Chick Fil A 5K

This morning we left at 5:00AM to drive to Memphis for the Chick-Fil-A 5K race. Our family has run this race on and off over the past several years. It is one of our favorite 5K races! It is a large race (over 1200 finishers this year), and the door prizes and post-race refreshments are outstanding.

All four of us met our running goals, and Jimmy placed 2nd in his age group!

 Here we are looking sleepy....we had just gotten out of the car after our 2 hour drive.

 Here we are posing in front of the finish line (before the race). The finish is inside the Auto Zone Park. (Which is the baseball field for the Memphis Redbirds)

 Leah and Sam, enjoying their post-race Chick-Fil-A sandwich!

Jimmy and Me....

tired, but happy!

We hung out at the Bass Pro Shop for a little while before heading home. When we got here, Jimmy mowed the grass, and Leah and Sam did a math and science lesson.

It was a good Labor Day for us.

Just Freeze the Bananas

Early this morning I made myself stop what I was doing and take the time to peel and freeze three very ripe bananas. It took less than one minute. However, trying to decide if this was a good time to stop what I was doing and actually complete this task took me longer than one minute.

Do you find yourself doing this same thing? Things like walking past some towels that are folded but still need to be put in the cabinet? Or knowing that a plant needs watering, or something needs refilling, or some shoes put away? Just little things that can be done in probably less than a minute, but for some reason you find yourself walking past them because you think, "I don't have time to do this right now."

The reality is doing those little tasks the moment you recognize they need doing takes much less time (and mental energy) than thinking about them, not doing them, and nagging yourself about leaving them undone.

What are some things you can do now instead of putting them off to later?

I try to always carry something that goes in the room I am going to as I head that way. For example, we have a basket at the top of our stairs leading to the basement (where our schoolroom, craft area, workout room, garage, and storage room are located). Throughout the day I place items in that basket that belong in one of those areas. Every time I go downstairs, unless my hands are already full, I try to take either the entire basket and empty it or at least take a few items out of it and put them in their proper home. When I leave my bedroom in the morning, I like to take the stray items that ended up there the night before and return them to their proper place.

My children each have a plastic dishpan with their name on it in my laundry room. I place their folded laundry in there each afternoon, but I also place anything I find around the house that belongs upstairs in their room or bathroom in there too. They are responsible for emptying the buckets (that's what we call them, but they are not really buckets) each evening. I used to keep a basket at the bottom of my stairs that lead to the children's rooms for those random items, but now I just put everything in their buckets.

So, my challenge for you today is to just do that small, but maybe annoying task that won't take longer than one minute! If you do several of these tasks each day, it will keep your home looking tidier and hopefully boost your morale too!

Memorizing Scripture

Since most of you are starting a new school year, I though this might be a good time to share my memorizing Scripture system. While I use this system for learning Bible verses, it could be used for anything you wanted your kids (or yourself) to learn.

I am going to share the link to the last time I blogged about my Scripture memory box. It has very detailed instructions on how to set up your own memory box.

I mentioned in this blog post that I copied all the Scriptures that Olivia had learned into a journal and gave it to her when she started college. I also did that for Julie and Clay, and as you can imagine, Clay's journal had many more verses than his sisters since he has been home four more years since Olivia left for college!

Here is the link:
Scripture Memory Box

I hope this encourages you to either begin learning Scripture with your children or to
continue hiding God's Word in your heart.

The Graduations

I'm going to go back a few months in time to share this monumental occasion. All three of my oldest children graduated!

• Olivia:  Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education
• Julie:  Associate of Arts Degree in English
• Clay:  High School Homeschool

Olivia's and Julie's ceremonies were on the same day in the same facility, but at different times. Julie graduated at 3:00 and Olivia graduated at 7:30. Here are some pictures from the big day.

 my parents with Olivia and Julie

 Me, Julie, and Jimmy

 Mims, Julie, and Pops

 Jimmy, Olivia, and Me

Mims, Olivia, and Pops

 Our whole family with Olivia later that night. 

Clay and Parker (who is the son of my best friend, Lynn) graduated homeschool Kindergarten together. I found this precious picture, and asked them to recreate it on their high school graduation night!

 Clay and Parker, at age 6

 Clay and Parker at age 18

 Mims, Clay, and Pops

 proud parents of homeschool graduate #3

(Yes, I am wearing the same dress I wore to the girls' graduation.....I called it my graduation dress!)

 my grown-up children!

one more family photo

The end of April began months of exciting times and major changes for our family of seven. So much has happened since these photographs were taken, and most of it is just a blur! 

Menu Plan Monday

Before I begin my post about What's For Dinner?, let me first say Thank You, dear readers! Between your comments on this blog and on my Facebook page, I am now so motivated to keep blogging. I appreciate your kind words so much! I am about to write down every single suggestion that you made, and I will attempt to address each one over time. Thank you for all the great ideas!  :)

This week begins the first days of our new normal. We are now a family of four here at home. (I spent last week in Florida getting Clay settled in at college.) Leah and I have chosen new seats at our kitchen table so that the four of us are sitting close together on our big table for 10. We are sitting in the middle. It is also an adjustment in cooking. Most of the summer we had 8 people here eating lots of food! I am now buying less groceries and cooking in smaller quantities. I hope to someday get my freezer stocked with some meals to pull out on busy days. 

Baby steps. Adjusting a little at a time.

After a LONG hiatus, I am back to sharing my weekly menu on Menu Monday over at Org.Junkie.

I made a weekly menu that actually began Saturday.  I am sharing some of the recipes so I can access them easily when I want to cook these dishes again. I am trying several new recipes this week that were all found on Pinterest. Each meal is either a one pan meal (with a side of rice, salad, and/or steamed broccoli) or a crock pot meal. Since we begin XC practice this week on Tuesdays and Thursdays,  I am trying some new crock pot recipes so we will have supper ready when we get home. 

Saturday:

Roasted Parmesan Garlic Chicken and Vegetables

Sunday:

crock pot Italian chicken spaghetti

Monday:

Italian sausage and vegetables

brown rice

Tuesday:

crock pot honey mustard pork chops

brown rice

green beans

Wednesday:

pasta salad

fruit salad

Thursday:

crock pot honey sesame chicken

steamed broccoli

brown rice

Roasted Parmesan Chicken and Vegetables

(adapted from a Pinterest recipe)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in half

6 Tbs. melted butter

1/2 tsp. garlic salt, divided

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

20 new potatoes, quartered

1 yellow squash, cut into small chunks

1 zucchini, cut into small chunks

2 Tbs. olive oil

Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Place melted butter with 1/4 tsp. garlic salt in one shallow bowl. Mix the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and 1/4 tsp. garlic salt in another shallow bowl. Spray a large baking sheet with sides with non-stick spray or line with a non-stick mat. Dip each piece of chicken into the melted butter and then coat on both sides with the bread crumb mixture. Place coated chicken in the pan.

Toss the vegetables with the olive oil, and season with a little garlic salt. (I just sprinkled some on them.) Also add any of the melted butter and bread crumb mixture that you had left from the chicken. Spread the vegetables on another large baking pan that has either been sprayed with non-stick spray or lined with a non-stick mat. 

Bake both pans at 375 degrees for 45 minutes -1 hour or until the chicken is done. (I cooked this on the convection setting for about 40 minutes.)

***I bought my non-stick mats from Amazon (This is what they are actually called....I cannot make a direct link work...AmazonBasics Silicone Baking Mat 2 Pack)

 few months ago, and they have changed my cooking!  I cannot believe how easy the clean-up is when using these mats.

Italian Chicken

INGREDIENTS
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4oz fresh baby spinach (about 2 handfuls)
• 28oz can of tomato sauce
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasonings
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
MA TERIALS
• 1 gallon-sized plastic freezer bag
PREP
1. Label your freezer bag.
2. To your freezer bag, add all ingredients.
3. Remove as much air from the freezer bag as possible, seal, and lay flat in your freezer.
COOK
1. The night before cooking, move frozen bag to your refrigerator to thaw. 2. The morning of cooking, pour contents of freezer bag into your crockpot. 3. Cook on “low” setting for 4-6 hours, or until chicken is cooked through.
Serve with spaghetti and a salad. 
(from New Leaf Wellness)


Italian Sausage and Vegetables

Ingredients

• 2 large carrots ~2 cups
• 2 red potatoes ~2 cups
• 1 small-medium zucchini ~2 and 1/3 cups
• 2 red peppers ~2 cups
• 1 head broccoli ~1 and 1/2 cups
• 16 ounces Smoked Italian Turkey or Chicken Sausage

Seasonings

• 1/2 tablespoon EACH: dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley, garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon EACH: onion powder, dried thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated, optional
• 4 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• Optional: fresh parsley, salt and pepper

 Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or foil (easy clean-up) and set aside.
2. Prep the veggies: *It is important to prep the veggies according to directions to ensure they all cook at the same time*
3. Peel and very thinly slice the carrots.  Wash and (if desired peel, we love the peel on) chop the red potatoes. You want the pieces quite small here. (I halve the potatoes and then cut each half into 10-12 pieces)
4. Halve the zucchini and then cut *thick* coins of zucchini. Coarsely chop the broccoli. Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers and chop into medium-sized pieces. Chop the sausage into thick coins.
5. Pour all the veggies and sausage on the sheet pan.
6. In a small bowl combine all of the seasonings and salt and pepper if desired (I use about 1/8 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt) with the olive oil. Stir to combine.
7. Pour the seasoning & oil mixture on top of the veggies and sausage and thoroughly toss to coat.
8. Place in the heated oven for 15 minutes. Remove and toss around the veggies + sausage and return to the oven for another 10-20 minutes or until veggies are crisp tender.
9. Remove and top, if desired, with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.

Serve on top of rice or quinoa if desired. (Also great plain!)

(from Chelsea's Messy Apron)

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

• 1 small onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 cup honey

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 1/4 cup ketchup

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs • 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper 

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over the top. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-7. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and serve with brown rice and steamed broccoli.

(from New Leaf Wellness)

Honey Mustard Pork Chops

1 pound boneless pork chops

1 pound frozen green beans

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (I'm using yellow mustard.)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground thyme

1/2 cup water 

Place pork chops and green beans in crock pot. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over. Cook on low 4-6 hours. 

(from New Leaf Wellness)

***Remember to visit Org.Junkie for more menu inspiration.

To Blog Or Not To Blog

I first began blogging in May of 2008.  I don't even remember the original purpose except that it was a fairly new (to me) thing, and it sounded like something I would enjoy. I spent some time trying to decide if I wanted a homeschool-related blog only (and I looked at some homeschool blogging platforms) or a general blog (and I considered Blogspot, the only platform I saw that others were using).  In the end I went with Google's Blogspot and writing a blog of a general nature.

I have never had any rhyme or reason to my blog. I have just shared my life over the last 9 years in a less than consistent manner. My topics have included homemaking, homeschooling, parenting, sickness, grief, vacations, random fun, Scripture, how-to, holidays, running, exercise, and most recently weddings. I have also never had any specific goals for my blog--just sharing information that was relevant to me in hopes that it may bring joy or offer help or encouragement to someone else too.

I have been trying to decide what to do with this blog for several months now. Part of me wants to create a routine where I blog on a regular basis (5 days a week? once a week? twice a week?). Part of me wants to stop altogether. Part of me wants to completely delete the blog off the internet.

Do people even read blogs anymore?

Is there anything else to say that has not been said?

Does anyone even care that my family ran yet another race or that I dropped off yet another child at college, or that we have started yet another year of homeschooling (the 16th!) or that I have found the best way to clean my shower door or that my heart is broken because my three oldest children are grown and gone and it happened too fast and I am trying to find the positive in all my situations.

I am not sure what I am going to do.

If I continue blogging, what topics are you, my readers, most interested in?

• random family life
• homemaking tips and ideas
• homeschooling tips and ideas
• exercise
• recipes and meal planning
• home organization, cleaning, etc.
• personal Bible study-thoughts/ideas/applications
• products and books that I like
• wedding planning ideas and specifics

I hope to begin our fall routine with what will be our new normal family life on Monday. We did begin school last Monday, but we left last Thursday to bring Clay to college. We have done a couple of days of hotel school, but we have yet to settle into a routine of school, piano, XC and art classes. Most of that will begin for us next week. 

Let Me Tell You How I'm Doing

Everyone I see asks me, "How are you doing?" (meaning how are you doing considering your second wedding in 7 weeks is just 3 days away! Even the teller at my bank knows about my summer of the weddings, and she is concerned for me too! My mechanic asked me if I was crazy yet when I went by to pay him for an oil change.

So, let me just tell you.
I am fine.

I am a little stressed, but overall, I am fine. There are at least one hundred things running through my mind, and I write down one more thing I cannot forget to do all. day. long.

Small Sam (my youngest child--not to be confused with Big Sam, my new son-in-law of almost 7 weeks) is sick. So sick that after 4 days of continuous fever, coughing, headache, sore throat, and goopy eyes, I finally took him to see Dr. Marcus today. He tested negative for strep and mono, but his blood count indicated some sort of bacterial infection, and his throat and eyes look terrible. Dr. Marcus prescribed an oral antibiotic and eye drops. He has not felt like doing much of anything but lying around since Sunday. I am hoping that after 48 hours of medication he will feel up to enjoying Olivia and Brian's rehearsal and dinner.

The men in my family all picked up their wedding suits today. They are gray, and I know they will all look so handsome in them!  I have been running errands every day and also cleaning my house. Oh. and the laundry. I washed, dried, folded, and carefully hung the last tablecloth for the wedding today. I think I have prepared 50 tablecloths! It has taken me the entire time since Julie's wedding to get those tablecloths washed. With 8 people living here (and I am so happy they all live here!), I am doing laundry all the time, and it has been difficult to squeeze in the washing of the tablecloths. But, yay! They are all done!

Tomorrow Olivia, and I are getting a pedicure in the morning, and I have a hair appointment after lunch. In between those two things I have a list of other errands. Brian arrived yesterday, and 5 college kids will be getting here after lunch tomorrow. Fun times!

One last thing on tomorrow's agenda:  Julie, Big Sam, and Clay are going on a 44 mile run/bike ride early tomorrow morning. Big Sam is running all 44 miles, Clay is riding all 44 miles, and Julie is running 26.2 miles and then bike riding the rest. Doesn't that sound like fun? My part in this fun activity is to follow them to the ending point (30 minutes away), then drive them and Julie's bike to the 26 mile point on the trail, and then take all three of them to the starting point of the trail (about an hour from our house). Then I will come home while they run and bike! And we are leaving at 4:00 AM for this excitement.

Now you know--I am fine!  :)

It's Happening Again

Just like about seven weeks ago, as I sit here beginning my day with reading a Psalm, it hits me.
Olivia is leaving home for good.
In 6 short days she will marry Brian, and they will leave to begin their new life together--far away from us.
Olivia is such a ray of sunshine! I will miss her terribly.

The tears come again.

Where has the time gone? How in the the blink of an eye have my older girls gone from playing dolls and stuffed animals for hours and days on end to getting married and moving away?

"How precious is your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings."

Psalm 37:7

Under the shadow of the Lord's wings; that's the only place I can live right now. I can draw comfort from knowing that Olivia is in His hands. As she begins her new life with Brian, I know they have committed to keeping serving Jesus at the center of their marriage. 

My anxiety level is high. I have a million things to do in order to pull off wedding #2 smoothly.  My emotions are all over the place. Jimmy's beloved grandmother, Munu, passed away Friday night, and we are all mourning. She was such a godly lady and is leaving behind a wonderful legacy. Julie and Big Sam are leaving for Romania in 8 days. Clay begins college in about a month. The Lord knew that I would need two more children after my older three left home.....I am so glad I have Leah and Sam. I have said that a hundred times these last few months.  Having more children to mother full time is such a blessing to me.

Those who know me well know that I rarely cry.  But recently the tears come often and in unexpected places. Change is hard for me, and that is what I struggle with most. I am praying for wisdom as I begin a new chapter of my life--I have a new role now (mother-in-law), and the great thing about that is now I have more children! 

Like I wrote about earlier in this post the day before Julie was married,  I am purposing to choose joy. I love Jimmy with all my heart, and I want all my children to experience the same joy in their adult lives. Thanksgiving produces joy. I have said that over and over again, but it is true. When I feel overwhelmed I remind myself of my blessings, and the joy soon follows. Yes, it requires discipline to not give into the selfishness of "my children are all growing up and leaving me!", but being thankful that our God and Father has them in the palm of His hand brings me immeasurable comfort.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

Our 26th Wedding Anniversary

Well. I decided to share some new and never seen before pictures of our big day from 1991!

Jimmy looks like a baby!

Here is a full view of my magnificent dress!  Isn't my headdress the best ever? (Julie carefully cut lace off my dress to trim her wedding dress....and there is enough lace left for a few more wedding dresses.)

Here are my bridesmaids....They are all so pretty!

Stephanie, Jennifer, Geri, Kristi, Me, Sharon, Kim, Jenny, and Lori. Lovely ladies!

It's been a nice day.....Jimmy had to work until about 7:45, and I spent my day cleaning and doing laundry.  But all of my children are here at home (all 6 of them!), and I could not be happier with my life, my marriage, and my family.

Julie and Sam Have a Blog!

Julie and Big Sam have started a blog. I am so excited, and I know you will be too! We can all keep up with them on their Romanian adventure.

Here is the link:
The Peters Progress

Happy Reading!

Words and Thoughts

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord my strength and my redeemer."

Psalm 19:14

In my Psalms reading this morning, this particular verse stood out. What a tall order--for my words and the meditation of my heart (my thoughts) to be acceptable in God's sight.  Lately my thoughts are anxious, so my words are sometimes less than acceptable in God's sight. I am working on this. The second part of the verse gives the solution...."O Lord my strength and my redeemer". On my own, I will fail every time. With God's help and with my willingness to submit my selfish desires to Him, I can hope to succeed in making my words and thoughts acceptable to Him. 

What's been going on:

• Julie and Big Sam are married! The wedding was absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way. As soon as the photographer gets the pictures to me, I will share some. He texted me a few.....here is one of them.
• 
• The kids and I attended Rustic Youth Camp last week. My team of teachers (of the 3rd and 4th grade class) graciously allowed me to just be a helper for the week of camp since I am in the middle of two weddings! It was such a blessing to not have to spend hours preparing lessons and crafts and then packing and taking the whole house to camp! Thank you so much Beverly, Desiree', Chrystal, and Heather!
• I am still washing tablecloths from Julie's wedding!  They must be washed and dried one at a time in order to get the wrinkles out. The wash cycle is 35 minutes, and the drying time is 20 minutes. I have to get them out of the dryer the second the dryer cuts off. Then I hurriedly lay the tablecloth on my bed and fold it carefully before hanging it on a hanger. I think I have washed, dried, folded, and hung 23 so far. We used about 40 at Julie's wedding, so I still have many left. I also have some additional tablecloths that are new that we will also need for Olivia's wedding. They must be washed and dried before using them because they have hard wrinkles in them from the packaging. I think I have about 50 tablecloths to prepare in all for Olivia's rehearsal dinner and wedding reception.
• I'm slowing increasing my running miles. I have really let myself get out of shape with the traveling and wedding planning. I also starting rowing yesterday. I plan to row 3 days a week to hopefully strengthen my shoulder (that I injured doing CrossFit). I hope to go back to CrossFit class in July. 

Today Olivia and I have a long to-do list for her wedding.

Fun!

I Choose Joy

"I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High."

Psalm 9: 1-2

Today I choose joy. 

My precious Julie will be married tomorrow. 

Today I have one thousand things on my to-do list, the bulk of which will take place beginning at 8:00 this morning at the wedding venue. I am meeting my BFFs, my wedding planners extraordinaire, Lynn and Leanna, there for us to work our magic! I have packed my SUV like a game of Tetris, and I have many more items to load into the back of Jimmy's truck, including an arbor he built (absolutely beautiful), four ferns, and a keyboard and bench. 

I slept poorly last night, thinking of all I had to do today. I am also a little nervous to let my child go. And the tears fall.

So I get out my Bible to try to begin my day in the right frame of mind. I turn to the Psalms where I read from each morning to get my mind on God, praising Him, petitioning Him, reminding myself that He is in control. Psalm 9 begins with the psalmist praising God with his whole heart. That's how I can choose joy today in spite of my personal feelings of being overwhelmed by the tasks before me. In spite of the fact that I am entering into a new and unfamiliar stage of life. My whole heart must be focused on praising God and His goodness. I will be glad and rejoice in Him. 

I could not be happier for sweet Julie and the life she will begin with her beloved Sam tomorrow. They are both mature; Christ and serving Him is the center of their lives. They are both smiling continually, and their joy is contagious! 

People ask me how am I coping with "losing two daughters at once". First of all, I am not losing them! I am gaining two more children when they marry. Sure, I could be selfish and focus on myself, my feelings, my "loss", but would that be right? Instead, I choose joy. What more can a mother ask than for her children to marry godly spouses? Men who will love her daughters and take care of them. Men who love the Lord and will strive to keep Christ at the center of their lives.

But mostly I comfort myself with this thought......I am so happy in my life. I love my husband. I love my children. Jimmy and I have had such a full life so far. Of course we have had bumps along the way, but overall, I am living my dream of being a full-time wife, homemaker and mother. I get to homeschool my children. I get to spend my days serving my family....And that is what I want for my children. 

If I don't let them grow up and leave our nest, then they will never experience the joy of marriage and parenting that Jimmy and I have delighted in. They must leave to have their own families and lives and to one day face their own children growing up and leaving home. 

So today, I chose joy. Joy in the future that awaits Julie and Big Sam. Joy in the fact that the Lord will comfort me as I experience many emotions over the next couple of days. Joy in the fact that God loves Julie infinitely more than I do, and she is in His care and protection.

One Week From Today

Well. Wedding #1 is one week from today. Julie and Sam's wedding. I am not quite ready!

Here's what's been going on since I last blogged on May 2:

• We hosted several of Olivia and Julie's college friends for a weekend while they all came to run the Coke 10K race. We bought new bunk beds for Sam's room for this occasion which sleep 5! The beds are two double beds bunked with a twin trundle bed. I only put 3 college boys on these beds, but I am thinking that 5 future grandchildren can sleep there just fine.
• Our family also ran the Gumtree 10K the following week.
• Clay graduated, and we had a huge party to celebrate the occasion at our home. It was supposed to be an outdoor BBQ, but it rained and rained, so I had to host 94 people inside my house! I was able to seat 42 people in tables and chairs on my porches. Still, it was fun and crowded!
• Our family of seven took a short vacation to the Rocky Mountain National Park. Except we did not do much hiking in the mountains.....it snowed. Three feet of snow in 24 hours! We have never experienced snow like that before! We stayed in a cabin in Estes Park. The first day, before the snowstorm hit, we were able to do three hikes. The next two days we played in the snow and even tried to drive into the park to explore (unsuccessfully!). The last day we drove to Boulder, Colorado, where we were able to drive up to the summit of Flagstaff Mountain. We took a few picture there in the snow before heading down to explore the Pearl Street Mall.
• This last week I have done wedding stuff every single day. This included counting and sorting tablecloths, vases, lanterns, and candles, shopping for ribbon, fabric to drape over the arbor and various other items, taking the program to the printer, picking up Olivia's invitation envelopes (the outer and inner envelopes were printed), and much more.
• Last night Leanna and I spray painted 38 clear vases gold and silver speckled. 
• I've had my final meetings with the caterer and florist. 
• Lynn and Leanna have been diligently working to plan the flow and flip of the ceremony and reception. I am so thankful for both of them, and there is no way I could pull off these weddings without their help. 
• Julie finished her wedding dress and veil, and they are both beautiful!
• Olivia's dress is hemmed and ready as well. Both gowns and dresses along with bridesmaids dresses are all hanging in the closet.

I actually have so much to say about our fun and busy month of May, and I have lots of pictures to share. I really hope I can find time to do that! 

Big Sam will fly in Tuesday! He will stay with us until the night before the wedding. I am sending all guests to a hotel for Friday and Saturday nights. :) After that, the Johnson Hotel will reopen for business. Julie and Sam have not seen each other since the beginning of January, so they are both super excited! Their plan is to come back here after their honeymoon and some other traveling they need to do (Sam will be giving reports to the churches that have supported him the last year). They will stay with us until after Olivia's wedding on July 22. Then they will fly to their new home in Romania. 

Happy Saturday!

The College Girls Are Home

Leah and I drove down to Tampa last Monday.  We made record time....11 hours and 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the trip back also took record time:  the longest drive to or from Tampa ever...14 hours, 25 minutes. What a trip!  I pulled a Uhaul trailer behind my SUV with Olivia, Leah, and Sam as passengers. Clay drove Julie in the girls' college car. We encountered numerous traffic jams due to wrecks and construction, and every stop took longer than usual because I am not the best parker when pulling a trailer.

A few details. Leah and I listened to Meet the Austins by Madeleine L'Engle on Audible. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I think I liked it better than Leah did. It was only 6 hours, so that was perfect to listen to on our trip. We alternated listening to the book and Leah watching movies (with headphones) while I listened to podcasts.

I spent last Tuesday packing up Julie's dorm room and Wednesday packing up Olivia's. I can't believe how much stuff they have! It almost did not even fit in the Uhaul and our two vehicles. On Thursday I finished up the packing and did some cleaning. My parents, Jimmy, Clay, and Sam arrived Thursday afternoon. We all attended Olivia's Senior Coin Ceremony which is where each senior presents a commemorative coin to a teacher or staff member that had the greatest impact on him or her during their four years of college. Olivia presented her coin to her dorm mother, Momma B. Momma B has been invaluable to both Olivia, Julie, and me too!

Friday our family explored Lettuce Lake Park near our hotel, and then we attended two graduations! Julie received her Associate of Arts Degree at 3:00, and then Olivia received her Bachelor's Degree at 7:30. Both girls graduated with highest honors, and I am so proud of them.

Jimmy and my parents flew back early Saturday morning (Jimmy had to be at work at 4:00 PM), and the children and I finally got on the road at 10:30 AM. We finally arrived home just before midnight CST.

Olivia and Julie are diligently unpacking and sorting through all their college belongings. I think things multiplied in their dorm rooms. I am not sure where are going to put all this stuff! We unloaded the cars and Uhaul into my schoolroom. I moved Leah and Sam's schoolbooks to my kitchen because you cannot even walk in my schoolroom!

It actually looks a lot worse than this picture right now because they have started going through the boxes.

The final days of wedding planning are in full force, and next week is filled with Clay's graduation, the kids' piano recital, and Clay's graduation party. Fun and busy times!

15 Minutes Again

Yesterday, blogging for 15 minutes proved to be successful for me, so I'm doing it again!

Jimmy was given The Daily Bible by one of the elders in our church a few years ago. In January of 2016 he began reading it, and he liked it so much that he started it again on January 1 of this year. Around the beginning of February I decided that I would like to read this Bible too, so I ordered one. Initially I wanted to double or triple my daily readings and catch up to the correct calendar date, but after a couple of weeks of this I realized that I would not catch up anytime soon. So, I decided to just skip to the actual day's reading and just read from there. Perfect!  Now Jimmy and I are reading the same passage each day, and we can discuss it if we want. Leanna also purchased this Bible and began reading on the current day, so we can discuss it too while we are running if we like. Clay has this Bible, and I plan to buy one for Leah to begin reading January 1, 2018.  I don't think Sam is ready for this amount of daily Bible reading yet, but I will probably go ahead and get him a copy of this Bible so he can begin when he is ready. He currently reads one chapter of his Bible each day.

Olivia and Julie are both graduating on April 28. Olivia will be receiving her Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education, and Julie will be receiving her Associate's degree in English. One ceremony is at 3:00, and the other one is at 7:30. Clay will be graduating high school on May 9. Lots of graduations, weddings, showers, and parties going on around here!  We are also squeezing in a short family (just the 7 of us) vacation to the Rocky Mountains before the weddings.

I recently finished a book called The Year of Living Danishly. It was fascinating! It is the one year memoir of a young woman and her husband living in Denmark while he worked for Lego. They are originally from England. I enjoyed reading about the culture and traditions of Denmark and how  Helen adjusted (or tried to adjust!). I have several books on my shelf just waiting for me to read! I also just finished The Westing Game (for my English class--our fun book for the year), and yesterday was also our last class for the school year. So now I will have more time to read for pleasure.

Oops! I just checked my timer because I thought surely it had been more than 15 minutes. Yes. It has been 20 minutes! I accidentally set my time for 1 hour, 15 minutes, not just 15 minutes!

Have a great day!

I'm Still Here

It doesn't seem possible that it's been a month since I last blogged. I am still here--still wedding planning, homeschooling, traveling, cooking, cleaning, hosting, etc.,

I just set my timer for 15 minutes, and I will end this post when the time is up. I figured 15 minutes is better than nothing. I keep waiting for that perfect big block of time to catch up on my blogging, and since it never comes I thought I would try this strategy.

Today is Olivia's birthday! As I have done for the four years she has been in college, (has she been in college that long?) I mailed her a "birthday in a box". This is basically a box of wrapped birthday gifts. One year we decorated the mailing box, but this year I did good to actually get the package in the mail on time!

Wedding planning--here's an update:

• After trying on many, many dresses in many, many stores I finally ordered a dress online from JJs House. I ordered it in navy blue. I decided on that color at the last minute to match a tie that Jimmy will wear in the wedding. His tie has shades of purple and blue and will look nice with both my dress and the purple bridesmaids dresses.
• Last month Lynn, Leanna, and I spent 8 hours at both girls' wedding venues making our decorating and logistical plans. I dreamed that night of vases, chairs, flowers, and counting in multiples of 7. (We counted and recounted chairs and tables and tried to keep it all straight).
• I ordered Olivia's wedding invitations last night.
• I mailed Julie's wedding invitations last week. The replies have begun trickling in. I am keeping track of the responses in three places:  on a spreadsheet on my laptop, on a printout of the spreadsheet, and in a notes document on my phone. 
• Lynn, Leanna, and I met with the caterer last night one (almost) final time to discuss and plan Julie's reception.
• I met with the florist to discuss both girls' weddings. He was very helpful, and I think all is well in the floral department.
• Lynn, Leanna, and I took inventory of the wedding items I borrowed from a friend and I bought the remaining vases I will need.
• I placed a huge order for white tablecloths, tulle, ribbon, round mirrors, and table runners (things I need for both girls' receptions). It was cheaper for me to buy tablecloths than to rent them. The two websites I used for this are efavormart.com and smartyhadaparty.com

Well, my 15 minutes is up!

I hope to post again soon.

A Blog Post

So every day I put blog on my to-do list, and every day I never get to check it off.

Here goes......Last Thursday we went camping in our tiny house camper. The weather was perfect, and we had such a great time! We hiked many miles and cooked yummy food over the campfire. I am not through sewing curtains for the camper, but when I get them finished I plan to share pictures of our cute tiny house pop-up camper! So far I have only recovered the dinette cushions and bought color coordinated bedding, pillows, baskets, etc. I am using navy and turquoise (no pink because the boys said, "please, no pink!)

Wedding Update: not much

• ordered wedding memory books for both girls
• ordering hostess gifts for their showers today
• pondering when and where to buy a dress for me for both weddings
• planned an all day wedding planning extravaganza for tomorrow--Lynn, Leann, and I are meeting at 8:30 AM to get a lot of stuff done.
• most of the items we ordered during Spring Break have arrived

I am almost through reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I really like this book. It's my third time to read it, and I enjoy it more every time. We are reading this book in my senior English class. I am not sure they appreciate it as much as I do!  They are happy that I am not making them write a paper about it. We are doing business writing (business letters, resumes, and job applications) instead. And they have an 1800 word research paper due next week. 

We had our first track meet last Tuesday. It was Leah's first one, and she ran well. She and Clay both ran the 1 mile and the 800m, and Leah also ran the 4 x 800 relay. We got home around 11:00 PM. Fun.

I have gradually begun running again. (My CrossFit injury from many weeks ago has really slowed me down.) This week I have run 2 times!  2.5 miles on Monday and yesterday a long run with Leanna of 4 miles! Baby steps. I know that if I jump in too fast with too many miles I will get a running related injury in my knee or IT band. So, I am easing into the miles. I am running the Coke 10K on May 6, so my goal is to do that in under an hour. 

That's about all.

Oh. I haven't forgotten about Better Than Before. Keep reading! I'll blog about it soon.

Our Spring Break

My college girls have come and gone! What a week it was!

They landed in Memphis last Saturday morning at 9:05 AM, and our whole family was so, so happy when they arrived home. Sadly, we left at 7:15 AM this morning to drive them to the Birmingham airport. They have safely arrived back in Tampa.

Our week was full of wedding planning (lots accomplished) and visiting grandparents. Plus they had schoolwork. Yuk! I felt so sorry for them having to do school during their break. Jimmy had to work every single day they were home, and that was super sad too. All five children spent most of one day helping out with Jimmy's momma, and I spent most of my week at the Tupelo hospital with my sick mama. (She went home yesterday and is doing so much better). Even though I was pulled in several different directions, it was all good. I got to spend time with my parents (although not under the best circumstances), and I had lots of time with Olivia and Julie too.

Here is what we accomplished regarding the weddings:

• took both wedding dresses to the alterations lady to be marked for hemming and bustling.
• ordered personalized napkins for each girls' wedding cake table
• ordered personalized thank you notes for each girl
• ordered Love stamps for the wedding invitations
• reserved 17 men's suit rentals for both weddings (17 in all for both)
• Julie's wedding invitations came in, but the outer and inner envelopes were printed in the wrong font. It's all ok though. I contacted the company, and they reprinted them, and they have already shipped.
• Julie's bridesmaid dresses for Leah and Olivia arrived. They both fit perfectly and need no alterations.
• Both girls registered at Belk, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Walmart, and Kohl's for wedding gifts.
• Both girls finalized their choices for bride's and bridesmaids' bouquets, boutonnieres for the men, flower girl hair pieces, and all other flowers as well. I will meet with the florist very soon.

I think that's all!

We Have a New Dog

Just what we needed! Another dog.

When we came home from camping last Saturday, a brown dog was at our house. He was happy to see us! He had made himself right at home with our other three outside dogs, Ribsy, Pokey, and Lady.
We spent a couple of days trying to decide if he would make our home his new home. I called my neighbor down the road to see if she knew of anyone who was missing a brown dog. She did not. I waited to see if he would go back where he came from. He did not.

On Monday, he injured himself trying to jump over a fence to get to where Leah was. He got hung, but Clay promptly rescued him. He immediately began limping.....I kept waiting for him to get better, but no. Yesterday we could not find him at all until about 2:00. Clay found him on one of our trails, and he was not moving. So, I called the vet to see if I could bring "Brown Dog" in for assessment. Since we only welcome dogs with infirmities to the Johnson Rehabilitation Center, I knew that he would most likely have health issues.

And he did. The vet's report included a spinal sprain (treated by pain meds and anti-inflammatory medication), heart worms (all of our dogs come with heart worms!), and a variety of intestinal worms. Of course. They began treatment for all of that plus scheduled surgery to neuter him this morning. I ordered him a shocking collar (all dogs who live on our land have to have their surgery and wear a shocking collar so they won't get hit by a car), and we will pick him up tomorrow morning.

We still haven't named Brown Dog. The kids are trying to decide on the perfect name.

In case you're counting, that brings our pet population to a total of 8. Three inside cats, one inside dog, and four outside dogs. And I'm really not an animal person!

Do Everything At Once

That's how I am feeling lately. I alternate between being stress paralyzed and doing five things all at once. I keep reminding myself how to eat an elephant.....one bite at a time.

Wedding Planning Update:

• I am entering the names and addresses online into a database for the outer and inner envelopes to be printed for Julie's wedding invitations. This is way more involved than I anticipated. I have done 15 so far. I have about 200 to go! I have already typed the guest list in a spreadsheet document with tabs for several different categories of guests. My columns include name, address, RSVP, and estimate. The estimate column is where I guessed how many, if any people from each family would attend the wedding. This is the number I used to determine how much food to order from the caterer. As I get RSVPs (and I really, really hope people will respond--I am including an email address and number to text for responses), I will adjust my estimate for a hopefully final accurate headcount for the caterer.  I thought I could use this same document and just email or upload it to the invitation website, but of course it has not been that simple. I have to type each entry on the invitation's website, one at a time! AND....it will not save them to use again for Olivia's invitations!  So I am going to price having them printed locally, if I can just give them my spreadsheet or upload it somehow, and if it is not too expensive.
• I printed out the wedding ideas photos. 
• I met with the caterer for Olivia's wedding and planned her reception.
• I decided I may want a different dress to wear for Olivia's wedding.
• I scheduled the alterations of Olivia's wedding dress while she is home for spring break.
• I researched and compiled options for Olivia's rehearsal dinner and sent them to Joy. (Believe it or not, this took almost four hours.)
• Julie's finance', Big Sam, has gotten all but one of the groomsmen/usher's measurements for the suit rentals. Yay Big Sam!  :)

My back/shoulder/neck is still bothering me. I tried to do some housework yesterday, and I simply could not. My house is getting really dirty! The kids are helping me clean, and I am so thankful for that. I am really hoping that by next Monday I will be as good as new and can spend the week catching up on housework. 

Camper Update:  I have bought all kinds of cute dishes, towels, bedding, and such for our tiny little camper. I also have bought pretty fabric to make curtains and cover the dinette cushions. However, I have not found the time to do any sewing. The kids are anxious for me to make our camper cute....maybe I can sew some today. 

Happy Thursday to you!

Oh, and I haven't forgotten about Better Than Before. I had to finish Huckleberry Finn for my English class, and I haven't made time to read the next chapter in Better Than Before.  I will this weekend. 

Just Checking In

Hello! I thought I would check in on this beautiful Friday morning! The temperature is supposed to be almost 80 this afternoon here in Mississippi. I want to do school outside today! We just might do that.

The kids are at the track right now running. I stayed behind because I did not want to be that mom that takes her kids to the track to run and just sits in the car! I normally run or at least walk when I take them (it makes me feel better to be exercising too instead of just watching them), but since I am still struggling with this strained/pulled/broken forever trapezius muscle, I am unable to do anything really. It's been 11 days since I injured it! 11 days! It even hurts to walk for very long, so I am not running of course. I am getting a little antsy without regular exercise. And my house is getting dirtier and dirtier because I certainly cannot vacuum or mop!

Anyway. I have been pinning and planning things for our little pop-up camper while I am resting. We are taking it out for the first time soon, and I hope to have everything all ready. It will certainly be a learning experience the first few times we camp. I really cannot even imagine how it will be!

We have had a productive school week. In addition to their regular subjects like math, grammar, spelling, etc., Leah and Sam are still learning about the presidents and each of our fifty states. Each morning we spend 15-30 minutes reading about and making a page for our notebook for either a president (in random order) or a state (in alphabetical order). When both projects are complete, I plan to bind the state pages in some sort of book. The president pages are 3-hole punched and are going into a decorated binder.  We are also slowly working our way through Sonlight Core F which is the Eastern Hemisphere. We are studying China right now.

I hope all of you have a fantastic weekend! I hope to clean out my refrigerators. Fun!