My new love---E-mealz!

Thank you to my friend Susan for introducing me to E-mealz.com! One household task I dread every week is planning meals. As I've said before, I'm not much of a chef, but I do enjoy sitting down to a good meal every night with my family. I just hate taking the time to search through recipe books or websites trying to find something that looks good, healthy, and easy. So I end up in the rut of making the same meals over and over again.

Then, E-mealz came into my life. And I'll never be the same.

For $5 a month, you get a weekly meal plan, complete with 7 meals, recipes, a shopping list, and the prices for everything so you can budget. You can even tailor the meal plan to your grocery store of choice (they have plans for Wal-Mart, Aldi, Publix, or Kroger); or for a low-fat, Weight-Watchers, vegetarian, or couples instead of families. Here is a sample of what you get every week:

I've been doing this for about 4 weeks now, and everything I've made has been delicious. I just put each week's plan in a plastic page protector and stick it to my fridge. That way I can see what we are having for dinner each night and the recipes are right there so I don['t have to go digging for them. At the end of each week, I put that week's sheets into a binder to keep for later use. I LOVE IT.

If you LOVE to cook and plan meals and it's the greatest joy of your life, then this is probably not for you. But if cooking is a just a means to a meal and time with your family, then you might just want to check it out. Click on this link below, and if you sign up, I'll get referral credit. THANKS!

E-MEALZ Easy Meals for Busy and Frugal Families

CUTE site for Christmas gifts!

**UPDATE** The website I mentioned below has removed the post from their blog that said you could get a free ornament if you mentioned their site and put a link to it from your blog. I guess more people than they expected linked to it. I still haven't heard from them.

How cute is this ornament?

I heard someone who was from the north one time say "Why do southerners want to put their names on EVERYTHING??" after seeing a little girl in a monogrammed dress. And as a true southerner, I also love putting names on everything. So I came across this site, Frill Seekers Gifts, and they have about everything you could ever think of, and more, for personalized gifts (including this ornament in all kind of color combos) that are CUTE CUTE CUTE! Visit their blog, and they are offering a free monogrammed ornament like this one. While you're there, visit their site for a ALL kinds of Christmas gifts for anyone on your list!

My first and last political post

I've said before that I'm just really not interested in politics. I honestly confess that I just find it all kind of boring. I live in a red state, and a county that was 80% red in the 2004 election (I can't find any recent stats), so I do lean to the right. But I really don't know much about taxes, healthcare reform, foreign policy, etc. And I usually wouldn't waste blog space writing about something I know nothing about. But I just have to get this off my chest.

The man I voted for didn't win. But I'm supporting our new president, because that is what I believe, as Christians, we are called to do.

Thanks to Susan for posting this scripture on her blog, passed on by her father-in-law, who is a pastor:

"Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God's emissaries for keeping order. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government." 1 Peter 2:15, 17 (The Message translation)

I'm thankful that we have a pastor who does not talk about politics; he's only mentioned the election once, a few weeks before the vote. He is currently preaching through Nehemiah and was talking about how Nehemiah was serving an ungodly king at the time, but that he was still a faithful servant who respected the king. Mark made the statement "God is not bound by who is in the White House", a powerful truth that I feel like many of us have lost sight of. He also quoted this scripture to back that up:

"The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he guides it wherever he pleases." Proverbs 21:1 (NLT)

It seems to be popular right now among republican Christians to bash our new president. Fueled by many FALSE accusations floating around about Obama through email chains and youtube videos, I hear many fellow believers saying he is not a citizen, he is a muslim, unpatriotic, a terrorist, even the anti-christ, which in my opinion, is ludicrous. Most of the time, people who believe these things have never even done the research to see if such things are true; they just believe whatever was sent to them in some chain mail (http://www.snopes.com/ is a good place to check the actual facts).There is even the opinion that he must be an evil terrorist based solely on his name. His father was from Africa; that does not make him a terrorist. Or non-american. I'm confounded that educated people would actually espouse this opinion. And he is not muslim. Here is a direct quote from Obama from an interview I watched on Good Morning America with Robin Roberts when she was questioning him about various rumors going around about him:

ROBERTS: Okay. Are you a Muslim?
BARACK OBAMA: No. Made it up. They made it up. This is -- and this started back in Iowa. I am a Christian and have never been a Muslim. It's an example of the power of the internet these days, people tend to just believe what they receive. So that one would be false. I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins and that has been the faith that we are raising our daughters to believe, as well.

I seriously doubt the anti-christ would be proclaiming that. (Here is a transcript of that entire interview if you would like to read more.) Regardless of his political beliefs, he is a brother in Christ, and that fact alone demands that we give him our respect.

I've heard fellow republicans say they cried the night of the election as they watched the coverage. I was moved to tears, as well. But not because my man lost. But because I found it very moving to see the rainbow of skin colors represented in the crowd at Grant Park. All races united, supporting a common cause. It was a historic election, and I can't help but think about Martin Luther King, and all those who fought for civil rights; hopefully they know it was worth the fight. I can't help but think that Obama has become a face of hope for African-american children, who can see that there really is no limit as to what they can accomplish.

Instead of bashing Obama, let's pray for him. He has a big job to do, and needs God's direction. For the first time that I can recall in the past 10 years, we have a president that is incredibly popular and respected around the world. People all over wanted to hear what he has to say. He has HUGE sphere of influence. I believe that with our fervant prayers, God can use him to do great things.

So there, I'm done. That's all I have to say about that.

A couple of recommendations

I'm home today with a sick Eliza; she was supposed to go to school today, and I had breakfast planned with a friend, and a relaxing, care-free day of errands. Instead, we have been curled up on the couch watching Sesame Street and other various cartoons. But that's OK. That's my job as a mom, and I love being able to comfort her when she feels bad. She came running in our room last night at 2am trying to talk with her mouth closed; thank goodness Stephen was a little more coherent than me, and he rushed her in to the bathroom where she puked on the floor. Evidently she had been HOLDING it in her mouth. Bless her heart. But we were actually grateful as that was a much easier clean-up than carpet.

So anyway, she is settled for now so I wanted to take the time to do a post.

Ok, for some reason I get a little annoyed when reading someone's blog and they say things like "you need to go out today and buy this book; it will change your life" or "you are not a productive citizen until you read this book." It's not necessarily the recommendation that bothers me, because if there is any platform in which to express your opinion, by golly, it should be your own blog. I think it is more the tone, as in "I'm obviously more educated and well-read and more informed than you are so it is my duty to enlighten you." So as I make these recommendations below, I promise it is not that place that I am coming from. In fact, I am probably the least-informed person I know. I only watch the weather portion of the local news so I'll know how to dress the next day. I prefer reading blogs to newspapers. And the presidential debates literally put me to sleep. If it's not a Comcast headline, then I don't know about it. So, please don't feel like I'm trying to "educate" anyone by recommending any books or movies. Rather, I'd rather just tell you about something that has changed me, and just might lighten your load.

• This past weekend, we saw the movie"Fireproof" , which was fantastic. Sure, the acting is a little weak at parts, but the message about marriage is wonderful. And since I'm not great at critiquing movies, Here is a good article about the movie, actually from the New York Times. And sweet Stephen surprised me with 2 copies of the accompanying book "The Love Dare", which provides 40 days worth of devotions and ideas of ways to serve your spouse. Your marriage doesn't need to be "in trouble" to benefit from the wisdom and message about marriage that God speaks through this movie and book.

• I just finished the book The Shack, and to put it simply, it changed my life. If you've ever felt that God couldn't possibly love you, that you were too small or insignificant for Him to notice you, or just ever been confused by the concept of the Trinity, then please read this book. It has been controversial, even within Christian circles, as seen in this article , but I am in the camp that found it profound. It changed my entire perception of how God views us; I've always known that God loves us, but this book shows us just how deep and lavish that love is.

And one more thing that I found especially poignant after just finishing the Shack. Aunt Amy forwarded this post about Eliza and the rainbow to a couple of friends of hers, and this is what one sweet friend had to say. I've so appreciated all the precious comments on that picture!

" And second favorite would be the rainbow shot. Before you even told us the story about your neice and not ever seeing a rainbow before, I could tell in her face how much that moment meant to both of them. I love photographs that tell more than just one story. I could see soooooo many things in that picture. First, the little girl's expression. Pure Joy in her face. Her mommy is holding her, protecting her, she's at the beach, the wind is blowing and to top it off, she gets to see a beautiful rainbow. Second, Mommy is loving her baby girl, holding her, protecting her and just absorbing the moment with her child. Third, God working in the background. Loving them, showing off some of his best work, looking over them and protecting them. Through the clouds something beautiful appeared. Isn't that how God works. When something ugly or nasty appears in our life, God shines through somehow. I love it when pictures make me say, "wow" out loud. That one did. Keep up the good work."

Books

I've always been kind of a bookworm, but the last few years with having Eliza and Davis, I don't have as much free time to read as I would like (but they are worth it, of course :). And it seems like for a while I kept picking books to read that I really didn't enjoy and would put down out of boredom. I used to never not finish a book regardless of how much I disliked, but now my time is too precious to waste on something I don't enjoy. I've recently read some books, though, that have renewed my love of books. Here are some books I've read over the past few years that I've really liked: (thanks to my friend Susan for keeping a list of all the books we read for bookclub to help me out with this list!).

Fiction
A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander, an author who actually lives in a neighborhood very close to me. It's good, suspensful, historical fiction.
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger I LOVE THIS BOOK SOOOO MUCH. Does that get the point across? Probably one of the best-written books I've ever read, and definitely on my list of favorites. And it's coming out as a movie this fall.
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arther Golden. Ooh, so good.
The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan. I've read and loved everything by Amy Tan, but this one is probably my favorite.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. Keeping with the Asian fiction, this describes Japanese foot-binding in nauseating detail. But the story is really good if you like that kind of thing.
Three Junes by Julia Glass. Heart-wrenching drama about a Scottish family and their prodigal son who lives in New York in the 80's when AIDS was first appearing.
The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini. "The Kite Runner" is fantastic, but I liked the second one better. It's about women living during the Taliban in Afghanistan. Unbearably brutal at times, but a redeeming end, which I always enjoy.
Lucia Lucia by Adriana Trigiani. I've read everything by her and really love it all.
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory. Book is much better than the movie. As usual.
We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg. Based on a true story about a girl raised by her single mother who was paralyzed from the waist down from polio.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Fascinating semi-true tale of Dina, daughter of Leah and Jacob. Very interesting info about the culture of early Biblical times.
Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons by Lorna Landvik. Just plain fun. I've read almost everything by Landvik and enjoyed all of it.
Tara Road by Maeve Binchy. Again, it's hard to pick a favorite by Binchy. I'm a sucker for Ireland.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. Poignant tale told from the perspective of a boy with autism.
Cane River by Lalita Tademy. Well-written family saga that covers 4 generations of women born into slavery.

Ok, I know there are so many more, but those are the ones that are sticking out to me as wonderful reads. Please comment me if you have some to add to my list or recommend!

While I'm at it, here are some books that I really disliked:

The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. This was a huge disappointment after I loved her "Secret Life of Bees." But I just can't enjoy any book that glorifies adultry, a la "The Horse Whisperer" and "Bridges of Madison County". Especially with a monk.
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. I liked the first of this book, but it went on WAY too long and the premise just got ridiculous.
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. Although he went on Oprah saying this was a true story, it came out later that he had made up a lot of it and exaggerated the rest. I read this after I found that out, and I just thought it was stupid and he came off as a real jerk. Sorry to be so blunt.
The Memory's Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. I know this was popular and made in to a Lifetime movie and all, but I just didn't buy the story line.

Whew, that's a lot. I think I'll have to save non-fiction for another post!

Love and marriage, love and marriage.....

I heard this song (video below, not post title) for the first time last fall when we went to a Lifeway Festival of Marriage conference in Ridgecrest and Travis Cottrell led the worship. A girl on his praise team sang it and I was just blown away. How thrilled I was when I found out last night we will be singing it in choir (thanks Michael!). I still chuckle sometimes when I remember my middle school youth group and Travis was a student at Belmont and led our worship. He's come a long way from a little keyboard singing for some little kids. What a blessed songwriter, composer, and singer (he didn't actually write this song, or sing it for that matter---sorry, I'm jumping around. That's pretty much how my mind works). Regardless, this is a beautiful song.Oh, it's called "Revelation Song".

Speaking of the Lifeway Festivals of Marriage, I HIGHLY recommend them. We have
only been to a couple, but we are going to try to go every year from now on. They offer several sessions to choose from, keynote speakers, and amazing times of worship. Dale and Jena Forehand were the keynote speakers when we went last fall, and they were incredible. I like that they don't choose people to speak who have necessarily had fairytale marriages and just give you this fluffy advice. Dale and Jena had actually been through a bitter divorce, and an even more bitter custody battle; ironically, he was a deacon at their church and they taught a couples sunday school class while their marriage was falling apart. They have an amazing testimony to the healing power of God's love in their marriage. One thing I remember Dale saying is that reconciling with Jena after being divorced for a year and a half was not something he felt like he wanted to do; he didn't feel like he loved her, he didn't feel like he wanted to live with her again. But that God taught him that regardless of how he FELT, he need to be obedient. And that marriage was a choice; once he obeyed, God would heal and restore their relationship. They had been high school sweethearts, but over time and having children, they had not worked on their marriage, and had practically become strangers. I can so see how that can happen very easily. I'm learning over time that loving each other is not enough; it's important, but that won't marriage last forever, or make for a happy one. Years ago, when I would hear someone say that you really have to work at marriage, I'd think to myself, well, they obviously just don't have someone they really love. How naive I was. I'm so thankful I have someone I do really love, but that doesn't make it easy. So we'll keep on working. And going to conferences. (could someone please suggest to the powers that be that Ridgecrest is in DIRE need of some renovations??).

Sing it sista

Here's a link to one of my faves on the Selah CD I have listed on the side. Wow, they can sing. I love the classic hymns with bluesy sound. This whole CD just makes me want to jump up and praise the Lord and sing my lungs out.

Joining the blog world....

Well, months after discovering the blog world, I'm officially joining this phenomenon. I have a few different reasons for starting my own (I love making lists):


1.) I discovered the world of crafty mom blogs and love to see other's ideas, so I thought I'd post some of my own. I first found blogs through Michael Miller Fabrics , my favorite fabric manufacturer. One of the owners of that line has a blog with a link to this adorable baby shoe pattern using their fabrics (they are actually sponsoring a contest right now for the shoes; I entered these little cuties below I made for my new niece Betsy Hart). Anyway, from there, I went from one blog to the next and made a discovery---I'm not the only craft dork out there!! This was really reassuring! I couldn't believe that there are other women out there that obsess over vintage children's sewing patterns from the late 60's to early 70's and vintage children's books. Hurray! I was at a girls' Christmas party this past year for my sunday school class, and we went around telling the worst Christmas gift we had ever received. One girl said her great aunt had made something for her (I don't remember what), but she said with her eyes rolling, "You know, she's one of those types that goes to craft fairs and thinks she can make everything she sees." Everyone chuckled, like, yeah I know that type. But I felt like I'd been socked in the stomach. That was ME. I'm one of those people. And I have to tell you, I felt like I wanted to crawl under a rock. But, upon discovering there are other people out there that actually embrace this attitude, I felt like I was no longer such a crafty loser. And there are so many people that share their ideas and I'm always inspired, so although I am quite the craft novice, I'm putting some of my creations out there, and if they inspire anyone else, great!


2.) For family and friends to see pics of my best creations---my kiddos. We have lots of family that live out of town, so I thought this would be a great way for them to keep up with Eliza and Davis. I always love to show them off!


3.) Reflection. I've been playing around with the idea of doing this for a while, but was plagued by that nagging thought of "Why would anyone care what I have to say?" But then I came across a blog of a friend I used to go to church with, and she said she had the same thoughts. But then came to the conclusion that she wasn't doing it for anyone else, she was doing it for herself, as a form of journaling. I've never been a journaler, but when I was teaching school, we had to be evaluated a few times a year. The process involved making a detailed lesson plan, teaching the lesson, and then doing a "Reflection" sheet after the lesson, where we had to think back over the class, reflect on what worked and what went well, what didn't, etc. Although it took a lot of time, I learned so much more about my teaching than on days when I just taught a lesson and moved on. I learned what worked, how to make improvements, what I would do differently. There is a lot of emphasis these days on being "intentional" in our lives; I know I'm guilty of just going through the motions of my days without being intentional about them. What did I do today to make meaningful memories with my kids? Was I intentional today about letting my husband know how much I appreciate him? What did I do today to serve those around me? Did I put other's needs before my own, which I'm so bad at doing? So, I'm hoping that through this blog, I will be more intentional and reflective about my everyday life. Although the prospect of being transparent in a forum where people may read my thoughts is quite frightening, I'm hoping I will learn about myself and grow as a result.
So there it is. And here are a few pics of some of my favorite crafty endeavors!


Baby Shoes (here's the pattern)





A couple of my fave scrapbooking pages. I do digital scrapbooking now, which has changed my life. Oh how I love not having the mess anymore.