DIY- uses for the old christmas pictures

I love Do It Yourself projects.  In fact we have 3 huge ones in process right now.  I have even more in my head, just waiting to find the time to do them.  After updating our calendar last night with the kids sports schedules, I think the next time I have time to do something is 2015!

I started doing a Christmas picture board a few years ago.  I love getting Christmas pictures in the mail, they are always pretty and keep us up to date on friends and family.  The kids love looking at it, and it makes a great conversation piece. Mine is hanging in the kitchen.

This is last years, it looks a lttle sparse compared to this years, bt we  love it.

Basketball

This was our weekend in Fort Wayne.  The Speice Center is very nice with a lot of cool memorabilia you can look at for hours.
 
Aaons team came in second aftera hard fought triple overtime! Such a nice group of sweet boys.  I am looking forward to watching them for years to come.  They just need to get much taller and stronger!

I think the families had just as much fun as they did.  I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.  We played cards(euchre, and spit on your neighbor), chatted and sat around the pool.

As a bonus, Grandma Lori, Aunt Tammy and the boys got to come and see Aaron play. Darrel, Jared and Luke came too. We went out to eat with everyone, and even got to see baby Wyatt for the first time.

I was complaining of a stiff back on Monday from sitting on bleachers all weekend.  Joe gave me the encouragement I needed: only 10 more years of it! Andrew's turn is just around the corner.

On to Baseball, track and soccer!

Circle of Life and a recipe

I was in the kitchen making meals for some friends this morning and realized they were for 2 very different circumstances.
One meal is going to a friend from work whose husband died last night after a very long and painful battle with cancer.  I wept this morning thinking of him in heaven with a new body. Walking, and talking with no pain.  Praise the Lord.  Sad though, his wife of over 30 years is left alone. She is a strong woman with a strong faith.
The other meal for a friend who is having her 5th baby soon.  Those last weeks of pregnancy are exhausting.  Hopefully we will be welcoming the little one home next week. 
Life does go on......
Ecclesiastes 3:1
" There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven..."
I thought I would share therecipe for what I am making these fine ladies:

Tia's Easy Chicken Pot Pie
Double pie crust(I use the refrigerated kind)

2 cups Chicken cut up and cooked
2 cans cream of potato soup
1 can mixed vegetables
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp Thyme
Mix together and place in the pie crust, put the other pie crust on top and crimp edges.
Bake for 40 minutes in 350 degree oven.
Let sit for 10 mnutes and serve.

I am serving it with salad and bread and chocolate chip cookies.

El Salvador

Aaron and I have made our decision to go to San Salvador, El Salvador for our 12 year old trip this smmer.  Amy has begged to come along, so if she can raise the funds, she will go too.  Its hard to tell a 13 year old, no , to a mission trip.  I think it will help Aaron too.  He is our homebody and is not too excited about the trip yet.  We have meetings coming up and hopefully they will get him more on board with all of it.

These are pictures of El Salvador, they look very similar to Costa Rica.  Very poor, but very beautiful.
We will be staying in San Salvador, the capitol city of El Salvador. San Salvador is the largest city inthe country and is located on the slope of a volcano. It's population is 1.5 million people.  The surge in population has severely strained their already weak ecomony. 

People are hungry, children are abandoned.

Here is where we step in.  We will be helping with the Exodo Orphanage.  Teaching VBS, playing with the kids, and tiling some rooms for them.  We are going with a froup from our church.  There are more people going, more kids too.  It should be a great, eye opening trip.  We pray it molds our kids view of poverty and orphans, and softens their heart to the things God loves and cares about.

We have faith that God with provide the $4800. needed for the 3 of us to go.  Letters are being sent out this week, a garage sale is planned and we made over $500. baking this Christmas. 
I will have our numbers up to the side of the blog to let people know how close we are.

" Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

More to come.....

Menus

I have been working hard to spend under $500/ a month on groceries lately. That's a lot of money, and that doesn't count eating out(which we seldom do) Our new Pear Budget, has shown me some very interesting trends. I am trying to beat down even more savings.

Do you know how many people in Africa, Costa Rica or El Salvador $500. would feed in a month?
I don't either, but I am sure it's a lot.

So, for our family of 6 it takes coupons and sales and deals and a lot of homemade cooking. The $500. includes the kids lunches, since they mostly take their lunch everyday.

Monday
Tacos- leftover from last week's menu

Tuesday
Chicken Parmesan- freezer meal
salad

Wednesday
Rotisserie Chicken from Costco- I can't pass up the big bird!
Green beans
strwberries

Thursday
Crazy crazy day- who knows what we will eat.
Class, 2 kids in Math Bowl, a swim meet and Joe's Basketball game.
I don't think we will have time to eat.

Friday
Off to Fort Wayne, eat on the road.
Saturday
Fort Wayne- Aaron's basketball tournement(last of the season)

Forgiven

This is one of my favorite songs right now.  I love lyrics, they speak to me. 
My favorite line in this song....
"I don't measure up to much in this life,
but I'm a treasure in the eyes of Christ!"

Menus

I can't call it Monday menus, since I seldom get it up by Monday. 
Oh, well.  I have been slacking in the menu department.  Swimming and basketball do that to me.  After my 5th trip to Kroger last week, I thought " I need to get back on the menu thing".  So here goes....

Sunday- Small group
French dip sandwiches
salad
fruit

Monday
Sloppy Joes
Mac and cheese
fruit

Tuesday
Tilapia (costco frozen meal)
Broccoli
sourdough bread

Wednesday
Baked Ziti ( freezer meal, made in advance)
salad
garlic bread

Thursday
Tacos (meat made ahead and stuck in freezer)

Friday
Pizza

Saturday
Chicken and rice soup(freezer)

I looked in my freezer and thought, I am working too hard.  I had an abundance of food that I was saving for when I don't have time.  Silly me- thats now!