A Swimmingly Good Birthday Party

So... only 3 months AFTER their birthday we finally have completed the twins 10th birthday party with friends!  This had to be one of the easiest and truly extremely fun parties we have done to date for any child! It was as simple as swim, swim and swim some more... eat a quick couple fishie cupcakes and had to open presents outside. We utilized every minute we could out of swimming so no time for present opening before the aquatic center closed! It was a bit chilly after being in the pool but Will and Shelley made quick work of the gifts and they all loved it! I am rarely in the photos with the kiddos as I am usually taking them so I was blessed when a momma there thoughtfully suggested a photo of me with the twins...a novel concept ... photos with my children!  :-) I have to get better about that!
We are blessed with a great group of friends for all of our children and I am so thankful for the memories that were made for both William and Shelley. :-)



A Visit and a Concert

This last weekend we got to have Grandma Honey up for a visit! She was here for two-fold reasons.  First, she got to see Mitchell perform a piano piece at a local concert series and the second is that we got to have her here to celebrate her birthday! We always love having her here and this time we also enjoyed seeing photos from her recent trip to Ireland.  It was a grand weekend for sure!

 

Mothers Day

Mothers Day felt extra sweet this year and in all honesty I can't put a finger on "why".  Chad and the children always work hard to make sure my Mom's day is special every year and this one was no different. I think it must just be a sweet feeling of joy and contentment and my heart was extra full this year.  I recieved some special gifts including something I have wanted for a long time... a 6 QT. Lodge Dutch oven coated in beautiful Red Enamel..... I LOVE it and have made some killer food in there already!  My dinner was exactly what I wanted and oh so good.... Veggie Panini's! I had the veggie one and the others had the veggies with some meat also. :-)  I have loved veggie panini's for a long time and while I would love a Panini maker, it is not practical to have a kitchen tool that only prepares 1 or 2 sandwiches at a time when you have a family of 7.  I realized last year that I can simulate a panini maker by using the grill and something to press down on the sandwiches....hence the sandwiches on the grill and covered with a jelly roll pan and bricks!  It works like a charm, you just have to be sure the grill is on low for sure. 
The deliciousness that was my Mothers Day dinner is pictured below.... pure bliss for me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Surgeries

We had yet to have surgeries on any children until April of this year and them we had two surgeries 1 week apart! JD had a minor mouth surgery with a tooth extraction and William had a significant eye surgery... a Bilateral Strabismus surgery. Unfortunatly I didn't take any photos of JD after surgery but I did of Will.  Will's surgery was very effective but we won't kow the full extent of the recovery for another 2 months or so.  We were able to see an immediate differene in his eyes of course as the surgery corrected laziness in both eyes and it is amazing to see him look at you with both eyes at the same time!  His biggest hope for success is that he might be able to see in 3D, something he has never been able to do as both eyes did not work together. We will see if his eyes will fully correct over the next couple months to allow 3D vision with glasses! I loved how the other children prepped the house in anticipation of his return.  I was especially touched by the huge amount of time Shelley spent reading to William as he rested.  He really was pampered by the others over the days of his recovery and he loved it!

 



Moments in March

 

 

 

Isabelle's first batch of cinnamon rolls sans any help from Mom as I was gone at our church's women's retreat. They were declared delicious by all who had them!

 

 

 

 

Good Morning Birthday Boy!

I don't know how I missed this cutie pie picture in his birthday post...I couldn't resist!

 

 

 

 

 

Cowboy Kitchen Crew

 

 

 

Celebrating Ressurection Sunday with our sweet friends the van den Heuvel's and Grandma Kay. 

 It was replete with delicious food, excellent fellowship and good 'ol football!

 

 

 

 

 



Hell, Fire and Brimstone

In February, Chad and Mitchell attended our church men's retreat and it is a tradition with this retreat to hold a food contest. All the work on the recipe and presentation HAS to be completed by the MEN only. The boys were proud of thier accomplishment... Mitchell created the food and Chad created the presentation! Being that both the boys love hot stuff and Chad's an electrician, the combination of the food and presentation was just perfect for them!

 



Jalapeno Chicken Wraps

1 lb. bnls sknls chicken breasts

1T garlic powder

1T onion powder

1T pepper

2 tsp season salt

1 tsp paprika

1 small onion, cut in strips

15 jalapeno peppers halved and seeded

1 lb bacon, halved widthwise

Cut chicken into 2" x 1.5" strips. In large Ziploc bag combine garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, seasoned salt and paprika. Add chicken to bag and coat chicken. Place a strip of chicken and a strip of onion in each jalapeno half and wrap the jalapeno in 1 strip of the halved lengthwise bacon. Secure with toothpick. Grill uncovered, over indirect medium heat for 18-20 minutes or until chicken juices runs clear and bacon is crisp, turning once. Serve with ranch or blue chees dressing.

In which I catch up on a few posts...

So, being the lax blogger that I am, I have taken many a photo over the last few months with grand intentions of blogging and here I am mass producing all those ideas in one compilation post!  Well, I console myself with the lame thought… “at least I am getting them on the blog then eventually in the blog book I will create for our memories”…. Uh yah…. how much better it would be just to do the posts at the relevant time!  In my mind I often think I have to write a lengthy post to go with the photos when in reality many of the blogs I read often just do a quick line or snippet under the photo which captures the content of the post!  Well, no one ever told me I talk to LITTLE, that’s for sure!  I guess that translates into writing also.

Here goes the snippets…..

 

 

52

52 pounds in 52 weeks, crazy how it ended up like that.  Just a little update as I hit my year mark in this weight-loss journey.  On April 4, 2012 I gave myself one year to lose 60 pounds.  I simply wanted to work slowly but faithfully to attain this goal. I recognized immediately something I already knew in my heart, I have no discipline outside of the Lord’s strength.  Left to myself I would continue down the same path for years to come but giving my many weak moments of wants and desires to Him and drawing from His strength to run “just one more step” transformed this process entirely.  I have tried many “diets” over the years but I didn’t want my life to be about a “diet” I wanted it to be about a change in who I was and the choices I made regarding food and the idol it was.  I didn’t want to have to deprive myself for months on end only to then binge my way to gaining the weight back when I was all done. 

 I had never been successful at losing more than 20-25 pounds at any one time previously and I knew the methods I had used before I did not want to employ again.  I also realized that I needed to tackle how I looked at food and what I thought it “accomplished” for me.  I found very quickly that cooking food, consuming food and most of what falls between was an obsession for me.  I spoke my love with food and so felt the need to consume what I loved, of course.  I have learned that I can still speak love with my food; I just don’t need to consume it at the same level in which I love.  I can still connect with my family or guests around the table and it is not the Chicken Carbonara or the Chocolate Town pie that is drawing us together, but rather it is the interactions, conversations and genuine desire to know the person across the table that makes the connections. 

 I have learned that “firsts” are good and to savor what I have rather than always looking forward to the next thing.   Wow, this has been a lesson I have applied to many areas of life!  Instead of pondering ahead to what I will put on my plate for the second go around, I am relishing what it is I have in front of me. In all of life it has helped me view what I already possess as valuable rather than looking for the next best thing.  I have also come to realize that tomorrow is another day. I can say “no” to something today and allow myself to consider it tomorrow or maybe the next day.  If I still desire a sweet treat after “thinking it over” for a couple days then it is definitely time to treat myself!  Oh how sweet and far more satisfying it is when I have waited even just a day to consume it, it truly feels like a reward! I also know that I can enjoy every part of a meal I make as long as I am wise to put the appropriate portions of the right foods on my plate.  It really does work to fill half your plate with veggies and leave smaller areas for your protein and starch.  Eating most of your veggies first truly does help satisfy you and leaves much less room in your tummy to tempt you to go back for seconds after you’ve at the rest of your plate.   There are many other “little things” that have made “big differences” for me that I can tackle in another post.

Obviously another big part of this journey has been the exercise!  Shocking to even see myself type…but running has become my friend and a joy in my life.  Nothing fancy or fast, again just “steady eddy” is my name. J The past few weeks I have added in quite a bit of Jillian Michaels videos and WOW has she kicked my tail, but I am loving it!  What I have loved the most is to see so many ladies start a new journey for themselves with running because they have a friend who was able to do it so they thought, “yes maybe I can”!  An amazing example is my dear friend Sara….. she also started counting her calories with the Lose It app and began the C25K program and is down 30 pounds in 8 weeks… AMAZING!!!

My journey is not over yet, I still need to meet my original goal….8 pounds to go. I know that I will go beyond that 8 pounds, but just where I will land I am uncertain of at this point.  I do feel certain I can attain 70 pounds but look ahead to possibly 80… who knows!  I am so grateful for where the Lord has brought be on this journey so far and I look forward to where He will take me tomorrow.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

 Love,



Little Man

I know, I know… I am quite behind in my posts, especially about a little man who turned 6 last month!  What fun we had celebrating JD’s birthday, complete with a “SPAM-tastic” breakfast for dinner.  JD is Daddy’s true spam partner….hands down he loves the stuff!  Some of the other children will eat a slice here and there for breakfast when Daddy cooks it but JD will request a “SPAM-tastic” Saturday morning with Daddy.  Silly boy, he even chose it for his birthday dinner! 

Oh how we love our little man!  Yes, there are many days that are extremely challenging but there are many more days that are sweet, sweet, sweet!  God is growing and changing our little boy and we are reaping the benefits all the time. I love the precious relationship he has with his Daddy.  For JD, not one person on earth is he more connected to than Daddy. I cannot tell you how vital I think that is for every part of his development both emotionally and physically.  I know he recognizes Chad’s unconditional love for him and I so deeply appreciate how Chad has poured his heart and soul into our sometimes troubled little man.  He is longsuffering, patient and loving but oh so importantly, he is consistent

I love seeing JD grow into being able to play well with his siblings, especially his very patient older brother Will!   JD takes great joy in puzzles, Legos, KNEX, board games and anything to do with a sports ball….soccer, baseball, football, ping pong, golf, whiffle ball ….ANYTHING that involves a ball and a sport! He is doing fantastic in school and enjoys Kindergarten! He is an eager learner and is even doing a bit of a 1^st Grade workbook I got him and he loves it!

Isabelle wanted to do a little photo shoot for his birthday so we have some cute photos to share! We thank God for another precious year with our “number 5”!