Peace be With You

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.  - John 20:19, 20

Jesus Calling had part of this verse today just to quote "Peace be with you", but the whole passage jumped out at me like never before. I love that God's word is alive and active and can show you something completely new every time you read it.

The disciples were locked away because of fear. Jesus had just been resurrected, so they were told. But they don't really know what is going on, so they are hiding in fear of the Jewish leaders. Even though they had seen him do so many miracles and he had tried to tell them this was going to happen, they were finding protection in numbers. And "Jesus came". I love that. He came. He came in the midst of their fear, doubts, confusion, sadness, anxiety. He came not in judgment of their lack of faith, not condemning them for hiding, not in anger because they abandoned him. He came and stood among them and said "Peace be with you!" And then he showed them proof of his resurrection, proof that they weren't crazy, delusional or being fooled. And they were overjoyed.

That brings such comfort to me today. He doesn't get frustrated with me when I doubt him. Even though I have seen him do so many things in my life, I still have a lack of faith sometimes that should make God give up on me. But he doesn't. He comes to me where I am, and stands among my stuff and tells me "Peace be with you!" And then he will show me with proof of how faithful he is, again and again. Thank you Jesus for not giving up on this disciple who has so many doubts. You are so good and patient with me.

Major changes on saving money on your grocery budget

My first blog about this was strictly how I grocery shopped for my family. You can read it here if you want. http://gadman4.blogspot.com/2011/01/grocery-shopping-menu-making-coupon.html

Then two years ago I did a series on saving money on your grocery budget based on myself and other moms I met with at a preschool moms coffee at church. You can read them here.
http://gadman4.blogspot.com/2011/05/saving-money-on-your-grocery-budget.html
http://gadman4.blogspot.com/2011/05/making-most-of-your-grocery-budget-part.html
http://gadman4.blogspot.com/2011/06/saving-money-on-your-grocery-budget.html

But I have had to make a couple of major changes to the way I shop, mainly because I have boys. And the older they get, the more they eat. And I know it will only get worse. So you will notice in my first blog that I did most of my shopping once a month at Walmart. That has changed. I can't get most of my stuff once a month anymore because when the boys open the full pantry or fridge, the food is gone in three days, regardless of how much is in there. You buy it, they will eat it. So now I shop every other week or sometimes once a week. And for the past few months I have done most of my shopping at Randalls. Local people might tell you that its expensive there, but if you shop based on sales, its no too bad. So I check the Randalls' sales and make a list of things we need from that, then make my menu and rest of the list based off the menu. I really love when you spend $75, you get a $10 coupon to spend the next time, so when I go the next week just to get a few things, its almost free! The pluses to that is that its really quick because my list is much shorter since I shop more often. It doesn't take me as long to make my list since I'm not out of as much stuff.  I am buying more of the things that are on sale. And my grocery budget is spread out over the month so I can have some left over at the end of the month. I have spent so much less the past few months. Of course, its hard to say how much of that is my new way of shopping and how much is me not cooking as much since baseball season and then summer entered the picture. That will be put to the test in a few weeks when football season starts and I cook almost every night.

The other major change I've made is not buying drinks. We haven't bought soft drinks since Christmas. J wanted to lose some weight at that point, and he would drink a 6 pack of Coke every day. And once I phased those out, I started buying less juice too, better for the kids. So now I just buy milk, lemonade packets, and water enhancing drops when they are on sale or I have a coupon. We are drinking a lot more water and saving a lot more money!

Summary of how to save money: menu, list and sales, and coupons if you have time. You can do it! Let me know if you have other ideas!

Favorite Things - Peanut Butter

I went back through my old posts to make sure I haven't already blogged about this one and realized all the titles just say My Favorite Things, and that's kind of boring and hard to find what you are looking for. I need something more creative for that series I think.
But my favorite thing this week is peanut butter. I have had a long love affair with peanut butter. As I kid I ate peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. (yes, I think that's gross now). My favorite snack when I got home from high school was a cup with peanut butter, cool whip and chocolate chips. Of course in college, a jar of peanut butter could get me through all kinds of things. When I was pregnant with Coop I would take a jar with me to work and just eat it all day with a spoon. I still wonder if that is why he's still allergic to it. Now I like peanut butter with banana and honey sandwiches and love the peanut butter fudge milkshakes at Sonic. And up to now, I would pick Peter Pan or Jif and be good. But let me introduce you to my new favorite peanut butter!

White Chocolate peanut butter! I found it at my moms last summer and then I couldn't find it around here. So she brought me 6 jars. I have found it here at World Market, and I've heard HEB has it, but I don't shop there. The website says my local Randalls has it but I've never seen it there. It is so yummy! Apparently it originated at a store in New York City, The Peanut Butter & Co Sandwich Shop! Yes, please! And its good for you compared to other peanut butters. Less fat, less calories, a smidgen more sugar, but it has white chocolate in it, so what do you expect? No corn syrup which is important to me. And then this past week at mom's I found this... wait for it!

Dark chocolate peanut butter! So good! I had it yesterday on a sandwich with banana, oh my goodness! I just saw it today being sold on the Home Shopping network and it was way more then in the stores, so don't buy it from them. Their website is www.ilovepeanutbutter.com, and you can go on there and locate a store near you that has it, so go find it, today!

Summer Vacation

Since we took two bigger trips this past year, there were no summer vacations in the budget this year, so we just got back from our annual summer vacation in Northeast Louisiana. Exciting stuff. But as always, the boys had a blast at my parents house, mainly because there are enough electronics to go around so there is no fighting over stuff. And Memoo hardly ever says no when they want anything. We love El Chico. I love sitting on the back porch and reading and watching the birds. And this year Papa put up a basketball goal and that was a great distraction. The highlight of this trip was shooting lessons. I grew up in a hunting household but refused to ever put my hands on a gun. But we all took turns and I have to say I enjoyed it and was pretty good for my first time.

We went to Sci-port, the children's science museum, and one day went to the Boardwalk, the newest shopping area in town. We spent a long time in the Bass Pro Shop, which is funny since we are not outdoors people. There is actually a Sonic upstairs in the Bass Pro Shop, and it was happy hour, so we drank our drinks watching the giant fish in the fish tank. We also were on a hunt for the Duck Dynasty area and I was shocked out how expensive a plastic Si tea glass was. We found some great deals on shoes at the Nike outlet (with three boys, that is a huge big deal), and then got to hang out with our cousins who came in town for a cook out. Six boys in the house, lots of noise but lots of fun.

Friday morning we made a quick trip to the "water park" as Campbell calls it, but its just a park with a small water sprinkler pad in the corner. The best part of that for me was picking up Southern Maid donuts for me and Campbell. And then J and the big boys dropped us off to play and they went to Krispy Kreme to get their donuts. We don't have either kind of donut where we are, and we argue every time we are in Shreveport what kind are the best, but I'm sorry, Southern Maid are better! Lighter, fluffier, not as sweet, thinner glaze that breaks off on your shirt when you bite into the donut. YUM! I ate my two donuts way too fast and was so disappointed they were gone. Then we packed up, grabbed some lunch and came home. I missed my bed, but it was a great week.

A free digital slideshow by Smilebox

My Favorite Things This Week...

If you haven't seen the commercial for this yet, let me introduce you to Windex Touch Up.

I had a coupon for it a few weeks ago and thought I would try it out. I was very cynical. "Its just Windex in a cool bottle. I could buy a much bigger spray bottle of the same thing for a lot less. Its just a way for them to make more money." But I LOVE IT! It sits on my kitchen counter right next to the paper towels and I can grab a paper towel, push down twice and clean whatever! And my kids love it. Campbell wants to clean the kitchen table everyday because its fun! I am more than willing to pay an extra dollar for the cool bottle that encourages my kids to clean. I have the blue, but I want the yellow one next for the kitchen and I saw a red one at Walmart the other day, APPLE! Can't wait for that! You're welcome.

My other favorite thing this week is my baby, who is not a baby anymore. He will be 5 in 20 days and I will cry. The two big boys are at preteen camp this week with Granddad's church so its just been the three of us this week. He's been at Preschool Play Days in the mornings, thank goodness, because I don't think I could have kept him occupied. But we've had fun in the afternoons. Yesterday the three of us went swimming and then to the mall and Chick-Fil-a. He's obviously having a growth spurt because usually 4 nuggets is enough. But he ate his 4, one of mine and then took another one from the sample lady. And then he ate all of his fries, a cookie, "forced me" to make brownies when we got home and then leftover chips and cheese.

He is so entertaining though. Wednesday night our friend Holley kept him so J and could have a date night. He didn't want to go but afterwards, told us to go on another date so he could go back. When I put him to bed, he said "You and Daddy have had a bad day."
"Why?"
"Because you haven't gotten to see me much today." :)

The night before we were driving home from somewhere and he said, "Mommy how do you say strawberry in Spanish?"
"I don't know, I don't speak Spanish."
"Well, you can learn. Say Locos Tacos"
 I laughed so hard so he had to repeat his joke for a long time after.

This is my baby last Sunday after Cade's select team had a tough loss in a tournament in Galveston, so we got to have a late lunch at The Spot. He's thoroughly enjoying his hot dog. Love him! 

Confession Time

My name is Christy and I am a piler. I know admitting it is the first step to being healed, so I'm admitting it. I have piles all over the house. The Fly Lady calls them hot spots I believe. Its mostly papers, mail to go through, bills to file, school papers, pictures, drawings, coupons, etc. When my piles get too big, or someone is coming over, then the piles move rooms or, worst case scenario, they get put in a box. For the past few months I have had two boxes, not just one, of piles under my desk in the kitchen, as if that made them invisible to guests. I have had to move my feet when I sit down at the desk to work, but yet, they became invisible to me too. The more I walk by the piles, the more they just blend in, as if they are becoming at home in that spot, or maybe are camouflaged, hiding from me. But, alas, there they are, getting bigger by the day.

Last night I had a strange mood of actually wanting to through the piles. Usually when I get that mood I ignore it. I read a book, or blog or hang out on Facebook, because I think that it will take me hours to go through the piles. But last night, I actually followed through on the feeling that it needed to be done. And would you believe, it only took me an hour to go through both boxes. And I was watching Drop Dead Diva at the time, so I was entertained while doing the dreaded task. I would say 3/4 of both boxes went in the trash. Why do I let the piles get that big, and why do I not just deal with the issue knowing from experience it won't take me near as long as I think it will?

It made me think of a spiritual parallel. I have sins that I know I need to face. I have things that I know God is calling me to do. I struggle daily with spending time with God. And I have learned from experience that facing those things head on is never as tough, as hard, as time consuming as I think they are going to be. But I let them hide in plain sight. I shove them in a box under a desk and hope that no one, including myself, will see my sins, my disobedience or my excuses. And I let them pile up until it seems hopeless that I will ever deal with that sin, or do what God told me to do, or I've missed so many days, I might as well give up. But if I just dealt with all of it immediately, just like the mail coming in, it wouldn't pile up! When I am convicted of a sin, just confess it, repent and move on. When God asks me to do something, just do it. When God calls me to stop what I'm doing and spend time with Him, then do it!

I filed all of the bills and coupons and have a stack of pictures and drawings to put away. And then today when I got the mail I stood over the trashcan and took care of it immediately. No piles starting today! And I read Romans 8 today, and will be there all week. This verse jumped out at me.
"If people’s thinking is controlled by the sinful self, there is death. But if their thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace." Romans 8:6. I want my mind and home to be a place of life and peace!

Good Kind of Tired

After 4 months of regular season baseball, three post season tournaments, and 20 All Star games in 25 days, Little League is finally over for the year. Cade's 9 year old team lost the first two sectional games right away, so he only missed one of his 9/10 games. That simplifies that long story. Summary of the first game, we started it at 9:25 PM, stopped at 12:20AM tied and had to come back the next night to finish the game. Crazy! His second team went all the way to the championship game but lost. And Cooper's 11 year old team lost in the semi finals. So we brought home a gold, silver and bronze medal which is pretty exciting! The best my boys' teams have ever done in All Stars. But it was for sure exhausting for all of us. I was secretly wanting Cade's second team to lose so we didn't have to go to sectionals with them.

In the midst of All Stars we had VBS. I was the preschool director again, which I dearly love doing, but this year was really hard with baseball going on at the same time. We weren't getting home and in bed until after midnight most nights and then I had to be back at church bright and early. I was very thankful that we got Thursday night off from baseball games. I don't think I got out of bed that day once I got home from VBS. I knew ahead of time it would be tiring, and when I get that tired I usually have an emotional breakdown, so sure enough it happened during Cooper's Wednesday night game. I was feeling way too stressed and sleepy to sit still, so I had been walking around. Coop got up to pitch and ended up walking a run in and he started crying. So of course I lost it. I had to walk to bleachers on another field so no one saw me as I completely fell apart and cried for awhile. But then I was ok. I just needed that time to reboot I guess. VBS was a great week, the smoothest I can remember. We had recruited the best preschool leadership team that I can remember. That takes a huge load of stress off me! So thankful for them! I always think I'm going to lose weight during the week from stress, but when I eat a brownie every time I walk by a snack room, that doesn't happen!

We made it through VBS and to top off the week, while we were at Coop's Sunday night's game, I hear someone crying behind the bleachers and am pretty sure I recognize the cry. So I get up and as I come around the bleachers one of the older kids is bringing Campbell to me and says "he's bleeding." Thanks. Campbell tells me that he just "bonked" his head on a rail, but "my hands were still on the rail." Quick excuses. I should have known better. He has a big gash in the back of his head. Friends suddenly appeared from all over to come help me. I quickly moved the mob away from the field so hopefully my coach husband doesn't know what's going on. We get the bleeding stopped pretty quickly for a head gash, but one of the dads on the team used to be an ENT and tells me he's going to need stitches. So I have to decide if I'm going to leave the rest of the family there, carless, to fend for themselves while I take him to the ER or wait until the game is over. Have I mentioned its already after 10 at this point? When I had walked away we were losing 4-1, but when I came back we were losing 7-1. So yes, let's leave.

I take him to the ER and we didn't wait too long. But we were put in a room with a girl who had a sore throat and fever. Please stay on your side of the curtain. The doctor came in for all of 2 minutes to make sure he didn't have a concussion. Jason comes in at that point convinced I would need him to hold Campbell down while they stitched him up. But the nurse comes in, tells him to lay face down on the pillow, and that he will feel a sting. I turn my head because I don't want to see her sticking the needle in his head. I'm expecting to hear screaming, but instead I hear clicking sounds. I look back and she is putting four staples in his head! That kid never flinched, never whimpered, never shed a tear! I told him how brave he was and J says that's what got him in trouble in the first place. Apparently he got the real story after I left from the big boys who were hanging with him. He was sitting on top of a hand rail and said "look, no hands" and let go, and promptly fell backwards. Nice. I should have taken a picture of him that night with the bandage and tape wrapped around his head. Pulling the tape off his head the next day hurt worse than getting the staples. He gets them pulled out on Monday. Hopefully that is as painless.

So that's been our last few weeks. This week we have slept late, really late! I did nothing the first two days and then started cleaning because I couldn't stand my house that hadn't been cleaned in a month. And lots of laundry, clothes other than baseball uniforms. We are tired, but its the good kind of tired, where you have made lots of memories and done things that make you feel very fulfilled. We don't have any baseball until mid July so I am going to enjoy this time of rest! God is good!

Trades of Hope Giveaway

My sweet friend Cari, who has an amazing blog by the way, is featuring Trades of Hope today with a giveaway from yours truly. So read her blog, and get entered for a Haiti bracelet!

http://certainlydiscoveringjoy.blogspot.com/2013/06/trades-of-hope-giveaway.html

Championship Baseball!!!!

Cade is on the 9 year old NASA West All Star team and we knew when they were all picked it was a special team. Ten of them were on the All Star team last year and our two new additions are great players, including the best girl in little league baseball. We were excited! And it turned out we had reason to be.
Here are pics of how it all began back on Saturday, June 1st.

Yes, we won that game 31-0. It was painful for us to watch, even more for the other team's parents I'm sure. We won our next two games 10-0 and 16-6 which put us into the championship bracket. We had 3 days off and were afraid it would mess with our momentum and it did slightly. On June 7th we played Bayside and lost 6-1, mostly from errors we made from being unfocused and a little cocky I think. But it's a double elimination tournament, so we weren't done yet. The next night we played another hard team that we had thought was going to be hard to beat and knew a loss would end it for us, but we ended up beating them 13-0. So that brought us to the championship game against Bayside. They hadn't lost yet, so we would have to beat the team we lost to twice to win the title. No stress at all!
Game one was rained out, making those poor stressed out boys wait another night to play. Game one was Monday night and we won pretty easily 10-2 giving the boys a huge boost of confidence. Our best pitcher pitched the entire 6 innings, unheard of in 9 year old baseball. They can only pitch 75 pitches and his last pitch was number 75. Craziness!
So last night was game 2 for the district championship. We woke up to an email that one of our best hitters had a stomach bug and had been up all night sick so he was out. Oh dear! We flipped and were home team. At the end of the first inning, we were down 4-3. End of second inning, tied 4-4. Third inning was painful to watch, error after error, three of them from my kid. End of third, we are down 9-5. It looked hopeless, but those boys didn't quit and give up. They plugged away hit after hit. Top of 5th we were down 10-7 and entered the 6th and final inning TIED 10-10. I don't think I have even been that nervous for my kid and I can only imagine what those boys were feeling.
Bayside bats first and ends up scoring 1. We get up to bat down 11-10. That one run could lose it for us. After that I don't think I can remember everything. It was too crazy and nerve wracking. But it ended with us having a runner on 2nd and 3rd, we got a great hit and our runner came home to tie it at 11-11, the runner on 2nd base came home and got out at home. The batter was trying to get to third and got in a run down with the third baseman. The third baseman threw the ball to 2nd for the out and OVERTHREW the ball and it went out to the right field. Our runner ran home and the ball was thrown in from right field and by the skin of his teeth he was safe at home for the win 12-11!!!!!!! I had planned on trying to video the last play of the game but at the last minute decided I was too nervous and didn't want to miss experiencing it being behind the camera. But I wish I could resee it. The boys and coaches were in a dog pile, we were all screaming and jumping up and down the bleachers dangerously close to falling. So many other NASA players and coaches had come to watch and were cheering and screaming. It was one of the most exciting moments I can remember. I can't imagine the stress of parents whose kids make it to the Little League World Series. I don't know if I could watch. Here is the end of this leg of our journey.

 

 

 

 

We had to celebrate with a Sonic trip and we were all up until almost midnight because we were so wired. Cade wouldn't even take off his uniform to take a shower until 11:40.
Now we play sectionals. There are only 4 teams and its double elimination. The problem is two of the players, one of them mine, are supposed to be playing on the 9/10 team, first game Monday night. And two of the coaches, one of them my husband, are supposed to be coaching the 10/11 team, first game Monday night. And did I mention VBS starts Monday? So while I hope we continue our winning, it would be easier if we didn't. But we'll figure it out. I'm so excited for Cade and Jason to have this memory together. Such a great night!

"Big Church"

For those of you who have more than one child, do you forget between the first and second and now third how you did some parenting skill with the others and its almost like starting over? I can not remember for sure how old my older two were when I first starting bringing them to "big church". I think it was sometime during pre-K. I am sure I brought Cooper pretty early because he's always been the perfect quiet child. And I think I probably waited awhile longer to bring Cade because he has not always been the perfect quiet child. And for those of you who don't know me, know that I have been going to worship by myself with my kids since we came to UBC. Hubby is a pastor and is always somewhere teaching or making connections, etc. So its just me and for the last 4 years a child on either side of me.

Well, here comes child three, who again, is not known to be perfect and quiet. Out of my three, he is the least quiet and perfect so I was planning on putting off bringing him to big church until the fall when he started kindergarten. But about a month ago, he asked me one Sunday morning if he could come with us. I couldn't say no. Jason and I believe you should train your children how to behave in church, they should see by example how to worship, and even if they are doing something else, that hearing God's word is priceless.  So here I go into "big church" with one of me and three of them.

The first challenge was the seating arrangement. Where? After we had sat down in our usual area on the left side, half way down on the floor, I remembered that when child two joined us, we moved to the balcony for awhile away from people. But we were already seated, so we'll take a risk. Then, which brother do I put him with? Middle brother, who is more compassionate and caring, says "please let him sit by me. I'll help." Not a good plan because they have way too much fun together.

So here we are a month later and we haven't looked back. He's been in church with us ever since and he's been doing really well! I've only had to take him out one time. He sits between me and oldest brother and that seems to be the best fit. During worship, he stands in the aisle so he can see but during the sermon, he either sits quietly like he did today, or I draw him dot to dot words that he can practice writing on. I don't think we've made it through the whole hour and a half without needing to go to the bathroom, but that's what big brothers are for. I'm am pleasantly surprised and proud of how my little one is growing up so big and making the transitions on his own time and so smoothly. Maybe God knew I needed that since I'm doing it on my own. What a blessing!

Farewell to Fours

Ok, I think I can emotionally blog about my baby leaving preschool and heading off to kindergarten next year without crying. Probably because I have now been home with him for 3 days by myself and if school started tomorrow, I would take him with a big smile on my face! He is so hard to keep occupied. I love weekday preschool with a passion, but the only downside of it is they don't ever have to play by themselves, so when he is home alone, I am his playmate. I have played Shutes and Ladders and  Candy Land 20 times, been to the park, library, church and still he's been bored. It will be better when the boys are done with school next week, I think.

We don't do a graduation from preschool at UBC, we do a Farewell to Fours. They sing some sweet songs and this year received a medal around their necks and then the sappy but beautiful power point of pictures from the year. I imagined myself crying through the whole thing, but I did pretty well, until... my husband prayed a blessing over the kids. Lost it! Just hearing the man I love praying for the sweet ones to have courage, strength, and protection as they grow and claiming the promises that God has for them was more than I could take. And then the power point started, so I cried through part of that. But then I got it together.

The past four years have gone by in a flash. I was looking at pictures and videos of him today and I just can't believe it has gone so fast. He is so funny, smart, and such a leader. At our parent teacher conference his teachers said he will either be a CEO or teacher when he grows up and they would love for me to find them in 20 years and tell them where he is. He'll be 5 in August and I constantly have people ask me if I'm holding him back and waiting a year. Have you met my child? He's so ready, I guess from having two big brothers to keep up with.  And he's so excited to go! I know he'll be like the other two and just walk right in without looking back. And I may or may not cry when w drop him off. Who am I kidding. Its not if I'll cry, its can I hold it back until I get in the car.

Here are some of my favorite pictures I found today. There are too many to post, he's such a cutie!

 

 

 

 

 

Redeemed

This is one of our newest Trades of Hope products and one of my most favorites. Its called the Redeemed Necklace.

 



This beautiful necklace is made by women in California who have come out of prostitution. They are part of a ministry called Cherished where they are being healed physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The colors are representing them coming out of darkness into light! And each one is initialed on the back by the sweet woman who made it. Its on a long black cord which you can shorten or take the pendant off and put on a different necklace.

I can't imagine the heartache these ladies have experienced but they are working hard to change their lives and are working towards a future full of joy and peace. You can help them by ordering online, www.mytradesofhope.com/ChristyGadman. What a great feeling to be redeemed!

Gift of Music

Campbell and I finished up UBC Weekday this week. He will be going to kindergarten in the fall, but my feelings about that are another post for another day. Before I forget my feelings this week, I want to talk about my year in weekday as the music teacher for the younger preschoolers. I have been serving in weekday for 10 years now, since Cooper was a baby. I have done all kinds of jobs, from being an infant teacher, substitute, spiritual curriculum coordinator and even assistant director. I never imagined that I would lead music or even more that I would enjoy it as much as I did.

I had the joy of leading babies, ones and twos twice a week in singing some preschool classics, teaching them some new fun songs and most importantly, leading them in learning how to worship God. At the beginning of the year, most of the children looked at me like I was crazy with a mix of curiosity. As the year went on, they began to open up, would actually smile at me and pay attention for more than a few seconds. And as spring arrived, they finally joined me in singing and doing hand motions. I tried to incorporate sign language in the songs when I could, so I loved seeing them nod their fists with "Jesus loves me, yes, yes, yes" and making cat whiskers with "Hear God's World".

Some of my favorite memories were specific children that hopefully I will never forget. One sweet baby boy would come up to my lap in the middle of song and just give me a hug and say "bye bye" when I left. Another sweet baby girl who spend most of the fall crying would smile so big when I came in the spring and finally the last week was able to do some of the hand motions. In the one year old class, one sweet boy wanted to tell me how to do music. If he didn't like my song, he would take my hand and make me walk over to my CD player and then "tell me" with words I couldn't understand what song I needed to be doing. I could finally understand "bus" and "bubbles", two of his favorites.

One of my favorite classes was the two year olds, who would scream in delight when I came in. My friend Laura who does the older preschool music said its kind of like we are preschool rock stars. So cool! They loved to do the hand motions and sometimes would get so giggly they couldn't stop laughing while I'm trying to sing, which of course made me laugh. There were a few quiet girls that for most of the fall didn't sing with me, but their momma's would tell me they sang lots of the songs at home. One sweet little one is from China and couldn't speak English when school started, but this last week was screaming (and I do mean screaming) the words to some of the songs. One week we were singing songs about God's creation and I brought our Dream Light animal, turned off the classroom lights and sang songs about the stars. One little boy said "That was awesome!" which makes me laugh to hear a two year old say that.

I wish I could say their favorite songs were ones about God. But their favorite song was "Wheels on the Bus". If I dared not include it in my lesson plans, they would ask for it, so I learned to put it on the end of every CD I made just in case. And since it was always last, they learned it was the end of music, and would say "Bye bus. Bye Ms. Christy". I wish I could spell Christy the way they said it. I guess its a hard name to say. And some would blow me kisses as I left. I had a hard time on Thursday not tearing up when I was leaving. It was such a gift to me to lead them. Laura and I laugh because we should be the most creative and fun teachers, but we are two of the most Type A personalities there. But maybe that's why I loved it so much. It was out of my comfort zone and yet still used my spiritual gifts. So grateful for the opportunity!

Perfect Mother's Day Song

I had a great Mother's Day today starting with breakfast in bed by my sweet middle child, my first one ever that I can remember. Cereal and milk. I did give him directions for how to make my coffee and he did great. I got lots of homemade cards, my oldest made brownies for me all by himself, and my hubby bought me two CD's and a book I wanted. Dinner out and a nap all equals up to a great day.
One of the CD's was the new one by The Afters, Life is Beautiful. I was listening to my favorite song off of it tonight while taking the boys to Sonic for milkshakes (because nothing ends a great day quite as well as a Sonic milkshake) and thought what a great Mother's Day song it was.
You can listen HERE.

Every Good Thing
I tend to be busier than I should be
And I tend to think that time is gonna wait for me
Sometimes I forget and take for granted
That it's a beautiful life we live
I don't wanna miss the moments like this
This is a beautiful life You give

You're the reason for every good thing, every heartbeat
Every day we get to breathe
You're the reason for anything that lasts, every second chance
Every laugh, life is so sweet
You're the reason for every good thing, every good thing
Every good thing, every good thing...

There will be days that give me more than I can take
But I know that You always make beauty from my heartache
Don't wanna forget or take for granted
That it's a beautiful life we live
I'm not gonna miss the moments like this
This is a beautiful life You give

You're the reason for every good thing, every heartbeat
Every day we get to breathe
You're the reason for anything that lasts, every second chance
Every laugh, life is so sweet
You're the reason for every good thing, every good thing
Every good thing, every good thing...

It's our family, it's our friends
It's the feeling that I get when I see my children smile
You're the reason for this life, everything we love
It's You alive in us
You're alive in us

You're the reason for every good thing, every heartbeat
Every day we get to breathe
You're the reason for anything that lasts, every second chance
Every laugh, life is so sweet
You're the reason for every good thing, every good thing
Every good thing, every good thing...

You are, You are here in every moment,
And I know that You're every good thing
You are, You are here in every moment,
And I know that You're the reason for
Every good thing, every good thing...


I was listening to it as my middle one was reading to my younger one a story he had written, and I had to smile. I am so thankful for my husband, our sweet children, our calling in life and the journey that the Lord has brought us on, even the difficult parts. And I don't want to take it for granted.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17.

 

Two funny stories from today... one is pretty racy!

First the sweet one. I heard Campbell talking to himself today. "Next up to bat, Jesus! Whack! Its a home run!" I love that. Good to know Jesus is a good baseball player. When Jason was Minister of Recreation at FBC Richardson, he had these little statues of Jesus playing sports. Very irreligious, except in a church gym. So funny.

The other story will be as racy as my blog will ever get. There was a knock on the door this morning right before I left to take Campbell to school. I just looked through my front window and the man said he was from the gas company and needed to look at my meter in the backyard. I have gotten to where I don't answer the door anymore because our neighborhood has break ins during the day. The people come to the front door and ring the bell to see if anyone is at home and if not, they go around back and break in. But he looked legit. When Campbell and I left a few minutes later, he was leaving our yard. I saw his gas truck and his name tag, so I apologized for not opening the door and explained the situation. He completely understood and obviously doesn't get to talk to people much because he proceeded to stand in my driveway and chat for the next ten minutes. He started telling me all these stories about people he encounters while he's trying to mind his own business and do his job. He said last week he was working in a backyard while two men started arguing around him about a girl, and one went inside and got a gun. He dropped what he was doing and got the heck out. But he told me that just this morning, on my street, he rang the doorbell and no one came. So he went around back and saw two people inside a pick up truck doing their business! With no clothes on! WHAT! Yes, it was somewhat inappropriate that he told me that story, and it is still now that I am telling you, especially on the same post as a story about Jesus. I will go and repent, but you have to admit its funny.

Scary Evening

Saturday was Jason's 40th birthday and he was flying back from a trip to Florida. He was suppose to land at 5:45 so the boys and I could pick him up and have plenty of time for a birthday dinner. I checked the flight status before I left and it said it had already landed, so we jumped in the car to head to the airport. At our house it was dark and cloudy but only sprinkling, but by the time we got to the exit for the airport, we were in torrential rains, so much so that the road the airport is on was flooded. There were two cars stranded in the street with water up to the tops of their tires. So we pulled in a gas station along with another 20 cars to regroup.

Now, have I mentioned that my sweet middle child has a spirit of fear and had already said before we left he didn't want to go because of the rain. So now that he has seen a car almost floating, he loses it and is crying in the back seat. I am offended. Dude, do not trust me? Do you really think Mommy would drive you into that and put my children in danger? Do you not trust God to take care of us and give me wisdom? He said he didn't understand why God would allow it to rain that much and was very concerned about what happened to the people in the cars. I said they probably got out and walked to the gas station and that God needed it to rain but He had not designed the sewer system that wasn't working properly. It didn't help.

About that time we get a text from J that he is on the tarmac at the Corpus Christi airport. Nice. I apparently missed that they had landed... at the Corpus airport. So we come back home. Cade was so relieved to get in the house. But now we wait. He eventually says they are leaving at 8:30 and eventually the Southwest airlines website catches up and agrees that they have left Corpus. So I call my sweet neighbor to come over and sit with the kids because I am not taking them back on that journey, now in the dark. And off I go, in the dark and rainy night by myself to a sketchy part of town with a cell phone that I now notice is about to die. Not the smartest choice I've made. And Cade is afraid for my life that I will never come home.

It took me three exits to find a road to the airport that wasn't flooded. J is landed now and is calling me telling me where to go, but I am really bad with directions, and really bad driving in places that I'm not familiar with. So now, I'm crying. But I caught myself before I completely lost it, and realized that now I'm at the place Cade was. Do I not trust God to take care of me? Do I not trust him to be holding on to me while I'm making this drive? I of course made it just fine to the airport and was so relieved to see my husband coming to the car, and gladly changed seats to let him drive. We got home at 10:30, not the best birthday night for sure, but quite memorable. And I got a spiritual lesson in the process. I'm still a child sometimes when it comes to my trust level. Oh Father, forgive my lack of trust in your protection and guidance and thank you for bringing us home safely. You are good.

New Recipes that Worked!

I have tried four new recipes off of Pinterest the past two weeks. J wishes I would just stick with what I know, but I get so bored sometimes. But three of the recipes made it into my cookbook. One of them was a really big hit, two of us went back for seconds! Yipee! Here they are!

Chicken Spaghetti:

• 8 ounces angel hair pasta
• 2 cups chopped, grilled chicken or 1 large can of chicken (I used canned)
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of mushroom soup (98% fat free or regular)
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of chicken soup (98% fat free or regular)
• 1 can (10 ounces) Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
• 8 ounces sour cream
• Sprinkling of Parmesan or Mexican-blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Boil pasta as package directs and drain. Mix all other ingredients (except cheese), add to cooked pasta and put in a 9" x 13" baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with your choice of cheese and return to oven to melt.

 

 

 

Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Recipe from Tasty Kitchen
Serves: ~12 people

1 Envelope Taco Seasoning (I use Old El Paso Reduced Sodium)
6 Pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 16-ounce jar Salsa (I switch between brands, but Newman's Own or Pace are my favorites)

Dump everything into a crock pot and give it a little stir to blend the seasoning with the salsa. You do not need to add any water to the taco seasoning. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. When done, the chicken should shred easily when stirred with a fork.

For tacos, serve the chicken with soft flour tortillas, guacamole, lettuce, shredded cheese and/or sour cream. This is very versatile and can be used for enchiladas, nachos, tostadas, quesadillas, etc. Any leftover chicken can then be used for tortilla soup (make it the next day or freeze the chicken to use at a later time).

I halved the recipe for us and still had some chicken left over for the next day and froze some to use in soup later.



And the best one from last night! This is so easy and flexible, no measuring utensils needed and made in one pan!

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

chicken breasts (however many you want/need, I did 4)

olive oil (just one dollop, I drizzled a little all over)

minced garlic (a smattering…a little more than a smattering if you really like garlic)

red pepper flakes (leave these out if you don’t like any heat)

marinara sauce (I used one jar)

parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese (you will need twice as much mozzarella as Parmesan)

croutons (I used bread crumbs because that's what I had)

I cut the chicken in to three chunks, but you could leave them whole or cut them into bite size pieces. I drizzles olive oil, a few dollops of minced garlic, sprinkle of red pepper flakes and then pour over the marinara sauce. Spread mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese over the top 2 to 1 ratio. But I had an Italian cheese mix and just used it. Then I sprinkled bread crumbs over that and then more cheese. I will try to use croutons crushed up next time to add more crunch. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. I served it over angel hair pasta with green beans. All the men loved it, except the one who won't eat anything. But when they go back for seconds, that is a victory for me!

Delicious Poison

 

I am allergic to corn. Not like deathly, but it does affect me pretty noticeably when I eat it. I found out when Cooper was a baby and we had him tested. It had been many years since I had been allergy tested, so I put myself through that to see if that was causing some of my health problems. Corn was one of four foods I am allergic to, but its the most difficult to deal with. I LOVE tortilla chips with hot sauce, especially at Chili's. I lost 5 pounds immediately when I cut out all the junk food with corn syrup in it. I don't eat kernel corn anymore and don't really miss it. But I do miss corn on the cob. There's something southern and comforting about eating corn on the cob with butter and those little yellow corn shaped sticks stuck in the ends. Yum.

I made corn on the cob for the men the other night and abstained... until I was cleaning up after dinner and Campbell's ear still had half of the corn left on it. I ate one bite just to see if I had cooked it correctly. And then preceded to finish it. With each bite I was having an internal struggle. "Oh my gosh, this is so good! I forgot how sweet and yummy corn on the cob is. Stop Christy. Its poison to your body. You are going to pay for this tomorrow." On and on as I finished off the corn and threw the beautiful empty cob into the trashcan.

I woke up the next morning with my right hand on fire. I have eczema and the worst spot is my hand. I know I have been eating the wrong things and am stressed when it flares up. As my hand was burning and I was needing some serious self control to not scratch I had to admit I did it to myself. No one else to blame it on but me. It wasn't Campbell's fault for not finishing it. All me. And I was hit with a spiritual comparison.

That decision I made to eat the corn despite knowing what the consequences were, was a direct in my face bad choice. But how many times do I make those types of decisions daily with less direct things. Sometimes I make those choices so fast I don't even realize its a choice. Do I gossip about that friend, even just a quick remark? Do I watch that show that is either bad for me to watch or simply a waste of my time? Do I lose my patience with my kids? They deserve it, its their fault. No, its not their fault how I choose to respond. Do I ignore that person even though God is clearly telling me to say hello and ask about their day? Do I complain about something that is out of my control or have a positive contented attitude about it? So many choices I make daily. Am I choosing to put that poison in my body because at face value its a beautiful delicious thing, even good to some people, but not so good for me.

1 John 2:15-17 "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."

I know God made corn, but for me its a desire of the flesh. A wonderfully delicious desire of the flesh that is not good for me. Make a good choice!

Easter Battle

I don't think it is just me. If it is, humor me. But Sunday mornings in our house are harder than school days as far as getting ready and getting out the door without killing each other. Jason is gone before we get up so its just me and the boys, and on school days they do most things without me having to stay on them. But Sunday mornings are just rough. And Easter Sunday morning for the last two years that I can remember, turned into a war, a battle of wills. Clothes don't work, things break or spill, my normally mostly obedient children become terrors, and by the time I get to church, I have to pray for my soul. Yesterday was the worst ever. And it took the whole worship time for me to get calmed down. I told myself it was a demon trying to keep me from coming to church, but that wasn't optional, so why was I being bothered. But then I realized I missed out on the whole time of worshiping my Savior because of my bad attitude and angry bitterness. That stupid little evil thing won that battle.

God has been showing me something this past week in His word and it all came together today when I thought about my morning. Jesus' last meal with his disciples tends to be portrayed as a sweet time of fellowship between Jesus and his closest brothers, and I'm sure some of it was. But the other day I was reading in Luke about the Last Supper and I realized that's not was it was at all. Jesus talked about how his body was about to be broken, his blood spilled. He talked about how someone was about to betray him, and someone else was about to deny him. He actually told his men to make sure they had some swords, two would be enough. He was preparing them for battle. He knew what was coming and he was preparing them the best he could.

The next time all the disciples were with Jesus was after his resurrection. They were all mourning and wondering what had happened. It was not what they were expecting. The entry from my Jesus Calling book yesterday says, "When I appeared to my disciples after the resurrection, it was Peace that I communicated first of all. I knew this was their deepest need: to calm their fears and clear their minds."  He said "Peace be with you."

I love that. Peace. Peace after a battle. Battles will happen, they will come. He wants us to spend time with him so that we are prepared for those battles. And then He is waiting to offer us peace. Peace when we are confused about what that was that just happened to us. Peace because even when it feels like he wasn't around when we needed him, he was. Peace when we don't understand and we are worn out and tired from the battles.

My Easter morning battle was very minor compared to most. I know that. But I love it when God teaches me something in the minor times so when the major ones come, I am prepared. Prepared for the next battle that comes and comforted by his Peace!

Relics...

I somehow never finished blogging about our trip to Europe that Jason and I took on his sabbatical... two years ago. But I was thinking today about some of the relics we saw while in Italy. Relics are, according to Webster, "an object esteemed and venerated because of association with a saint or martyr" and we saw ALOT of them in Rome. After seeing some of them, we just walked away and thought, really? You really think that's what that is? How do you know for sure? But if they are what they say they are, its pretty incredible. I thought this weekend was a good time to remember what I saw. Its going to lead me to research them a little bit because I have forgotten in the last two years what these pictures are of.

 

These are the chains that bound Paul in prison.

 

These are the Holy Stairs, or Scala Santa. These are supposedly the stairs from the palace of Pontius Pilate where Jesus was sentenced to death. The mother of Constantine brought these steps to Rome in 326 AD. It is said that if believers climb the stairs on their knees, they will experience part of what Christ experienced in his suffering. Jason and I arrived right after they reopened after lunch, and had to climb the stairs with all these people so it took a really long time. I can still remember that my knees were killing me, but more than that, I was hot and dizzy and claustrophobic. It did literally bring me to my knees to think about how much more Jesus suffered than that because he loved us. I did make it to the top, and felt kind of changed in some way.  We toured the chapel at the top and then came back down and found the stairs like this.

 

 

Empty. But I probably worshipped more climbing it with the loads of people then if I had sped through it by myself. The drops below are said to be drops of Jesus' blood that spilled as he was being beaten on the steps. As you climb the steps and get to one of those spots, it does take your breath away.

 

 

These are relics from the Passion of Christ. It includes the nails that nailed Jesus to the cross, two thorns from his crown of thorns, the sign that hung about his cross, and a piece of the cross. Again, these were said to be brought to Rome by St. Helen, the mother of Constantine.

 

This is a replica of the Shroud of Turin, the cloth supposedly wrapped around Jesus' body. The real thing may be shown on tv this weekend for the first time. Apparently new research has come out that it is from the time of Jesus.

 

 

These are the chains that bound Peter in prison. There are two sets of them found in two different places and supposedly when the two sections came together, they magically joined together.

 

And this holds pieces of the manger that Jesus was laid in as a baby. See the gold baby on top?

 

I think our main thought was that back when Jesus was living, no one knew who he really was. Even his disciples misunderstood who he was. So how would anyone have saved these items if they didn't know the eternal impact he would make? But they are interesting. I didn't list the churches these items are found in. If you ever travel to Rome, the main one I recommend is the stairs. That was the most meaningful to us.

 

I am so glad my Jesus is eternal and I don't have to depend on access to material items to have a relationship with him. But I am also thankful that people are still searching for ways to connect to him, even if its through material things.