Jeff needed some support so I was happy to lend my arms:

We got the roof finished soon after this photo was taken:

The uncovered part just needs stairs and railings now:

I had to love on the girls too, for their hard work. Caroline loved it:

Logan was even happier about it:

It was a great way to spend some quality family time. Something else we plan on doing as a family this weekend is watching the A&E version of Pride & Prejudice on Sunday evening. Well, almost all of us....Jeff will be flying his rc plane while the girls and I watch it :-o) To join this carnival, head over to Monkey Kisses and sign Mr. Linky!

Randomized by Mandalyn

I thought I'd take Mandalyn up on her offer to randomize someone. She sent some great questions and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed getting them!

1. If you could have your children remember one thing about you, what would it be and why?

I think I'd want them to remember my love for God and my faithfulness to Him and to my family. Now, this is a tough one for me because I'm pretty sure that more times than not, I do not reflect these things to my children. I don't think I show my love for God the way I should. I am sure that I could do better. I do think when they are older they will be able to look back and understand that all of the things I am doing now is because I love them and because I want them to love God and obey His commandments. I think this is essential for their souls and their happiness. If I raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord, then I have done my job. So, I want them to remember that I raised them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I think that encompasses my love for God and my faithfulness to Him and to them.

2. If you could fulfill one life-long dream, what would it be?

I'd have to say to travel. I've always wanted to visit all fifty states and also travel abroad. I'd love to visit Paris, London, Rome, Italy, Greece, Scotland, Ireland,Germany, Mexico, Egypt, and Israel. Those are the places I can think of right off the top of my head. I would love to see the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.

3. What is your best quality?

This is a trick question, right? This is tough because I have a lot of faults. The thing that comes to mind is my loyalty. I am as loyal as the day is long.

4. What is the most exciting thing you've ever done?

In December, Jeff took me with him on a business trip to NYC. For the first two days of the trip, he was in seminars all day long. I, on the other hand, had all of Manhattan to explore so for those two days, I did just that! I took off, alone, on an adventurous walk around Manhattan. This was pretty exciting because there was so much to take in. There is so much diversity in everything there. I was able to see beautiful landmarks, people from all over the world, more food than you could imagine, shopping galore, and I even found an awesome 99 cent store! This trip was also the first time I'd ever been on an airplane so thus far, this is one of the most exciting things I've ever experienced.

5. What is your favorite movie and why?

Hmmm....this is tough. I have two favorites. One is an all-time favorite. It is Pride & Prejudice. I love this movie for many reasons. I love this time period. I love the manner in which people conducted themselves and the way they dress. I love it because it's such a romantic movie. I love that Mr. Darcy is such a principled man. I love Lizzie's fiery personality and her unwillingness to settle for anything but true, heartfelt love. I love her free spirit and her tenderness. I could go on and on! I love, love, love this movie! I own the BBC version of this film, the Colin Firth mini-series version, and the recently released version with Kiera Knightley. I've seen all three versions multiple times! I cry every time too!

My other favorite is Facing the Giants. This movie spoke to me on so many different levels. The couple in the movie struggle with so many issues. They are struggling to have children, which is also happening to us. A lot of people have lost faith in the main character and are secretly plotting to fire him from his job. It just seems that so many things are going against this couple but they always handle it in such an inspiring way. The husband always reminds everyone around him that we must give God the glory when we win or when we lose. It's a very emotional movie but is also very encouraging, especially if you struggle with some of the same hardships. I can't say enough about it. I cry every time I watch it too!

Thanks for the great questions Mandalyn! If you want to be randomized, just ask and I'll dream up some questions! It's alot of fun and we can learn so much about each other from doing this!

Menu Plan Monday April 23-29

Monday: Soup beans, cornbread, weiners w/cheese (Caroline has a ballet recital so this has to be an easy meal night!)

Tuesday: Homemade chicken salad sandwiches (leftover from a picnic @ our pastor's house on Sunday), chips (Jeff has bagpipe practice so he won't be home for supper tonight)

Wednesay: Mexican Pork w/ tortilla chips (Got the recipe from a blog but can't remember where)

Thursday: Orange glazed chicken breasts (Fix It and Forget It), steamed green beans, roasted potatoes, rolls

Friday: Eat Out

Saturday: Sesame chicken (Taste of Home) w/rice and shrimp sauce, shrimp eggrolls

Sunday: Pizza w/salad

Hopefully I'll be able to stick to the menu this week. We are doing some work outside our house and so things could get off track in a hurry! For more MPM's, check out Laura's place!

Weekend Reflection # 11

I really have no idea where the time goes in a week. It seems that I look up and it's Saturday before I know it! The great thing about Saturday getting here so quickly is that Sunday, the Lord's Day, is next! A day of rest and a day to enjoy worshipping the Lord. That's what I look forward to every week.

Here's what happened in my neck of the woods this week:

The Good Parts:

• You know, the good parts really make up every minute we are here. Every breath we take is a gift from God. Even though I post things under The Not So Good Parts, I want you to understand that I love every second of those parts too! No matter what the hardship might be, I thank God for it.
• Jeff worked from home everyday this week.
• We made good progress on our new deck. Jeff, his dad, and his brother are building it together.
• I'm almost finished with Leanne's swap package and I hope to mail it out to her today.
• I received my swap package from Leanne and was blessed with so many wonderful, thoughtful gifts!
• I found some really cute scrapbooking paper and stickers at the Dollar Tree! The best part is that they were only $1 each!
• My BIL has been pretty healthy all week. He hasn't had to be put on dialysis yet and although he feels yucky when he wakes up each day, he feels pretty good once he gets going.
• Jeff is finally over his battle with allergies/sinus crud that he had for several days..
• No one was injured when our gas line was punctured this week. See below for more explanation.
• When I was checking our gas level in our tank this week, I discovered that a bird had built a nest under the hood of it and there are three tiny eggs in the nest!
• Sanjaya was voted off of AI....it seems that everyone in the world is happy about this! LOL!

The Not So Good Parts:

• I missed my dental appointment this week.
• I missed the AIG conference going on in the area this weekend because we are working so hard on the deck. I really wanted to take the girls but we just have too much work left to do.
• While digging post holes for our new deck, Jeff punctured the gas line. We have a gas water heater and propane heat. A service guy from the gas company came out and fixed it and we haven't got the bill yet.......we're guessing at how much it'll cost!
• Our cats have been trying to figure out a way to get under the gas tank hood and gobble up the tiny eggs and the mama bird that have made their home there! Thankfully, they can't fit under the hood but that hasn't deterred them!

There you have it. A great week with only a few bumps in the road. I hope you've had a great week and I pray that next week will be even better! I'll leave you with a little peek of what it looked like out my kitchen door when our old deck was torn down.

Everything is gone!

The old wood that used to be our deck!

Day 1 of the new construction....We have a new frame!

About 7pm, we have a new floor!

Today is Day 2 of our construction so we'll see how it goes today. This section of the deck will be screened in and covered. Beside this section, there will be a nice 10x12 section of uncovered deck. I can't wait! For more WR's, check out Judi's place!

MMORPG's? What are those?

My husband is a wonderful man. He's smart, loving, funny as all get out, creative, and many other things too numerous to mention. You get the picture though. He is the perfect man for me. We have the same type of personality, which sometimes causes conflict. That's a good thing though! Sometimes we need a good conflict to help us communicate better. We have so much in common. We both like being at home with our family, we love our church, good food, good movies, good comedy, board games, sleeping in, animals, pro football, college football, any football, college basketball, and the list goes on. When it comes to hobbies, we have different ones. I like to scrapbook (or pretend that I'm scrapbooking!), quilt (still learning), blog, clean stuff, or go to Walmart. Yep, I like Walmart, what can I say! He likes to fly radio control airplanes and build them, design web sites, play music (usually his bagpipes....he's in a bagpipe band), and probably his biggest hobby, MMORPG's. He even talked me into playing one of these with him one time.

Now, for those of you who have no idea what a MMORPG is, I'm about to enlighten you. The acronym stands for Massively Multi player Online Role Playing Game. Really, what that means is say goodbye to your husband for months at a time! LOL! These games are so much fun you wouldn't believe me if I told you! I have never, ever played a game that was as fun as one of these. There are all types of these. Companies spend millions of dollars to make one of these games. Sometimes they are very successful and sometimes they flop. It's crazy.

To make a long story short, I believe my husband should be paid by these companies as a "tester" of their games. Why, you ask? I'll let the picture below explain the answer to that one. These games are almost as social as going out with friends for dinner. You get together with other players in the game to do quests or band together to beat some bad guys. Jeff has made many friendships with people all over the world through playing these games. As I mentioned, I even played one of them with him and had a blast. I had to quit though because I found that I wanted to play it way to much! Our children even enjoy hanging on daddy's shoulder while he plays....and I'm usually right by his side at my computer or on the couch behind him watching. I'm always kidding him because every time a new game is getting ready to come out, he has to tell me, very excitedly, how good he thinks it will be! LOL! I think that's his way of telling me he's going to buy it!

I wanted to share this with you because I thought my hubby was the only man who played these games. Well, I really thought that most of the game players were teenagers or young adults.. Imagine how surprised I was when Shawna posted her desk challenge photo the other day and I happened to notice some MMORPG's on her hubby's desk! I had to email her right away to find out if her husband too was a MMORPG player....and he is, or was! Her hubby had four of the games on his desk and so I thought it only fair that I expose my husband's "growing collection."

These are the ones I could find. It's funny because when I asked him last night of the other games he's played, he gave me names of about 8 more! I would have never dreamed that a man would love to play these types of games at 37!

So, does your husband play MMORPG's?