Grow Grow Grow

So here are a few pictures of my plants. They are growing.

We decided to transplant the peas & beans into some bigger containers because they were starting to get a little root bound. Plus they need to start growing on a trellis. I thought we would be in a new place by now so we could have put them in the ground but we are still waiting to see what happens. So off to containers for now.

Easier Said Than Done

So, yesterday was a crazy, some what emotional day for me. I am in a huge transition time in my life. I am in a waiting time. It is so hard to wait on the Lord. I am waiting for our house to sell....which we just lowered our asking price. I am waiting on my parents to move out...which it truly hasn't been too hard having them living with us...we have enjoyed it. I am waiting to hear from the magnet schools to see if Gabe has made it in. I am waiting to hear about childcare so Bill & I can possibly go to Exodus this year. It is so hard. Today I am going to meditate on this passage from scripture because yesterday my focus was not here and I was frazzled all day. So, I hope for today to be full of peace as promised in Phillipians 4:6-8.

Don't worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for al he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus...fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Gardening

So this year I decided I wanted to go all out with my garden. I am getting a little anxious with the house selling because I want to get my raised beds up & going. All my seeds have officially sprouted. Check out my pictures!

These were from the first week. I still need to get my most recent ones from my camera. Everything has sprouted & is getting big. I need to plant some of them soon.

Best Friend

So many times I feel like life is going great...then God puts people in my way to change me, grow me, inspire me & strengthen me. This past weekend I had the privilege of coordinating volunteers for the Cross Power's Conference which is for people who are struggling with SSA or OSA in their marriages. It blows my mind that people would travel here from all over the world to confront their issues. I don't think I would travel across the country to proclaim my sin issues. At the banquet on Saturday night Mike spoke about living a life that is counter cultural. "A life without struggles is a life without God."-Mike Goeke We all want a life without struggles....so I thought. So many times I strive to fix everything, mend it, make it better. When really God makes us strong when we are at our weakest.

During one of the breaks I mentioned to a lady that I ran into a mutual acquaintance at the farmer's market and how I invited her to our MOMS group at Stonegate...etc. Well, then we were talking about motherhood a little bit and about friendships and she totally caught me off guard and asked me, do you have a best friend? I just stood their looking at her to find myself quickly avoiding eye contact, fumbling my words to come up with a quick response. Do I have a best friend? Did I? As I started to panic I was like well....I have a bunch of great friends, a couple ladies like Tina Chalk & Candyce Wylie that I talk to. But I guess No I don't really have a best friend. Someone who has the same struggles of motherhood, how to manage both a marriage & kids, someone I could call at any time, who knows when I am struggling, who holds me accountable to be in the word, to pray for me....heck to pray with me.

When we got in the car I told Bill all about it and we discussed it at length. I guess I realized that I feel like I don't want to bother people with me. I don't want people to take time out of their day to invest in me. I want to do the investing. I also see that I need to do more of it. I also think I might have false expectations of what it is suppose to look like. So, I feel like I am setting that person up for failure.

So, then I went to church and Patrick spoke from 2 Peter 1:5-7....and he talked for a moment on having a best friend. I felt like Mindi and Patrick talked. God had my full attention....what are you trying to tell me? Patrick went on to talk about the friend who you would go to the end of the earth for, someone to hold you accountable, someone whose heart is intimately knit together with yours. All I could think of was Jake & Jessi and we are super close, and they would do anything for us & our children. But then I feel like she can't relate with motherhood because her journey is not there yet. I hardly remember life without kids. It seems so long ago. And we don't really keep each other accountable like we should....something to work on.

Patrick challenged us to pick one or two things that we need to work on. I think finding a best friend....or lowering my expectations is going to be my prayer. Someone I can relate to, share life with, and hold each other accountable. I feel like we have so many things fighting against us that we need those people in our lives. We need more prayer. More people praying for us, with us. I hope that I can help my friends more...to be better mommas....to encourage them...to pray for them....to just invest in their lives. We all need each other to get through this crazy life.

Bird Nest Treats

Bird Nest Treats we made for our little easter party!

1/3 Cup Butterscotch Morsels

1 Cup Chow Mein Noodles

1 Cute Little Helper

Melt Morsels, Add Noodles, Mix & drop spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet

Press in some mini robin eggs and enjoy!

Recycled Crayons

Found this article on little birdie secret's she got from her friend Bonnie Rains. Such a great idea! I have seen this done with old crayons in metal muffin tins....I thought the silicon mold idea is great!

Recycled Crayons Tutorial

Who doesn’t have broken crayons at their house? Instead of throwing them away, recycle them into fun new crayons! This is a great project for kids to help with.

First, find all your broken crayon pieces and remove the paper from each. Then break them into smaller pieces (about one third to one quarter of the regular size crayon). Then have your trusty assistant help you sort them by color into your favorite silicon mold (or you can use regular cupcake pans with foil liners). I chose to use a star design because I thought each point on the star would make a nice new pointy crayon.


Place your silicon mold with crayon pieces on a baking sheet and put it in the oven at 200 degrees. Heat your crayons so the wax melts completely. I thought this would take 15-20 minutes, but actually took closer to 30-40 minutes. When the wax is melted remove the pan and let your crayon’s cool. Once they are cool you can easily pop them out and admire all the pretty color combinations you created in your brand new crayons!