Dusting this old blog off....Here we go!

For the past few months I have been quite aware of God nudging me toward a ministry at the church I attend. I would hear the announcements, and see that there was a need for church council members. I doubted my ability…. what would I bring to the table, would they even listen to me, am I good enough? Fast forward to this morning....It is January in Michigan, which translates to BRRRRRRR. Pretty much all winter my preference would be to stay inside where it is warm and toasty. I almost didnt go to church today....mainly because I was cold and feeling lazy. I enjoy going to church. I love seeing the familiar faces of the parishioners, learning about my Faith, hearing the sermon, prayer in general, and fellowship by way of our pretty awesome coffee hour after service.

I attend a small church called St. James in Casco, Michigan nestled in a small community where roots run deep, you may come a stranger but you will leave a friend. Here you will find wonderful salt of the earth, humble folks. A small but mighty and generous congregation. My Great Grandparents attended this church. I attended Vacation Bible school in the summer at this church as a kid. I was married at this church, three of my children , and my husband were baptized at this church, my fourth child will be baptized there in a few months. It is a place I am very much at home. I havent always attended here, we moved a little ways away when our older kids were little, and attended a wonderful church closer to our home. When we moved back to the area I grew up, my Dad started putting the bug in my ear about coming back to church at St. James....I was a little resistant initially because I was attending a larger more modern church, and I did enjoy it there as well. It was similar to the church we had attended before we moved. I worked every other weekend, and my Dad would ask if he could come pick up the kids, and take them to church with him....Well of course, I said Yes. My Dad and my youngest would be off every Sunday for 9am service, and generally they would go out to breakfast or go visiting family after church. I would try to attend on the weekends I wasnt working. My work schedule changed, and I am now able to attend services more, so I do.

Faith has been something I have felt strongly since I was very young. I was raised Catholic, and did attend Catholic school in elementary, and cacthecism until I was in my teens. Although I had trouble identifying with being Catholic, I felt what was later explained to me as "The Holy Spirit" from a very young age. I attended church with my friends growing up from time to time, and have been to many different churchs. I love learning about different religions. Having a relationship with God has been a huge cornerstone in my life. I have been through some trying times through out my life and the only thing that really got me through was my Faith. Thankfully God placed some very special people in my life over the years from the time I was young, and to this day he continues to do so. If I was asked to describe what my Faith means to me, I would say my Faith is based on a relationship, not a "Religion".

So what is all this about anyway...Is there a point?

Yes actually, there are several things on my mind, so I decided to pick up my old Blog, dust it off, and start using it again. I look at my small congregation, and I see the same faces I saw as a kid, faithful servants indeed! I have questions though....where is my generation? Im 40 something, I have some grown children, and some younger children. Im still seeking my Lord, Im still teaching my children about their Faith, and while I agree that one does not need to attend church (which is essentially a building) to have Faith or worship God, I believe the fellowship you partake in as being a part of church is so important, individually, and collectively as a group/community.

So now I am on a Mission! Im excited to say I took the leap, pushed my doubt aside, and committed to being a part of our church council. Im so excited! Im excited for Spiritual growth, and Im hopeful that I will be able to serve God by being able to develop some of the things HE has put on my heart and in my mind for some time now, including Outreach!

This is just the beginning! I feel like God has brought me to this place for a reason. Although I cant quite verbalize what he wants me to do, I know what HE is expecting of me....does that make any sense!? Im not sure if it does to you, but I can feel HIM leading me. I know by committing today, it was for HIS glory and all in perfect timing. I am not sure of all the details, or how they will be executed, but I do know this, God wants all of us to grow his Kingdom. There are so many people in this world that do not know HIM.
 They may know of HIM, they may know what others say about HIM...they may want to get to know him but have no idea were to start. I think God is saying right now, these gifts I have given you...I want you to develop and use. Well Lord, I am here, I am present, and I will continue to pray that you use me to put your love and light out into this world. 

I have other topics swimming around in my head, that I cant wait to blog about, and I also cant wait to hear from anyone who is reading these. Id love to hear your thoughts, on the things I write about or articles I share. GROWTH!

 Im seeking Spiritual Growth! Id love to see knew families join us at our church! We have a wonderful children's ministry Id love to worship with you, so if you are local, join me on Sunday at St. James, in Casco Mi. Also feel free to SHARE any blog that resonates with you.....GROWTH <3 p="">

Getting back to the blog

I have been away for some time now, and I have missed doing reviews, and giveaways, but even more so just blogging about random things that come to mind. I recently  graduated college with my Associates Degree of Science; Nursing. I am so excited to check that off my list and actually get to work! I graduated last night, and it feels weird not having a million and one things to do....almost eerie. So I need to make me a list and get going on it. I look forward to getting back into the swing of things... Keep your eyes open for great things to come! 

Update - Life with a 2 year old in a Hip SPICCA cast

Ok So I have been MIA for a bit, a couple of months to be exact. Brianna our youngest broke her femur over Labor day weekend. She is only 2 years old, and was placed in Hip SPICCA cast. SO life was quite hectic around here having an immobilized 2 year old that needed to be kept busy, happy, and entertained for 8 weeks. We made it through though and I am happy to report that she is once again toddling about. It has been a couple of weeks since the cast came off, and in that time she has relearned how to walk, she still has a little bit of a limp, but the Dr says that as her muscles get stronger it will go away, and within a year if her femur is x-rayed, that you probably wont even be able to tell it was ever broke....

I have a list of people to thank that helped us get through all of this, as a Mom I was a complete mess for the first week or two, I was so sad for my little pumpkin, all I wanted was for her to be running around getting into things again, and I can assure you she has resumed those duties! LOL

Ill be posting my thank you list soon, it is pretty long, but for now here are some pictures to chronicle our 7 weeks in the Cast with Brianna.

                                               Brianna watching her favorite Rock N Learn Video
                                       http://www.rocknlearn.com/html/colors_shapes_counting.htm

                                          Since her cast was so wide, she didnt fit in her normal carseat or
                                          stroller, so our main means of getting around was the wagon, her is
                                                                       Bri riding in style!

                                                         Play-Doh became a family affair

                                      Riding her little bike, this was the only way she could get around by herself!

                                     Barbies, Kitchen , puzzles, coloring, and lots of use of our imaginations! 

                                             My Little Picasso, finger painting, FUN but messy!

                                         My Aunt & cousins came up and brought fun games & Lunch!

                                                                  Feeding the Fishies

                                                    Our walk around the nature trail

                                                    Breakfast with Aunt Ashley ♥

                                          Feeding the seagulls...one of our fav. pastimes!

                                           

                                              Playing on the swingset at Dana's Halloween party Go Blue!

                                  She actually learned how to roll over in that big ole thing, and army crawl around

                                          Snuggling with her Brother & Sister

                                                 All comfy covered up in the quilt Heather made her.

                                                    Oh and then there was the Lego's!

                                           Lot's of arts & crafts, coloring and STICKERS!

                                          Feeding the Seagulls down by the board walk

                                                 Going for a ride in the wagon with Aunt Kimmy ♥


It was a rough couple of weeks, but we made it through, with the help of our family, friends, and church family. A HUGE thank you to everyone, and a special thanks to Cindy Burleson @ Rock N Learn for sending us a giant care package for Brianna, we used it, and she loved it, and really I think she is smarter because of all the wonderful educational  DVD's  and goodies you sent us ♥ I thought that was a super nice thing to do, and you went above and beyond. I really thought that was a very nice thing for you to do for us :o)

A few good words to live by...

A Birth Certificate shows that we're born, a Death Certificate shows we died, Pictures show we lived!

Just because two people argue, doesn't mean they don't love each other.

Just because they don't argue, doesn't mean they do love each other.

No matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you.

It's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

You should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

We are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

Either you control your attitude or it controls you.

Money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I can do anything, or nothing and have the best time.

Sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, it doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

It isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to forgive yourself.

Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

People you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the most of everything.

Just Monkey'in around

My friend Sarah , made these cheeky little sock monkey's for us. She is very creative and always crafting something new and wonderful, you can check out Sarah's designs over on Etsy.com.

                                Lollipopmoon's Etsy Shop

Bri loves her monkey, Brianna's monkey is a mini monkey, that Sarah made for her when she was newborn, isnt it adorable. There are many sock monkeys out there, but Sarah's by far are the cutest! They even came with a little letter, stating the monkey's names, interests, and even favorite foods. My kids LOVE their sock monkey's, and I love Sarah's creative & crafty mind!

He thought he was being sneaky, and tried to hide amongst the other stuffed animals

You never know where you will find these spunky little monkeys!

And I caught her looking at Sock Monkey dresses online, I caught her right before she clicked "BUY" Whew!

Watch your toes, sometimes they like to hot rod around the house VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Relaxing

 

 

 

Resting in the hammock

He was hiding out in the mail slot!

Dont wake Daddy you silly monkeys!

Just like kids, whenever there is work to be done, they find somewhere to hide LOL

but at the end of the day, they are pretty good monkeys.

Great Movie - Second Hand Lions

Second Hand Lions follows the comedic adventures of an introverted boy left on the doorstep of a pair of reluctant, eccentric great-uncles, whose exotic remembrances stir the boy's spirit and re-ignite the men's lives.


A boy named Walter is dropped by his mother Mae at his great-uncles' house. Later,Walter will find out his great-uncles' big secret. And rumors say that Hub & Garth, Walter's great uncles, have stolen much gold & money. (some say they stole it from Al Capone) Did they really steal that money or not?


13 year old Walter has had a hard life, with his no good floozy of a mother getting together with many equally despicable men. Before going on yet another husband-hunting trip, she drops him off at the house of his great-uncles Hub and Garth. They disappeared for quite a while in their youth, and are rumored to have acquired a great fortune, which Walter's mother hopes to get her hands on if he can ingratiate himself enough to the two cantankerous men. Though reluctant to put up with him at first, Hub and Garth grow to accept Walter, and even tell him fantastic stories of what they were up to while they went missing. When his mother returns, Walter must take charge of his own life, and decide what he's going to do with it.

One of my Family's Favorite Recipes - Mexican Pizza

 It isnt every day when I find a recipe everyone in the family likes, but this one right here, is a recipe I never get any complaints on, even my husband who doesn't like pizza loves this one!


-1Lb Hamburger (or you could even use left over hamburger, this recipe doesnt require much)
-Taco Seasoning
-Refrigerated Crescent rolls ( how many depends on how many pizza's and what size dish you are using, I use cookie sheets  so I use 3-4 rolls per cookie sheet) 
-1 BIG can of refriend beans
-2 8oz bags of your favorite cheese (for this recipe I like to use the mexican blended cheese)
-1-2 cups of chopped lettuce *optional*
-1 cup chopped onions ( prefer the red onions)
-1-2 cups of chopped tomatoes
- jalapenos if you care to add them are completely up to you in how much you want use
-cilantro I buy a "bunch" from the store, and use 3/4 of what I have bought, but we really love the taste of  cilantro at  our  house, you can tweak it to however much you would like. Sometimes with Cialntro a little can go a long way!
-1 can of black olives
-1 lime

Prepare hamburger, make it just like you would make meat for tacos, You could use a LB. or less for this recipe. 


Preheat Oven to 375 degrees


I make 2 large cookie sheet sized  pizza's, so I generally use 3-4 unrolled refrigerated crescent rolls per sheet .


1st roll the cresent rolls out on your cookie sheet, and then bake the crescent rolls until brown to make the 1st part of your pizza.

2nd after taking your crust out of the oven, let it cool for a bit, because you need to be able to spread the refried beans on your crust with out ripping it all up. *You make want to warm the beans in the microwave to make them easier to spread*, I also sometimes put just a tiny bit of salsa in with the refried beans to loosen it up and give it a little more flavor.

After the crust has cooled, and you have spread the beans, and added the seasoned hamburger, and cheese  place your pizza back in the oven for about 15 minutes at about 350 degrees. Just long enough to warm everything up and melt the cheese.

Then mix up a very quick batch  of pico de gallo: onions, tomatoes, (jalapenos if you want), cilantro, lime juice, and I add black olives too. Sometimes I add lettuce to the pizza sometimes I dont, depends on my mood, and whether or not I have some handy. P.S. At our house we love the cilantro and lime juice and use lots of it, it is DELICIOUS together, and on this pizza! After the pizza comes out of the oven I usually squeeze what is left of the  lime all over the finished pizza, and also throw some unmelted cheese on the top too!

This is what it looks like when it is done, and before your family starts chowing down!

MMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM GOOD!