Events

  • 3D Printed: Heart Puzzle

    3d heart puzzle and sweet pork bake

    Super cool heart puzzle my husband made for me with his 3D printer.

    While I was away Jake made me a 3D printed heart puzzle, love my man!  It was a sweet surprise when I came home!  He is so thoughtful!  The “flowers” or gears on the heart rotates around and when all of them are aligned it looks like the heart in the pictures.  Super cool!  The girls thought it was fascinating too!

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    The pieces had to be printed in several settings and then he clipped them together to form the puzzle.  So thankful for my man.  He is always doing things to brighten my day!  Love him!

  • Free Ebooks: Jingle All the Way, Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Cookies, Easy Recipes for Christmas Cooking, Hearty Soups, and more!

    The price to download these books is currently $0.00 (although the price may change at any time, please confirm prior to downloading).  The ebooks are specifically for Kindles, however, you can click here and download the free application that allows you to read Kindle ebooks on your PC.

    Download a free copy of Jingle All the Way by Tom Shay-Zapien

    Download a free copy of Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Cookies – Make Impressive Holiday Treats by Dennis Weaver

    Download a free copy of Easy Recipes for Christmas Cooking by Rosanne Hewitt-Cromwell, Sheila Kiely, and Paul Callaghan

    Download a free copy of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

    Download a free copy of The 12 Days of Christmas by Xist Publishing

    Download a free copy of Hearty Soups – A Collection of Homemade Soups by Dennis Weaver

    Download a free copy of Quirk Books D.I.Y. Gift Guide by Homemade Quirk

    Download a free copy of How To Memorize the Bible Fast and Easy by Adam Houge

    Download a free copy of Making Costume Jewelry – An Easy & Complete Step by Step Guide by Janet Evans

    Download a free copy of My Life and Work by Henry Ford

  • Recipes: Apple Bacon Bread

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    One of our family members is a big fan of Breakfast Breads.  I tried a new one recently that was a big hit.  It contains a couple popular ingredients, apples and bacon. Apples and bacon have been on sale in a couple of the local stores so that’s what was included in the new breakfast bread.

    Apple Bacon Breakfast Bread:

    • 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
    • 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
    • 1/2 cup Butter (softened)
    • 2/3 cup White Sugar
    • 2 teaspoons Vanilla
    • 2 Eggs
    • 1 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
    • 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
    • 1/2 cup Milk
    • 1/2 cup Bacon, small pieces
    • 1 large Apple, peeled and cubed

    Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan or 5 mini loaf pans.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar in a bowl and set aside.  In mixer blend together butter and white sugar until smooth.  Add vanilla and eggs; blend until combined.  Add flour and baking powder and mix until blended.  Mix in milk.

    Pour half the batter in the greased loaf pan.  Sprinkle half the apples, bacon pieces, and cinnamon sugar mixture over the batter.  Pour remaining batter over the apple and bacon layer.  Top with remaining apples, bacon, and cinnamon sugar mixture.  Bake for 45 minutes or until cooked through.

    Breakfast Bread and Egg Casserole

     First layer with the apples and bacon sprinkled over the top.

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    Sprinkled with a little cinnamon and sugar on top!

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    Hot and delicious!

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    Whose ready for some Apple Bacon Bread!

  • Birthday Celebration!

    Happy Birthday, Red Velvet Birthday Cake, Gifts, Games, Food, and More

    The birthday candles kept relighting!

    It has been a crazy few months around our house!  Recently, I had the privilege of celebrating another birthday.  It was a wonderful day!  This year my birthday fell on a Saturday so Jake and the girls made me breakfast, we had delicious food, played games, read books, relaxed, opened gifts, ate cake, and ended the day by watching a movie together.

    The cards, gifts, texts, phone calls, messages, emails, and all the best wishes made my day super special.  Thankful for my family, friends, the opportunity to celebrate another year, and the many amazing blessings in my life.  I have so many great memories and praying that this upcoming year is packed full of even more!

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    Delicious red velvet cake picked up by my sweet Handsome!

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    It was rich and tasty!

    Birthday Gifts, Birthday Cards

    Cards and goodies from my family.  They each picked out and wrapped their own gifts!  I even got some cute birthday “notes” on a couple packages! 🙂

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    The perfect appetizer before a yummy birthday dinner!

  • Sweet Treat from My Husband

    Chocolate Covered Strawberries

    There are so many reasons to be thankful for my husband!  Not long ago he picked up a box of Dole’s Strawberry Dippers and brought them home for me.  Such a sweetheart!  The Dole Strawberry Dippers are frozen strawberry halves covered in dark chocolate!  Absolutely…..DELICIOUS!!!  Thank you baby for the special surprise!  He knows me well!  YOUR THE BEST!!!

  • Wishing You a Safe & Happy Thanksgiving

    Be Kind Be thoughtful Be genuine but most of All Be Thankful  Orange Inspiration and Color Theory / The English Room Blog

    Happy Thanksgiving!

    Wishing you a truly amazing and safe Thanksgiving Holiday if you will be traveling to see family and friends!  I am thankful for the many wonderful blessings in my life.  This year we are thrilled to spend some time with our extended family over the Thanksgiving Holiday!  It is not every year we are able to get together for Thanksgiving!   We also get to celebrate with my youngest brother as he marries the love of his life this Thanksgiving weekend.  So many reasons to be thankful!

    I love this quote because even during the difficult times we can “be kind, be thoughtful, be genuine, but most of all be thankful”.  What a great reminder not just for Thanksgiving Day, but for everyday of our lives!

    photo credit

  • Free Trial of Amazon Prime – Includes FREE 2 Day Shipping!

    Amazon_Prime

     You can get a 30 day FREE trial of Amazon Prime.  If you are looking to try out Amazon Prime this is a great time to do it!  The 2 Day Free shipping could come in handy if you are ordering any gifts on Amazon for the Holiday Season too!

    Amazon Prime Benefits:

    • FREE 2 Day Shipping (No Minimum Order)
    • Unlimited, ad-free streaming on over million songs
    • Instantly watch over 40,000 movies and TV episodes
    • Borrow Kindle Books from the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library

    This is a great time to try out Amazon Prime, see if you like it and enjoy the benefits.  You can chose to cancel your membership after the 30 day free trial or get a yearly membership.

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    There is so much to be thankful for in my life.  These last couple of months have been challenging for me, but my family and friends have been a huge source of encouragement with their help and prayers.  I continue to heal, but seem to be making progress slowly in the right direction which is great.

    I was able to do more activities this week as well as celebrate another birthday.  Praying that this new year is full of great fun!  There are still items I was not able to complete on my ever growing list, but at least I am moving forward.

    With this week being Thanksgiving it will be a little different for me.  I will plan on spending more quality time with my family.  It will be week of celebrating various events with my extended family, including Thanksgiving and my brother’s wedding, so I am very excited!

    Last week’s goals

    Family Goals

    1. Read the book Wonder’s Promise by Joanna Campbell to read to the kids
    2. Plan one special activity with the family
    3. Prepare for Upcoming Fall Events
    4. Spend time Monday – Friday helping the kids with Homework
    5. Attend After School Activities
    6. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    7. Play a Game with the Kids – we played Sorry together on my birthday
    8. Start Organizing the Kids Scrapbook Items – other activities took priority this week
    9. Dr. Appointments for Kids

    Personal Goals

    1. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    2. Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
    3. Go to my  Doctor Appointments Scheduled this week

    Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day – took me 2 days, but getting it done!
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Do at least one “Make 1 & Freeze 1″ Meal Prep (make a main dish to eat that day and one to freeze for later) – we had appointments / activities during the days AND every night after school this week so I was not able to get it done this week
    4. Clean House (Focus – Bathrooms) – got started….
    5. Organize Chaos (Focus – Storage Room) – going to have to put this one on hold for a week
    6. Yard Cleanup (Focus – Pool taken down and put away) – it was a rainy weekend and needed my hubby’s help on this one
    7. Pet Care (Focus – Refill Dog & Goat Food Bin)

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails – got some progress made, but need to do more soon
    3. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention – it was a wild week with extra activities that took priority
    4. Work completed for clients – got a good bit done, but need to put in some more time

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch – didn’t have a free breakfast / lunch this week
    2. Prep for our Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child boxes – gathering items

    Financial Goals

    1. Payoff the Car – working on it
    2. Payoff Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, and other debt) – working on it
    3. Pay Bills & File Paperwork
    4. Earn some Creative Cash – working on it
    5. Go grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget

    My goals for the upcoming week

    Family Goals

    1. Read the book Wonder’s First Race by Joanna Campbell to read to the kids (The kids have been really enjoying this series.  It was Brina’s turn to pick out the book and she choose this one for me to read to them!)
    2. Plan one special activity with the family
    3. Prepare for Upcoming Fall Events
    4. Spend time Monday – Tuesday helping the kids with Homework
    5. Attend After School Activities
    6. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    7. Play a Game with the Kids
    8. Watch a movie with the Kids
    9. Listen to an Audiobook with the Kids
    10. Thanksgiving Holiday – So Many Reasons to be Thankful
    11. Celebrating Josh & Megan’s Wedding & Activities

    Personal Goals

    1. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    2. Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
    3. Go to my  Doctor Appointments Scheduled this week

    Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Clean House (Basic Speed Clean before the Holiday Activities)

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch

    Financial Goals

    1. Payoff the Car
    2. Payoff Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, and other debt)
    3. Pay Bills & File Paperwork

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.

  • Holiday Gift Giving: Give the Gift of Amazon Prime

    Gift Prime

    Over the next few weeks I will share a variety of Gift Giving ideas for the upcoming Holidays.  We have all had those people on the gift list that we try to find the perfect gift for, but it takes time and a little extra creative thinking.  This gift is perfect for anyone (men, women, kids, college students, couples, and more) on your gift list!  You can now give the gift of Amazon Prime Membership.

    Gift of Amazon Prime includes:

    • FREE Two-Day Shipping on millions of items (no minimum order size)
    • Unlimited, ad-free access to over a million songs and hundreds of playlists
    • Instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with Prime Instant Video
    • Free unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive
    • Read free books each month through Kindle First and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library

    Amazon will send your recipient their gift on the day you choose along with the redemption instructions.  The gift recipient can begin their Prime Membership immediately.  If the recipient currently has a Prime Membership they can exchange their gift for an Amazon.com Gift Card.

    The Amazon Prime Membership is perfect for any family and friends that enjoy online shopping.  They will get FREE Shipping and many other perks with their membership.  It is a great gift that could be used for as a Holiday, wedding, birthday, anniversary gifts, and more!

  • A “Dove” For My Love!

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    I am blessed with an amazing husband!  When he has to travel I miss him greatly!  I am very grateful for the him and everything he does for our family.  When he travels I try to get him something special for when he comes home.  The surprise could be a treat something sweet or salty or practical or fun gift.  I usually add some cheesy note or saying, but that’s not what it’s really about, it is about making my man feel important when he comes home.

    Most of the time I leave his welcome home surprise in a place where I know he will find not long after being home (his desk, near the shelf where he puts his wallet, in the front of the fridge, etc…).  He’s seems to really appreciate the surprise gifts and gestures.  I am always thrilled have him back home and to do something special for him.  Lately, he has been traveling more for work so I have had to get creative and keep an eye out for new and different items to make or get for him.There are so many reasons why I love him….let me share a few:

    • He loves me despite my faults.
    • He takes care of me even during the rough times of sickness or injury.
    • He works hard to provide for our family.
    • He is a godly man.
    • He knows how to make me laugh.
    • He plays a key role in so many of my favorite memories. 
    • He is an amazing Dad to our kids.
    • He takes time to listen to me even on busy days or when he is away.
    • He encourages me to always do my best.
    • He helps me even when I get myself “in a pickle” which happens more than I care to admit (ahem…).
    • He is thoughtful and often knows exactly what I need, sometimes even before I do.
    • He knows how to make me smile.
    • He spontaneously surprises me with the most thoughtful and perfect practical gifts.
    • He is my best friend.
    • He cooks the most delicious food for our family.
    • He will help clean, even if it isn’t always his favorite chore around the house.
    • He knows how to bring out the best in me.
    • He is my Handsome Man.
    • He pitches in when he sees I need the extra help with the kids homework, finishing a meal, and more.
    • He is very creative. 
    • He allows me to speak freely and values my opinion, even if we don’t always agree on everything.
    • He looks for opportunities to teach his family new things (both the kids and myself included).
    • He puts up with my craziness, he deserves an award for this one.
    • He is willing to play board games with his family.
    • He is my biggest cheerleader and believes I can do anything I want to do.
    • He has an amazing amount of patience with me and the kids.
    • He knows I have a black thumb with house plants and still loves me.
    • He supports my endeavors and at times my random crazy ideas.
    • He comes up and will implement ways to make my life easier. 
    • He has so many talents and is an amazing person.
    • He knows how to calm me down when I get myself worked up.
    • He allows me to be myself around him.
    • He tells me I am “beautiful” even though I usually see all the areas I need to improve.
    • He can create the most awesome creations out of wood – bookshelves, desks, and so much more.
    • He is always learning. 
    • He spoils me…..too much at times.
    • He is generous.
    • He is giving of his time and energy.
    • I love him more and more every day!

     

    While neither of us happen to be perfect (far from it actually), however, we are perfect for each other.  Unfortunately, we don’t always agree, but we work together through those tough moments.  We’ve had our ups and we’ve had our downs.  Thankfully, we have grown closer together and learned to love each other even more through the years.