A Simple Twist of Faith

7 Quick Takes Friday Vol.43

1.

Last week my girls attended Panda Mania Vacation Bible School, and had a wonderful time. 

Here is the link for information, music, and more!

2.

Reflection for the weekend:

"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." (John 7:24)

3.

My girls, especially Bumblebee, my three year old,

absolutely loves this video about a dog and a dolphin.  Check it out! 

4.

I have been looking for a Bible Study Program I could use for my little ones,

thanks to Jen at Forever , For Always, No Matter What, 

I think I have found it in Great Adventure Bible Study.

5.

Join in this worthy cause and check out this video:

Healing Haiti's Children

6.

For those of you with little girls, I wanted to share that Gymboree is having a

BTS sale: $5.99 on graphic tees, polos and leggings. 

Their leggings are very durable and the tees are really cute!  

7.  

For more Quick Takes, check out Jennifer at Conversion Diary.

Have a wonderful weekend, and try to stay cool!

Thankful

This Thursday I have a lot to be thankful for:

 

The Humiliation of Being Ourselves

For most of my adult life, I felt that I was in control.  I felt that all of my successes and 
failures were a result of what I did or failed to do. I was proud of my accomplishments, and frankly had little patience for people who did not exhibit the same type of work ethic as me. 

One challenge I could never win was my battle over infertility. At first, I ignored the truth, burying myself in work and other activities.  When I finally repaired my relationship with God, I began to pray and ask for a child.  I had returned to the Church, our marriage had been blessed, and my husband had converted to Catholicism.  I had consulted my doctor, and although we did not participate in IVF due to religious beliefs, I underwent every other possible procedure.  I even changed jobs so my work hours would be more regular and corresponded with my husband’s schedule.

Tackle It Tuesday #6: Meal Planning

 

A few weeks ago, I posted a link from Bernice at the Living the Balanced Life talking about using routines to simply your life and improve productivity around     the house.  This summer one areas I have been struggling with is meal planning.  Living in the South, this time of year, my crock pot recipes just don't hit the spot.  All I really want is salad and ice cream!

I needed a little inspiration and organization.  So, for week #6 of Tackle It Tuesday, I decided to revive my meal planning.  Here's what helped me this week:

From life...your way: Home Management Notebook printables which include several different types of forms depending on your organizational style.  Here I found a meal planning sheet, pantry inventory sheet, and shopping list sheet. 

From my wonderful friend, Kristy, who had a wonderful idea to make mornings easier.  At the beginning of the week, make a breakfast casserole that could be reheated on mornings through the week.  This will allow my husband to go to morning Mass, have a hearty breakfast which He loves and not be rushed going to work.  It also leaves me with less clean-up in the kitchen. 

Here's the breakfast casserole recipe:

Frugal Fashion Finds

Hello my friends, I am back.  Last week was a bit rough on me, you can read about it here,  here, and here.

 

Fortunately, my girls attended a wonderful Vacation Bible School featuring Panda Mania.  More on that later...the school gave me some much needed breathing room.

I used part of my free time shopping...thrift shopping to be specific, and found some fun finds.

As many of you know, I am the quintessential pear shape, and like a vintage vibe, so where I found this skirt for $4.00, I had to get it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But, the most fab find was at a consignment shop in my fair city.  It is a fit and flare dress that fits me like a dream, and looks like it came straight out of Mad Men.  It will be great for a black tie event, my husband and I are going to in November, and will be perfect with my signature red high heel pumps, a gift Rick gave me on my 44th birthday.  The dress was less than $30.00.

 

 

Sometimes, girls just wanna have fun!

In Memory of Mom

This post was originally published  July 21, 2010.

34 years ago today, my mother died. This upcoming  Saturday will be the anniversary of both of my parents' funerals.  We buried them on the same date, 19 years apart. When I was 31 years old, my father died two-day prior to the anniversary of my mother's death.  His passing hit me very hard, not only because I mourned my father's death, but because I also grieved for my mother.

My Mom was 43 years old when she died, younger than I am today.  When I was three years old and my sister was in the first grade, Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  From the beginning, my mother's primary goal was survival. She had a burning desire to raise her children.  To that aim, she underwent several painful procedures to extend her life so she could achieve this objective. When she passed away,  I was twelve and my sister was three weeks away from turning sixteen.  

However, she did much more than raise us, she gave us a life long example of strong Christian faith, determination and love of family.  My mother trusted God would give her the strength and courage her needed to fight the disease.  My mother was not creative like my father, however she was the brain and heart of our family.  Her talents were in education, organization, finance, and motherhood.  My Mom ran her household like a classroom.  Academics, art and religion were cultivated in our house.  She encouraged my sister and me to learn, and do our personal best in school and in life. 

Long after her death, I still hear my mother's voice in my head encouraging me to try harder, to be less selfish, to put family first.  From my mother, I inherited my work ethic, my organization skills, and my desire to overcome obstacles in life.  She was the driving force that motivated me to graduate from college and start a family .

Tackle It Tuesday #5

This summer  made it a goal to tackle one big project a week and blog about it to keep me on task. 

I am teaming up with 5 Minutes for Mom and this is my fifth week of Tackle It Tuesday.

Here are the results so far:

• Cleaning out the Garage
• Cleaning out the Home Schooling area Part I
• Cleaning out the Home Schooling area Part II
• Cleaning out the Junk drawer
• and this week's project...

How to Act

Thirty four years ago this week, my Mother lost her battle with cancer.  She was 43 when she died; she left behind a 48 year old husband, and two daughters.  My sister was three weeks shy of her sixteenth birthday, and I was twelve.  That was the summer I lost my child-like trust in God, yet it was also the summer I met Stephanie, the person who was instrumental in bringing me back into the practice of my faith.

7 Quick Takes Friday Volume 43

1.

Back in January, I choose a word which described something I wanted to work on this year.  The word was BALANCE.  I am still working on this in my life. Today, I would like to share a link from Living a Balanced Life entitled Using routines to be more productive.  One thing I have been struggling with lately is menu planning, when it is this hot I just want to eat salad and ice cream. How about you?

2.

Next week the girls are going to Vacation Bible School.  They are very excited about it, so I hope they are well enough to go.  The theme is "Panda Mania", right up our alley!  

3.

Sometimes, I wish I could just order my groceries and have someone deliver them to me.  I should have gone shopping by myself , but alas I did not, and now I am dreading going with two sick little ones.  However, we are out of milk, butter and cream, so it is time for me to go.

4.

Reflection for the weekend:

"Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14)

5.

Back in February, my Moms' group studied chapter 4 in the Gospel of John.  The chapter inspired a friend to share this song, Come to the Water. Check it out!

6.

My computer is fixed, however now I cannot download pictures from the memory card reader.  Patience, patience.

7.

Have a great weekend!

For more Quick Takes, please see Jennifer at Conversion Diary.

 

 

Blessed Quietness

After hundred-degree weather all week, we are having the most beautiful mild day today.  This morning I opened the windows.

Both of my girls are taking some quiet time, Ladybug is reading in her room, and Bumblebee, after getting up at 5:30 am with Daddy, is taking a nap, a rarity around here.

I am simply enjoying the sound of the breeze through the trees, the sound of the birds, and the blessed quietness.

Thank you, God.  I needed this today!

I wonder how long this will last?