Happy Homemaker Monday – 3/20/2017

Posted on by Mary

The weather::: today will be grey and very overcast with the high of 43 but the temps are looking up with a dip back into the 20’s but then rising again to 50’s.  we still have a very thick blanket of snow, but there are spots of grass in the areas the wind blew the snow away.

On my reading pile:::  Pretty much the same as last week.  Unglued, The Best Yes, You are Loved no Matter What, and I Am

Movies or Shows I watched this weekend:::  Nothing I was away most of the weekend at a Youth rally

On my TV:::I am about to put my TobyMac  station on Pandora on our TV

On the menu for this week:::

Monday Venison with Potatoes, Carrots, and  Tomatoes  in the crockpot

Tuesday Leftovers

Wednesday TaterTot casserole in the crockpot

Thursday Meatball subs

Friday Hamburgers and hotdogs and fries

Saturday Pizza (Hubby’s Homemade including my fave Bacon cheeseburger Pizza YUM)

Sunday Meatloaf and potatoes and a veggie (meatloaf and potatoes go in the crockpot together)

On The To-Do List :: I need to tackle my sewing cabinet this week.  When hubby built it for me there was no time to organize it so that is my major tackle for this week AND if I can complete that I will move onto the craft / exercise room

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating::: I have a couple of Cricut projects I need to work on.  I’m still learning to use my new machine, but I need to just practice more with it to build up my confidence

Happening this week:::Our friend is moving out this week.  we are happy for her that she has found a place so quickly, everyone is sad that they are going but it’s a new adventure for them.   God has blessed them greatly in this and we look forward to see how God works in their lives

Looking around the house::: the downstairs looks amazing, we have to find son #2’s AWANA grand prix car sine he lost it….and we can’t seem to FIND IT ANYWHERE   YIKES

From the camera:::

kitten therapy

What I’m wearing today::: comfy jeans…you know the ones with elastic…Hey don’t judge the girl I jam still healing from gallbladder surgery and real pants are very uncomfortable still, a blue sweater with navy and maroon plaid collar and tails  and my sneakers

One of my simple pleasures::: Coffee with yummy creamer…

Bible verse, Devotional:::

Hebrews 9:11NIV

11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here,[a] he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation

 

For More Happy Homemaker Posts Check out tDiary of a Stay At Home Mom

 

Random Ramblings: All the New Normals All wrapped into one Big Crazy

Posted on by Mary

Well I am still here, and I am still alive…and now I am well. and Every Monday I am going to post  random ramblings about our lives….this maybe one of the longer ones…it spans months but  it is to keep family and friends up to speed  on our day to day lives, from the perspective of our faith as a family intertwined as it is who we are, not what we do!

So Onto todays Ramblings….

Let’s start at the latest bit of crazy and the least unexpected of all.  Nearly two weeks ago….I found myself in the ER waiting       for emergency surgery….MY gallbladder to be exact.  Let’s just say apparently I had been a lot sicker than I realized.  It’s amazing at just how well I feel since the surgery, it has been kinda hard for my poor hubby to keep me down.  I have learned my limits though…like bending.  I gave up bending over a week ago!!    The back pain that I had been experiencing  for literally months went away as soon as the gall bladder was gone and has not been back since.  And during this time God really struck me with some new thoughts….now that I was feeling better And that I had to be resting it was the perfect time to read and write and read and write and write and read some more…and I have done just that.  It is during these moments that God and I have worked through some REALLY tough stuff….NO joke.    Part of what we have worked on is this lack of confidence thing that has haunted me for 2 1/2 years now.  but Im going to be blogging on that regularly now.

The next oddity is that this has been our absolutely sickest winter since our oldest child was in preschool…he is going to be 12 in just a few short months…we have gotten 6 illnesses that have hot almost very person in our family.  the most recent was child #3 getting the flu… yes he had the flu shot.   this has not been easy. We have not had 1 whole week since New Years without at least 1 kid home sick from school….it’s not a two and a half months I want to revisit anytime soon.

And perhaps the craziest of antics of all actually happened in October.  we had a friend and her three small children move into our home.  yeah so we grew by four…if you are keeping track that is 10 all together and 3 cats and a dog…..no exaggerations. . Their apartment (in our house) has been mostly done since just before Christmas and in just about a week and a few days they will be moving into their own place.   It has been a stretching experience but we  are glad we did it!

We also said goodbye to hubby’s Grandpa in October and then his uncle VERY unexpectedly almost a month later.

Im really sorry it has been so incredibly long since I have written.  it has not been  my intention And I will be  discussing on Mondays my struggle and explaining my journey with my word confidence, so place on jumping into that next Monday.  I can say this….God has given me the desire and gift to write…or so I am told, so I will write.  I am not going to hide any longer.  My confidence is not in men but in Christ….and I am not doing this for anyone else but HIM to bring him glory through what I have to say!  Thanks for sticking with me! and I look forward to getting to know each other in the near future.

with much love,

Mary

Happy Homemaker Monday 3/13/2017

Posted on by Mary

The weather:::

oh the weather outside is about to be frightful!  Yes we are in line for the blizzard heading fr the Northeast this evening through Wednesday

On my reading pile:::

You Are Loved No Matter What

The Best Yes

Unglued

IAm

Movies or Shows I watched this weekend::

Angel in the House

Unconditional

The Dick Van Dyke Show

The Danny Thomas show

: On my TV:::

Karate Kid 2

On the menu for this week:::

Monday

Spanish Rice

Tuesday

Chicken Stir Fry

Wednesday

Cheesy Chicken and tater tot Casserole in Crockpot

Thursday

Cookie Sheet Chicken and potatoes

Friday

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Saturday

Venison Roast with Carrots Potatoes and tomatoes

Sunday

Chili with Turkey Burger

On The To-Do List::

Reading

Writing

creating

Light Organization ( Im still on restriction from my gallbladder surgery)

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::

I created 10 pairs of earrings today

and I am hoping to return to painting over the next few weeks

Happening this week:::

I  have a youth retreat this weekend

volunteer at the pregnancy Center

I’m cleaning out/ organizing my over stuffed filing cabinet

Looking around the house:::

a few dishes in the sink,

the counter needs to be cleaned off & organized

2 flat surfaces in the living room to be organized…it got  put off after my emergency surgery almost 2 weeks ago

a sewing cabinet that needs some DESPERATE help

From the camera:::

What I’m wearing today:::

Jeans with buttons down the calf/ankle

black uggs

peach long sleeved T and a Peach?beige?Cream striped sweater (with hood)

One of my simple pleasures:::

Quiet alone time

Bible verse, Devotional:::

Jeremiah 17:7-8New International Version (NIV)

7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”

For More Happy Homemaker Posts Check outDiary of a Stay At Home Mom

BOOK REVIEW: A Spectacle of Glory A Spectacle of Glory God’s Light Shining through Me Every Day By Joni Eareckson Tada with Larry Libby

Posted on by Mary

 A Spectacle of Glory

A Spectacle of Glory
God’s Light Shining through Me Every Day
By Joni Eareckson Tada with Larry Libby
Published by Zondervan

Joni Eareckson Tada is well known for her testimony as a quadriplegic and her many talents including her skillful writing ability and A Spectacle of Glory is no different.  Joni artfully communicates God’s truths through this small little devotional book that packs quite the truth punch.    Even though each day is a relatively short devotional, it is jam packed full of  meet you right where you are   truths that are applicable to our each and every day lives.  Whether you are a person in the midst of struggles or you are a busy mom running errands this tiny book fits right into your purse backpack or briefcase and can be read in your free moments.   it also gives you scripture reading that you can read all or portions depending on your schedule and can be easily continued throughout your day.

I really enjoyed the encouragement this book brought as I laid in bed battling illnesses for 3 weeks and I had a personal struggle that kept me awake at nights.  it brought light into a dark spot and encouraged me to keep moving forward.  I love the ability to tuck it into almost any bag and have it with me wherever I went.  however with that comes one major downfall….FONT SIZE! .  This is huge for me since I am visually impaired however  that seems like such a very small detail in light of the fact that this book brought such encouragement.    I would like t encourage you that no matter the season you are in whether it be  crazy busy, stressful or just plain dark, this book will shed light to the darkest of times.  I give this book a  5 out 5 stars.  You can find this book and others by Joni on Amazon by clicking HERE

Id like to give a big Thank You to BookLook Bloggers for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.  In no way  is there compensation for a positive review. and this post contains NO affiliate links!

BOOK REVIEW: Reflections Of God’s Grace By Michelle Hanna

Posted on by Mary

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Reflections Of God’s Grace is a compilations of daily devotions meant to focus you on the grace of God. Michelle masterfully communicates the “God-sightings” from her own personal life on a day to day basis.Reflection is in ebook format and is published by Westbow Press. Each daily reading is short and concise it gets right to the point.

Reflections is a snapshot into Michelle’s life, where she shares how God reveals himself to her in her day to day life. She is real. She uses the simple day to day life experiences to communicate Gods truthes and encourage her readers.

In all honesty is felt like I was chatting with one of the ladies in my Bible study, Michele Takes the little things in life like a song currently playing on my radio and shares with her readers how God has used that song to minister to her. She passes it along to her readers as though a group of friends share those same tidbits to their friends.

Michelle is a relatively new author and I hope to see more by her in the future I thoroughly enjoyed getting a look into her life.I loved that it is just like the conversations my friends and I have. this shows that Michelle is real whereas other authors come off sounding “too perfect” I think Michelle does have some polishing to do but for the most part I totally identified with her insights and perspectives an d I felt as though we could have been friends for years. and that makes for a great read.

I definitely give this book a 5 stars out of 5.

This book was provided for review purposes by BookLook Bloggers This review is the honest opinion of the blogger and I am in no way compensated for positive reviews.