Yummy Dinner!

Well, if you are looking for a yummy dinner look no further. Best part is it's a crockpot meal so not much to it! Those are my favorite. I found this recipe on one of my best friend's blog Deep South Sweets. Check out her blog for great recipes, decorating and more.

Here is the recipe for Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin. I served it with baked potatoes, green beans and bread.

Ingredients:
2 pounds of pork tenderloin or pork loin (this came to two whole tenderloins for me - watch for them to go on sale and then freeze until ready to use)
1/2 cup water

Rub
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove of garlic, minced finely

Glaze
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons of soy sauce

Directions:
Place 1/2 cup water in crock pot.

Mix together sage, kosher salt, pepper and garlic in a small bowl until well combined. It might be a little clumpy due to the garlic and that is ok!

Use the sage mixture and rub it all over your pork to get even and equal coverage.

Place the pork in the crock pot, put your crock pot lid on a cook on low for 6-8 hours.

One hour before the cooking time is complete, combine brown sugar, cornstarch, balsamic vinegar, water and soy sauce in a small sauce pan.

Heat over medium low heat and stir often until thickened to a honey/syrup consistency. Don't let it come to a boil as vinegar mixtures will not thicken at a boil.

Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the remaining cooking time (I just spooned it over the meat and used the back of the spoon to distribute evenly).

Once done cooking, remove pork from crock pot and serve with remaining glaze.
Original recipe found at C and C Marriage Factory.

So, throw it in the crockpot and enjoy a great meal for dinner!

Santa! I know him!!

I know, crazy 2 posts in 2 days, don't get used to it :)

So a friend asked a question on fb today "We should be focusing on Christ, but instead, we spend the majority of the Christmas season LYING to our children. Will my child's unfounded faith in Santa, the Toothfairy, and the Easter Bunny that I have instilled in them harm the faith in God that I work so diligently to root?"

So, here are my two cents.

I was taught to believe in Santa. All through grade school I had a best friend who didn't believe in Santa. She would tell me there was no Santa and I would tell her yes there was. We went on and on until finally one day I asked my mom about Santa. I still remember we were in my mom's bathroom getting ready for school. She closed the door and let me in on the secret. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed but really more in the fact that I was wrong and not that there was no Santa. I then got excited because now I was in the know :) I now got to play along and pretend for my little sister.

Although my faith in God has had its roller coaster effect I don't correlate that to me believing in Santa and then finding out the truth. See there is a Santa just not how I had imagined as a child. There is no jolly, big elf who comes down my chimney to leave me gifts and then fly away on his 8 tiny reindeer. Santa in my house as a child was actually a dad and mom who loved their girls so much and wanted to let their imaginations play.

Now as a mom of 4 we have 2 who know the truth and 2 who are too young. Our girls found out the truth about Santa and don't show any signs of disaster because of it. They play along for their little brothers still and don't hold the lie of Santa against us. When the time comes and my boys ask me about Santa I will tell them the truth too, that Santa is actually just Mommy and Daddy.

I think that part of being a child is letting your imagination play and having fun! I let my boys dress up as Raphael Ninja Turtle and Spiderman, my oldest son has an imaginary friend who is named Collin and comes over to play. To me Santa, the tooth fairy and Easter bunny are just that pretend. Kids have to grow up too fast anyway no reason to pop a bubble before it's ready.

Christmas is a celebration with family and friends. The focus on Jesus has to be instilled in the home everyday and not just on Christmas and Easter. My friend who posted that comment believes that so I am not attacking her. I believe that if you are teaching your children everyday about Jesus and God then their faith will not waiver because of playing pretend about Santa.

So that is my two cents, take it or leave it!

Thankfulness!

I know, it's been two months and hopefully someone still checks on me from time to time. There has been so much happen in the last 2 months that I haven't had time to catch a breath much less write a blog post. But I have decided to return to the blog world and share my random thoughts once again.

Since it's November we hear lots about being thankful. The Thanksgiving holiday brings out the family gatherings and the word thankful gets thrown around a lot. I hope that you aren't just thankful around the holidays but I have to say that sometimes that is the only time I share what I am thankful for. On facebook many are saying what they are thankful for and I think that is great! I want to challenge you though to not only be thankful during the month of November or the holiday season but always. And share the things that you are thankful for with your families, friends and whomever else when the time comes up. I have the habit of when someone comes to mind I send them a note, email, text or call. It's amazing how when you share that you are thankful for that person how it effects your day and maybe even someone elses.

So, here are some people/things that I am thankful for:
*My wonderful Savior
*My faithful husband
*My 4 blessings
*My family
*My amazing accountability group
*My amazing, close friends who I like to think of as sisters more than friends (you know who you are)
*Our home
*Our congregation family

Those are just some I could go on and on but I will save you. So what are you thankful for? Don't only tell the person that you are thankful for them but remember to thank God for blessing you with all that He does!

Psalm 118:1"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Embrace your Crockpot!

Well, I am not a cook. I would love to be but the biggest thing holding me back is fear that it won't be good, oh and then there is the cleaning up the mess and the lack of a stocked pantry. I say that if all these things were worked out I would cook all the time, well we will see. God willing we will be moving next week and our new home will have a much bigger kitchen which will provide room for me to actually stock a pantry or cabinet I should say. So, that one will get checked off the list of why nots. As for the other 2, unfortunately I want my stuff cleaned spotless so I will probably have to do that and just embrace that new recipes may be big hits like the last 2 I tried.

I received a crock pot for a wedding present almost 6 yrs ago and it has sat in my cabinet except for winter when I would make my chili. That's pretty much all I ever used it for. This summer with the horrible heat I was looking to find things to fix for dinner without having to heat the oven. Thanks to some friends I received some crock pot recipes and have embraced my crock pot. The best thing about these recipes although I was timid to try them they were a hit with the family and lil man who is picky asked me to fix them again! Score!! Here are the two recipes I have tried so far.

Chicken Wa La

Package of Chicken Tenderloins or Breasts (as much as you want or that will fit)

Package of Shredded Swiss Cheese (I substituted Mozzarella Cheese)

1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 box of Stuffing Mix

1 Can of Water

1 Stick of butter

Layer Chicken on bottom of crock pot, then cheese, cream of mushroom soup, stuffing, water and then butter. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high.

I served Chicken Wa La with some green beans and the family gave me a thumbs up.

Pork Chop Casserole

5 Pork Chops (I used 4 boneless)

4-5 medium potatoes quartered or sliced

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can of cream of celery soup

1 can of green beans, drained

Layer ingredients as listed. Cook on low 5-6 hrs or high for 4.

Another thumbs up from the family. And a complete meal meat, potatoes and vegetables. I might add a second can of green beans next time just because my family likes green beans.

One of my good friends also found Crock Pot Girls on facebook that have a website too Crock Pot Girls. So, embrace your crock pot and post a recipe that your family enjoys! I'm getting better on trying new things :)

Have a great Tuesday!

Wisdom Teeth Fun

Why do we have to have wisdom teeth if they just have to be painfully removed? That is one of the first questions my oldest daughter is going to ask when she gets to heaven. At least that is what she is saying today. Yesterday she had to have her wisdom teeth surgically removed. Although she did offer her sister and I some entertainment right after surgery I hate that she had to go through it. She was less than thrilled about having to have it done. I remember back in high school when I had mine done, not fun at all. I looked so much like a chipmunk that when my gpa took a pic and showed it to my great gma she just looked and asked who is that?! Let me tell you that is a boost to a high school girl for sure :)

I hate to see any of my kids no matter how old they are in pain and suffering. I'm praying that her swelling is as min as possible and that she will heal quickly. Thanks to all who offered prayers up for her, I know that she appreciates it!

Until later....

I'm Back!

Well, it's been way too long and hopefully I still have people who check in on me from time to time. Sorry for my silence, with a graduate, all the activities that go with that and a busy summer, finding time to blog wasn't a priority. I do miss blogging so I will give it a whirl again and hope that I don't go several months in between again.

To catch up on everything that has happened since May would probably be impossible and very long. In short we are now the parents of a Freshman in college, 8th grader, preschooler and almost 2 yr old. We had a great vacation to TX this yr with my hubby's sister and her family. Fast and furious sums up our life pretty well.

Yesterday I posted on another blog, Soul Sisters, about a sweet moment I had with our oldest boy. It was finally raining and boy do we need the rain. My son looked outside and said well I better pray the rain stops so we don't get wet when Memaw comes. I tried to explain to him that we needed the rain but his reply was, "sorry I already prayed 3 times for it to stop". My heart beamed with pride as I thought, my son took his concern to our Lord! Although it didn't stop raining completely it did let up and we didn't get soaked as we walked to the car. It was a sweet moment with him listening to him tell me how he had already prayed to God and knew it would work.

I wish at times I was like a child again. They are so sweet, innocent and love life. Another day we were listening to the thunder and watching for the lightning. Our 4 yr old was explaining what God was doing to make it happen. I told my hubby how science really ruins thunderstorms telling you why lightning flashes and thunder booms. I like my childhood thoughts of God bowling much better.

Until later....

Fast and Furious....and I am not talking about the movie

Well it's May?! How did it get here so fast. I feel as if it was just August and we were sending the kids off to school, now the school year is wrapping up! I have to say that this year has felt as a whirlwind with all the activities that our children have been involved in over the last several months. Now we are starting May and the countdown has begun, for the much anticipated by our oldest, graduation. May started off with our Senior Sunday at church that went very well. This week we had Lion Mania the end of the year talent show and our lil man's end of the year program. I think May 23rd I can take a breath so only 19 more days :)


Although it has been quite crazy and busy in our household I have to say I love being a mom! To me all these things are a part of who I am and I love it. Sometimes I get frustrated and stressed but I try to remember that before I know it our house will be empty. Our oldest is 18 and graduating high school! Before I know it our lil guy will be doing the same.



Savor the moments with the blessings God has given you. Here are 4 of my blessings on Easter!

18!?!

Happy Birthday to my oldest daughter! I can't believe that she is 18 today. She is such a blessing in my life. She is a very talented young lady and I know she will do wonderful things with her God given talents. What a blessing she is to so many! Happy Birthday! Love you :)

The Date Jar Date #1

Oh my, it has been a very long time since I last posted. I'm not even sure if anyone has stuck around but I will post just in case somebody still checks in from time to time.

The Date Jar :) I have to say that I love having date nights with my hubby. Although they are not as often as I would like with our crazy schedule we fit a date in here and there as we can. Most of our dates are the same though, dinner maybe a movie and then home. Nothing too exciting and part of that is when we try and figure out what we are going to do we don't have any great ideas.

A friend of ours gives Date Jars as a gift to engaged couples. They started it after my hubby and I were already married so we missed out. One shower I was at I was talking with a friend and thought I should make my own. So, I asked the other friend for the list of dates and to my surprise she offered to make me my own date jar! So this weekend was our first date out of the date jar. It was go out for coffee and chat.

Saturday night came around and we went out to eat at PF Chang's, did some window shopping and then headed to Starbucks for some coffee or Cafe Mocha :) We watched the Pittsburg v Butler last minutes of the game and enjoyed the evening. So far the date jar is a success! I am going to try and post the ideas as we go so you can have ideas for yourself.

My hubby and me

Yummy :)

So what do you do on your date nights??

15 months!

I'm not sure how it can be but my lil guy is 15 months old?! They just grow up so fast. We went to the Dr for his check up and he weighed in at 25.5 lbs and 31.5" tall. He had to have 2 shots and he was a trooper. After he was done he was just screaming and he looked down to his poor legs and looked at me like what just happened. I hate that but I know it is what is best for him.

The dr said he is moving right along on schedule. He says a few words but not consistently. He can say if he wants to, Momma, Daddy, Yes, Riley, Lindsay and Caleb. I am sure that he could talk more if he wanted too but he is just holding out until he absolutely has to do the talking. I mean with 2 older sisters and an older brother when is he going to get a chance to talk ;)

He is my dare devil that is for sure. My hubby has always wanted one of our boys to be a rock climber and I think lil guy is going to be the one. The other day my hubby was home with the 2 boys. Lil man was sitting at the bar eating while lil guy was in the middle of the living room playing. My hubby walks back to our bedroom and is gone not even a minute and when he comes back he finds lil guy sitting on the kitchen table just smiling. He had moved the chair so he could climb on it then up onto the table.

Lil guy also loves the outdoors. It is so hard for him to have to stay inside while his siblings play in the snow. And if Dad is outside you better believe lil guy is right there with him. I can't wait for the warmer temperatures so that he can enjoy being outside more.

It has been a fun 15 mos that is for sure and he will probably cause me to go gray early, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

Go Packers!

Well to be honest I am not a big football fan and really had no preference in Packers or Steelers. So, I went with my hubby's choice and cheered on the Packers to victory. It was fun watching lil man watch the game. Every time the Steelers would score he would say, "Wrong team, everybody!" He got into the game and was excited to see the Packers win. As we were driving home from gparents house he says, "I get it! Steelers, they steal the ball so they are called the Steelers." Pretty cute reasoning from a 3 yr old.

My favorite part I have to say was the halftime show. I was shocked to see so many negative status updates on fb. I have to say it was my favorite halftime show in a long time. The last several years hadn't even got my interest but I have to say my family and I thoroughly enjoyed the halftime show. The lil guys got up and danced and after it was over lil guy clapped along with the crowd. Maybe without surround sound it wasn't good but thanks to my parents surround sound it was great.

I have to say my favorite thing about the Superbowl though is the fact that now we can concentrate on a more important sport, basketball! This becomes my favorite time of year with NCAA basketball games every weekend followed by March Madness. Bring on the hoops!

Snow Day Fun!

Well the wintery weather has struck once again. Last weekend we had beautiful days of 60 degree weather and then in the blink of an eye we are below freezing with snow. Luckily though no ice this time which is just fine by me. Although I am a much bigger fan of spring and summer I don't mind snow as much as the ice. Of course you won't find me out playing in it especially in this wind but it sure is pretty to look at :)

Yesterday we had lots of blowing snow making nice size drifts (now if you live up north I know that these drifts are nothing but for us they are a good size.). I made it to work leaving my kiddos safe and warm at home since they had a snow day, when to my surprise my boss, aka my dad, let me go home at 930! It was a great surprise since normally I don't get snow days. We were sooo slow at work that he didn't need me so told me to go home.

After my lil man got used to the idea (he had been planning on going to Memaw's) we had lots of fun playing with his legos, building a fort, making chocolate chip cookies from scratch, playing wii and drinking hot cocoa by a nice warm fire. It was a great day and the kids all had fun too.

Although my kiddos got another snow day I was back to the routine of work, but that's ok because it sure was a nice surprise yesterday. The snow is pretty to look at especially with the sun shining but as my lil man said "Maybe another day the sun will come out and make it hot because you know the sun is like fire," I hope so lil man :)

Enjoy the snow but stay warm and safe!

Full Ride Scholarship

Well as I have mentioned before I have a daughter who will be graduating in May. Her life dream is to be a singer and she has been blessed with an amazing voice. Somewhere she is wanting to go is out in LA and they have a program where you submit a video and if your video wins most votes you can receive a full ride scholarship. So, if you go here you can vote on her video everyday from now until Feb 11. She would love to go here and we are praying that she will be open to whatever doors God opens for her. Enjoy the video!

2011!

Wow it's 2011! It's hard to believe that this year I will have a daughter graduating high school. Where does the time go?! As I look back on 2010 it was a good year and definitely had lots of growing moments for not only myself but our family. Now as I look forward to 2011 I think of all the possibilities of what this year will bring. I have to say that I have often written down "resolutions" but they never seem to pan out. And that's my fault, I write them down and then forget about them. This year I want to be different though. I want to have resolutions and attain them, not forget them.

So, in 2011 here is my list of goals:

* Be the best wife and mom I can be

* Deepen my faith, study more and work on my relationship with my Lord and Savior

* Start working out, doing something in the area of exercise

* Say no more to pop and yes more to water

* Pray for opportunities to help others

* Cook more and try new recipes

These are just a few this year I hope to attain or at least work on. So, what do you want to work on in 2011? The year is brand new and waiting for you to fill it with your story :)