my blessed life

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

I was pretty excited recently to have the opportunity to review the new set of books from InScribed Studies .  I have to admit that I was not at all familiar with InScribed Studies , but I was intrigued by these titles and subtitles.  I occasionally lead Bible studies for women at our church and am often overwhelmed--and underwhelmed--by the studies find.  So I was excited to check these out ...and I was not disappointed! Just RISE UP! by Sarah Francis Martin is an incredible study focused on 'a call to make Jesus famous'.  Sarah writes in such a disarming and easy tone and shares from a very personal place.  She dives deep into Psalm 145 as she tackles topics like living a life of praise, having a kingdom perspective, humility, influence, and more.  Sarah challenges her readers to allow this study to be a 'catalyst toward meaningful conversations between you and the Lord'.   I absolutely love how she has designed this book to guide you into those '

Hey there!  Just popping in on the Tasty Tuesday to share a quick and easy version of Shepherd's Pie --and a fantastic way to use up roast beef leftovers!  I started making it in this way when I got tired of using my roast leftovers for beef-veggie soup and wanted to make something different with them.  This has been a hit with the whole family! Step 1: Arrange your (leftover/cooked) roast beef  in the bottom of a deep-dish pie pan. I like to make sure mine is chopped or shredded into bite-sized pieces.   Step 2: Arrange your (leftover/roasted) carrots on top of the beef. I also cut these into smallish pieces. Step 3: Arrange roasted or sauteed onions on top of the carrots. I supposed you could skip this step if you don't like onions,  but I can't even imagine that! (I do keep my onions in large pieces so they can be easily removed from my onion-hating son's plate though). Step 4: Pour over about 1/2 to 3/4 cup beef b

It's the most wonderful time of the year! And the most busy, right? So one of my main plans of action to keep me organized is to continue with my meal planning.  Knowing what we're having for dinner each night makes my days much less stressful and I can plan other activities so much better. So here's what's for dinner this week: Monday:  Shepherd's Pie Tuesday:   Taco Cups ...or maybe Turkey Enchiladas Wednesday:  Pizza at our church Thursday:   Cookie Exchange at my house~I'm serving finger foods {more on that later} Friday:   Tuna Croquets, Baked Potatoes, and a yet-to-be-decided veggie Saturday:   Snacks/Leftovers