Time is precious...

Hey friends!
I didn't mean to take a sabbatical or anything...it just kinda happened!  But it's been a good thing. There's a lot going on in my life right now so my blog just hasn't been a high priority. I have tried to keep up on facebook but even that is on the back-burner. 
God has been doing a big work in my life & showing me how important it is for me to be present in my role as a mother & wife. I don't ignore my family, but I'm not always quick to deal with what's going on when I'm checking my blog/facebook/texting...or when my mind is stirring with ideas that have nothing to do with my #1 priority. Because of that my relationship with my children & their growth as children of God has suffered. It makes me sad to admit that. I've been selfish.
What God is showing me isn't exactly easy for me to embrace, but I'm so glad that He's revealing himself to me. His ways are wise & are best...and they bring me joy! 
This doesn't mean that I can't sew or blog or express myself creatively because I believe God created me with the desire & ability to do all of those things - especially to glorify HIM. But He has also given me 4 precious gifts & instilled in me the desire to be a Godly mother and wife. I'm to glorify HIM in those roles as well!
So right now I'm working on balance & staying sensitive each day to The Lord's voice as he shows me what that balance looks like.

Time is so precious & how we spend it matters.

On another note, there are some HUGE changes coming to my blog. It will be so fun & so much better! And it also will be less time consuming for me! Don't be surprised if my posts are very few before January :) That's when the big change will be revealed! I'm dying to tell you what it is! (You may be able to guess what it is...go ahead, guess!)

Until then, enjoy the Christmas season & please, won't you take time to reflect on WHY Jesus came as a baby so many years ago?!  You are precious, my friends, and I pray God's love warms your heart & changes your life this Christmas!

Love & Hugs,

Julie

Hello my friends!

By now you may be wondering where in the world I've been.  I haven't fallen off my craft-wagon or anything (actually, I've been on it a lot more than normal)!

Everything is going very, very well here!! So well in fact, that I've decided to take a short break from my blog to juggle all the GOODY-GREATNESS that's going on! When I return, I've got SO much to show you & something rather BIG to share with you also.

So don't forget about me! Give me a few more weeks!

"...I'LL BE BACK..."

love,

julie

Insta-Friday!!

It’s Friiiiiday!!!!!

Insta-Friday! And I’m linking up at Life rearranged to share my week through my cell phone pictures.

There’s our sweet “baby” boy!He always gives us so many reasons to laugh One of these Fridays I’ll have to post a video. We had ice cream after dinner one night & his fell out of his cone. He didn’t like holding the cold ice cream in his hands so he kept leaning over to try to eat & lick the ice cream off his tray. Pretty cute!

Wondering what this is?? I’ll be posting about it soon, but it’s rice! Rainbow Rice!

I got my hair cut this week!!! Yay!! It’s healthy again!!!

This is something very fun that we got in the mail this week. It’s an invitation to our friend Nash’s 1st birthday party! His mommy & daddy are both very clever & creative to come up with such a cute invitation. It sure made opening our mail a little more delightful!

Mr Coffee failed me this week when his coffee pot broke. Now I’m not a big coffee drinker (I don’t even think you can call it coffee after I load it with cream & sugar) but I do like to have a cup or two a few days a week. Well, one afternoon I really wanted a cup so I got creative. I used a toothpick to wedge into the springy thing that releases the coffee. Bliss!! Then last night my friend dug through her stash of saved pots & gave me a pot identical to the one that broke. No more hillbilly coffee makin’!

Adventures in Babysitting! This week I was asked to babysit for 2 amazing little people, twice. We had a wonderful time together! We played with the rainbow rice, made play dough together, played pretend in costumes, made potato soup together (This was SO fun. The kids counted out the veggies & helped me figure out how many more I needed or many I needed to put away. GREAT way to learn math!), and we also painted with watercolors, & read lots & lots of books! Our days were filled with fun as usual, but having two friends to join us made the days extra special!

 

snack time outside, table top time, & painting with watercolors

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the review of my week!

Now here’s a question that I have for you, Have you ever had a babysitter? What was your favorite activity that he or she did…with your kids or with you?

Insta-Friday

Welcome to Insta-Friday, a review of our week through my cell phone pictures!

It’s been a rather normal week at house…and by normal I definitely mean crazy! I spare you all the details. I did snap some pics here & there so…yeah, take a look!

Keston is my busiest boy. When he wakes up from nap I like to have something for him to do. I don’t always take time to plan activities, but one day this week I got out the water-table & we played a game called “Sink or Float.” We put lots of different kinds of things in the water & talked about whether they were heavy or not, how they felt & then we put them in the water to see what happened. It was a great time & when we were done he soaked himself even more  

Pretty pretty flowers that I’ve been working on (for therapy) after my boys go to bed.

Meet Monster. She’s a sweet kitty that spend all day Wednesday at our house. I’m not a big cat fan (sorry!). But I did like this cat. She played so well with our boys, seemed desperate to come into our house & was obviously someone’s pet. So we loved on her & fed her & after dinner we found her owner.

Today was FOOTBALL day at Caleb’s preschool. All week they’ve been talking about sports & wearing sports themed clothes. Today he picked his Colts jersey & was so proud! He wanted me to take this picture to send to his Uncle Dan who LOVES the colts & gave Caleb the jersey when he was just a baby. Now it fits pretty good!

 

   

Today was not just Football day but it was also COOKIE day! My friend Deb hosts Cookie day almost every Thursday & several moms/dads & kids get together to hang out & play (if they don’t have work/school). It’s always fun!  Eli had a ball with his buddy Wade. They are a week apart so are both 18 months old now. I snapped a few good shots of them with my phone today & couldn’t resist sharing them. They’re so cute!

 

Have a great weekend everyone! We hope you find many reasons to SMILE!!!

But before you go, tell me - What was the big highlight of your week???

 

AND

If you want to see more of Insta-Friday, head over to Life Rearranged!

Fruit is good for monsters.

My blogging days have been very few lately. If you're friends with me on facebook you can probably have read my updates, seen my pictures & know why I haven't been on the computer much. Three days in a row there has been a 3ft monster in my house. And no matter how consistent I am with our routine or with discipline, it has just been one ROUGH road!  I just finished the book The Strong Willed Child & it's as if the Lord is putting me to the test. And from this test I'm learning that no matter what knowledge I have about good parenting, I MUST rely on the Holy Spirit to help me mother my boys. I MUST. Without him I am a terrible mother. I am a defeated mother. I can't do it.

Galatians 5:22-23 "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"

See, that's all I need to prove my point!
...and now I'm hungry for fruit. maybe i'll go whip up some apple crisp!

Spicy Baked Pretzel Recipe

Yummy!  These are so yummy and so easy to make!!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (1 ounce) package dry ranch salad dressing mix
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 (15 ounce) package mini twist pretzels

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together vegetable oil, dry ranch dressing mix, garlic salt and cayenne pepper.
3. Place pretzels in a medium baking dish. Coat with the vegetable oil mixture.
4. Stirring occasionally, bake coated pretzels uncovered in the preheated oven 2 hours, or until toasted and crispy.  

Enjoy!

Wild Thing I think I love you - no sew vest

This has got to be the most simple no sew project EVER!  I must give credit to the gal who came up this - I ran across it on Pinterest and remembered a piece of jersey I had picked up last year.  Honestly I picked up this fabric with the intention of sewing a vest with a pattern that very similar vest.  Then when I saw the Behind the Scenes blog post I knew what I had to do...

This was my fabric - I had bought 1.5 yards (to use with my pattern that still remains unused).  It is a jersey fabric so it lays nicely and doesn't fray or tear.

Since I had 1.5 yards and Behind the Scenes called for 1 yard I cut my fabric to 36 inches long but left the 54" width as is.  

I measured 6 in in from the top and 6 in in from the bottom (see my green mark).  Then I made a 6" long line and cut along it. To make it more of a hole than a slit I cut out about 1" wide slit to accommodate arm holes.
Since it was a little looooong to begin with (fell below my bottom) I used a yard stick to cut an angle from the outside points up to the middle 7".  I love how it drapes and flows!!

But I was left with a half yard of fabric - the dilema was what to do with it?  I thought about making a hair flower then I hit brilliance check out what I did below!

There was enough fabric if I cut the piece in half to make a mini-vest for mini-me!!  I used the same technique as before only on a smaller scale for my little one.  Then since I still had 1/2 of a 1/2 a yard left and the oldest (who generally begs for her picture not to be put online anywhere.... begged for one too).

Hers ended up being a mini-vest since I didn't have a ton of fabric left - honestly this fits her style much more than a long one would have anyways!!

Check us out!!  We're going to debut our new No Sew Fabric Vests tomorrow at church - YEAH!

Best Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

I'm not sure where I found this recipe.  I'm sure it was online somewhere but my recipe says 'author unknown'...  

Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 c Brown Sugar

1/2 c White Sugar

1 Egg

1/2 c Margarine (softened)

1 t Vanilla

1/2 c Peanut Butter (smooth)

1 1/2 c  Flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 C Reese's Pieces

Preheat over to 350 degrees - line baking pan with parchment paper.

In large bowl mix together until light and fluffy:

Brown Sugar

White Sugar

Margarine

Add in and mix until incorporated:

Egg

Vanilla

Slowly add in

Flour

Baking Soda

Salt

Stir in Reese's Pieces

Scoop onto parchment paper and press down slightly with a fork twice.  Bake 10-12 min. 

These are so good I have to freeze them before the family devours them or else they won't make it till this weekends 'Tween Spa Party'

 Even the batter is good!

Something BIG happened this week! Insta-Friday

What a SUPER week!!

Want to see what we’ve been up to?

*I didn’t get any pics of Andy’s birthday. That whole day was a whirlwind, but he did have a GREAT birthday! I made him the most amazing apple crisp. An Amish recipe. Best ever. I swear.*

Okay, here we go – My week via cell phone pics…

I thought I’d start with this one. (Try to ignore the stylish plaid backdrop..ha!) Eli gets left out of a lot of instafridays…mostly because he doesn’t hold still AT ALL when I try to take his picture & we all know how good phones are at taking actions shots…

Look at him though! He’s so cute & getting SO big! He’s almost 18 months old. That’s insane. He’s my baby!

Big Bro/ Baby Bro

Middle Bro sweeping my room. Such a great helper!

Is it bad that Eli already knows what to do with the TV remote?

Something BIG happened this week!!

No crazies, I’m not pregnant…

WE BOUGHT A VAN!

This story probably deserves it’s own post, but in a nutshell Andy & I feel so humbled that God would provide something so GREAT at a time when we SOOO didn’t think we had enough $$ to buy a van…because we wanted to pay cash for it. We sold our Chevy Uplander in the spring to pay off our school debt & become completely debt free. That meant we’d have to manage with 1 vehicle…a car…all summer long…with 3 car seats & very crammed space…Oh, and no tinted windows. Do you realize how hard it is to tote babies around with sun in their eyes? Umm yes, I was known as Ghetto Blanket-in-the-Window Lady all summer long.  But this is what stepping out in faith looked like for us. We both knew it’s what God was leading us & telling us to. (Dave Ramsey might’ve had a something to do with it too…tehehehe)
        
Can I just say this thing totally blows that Uplander out of the water?! The simple things like ummm TINTED WINDOWS…HelLoooo! And a Thermometer – CD Player – Compass – and Extra Leg Room have me GIDDY! Then, throw in heated seats, power sliding doors, seat memory & I just want to cry! I feel so BLESSED that God would give us this much! I’m so thankful!
Why not just throw a Flooded Backyard Party & let my kids play in it, right?!

 
Super-fun time! It rained A LOT & our backyard flooded for a day. It was really no big deal…Especially since Caleb & Keston got to play in it. They were in heaven. Andy & I heard them talking about it as they were in bed that night. I hope they never forget that day. It was awesome!

I hope your week was super too!

And since I shared a personal part of our financial life, do you want to share something with me? What’s the most extreme thing you’ve ever done to save money?

Have a VERY FUN weekend!

I’m linking this post up to Insta-Friday at Life Rearranged. SUCH a great blog! Even if you don’t link up…or blog at all for that matter, I still suggest you wander around over there.

Free Craft Class

SoulBridge Vineyard is hosting a totally FREE Crafting Class October 22nd 2011!!

Van Wert Ohio people - how would you like to attend a totally FREE craft class?  Freckles & Fun and Thrift Store Rock Star along with a couple creative friends are presenting some awesome crafts!  

This class is totally FREE of charge - make sure you RSVP to guarantee a spot.

We're making 4 different crafts, it's all hands on so you'll be making them too!  These 4 crafts are low cost, super easy and lots of fun. It's just in time for holiday gifting!

If you're interested - RSVP by emailing soulbridgevw@aol.com or calling 419-232-3400

Salted Caramel Milk Chocolate Cookies

I ran across this blog ' The Diary of Dave's Wife' this weekend and drooled over the cookies on this post.  They looked so good I just had to make them!  I found the caramel bits in our local Wal-Mart below the chocolate chips in the baking isle.

I'm generally not a sweets person so the salty pretzel part of the recipe is what appealed to me.

This is the slightly altered recipe I used:

3/4 c salted butter softened (I would us margarine next time, I'm not a fan of butter in cookies).

3/4 c brown sugar

3/4 c white sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla (I use the real deal - I make it myself but that's another post)

2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 c milk chocolate chips (I use Ghiradelli)

1 c caramel bits

1/2 c crushed pretzels

Preheat oven to 350
 

Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg & vanilla. Beat in flour & soda. When all is incorporated, stir in chocolate chips (or chocolate pieces) caramels and pretzels.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart onto baking sheets covered in parchment paper. (the parchment is important some of mine had melted caramel on them, with the parchment it comes right off.)
Bake for 10 minutes for a chewy cookie. 

This recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies. 

I can honestly say these were SO good I had to get them out of the house asap or else I would have ate half of them!  My co-workers enjoyed them as did every member of my household.  They were gone so quick I didn't even get a chance to take a picture!

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole –Tasty Tuesday

Yummm-o!

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

I Dug up a family favorite for today’s Tasty Tuesday! My Gram has made this for me so many times, I can’t even count. When I was in college she would make it for me, freeze it & send it back to school with me after a weekend visit. But I have to give credit to my Aunt Bren…because I’m pretty sure she’s the one who introduced our family to this goodie. It’s fantastic. AND!!!!!!! You don’t always have to use chicken! This recipe is perfect for leftover Thanksgiving Day TURKEY too!! But of course, you have to change it’s name to Poppy Seed TURKEY Casserole

Ingredients

4-5 Whole Chicken Breasts (cooked, skinned, boned & cut into pieces)

1/2 Cup Cream of Chicken Soup (I make my own…recipe coming soon)

1/2 Cup Cream of Celery Soup

8 oz Sour Cream (1 Cup)

18-20 Crushed Soda Crackers

1/2 Stick Butter, melted

2 Tbsp Poppy Seeds

1. Mix soup & sour cream together. 2. Stir in 1 Tbsp of poppy seeds 3. Add chicken & mix together. 4. Put mixture into a casserole (2qt) dish. 5. Mix melted butter & crushed crackers together. 6. Sprinkle over the chicken mixture & sprinkle remaining 1 Tbsp poppy seeds over the top also. 7. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
 

Good Stuff!

Add this to your freezer recipe stash!

Sharing this recipe, of course! Check out my party page!