Happy Homemaker Monday November 18, 2013

Good morning! I wasn't going to join in today because I have a lot to do, but I have to menu plan and write a grocery list and I can't seem to do it without including it in this post! Matter of habit, I guess. Thank you, Sandra, from Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for hosting! Please pay her a visit!

As I Look Outside My Window

I see sunshine and blue skies, which is great because we were encased in fog yesterday. The temperatures are unnaturally warm for this time of year, our high today is 60, but it is going to drop back to normal for the rest of the week (40's). That means we are going to get some wind, which should take care of any remaining leaves.

Right Now I Am

Enjoying some quiet time while I check my email, catch up on Facebook and my blogs, and prepare my grocery list. Everyone else is at work or at school.

Thinking and Pondering

about my to do list. We are in the middle of moving my mom from her house to her condo, so that takes up some time, but it is fun. I will show you what I came across while consolidating her files down below.

On My Bedside Table

Not much! My mom gave away her beds and downsized to a twin mattress to prepare for her move, so we took back the head board from her bed. It is part of a set that was my in-laws, then became mine and my husband's when we first got married, then went to my mom when we got another one. She loves it (I love it too), and we didn't want the headboard to get separated from the set (she is keeping the chest and dresser), so we took it to our house. I thought we were going to put it in the attic, but my husband put it at the top of our bed. It is a bookcase style headboard, and although it is meant for a double bed and we have a king, it sits at the head of our bed and holds all kinds of stuff and I am thrilled to have it back. So right now all I have on my nightstand is a lamp and three chapsticks. I still have lots of books on my Kindle that need my attention, but Freecell is still occupying my free time.

On My TV

Absolutely nothing.

Playing on the Radio

I have been listening to The Spirit of God by Brigham Welch and Michael Hardey. 

On the Menu for This Week

It is going to be a busy week helping my mom move, so there will be lots of freezer food or pizza!

Monday We are home tonight so it will be pasta. I also have to make a meal for a church family. I will be making ground beef vegetable soup.

Tuesday We will be spending the night at Mom's finishing packing the Uhaul truck, so it will be pizza or something similar.

Wednesday Chili with rice, broccoli salad

Thursday It's Mexican food night: chicken tacos, corn

Friday It is moving Mom into her condo night, so again it will be pizza or some such take-out food

Saturday anything goes

Sunday time for a homemade dinner: ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls

On My To Do List

Laundry, laundry, laundry. I am so far behind. Grocery shopping, and bathrooms.

My Simple Pleasure

Hot chocolate, made from scratch with milk. I cannot drink it often because I have a tendency to get kidney stones, but once in awhile I will indulge.

Lesson Learned This Past Week

This isn't really a new lesson for me, but it was reinforced once again. If we look for them, we will see the tender mercies the Lord shows us: little acts of love. While helping my mom sort through her files, I found a note in my dad's handwriting. I took a picture with my phone and then threw it away. (We cannot keep everything!) The picture is below. (My dad passed away in May, which is why we are moving my mom from their house to a condo.)

Looking Around the House

I'd rather not! No, it isn't horrible, just a few things to put away.

From the Camera

My dad's note, nothing fancy of earth shattering, just a reminder of him:

On My Prayer List

My kids, mom, in-laws.

Bible Verse

Matthew 5:16: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven."

We are having a "bring a friend to church" day in December, initiated by my children's Sunday school teacher. They have been diligent talking to their friends about coming. They have also been asked to talk and are working on a musical number to sing. I am amazed at how good they are at living according to what they know, and how willing they are to share their beliefs with others. They are great examples to me.

Have a great week!

Well What Do You Know?

That's why I am missing spoons!

Happy Homemaker Monday November 11 2013

This is a special Monday because it is Veteran's Day, a day to give thanks to the men and women who have risked their lives to protect our country. THANK YOU. I am grateful for your service. Veteran's day also means kids are home today, and they have made plans for me which includes spending my money on them! So, it will not be a peaceful day at home for me, but it will be a day to spend with some of my awesome kids! Thank you, Sandra, at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for hosting Happy Homemaker Monday.

As I Look Outside My Window

I see bare trees, so sad. It is 39 degrees with a high of 53, and tomorrow it looks like a mixture of rain and snow. We are not ready for snow! We have an unregistered car sitting in our driveway that needs to go away first! My husband is actually on his way to the junkyard to see about taking it away. *they are coming to tow the car away tomorrow!

Right Now I Am

Sitting alone at the kitchen table. One son is up and either downstairs or outside (he and his friend camped out last night, although his friend is currently sleeping on the couch downstairs), one son has left for work, and my third son and my daughter are still sleeping upstairs. I am waiting for my oven to heat up so that I can make some cinnamon rolls to lure them out of bed. Cinnamon rolls are the special treat breakfast they get on days off.

Thinking and Pondering

About all of the blessings in my life. Yesterday I posted on Facebook about a former seminary student who just returned from a mission. My nephew commented and asked what made him decide to serve. The thought that my nephew is interesting in knowing this just thrills me. He has had a rough life, mostly because of his own choices, and the thought that there is a seed of faith that may be growing in his heart is making me very, very happy!

On My Bedside Table

My kindle, with a lot of books that I am not reading.

On My TV

nothing at the moment

Playing on the Radio

Nothing, it is very quiet in the house right now!

On the Menu for This Week

Monday lasagna, salad, bread

Tuesday chicken soup with garlic cheddar bread

Wednesday chili, broccoli salad

Thursday chicken stuffing casserole

Friday beef stew

Saturday happy anniversary to me and my husband! 22 years!! Dinner out!!!

Sunday leftovers, something from the freezer

On My To Do List

Bring one son and his friend to a boy scout flag burning ceremony, take other son and daughter to the mall, bring son to get haircut, buy groceries (I think after the mall...that way I have helpers!), clean up the house because we are feeding missionaries tonight! Oh, and prepare my seminary lesson sometime...

My Simple Pleasure

sitting in a clean house while something I have made is baking in the oven

Lesson Learned This Past Week

This has been a week of hurt feelings - my seminary students hurting the feelings of another student, and me hurting the feelings of my son. So what have I learned? To ALWAYS consider the feelings of another as you think about what you are going to say. I have been trying to open hearts: my seminary students' and my sons', so when those hearts open, they become vulnerable, and I, and those around me, need to make sure that we are contributing good messages and therefore good feelings.

Looking Around the House

There is some picking up to do, but it is not bad. Floors need to be vacuumed and bathrooms need to be cleaned, luckily I have lots of helpers here today!

From the Camera

Just a few left

On My Prayer List

My kids, mom, in-laws, friends going through hard times.

Bible Verse

Joshua chapter 3: The Lord commands the Israelite priests to carry the ark of the covenant into the Jordan River. Once their feet were in the water, the Lord stopped the flow of the river so they could cross on dry ground. This is one of my favorite Old Testament stories. Often times the Lord wants us to take that first step, and then He will do what we need to move forward. I think of my seminary student who served a mission. He left, knowing it is what the Lord wanted, but not fully knowing how important it was to serve. But as he served, he learned for himself the joys, blessings, and importance of serving the Lord.

Have a great week!

Happy Homemaker Monday November 4, 2013

Good morning! I hope you are keeping warm! It is 33 degrees outside right now. I have on long underwear under my jeans and sweater, have had a warm cup of hot chocolate, and now I am ready for a fire in the fireplace, but no on is home to make me one! (I could do it under duress, but I have to go buy groceries and gas for the car anyway, so no point in starting one now.) It may be cold, but it is Thanksgiving season! My favorite time of year! So let's begin with Happy Homemaker Monday, which was started and is hosted by the wonderful Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Go see her for lots and lots of inspiration!

As I Look Outside My Window

I see lots of sunshine but not a lot of leaves, most are on the ground at this point. I see beautiful blue skies without clouds.

Right Now I am

Sitting at my kitchen table, which is where I usually am when on my computer, I've just finished a breakfast of waffles and hot chocolate. Not the healthiest breakfast, but a WARM breakfast! My oldest is at work, my other kids are at school, my husband is on a plane flying to Atlanta for work, the dog is sleeping on the electric throw on the couch, and the cat is curled up in his bed in the family room. It is quiet enough for me to hear the airplane overhead. No machines are running at the moment.

Thinking and Pondering

About gratitude. I have been posting a daily list of my blessings on Facebook and my personal blog, and it makes me so happy! I did this about 5 years ago as a countdown to Thanksgiving and was amazed at how it lifted my spirits. This time around, I am finding that once I think about the blessings of one thing, it leads to another, and before I know it, I have a whole paragraph written around one theme. It is amazing how once you start thinking about your blessings, your eyes open to see more and more.

On My Bedside Table

Is always, always my kindle. I have been on a Free Cell kick lately, which, alas, is keeping me from reading. But I do read the scriptures almost daily.

On My TV Tonight

My husband and I watched Poltergeist on Friday or Saturday. Am I glad it was free on Amazon Prime! I hadn't watched it since it first came out, and boy was it cheesy in comparison to today's movies. There is nothing planned for tonight, although I finally caught up on Glee, and I think they did a phenomenal job on addressing the death of Finn and therefore Cory Monteith, by the way. And since that episode was so heart wrenching, I am hankering to start watching the show from the beginning again...

Playing on the Radio

I LOVE music! I mostly listen to my MP3 player, but lately I have gotten back into Pandora. My daughter had on the station of the BYU combined choirs and it was beautiful, so that is what is playing now as I type.

On the Menu for This Week

My husband is away and we have a freezer full of leftovers (love, love, love my Foodsaver), so I have nothing to share this week. 

On My To Do List

A few groceries, gas for the car, wash whites, and the cross country team banquet tonight.

My Simple Pleasure

Walking on dried leaves and hearing the crunching sound. Love it!

Lesson I've Learned

I am going to combine it with the scripture I am sharing below because they go together (and happen to be my gratitude post of the day).

Looking Around the House

It is in relatively good shape. My daughter's basket of laundry is in the bathroom, but I will let her take care of that. There are Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving decorations about and I love that. I think orange is replacing red as my favorite color. It reminds me of sunshine but is bolder than yellow. And I have lots of orange pumpkins around.

From the Camera

I have two - Halloween for one son (it was warm that night, but I wasn't thrilled about the lack of a t-shirt under the costume, however authentic it was - there were shorts under there however).

And Halloween for my two AP students, who had a test the next day.

On My Prayer List

My kids, my husband, my mom, my in-laws, lots of people.

Bible Verse

So I figured something out - lightbulb! - we are told to give thanks unto the Lord. Philippians 4:6 says, "Be careful for nothing; but by every thing in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." So, is it that God doesn't want to give us anything unless we thank Him first? NO! When we are grateful (and we concentrate on the that thankfulness) we feel the spirit! When we feel the spirit, we are more in tune with the Lord and can ask for things in faith, knowing we can receive, and knowing what we should ask for. I have learned that the Lord's commandments are always, ALWAYS for our benefit. He knows what will make us happy. His commandments are Him showing us the way to feel it. I continue to stand amazed at the love the Lord has for us! And for that, I am grateful. Life is good!

Have a great week!