Another really good recipe. I'll be taking this one to church Sunday night for our Harvest of Thanks dinner:

Chicken Enchilada Soup (A little spicy but really tasty - everyone will be coming back for more! You may want to cook grilled cheese sandwiches as well in case it's too spicy for the little ones) serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 can (11 oz.) condensed fiesta nacho cheese soup
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 2/3 Cups milk
1 can chunk white chicken, drained (feel free to add more chicken if you like)
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies

Directions:
Combine ingredients. Mix well. Heat on stovetop. Garnish with sour cream if desired. Also really yummy served with Fritos.

Enjoy!

My creative outlet for today

I wanted a cute Thanksgiving shirt for Ivey to wear this week. I orginally thought I would buy one but couldn't find one in the stores that I liked. I went on Etsy.com and saw some very cute shirts... but I wasn't willing to pay $20 for one!! So, I decided that I could make one myself. I definitely didn't come up with this idea, I stole it from some other really creative person... but there were a hundred more like it, so I don't really feel bad about it. I used some material that I already had and went to Target this morning to buy a shirt for $5. Now, that's more like it!

Every week or so, I try to find a new recipe to make for dinner. Of course, we have the standard dinner menu just like anyone else... tacos, spaghetti, lasagna, meatloaf, breakfast, salmon cakes... but, for a while now, I have wanted to broaden our horizons. Lately, I've found a few really good new recipes. My kids are not extremely picky eaters, so that really helps. Plus they have found that they like things that they normally wouldn't have eaten. But, if you do have pickier eaters, then just make changes as you see fit. Also, the recipes that I use have normal ingredients, not things that are hard to find or some random spice that you'll only use a pinch of. I'll try to remember to put them on the blog as we try them so you know that it's tried and true - even for preschoolers!

Pineapple chicken salad with balsamic vinaigrette (serves 5-7)

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 can (8 oz) unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained except for 2 tablespoons juice
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onions

For the vinaigrette:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 Tablespoons of leftover pineapple juice

Directions:
Cut each chicken breast into cubes. In a large, nonstick frying pan, heat the olive oil under medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes. In a large serving bowl, combine the cooked chicken, pineapple chunks, broccoli, spinach and onions.

To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, reserved pineapple juice, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Serve on the salad, or allow each person to serve himself.

**I used more chicken because I like lots of chicken in my salad. Also, I used more pineapple, or it would also be a good idea to use a can of pineapple tidbits instead of chunks. The dressing is absolutely delicious!

Recipe found on: www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes

Luke 10:38-41

38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

I have a confession to make - I am Martha. Lately, I have been very busy doing many things. Although those things are not necessarily unimportant, I have been putting them above spending time with my Savior. Sure, a couple of times a week I take a few minutes to read my bible and pray, but then I'm up and on my way... instead of sitting and and listening at the Lord's feet. Jesus knew that Martha was busy and I'm sure that he appreciated all the effort that she was putting forth, but what Mary was doing was even better.

The laundry can wait another 30 minutes... the groceries will still be in the grocery store in a little while... surely the internet won't dissappear into a black hole... my muscles won't deteriorate if I absolutely can't get to the gym today... that other crazy couponing mom won't buy up all the specials at CVS...

Sure, I understand that there are things that must be taken care of now. Like a crying child, a dirty diaper or cooking dinner. But the problem lies within the things that can WAIT. This week, it is my goal to spend time every day with the Lord before doing any of those other things that can wait. To read, pray and listen before I get bogged down with all the chores of the day. Let's see what it's like to Mary.

This weekend was Ivey's turn to bring home "Happy Turtle" from school. My first thought was "yay, something else for the kids to fight over." And that, they did. However, after the first day they were much better at sharing the turtle. We were supposed to take the Happy Turtle for the weekend and write about what we did with him. Luckily, we were going to the lake house for the weekend. I was pleased that we might actually have something interesting to write about... something other than our normal weekends. The kids had a great time playing with the turtle and taking pictures of him in the leaves that Mom and I raked up. I hope that Happy Turtle had a fun weekend, too.

I was catching up on my friend's blog and he had something really interesting to report. One of his favorite authors (or maybe it is his favorite, Ginger??) is John Piper. I love John Piper, but a lot of times, as is the case with my friend Michael who's blog I was reading, I have to carry a dictionary when I listen to him speak. I like to tease Michael about it, but really it's just because I'm jealous that I'm not as smart as he is. Anyway, John Piper had to say this about the idea of people "choosing" hell:

"So when a person chooses against God and, therefore, de facto chooses hell—or when he jokes about preferring hell with his friends over heaven with boring religious people—he does not know what he is doing. What he rejects is not the real heaven (nobody will be boring in heaven), and what he “wants” is not the real hell, but the tolerable hell of his imagination."

I thought this was interesting because I believe it's true, I'm just not that good at articulating it. If any one REALLY knew what hell was like, then NO ONE would want to go there. And if any one REALLY knew what heaven was like, then we wouldn't rather be here than there. But, the fact is, that even though the Bible has clear explanations of what the real hell and the real heaven are like, we can't imagine that they are really that way. Instead, we have these thought up images, figments of our imaginations that we choose to believe. So when people carelessly walk through life wanting their own way and choosing to live their lives apart from God, therefore choosing hell, they aren't thinking about what they are really choosing. They don't believe they are choosing hell, they are choosing the "tolerable hell of their imagination." The problem is that they're wrong.

"When he dies, he will be shocked beyond words. The miseries are so great he would do anything in his power to escape. That it is not in his power to repent does not mean he wants to be there. Esau wept bitterly that he could not repent (Hebrew 12:17). The hell he was entering into he found to be totally miserable, and he wanted out. The meaning of hell is the scream: “I hate this, and I want out.”

If people only knew what they were really choosing...

Inspired by my friend Ginger who made a quilt for her parents, I thought to myself "I can do that!" So, I set off on my journey of making my very first quilt and boy was it an adventure!! Several months later, a couple of trips to Joann's, LOTS of extra material and a quilt that isn't quite right... I have my very first quilt finished! I decided to make it for my niece since I drew her name for Christmas this year. Plus, I figured that it probably wouldn't meet most quilt-maker's standards and I knew she wouldn't mind. It's only a lap quilt, maybe a little bigger, but it was definitely just about as much or more than I could handle. I definitely learned a lot and am ready to set off on another quilt-making journey. Hopefully, this time I'll be able to do the edges the right way. :-)

My newest endeavour is couponing! I must admit that I didn't come up with this on my own... my generous neighbor shared a website that she found and it really does work!! I have always wondered how those super-moms seem to get a million dollars worth of groceries for $.89, but I would just scratch my head and go on my merry, spending-too-much-for-groceries way. I have tried cutting coupons and watching the sales, but I never did understand why I should use a coupon for an item when the store brand is cheaper. So I gave up. Well after my neighbor told me about http://www.southernsavers.com/, I was hooked! The mom who does the website does all the leg work for me! She types all the deals for the week for each local grocery store and pharmacy, provides a grocery list that I can customize to what I want to buy and then tells me where to find the coupons either in the newspaper or printables. It's SO EASY! If I can do it, then I know any one can! It does take about an hour or so to print out all my coupons or find the ones that I've clipped and to make my grocery list, but it's well worth it! Two weeks ago, the first week that I tried this whole couponing thing, I spent around $80 at the grocery store. That was a big improvement for me for a week's worth of groceries - I usually spent around $100. Last week, when I went to Kroger, my total before sales and coupons was $114, and I paid $59!! Since I don't grocery shop until Thursday, I got on the website today to see what the deals were at Publix this week. Well, I made my list, printed my coupons, went shopping and got some bargains!! My total for everything you see in the picture?? $10.50! I'll explain to you how I did it below. The number in red is how much I paid for the item(s).



Buy One, Get One Free Deals
Fresh Express Salad: B1G1 for $3.99 which makes each bag $1.99. Coupon for $.55 off. $1.72
Nestle Toll House Cookies: B1G1 for $3.19 which makes each bag $1.59. Coupon for $1 off. $.59
Betty Crocker Potato: B1G1 for $1.75 which makes each box $.87. Coupon for $.40 off. $.47
Barilla noodles: B1G1 for $1.39 which makes each box $.69.
Ragu sauce: B1G1 for $2.19. Coupon for $1 off 2. $1.19
Hunts Tomatoes: B1G1 for $1.39 which makes each can $.69. Coupon for $1.25 off Tomotoes and Pam Spray
Pam Spray: Regular price except that I used the coupon above. $1.25
Honey Maid Grahams: B1G1 for $3.99. Coupon for $1 off. $2.99.

In-Store coupons (they are right where you walk in the door)
Dove deoderant: B1G1 coupon for $4.49 which makes them $2.25 each. Manufacturer coupon for $2 off Dove deoderant. Used two coupons so they were $.25 each. $.50

Tylenol: Store sale for $3.99, store coupon for $3 off plus manufacturer coupon for $1 off - GOT IT FOR FREE!

The key to successful couponing is using coupons on items that are already marked down. Plus, even though Publix is usually a bit more expensive, you get the best deals when you use coupons on their B1G1 items. Also, at Publix you can stack coupons. That means that you can use a Publix coupon, manufacturer coupon and competititor coupon ALL on the SAME ITEM! That's how you get things for free! This is fun, makes a great hobby and saves LOTS of money!

I must admit that one of my least favorite things is Science Fair projects. When Morgan brought home the inital paper explaining what my life would consist of for the next two months, I'm sure I let out a huge groan. We've done okay, luckily his teacher is very merciful. Finding the research articles and planning the experient was the most difficult so far. Now he's writing his paper, but luckily his Reading teacher at school is helping the students with that. The project is due right after Thanksgiving, so that will be a very happy time in my life. Really, it hasn't been that bad and I know that I need to have a better attitude about it, but it's just not on my Top 10 list of Favorite Things.

Catching up for a busy couple of weeks

ALL of our family came over on Halloween night to take the kids trick-or-treating. We had a house full of people and it was a bit crazy, but it was a lot of fun. The kids had a great time running from house to house, it was even hard to keep up. But, with the rain and chilly weather, we were returning home after visiting about 1/3 of the neighborhood. Ivey dressed up as a fairy (our dentist told us that next year he would lend us his oversized toothbrush and she could dress up as the tooth fairy!), Gavin was Spider-Man and Ivey was some scary thing that I didn't really approve of... but, it's a long story. So, anyway, we had a grea time and now have lots of candy sitting in the pantry.

Treating treating at our first set of houses

Grammy with Baby Jamie, so cute!

All the kids, I think!

Gavin LOVES Spider-Man!

Ivey dressed up like a beautiful fairy

Last night we carved our pumpkins. We didn't make it to the pumpkin patch this year, so I just bought a few pumpkins at Harry's Farmers Market and then we carved them last night. This was our first time doing this as a family and we all had a lot of fun. I want to form traditions and make memories that my kids will remember and enjoy and I think this will definitely be one of them! Of course, it didn't keep Gavin's attention very long since he could only clean out the pumpkin, but the adults had a lot of fun carving the faces that the kids came up with. As we were carving, Chris cleaned off the seeds and kept them for toasting. Yum!

WAAARRR EAGLE, HEY! Mom and I went to the Auburn vs. Kentucky game this past weekend. Even though our beloved Tigers lost, it's always a lot of fun to go to a football game in Auburn. The experience of it all was well worth the trip - even though we were freezing our buns off by the 4th quarter!

This hat was the most creative thing I think I've ever seen. I don't know how this lady made it, but she wore a hat that looked like an eagle. Everybody got quite a laugh out of it!

At Tiger Walk - one of my favorite parts! Aubie leads the cheerleaders and football players to the stadium.

Up close and personal with Gene Chizik - trying to fire up the Auburn fans!

My other favorite part is watching the band.

Now, to watch the Tigers play!

This past weekend was my FIRST EVER camping trip. My mom's idea of camping is staying in a Motel 6, so we never went camping as kids. I was never really keen on the idea of sleeping in a tent or having to cook my own food over the fire, but when some experienced camping friends asked us to go last weekend we decided to give it a try. And we had a blast! Of course, we borrowed the tent and the air mattress from our friends... as well as many other things that I didn't bring. How was I supposed to know??? I'd never been camping!!! Anyway, it all worked out and we had a great time. We went with three other couples and it was nice to have lots of time to talk and play. Shannon and Craig even have a flat screen TV, so we were able to watch the Georgia vs. Tennessee game. A very nice man that was camping next to us, had a satellite dish and set up his tv for us so that we could watch the Auburn game, too! Too bad there wasn't much to see! We had a great time and Chris and I are even talking about buying our own camping gear. I definitely am not into "hardcore" camping like killing my food, pitching a tent in the middle of nowhere or sleeping in subfreezing temperatures. I'll stick with campgrounds. It's a great way to spend time as a family away from home for very little money. HOORAY FOR CAMPING!

Craig, Shannon, Chris and I are watching the Auburn. They played terribly! You can tell by our faces that we weren't happy.

Chris and Gavin fix the fishing poles.

Good morning, Sunshine!

The kids really enjoyed riding their bikes. There was also a playground nearby that they spent a lot of time at. It was a great way for my sheltered kids to learn how to entertain themselves outside.

Our tent. Well, actually it belongs to Craig and Shannon... thanks guys for a wonderful camping experience!

My accountability group just began reading "Lies Women Believe" and I have to say that I'm already loving it. I'm sure it was not by accident that we chose this book - God is sovereign. He is teaching me many things about my selfish desires, what I think will make me happy, what my idea of family is, what HIS idea of family is and especially how I have believed the many half-truths and deceptions that Satan has every-so-slyly brought my way... inching his foot into the door of my heart. Yes, I'm learning a lot. The mirror is being held up to my heart and I'm seeing things that I'd rather not. Yet I'm grateful. Being aware of these things means that I can now purge myself of them. I'm ripping Satan's mask off and letting him know that I have no room for his lies in my life.

Last weekend we went apple picking. It was an absolutely beautiful day and the scenery is gorgeous! This is the second year in a row that we've gone and I'm sure we'll go again next year. Everyone has a great time and the adults even got in on climbing the trees this time. The best apples are always at the top!

Last week we spent a much needed vacation in Myrtle Beach. It works out well for those of us in Cherokee County that have kids out of school in September. The rates at the beach drop dramatically after August 31st and there is hardly anyone there. We find a condo that will comfortably fit all of us, split the price and then we're ready to go! This is the second year that we've all gone together and we always have a great time. The kids had a blast, as did the adults, and Gavin is still talking about the 'musement park. We did have a little hiccup with the room - apparently I didn't realize that the additional $120 linen service meant that we wouldn't have any sheets or towels unless we paid it. Silly me thought that linen service meant that someone would come in to change our sheets every day - which we didn't need! (We rented the condo from private owners and not through the hotel itself... big mistake.) The hotel said that they couldn't help us so we took matters into our own hands. We went to the housekeeping room and got them ourselves... well, the housekeepers actually gave them to us... we didn't EXACTLY steal them. And, we took them back before we checked out. Anyway, we had a fun time with friends and are glad that we had the opportunity to go.

Last night as we were sitting around the table having breakfast for dinner (Ivey's choice, but, honestly, one of my favorites too!) Chris decided that we should go around the table and tell one thing that we like about Ivey in honor of her birthday. Chris, Gavin and I all said one thing that we liked about Ivey.

Chris: I like that Ivey loves to meet people.
Gavin: I like that Ivey plays with me and helps take care of me.
Me: I like that when I ask Ivey to do something she does it right away.

It was obvious that Morgan was putting it off. Why is it so hard for him to give his sister a complement? Soon enough it came around to him. He pretended to be thinking, acted silly and then said...

Morgan: I have two things. One is that I like that Ivey always likes everyone she meets...
[Me thinking: Okay, that's exactly what Chris said, but whatever]
[pause]
[Ivey patiently waiting to hear the second thing her big brother likes about her]
Morgan: I forgot the second one.
Ivey: Well, you should have said that one first.

That's my girl.

We've had a really fun birthday weekend with Ivey. She turns 5 today! Friday, I took her and three friends to a "princess" party. Mom went with me to help with crowd control and as we were driving away I said, "I just reminded myself why I've never done this before." Friend parties are not my thing! But, the girls had a great time and that's what counts. On Saturday, we had our family over to celebrate. Yummy food, lots of people and lots of kids! She had a fantastic time being the center of attention - what little girl doesn't?

It was a good picture and I needed something "happy" to put on my blog. Although I kinda look like I have a huge nose... do I, really?? Anywho, can't wait for vacation next week.... aaaahhhh, yes! A week with no homework. Hip-Hip-Hooray!

Update on Morgan: Keep praying. We're still working on helping him to get and stay organized, stay on top of assignments as well as making up others that he didn't turn in. Next week is Fall Break, we're headed to the beach and BOY do we need a vacation!! Chris and I have a parent-teacher conference with all of his teachers this Thursday morning. Pray that it will go well and that we will all agree on some ways to help Morgan. I am planning on talking with Morgan about why it's important to try his best. Not because we care about him getting all A's but because the bible says to do all things as unto the Lord. So, for him and his stage of life, he needs to do the best he can in school. A good education will help him succeed in life and will, hopefully, make his life a little more comfortable which is important. But, we can't forget the big picture and that we should always be more concerned about his heart and his spiritual growth as much as or more than what grades he is getting.