Filled with You.

I've had the song, Great is Thy Faithfulness stuck in my head for most of this week.  I think God is reminding me that his faithfulness to me is so great in a time when I need it the most.  Because, really, isn't that the way our God works?

The boys are having a really hard time lately.  I'd like to blame it on the move and the adjustment process, but really, it's been 6 weeks, and that is starting to sound more like an excuse than a justification at this point.  Kaleb is struggling at school with the very idea that it does indeed take an effort to behave all day and make good grades.  Jaylan, however, has quite the opposite problem.  He pretty much shuts down the effort train when he walks in the front door.  That makes for a long day whether you are their teacher or their mother.  And if you are both?  Well, it makes for a long day!

In Hebrews I'm reminded, as the kids are reminded as well, that training is hard, and often painful. But that discipline leads to righteousness and peace.  (Hebrews 12:11)  So we begin yet another chapter of training here at home.  Training in responsibility.  Responsibility that ultimately leads to the ability to care for yourself and even others, in peace.

I'm so thankful that God is faithful to provide me the scripture that I need to help show my kids that these demands are not only those of faithful parents, but those of a faithful God.  I went searching for some scripture in Hebrews about perseverance.  (I'm not sure if I was searching for them or for  myself.)  But instead of finding exactly what I was looking for, I found exactly what I needed.  Because, really, isn't that the way our God works?  Yes, yes it is!

Let's play catch up.

I have a full twenty minutes before I have to leave to pick the boys from school, but I need to catch up!

I just read a draft of a post I tried to make, I'm not even exactly sure when.  It was titled football, football, football,.....clearly written in the throws of our last football season.  It had one line.  And that line ended with, "I'm just tired."  So that pretty much sums up the last 4-5 months.  Exhausting.

Football, the fourth one, where Jaylan played his last season of flag and Kaleb played his third season in tackled.  Both kid's teams made the playoffs, and Jaylan's team won their first playoff game.  It was a fantastically fun season, and we will miss terribly the friends and program we left behind in San Antonio.  Jaylan had a fantastic season, scoring touchdowns, catching passes, pulling flags, and getting to be on a really great team.  Kaleb's team wasn't as successful, but they were good enough to make playoffs, so better than most the teams in the area.  He started the season on the offensive line, earning his way to starting as a defensive end.  Which thrilled him beyond measure.  He quickly developed into quite the little defensive lineman.  We were very proud of them both.

We finally sold our house in mid December and moved to Frisco, Texas just days after Christmas.  We made the rounds to Ozona, then moved, then went back to San Antonio to close on the house, then made it to Houston to see Grammy.  We did more travelling in two weeks than we'd done in the last year, I'd say.  No rest for the weary.

The boys started a new school and they are really liking it.  We live in a fantastic little neighborhood filled with kids, and basketball goals galore.  Oh and we doubled the square footage of our home, so if you are in town, or near, please stop by, you have a place to stay!!  We've definitely got room for guests!

We've found a church we like, FBC as luck would have it is just down the road about 3 miles.  We've had our first snow, which was very exciting for the kids.  We've had visits from old friends, and new friends, and we have two invites to Super Bowl parties this weekend.  So, we are making along nicely. Frisco is wonderful, and unbelievably friendly.  The population here is only about 130,000 so it really is much more like a small town, and everyone is very community oriented.  We are looking forward to the time we will spend here.  I'm anxious to get the boys involved in football here, as much as they are looking forward to it.  This is Dallas, so there is no shortage of football and kids gung ho to play!

Well my twenty minutes is about up.  Off to the races!

Salvation

Jaylan found salvation! We were so excited to have him baptized this last Sunday. We feel 2/3 accomplished, and are so grateful to the Lord for putting us in churches and around people who love the Lord so that we can help our children come to know him too.

 I have found a voice that is no longer afraid to be the weird lady who mentions to people they need Jesus Christ. I don't know when God turned me into that person, but He did. Twice in one week I've told different people, people I've prayed for specifically to find salvation, that they needed salvation. That they need forgiveness and that they need to offer it to others. It's like someone else takes over my brain and body and I just can't hold it in. I think "someone else" does. At least, I hope it comes off that way....or it IS that way. I know I'm just planting seeds, and God will cultivate the rest, but I've never planted seeds in anyone over 5ft tall that I knew about, that I prayed over, that I spoke to. It feels.....obedient. I have ALWAYS loved pleasing my father. The difference here is the satisfaction of knowing I'm showing obedience to my REAL father is much more profound. Praise the Lord!!! And if you are reading this, please say a little prayer that these two people will fully come to accept the Lord.

EOSY Update!

Apologizing in advance for the lack of paragraphs...apparently blogger doesn't like them today :( How has it been since April that I blogged? Time flies when you are having fun....or raising kids....oh, wait, is that supposed to be fun? ;) School is out, and I am so glad. We finally have a pool to go to, and some more friends WITH pools who invite us over from time to time, and the weather is quite mild for almost half-way through June. Now, if we can just be healthy, it could turn out to be the best summer ever. Georgia has had the longest, worst cold of her little life. Nothing serious, just long and symptom-filled. Then right at the end of that, I got a stomach bug, which passed onto Jaylan and then Kaleb. So it's been a good ten days since I've had a decent night's sleep. I find myself napping a lot lately, and threatening the boys with naps should they prove loud enough to bother me during said naps. So between illnesses and naps, we are having a good time swimming and working out at the gym we joined for the summer. I did my first triathlon. It was hard. Harder than I expected, hopefully because I pushed myself harder than I thought I would. I'm anxious to do another, but it's really inconvenient. They start early, early, and I have to haul a bike there (which doesn't fit in an SUV) and hope Jeremy doesn't have to work. It's almost just not worth the trouble right now. I'm hoping to get in another one or two before the end of the year, though, even if they are the ones that are at the gym. Those count too!! Jeremy is working like a dog, late nights, weekends, the whole shebang. We are both anxious for this particular job to be over. It's been a rough one more than just for the longer days, but also for the job itself. He has learned a lot though, and I think we are both anticipating a promotion with our next move. Of course we aren't expecting, but hopefully anticipating. He's ready, but there still has to be need and opportunity within the company....it's a right place, right time kind of thing as much as it is anything. Regardless, we continue to be very grateful for his job. Kaleb and Jaylan both had really great school years. Kaleb's grades are fantastic, which is what is expected. He continues to excel academically, and is reluctantly reading some really challenging books this summer. I say reluctantly, because even though he is reading them, and liking them, I have to MAKE him do it every day. Jaylan has proven to be just as "good" at school as Kaleb. He excels much more in the charm department than Kaleb does, a talent he most certainly inherited from my better half. He is becoming such a sweet and loving kid. I tell him he's the sweetest thing I have. He also made a profession of Christ earlier this year, which we are over the moon happy about. We are still waiting on the Holy Spirit's timing with regard to baptism. Both boys also finished a spring season of football (THAT IS WHY I hadn't posted since April!!). It was short, and hard, but fun. Jaylan played tackle and did a GREAT job despite being the smallest one on the field every week. Kaleb never came off the field for his team, playing both defense and offense on a team of kids his age and a year older. Jaylan, too, played both ways and on all the special teams. We were super proud of them both!! Jaylan will return to flags in the fall and Kaleb will remain on the "rookie" squad. We are looking forward to them having great seasons, both personally, and their teams as well. And Georgia, well, she's a toddler, so she's making changes so often who can keep up? She's so spoiled by everyone. Being the littlest is such an easy gig. That said, the sibling rivalry has begun. She is very jealous and isn't coping very well with her brothers being home all the time now. She has to share her mommy most of the day, and she isn't happy about that at.all. But she's a pretty easy-going kid, and having a daughter still makes my heart swoon. I didn't even know my heart was really missing a place made just for a daughter, but we can just share stuff (like matching shoes and painted toes) that I can never share with my boys. Plus, by the time the boys were two, they'd already begun their preference for their Daddy. Which is how it should be. And, while Georgia likes her Daddy alright, she will, I presume, forever give her female parent the slight preference. And if I'm wrong for being the slightest bit happy about that, well, then I don't want to be right ;)

Healthy Pasta Your Kids Will Actually Eat!

I LOVE pasta, but let's face it, it is rarely ever a good choice in terms of calories and nutrition. Typically, it's high in one and low in the other. And while I can't make pasta have any less calories, I can certainly add so much nutrition to the sauce that the calorie content is less of a concern. Sort of a "the good outweighs the bad" kind of thing. That's typically my mission. If something is high in calories and/or fat, I try to amp up the nutrition, so at least I am getting good with bad. With my kids I am less concerned with calorie content, but highly concerned with nutrition. If your kids are at healthy weights and have mostly healthy diets, calories are less of a concern. Growing bodies need calories and fat, they just need them from a variety of nutritious sources!






So in an effort to make spaghetti, chicken parmesean, tortellinis, and a whole host of other pasta dishes my children LOVE, a choice for a meal I can feel good about, I have turned plain ole pasta sauce into a vegetable filled wonder your kids will love too!! It all starts with a lot of love, a little motivation, and a smidge of deceit. Yes, yes, as mothers it is our DUTY to deceive our children from time to time. THIS is one of those times!

It starts with a few basic ingredients: Noodles of your choosing, but go for the whole wheat ones, or even a mixture of half white, half whole wheat if you think your kids (or you) don't like whole wheat noodles. Then pasta sauce of your choosing. Yes, yes, I know, high in sodium, but I have a real problem with canned tomatoes, and kid's prefer canned sauce, so for us, a small glass jar of Prego is my choice. I prefer Prego because the ingredient list is pretty short, and no HFCS! You'll only need a small jar because the vegetables you are about to add will make it all saucy. And don't throw away that jar!! Olive oil, your choice of meat, three bell peppers (you choose the colors, I use one red, one green, one orange), half a sweet onion, mushrooms, and your choice of a squash (I prefer zucchini, but butternut is a good choice too!). And whatever pasta cheeses you like, of course!



Start cutting vegetables and dump them all into the large pot you are going to be making your sauce in. Mix it up, cut 'em whatever size you'd prefer to eat, because it won't matter (deceit, remember, we'll be employing it later). I do cut mine pretty small to reduce cook time. Dump the sauce on top and simmer with a lid. It takes a good while, but you'll have a nice sauce when it's done. I don't even add any seasoning because it isn't necessary. It's done when all your veges are soft.


Here is the vegetables and Prego mixed together and covered to simmer.


Here it is about 20 minutes later. See? Saucy.


While the sauce is cooking, I prepare my meat. Usually it is just ground meat (we eat mostly venison, but turkey, chicken, or beef are fine) for us, but sometimes I cut some chicken breasts for some chicken parmesean, which is what I've done for the purpose of this blog (just coincidence). I battered them in some whole wheat italian bread crumbs and browned them in some olive oil. With ground meat, you won't need the olive oil. Once the meat is cooked, you can add it to your sauce. For the chicken, I just lay it on top later, so no need to add. You also, obviously, don't NEED the meat. We just like it better with meat, but that is totally a choice. This sauce is just as good without anything else.



Once your sauce is done, break out the blender!!! You read that right, break out your blender. It is time to deceive your precious offspring. First off, that jar I insisted you keep, be sure to leave it out on the counter somewhere. Now, I'm not saying you should tell them your sauce is purely Prego, but if they assume, who are you to change their assumptions? :) Dump or spoon your sauce into the blender. (I LOVE this sauce so much, so I always save some the way that it is, because my husband and I love eating it unblended.) Blend it up and serve it up. It's also great leftover, so if you have way too much, freeze half for another day :)



Top with some cheese, and they'll never know. You may even hear a, "Mom, this is the best spaghetti you ever made!" I've heard it many times!! That tastes better than the sauce, I promise :)

I love my boys, but I hate their room.

I mean, really, really, really hate their room. I tried painting the walls before, but the room is so small and there is not one, but two, boys living in there!! It felt so tight and cramped, that it just seems like white is the way to go. I could choose something really light, I guess, but light colors don't exactly say "boy" to me. So, white just seems like the obvious choice. That means, however, the walls need some life! Fortunately one is covered almost completely by the bunk bed. Unfortunately, the only place the bed makes sense is in front of the room's only window. So that looks totally stupid, but there is really nothing to be done about it, save losing lots of drawer space, and that CAN NOT happen. They need it ALL!!!

So those are a lot of obstacles to overcome, but I can honestly say I don't HATE their room anymore. And to make matters more awesome, they keep it pretty clean now. It took some major rearranging, and, of course also involved a playroom remake. So here are some befores, afters, and tricks I used to make the playroom and my boy's room places I don't absolutely abhor, and instead places that are nice, inviting, and will hopefully make someone else desperately want to buy my house down the road :)

I decided their closet, which was such a mess of shoes they rarely wear, needed a makeover too. I needed a place to store football stuff too, since they are playing year round now, we always have equipment, plus they need access to compression tops, shorts, tshirt, jerseys, and pads so I'm not having to locate them 5 minutes before it's time to leave. So I emptied the bookshelf and stuck it in there. Now all the shoes they rarely wear are in there, along with a shelf per boy for football stuff. Then the shoes they wear often have a place in the front, but it is only one pair per boy.



Shelves I made for under $30, my fav being the top shelf with their football pics and trophies. Thanks to friends who caught these awesome photos last season. And a third wall with more football awards and pics. My mom bought them those football player collages. I love them since filling them with cute pics from last season....that, again, I got from friends.









And the bed covering the window. I still don't love that situation, but it's what I have to work with, so....yeah.



The walls still need some work, so if you cute stuff you want to get rid of, message me, I'll send you my address. :)

BACKSPLASH!

It definitely deserves a shout out! So very much work. I thought this would be a 3 or 4 day project. Bawahaha! More like a 3 WEEK project. It drove me absolutely crazy being unfinished, so some days I promised myself I would NOT paint all day. Most of those days I followed through on my no painting for today promise. Other times, I failed to, didn't work out or pay any more attention to the kids than they absolutely demanded. So it totally become a family commitment even though I was the only one doing the actual painting. I thought I'd never finish, but it's done and I'm happy with the way most of it looks. Now I just need to decorate above the cabinets. That means I have to spend some time on Pinterest getting great ideas to copy. Here are the before and after photos.