Thankful Thursday....

Today my post is dedicated to the love of my life.... 

Ten ways my husband blesses me....

1.  He loves me - every day!

2.  He is an amazing Dad!

3.  He is extremely handsome, healthy, and physically fit!

4.  He is a hard worker - he works day and night - sometimes for lengthy hours - doing a dangerous job - dealing with the frustration of a crippled and sometimes broken system - and he very rarely gets credit for what he does.

5.  He is the smartest man I know and can do anything he sets his mind to doing - he inspires me!

6.  He is the funniest man I know and helps me to laugh at myself

     (I have a tendency to take things too seriously) ;)

7.  He helps me put things into perspective - to see things differently.

8.  He spoils me - he has taught me to LOVE surprises because he is so good at surprising me with things I love!

9.  He loves having fun - he makes our home fun and always makes us laugh!

10.  He chose me - out of all the girls he could have chosen - he chose me!!

Thank you Chris - I love you!!



Elli is learning to do puzzles....

This morning my thoughts....

.... have me thankful that I didn't toss out last year's mums when they dried up -

can you believe how they came back?

....have me excited to use my new sander, that I received for Mother's Day this year, to refinish a dresser and table I recently discovered in some one's garbage pile.... 

....have me so proud of the twins for learning to build their own Lincoln log houses....

....have me thinking we need to find time to give the twins haircuts....  

....and have me thinking about the time when Elli will have hair as long as Jason and Reagan's....

Handfulls on purpose....

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story about Ruth and Boaz.  I will give you a brief summary of this story, just in case you haven't ever read it ~ but you have to go read it, it is a beautiful love story!!! 

So, Elimelech, his wife, Naomi, and their two sons have left Bethlehem, Judah because of a famine in the land, and have travelled to the country of Moab.  While in Moab, Naomi's husband dies, her two sons get married, and then the two sons die, leaving Naomi and her two daughter-in-laws widows.  Naomi decides to go back to Judah and tells her daughter-in-laws to return to their families.  Ruth, one of the daughter-in-laws, loves her mother-in-law and refuses to leave her.  So, Ruth travels with Naomi back to Judah.  Ruth is trying hard to care for her mother-in-law and herself.  She asks Naomi if she can go and gather leftover grain from the fields belonging to a relative of Naomi's deceased husband:

Ruth 2: 1-2... 1 There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.”  And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”  3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

So Ruth goes to the fields, and Boaz sees her and hears of her caring for his relative's widow, and he says:

Ruth 2: 15-16...Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”

My favorite part of that entire story is when Boaz tells his workers to leave handfulls on purpose for Ruth.  So much kindness, and caring, and grace, and love in one action. 

All of that intro for one little thing.....I love it when God gives me handfulls on purpose.  

Lately, I feel like my days begin and end so fast that I barely have time to breathe.  Homeschooling, teaching the twins to read, taking care of Elli, taking boys to and from school, football, soccer and boyscouts, painting some of the inside of my house, and having workers in the house to paint the rest, on top of my regular housework, laundry, and grocery shopping.....it really never ends!!  Don't get me wrong, I love my job and wouldn't want to be doing anything else!!!  I am just saying that it is wonderful when God gives me little handfulls on purpose.  Little handfulls of love and grace in a morning like this morning.... 

 Joshua, quietly and resolutely doing his schoolwork.... 

My Scentsy warmers, filling my home with the most wonderful smells....

(if you haven't ever tried Scentsy, you must, you will never again waste your money on a candle that only partially makes your house smell wonderful - and on my side-bar is a button that will link you to my sister-in-law's Scentsy store - yes, Patti sells Scentsy :))  

Leah, taking advantage of the quiet house and taking her morning nap.... 

Jason, Reagan and Elli playing quietly upstairs.... 

Me, drinking my coffee, reading my Bible Study (which is what reminded me of the story of Boaz and Ruth), grading math, and thanking God for a much needed handfull this morning ;)

Soup Season is Back!!!

I am so excited that the weather is cooling down!!  It has been in the 70s during the day, and is getting down into the 50s at night.  We all went to Brandon's football game on Friday night and we had to wear jackets and jeans - YEAH!!  Not only am I ready for cold weather clothes, but I am also ready for cold weather soups, stews, and casseroles!!!  I do love to cook and bake - I have to admit, though, that I have to really work hard at it.  Some people are just "naturals" in the kitchen - I am not.  So when I find a recipe that is easy and yummy I get really excited.  I decided to make Meatball Minestrone tonight.  It is Sunday, and football is on (which I love to drain my brain on ;)), and I didn't really feel like cooking, so I decided to make soup.  It was a HUGE hit with everyone, so I decided to share with my friends and family.  I hope you all try it and like it as much as we did.  My kids all declared it a "keeper" - although Brandon said he would put less beans in it ;).  Let me know if you try it!!

Meatball Minestrone

Serves 6

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
4 cups chicken broth
14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in their juice
15-1/2-ounce can beans, rinsed and drained (I used white beans)
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 cup orzo pasta (I used alphabet egg noodles - the twins are learning to read ;) )
2 cups meatballs (I used frozen meatballs - EASY)
Grated Parmesan
Instructions

1.In a large pot, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat, then saute the onion and garlic until softened, about 2 minutes.
2.Add the carrots, chicken broth, diced tomatoes in their juice, beans, Italian seasoning, and pasta. Bring the soup to a boil.
3.Reduce the heat and add the meatballs. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the meatballs are heated through and the pasta is tender. Serve topped with grated Parmesan.

Guess who was on the front page of our township newspaper....

Edited to add the following....

There is a family who is trying desperately to rescue, through adoption, a baby from a European orphanage - you can read about them HERE.  Timing is so crucial in these adoptions, as the children in these orphanages are neglected, are usually malnourished, and there is always the threat of these children being sent to asylums because they get too old for the orphanages.  If you are at all interested in donating some money to this family to help them speed along their adoption, there is a great giveaway you can participate in.  Go to A Perfect Lily and read about how to win an iPad 2, or a Coach purse, or a Gigi Hill handbag, and help this family out at the same time!!  There are so many obstacles to overcome in these adoptions, could you also please pray for these children and the family's that are lined up to adopt them.  Good Luck in the Giveaway!!

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Today, when I went to pick Trevor up from school, I was surprised to hear the secretary, the assistant principles, and a teacher ask me if I saw my daughter on the front page of The Current, our township newspaper.  Seems my 3 little ones caught the eye of the newspaper photographer at the 9-11 Memorial Service.  Can you blame them?  They are the cutest kids EVER!!!

The caption reads "A young Egg Harbor Township resident gazes up at the American flag...".  Leave it to a reporter to put such a "touching" caption under the picture.  In reality, Elli was constantly looking up at me with a smile because she didn't want to sit that long and she was asking permission to stand - to which I would shake my head NO and she would sit back down. 

The photo I took of them was better, and in this photo they are actually facing the flag  :)

Random photos...

Elli with her friend Ella...Ella was born exactly 5 months after Elli...the hair thing is totally unfair!!!

Garage sales are great when you can get dress up stuff like this for a buck....

Brandon, falling asleep with Elli while reading with Reagan....

What can you do with an empty box and nothing to do?  Make a Rescue Hero house.... 

Complete with door, bell, window.... 

...trap door with rope to pull....

....and when you have older brothers who take care of their toys and pass them on to you....YOU GOT IT MADE!!!!

Notice the guy climbing a rope up the side of the building....

A whole day of fun!!!!