Don't Get Caught...Nail it!

I'm guessing the title of my post has you thinking "hmm..."

No I didn't do anything and no this isn't a blog about how NOT to get caught :)  I am one of six in an ensemble at Church and we are singing "Not That Far" by Point of Grace for Christmas Fest and Christmas Eve.  It is really a beautiful song and a great reminder that no matter how much time has passed, we still celebrate the birth of our Savior.  Singing with these talented women is such a privilege and I'm thankful to be part of this group.  One of our Pastor's, who is helping us with the music, made a very interesting comment.  It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season.  I know exactly what he is talking about and was reminded of a commercial I saw on t.v. recently.  The ad was for a big name store, and it basically was a woman singing she "nailed" Christmas this year by having her house completely decked out with all the latest and greatest in Christmas decorations.  Now, I'm not saying that decking out your home with decorations is a bad thing because we love to decorate for the holidays!  However, I think it's easy to get "caught up" in all of this and become so busy trying to be flashy and vibrant in our decorating, that we miss out on the important stuff.  I know for myself, I enjoy watching our children put the ornaments on the tree.  There are those times, however, when they love to put three red or green balls next to each other and we have to come behind them and switch them around, but who says that Christmas decorating has to be perfect? We're creating memories not winning a contest!

Ok, so where am I going with all of this?  I'm simply saying let's not "get caught" up in all of the hustle and bustle, trying to out-do our previous years of decorating, making sure we bake and ice the perfect cookies, but rather we slow down and ask God to help keep our focus on the season and to calm us when we start getting overwhelmed with all the chaos.

Let's truly "nail" Christmas this year and not miss it!  Let's come together and rejoice with family and friends.  We truly have a reason to celebrate every year and it has nothing to do with who has the biggest inflatable decoration in their front yard, or who has the biggest nativity set.   It's so much more and it all has to do with Jesus and his birth.  It all has to do with Him "nailing" it on the cross.

April Showers Bring May Flowers!!!

The tulips Tom and I planted back in the fall have bloomed!!!  We were hoping that, being our first time planting tulips, we had buried the bulbs deep enough and it looks like we did a good job!  They survived our terrible winter :)  I will plant more in the fall because I didn't plant enough but it's a great start!  We wanted to ensure that our tulips stayed alive and beautiful, so we placed a small picket fence around the front and a wire fence around the back to keep our Bella from trampling our garden!

I LOVE the inside of the tulips...I just love the splash of colors inside.  It's a good reminder that man looks on the outward appearance but God looks at the heart; what is inside!!!  That's where true beauty is found :)

I'm not sure what kind of flower this is...I know I planted tulips but I planted other flowers too that will bloom throughout the summer.

April 29th I celebrated my 34th birthday :)  Tom bought a beautiful cake for me and it was yummy!

I can't remember if I posted this picture but it's a macaroni and cheese planet that Kailey made for her science project.  Each student had to create their own planet, and since Kailey LOVES mac and cheese, she wanted to do it.  Well, we tried hot gluing the macaroni noodles on the styrofoam but it was not working out well.  The glue kept becoming very stringy.  However, it worked out in our favor because after we spray painted the noodles, we realized we spray painted the stringy glue and it gave a nice gooey cheese effect!  She got an A for her project :)

Kailey and her chorus group put on a great spring musical of Disney songs.  Kailey, dressed up as a purple flower, was part of the "Golden Afternoon" song from Alice in Wonderland.  

Kailey rehearsed these songs over and over again.  I think we all had them memorized!  All the kids did a fantastic job!!!!

Tom bought me a beautiful bouquet of roses and carnations for my birthday!

Tom celebrated his birthday on April 19th!  Kailey, Natalie and I baked a very rich chocolate cake.  It was actually too sweet for us to finish!

Tom in his element....napping on the deck!

Dying Easter eggs!!!

Kailey and Natalie did a great job of decorating Tom's cake with Hershey Kisses :)

And finally, on April 27th, Kailey was baptized!  This was a proud day for Mom and Dad and we know God is proud of her for the decision she made :)  

If Kailey looks cold...she was!  The water was chilly!  Several people gasped as they went down into the water.

Yea!!!!!

Mandarin Orange Salad

A yummy salad that is good all year long is my Mandarin Orange Salad!  I wanted a salad with dinner a few months ago and this one has become a favorite.  Basically, I just put all the veggies I had in my fridge in a bowl and added the mandarin oranges and voila!  A yummy salad!  Here's the recipe:

1 bag of leafy green salad mix (or whatever mix you prefer)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 English cucumber
mandarin oranges (as many as you like)
Lite balsamic dressing (I prefer Newman's)

Place salad mix in a salad bowl and set aside.  Dice the red bell pepper and add to the salad bowl.  I prefer to cut my cucumber into fourths but you can cut whichever way you prefer; add to the salad bowl.  I also prefer the English or petite cucumber's because they don't have as many seeds and just have a crispier bite. I love lots of mandarin oranges on my salad so I pile them on!  You can also use another fruit if you don't like mandarin oranges, but the oranges really add a nice sweetness to the tang of the dressing.

*I usually do not add the dressing to the whole salad bowl.  This way, I can save the rest for another day and add leftover chicken to it for a light lunch*

Fun Family Day

We actually have a lot of family days, but today I remembered to take some pictures!  After church, we decided to spend some time with each of our daughters separately.  So Tom and Kailey played a few hands of "I Spy Go Fish" while Natalie and I baked my favorite chocolate cookie recipe (which you can find the recipe in an earlier blog post).  I love cooking with my kids because we are teaching them about following directions, patience, math, and the importance of spending quality time together.  Also, although not today, we learn that making a mess can be funny and interesting!  

Natalie and I finished our cookies about the same time that Tom and Kailey were on their fourth game of "I Spy Go Fish."  Tom was very excited that he won the last hand as he never wins when we all play together.  It's become his mission in life to win at this game!  I love this version of "Go Fish" because it's got fun pictures.  We love the "I Spy" books from the library.  

Sadly, spring has brought more snow.  We are supposed to be getting a storm this week :(  I'm ready for my spring and summer bulbs to bloom and I'm seriously considering planting a raspberry bush by the shed.  I was told recently that one used to grow there and the Christmas Tree store has them for $8.  Not a bad price but then again, I've never bought berry plants so I really don't know what a good price is.  But under $10 seems good to me!

Enjoy the pictures of our family day :)

                                                                               

                                                 Natalie was quite proud of our cookies :)  

We added heart sprinkles but sadly they were falling off when we moved them to the cooling rack

Tom basking in his win at "I Spy Go Fish"

Hmm...to play another game or not to play another game????