Love Notes

I found this note on the bulletin board at my office today. 

She scratched my name out!!!!! How could this be! I am sure this little edit came after her Daddy brought us lunch and a heart shaped box full of Reese's cups. He is the best really so I do agree with her note. He has always brought the kids a valentine and I love that about him.

~Tara

Update on My Resident Chef

A while back Madalynn and I posted her recipe for Kickin' Club Wraps. She was selected as one of two students from her school to advance and make her recipe in the district wide competition. I am so proud of her! She was measured for her very own chef's coat and hat. She will need to practice her recipe a few more times to be able to make it confidently on her big day!!  I know she will do great and I am happy to hopefully be raising a wonderful future chef!

 

~Tara

Freshman Focus

This week we will be heading to high school for Freshman Focus Night. This is beyond comprehension to me. I don't know where the time has gone. My first baby will be starting high school. It seems like yesterday he was snoozing away in his crib. I am excited to see what's in store for him and what he decides to do with his high school years. I always felt in high school that the push is a little hard to plan out your whole life. I didn't know what I wanted to do forever when I was in high school, hey, I still don't know. I hope I can balance that push with one from home that helps keep him grounded and hopeful that no matter where he goes or what he does, following Jesus is the best and only way to ensure he has a successful life. I wish I had a cute pic to add to this post but unfortunately there were no digital cameras when Blake was a baby.... that's how long ago it was, almost 15 years. I'd have to go dig out one from his baby book... maybe another day.

~Tara

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

Finally, after several days of snow, the sun came out. Since there was no snow or sleet falling, I was able to get outside with the camera.

We decided to venture out and ride over to the river. I have never been to the river when snow's been on the ground, so it was sort of a bucket list thing. The sun was warming things up fast and there was a lot of melting. The river was beautiful as always.

Sometimes God imposes a slow down week, it seems in our best interest to go with it and slow down. School is out again tomorrow but we have to get back to work. It will be a bring your kids to work day for me.

~Tara

Snow Days Come Again

We have had our second round of snow days this winter, in the South snow days can be rare. Good amounts of snow are even more rare. I believe this round will be one for the record books. I have not ventured out today at all and it snowed all day long so I wouldn't have taken my camera out in it anyway. Tomorrow I will attempt to get some good pics to document this epic winter storm. We had a total of 7 kids in and out of the house playing, watching movies, and warming up. The dryer has run all day keeping the play clothes dry. I started out the day wishing I was on a warm beach somewhere alone with my sweet husband. But helping a friend who had to work by watching her kids changed my heart about the day. Sometimes a good dose of serving someone else will do the trick to bring you back to reality and appreciate what you have and make you realize things aren't as bad as they may seem. We are blessed by friends who would do anything for us and I am happy to be able to return that favor anytime I can.

~Tara

Maddie's Culinary Creation

Maddie is entering a culinary competition at school. Her challenge was to create a original, healthy, kid friendly sandwich.
We brainstormed together and came up with this masterpiece..

Kickin' Club Wrap

1 burrito sized tortilla

1/3 cup mayo

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 Roma tomato, diced

1/2 cup black beans, rinsed

1 slice each Boar's Head turkey, ham, and chicken

1 oz. grated monterey jack cheese

shredded lettuce

salt and pepper

Mix mayo, garlic powder, and chili powder in a small bowl.

Mix tomatoes, black beans, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

To assemble the wrap, spread some mayo over the whole tortilla.

Place each slice of meat all over the tortilla making sure that you don't stack too high.

Spoon tomato bean mixture on top of the meat. 

Top with cheese and lettuce. 

Roll the wrap up carefully and enjoy!

~Tara

New Recipes

I love to cook!! My dream job would pay me lots of money to cook a few wonderful things a day and people would come from all over to eat whatever my heart desired to cook that day. A girl can dream right. In the meanwhile, I'll continue to cook for my family and enjoy it in the process. My crew consists of adventurous eaters, not picky whiners who won't touch anything other than chicken nuggets and fries. This is one of my proudest accomplishments while being a mother, I can make almost anything and it will go over well. I love trying new recipes and I find most of them on other blogs. Here's a few I have tried recently and have made their way into my cookbook...

Hungarian Potato Goulash - this recipe is wonderful and I have to double it to have enough for everyone to have seconds and leftovers for lunch. Despite the name, my kids love it.

Best Ever Homemade Brownies- these were made when my sweet husband requested a fix for his sweet tooth. They were so easy and good. They didn't hang around long.

Here's a few I'm going to try next...

Queso Fundido- this looks so delicious and I'm sure it is wonderful. That's the problem, I'm scared to try it because I know we will love it and it's not so much on the healthy side. It will have to be a once in a while treat for sure.

Honey Mustard Chicken

Bloomin' Onion Bread- this would have to be made with a healthy soup for sure.

Do Bad Things Come in Three's?

My sweet husband often says bad things come in three's, meaning three bad things in a row. This week that has been a true statement. First, he sawed his leg with the chainsaw. Second, we had a really nasty thing said about us. Third, a piece of gum found it's way into my dryer. I've spent too much time scraping  it out and Magic erasing it!! Back to the second bad thing though. A lie about my family was repeated to me. It was really nasty and meant to be extremely hurtful. For my kids sake when they read this, that's all the detail and attention I will give to that part. It's what happened next that matters most anyway. I confronted the source of the lie, and stood up to the evil that attempted to attack my marriage and family. There's nothing I hold more dear than my faith and my family. I know and serve a God that is just and true. I could not allow myself to think about and worry over this statement of evil and inaccuracy. I also do not allow anything to threaten the integrity and value of my marriage. I defended myself and stated my concerns about what I had heard and I felt better. I know I cannot overcome the evil in this world but I know the One who can and already has. I know He was with me during this conversation because He guided my words and I was able to keep my calm and say nothing that would cause me regret. I had others praying for me and I felt it. Afterwards I had this particular scripture flood my brain...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3: 5-6

I also learn in hard times that when you look for God he will show you what it is you need. He has shown me I have Godly people in my life to support me, that He will never leave me, and He is still challenging me to trust Him in this situation. In my human nature, I want to run from hard things that cause me pain and make me feel helpless. I'm being shown to run to Him and wait on his answer. I trust that He will guide me to the right next thing for me.

Moving on... let's hope the next group of three things are good things!

~Tara

Scars

I was at work today when my sweet husband called to inform me that he was on his way to the ER. He was doing some yard work at my mom's house and cut his leg with the chainsaw. I rushed from work to meet him there and make sure he was going to be ok. Just going to the ER was a major sign that this was not some minor injury, it's gotta be big for him to even grab a band-aid. I will spare us all the before picture, so here's the after...

and I will not enlarge it either so we don't have to see all the gory details. Seeing it close up was bad enough. He will be ok and he's lucky it was not any worse than it was. It will most likely leave one doozy of a scar though. There's never a dull moment around this house!

~Tara