God's Workshop

I am not a photographer. I want/need to learn skills to take better pictures because I know what is seen by my eyes and the camera doesn't capture that many times.

I am a deep thinker. Anyone who knows the me today would all agree. I know, I know, I wear my own self out.
Love me or leave me...this is where I am, who I am, and who I was created to be.

The rainbow was breathtaking. I couldn't stop staring at it for a long while. A double rainbow, even more rare.

The sunset was the most beautiful deep amber and pale blue. The marrying of day to night. A subtle blending of the two, but only for a brief moment. My camera didn't quite capture that, but I know what I saw. I know what I felt.

The heavens tell the glory of God,
and the skies announce what his hands have made.
Day after day they tell the story;
night after night they tell it again.
They have no speech or words;
they have no voice to be heard.
But their message goes out through all the world;
their words go everywhere on earth.

Psalms 19: 1-4

Pasta and Fagioli Soup

I'm running...not very fast for sure, but my effort is good and that has to count for something. Not exercise running, sadly. I am still just giving lots of good effort to create peace, a normal routine, and lots of love in our house. We are seeing glimpses of normalcy within the walls of our house and that is a good thing.

I swapped meals last week and in the madness of the week forgot to post what I made. I was assigned beef this month. Truly, I don't care what kind of meal the other ladies bring, I am just grateful for the meal. I assume this is true of most of us but is does seem to help when the meat selections for the month are a bit varied.

I decided to love on my crock pot this month and make a meal for busy moms, just like me. The weather in our area has been cold, damp, and rainy often lately. So it was decided and settled that I would make a Pasta and Fagioli soup this month as my contribution to our swap. I for one, am really excited to have a hearty meal like this one waiting for us in our freezer on one of those chilly evenings this fall.

Click on the highlighted text if you are interested in the recipe. Hope you enjoy it too!

It's Friday

It's Friday!!! Yeah!!!

New routines are so hard for our little guys, and who am I kidding for me too!I have been asleep before 10 on most nights this week which has been unheard of for me in the last three years. In my defense, I am getting up way earlier than in the past too!

I am feeling like I spend so much time in the car again running here to there and everywhere! I am finding peaceful moments listening to some quieter music in the car and finding that helps me a lot to unwind a bit. On one of the days when I wasn't listening to my quiet music, this song came on the radio and it just made me laugh. It made me laugh enough that I thought I would share the link so you could hear it again too! I'm sure most of you have heard it but it is a good one and worth hearing again!

I am still forgetting lots of things in my day to day travels. I am still adjusting to remembering to take everything that I need for a large chunk of my day all at once. I am working especially hard to give myself grace for the moment. I don't have to be perfect!!!

I really love to cook dinner so it has been an adjustment trying to remember that on most weekday nights we need quick and easy meals. On those nights, we eat at all different times due to the many activities that the kids are enjoying. Admittedly, not having that family dinner time really bothers me but for right now that just won't work for our family. One weekday night family dinner is the best that I am going to get and for now I will make the best of that! Last night I made a nice meal and even a homemade dessert. Today it makes me smile to reflect on that dinner and to be grateful for my meal swap friends (again). Lisa W. from our group made that meal that was served last night possible. It was so delicious and everyone enjoyed the food which is always a blessing! The dessert was over the top and all that I heard out of anyone's mouth was MMMMmmm. I'll post the recipe for the homemade pudding later. I only wish that we could have that kind of meal on Wednesdays, kind of like a sweet treat in the middle of the week to get us to the weekend. It was just nice to breathe and know that I had more wiggle room with the afternoon/evening schedule since I didn't have to race out the door to go anywhere.

Overall the week has been a little better than last week but we still have some kinks to work out yet. I am so glad that it is Friday and am really looking forward to what is shaping up to be a fun weekend!

Getting Adjusted

Life has been busy trying to acclimate to our new routines and schedules now that school is back in full swing and all of the extra curricular activities as well.

All is going well but it has been a little sticky along the way! I am hopeful that all will settle down in the next week or so. Our family doesn't do change all that well... Us highly sensitive people take longer than others to adjust to even minor things like sleep routines.

I forgot to mention one other thing last week that I love to use when I pack my kids lunches for school. I love to leave them little notes in their lunchboxes. I use them for encouragement, to remind them that I appreciate them and the hard work that are doing, and also JUST BECAUSE...I love them. My husband would be embarrassed if he knew that I was sharing this with you all, but I leave them in his lunch too!I have several different sets that I use and sometimes a little scrap piece of paper works too.

I'm sure there are tons of lunchbox notes readily available. They can be easily found on Etsy, Michaels,Hallmark, Barnes and Nobles, etc. I love the preprinted ones that are colorful and cute! They make my job so easy on a busy morning! These take only minutes to fill in and personalize. Here are some examples of the ones that we are currently using:


Lunchbox Love

Lunch Notes from Hallmark


And there are many more out there to find and use. Each note only takes a minute to write and hide in a lunchbox but the impact is huge! My kids saved many of their notes from years past and that tells me something! It matters when I take the time to show my love and encouragement to them!


A Giveaway! I have an extra set of this little notes to share with someone. If you are interested, leave me a comment. Winner will be announced on Friday!

Back to School Lunch Edition

We've been gearing up for the first day of school for awhile now it seems. Doesn't that make perfect sense? I hurry up and get everything ready and then drag my feet and refuse to let go of summer. Yes, I know. I wear my own self out.

I'll share a few of my favorite Back to School things. I'll start with lunch stuff. Our kids pack a snack and a lunch four days a week during the school year. Hubby takes a lunch to work too. I prefer to pack what I can the night before to make the mornings a little less chaotic, so my nights get a little busy during the school year.

My kids each have a lunchbox from L.L.Bean. The older ones have had theirs for a few years now and they have held up year after year wonderfully. I have been known to throw them into the washing machine from time to time and they still look great for this school year. Our little guy just got a new one this year. Here's hoping his lasts just as long. They may have been a little more expensive than those in Target and Walmart but they sure have held up to the wear and tear of what we have put them through after several years.




A friend of mine and I researched last summer to find the perfect lunch system. We wanted to be more conscious of the environment and not create so much wasted trash. We were looking for a system that wasn't too expensive and one that did not have so many little containers and lids. Boy would that wear me out day after day washing all of those things. Alas, we found EasyLunchboxes.com. Go there now and check them out for yourself. They really are quite wonderful. They are inexpensive and they do hold up after many uses. Our set lasted the whole school year and even traveled with us this summer to the pool, the beach, and beyond. I did order new ones for this school year but at that price, I felt like they performed as expected and I was ready to make another purchase. I pack two of these containers for each of my kids most days of the week. I pack one for lunch and the other for their snack. They are color coded, so they know, and I know, who's is who's. I love the variety of the lunches that I can send to school with the help of these containers.



My kids also love hot soup and other warm leftovers like mac and cheese and pasta in the fall and winter. I have tested a few different thermos containers and have settled on this brand and style. It suits our needs well. The food really does stay hot through lunchtime and beyond.




Our kids are also required to have a plastic water bottle that they can have in the classroom. I found these at Target and have used this same style and brand for three years now. We buy one bottle and it lasts the whole school year in general. Last year we went through a phase where the kids kept leaving their water bottles behind at different sporting events and such which caused the need to buy several sets. I hope that doesn't happen again this year! These bottles help me keep track of every one's water intake each day. Staying hydrated is so important for many reasons.

We pack cloth napkins as often as we can to also cut down on unnecessary trash. I get really cheap ones that are not fancy at Target. I also love the colorful ones at Pier One. They are way more fun!




I also picked up the basket stand at Pier One this year. I was running out of counter space and needed a place for all of our lunchboxes! We'll see how this one works out.

The last thing that I can't say enough about is Mabels Labels. I love those things! I label our clothes, water bottles, shoes, backpacks, lunchboxes, and you name it with these labels and surprisingly the label stays on throughout the school year! They even stay on through the laundry and dish washing too!

That's what works for my family in terms of school supplies for lunches at school. You know it works best when we share information with one another right?. What do you think is super fabulous in terms of lunch supplies for your family? Please share...

Picking Good Fruit and Memories Too

Our family enjoys picking our own fruit and vegetables at a farm not too far away from where we live. In the past we have picked apples, strawberries, pumpkins, peaches, and raspberries. This summer we picked peaches, blackberries, raspberries, apples, and potatoes. Each time we have gone to the farm we have enjoyed the peaceful tranquility of the lush green fields and forestation nearby and all around us.

Most recently, we went after Hurricane Irene had come through our state. I marveled at how many peaches were still on the trees in the orchard considering the wind that ripped through the area last week. As we walked through the orchard we did notice some visible damage to some of the trees but overall most of the trees remained in good condition. The experience proved to be another time to admire God's design of nature. Peaches by design are soft and bruise easily when they are ripened. Amazing how with that wind, these fragile peaches remained safely attached to their branches and sustained the wrath of the storm.

As usual, we left the farm with far more fruit than we can personally eat ourselves so we plan to share our abundance of yummy fruit and good harvest with others. IN that sharing, lies yet another gift.

We also left the farm with heart full of good memories and for that I am most grateful.

September?

September? Can it really be here already? Summer sure flew by and I am dragging my feet to see it come to an end. I love summer once we get past the beginning of June. I feel good for the most part in the summer. There is much about the summer that makes me happy in general. This summer has brought some challenges which I will not share here, at least not now anyway. I've been working hard to keep my head above water more often than not this summer and so I do have a slight concern that I will be even more emotionally challenged as we move from summer into the fall. I have begun to wonder when I will not be emotionally challenged? I wonder how my experiences would leave a person anything otherwise?

Even I have noticed how I have avoided my usual sense of therapeutic writing here on this blog. I hide behind the busyness of summer and the in the fun things that I like to do with my family and friends. The work of grieving, well it waits for you. It waits for the quiet hours and it sneaks up you when you are least prepared. It is still ever present in my world.

School starts next week for our kids and that means we have only a few days left to soak up summer and cross things off of our summer list. Just looking at my calendar for the upcoming month makes me feel stressed and it hasn't even happened yet. Shew!And while I will admit to the happy thought of having a few hours in the day to get things done and perhaps to have a moment to catch my breath, I dread the quiet of when everyone else is gone from our home. My response...to get busy doing something.
So while I attempt to enjoy the last few days of summer before school starts, I am also digging my feet into the ground doing my best to avoid the parts of the next season that I don't like. I've learned that digging doesn't help and the hard days will come anyway...

The roller coaster ride that we have been on in the past has given us a new perspective and so I dare not to complain about the choices that we freely make to participate in such activities. For the most part, our involvement in various activities is voluntary, with good purpose, and God willing with good outcomes. Nothing like the events we once faced in the past. We are just a busy family and busy is good I guess, for now. Busy mode keeps my mind from wandering into thoughts I'd rather not think about.

I'm up to my ears in planning and scheduling while trying to remember how little control I really do have over many things in my life.