my blessed life

What a week this past week has been!  We've had 'Snowmeggedon' here in Western Kentucky!  About a foot of snow total, plus some ice.  That means we've been inside.  A lot . And that means lots of cooking.  And cleaning up the kitchen.  :) Why is it when you truly need to cook and don't have other options, that's when you least want to do it?  I have felt like that a lot this past week...ha.  Mostly because I was tired of being at home constantly.  We did have some good meals though!  And I tried several new recipes: homemade granola bars, roasted cauliflower soup, and even homemade dog biscuits for our dog! So I'm looking forward to getting out more this week but I have some yummy meals planned, too. Here's what's cooking this week:  Monday:   Cajun Turkey Breast (slow cooker), Red Beans & Rice, Crispy Brussels Sprouts w/Bacon & Garlic Tuesday:  Fajita Stuffed Peppers (Vince & me), Grilled Ham...

Here's a quick look at our last couple of days.   We've been enjoying a beautiful snow! It's an unusually big one for Kentucky and we are loving it:) How about you?  Do you have snow where you live?

Quite a while ago a good friend recommend The Mother-Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick to me and my daughter.  She and her daughter had just finished it up and had really enjoyed it.  After checking it out a bit, I thought it might be just the thing to read with The Princess. The series kicks off with four 6th grade girls and their moms forming a book club and it follows the lives of the girls--their friendships, their trials, their triumphs--over the course of that school year.  This first book has the girls reading Little Women and throughout it you will find fun facts about Louisa May Alcott, a discussion guide, recipes, and even a great goal-setting exercise. Admittedly, I am selective about what my daughter reads and consequently shun much of modern juvenile fiction, but there are definitely good new books being written and I think this is a worthy series.  It does include some middle school drama and while we escape quite a bit of th...

It's a new year and it's time to get back into the swing of routine with my weekly dinner plans. Ahhh. I love getting back into routine after the craziness of the holidays and I'm keeping things fairly simple around here this week.   Here's what's cooking this week: Monday:  Baked Potato Bar with Salad Tuesday:   Chicken & Dumplings Wednesday:   Tostadas Thursday:   Beef & Noodles Friday:   {date night} Saturday:   Snacks/Leftovers This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Happy New Year to you!! I hope you have a wonderful first day of the first month of this fresh slate we're blessed with each year. While any time is a good time to read the Bible, January 1st is an obvious choice to begin to read the Bible through in a year.  And a great way to do that is by using the You Version app on your smart phone, tablet, or computer! I used this reading plan for the first time last year and loved it!  I could pick up my phone anywhere and have my reading plan at my fingertips.  And as a person who loves to see progress on my 'to do' lists, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the little graph each day showing me my reading progress for the year:) Another benefit to this app is that you can choose different styles of reading plans.  Last year I chose the chronological plan and absolutely loved it.  It was so interesting to see exactly where all of those prophets fit into the timeline of the Old Testament!  You can also choose diff...

Welcome!  Come on in! I've enjoyed decorating this year~more so than some years.   Not that I had new decor--I've used my old faves--but I've felt a little more relaxed about it this year and that's made things much more  enjoyable for me.   Thanks for dropping by for this virtual home tour!   I wish I could actually share some cookies with you :)  Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

our family Christmas trees We have been having so much fun this Christmas season that I just haven't had a lot of time to be around here.  I'm sure you understand though.  Have you been 'hustling and bustling' or are you feeling merry?  We've been doing a little of both here. We have made an effort to simplify a little more this December.  Or at least take the time to enjoy the season more.  We've said "no" to some activities and we've scaled back the gift buying.  But I am having more fun with my family this year than in previous years and it makes my heart happy. Since we began our homeschooling journey --and I realized how hectic it gets in December and how the kiddos' ability to concentrate on school work flies out the window-- we generally take off the entire month of December.  This year though we took a late vacation in the month of November so I just couldn't justify taking off the whole month.  So we schooled the first tw...