Day 1 through 3 of Thankfulness

I know it has been a while for the ol' blog, but I have a great reason to begin posting again, Thankfulness! I went to a women's retreat with our church last month and our pastor's wife spoke about thankfulness. She referenced the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamp and spoke about how she has been impacted by keeping a gratitude journal. I know myself and this blog is as close to a journal as I will get, so I am going to use it to document my thankfulness over the next month. This is my favorite season of the year as the cooler weather comes and brings with it the warmth of spending time with family.

Day 1: I'm grateful for redemption and that my Redeemer has "justified (me) freely through His grace." Romans 3:23-25
Day 2: I am thankful for the opportunity to be a stay at home mom, which allows me to come to the school for activities like Angel's science lab today.
Day 3: I'm grateful for time this afternoon at home with my family, enjoying one another and relaxing.

I'm going to try to keep up with this at least weekly recording thankfulness. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying this season.

Happy Birthday Jeff!

Happy birthday to the BEST Daddy

 and husband!

We are so blessed to be yours and can't thank you enough for everything you do for us! We are so proud of you and how graciously you give your all to Our Father and your family!

We love you! I have a feeling this will be your best year yet!

Menu Monday

This week I decided to post my menu plan on the blog. It might make the whole process a bit more fun for me and give you a few ideas. I totally reserve the right to switch up the days or even omit one all together! ;) All of these recipes are off my pinterest board entitled, "Recipes to Try" so they are all new to us. Let me know if you decide to try any of these recipes too and I will share which ones will make a repeat appearance at our house!

Monday: leftovers for the fellas, Mommy has a women's ministry meeting at Cafe Express
Tuesday: BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches with Coleslaw or maybe broccoli slaw. I may use any left over BBQ chicken to make these wraps for Jeff and I's lunch the next day
Wednesday: Lasagna Rolls Ups and salad
Thursday: Home made Pizza Rolls and warm cinnamon apples
Friday: Mommy to girl's night out at church. I'm sure the boys will talk their daddy into taking them to McDonald's.
Saturday: Parmesan Crusted Tilapia (I get this from the freezer section at Sam's). I will likely pair it with some frozen veggies for a quick and easy dinner
Sunday: Cub Scout's Awards Banquet

This Just Pinned: Recipe Edition

I will be the first to admit that cooking has been a challenge for me and menu planning, well it caused many a "discussion" with the hubby in our first year of marriage. He just didn't get why it was so hard. His theory is throw stuff that looks good in the grocery basket and then make something out of it when you get home. In his defense, this really does work for him. He is one of those chefs that can throw things together. I on the other hand, need a recipe. Our budget appreciates a more systematic approach as well. I still don't really have a great system, but I'm getting there. Pinterest has been helpful in giving me recipe ideas and a place to keep track of them for easy access. I even started adding comments about the recipes I pin after I try them to help me remember if we liked them and what changes/substitutions I made.  I made these chicken tostadas last week and they were really tasty. My kids LOVE tacos, but always get frustrated trying to eat them because the stuffing falls out. I thought the flat tostadas might help and these are baked so they are healthier. We are also trying to eat mostly lean, white meat. I actually did kind of a taco party concept and everyone built their own. It makes it a bit more fun and saves me from jumping up to get the boys another serving. We are loving our giant lazy susan in the middle of our kitchen table too!

 It was yummy! I used pre-made guacamole from HEB and Mission brand baked tostadas, but I made the pico and the lime creme myself. I put it back in the sour cream container, but it is really more than just sour cream. The lime gives it a tangy flavor. I served it with Ranchero beans as recommended, but I think I would prefer black or just regular pinto beans. However, the boys liked the Ranchero. Jonathan even chose to put them on top of his tostada instead of just on the side. I used my George Foreman grill to cook the chicken and the marinade was super easy too. You could even freeze chicken in the marinade and then just defrost and pop on the grill as needed.  This will definitely be a repeat at our house!

The next recipe also utilized chicken and the George Foreman Grill and was inspired by the most amazing lettuce wraps I had at The Cheesecake Factory. I did a google search and found out Martha Stewart had posted the recipe on her website! Thank you Martha! You saved me $8 and satisfied my craving! Too bad I didn't have some yummy cheesecake to go with it though. But, this recipe is only 350 calories for three lettuce wraps. It is healthy and really satisfying! The little boys weren't as impressed, mainly because they were hard to eat without falling apart.

I could have kicked myself for forgetting the Feta cheese! Don't worry though, Jeff and I had the leftovers the next day and the feta was a nice addition to our lunch lettuce wraps. I made some modifications like marinating instead of basting the chicken and using bottled dressing instead of homemade. I did make my own tzatziki sauce though. I don't know what kind of lettuce I used, but it wasn't the butter lettuce because it was too expensive for my taste. They may have stayed together better if I had used it. 

I also bombed a bit when I tried to spruce up Angel's lunch with a new recipe I found here. I thought he would love it, but I was wrong. He doesn't like sandwiches and really prefers just meat and cheese with no bread. But I thought the crescent roll would be different. I was wrong. Oh well. Back to the drawing board. This week we are trying a couple of other recipes I have pinned, so look forward to more reviews soon.

January 2012 Recap

We had some fun and meaningful events occur this month. First off, Jeff won second place for the second year in a row at our Life Bible Study class' Annual Chili Cook Off.

The boys got to fly like real life superheroes

at their sweet friend, Xan's super fun superhero gymnastics party!

These 3 are some super cute, I mean manly, superheroes!

We celebrated another special birthday with the boys' "grandma" B! We went to her surprise birthday party and gave her this sweet picture of the boys, she, and Mo in a pretty frame!

The boys built and raced their first derby cars with their Daddy! See full post here.

Most significant of all, our sweet Angel was baptized on January 22, 2012. It was such a proud day in the life of our family! See full post here.

Angel's Baptism

On January 22, 2012 after months of patiently waiting, our Angel was baptized! Pastor Chad, our amazing  Children's Minister, performed the baptism. He and Angel have a sweet bond, so that made it extra special. 

 Angel smiled ear to ear the whole time and his big dimples were evident even from the balcony as we watched on the big screen! We will get some closer up pictures in the coming month from the church photographer, so I will be sure to show you those when they become available. I know I can't wait to see them!

 Angel is so proud of his certificate of baptism and church membership.

We had some friends and family over for a pizza lunch to celebrate after church. Aunt Sarah and cousin Owen came all the way from Dallas for the occasion and we are so grateful for all those who came to celebrate this special day!  Poor Jeff could barely open his eyes because he had PRK (Laisk surgery) two days before. Gran and Poppa D, Sarah and Owen, and our little family posed for a picture with our precious Angel!

Dearest Angel,

We are so proud of your decision to follow Jesus and your growing passion for our Savior! I pray you continue to strive to serve Him each day with your life. I know He has big plans for you! You are already telling us that you want to be a missionary when you grow up! I will continue to pray daily for the wisdom and grace to parent you and support you as you pursue God's vision for your life! Our dear friends, the Mwanda's wrote to you about this verse and reminded us of God's promise from his Word. 

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."

Luke 2:52

May you follow Jesus' example and may God receive all the glory for it!

With all our Love,

Mom and Dad

Pinewood Derby

One of the fun annual activities that Cub Scouts offers is the Pinewood Derby. Jeff and Angel were really excited about building and racing a car together! Jonathan even got in on the action.

They started with a block of wood and the boys helped trace their desired shape on the car to be cut by one of the other den leaders on his saw. They helped sand the cars and then added personality to the cars with these cool transfers called, "skins."

 Jonathan chose a spider web theme and

 Angel chose a camouflage theme!

 Here they are on race day with their Daddy!

Poppa D came too and cheered the boys on! He has made a few pinewood derby cars in the past and even won a trophy or two! He tried on Angel's hat and they both got a kick out of it!

 Angel with the track before the race. He is one handsome scout!

 He was a little disappointed when his car came in third in his heat, but overall he was right in the middle of the pack. There's always next year! He did a great job and had so much fun making his first derby car with his Daddy. That is the most important part!

Every participant got a certificate with something special the judges liked about their car. Angel won for best disguised car!

 Jonathan got to race in the challenger division with some of the other siblings and first time racers. His car is in the middle lane during this race. He had several heats too and did well also for his first time.

 The judges voted his car to have the best detail.

The racers at home with their proud Daddy, their certificates, and their cars!