my blessed life

Last night I had some of the best fun I've had in a while.  I went to a paint-your-own canvas party!!  If you've never painted your own canvas before, you totally should try it.  It's relaxing, fun, and challenging all at the same time. There is a business, Creative Canvas By You , in our area who will actually come to you for a paint party rather than you going to a studio (and their workers were awesome~I highly recommend them!).  So we hosted this party at our church.  The ladies who came had a blast!   Our party got to choose between three different paintings.  Then the ladies from the business walked us through our paintings step-by-step.  Isn't it fun to see how each person's painting looks different?  Even though you might be doing the same painting as several other people your own personal touches shine through making it your very own. I can't wait to find a place to hang my beautiful new cross painting in our home!  An

Where has July gone?!  I really thought (in my apparently delusional mind) that this month wouldn't be as busy as it has turned out to be.   I've been getting organized for another busy week.  Vince and I sat down together tonight and made sure we had everything coordinated so that hopefully there will be no surprises in our schedule.   Even though it's going to be busy we will be having most of our meals at home however.  And that's why I love menu planning.  If you plan ahead for it then it goes so much more smoothly than looking at your watch at 4 pm on a weekday and freaking out about what's for dinner ;)   So here's the plan: Monday:   Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes {before we head to a homeschool co-op meeting} Tuesday:   {paint-your-own-canvas party with my church ladies} I'm taking a cheeseball with Spicy Saltines , Vince and the kiddos are snacking at home Wednesday:   Grilled Hawaiian Dogs with Chips {on our hibachi grill

This week has been a little bit slower than the last--thank goodness!  We've had a little more family time and that has been so nice.  It's just been a season of extreme busyness with some renovations at our church and it has kept us (especially Vince) very busy.  I'm very thankful to have a husband that loves his family wholeheartedly and knows when to take some extra time for us.   Yesterday was one of those times.  We just needed a fun family day, so we took one!   We decided to head to Nashville.  It's nice having a large city nearby and we are enjoying exploring more and more of it.  Yesterday we only had three things on our "list": McKay Books , the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park area (and a little bit of downtown), and a Sounds game .  Check, check, and check!  We did it all and had a blast!!  My sister was even able to join us:)  We all came back home ready to crash, but full of some really great memories.  the lovely Tennessee capito

You can catch me today over at The Ramblings of the Blonde Mother Bear talking about our homeschool group's yearbook. Vince and I were the editors/sponsors this past year and it was definitely a learning curve for us.  Tara (aka: Blonde Mother Bear) has a great series she's doing on Yearbook Process & Production .  I am certainly learning a lot by reading her posts in this series.  They're very informative!  If you are at all interested in a yearbook for your homeschool group--or even your personal homeschool--you will want to check out this series of posts. Click here to start reading. ***** Don't miss a thing here at My Blessed Life! Subscribe, Follow, & "Like" today!

Well, I survived last week .  And the busy weekend.  We were so tired by the time Saturday rolled around that we didn't even follow through with our plans for that day, but stayed home instead. Except I "made" Vince take us out for lunch since I had to eat two meals of hot dogs at kids' events on Friday...haha This week should be a little bit slower.  Thank goodness, because I was so tired by last Thursday that I went to bed before 10 pm.  And for those of you who know me, that probably hasn't happened since I was 10 years old! While I only cooked one meal last week (easy spaghetti) this week I'm doing a bit more.  And making a few special requests. Monday:   Poppy Seed Chicken over rice, with green peas (always a huge favorite with everybody!) Tuesday:   Avocado-Egg Salad Wraps Wednesday:   Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes  Thursday:   Meatloaf with potatoes Friday:  {out...family fun day} Saturday:   {snacks & leftovers} Th

It's been a while since I've done a weekly wrap--since we finished full-time school for the summer actually.  But I this week warranted a wrap.  It's been one busy week! In my life this week... I have gone at break-neck speed taking the kiddos places, going to ladies Bible study, going to meetings, running the never-ending list of errands, cleaning off my desk, attempting a project or two...  It has been exhausting.  By Thursday night I was able to get in bed before 10 pm--something that I NEVER do because I am simply a night owl.  But I was asleep before 10:30 that night and actually got a full 8 hours of shut-eye.  I awoke on Friday feeling refreshed, if still somewhat tired.  I went to bed earlier than usual again last night and since today was Saturday I was able to sleep until I woke up.  Another good 8 hours!  So nice and so needed.  Sometimes we just have to say "no, not now" to things that need to be done in order to take care of ourselves to be

Ah, summer time... Those lazy days ....wha?????? I am so worn out from the busy days of summer time!  I am longing for some of those lazy days. Just to be able to relax, play games with my family, take a random road trip, sit and read ...you know, do nothing ! Instead, this week has been a blur of activity--make that: this month has been a blur of activity.   We still have so many things on our Summer Fun List that aren't checked off yet. This week especially has seemed like we (my husband and I) are 'ships passing in the night' because of the crazy-busyness.  We've been VBS-ing, kids crusade-ing, birthday party-ing, and I've been shopping, going to meetings, trying desperately to keep up with housework while Vince is busy with renovations at our church. I am so looking forward to next week when we have some family fun down time planned. Next summer I'm putting "Be Lazy and Do Nothing" on our list! ***** Don't miss a thin

Happy Tasty Tuesday! This past weekend one of my sweet friends invited us over to pick blackberries on her land.  I was more than happy to oblige!  We love blackberries here and having them fresh in the summertime is always a real treat.   Blackberry Cobbler is Vince's favorite and I've made it a few different ways before, generally using a pie crust style top on it.  This time I decided to try a different style, so I adapted a Pioneer Woman recipe ( always a good choice, btw!).  It turned out gorgeous and heavenly!!  I love it when my food looks as good as it tastes:) Blackberry Cobbler  (adapted from the Pioneer Woman) 6 cups blackberries (fresh or frozen both work) 1/2 cups + 4 tbsp. sugar 1 tbsp. lemon juice Lemon zest, to taste 2 cups flour 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. baking powder 1/4 cup shortening 4 tbsp. butter 1 egg 1/2 cup milk ***** Preheat oven to 425F.  Combine berries, 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a lar

What's for dinner ??  Well, this week it looks like I'm hardly even in the kitchen, let alone cooking dinner!! We have something going on every night this week--and most of those activities include dinner, thus the "no cooking" part. Even though Tuesday night is my summer Bible study night and I generally don't make dinner on those nights, I think I will this week because it will be our only week to have dinner together at home all week long. We'll be having a simple, delicious meal of bruschetta and spaghetti with meat sauce. So ....this week is looking pretty easy dinner-wise, huh? The kiddos are also attending a local vacation Bible school each morning this week, so I have several hours all to myself each day--highly unusual!!  Today I barely even had a chance to catch my breath though since I tried to get all of my errands packed into this morning.  It feels good to have accomplished all of those things so early in the week! I've got lo

I don't even remember where my Mr. B saw this idea, but he couldn't wait to try it.  I was a bit skeptical as it whether or not it would produce such big bubbles, but I was proven wrong.   Just a regular recycled water bottle with a scrap of an old washcloth rubberbanded to the cut-off bottom of the bottle (fyi: it helps if the bottle has an inward indention to attach the rubber band to) dipped into a bowl of slightly-watery dish soap and then given a little puff of air produces the coolest bubble "snake" you've ever seen!   Mr. B had so much fun playing with this.  Simple summer fun--I love it! ***** Don't miss a thing here at My Blessed Life! Subscribe, Follow, & "Like" today!

This past weekend we had a friend in from out of town, so we decided to take  her to visit one of our favorite local places: Christian Way Farm.    It was full of fun that day~lots of animals to see and feed, new piglets just born the night before, beautiful flowers ....there's always wonder on the farm. It's like you're closer to God's creation. ***** Don't miss a thing here at My Blessed Life! Subscribe, Follow, & "Like" today!