Merry Christmas from The Granstroms

Devotion on Marriage I read from Dennis Rainy

11 Rules on Marriage You Won’t Learn in School

For many years, e-mails have circulated the country with the outline of a speech attributed to Microsoft founder Bill Gates titled “11 Things You Will Not Learn in School About Jobs.” It turns out that Gates never wrote these words or delivered the speech—it was all taken from an article written by Charles J. Sykes in 1996. And it really doesn’t matter that Gates wasn’t involved, because the piece does a great job of unmasking how feel-good, politically-correct teachings have created a generation of kids with a false concept of reality.

I thought I’d not only pass on these rules, but also make a few of my own—on marriage.

First, here are the 11 rules of life that you won’t learn in school:

Rule 1: Life is not fair—get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will not make $60,000 per year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping—they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault. So don't whine about your mistakes; learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes, and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents’ generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to anything in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you “find yourself.” Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is not real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Sage advice.

After reading this piece, I was inspired to take a crack at something I’d been chewing on: “11 Rules That You Won’t Learn in School About Marriage.”

Rule 1: Marriage isn’t about your happiness. It’s not about you getting all your needs met through another person. Practicing self-denial and self-sacrifice, patience, understanding, and forgiveness are the fundamentals of a great marriage. If you want to be the center of the universe, then there’s a much better chance of that happening if you stay single.

Rule 2: Getting married gives a man a chance to step up and finish growing up. The best preparation for marriage for a single man is to man up now and keep on becoming the man God created him to be.

Rule 3: It’s okay to have one rookie season, but it’s not okay to repeat your rookie season. You will make rookie mistakes in your first year of marriage; the key is that you don’t continue making those same mistakes in year five, year 10, or year 20 of your marriage.

Rule 4: It takes a real man to be satisfied with and love one woman for a lifetime. And it takes a real woman to be content with and respect one man for a lifetime.

Rule 5: Love isn’t a feeling. Love is commitment. It’s time to replace the “D word”—divorce—with the “C word”—commitment. Divorce may feel like a happy solution, but it results in long-term toxic baggage. You can’t begin a marriage without commitment. You can’t sustain one without it either. A marriage that goes the distance is really hard work. If you want something that is easy and has immediate gratification, then go shopping or play a video game.

Rule 6: Online relationships with old high school or college flames, emotional affairs, sexual affairs, and cohabiting are shallow and illegitimate substitutes for the real thing. Emotional and sexual fidelity in marriage is the real thing.

Rule 7: Women spell romance R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N-S-H-I-P. Men spell romance S-E-X. If you want to speak romance to your spouse, become a student of your spouse and enroll in a lifelong “Romantic Language School,” and become fluent in your spouse’s language.

Rule 8: During courtship, opposites attract. After marriage, opposites can repel each another. You married your spouse because he/she is different. Differences are God’s gift to you to create new capacities in your life. Different isn’t wrong, it’s just different.

Rule 9: Pornography robs men of a real relationship with a real person and poisons real masculinity, replacing it with the toxic killers of shame, deceit, and isolation. Pornography siphons off a man’s drive for intimacy with his wife. Marriage is not for wimps. Accept no substitutes.

Rule 10: As a home is built, it will reflect the builder. Most couples fail to consult the Master Architect and His blueprints for building a home. Instead a man and woman marry with two sets of blueprints (his and hers). As they begin building, they discover that a home can’t be built from two very different sets of blueprints.

Rule 11: How you will be remembered has less to do with how much money you make or how much you accomplish and more with how you have loved and lived.

Pass on “The Rules” to a friend who will enjoy them!

Love and Marriage

I thought yesterday was interesting because all day long conversations, e-mails, blogs kept bringing me back to my marriage and reminding me how thankful I am for mine.

Instance #1 - While working at the kids school the Moms started talking about how old they were and how old their kids are. I just sat there silently because I hate when people talk about age...I am always the youngest and I just get tired of hearing it. Needless to say, one friend of mine piped up and said, "Bekah is younger than all of us and she has a daughter in High School" All eyes turned to me as I said, "Well Jason and I were High School sweethearts and got married right after graduation." Then one Mom said, "and your still married?" I looked at her sheepishly and said, "yes, for 15 years now, and I still love him." She started talking about how those high school relationships NEVER last and ALWAYS end in divorce and she couldn't believe we were still married, blah, blah, blah. I hate the way it made it feel to be honest. It's like I was so odd because I was young and married with kids and I still loved my husband. Hmmm

Instance #2 - I read a few blogs online. Some are from people I have never met but somehow I have been pulled into their lives and enjoy reading their blog posts. First blog I pulled up said, "I left my husband" Wow, I thought to myself, I can't believe she left her husband, she just had a baby, they have 5 kids,what did he do, what about her kids?! Questions, judgment, and accusations filled my mind. I thought they were working on their marriage, I thought to myself. I thought they were Christians, once again blah, blah, blah. But I kept reading her post and was moved by her raw emotion and truthfulness as she spoke of her own selfishness and need to be transparent. Along with her post she linked to another blog that makes....

Instance #3 - The blog link was to this site right here. This blog post was from another woman who spoke of how her husband left her. I don't know much about her story, I have never read her blog before but again this woman poured out her heart posted about the pain of her husband leaving her. Very sad.

Instance #4 - I asked my kids to tell me what they were thankful for yesterday for my blog post. I was deeply moved when my oldest daughter said, "I'm thankful I have parents who love each other more than they love me." I'm sure I have posted about this line of thinking somewhere in my blog before and I know it brings up a lot of controversy but I still fully believe that God intends for parents to love one another first and then their children. If Jason and I can't love each other, how are we to show love to our children? Anyway, I do not want to get into a debate over this today...it was just another instance in my day that made me think of my marriage and how blessed I am.

Finally Instance #5 - After posting my blog yesterday I got a little note from a friend of mine saying how much she envied the love I have for my husband and our marriage. WOW, that totally floored me!! Envied my love for my husband, that was a huge compliment!! After this compliment I had to send my hubby a text message and tell him how much I appreciate his love for me and our family and that I love him sooo much! Of course this made him suspicious and he asked why I was buttering him up but after I explained all the things that happened yesterday he understood and said he was glad too and that he loved me too! Awwww! :-)

I do love my husband so much and I am proud to say that we have been married for 15 years but please don't ever put my marriage on a pedestal or think that J and I have it all figured out. We have our ups and downs just like all marriages/couples. I have fought with Jason, I have cried myself to sleep at night, I have even disliked my husband but I think that is normal. All relationships have trials and times where we don't always "like" the other person but what is important is that we work through it. Always communicating, never judging, and always forgiving. It's easy to write those words but a lot harder to live out, especially in the middle of conflict!! Ha!
Anyway, all of that to get to my point...I do have one! Don't take your marriage/relationship for granted! I think it is easy to get complacent in marriage and take our spouses for granted. They are supposed to be our best friend, lover, and confident and I think that sometimes we lose sight of that. I look at these broken relationships and it breaks my heart because I know that these people are hurting. I don't ever want my husband to leave me and I don't plan to ever leave him but the only way I can guarantee that doesn't happen is to be purposeful in my relationship with him. To keep him as my best friend and to work on our relationship daily. I don't want to take our relationship for granted and I want to encourage you to do the same thing! Don't let the one person who means the most to you slip away, don't get complacent, don't ever say, "I didn't know what I had and now it's gone!"

DAY 30

I made it!! I now have a record of thirty days of being Thankful! Woohoo! I know they weren't consecutive days but I still have it done. It has been helpful and I hope that when I am having a bad day, I can remember all these blogs and remember how much I have to be Thankful for! For my last day of Thankfulness I am going to let my kids tell me what they are thankful for and record it here. I am always thankful for my kids so today I am thankful for them and their attitude of Thankfulness also!

Alexis - She is thankful for God and Jesus! :-)
Nicholas - He is thankful for EVERYTHING
Ethan - A roof over his head to keep him warm (seeing how he forgot his coat today!)
Stephanie - Having two parents that love each other more than they love me















My kiddos plus 1 :-)

Thankful for Media

Today my thankfulness pays tribute to the world of Entertainment/Media :-)

1) Free Redbox rentals the first Monday of each month. Rented Letters To Juliet and watched it all by myself today while the kids were at school! I LOVED every minute of it!
2) I'm thankful I can dream and that my husband lets me dream, I know one day he will take me to Italy!
3) I'm thankful for Christmas songs on the radio. My favorite is from Capital Lights called "It Was His Favorite Christmas Story" I LOVE IT!!
4) Math projects done and turned in on time by my kiddos!
5) Monday to Friday doesn't seem that far apart this week!

If you don't know the song mentioned in #3, you have to click below and listen!!

Day 28 of being Thankful

I have a lot to be thankful for today!!

1) Jason "missing" his flight and staying home for the day
2) Finishing our Thanksgiving puzzle today while drinking coffee and just enjoying being together.
3) Neighbors who have a smoker and offer to smoke a chicken for me for dinner.
4) Early Christmas present for Ethan
5) Packages in the mail

Day 27

Today I am thankful for:

1) A day alone with just my Ethan
2) Free parking downtown because of the Holidays
3) Sunshine
4) Fridays
5) Ice Cream Calories that don't count when out on a date with your kid! :-)

Day 26 of being Thankful

I got my happy back ya'all!! No, Jason isn't home...yet, but I am feeling content today (Thanks for the extra prayers Kitty!). I went grocery shopping yesterday, turned on the heat at home :-( , made a new recipe for dinner (which was super yummy), watched Survivor, and I guess I got a good nights sleep!
I also got my coffee going this morning, got kids to school on time, and turned on my seat heat warmer in the truck!
See, life is good! :-)

Today I am thankful for:
1) Heat seat warmers in my truck!!
2) Old Navy Fleece pullovers to keep me warm
3) A good nights sleep
4) New recipes (did I already say that yesterday?) Oh well!
5) Heat in my house that I can afford and that works to keep me warm!!

Do you get it yet? I don't like to be cold at all!! Our low this morning was 30 degrees when I took my kids to school! Our high is in the 50's but none the less, I had to dress the kids in layers this morning and make sure they had their winter jackets for school! I don't know how I would keep them warm if we actually lived where it was cold all the time! Ha-ha!! Check 'em out this morning before school, you would think it was frigid out there....well to us it is/was!! Actually 30 is cold no matter where you live!!
Have a good day all!! :-)

So close to finishing

It has taken me a lot longer than 30 days but I am almost there!! I am going to finish this quest and have 30 days of being thankful on my blog and to look back on any time I want!
Today I am thankful for:
1) Foodnetwork.com I LOVE that site, channel, FOOD! :-)
2) Being done with grocery shopping until next Wednesday!
3) Fireplace inside
4) Pandora Christmas Station! :-)
5) God using the radio to speak to me! I have sung this song a thousand times, was singing it today when I really heard the words and had to stop singing because I started crying!! I love how God uses life, radio, friends, nature, to speak to our hearts when we need it most! Check out this song and have a blessed day, letting God lead! :-)

Not feeling thankful...

Just having one of those days. Jason was off of work for a whole week and I LOVED every minute of it!! My family came from Chicago to visit, the kids were off school for a week, it was an awesome week. Then yesterday Jason still had one day off of work so we spent the day together and enjoyed some alone time!
Now it is Tuesday, and everyone is gone. No more days off of work, no more days off of school, and no more family in town. My house has been so busy and packed full of people and now I feel so alone and depressed! The weather outside is nice but rainy and dreary, it is playing with my emotions! All of that whining and complaining for what? I still have much to be thankful for, I just have to dig a little deeper today to do it. So, here goes, today I am thankful for:

1) Rainy weather, I know we need it.
2) A good job for my hubby.
3) Good schools and teachers for my kiddos.
4) Food in the house so I don't have to go grocery shopping just yet!
5) Lounge wear for when I feel lazy, depressed, and want to stay in all day!

Hope you are all having a GREAT day today and don't worry, I'll find my happy again and be back to normal soon! Number one happy is in this picture! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!

My day 23

Good thing my Kindergarten teacher doesn't read my blog, she would start to wonder if she failed teaching me how to count! ha-ha! :-)
Moving right along to my 30 days of Thankfulness! I am thankful for...
1) Monday's with my hubby alone
2) Trying a new beer, black and tan...yummm! You should try one!
3) More leftovers, this time with ham instead of turkey
4) Good schools where I don't worry about my kids...at least not to much
5) My new"ish" bed that my hubby got us this year, I LOVE IT!!

Thankful for Thanksgiving

I LOVE THANKSGIVING!! It was even more awesome this year because my sister came to visit. I am thankful for:

1) My sister coming to visit
2) My parents coming to visit
3) Going to the beach on Thanksgiving
4) Leftovers
5) Long vacations from "life" :-)

Day 21 - Two weekend posts in a row!

Wow! I have remembered to be thankful two weekend days in a row. Actually I always remember to be thankful I just don't always have the time to sit down and write it out! :-)
Today I am thankful for:

1) High 70's all week long!!
2) Only one more trip to the grocery store before Thanksgiving
3) A husband that decided to make us Mimosa's this morning in celebration of vacation!
4) My husband who tried to protect me from a bee and broke my Mimosa glass in the process! :-(
5) Hubby being home for over week (be warned, I will need extra prayers next week after he leaves!)

Remembering to be thankful on a weekend

It's Saturday and I'm logging in to say what I am thankful for!! Woohoo!! Gold star for Bekah!! Ha-ha! :-)
Okay, today I am thankful for:

1) Small town Christmas parades the Saturday before Thanksgiving
2) Good friends to take to a wine tasting with me
3) VACATION
4) Family that is willing to endure 18 hours in a car just to come see ME!
5) Washable couch covers! :-)

Thankful in the hard times

Last night one of our family pets died. Blacky was our dog for roughly 8 years. We were living in AR when we found her, a stray wandering around the neighborhood. You could tell she was only a puppy and she was so skittish. Poor baby had mange and had just been dumped. We couldn't just ignore her so we brought her into our home, nursed her to health and had a new family friend.

I think we already had Zoe when we found Blacky so Zoe and Blacky have grown up with each other, it's all they have ever known. Blacky has moved with us from North West Arkansas to Little Rock and then to GA! She has had a good life and she has been loved!

This was the first time our kids have really had to deal with death and it was very hard! Nicholas just bawled his little eyes out, Stephie cried a lot too. Ethan and Lexi were sad too but weren't as outward in showing it. Tears were shed and this Mama's heart broke, if not, just for her kids!! What a rough life lesson! But I am reminded why I have such great hope in Jesus and why I am glad we can use bad time to focus on the good so today I am thankful for:

1) A great family pet that was a part of our lives for 8 years
2) My hope in Jesus and a day when there will be no more hurt and no more death!!
3) A hope for doggy heaven...not sure Blacky will be there but I'm sure God will give us some puppies to play with, right?! :-)
4) Life lessons, they aren't always easy but they make us stronger and mold us into the people we are and will become some day
5) My kiddos and their precious hearts!















Blacky dog! RIP 11/18/2010

Day 18 - I am thankful for...

1) Four healthy children
2) A roof over my head with a house that is not falling apart
3) A husband who is capable of repairs on car, house, yard, or anything his Egineering mind can fix!
4) Tomorrow is Friday
5) My long shopping trip yesterday because my cupboards and refrigerator are stuffed!!

I am really sucking at this thankful "thing"

I think I have been doing this thankful "thing" for over 30 days and yet here I am at day 17, for me, not actually day 17! OYE!! I suck at this!! Oh well, I am trying and will keep pushing on, even if my 30 days takes me 50...or more.
Today I have a HUGE list to tackle for grocery shopping, I am just getting over a cold and right now I am not thankful for any of that BUT, I am going to put on my big girl panties, suck it up, move forward, and be thankful!! (That is the worst run on sentence ever, sorry Becky M) Okay, today I am thankful for:

1) A huge grocery shopping list because it means I have family and friends to cook for
2) Getting over a cold because it means I will be healthy over the Holiday
3) This time next week my sissy and my Mommy (along with dad and brother in law) will be here with me!!
4) Starbucks coffee made at home
5) Lovely November weather to do it all in!! I mean, this would all really suck if it was deathly cold outside..deathly cold as in, anything below 50! Brrrr!

Day 16

I am thankful for...
1) Kleenex with lotion
2) Fresh Market
3) Hubby who takes care of me when I am sick
4) Basketball PIG games with the kids
5) Laundry...I may not like doing it but I do like warm blankets, warm clothes, and the scent of drier sheets! Overall, laundry is pretty cool! :-)

Day 15, half way there

This little task has been hard and I am finally half way there, give or take a few days of not blogging!! Being thankful, is not very hard but having time to write it all down has been hard, especially on the weekends! Oye! Oh well, I am enjoying this little thankful blog journey. It really does help put my life in perspective and show me all I have to be thankful for!!
Day 15, what I am thankful for:

1) Online shoe sale! $50 shoes for $12.95, woohoo!!
2) Teachers that are understanding and allow my child to re-do a project!!
3) Cab Franc Wine
4) Today being Wednesday, no school tomorrow, and Friday is right around the corner!!
5) E-mail, I love being able to keep up with friends near and far! Communication is never more than an e-mail away and I love that!!

Also, my little side note for today is about the Cab Franc wine I keep talking about. I would be remiss to let you think that I know all things about wine. I just talk big but really know very little. One of mine and Jason's favorite red wines is called a Cab Franc, I have not idea what kind of grape it is or what Cab Franc is but I know we like it!! :-) It is not a wine you can walk into the grocery store and just find (at least not in Georgia), so I buy my wine from a few select wineries and just thought I would share them with you.
The first place I buy wine from is from a winery in North Carolina. We found this winery after Jason had a long layover in the Charlotte airport and where they happen to have a little tasting room. He tried the Cab Franc and we have been in love ever since. The winery is called Shelton Vineyards and depending on where you live, you may be able to get their wine shipped to you too!! (there are a lot of weird laws with in the USA about what states can ship alcohol to which states) I hate the law because I can't get any wine from California shipped to me!! :-(

The second winery I like to buy wine from is out of Grapevine, TX. Grapevine is this quaint little town outside of Dallas that has this cute little downtown! On the main strip in Grapevine is literally like 4 -6 wineries, it is so cool! So, when Jason was working in Dallas we went and visited him and then drug all the kids to the wineries, it was so much fun! (the kids get grape juice samples and crackers so it's all good!) :-) One of our favorite wineries in Grapvine is called Su Vino and I just found out that they have made a Cab Franc. I haven't tried it yet and they are still in the process of making it available for order online but once they do, I am going to check it out. I have high hopes since I like a lot of their other wines.
So, if you want to check them out here are the website address's...and if you can't order from them because of where you live, just come visit me, I am guaranteed to have a bottle of Cab Franc from somewhere that we can open and enjoy together!

Shelton Vineyard
http://www.sheltonvineyards.com/

Su Vino Winery
http://www.suvinowinery.com/

Thankful

I got a list minute phone call to come help in the nursery at our local MOPS today. I said yes and then prayed that I would get put with babies and not the toddlers. If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE babies!! Love kissing 'em, love hugging 'em, love snuggling them, I just think babies are the best thing ever!! I must love them since I had four of my own! :-) Those babies grow up though and when they do, they want to play and they tell you no and they don't want to snuggle, I don't like that!! I loved my kids as they grew up and became toddlers and then little kids, but they were mine so they were special! If I have a choice though and get asked to watch a baby, the answer will always be yes!! It was so great to hold these little babies today, feed them their bottles, rock them to sleep and then send them home with their grateful Mom!! I know what a ministry MOPS was to me and I love that I finally got my butt back to help on the other end!! Today I am thankful for:

1) Being able to give back and hold some babies!
2) Being done with my own babies and having 4 children that make my heart swell with pride!
3) I can almost taste Wednesday and the middle of the week!
4) Sparkling Shiraz that is perfect for the holidays!
5) Staying in budget at the grocery store!

Day 13, Thankful for my weekend!

So, I am a total cheater keeping track of my days only on the days I sit down and log in. I can't help it, I have a busy life and even though I am thankful every day, I don't always have to time to write it down!! What am I doing chastising myself? You guys don't care!! Okay, so here is what I am thankful for today!

1) I am thankful for fun weekends at the movies with my kids
2) I am thankful for shoes sales...SCORE!!
3) I am thankful for Schwans who brings me food at home so I don't have to go to the grocery store!!
4) I am thankful for warmer weather (I know I say this a lot but but is SO TRUE). I think the cold makes me cranky!!
5) I am thankful for the coming day off of school this week, bring it!! :-)

Day 12, Thankful for My Stephanie

Stephanie is the oldest of our four kids! She is growing up and changing so much that it makes my heart both happy and sad, all at the same time! God has blessed me with such an awesome teenager so today I am dedicating this post to her! 5...or more things I am thankful for with my Stephie! :-)

1) Her heart for God.
2) Her willingness to help me around the house and with her younger siblings.
3) Her choice of great friends that have good values and respect for parents.
4) Her hard work at school and excellent grades.
5) Her love for music and reading and writing!
6) I am thankful for her hugs and knowing when I need one!
7) I am thankful she is NOT a drama queen!!
8) I am thankful she lets me come and sit and her bed and just be with her sometimes.
9) I am thankful that she isn't too embarrassed by me yet and likes me around her in public!
10) I am thankful that she is still Daddy's little girl!! :-)

God blessed me with a great first child!
I LOVE YOU STEPHANIE AND THANK GOD FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE YOUR MOM!! :-)

Day 11, with no repeats

I decided to look back on what I have posted being thankful for and found that I have been cheating. I seem to be thankful for the same things over and over again! Things like my warm weather and my hubby! What can I say, at least I am consistent! :-) To help me along with my thankfulness and trying not to repeat myself I have a new idea. For the next couple days I am going to pick people from my family and tell you why I am thankful for them, because obviously, family is super important to me! I LOVE THEM ALL!! :-)
Today's post: Why I am thankful for my hubby



















1) He makes me feel desired!!
2) He is patient with me
3) He indulges some of my wants and all of my needs!
4) He has morals and ethics and cares about the Spiritual path of our family
5) He loves and understands me like no one else can

I could go on and on but I will stop at 5! I am really blessed to have him as a husband and to have spent the past 15 years with him as my husband!! We really do just "work"!!

Day 10

Today I am thankful for...

1) Purple Roses from my sweetie
2) Red Wine
3) Leftovers
4) Fireplaces
5) Sunshine

Day 9...or so

Instead of trying to make up for lost time I am just going to continue on my pledge to be thankful for 30 days. I know I missed a couple, but that is just life. To be honest, I am not feeling very thankful right but know I do have plenty to be thankful for. Got that? So, with out further ado, here are my 5 things to be thankful for today/this past weekend.

1) Family memories carving pumpkins.
2) Handing out candy in my neighborhood, it really is AWESOME!!
3) Free Redbox codes the first Monday of every month.
4) Friends that share good books with me.
5) Days alone with Jason while the kids are gone at school! ;-)

Day 8 and counting

This week has flown by and for that I am thankful!! :-) So, what better thing to do than write about what I'm thankful for today!!

1) I am thankful for the warm warm October weather!! 45 in Chicago, 85 in Savannah!!
2) I am thankful for new jeans one size smaller than the last!!
3) I am thankful for online shopping where I can shop and not drag 4 kids with!!
4) I am thankful for teachers at the Middle School that ask for my help.
5) I am thankful for my Middle School child who thinks I'm still cool!! :-)

One week of being thankful

Today is day 7 of this little Thankful challenge. I don't want to get cocky but so far this has been pretty easy and lots of fun! It really makes me think about what I have to be thankful for with each day that I have been given. Even with the "bad things" I find that I am thankful and blessed at the end of each day! :-)

1) 85 degree October days! NICE!
2) Being able to help at the Middle School and my child not minding that I am there.
3) The Sunshine
4) Great friends that share recipes so I can have yummy food for dinner like Potato Soup!
5) Dishwashers so I don't have to clean all my dishes by hand! :-)

I hate bridges, but can still be thankful!

I have lived in the Savannah are for over 5 years now. I have been many places in those 5 years and frequent South Carolina/Hilton Head quiet a bit but there are still many places I have not been. Beaufort, SC, for example is one of those places....until today. The salon where I used to get my hair cut closed down and my girl moved to a salon in Beaufort, SC. Although it is a longer drive, my girl is so good, that I decided the drive was worth it. So today, for the first time, I drove over to Beaufort, SC.
First of all let me say, Beaufort is one of the most beautiful cities I have seen over here on the East Coast. It is right on the water and I just loved it. The only problem with Beaufort is the bridge I have to cross to get over to it. I never thought about where Beaufort was or how I would get there, I just punched it in the GPS and drove. It wasn't until I came to the long bridge that I realized I had to cross it if I wanted to go get my hair cut!
I think the speed limit is 55 along there so going about 80 and taking a few deep breathes, I made it safely across. Phew! I really hate bridges like that...bridges where I can't see the other side and cross large expanses of water!! I don't like those BUT...

1) I am thankful that my fears don't control and/or keep me from doing the things I want to do.
2) I am thankful for my hair girl, SARA IS AWESOME!!
3) I was thankful today that there was a Chik-Fil-A nearby the new salon for a quick lunch stop!
4) I am thankful for a husband who lets me vent and keeps me level headed
5) I am thankful that tomorrow is already Wednesday!! Woohoo!!

Pictures of my awesome hair and scary bridge! :-)
I AM BLESSED!!

Day 5 of being Thankful

One more post today, 5 more things! :-)

1) Nearby grocery store, filled with food, even though I hate going, I am thankful that I have that much food accessible to me that close to home.
2) Money to buy groceries and put food on the table
3) Homework passes for the kids to use for NO HOMEWORK!!
4) Sticky foam stickers
5) Roses from my hubby! I LOVE HIM!! :-)

Being thankful days 3 and 4

I think I am learning that weekends are hard to remember posting and/or journaling. We had such a great weekend and were either really busy or really lazy so I never sat down to do my Thankful posts. So I am going to catch up here today...not sure if that follows the rules or not BUT this is my blog and therefore my rules!
I plan to do day 5 sometime tonight and then I'm not cramming 3 days all at once AND it gives me all day to take note of things I can be thankful for! :-)

1) Fall Festivals with easy kid games that my kids LOVE.
2) Neighbors that know how to change my propane tank and do it for me! :-)
3) Things that go bump in the night and then can laugh about in the morning.
4) Pumpkin patches and family memories.
5) The ease of staying connected with family that is far away via the internet!

1) 15 year old daughter who is super helpful around the house.
2) 13 year old son who has the greatest sense of humor and keeps me smiling. :-)
3) My freckle buddy! ;-)
4) Lexi Pexi forever being my baby!
5) I'm always thankful for Jason!! He is the BEST HUSBAND EVER!!

I AM TRULY BLESSED!!

Day 2 of being Thankful

I wasn't really planning on posting on my blog all 30 days but for now, I am going to keep on posting. It's almost like an accountability (even if I only have couple blog readers). So here we go!

1) A Christian Principle at our local High School that I can talk to and respect!
2) Pastors that have been instrumental in my walk with the Lord and that still have a place in my heart even if they aren't my pastors anymore!
3) Girls Nights Out! :-)
4) School projects that get done and turned in!!
5) Hugs from my kids, after Jason's hugs, they are THE BEST!!

Reasons to be Thankful

I was reading a friends blog this morning where she talked about a book she got a few years back. It was more of a devotional daily reading type book that challenged her to be thankful and find joy in the simple things of life.
Every day she wrote down 5 things she was thankful for. She did this for a month and said it is a great thing to have and look back at over the years. Not to mention a little challenging when you get to day 30 and need to think of 5 more things to be thankful for! :-)
So, she proposed a challenge to her fellow readers, to write down 5 things every day that we are thankful for. I decided to take her challenge and thought I would start it here, today, on my blog.
So what are you thankful for today? Can you list 5 things? What about 150 things in 30 days? Take the challenge with me and find out! :-)

1) Text messages from my husband every morning!
2) My sister who understands money and can help me figure things out.
3) Coolish fall mornings and sunshiney warm afternoons!
4) Friends that let me talk, vent, and then laugh with!
5) Lunches from home sent with my kids and made with Mom's love!

If my life were a movie...

I would tell my kids to pack up all their clothes and 3 favorite toys.

I would then proceed to pack all those things into my truck along with our 2 dogs and goldfish.

We would then trek serendipitously across the USA to St. Louis.

Once in St. Louis Jason would ask, "What on earth are you doing here?"

Where I would reply, "I just couldn't take it anymore! I'm sick of being apart! I know we can't afford two house payments so screw our house, let the bank have it. We can rent a house here, just so long as we are together!"

Then he would grab me in a big embracing kiss while doves flew amorously around us and kids squealed with delight in the background!

And then we would live happily ever after with no concern about:
Said house left on the East coast
Cars left because I can only drive one
Kids leaving friends
Schools
Bills or two house payments
Or anything else that makes real life NOT A MOVIE!!

A great little opposite poem

When I was growing up and someone shouted out I SEE, someone else in the family would say...said the blind man as he picked up his hammer and SAW. Get it? Saw like you use as a tool and saw like he could see! Ha-ha-ha!!
Well one day I must have said to this Jason, while we were first dating and he proceeded to tell me this little poem. I liked it so much I made him teach to me so I could memorize it.
I don't know why I thought of this poem the other day but thought I would write it down in my blog.
I think it is so cute and clever but I also know I am a huge dork, so here it goes!! :-)

I come before you to stand behind you
And tell you the story, I know nothing about.
One bright day, in the middle of the night
Two dead boys got up to fight.
Back to back they faced each other
Drew their swords and shot one another.
A deaf policeman heard the noise
And came to arrest those two dead boys
If you don't believe my story is true
Just ask the blind man, he saw it too!

Have a good day all!! :-)

Okay God, I hear you

So today I posted a blog about the verse in the Bible that talks about rejoicing in the day the Lord has given us. Now tonight before I go to bed, I was reading my paper and look at what I came across....Just another reminder that God is always there and listening to me. I just had a V-8 moment, DUH!




















Thank you Lord for never giving up on me and for your gentle reminders that show me that you hear me!! I am truly blessed!!

Perspective

This is the Day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!!

I am trying so hard to make this my motto today even though I woke up in a surly mood!! Okay, I went to bed in a surly mood too, it's just not a good week! Actually the week is fine, it's my attitude that sucks! I don't know what it is but I am just one depressed lady this week! Nothing makes me happy and everything is wrong so I need to do a little self reflection and write down how "terrible" my life really is!!

Still no job for Jason in Savannah
~Reality: My husband has a good paying job and does have a job!!

Child got in trouble at school for lack of supplies
~Reality: I had the money to go buy supplies and now child is all set

Kids grumbled and complained as I put dinner on the table last night
~Reality: At least they have food to grumble and complain about, thank you God for our food!

Kids are being ornery with me and each other
~Reality: I have 4 healthy kids that have energy and are blessed with parents and siblings that love each other, even when they don't show it!

Stupid dogs woke me up at 5:40 this morning
~Reality: I can always take a nap later :-)

Bonus happy thoughts:
~Starbucks coffee in my coffee pot each morning
~Hubby who loves me, respects me, and listens to me whine
~Oktoberfest coming this weekend

REALITY: What am I complaining about. Is my life really that terrible?! No, so suck it up Bekah and rejoice in the day the Lord has given you! He hears my cries and has my best interest at heart, I know God loves me and watches over me...I just feel so alone sometimes!! Ugh! Well, at least I am trying right?! Right! So, I am going to go out there and have an awesome Wednesday...or at least try!!

A Real Man

Got this in an e-mail and just had to post! Funny!! :-)

A real man is a woman's best friend. He will never stand her up and never let her down. He will reassure her when she feels insecure and comfort her after a bad day. He will inspire her to do things she never thought she could do; to live without fear and forget regret. He will enable her to express her deepest emotions and give in to her most intimate desires. He will make sure she always feels as though she's the most beautiful woman in the room and will enable her to be the most confident, sexy, seductive, and invincible.
No wait... sorry... I'm thinking of wine.
It’s wine that does all that.......
Never mind.

Keep it together

I love and miss my husband so much when he is away!! The other day he was listening to Pandora and came across the song "Keep It Together" by Puddle of Mudd, he told me I had to listen to it!! As I listened to the words and thought of my Jason the tears just started to flow!! Sometimes I can't even listen to the song because it makes me cry so easily BUT Jason knew this was just what I needed to hear!! He is such an awesome husband, after 15 years he truly gets me!! :-) So, if you don't already know the song, check out these song lyrics below and then you can listen to it too!!

Keep It Together
by Puddle of Mudd

There’s so much left to say, before you walk away from me.
And you know that I would get down on my knees and pray to God.
And you know that I will try, and you know that I would die for you.
And you know that I would take a bullet just to save your life.

Just to save your life.
Just to save your life.
It’s hard to turn back down.
It’s hard to say goodbye.

Chorus:
Cause even though, we are miles apart tonight.
I know we can make it right
So just give it a chance, and we can keep it together
Cause even though, we are miles apart tonight.
I know we can make it right
So just give it a chance, and we can keep it together

And every time I think of you
After all that we’ve been through
Cause no one ever, no one ever ever compares to you
And my mind is spinning in circles
And my thoughts are running wild
And you know that I would take a bullet just to save your life

Just to save your life
Just to save your life
It’s hard to turn back time
It’s hard to say goodbye

Chorus:
Cause even though, we are miles apart tonight.
I know we can make it right
So just give it a chance, and we can keep it together
Cause even though, we are miles apart tonight.
I know we can make it right
So just give it a chance, and we can keep it together
We can keep it together yeah
We can keep it together yeah

So just hold on tight, never let me go this time
Never let me
Even though we are miles apart tonight
I know we can make it right
So just give it a chance.
even though, we are miles apart tonight.
I know we can make it right
So just give it a chance, and we can keep it together
Cause even though, we are miles apart tonight.
I know we can make it right
So just give it a chance, and we can keep it together yeah

Just hold on tight, and don’t let go
We can make it if we just hold on
Just hold on tight, and don’t let go
We can make it if we just hold on

If we can keep it together yeah
If we can keep it together yeahh..oh
So just hold on tight
Never let me go this time
Never let me go.

My heart is heavy

It has been a tough week here in Effingham County! This past weekend, there was a tragic accident that took the lives of 2 young 17 year old kids! Kids that were looking forward to their Senior year of High School. Kids that got into a car and didn't buckle their seat belts. Kids that probably thought they weren't going far or that not having a seat belt on was going to be okay. Kids, that didn't have to die!
I didn't know any of these kids personally and Stephie only knows their faces from going to school with them but it still breaks my heart! My heart aches for the boy that was driving and will have to live with knowing two friends died while he was behind the wheel. My heart aches for the families of these two teens who's lives were cut short so early! My heart aches when I look at my 4 beautiful children and know that one of them will be driving in a month!
Life if so short and no day is guaranteed! Grab the ones you love and give them a big hug!

Starbucks employees please pay attention

I would never say that I am OCD but I guess all of us have our little quirks that make us unique or maybe a little OCD at times.
Since traveling this summer, I have been getting a lot of Starbucks coffee on the go. My oldest daughter has observed that I am a little OCD about the way my Starbucks cup is situated before I drink out of it.

Observe below:



















This is the RIGHT way to drink my Starbucks coffee. Notice that both the Starbucks symbol and the drink hole face front. Along with the cup sleeve, it is facing front and the seam of the sleeve is at the back of the cup. This was even better when the cup sleeve had the same Starbucks symbol on it, because then I could make them line up and be PERFECT

As opposed to below:



















This cup of coffee is all messed up and undrinkable until placed like first picture above. I mean, how can you drink your coffee when it is obviously the back of the cup?! Not to mention the cup seam!! Goodness gracious this cannot be!!

So, Starbucks Employees please be more observant. You may have the best coffee in the world but it needs to be served in a proper face forward, sleeve matching, hole drinking proper fashion....okay, so maybe I am more OCD than I thought! :-)

Exuberantly Happy

This was my devotion this morning. Thought it was so good I wanted to share!!

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness.
Psalms 30:11 NASB

Bob Russell, longtime pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, shared this in a sermon one evening:

What if I asked you tonight, on a scale of 1 to 10, how happy you are right now? If you answered with anything other than a 9 or a 10, you'd probably go on to qualify your answer by saying, "Well, there are some circumstances in my life today that are less than ideal."

I'll bet, though, that I could make you exuberantly happy within twenty-four hours without changing even one of the circumstances you're living in right now.

But it would be a brutal twenty-four hours.

I'd have your lawyer call to tell you that you were being sued, that it looked like you were going to lose every dime you had. Then I'd have your doctor call to tell you that he's looked at your latest tests and thinks you have a terminal disease--you've got just six months to live. Then I'd have a trusted friend call to tell you that the three people who are closest to you in life had just been killed in a traffic accident. Then I'd have a theologian that you trust submit an article saying that the Bible is not true--that he no longer believes in Christ.

Then, after twenty-four hours, I'd say to you, "None of this is true. You still have your nest egg, you still have your loved ones, you still have your health, and you still have your church and your hope in Christ."

You'd probably want to punch me out, but you'd be exuberantly happy, even with the same circumstances you started with.

Happiness is largely a matter of perspective, isn't it? No matter what your circumstances, God can make you "exuberantly happy" . . . as long as you are keeping your eyes on Him.

Discuss
What circumstances are causing you to feel anxiety rather than "exuberant happiness"?

Pray
Pray for a deeper dependence on God, a greater contentment with His good gifts and a deeper compassion for others' suffering.

Hey Mom, Can I put up a FEW posters

Lexi came to me this morning and asked if she could put up some posters on her wall. I told her to go ahead and let her be. This video shows the FEW posters she decided to put up. I'm afraid this is my 8 year old caught up in some Bieber Fever!! :-)

Hawaiian Teriyaki Burgers

Ingredients
1lb Ground Sirloin
1/2lb Ground Pork OR Turkey
1/2C Red Onion, Finely Chopped
4 Slices Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 Egg, slightly beaten
1/2C Panko Bread Crumbs
3/4tsp Minced Garlic
3/4tsp Montreal Steak Seasoning
2Tbl Spice Brown Mustard
4Tbl Teriyaki Sauce/Marinade (I used Lawrys)
6 Fresh Pineapple rings, thinly sliced
3Tbl Fresh Cilantro, chopped
6 Hamburger Buns, split

Preparation
Preheat a gas grill to medium-high

To make the patties, combine the sirloin, pork/turkey, onion, bacon, egg, bread crumbs, garlic, seasoning, mustard, and teriyaki sauce in a large bowl. Mix well and divide into 6 equal portions and form patties.

When grill is ready, place patties on rack, cover, and cook turning once until desired doneness.
Grill pineapple rings after turning burgers, about 2 to 3min per side. During the last few minutes of cooking, place buns, cut side down, on outer edges of rack to toast lightly.

To assemble burgers, on each bun bottom, place a burger and a grilled pineapple ring. Sprinkle with Cilantro and serve.

YUMMY! We had these over Memorial day and they were soooo good! I didn't need any ketchup or anything. Just ate as is and they were moist, tasty, and so good I had to share! :-)

How Mom's take a shower

Mom: Goes into bathroom to get undressed and ready to take a shower. As soon as all clothes have dropped to the floor...

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK! MOOOOOM?!

Mom: Don't come in! What do you need?

CAN I GO TO THE NEIGHBORS HOUSE?

Mom: Fine, but no friends in the house until I am out of the shower and dressed

Mom: Climbs into the shower and starts to get wet when...

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK! MOOOOOM?!

Mom: What?

ALGHOIUREWPAH?!pHAPOHIGPAHT?!

Mom: Come in, I can't hear or understand a word you are saying

CAN I GO TO THE NEIGHBORS HOUSE TOO?

Mom: Okay just go

Mom: Finishes up her shower and steps out to put on a towel

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!?

Mom: Don't come in, what do you need now

I'M GETTING HUNGRY CAN YOU MAKE ME A SANDWICH?

Mom: Just a minute

KNOCK, KNOCK KNOCK! MOOOOMMM?! HAVE YOU SEEN MY NOTEBOOK?!

Mom: Really? Can I get 15min of peace just to get a shower and get dressed?! I'll be out in a minute!!

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK?!

Mom: Don't come in!!

Seriously, how is Mom supposed to get anything done?! Someday they say I will miss these little interruptions? Really? Today I could have used just a few less interuptions and little bit more peace and quiet while trying to take a shower!

I love being a Mommy, I really really do!! :-)

How about a drink?

Since all my posts lately seem to be of food, how about I throw a drink in here for good measure. I love this time of year with all the fresh fruit and vegetables. It is so easy to keep good and healthy food in the house when it is in season and so cheap and yummy. I saw a recipe in a magazine the other day for a drink with Gin and Cucumber. I thought I had dog eared the page but I can't find the page now that I want the recipe. So, I did some searching and found a similar recipe to make a drink today. It is so amazing and tastes so fresh and yummy, like summertime. So I thought I would post it here for all of you to try too. Cheers!

Ingredients

• 2 slices peeled cucumber, plus 1 unpeeled slice for garnish
• 6 fresh mint leaves
• 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar
• 1 ounce fresh lime juice
• 2 ounces cucumber-infused gin (such as Hendrick's)
• 3 to 4 ounces club soda

Directions

Place the peeled cucumber slices, mint, cilantro and sugar in a cocktail shaker and muddle. Add the lime juice and gin. Fill the shaker halfway with ice and shake vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes (this seems like a long time, but it's essential).

Fill a cocktail glass with fresh ice. Strain the drink into the glass, top with the club soda and garnish with a cucumber slice.

COOKS NOTES:
I made this with Gin and I also made one with Vodka, both were very good. I also used Sprite instead of club soda because it's what I had. I am not sure what Turbinado sugar is so I just used my normal sugar that I already have in the house. Remember, don't let a recipe box you in, think outside the box and make the recipe yours! ENJOY! :-)

Hot Dogs

This week I made my grocery list and had to come up with one more day for food. I didn't know what I wanted to make and was just out of ideas....even after my Relish website help.
I finally decided that grilled hot dogs sounded good and wrote it in the menu.
I went to the store and bought regular bun length all beef hot dogs and then I bought some cheese hot dogs. I bought some nice buns, some Bush's Baked Beans, and I got some mixed fruit.
Now, here it is Thursday and tonight's dinner is hot dogs. My whole family is sooo excited about having grilled hot dogs for dinner, even I am excited! I guess that tells you that we don't do hot dogs for dinner very often/ever.
This is really not a typical meal in my house because I guess I don't feel like hot dogs are a good healthy meal and something I should be feeding my family for dinner.
I guess that's why we are all so excited about boring, American classic, hot dogs for dinner!
I guess it really is the small things in life that make us happy! :-)

So good I had to share

Tonight for dinner I made Chicken, Pepperoni and Swiss Cheese Roll Ups
They were super easy to make and the kids LOVED IT!
I always love when a new dish goes over really well with everyone in the family. Since dinner was won over by so many age groups, I thought I would share it here with you! Let me know if you try it, and what you think! Bon' Appetit'!

6 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 1/2 C prepared marinara sauce
12 Large Pepperoni
4 1/2 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
1/3C Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/3C Breadcrumbs



Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1) Place each chicken breast between a sheet of plastic wrap and, using a meat mallet, pound thin. The flatter you can get the chicken, the better. Sprinkle the chicken with Italian seasoning.
2) In a baking dish, pour the marinara sauce evenly in the bottom of a 9x13 pan, so that it is covered.
3) Place equal amounts of pepperoni and Swiss cheese on each chicken breast
4) Using both of your hands together, roll each chicken breast up as tight as you can and place in the baking dish on top of the marinara sauce. Try to keep as much of the pepperoni and cheese inside of the chicken as possible.
5) In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Set aside.
6) Once all of the stuffed chicken breasts have been placed in the baking dish, top them with the butter mixture, spreading evenly over the top of each stuffed chicken roll-up. Bake for 4o minutes. Serve immediately.

COOKS NOTES:
Instead of using plain breadcrumbs and Italian seasoning on each chicken breast, I just used Italian breadcrumbs on the topping and that gave it enough flavor.
I also bought Turkey Pepperoni to cut down on the fat content, I did however, use about 5 pepperoni per chicken breast.
I also put the chicken into a zip lock bag and closed it shut before pounding thin. Simply put onto a plate and move onto the next chicken breast. I feel like it makes the pounding a lot easier and a lot cleaner.

This is not a paid advertisement

So I have been checking out this new website called relishrelish.com You pay $7 a month to go online, pick out a menu and then print out a shopping list. It is SO easy and SO quick and saves me so much time trying to come up with a menu. So far we have liked everything I have made. There have been a couple that I probably won't make again but it wasn't an inedible dinner. Just check out what I am having for dinner this week.

40 clove Garlic Chicken
Chicken, Pepperoni, and Swiss Cheese Roll up with Salad
Flank Steak with Molasses Drizzle and Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar
Naked Chicken Burrito Bowls with chips and salsa
Sweet and Tangy Meatloaf with honey glazed Carrots
Margarita Chicken and black bean, rice salad
Sizzling Garlic and Citrus Shrimp with Rice and Spinach Salad with Pears

That's it, how yummy does all that look? Yummmm! I may change some of it and not have so many salads or just do plain salads with Ranch dressing that the kids like or I may cheat and buy some Rice - A - Roni but really it doesn't matter. This gives me the basics and I can add or subtract what I want. Really, if you are looking for a new and easy way to help you plan dinners, I really encourage you to check out this website! :-)

Happy Cooking!

I wish it wasn't over

Today is the last day of Spring Break! I am soooo bummed! I have loved having Jason home, the kids home and doing some fun things around town. We had some yummy food this past week and just enjoyed being a family. It was great!
Jason started his new job today in St. Louis and the kids go back to school tomorrow. I am trying not to complain and see the good in today but I am honestly just sad. I don't want the kid to have to go back to school and I def. don't like Jason being gone again! But, only 4.5 more weeks of school and then sweet summer is here! I can't wait! :-)
Here are a few Spring Break photo faves, it really was a GREAT time!

Last Day of School, Last Day of School!

Today is the last day of school and then Spring Break starts! We are all sooo excited! So excited that 1) It is Friday and 2) Spring Break starts after this and 3) Everyone just flew out of bed this morning and got ready without any problems! I love days like this!

Nicholas took a towel, hat, sidewalk chalk and soccer ball to school. His class is doing a "fun in the sun" type party this afternoon. Alexis took some eggs filled with candy for her Easter Egg hunt this afternoon. Stephanie got to have a dress down day and Ethan...well he gets to stay after school for his first Dinner Theater performance tonight!

Another thing we are aiming to do over Spring Break is taking the kids to visit one of the Forts around here in Savannah. I think that there are Seven old war forts around here and we have visited 3 of them so far. Ethan enjoys these trips the most but the other kids aren't completely bored. I have not done much research on this plan yet but will start looking online to decide where we want to go that day. I must say that one of the things I LOVE about Savannah is the History that is still here! I love being able to visit, touch, and "live" History. It just makes it so much more real than a page in a textbook, you know?!

Well there are a few other things we are talking about doing but we'll see how it all pans out and if I told you everything we were going to do, then I wouldn't have anything to post about next week!

The one thing I haven't told you about yet though is my absolute favorite thing about Spring Break next week! Want to know what it is? Jason is coming home and spending ALL of Spring Break with us and that just makes all of it that much better! :-)

2 more days until Spring Break

2 more days of school! Woohoo! I am so tired this week that it literally took everything in me, just to get up and out of bed today! Thankfully, I am going to go get my hair done today so I had a little help in the motivation department.

What else are we going to do with the kiddos over spring break next week? So far, I have shared the beach and a movie day with you. Next on the list of things to do is, visit Columbia, SC and go to a place to eat made famous by Guy Fieri. We were watching Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives one night when he visited a place in Columbia, SC. It's always fun when they do reviews of areas that are close by. Stephanie fell in love with this place and said that we have to go there someday. Well, what better day than over Spring Break? This is the place we are going to go check out! I'm sure it will be GREAT!

While we are up there we are going to check out the Columbia Zoo! Yay! It will be a fun day for sure!

3 days and counting

Three more days of school and then Spring Break is HERE! I am soooo excited, just in case you haven't picked up on that from my previous posts! Hehehe! :-)

Besides going to the beach over Spring Break we are also thinking of taking the kids to see a movie. We are torn between going to see "How To Tame Your Dragon" OR "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid". We will probably decide the morning before we leave to go to the movies. I haven't checked out either movie yet but will do that before we go. I like to use the site Plugged In Online from Focus On The Family. It is a very conservative site, even for someone like me, but it gives you everything that is even questionable and I like that! So, here's to the movies! Every time I think about the movies it reminds me of Annie and that scene....well here, check this out! :-)

4 days and counting

Today is still on the chilly side here in Savannah, GA...well chilly for my poor Southern blood. The high is supposed to get up to 67 but this morning it was still about 40. Brrrrr! As the days continue this week we will keep getting warmer and that just makes the countdown to spring break even sweeter!
I guess you could say we are doing a Staycation for our Spring Break. I want to be home with my family but I also want to go and do some fun things while the kids are home. So, here is a picture to show what we are going to do one or two days while on Spring Break. I can't wait!
4 more days of school and then it starts! :-)

Spring Break

Spring Break is right around the corner and I can't wait! Sometimes I think that I get more excited than the kids do about the prospect of vacation.
I have found that I am one of those weird moms that actually looks forward to my kids being home with me. I hate being home alone all day long with no kids running around or little ones to grab and just kiss and hug when I feel like it!
I LOVE having my kids home and I LOVE not having to worry about schedules, homework, after school practice, all that darn routine!
So, all that to say......I CAN'T WAIT FOR SPRING BREAK NEXT WEEK!
5 DAYS AND COUNTING!

Jury Duty

I got the dreaded letter a few weeks back, Jury Duty Summons. By law you are required to be here on this date, at this time, blah, blah, blah!

I called the court clerk and told her I had four kids and am basically a single mom 75% of the time. I asked her if I could be excused and she said that while she was empathetic, I had to report.

So, I sucked it up and reported for jury duty this morning! I was not thrilled about this, but sort of intrigued to see how this process works. Being an avid John Grisham fan, I have read about things like this, but have never actually experienced the process. Well, my experience was very short and I was sent home within the first 10min of processing.

Basically, there were 64 jurors and only 12 were needed. The judge asked if there was any reason you could not serve to stand up and let him know. I wasn't going to stand up and say anything until one mom stood up and said her husband was going to be out of town and that she had 2 children at home. The judge told her she was excused and sent her on her merry way. So, with that, I stood up and told the judge how my husband works out of State and that I have 4 children. He told me, thank you for coming, you are dismissed! Wow! Kind of bummed that I never even got to hear what the trial was for and/or about but I'm sure I'll get my turn to do that another day. Being a juror isn't that big of a deal to me, I would do it with out to much complaining if I didn't have 4 kids at home. So maybe a future jury trial post will be coming but that will have to wait for another day.

I kept telling myself that God would not give me more than I could handle and apparently we both agreed that being a juror and single mom would have been too much!

I like to cook, so what is my problem

So we had a great Valentines weekend, cooked my heart out with Jason. We had good times and good food, it was GREAT! Then after Jason left I kept putting off grocery shopping, like the plague. I had no idea what we were having for dinner for 3 nights in a row! One night I pulled spaghetti sauce out of the freezer and we ate spaghetti, another night we did a hodge podge of leftovers and finally we did Subway for dinner. The kids weren't complaining but it stressed me out not to know what we were doing for dinner! So finally, I am going to the grocery store!
It took me what felt like forever to come up with my menu for the next week and now my shopping day is all messed up with having to go on Friday instead of Monday!
Anyway, here is my half hearted attempt at a meal plan for the next week! Maybe I will get my zest back in the next couple days but right now I'm not even excited about cooking any of it! SNAP OUT OF IT BEKAH! (Thanks, I needed that!)

Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Chicken and Rice Tacos with Salsa and chips
Sunday - Tequila Chicken Fettuccini, Garlic Bread, Grean Beans
Monday - Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Carrots
Tuesday - Ham, Sweet Potatoes, Corn
Wedensday - Mexicali Pork Chops, Rice Pilaf
Thursday - Beef Stroganoff In a Skillet, Noodles, Salad

Well at least it all looks good! Haven't made the chicken tacos in forever, hope everyone likes them and the Stroganoff recipe is new from Emeril. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Have a GREAT weekend all!
I got a jury Summons for Monday...that should be a good blog post! :-)

Happy Valentines Day

What a great weekend here in Savannah, GA! The kids had a short week at school and Jason was set to come home on Friday evening the 12th. Of course mother nature had other plans with snow and storms barreling across the country, Delta canceled 1100 flights on Friday night! With no hope of Jason getting home until Saturday at midnight I thought my Valentine weekend was ruined...but I was wrong now, wasn't I?

Friday night 8pm
All snuggled in to watch the Olympic opening ceremony and suddenly my daughters phone starts getting texts about snow in our area. We peak outside, only to see rain and figure these Southerners don't know what real snow is. After a few more texts and 15 more min, we peaked back outside and saw the magic outside. Snow in the Southern state of GA! I guess it happens about once every 20 years, and that is plenty for me! :-) (see below post)

Saturday 8am
Jason called to say that he was driving home to Savannah. All the snow was over and he wanted to be home! It was like sweet angels singing in my ear as I heard the good news!

Sunday - Valentines Day
Jason and I slept in and then got up to prepare our Julia Child Boeuf Bourguignon. Being an avid Food Network watcher and cook, I was honestly a little intimidated with Julia Child. I just look at her cookbook and find it so wordy and the recipes seem so long...I was nervous. No need to be nervous though, the recipe was easy, perfect, and tasted like heaven! It was so worth letting it cook all day long and smelling it for 3 long hours! The kids even enjoyed it, minus the onions and mushrooms BUT that just meant more for me! :-)

Monday - Presidents Day/No School
After sleeping in Jason and I decided to get up and make the kiddos pancakes for breakfast. We had been talking all weekend about taking the kids to see a movie so while he was cooking pancakes I started looking at movie times. We decided on a 12:10 movie and then realized it was already 10:40! With a mad dash to get 4 people showered and ready by 11:20 we quick ate some pancakes and headed out to the theater. Jason took the boys and Steph to see Percy Jackson and I took Lexi to see The Tooth Fairy. It was perfect. On the way home Jason stopped to surprise me and picked up some flowers for me, they were beautiful!

Tuesday
Meant back to life and reality. YUCK! Jason headed back to Little Rock and the kids headed back to school, I also headed back to the gym!

It was a GREAT relaxing weekend! I mean, it couldn't have been any better! I am so blessed! Oh and here are a few pictures from our Valentines day!

Snow in GA

I can't believe it has snowed in GA! Can you believe it? I guess they get snow here about once every 20 years or so! Must be why I like it here so much, once every 20 years is plenty of snow for me! Ha-ha!

We were planning to watch the Olympic Opening Ceremonies but about the time we sat down to watch our rain turned into snow! Every kid from every house on the block came running into the yards to jump, play, and scream at the white stuff falling from the sky! It was BEAUTIFUL! They were big, fluffy, wet flakes, perfect for making snowballs and snowmen! So much fun! Here are a few pics of the kids having fun in the snow!

Thanks goodness for warm Coats and a couple pairs of gloves I picked up just a few weeks back!

I want to remember today

I woke up this morning and turned on the computer just like any other day. I started to brew my coffee and pulled up the Fox News Webpage. The news story jumped out at me like a flashing red light. EARTHQUAKE HITS CHICAGO... Before even taking the time to read the news story I flew to the phone, heart pounding, to call my parents and sisters in Chicago. Come to find out, neither one of my sisters felt the quake and my parents just woke up to a loud BOOM! Once my parents found everything to be in order they went right back to sleep! WOW!
If I had taken the time to read the news story I would have seen that there was no need to panic or call my poor family members at 6am Chicago time but, I guess that is called Hindsight! After everything that just happened in Haiti, I couldn't help but fear for the worst! So VERY THANKFUL that everyone was fine and the earthquake was not a big disaster! Just wakes you up a little to think about all that can happen in one day, one hour, one minute...your whole life can change! So, just for me, give the ones you love a big hug and, call the ones you can't get your arms around because of distance!

GILBERTS, Ill. — A small earthquake woke residents and shook furniture in northern Illinois early Wednesday, causing no major damage or injuries but startling people as far away as Michigan and Iowa.

The epicenter of the 3.8-magnitude earthquake was near the villages of Gilberts and Pingree Grove in Kane County, about 45 miles northwest of Chicago, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake hit at 4 a.m. Sheriff's dispatchers and the USGS were flooded with calls from concerned residents.

"It's rare in northern Illinois," USGS geophysicist Amy Vaughan said. "It's downstate where we'd expect the larger quakes and where the larger ones have happened historically."

The USGS initially reported the magnitude as 4.3 but later downgraded it. Vaughan described the shaking as light to moderate.

Residents in Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan also reported feeling the quake, she said.

In Pingree Grove, 43-year-old artist Dan Erman said the temblor moved his bed and woke him.

"I knew it was an earthquake," Erman said. "It was pretty loud. The bed headboard was hitting the back of the wall."

Erman said he heard dogs barking and when he looked outside he saw his neighbors turning on their lights. There was no damage to his home.

Some residential and business alarms were triggered, but deputies weren't called for assistance, Kane County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Pat Gengler said. DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said residents in his area also reported feeling the earthquake, but no damage was reported.

The last earthquake in the area was recorded at a magnitude of 4.2 on June 28, 2004, about 35 miles away from Wednesday's temblor, according to the USGS.

Menu planning

Throwing my menu for the week out there on blog world is the easiest post I can put out all week long. I can't say it takes no thought because it takes time to come up with my menu but I like posting it and hearing what you are making for the week too! So, here is this weeks menu and then I need to get shopping! :-)

Tuesday - Salisbury Steak, steamed carrots, and mashed potatoes
Wednesday - Mexican Chicken Lasagna
Thursday - Chicken Short-Cut-A-Tori, Green beans, Garlic Bread
Friday - OLYMPICS!! Pizza!! So excited! :-)
Saturday - Beef Bourguignon with Egg Noodles and Salad
Sunday - VALENTINES DAY! Jason is taking me out! Woohoo!
Monday - Steak Fajitas and Cheese Quesadillas for the one who won't eat Fajitas! :-)

So many great things to look forward to this week! It's going to be a GREAT week and even better because I don't have to deal with snow like the rest of the USA! Ha-ha! ;-)

I finally did it

I went and got myself a gym membership. It finally dawned on me that I am exactly the same weight now that I was when I was 19 and 9 months pregnant with my first child! What the heck? I decided that was unacceptable! I started looking at gym memberships around here and really felt like they were sort of expensive. Then while driving down road I saw an advertisement for a local gym Spring special for only $25 a month. $25 a month?! How could I not go and sign up!? I went in and signed up that day!
I have now been to the gym 3 days in a row! I get the weekend off and then should be in the gym every day during the week.
M, W, F is weights and then 45 -60min on Cardio
T, Th is just 60min of Cardio
So far, I am enjoying the cardio. The weights aren't bad but good god are my arms sore! I mean seriously sore! Owwww! Oh well, they keep telling me it will be worth it. I am trying to stay motivated and so want to make sure I don't quit! I want to keep going and lose some weight, tone my body, and stay healthy. After my dad has his heart attack last year, it's never to early or late to start a change for the better!

Menu for the week

I know that today is Tuesday and I should have gone grocery shopping but a friend invited me to go shopping so I did that instead. :-) Tomorrow I will tackle the job of grocery shopping for the week. So here ya' go, here is my menu.

Tuesday - Leftover turkey with Gravy, cranberries, carrots, and mashed potatoes

Wednesday - Sloppy Joes and Fruit Cocktail

Thursday - Spaghetti and Meatballs, Garlic Bread and choice of salad or green beans

Friday - PIZZA and a movie night

Saturday - Marinated Steak (will search food network for a new recipe), some form of potato, and grilled asparagus

Super Bowl Sunday - Cuban Burgers, Spinach and Artichoke dip with chips, Brownies, and whatever else we decide to munch on while watching football!

Monday - Grilled Chicken with Salsa or BBQ, Roast potatoes, Corn

Should be a good week with a lot of food that the kids will eat without to much complaining! Sloppy Joes are something we eat on a pretty regular basis and something we all love! Spaghetti is also an easy family favorite!

Friday night pizza night NEVER changes. This is my one free night off of cooking! I look forward to Fridays so much! When I was a little girl my parents would put a big sheet on the living room floor, order good Chicago pizza, and then we would sit and watch The Dukes Of Hazard! I look back on those pizza nights and just remember how much I loved it! It was the one night of the week that we were aloud to have pop with dinner and that we could eat in the living room. I have such fond memories of those pizza nights and wanted to continue the tradition with my kiddos. We don't watch The Dukes of Hazard anymore but instead pick a different movie each week. We always have pizza while watching the movie and I let the kids each have one can of pop on Friday nights! It may not be good Chicago pizza but it is so relaxing and the perfect end to the week/start to the weekend!