Random Thoughts

1.  I'm having self-esteem issues physically, socially, & professionally.
2.  Why is being a woman so hard?
3.  Why do I care what other people think?
4.  When I have low SELF-esteem, lack of SELF-worth, or drowning in SELF-pity, I'm being prideful-THE END-I need to get over it.
5.  My husband just made us monkey bread-he's the best.
6.  We watched the royal wedding today.  The boys were TOR-TURED.  But they deserved it-we watch their "man" shows all.the.time.
7.  Only 23 school days left until summer-I'm doing a happy dance right now.
8.  My favorite part about Friday nights is turning the alarm OFF.
9.  My house is clean-this makes for a Won-der-ful weekend.
10.  I'm glad, yes, I said, I'm glad,  I'm having self-esteem issues physically, socially, & professionally-because if I had it all together what would I need the Lord for?
11. I love rainy nights like tonight.

12.  We (They) are watching Cody Banks-I'm counting the minutes til I can get in my bed and watch a good chick flick.
13.  Girls' night out tomorrow for my niece's 16th birthday-yahoo!  How is it possible that she is 16??  Just yesterday my sister was pregnant with her!
14.  One of the little boys in my class told me today that when we were practicing our Mother's Day song he almost cried.  {awwww ..my heart melted}
15.   Finally-in response to #1: I am a new creation (& so are you): 2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Oh, how I love God's promises!

Sweet Potatoes

I tried a little experiment today.  I put sweet potatoes in the crockpot, wrapped in foil in an attempt to make "baked" sweet potatoes. I poked holes in them first.  They "baked" on low for about 9 hours. 

And guess what?? It worked!  They were delicious!!

They  probably could have cooked for as little as 7 hours on low.  But the nice thing about sweet potatoes is the longer they cook the softer and sweeter they get.  Pulled pork in one slow cooker and sweet potatoes in the other made for a workin' woman's dream dinner.

Reese's Surprise Cookies

I was making a meal for a friend tonight and needed a quick easy dessert.  Enter Reese's Surprise Cookies.  These cookies are so rich that it's hard to eat more than one.  But they are TA-STY!!!

Have one of your kids unwrap the mini reese's cups.  Just try to keep them from eating every other one.

Prepare the peanut butter cookie mix as directed by the package.  Flatten a golf ball size of dough in your hand.  Put a Reese's cup in the center.

Completely cover the Reese's cup with dough.  Roll the ball of dough in sugar.

Bake about 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Yummy!!

I'm linking here:

Pizza Dip

There's lots of variations of this dip out there.  Here's one that I tried that was a hit! 

Gather these ingredients:

Combine the softened cream cheese with a tsp of basil and a tsp of oregano.  Spread it in the bottom of pie dish or 8x8 microwaveable dish.

Sprinkle a half cup of mozzerella cheese and a few shakes of parmesan on top of the cream cheese mixture.

Spread a cup of pizza sauce on top of the cheese mixture.  Then, put a half cup of the mozzerella cheese on top along with a few shakes of parmesan cheese. Top with pepperoni, or any other of your favorite pizza toppings.  I just love these mini pepperonis.  They're perfectly dip-sized!

Loosely cover and microwave for 5 minutes.  I served it with crackers and  a sliced baguette.  No one touched the crackers.  So from now I'll only serve the bread.  The bread gives the crust taste to the pizza dip.  Enjoy!

I'm Tired

I'm tired today.  Not really physically tired, I've had enough sleep this week.  I just feel worn down.  It's Friday at the end of a high pressured testing week at school.  And though I love the weekends, I know that the weekend brings errands, activities, laundry, a science fair project, church and who knows what else.  So rest is not at the top of the list.  This week was long, last week was longer.  My grandmother passed away, my van died and was fixed, but not without a hefty price tag.  I know that all these things, in the big scheme of this temporary life are so insignificant.  And I'm not feeling "Woe is me" either. 
I'm just tired.  Ladies, you know what I mean. 
When I feel worn down, I know the only solution is not more sleep, or even "me" time.  It's God's Word.  I need it like the air I breathe daily-but especially when I'm worn down and worn out. 

Isaiah 40:29
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Exodus 33:14
The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.

I am so thankful for the rest I can find in the Lord, even when my daily life doesn't allow rest.

10 Things I Remember About Mamaw

1.  She made the best banana pudding and fudge.
2.  She liked to take baths, not showers.
3.  She had beautiful hair and always fixed it so pretty with hot rollers.
4.  She loved Papaw in a way every woman should love her husband.
5.  For many years, she bought everyone - I mean, everyone, in our family a Christmas present.  Sometimes it was a just a pair of socks for each of the guys-but WOW!
6.  She loved word search books.  I venture to say she may even have set a record for completing the most word search books from start to finish.
7.  She loved reading her Bible.
8.  I loved spending the night at her house when I was little.
9.  She looked the most beautiful on Sunday mornings when she was in pretty dresses and skirts going to church.
10.  She was a mother to 13, a grandmother to 48, and a great grandmother to 38, and one amazing woman!! 

Thank you, Lord, for the legacy she left. 

Are Your Children a Delight to You and Others?

Are your children a delight to you and others?

Proverbs 29:17 (the Message)
Discipline your children; you'll be glad you did—
they'll turn out delightful to live with.

At a parenting conference when my children were very young, I heard teaching on this verse.  The question posed was, "Are your children a delight to you and others? Or when your children enter the church nursery do others think 'O no, here come those kids'"?  That verse and teaching changed the way we parented.  We began to look at disciplining our children with a different purpose in mind-we wanted them to be delightful to live with, for us and others. Of course, the primary purpose of discipline is to raise children in the way of the Lord, but this became our secondary purpose and as we have discovered, a natural result of raising kids biblically.   
Now on to table manners-others can sit and enjoy a delightful meal with us-even when our children are present.  And I owe it all to the grace of God and table manners!

For quite awhile we have posted our table manner rules by our dining table.  It really helps to remind us all of proper table etiquette.  I can't tell you how many times our children have caught us breaking a rule!  As a result, we have seen these manners consistently in our children in and outside of our home.  Isn't this our goal?
Click on the picture below to print out the table manners.

I originally used table manners from another source but have since customized them to fit our family's needs and expectations.  Teaching and enforcing table manners are definitely one easy way to ensure that our children are a delight to others.