Running The Race

weekend away

I got back late yesterday evening, just in time for bedtime, after spending the weekend with Michelle Sidles. It's really hard to put into words how amazing my time with her (and her family) was. I'm hoping to blog about it later but wanted to get this gratitude post up  - so very much to be thankful for especially after a weekend spent with her.

2244. a surprise visitor (a cat) on our veranda and a very excited little boy

2245. snuggling in bed to read a chapter of her book together

2246. watching him try to learn to wink

2247. stopping to splash and play in a puddle

2248. everything ready to go and excitement building

2249. roasted beet and fennel salad

2250. deeply inhaling fresh mountain air

2251. a safe, beautiful, quiet long drive with no problems

2252. hugging Michelle in person

2253. waking up in Michelle Sidles' home

2254. spending the day with her family

2255. a quiet peaceful, love-filled home

2256. running along the river with Michelle and Natalie

2257. their generosity to me

2258. so many laughs

2259. experiencing life with Michelle - her places, her favourites, her kids and husband and home and pets and running trail and walking trail - so, so, so much better in person

2260. listening to a really good book on the whole drive home

2261. a safe drive and no problems at the border

2262. coming home to very big hugs and kisses and their excitement and all the stories of what happened while I was away.

Linked: Week 21: Temptation

This boy is ALL about the sweet treats. He starts asking for them before breakfast and until he goes to bed. All day long. I feel like I'm always saying, "No" or "Not now" or "Maybe later" to him. And if he knows there is something sweet around, he can barely handle the temptation. The really interesting thing is that his body has a very hard time handling sugar. Within 15-20 minutes of eating sugar, he's having a meltdown. I try really hard not to have treats in the house for that very reason but it hasn't really stopped the relatives from keeping the kids well stocked. Shhhhh, don't tell them but I often end up throwing stuff away before they eat it all. I just know too much about how bad sugar is for our bodies and have seen firsthand the effects it has had on me. I'll step off my soapbox now. ;)

list 73: best pinterest finds this month

15 Ways to Stay Married

Cabin Fever

Listen to the Little Stuff

10 Mistakes New Herb Gardeners Make

Birdie Sling Bag

Roasted Cauliflower and Smoked Cheddar Soup with Bacon Crumbles

Raw Wood Table

I am a Christian

Little Girl Bedroom

Car Wallet

Capture Life

Don't Handicap Your Children

Child of God Art Print

Highway Fabric Wall Stickers

Thoughts on Converting to Black and White

Perfect Pyrex

Navy Butterfly Ruffle Top

Camera Letterpress Art Print

Wall Hooks

Creative Wall Display

The Only One

Toms Ballet Flats

Are You Seriously Asking Me That?

a year in photos: month 10 week 4

I'm playing along with my friend, Jenn, documenting a year in photos. You can see all of the assignments I've done here or check out Jenn's here.

Assignment 43: Photograph their eyes.

I love their eyes and have never really took the time to photograph them. She's so much like her Daddy in her looks except for her eyes. She has the same eye colour as me. He, on the other hand, is so much more like me in his looks except for his eyes. He has the same eye colour as his Daddy. I love how different and unique they both are.

weeds, gardens and grace

I was going to spend some time today writing a little something to go up with this blog post, talking about our weekend spent getting our garden plots ready for our community garden - how they were filled with weeds and rocks and awful soil and how frustrated I was when we first got there because we had spent so much time and energy the previous 2 years taking such good care of our plot but then getting switched to these new ones and how disappointing it was but then after spending the day weeding and working the ground, I was reminded about how God does that very same thing for me and how frustrating it must be for Him sometimes when he has to keep pulling out the same weeds from the same rocky soil in my heart and adding back in the compost and nutrients so that the good things will grow. But tonight I got an email letting me know that we had planted the wrong bed and the hours we had spent this weekend getting that bed ready and planted were all for the wrong garden plot and someone was unhappy with us and I was so upset - upset because of the time we had wasted, upset because the plots weren't marked with numbers like they should have been but mostly upset because I had made a mistake, a simple honest mistake but still a mistake that had upset someone and was going to cost us more time, energy and effort getting another garden plot ready. And then God showed me something really big. My husband spent the entire night, in the rain, pulling more weeds and working up more soil and fixing up another bed for someone else, who had agreed to switch plots with us so we wouldn't have to lose everything we planted. And after coming home, he then called her to apologize and work everything out. And what might seem like a pretty minor situation in the big scheme of things was a really big deal in my heart because He showed me forgiveness and grace and a redeemed situation.  And I'm so grateful that He continues to pull the weeds and work up the rocky soil of my heart and never gives up on me.

2213. watching Ella and Jesse

2214. water with fresh squeezed lemon

2215. a backyard full of neighbourhood kids

2216. handfuls of dandelions

2217. reading together on the back deck

2218. a vehicle to drive

2219. blowing bubbles

2220. fitting everything in

2221. attending the IJM meeting

2222. flowers blooming all over campus

2223. reading to her in bed at night

2224. a very thoughtful gift in the mail

2225. skyping with my beautiful friend Stacey

2226. running in the rain

2227. 2 pretend puppies in the house

2228. their excitement over catching a grasshopper

2229. their heads resting on me as we read a bedtime story

2230. a yeard full of neighbourhood kids (again)

2231. his contagious smile

2232. help in the garden from my girl

2233. talking to my Mom on the phone

2234. flowers blooming in our yard

2235. cars scattered all over the floor

2236. all our gardens planted

2237. her dance moves

2238. a quiet relaxing morning at home alone

2239. a picnic at the playground

2240. my husband, who showed me so much grace today and who worked so hard to get that garden ready and who continually wants to make things right with people

2241. books to listen to on my long drive

2242. my first NAET treatment, and 20 minutes of silence to lay on the bed and have a little nap

2243. a client happy with the photos I took for her

Linked: Week 20: Anger

This topic was challenging for me. Anger is such a strong word and so hard to photograph. So my photo doesn't necessarily scream anger but definitely frustration and if you could have heard him screaming while I took this photo, you would definitely think he was angry.

Somebody really doesn't like getting ready for bed every night. We go through this pretty much every night, give him lots of warning, give him the choice of getting ready now or in 10 minutes, etc. but still we have a nightly meltdown. It's hard on him and hard on me. I'm hoping it just a stage but man, this stage is lasting a really long time. The funny thing is that once he's in his room for the night, he gets right into bed and goes to sleep almost immediately, rarely getting out of bed for anything. His sister, on the other hand, is another story. She has never liked going to bed and we still struggle with getting her to go to sleep.

Check out everyone else's take on this week's theme:

Michelle, Heather, Jenn, Rhonda, Tracey, Stacey, Andrea, Jessica, Amanda, Sara, Janet, Jean, Lesli, Kristi, Carla, Rose, Naomi, Tracy, Amanda, Heidi, Amy, Kristin, Liza

list 72: I love when people

So many things on this list I aspire towards...

1. stand up against human rights violations

2. extend grace

3. love and care for their neighbours

4. live intentionally, thoughtfully and with care for others

5. care for the environment

6. surprise others with their kindness

7. smile and say hello

8. ask "how are you really doing?"

9. pray and believe in the power of prayer

10. take care of their bodies and their health

11. use their signal lights while driving

12. keep in touch

13. inspire with their art

14. believe in themselves

15. give selflessly

16. keep their word

17. are patient, kind and respectful towards childen

18. show their tears

19. are open minded about natural health

20. really listen

21. give thoughtful gifts

22. are serious about their faith and live it out

23. speak kindly about their spouse and children

24. love deeply

a year in photos: month 10 week 3

I'm playing along with my friend, Jenn, documenting a year in photos. You can see all of the assignments I've done here or check out Jenn's here.

Assignment 42: Photograph mom & dad's room.

This is our room. It's bigger than any bedroom we've had before and the best part, in my opinion, is that there's an ensuite (our first one). There's a walk-in closet off to the right of the photo, just when you come in the door and you can see the edge of our dresser in the corner of the photo. I'd love to get some photos up on the walls but I imagine that won't happen for a while as we'll probably devote the majority of our time (and funds) to the rest of the house first. We desperately need a bedskirt too. My husband made me our headboard a few months ago after I saw one I loved on Pinterest. We've been married almost 13 years and have never had a headboard so I was thrilled when he created this one out of recycled pallets. We both have stacks of books on our beside tables, waiting to be read. I had so many I had to find myself another shelf to put them all on. I'd say it's a pretty good problem to have. The kids love to play in our bedroom too and most of the time they are allowed. The only time I don't let them play in there is when we have other people over. Our laundry room is right outside our bedroom so I basically transfer the laundry from the dryer to our bed to make sure it gets folded before we head to bed and doesn't sit around for too long. I love this space, even with all the changes I'd love to make to it some day.

meal planning: week one

The other day I was chatting with Stacey about meal planning. I've been meal planning on and off for a while and it's something that's new to her so I mentioned that I was thinking about sharing my meal plans (with recipe reviews) on my blog. She thought that was a great idea so I'm finally getting around to it. I'm always on the hunt for new, tasty, healthy recipes and I figured some others out there might be too so here's a look at a week of dinners in our house.

Monday: Pasta with Homemade Tomato Sauce

I always make my own pasta sauce. I don't really have a recipe but it's easy on those nights when I don't have much time to think about or make a meal. Here's what I do. I dice up an onion, saute it in some olive oil for a few minutes, then add minced garlic, grated carrot (and sometimes spinach or zucchini, if I have any on hand). Then I puree some diced tomatoes in my blender with oregano and basil and add it to the onions. I usually let it simmer away for a while (the longer the better, it seems). taste it and add some salt if it needs and then add it to hot cooked pasta. Sometimes I add ground beef or turkey or sausages but not always. Then I top it with grated raw parmesan cheese. Super easy.

Tuesday: Pesto Potatoes, Smokies, and Roasted Broccoli

The pesto potatoes recipe calls for eggs cooked on top, which I've done in the past and is totally delicious, but since we had smokies to use up, I left the eggs off. These potatoes are so yummy! The roasted broccoli sounded so good but I totally messed up the recipe and it really wasn't that good at all. I didn't have any sweet chili sauce so I thought I'd substitute tomato paste (don't ask me what I was thinking, I saw red and went with it). Silas normally loves broccoli but he wasn't having any of this. Next time I promise to stick to the recipe.

Wednesday: Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet

I got a Cooking Light book out of the library a couple weeks ago and this recipe caught my eye right away. It was so delicious. We all loved it and it tasted so good the next day too, definitely a keeper.

Thursday: Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

This was a pinterest find and did not disappoint. My husband isn't a big tomato fan but even he liked this soup. I did the stovetop version. I'm not much for using my slow-cooker. It was quick and easy and so yummy. I substitued the flour with cornstarch to make it gluten-free.

Friday: Quinoa Burgers and Salad

I made these burgers a long time ago and thought they were so delicious but haven't had them for a while because I've been off dairy. But since I can have some dairy again and I had a container full of sticky quinoa (from a recipe gone wrong the last time my Mom was visiting) in the freezer, I really wanted to make these again. Last time I used ricotta cheese because I had some in the fridge and this time I stuck with the cottage cheese the recipe calls for but think I'll be switching back to ricotta next time - it helps them stick together better, I found. (I also skip the splenda/sugar. I really don't think it's necessary in this recipe.) These are really easy to make and so tasty. When the kids asked what was for dinner and I told them quinoa burgers they got super excited and couldn't stop telling me how yummy they were all throughout dinner. I've been really cutting back on the amount of bread we eat in our house so we had these without buns. I like to wrap mine up in lettuce with a bit of mustard and tomato and eat them that way. My only tip is to cook them slowly so they have time to meld together and don't fall apart as easily when flipping them.

I'd love to hear what you think and if this is something that you would like to see me blog about on a regular basis. And please feel free to share some of your favourites and cooking experiences with me too. I feel like I can never have enough recipes in my collection.

celebrating

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I had such a lovely day. The kids were so excited to create special pictures and messages for me and even had a few surprises up their sleeves. They decorated the house (with Daddy's help) after church while I took a nap and then wrapped me up in hugs and kisses, a gift bag full of artwork and some new lilies for our yard. We spent the afternoon outside, planting, digging in the dirt, running through the sprinkler and letting them play in their kiddie pool. It was low-key but I felt so loved and so grateful that I get to be their mama, that's really the best gift of all.

2192. "fishing" at the big park

2193. quiet time alone after everyone is in bed

2194. an unplanned but completely appreciated chat with Stacey

2195. summer-like weather

2196. an encouraging word from a friend

2197. water and dirt and my boy

2198. breakfast outside

2199. 2 garden plots this summer

2200. feeling fully wrapped in love, support and encouragement from friends

2201. those precious 45 minutes I get to spend with my boy every Thursday while is sister is in music class

(this is what we spend our time doing)

2202. being celebrated at school for Mother's Day

2203. shared experiences

2204. kicking candida to the curb and finally being able to add some more foods back into my diet

2205. the funny, funny things my boy says

2206. spending the evening with Sara, walking, talking and taking photos

2207. new plants for the backyard

2208. a day spent together as a family

2209. sitting on the back deck with friends laughing

2210. listening to them read on the deck while I make dinner

2211. their surprises for me and excitement to celebrate Mother's Day

2212. the church donating money to Casa Luz for Mother's Day