Guess what day it is?

Turkey sausage, eggs, biscuits and oranges oh and toast :)

Happy 100th day all!

Sensible Sisters Supper Club

Are you tired of hearing WHAT'S FOR SUPPER? or I'M HUNGRY?

Come and create eight healthy, low-cost, homemade 4-6 serving meals

(plus some extra homemade goodies) once a month.

First session is Friday, February 4th at 5 p.m.

You must be registered by Friday January 28th at 5 p.m.

(we need to have time to clip coupons and buy the groceries).

Prepay for your meals and take them home for the freezer the night of the event.

Average meal cost is $8.
Convenient, affordable, healthy fun!

What are you waiting for?

We buy the fresh groceries for you at the best price we can find.

You show up, assemble the meals, and take 'em home with you.

Call me, email me, or facebook me for more information and to register.

Go Gavinator

What do you get when you mix a weekend with two wrestling meets, two clueless parents and one seven year old boy?
A first place trophy, a second place medal and lots of smiles! Way to stay strong Gavin. You fought! Wanna piece of the action? The next meet is Friday night at McCook Central. GO COUGARS!

Monday Multitudes # 748-762

Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Hebrews 12:14-15.

PEACE

This week in first grade they are celebrating peace week. I love the idea of celebrating peacefulness, isn't it kind of oxymoronic? Celebrating peacefulness. Party of peace? Keeping the peace is a lot more difficult to do than to say. I lose my peace moments after I wake up. How can you keep a family of six in peace? It is an undertaking. I sometimes feel like a referee all day long. No wonder I am exhausted by suppertime. LOTS of times I give in and give up the peace along with the whole lot. But, I have found that if I can just hold on to that quiet voice and keep the peace my day goes a lot smoother. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. I could never play poker, I can't keep my happiness or my sadness hidden. It IS a poisonous root, really. That root grows deep and all of my kids have stemmed from my root. Sometimes we have happy, sad, mad and goofy all at the same time in the same room. I get stressed out trying to make everyone even and calm at the same time, and my root digs deeper.

This verse is a reminder for me to work at it. It is not easy, but it is necessary. Everyone deserves to feel the grace of God! I challenge you to keep the peace this week.

Lord you bless me with so much everyday. Today I am very thankful for;

ice packs for when I sub for kindergarten p.e. class and the lesson plan involves scooters (the ice was not for me, but my knees could have used them)

sisters with amazing ideas and abilities especially when a 'new' plan is in the works

warm houses when it is cold outside

family movie night

sister in laws who babysit and wear out my kids with fun and games and baking

little girls who fall asleep in the popcorn bowl (see above for clarification)

husbands who are proud of their sons even when they don't really know the sport

sons who are beaming with pride from a first and second place award

friends who make my exercising accountable and easier to swallow

computers that work just enough to let you blog (therapy) and check email

a pile of new yarn that needs to be played with just as soon as I ice my wrist... again

neighbors who call to invite you for dinner and don't care that your kids drag mud all over their house

cars that start and get us from point a to point b without breaking down, we passed several on the side of the road this weekend

brother in laws that give you a ride home from the wrestling meet when your husband ditches you for football

found hershey bars in the back of the cabinet that, mixed with a jar of pb, make a nice treat for stressed out mommies, at least this mommy...

Finally Friday again

Well, the whole weaning from the internet has gone better than expected. I try to log on once a day to do my "business" and then get off and on with my life. It has been difficult but bearable.

You would think I would be a little more 'present' in my daily life because I am not on the laptop all day but actually, get this, I feel disconnected. I feel like I am not in the know and sort of marooned on Gordon family island. The internet is my connection with the world. It's not always a good connection but the communication is open none the less.

So, my Bible has been the replacement for the loss of surfing. It is going well. This regular old book of Genesis has some pretty amazing historical implications. Moses really knows his stuff. Satan attacks Genesis quite fervently so that alone tells you there is some solid stuff in there... I am still studying but it is a wonderful lesson. I am using the book What the Bible is all about by Dr.Henrietta C. Mears. My brother gave it to me for Christmas.

Keep my father in law in your prayers this week, please. He had gallbladder surgery. He is at home recovering. I hope it goes quickly for him.

Have a wonderful weekend. Monday will be here before you know it.

Monday Multitudes #740-747

Today I am catching up. On this MLK holiday I am trying to remember all the blessings in my simple, tiny life.

Counting these amazing blessings today Lord, thank you I am so unworthy.

a husband who loves me and puts up with me even when I am going through withdrawal from the internet. I am a junkie and the web is my drug. Just before my laptop crashed and burned last week I was talking to my old friends about how I need to wean off the computer...and then the Lord helped me quit cold turkey for a few days. Working on an old borrowed computer today and it is not comfortable and cozy like my worn "in" laptop, it even has all the keys on the keyboard :) Today I will blog, check email and get on with my life sans computer (It helps that this one is running at dinosaur speed). That is the plan and my laundry pile and my crochet needle will help me stick to it.

my health. I am thankful we have not seen the flu yet in my house. We have had a few pink eyes and little runny noses but nothing too awful. I am thankful that I am alive and strong and cancer free. May the Lord bless all those who are fighting with the bully with strength, power and the faith needed to cure thier earthly body. This is the Lord's plan and we will do all He has planned for us, even when we cannot understand the journey.He carries us when we can no longer stand. He is our strength. He will help us through all our trouble. He cares for us.

my forgiveness. I so often forget to thank the Lord for forgiving me. I am so sinful. My thoughts, my words, my actions are so rarely what they should be. I do not deserve forgiveness because I know the way, the truth, the light. Yet, I do not live it. Each moment is new and I have a chance to start fresh, because of the sacrifce of God and his only son Jesus. I am forgiven. I am loved. This is the day that the Lord has made. I WILL rejoice and be glad in it.

knowledge. Pastor had an eensy weensy history lesson in his sermon on Sunday about the church of Corinth. The people of Corinth were people who wanted to be winners, to be successful in life. The city's location led to many passersby who were coming to seek fortune. What a wonderful place for Paul to minister. People who were seeking. My brother gave me a Bible handbook for Christmas and I have been reading it daily. It has a little background on the chapters and the verses, too. I guess I am turning into a history lover. It makes me want to learn more and more about the Word of God and it's POWER! Words are so powerful, they are the food for our soul. Mat. 4:4 Jesus says to the tempter, "One does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." This is the "diet" that I srtive to be on for the rest of my life.

friends. Blessings from heaven are the people who spend time with my sinful self everyday. I am so thankful for women to work out with even when I gab the whole time, friends to chat with virtually and in real life. Wonderful neighbors and people who really care about me and my family. What a blessing this little village is to my little family. I know the Lord is here in this place. He gathers here with us everyday.

family. My family has grown exponentially in the past 10 years. I have been blessed with an amazing group of inlaws and a family who loves me. There are times, many times, when I have not earned the respect of my family. I have said things that were mean and nasty. I have acted immature and disrespectful. I have hurt the people closest to me. I am ashamed of myself. I find myself asking for forgiveness quite frequently. Too freqently. This is something I must work on. My children need a better role model.


yarn. Keeping my hand busy with yarn allows me to accomplish somehing. It keeps me from stuffing my face with food. I can be in the room with the kids and feel present and creative at the same time. My kids love the slippers even if they are crooked and my friends have been kind enough to compliment my scarves even if they are more funky than functional :) I love yarn. I have been finding the mosto original full skiens at fun places. I love to mix the textures and the fabrics and the colors. I love to make something interesting from leftovers that may have never been created.

nourishment. Food, Words, Family, Friends... I am blessed with many many vitamins in my life that allow me to grow and mature into the woman I want to be, the woman I need to be. Thank you Jesus for that.

These 8 small blessings really add up to hundreds of blessings that I can't fathom to count.

Nora Kneivel

yes, she does ride that way, thank you santa

Bonus: includes close up footage of hacked hair cut done by wicked sister

Functioning on a Friday

The wind and snow are blowing around outside making it difficult to see across the street even in town. As I opened the thermal drapes for a bit of light this morning and looked out I felt a twang of guilt for not driving the kiddos to school. At least the wind was at their back, I hope.

The week went by in a flash and somewhere in the flurry the girls have caught something. They have temperatures, gooey eyes and colorful snot. Their eyes are glazed over and they are sitting in the chair with a blanket watching George the monkey on PBS. This is not normal behavior for them. I have dug through the medicine cabinet and found some eye drops only a few months old. Hopefully it will do the trick and we will not have to brave the elements and visit the clinic.

It is cold in here today, I can feel the wind in my cold toes and fingers. Yesterday was a balmy 30 degrees and we only wore the liners of our winter coats when we went shopping.

For the last few nights we have been bothered by a mewing outside the patio door. It seems a kitten has found shelter under our deck steps. We moved them to put the siding on the house and they didn't fit back perfectly so there is a small space just about perfect for a kitty to squeeze through to wait out the cold and it certainly doesn't hurt that it is directly beneath my dryer vent where I am sure it feels a little like Florida :) The kids have taken quite a liking to him but I refuse to feed the poor creature and Maleah's allergies are flaring up so we need to find him a home. Besides the mewing is quite annoying at 3 am.

I have been whittling down my stash of yarn by crocheting yards and yards of funky scarves. I happen to love them. I may be crazy but it is fun and keeps me from stuffing my face with food. My wrists are a little sore but in the end I think the workouts are good for them :) Spent a good hour or two following a couple of other yarn hoarders around the thrift stores yesterday. They arrived promptly two minutes before me in three separate stores. I think it was a sign or something. I just don't know what to make of it.

Speaking of exercise, I have been consistent but I am just not seeing any new changes. I like my less fat more skin body but it still needs quite a bit of work. I have hit a plateau and I am getting bored. AND I have fallen off the healthy wagon concerning my meals as well which isn't helping things. So, this morning I am making whole wheat flax seed bread and plan to smother a warm piece with honey and butter to end the week on a high note, sigh. I guess I will have yogurt for lunch. I am thinking Boston Creme Pie or White Chocolate Strawberry. YUM.

Well my fingers are itching for yarn so happy Friday ya'll.

on being a mommy

I put my boots on at 7:45 am this morning. I am still wearing them and it is 10:15 pm. I got up early to workout, got a phone call to sub before I even broke a sweat and after school I helped with homework, finished a scarf, did the dishes, went to the neighbors for a minute and spent 2.5 hours at a community meeting.

I am tired.

As I left the house for the meeting I got a whiff of a distinct smell. It was sour and sweet and what was it? I followed the scent to the girls room, where I found them both pouring the canister of Parmesan cheese out on the bottom bunk and licking it off the sheets with their adorable, fuzzy with cheese faces.

Welcome to my world. (BIG HEAVY SIGH)

accountability

I was really exhausted this morning. Really. Ex.haus.ted. I mean it.

I did not want to go and workout but I did.

I did not want to go to work but I did.

I really wanted to read the Bible but I didn't.

I really wanted to blog my Monday multitudes but I didn't.

I really wanted to avoid junk food but I didn't.

I really want a nap.