Building Our Marriage Challenge

Wear something you know your husband likes to see you in.

I ♥ Faces - Just for Fun

The theme this week at I heart faces is wedding.  For those of us without any wedding photos, they are having a Just for fun category.  I took this photo of Sarah Sunday afternoon.  

Visit I ♥ Faces to see some great wedding photos (and some just for fun ones, too)

Menu Plan Monday

Click on the banner for more menu plans.

Mon - Salad with Chicken 

Tues - colorful Kielbasa

Wed -  Meatloaf

Thurs -  Nachos with Nacho meat sauce- (I've never made this before - but I've had it many times when Megan makes it and it is so good!)

Fri - 4th of July Picnic - (I'm taking Crockpot Mac & cheese and a dessert - still trying to decide which dessert to take.  If you have any reccomendations (or requests), let me know).

Sat -  Pizza

Sun - Crockpot Lasagne

Weekly Winners (June 21-27)

Here are some of my favorite photos this week.   They were all taken during the extreme heat on Thursday.   

Josiah filling up the wading pool:

I told them to all sit down so I could get a picture.  I guess Caleb thought it was a little cold!:

Cute baby toes:

Rachel:

Caleb:

Josiah:

Jada:

Sarah:

This is of my beautiful lilies.  I usually use the automatic settings on my camera, but I took this one fully manual!:

Have a great week!  Go to Sarcastic Mom to view more weekly winners.

Simple Family Fun - Make your own Comic Strip

Most newer computers have a webcam.  And some, like mine, have effects. . . including the comic effect.   So, one rainy day last week, I told the kids they could make their own comic strip. First, I had them think up a story line.  Then, they took pictures using the comic book effect.   Then, we just copied the pictures into a document, resized them, and added the story line.  The boys had a great time.  . . and it was cheap (we did print it out. . . so we had ink costs), fun, and semi educational.

If you don't have a web cam or your web cam doesn't have the comic effect, you can still do this project.   Just go to picnik, a free online editing site.  Once you upload your photo, go to the create section.  Under effects (all the way at the bottom) is an effect called posterize.  It is very similar to the comic effect.  It will take a little more effort, but you can still do this fu

n project!

Here's my boys' comic.   (I know, I know. . . it's a little violent.  But. . . they are boys!).  I can only get part of it to show up - but hopefully you get the idea!

SOOC Saturday

I captured this shot of Rachel holding Sarah earlier this week.  Rachel is always wanting to hold Sarah, but Sarah is almost too big for her!  Rachel loves her role as big sister.

Visit Melody at Slurping Life for more SOOC (straight out of the camera - no editing!!) shots.

loving My Husband Friday

Loving My Husband Friday is for taking the time to focus on the positives of marriage. A time to build up your marriage and your spouse. Focus on something you love about your husband,

something he did to encourage you this week, or just a tip on how to keep your marriage strong. Let your husband know you're bragging on him...everyone loves praise and accolades. Try to spend the rest of your week focusing on all the great traits of your spouse...especially when your tempted to focus on the bad! And don't forget to pray for your husband and marriage as you write your post.

Add a link to your post to Mr. Linky. Then pray for the marriages of the others who post, and give each other a little encouragement to keep our marriages strong!

I am so thankful for a husband who provides for his family.  He works two jobs so we can live comfortably.  I know most days he would prefer to stay home, rather than deliver pizzas.   But, I love that he loves us selflessly and sacrifices for the benefit of his family.   He is the best husband ever!

You Capture - Summer

Summer has now arrived here in Indiana.  We had a gloriously long spring. . . but the heat is here.  When I think of summer, one of the things I think of are flowers.   Winters are long and dreary with no color in sight, but summers are brightened by all these beauties!

Visit I Should Be Folding Laundry to see more captures of summer.

Things I Love Thursday - Ice Cream

It is HOT around here.  And when it's hot I LOVE Ice Cream.  (O.K. . . . I love it when it's not hot, too!!!).   I love hard ice cream, soft ice cream, homemade ice cream, ice cream with toppings, ice cream without, almost any flavor (except mint chocolate chip).  I love it all!   So, each evening, you will find me sitting down with a bowl of refreshing ice cream.   I just hope I can still fit in my clothes when this heat wave is over!

To see more things people love, visit Sarah at 8 Muddy Boots.

Tell Me Thursday - Froggy Prince

Make sure to see my Wordless Wednesday post from yesterday.

My oldest daughter, Rachel, is a girly girl.   She loves to dress up, anything pink, baby dolls, etc.  But, she also loves to get dirty and play with creepy crawlies.  Last week I peeked out the window to check on the kids and found them playing with a frog, once again.  They had the poor thing in a rubbermaid box sitting in the sun.  I felt bad for the poor froggy, so I gave them a lidded box I had for creepy crawlies (for our nature hikes) and told them to keep him out of the sun.   Soon after, they all came back inside.  Awhile later, I was in the kitchen cooking and looked up to see my little girl holding a frog IN MY HOUSE!   I am NOT a girl who enjoys creepy crawlies (especially in my house), so I made her go set the frog free...but not before capturing a photo!   I love her chipped nail polished fingers holding a frog...I think it's really funny!  It reminded me of the princess (which Rachel has claimed to be since she could talk) with her frog prince.

Click on the banner above to read more Tell Me Thursday posts!

In His Word Wednesday

Psalm 100 

A thanksgiving psalm.

1 Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth!

2 Worship  the Lord with joy!

Enter his presence with joyful singing!

3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!

He made us and we belong to him; 

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give him thanks!

Praise his name!

5 For the Lord is good.

His loyal love endures, 

and he is faithful through all generations. 

Visit Megan for more encouragement in God's Word.

Wordless Wednesday - Froggy Prince

Building Our Marriage Challenge

Ask your husband if there is something you can help him with this week.

Bridal Shower

On Saturday we went to a bridal shower for my cousin (in-law).  It was definitely the most  unique bridal shower I've ever been to.   It was a luncheon at a tea house.  Upon entering we were ushered into a back room and told that we needed to dress up!    They had gowns, gloves, costume jewelery, boas, hats...the works.    

Here's a picture of my cousin Jennifer with Sarah.   Sarah looks so serious...I'm sure she was wondering what was going on!  

Jada and Rachel.  Although they don't look too happy here, they were in dress-up heaven!   They both loved it (although they were a little overwhelmed at first...when this picture was taken).

The girls with Heather, the bride-to-be.  

A group picture of all the guests at the shower.  I'm sitting, holding Sarah.  

Congratulations, Heather! 

Menu Plan Monday

Mon - sloppy joes

Tues - coney dogs

Wed - Ham in crockpot

Thurs - Eggs & pancakes

Fri - Ham sandwiches

Sat -  Pizza

Sunday - BBQ Chicken

I ♥ Faces - Let's Hear It For the Boys!

The theme this week at I ♥ Faces is Let's hear it for the boys.  Only photos of males are allowed.  My pictures from this year are still on my old computer and I didn't get a chance to get any shots this week, so I had to dig way back for this week.  

Kids Entry:

This photo is 3 years old when Caleb had just turned 6.  We were camping and he had been playing in the dirt...so boy!

Adult Entry:

I love this picture of my boys.  This one goes way back...probably about 6 years.   For some reason it is saved tiny...I can't make it any bigger.   Hopefully you can see it,

Visit I ♥ Faces to see more entries!

SOOC Saturday

I'm a little late today...it's been very busy around here.  I took this picture this afternoon while waiting to get into the restaurant through the window of the car.  It was bright and sunny out when the kids spotted this rainbow going cloud to cloud.  Beautiful reminder of the promises of God.

Visit Melody at Slurping Life for more photos straight out of the camera.

Yolkless Egg???

This morning, as I was making deviled eggs, I cut one of the eggs in half.  I was shocked to find all white - there wasn't a yolk to be seen!

I cut it i several times, looking for the yolk...but it wasn't there.  Have you ever had an egg with no yolk?

Loving My Husband Friday

Loving My Husband Friday is for taking the time to focus on the positives of marriage. A time to build up your marriage and your spouse. Focus on something you love about your husband,

something he did to encourage you this week, or just a tip on how to keep your marriage strong. Let your husband know you're bragging on him...everyone loves praise and accolades. Try to spend the rest of your week focusing on all the great traits of your spouse...especially when your tempted to focus on the bad! And don't forget to pray for your husband and marriage as you write your post.

Add a link to your post to Mr. Linky. Then pray for the marriages of the others who post, and give each other a little encouragement to keep our marriages strong!

I love my husband's blue eyes.   On our first date he wore a blue shirt that made his eyes just pop.   He didn't own any blue shirts then (he had borrowed that one), but he has lots now!!!   Looking in his eyes still makes me melt...even after all these years.

The Secret Between Us by Barbara Delinsky

The Secret Between Us is the second Delinsky book I've read (the first, Family Tree, I read right after Sarah was born) and it wasn't quite as good as the first.  While driving with her mother, a young girl hits a man.  Her mother covers it up and takes the blame.  This book deals with the aftermath of that one lie.  The daughter can not deal with the lie.  She withdraws from life.   Her mother tries to hold everything together.  Both women are deeply impacted.  This book show that even lies with the best intentions still cause hurt and pain.  It also deals with parental expectations and the pain it can cause a child to not live up to them.  I made a mental note to guide my children and not dictate what or who they should be.    It lightly touches on divorce, alcohol abuse, and grief.  A good read.  

First Line:  "They were arguing in the seconds before impact."

Last Line: "I'd be sad and blue . . . if not for you."

Rating - (4/5)

The Best Burgers on the Block

I made these burgers last night for supper...and they were sooooo good.  Doesn't it just look delicious!  This is more of a technique than a recipe...but I'll tell you how I made it.   What makes this so good is that it is stuffed with cheese (you can see a little seeping out at the bottom).

I mixed my beef with some Worcestershire Sauce and Season Salt before forming the burgers...you can throw in whatever you like!

Then make thin patties.   Put some cheese slices or crumbles on top of one.  We used Pepper Jack cheese for ours and American for the kids.   Then put another thin patty top and seal the edges.   Then you just grill it up and top it with your favorite toppings.  (I had to grill the bun, too).   It was the best burger I've ever had....yummy!

Things I Love Thursday - My Kids in Parades

The train all ready to go.

I love seeing my kids having  a great time in a parade.  My Uncle built train cars out of barrels and needed some extra riders.  The kids love riding along...and I love that they love it!

Rachel

Caleb and Josiah

Jada driving.

The train moving through the parade.  (That's my cousin Justin and his wife Danielle)

Oh and they won!!!  Great job George!

Visit Sarah at 8 muddy boots for more things people love.

Wordless Wednesday - Sisters

Sarah - 3 months old

Sarah turned 3 months old on Monday.   She got her picture taken with her bear again...I think she's growing!

If you'd like to see how she's growing, check her out at two months

and one month.