God's Creation

Just a little taste of what we have been doing with the start of a new school year. :)

Our God is Awesome!

We just had our best camping trip ever and it was our first since my husband and I have really committed our lives to God. It was beautiful, peaceful, enlightening, and so relaxing. I am so full of God's love and joy lately that I just want to shout it out! Our lives were never terrible but we could use some work in certain areas and I am telling you; ever since we have been actively including God in every aspect of our lives, it has been amazing! We are a lot less stressed out about things, we spend so much more quality time together and far less mindlessly plugged into our electronics. Our relationships are thriving, and we are meeting some incredible people in our new hometown. We trust and love our Lord with all our being and He is taking good care of us. If you have not found Him yet, I am telling you now is the time. Our God is so good and we know that no matter what comes along we will rock it because He is by our side! I hope you also get to enjoy his amazing creation a good deal this summer because it is truly breathtaking and therapeutic! 

How can this not leave you feeling so peaceful!? 

Have a blessed week and if you are venturing out over the holiday weekend, be careful! 

A little more time!

So my blog, once again... Clearly fell by the wayside, we have since changed our lives a little bit though and spend less time mindlessly sitting at the computer or watching television. We fellowship more, we pray more, we sit down and talk as well as do Bible studies together. We are starting to spend more time outdoors exploring God's creation, and appreciating every little thing He does for us. We have learned to listen to Him and trust Him and it has brought about some major changes in our lives! My husband is no longer active duty Army, and even though we were dreaming of heading west, we prayed and listened and remain in the North Country, but we have moved a little further away from all the madness and closer to God and some amazing people! As I have been sitting here praying over many things lately, I have deciced that I want to continue sharing a little slice of our life with you. Hopefully I have more time to maintain this blog now that we are a little more unplugged from the mindless surfing. 

We are still homeschooling though on summer break currently; my husband has a great new job where he is in charge! I have become so close to our Lord and Savior and have officially accepted Him and devoted my life to him in which I was baptized last week! It was amazing! I will also embark on a new journey this fall in Grad school! So many positive changes! 

So stay tuned as we make so many changes to better our lives and join us in prayer over my educational journey, as well as the next step which will be finding our forever home in the next couple of years and building a small farm. We are taking things slow and know that God already has a plan, but prayers are always appreciated. 

"See" you soon and God Bless!

Yo-Crunch Pumpkin Pie Parfait

What can I say, I'm a "pumpkinhead!" I'm obsessed with all things pumpkin spice that come out during Autumn; I am pretty much drawn to anything in the store that has to do with pumpkins; and here is our latest find.

With only 120 calories when you use the topping (90 if you don't) this is a delightful guilt free snack. Let's face it, most fall and winter treats aren't exactly kind to our waistlines. I had been following Weight Watchers from January-September and I have successfully lost over 50lbs; October-December are my hardest months so I allow myself some slack, but if I am not careful I will put a lot of that weight back on! I'm happy to see there are healthier options out there now for some of my favorite flavors.

What is your favorite pumpkin spice goody or recipe?

John Hancock

We read about the declaration of independence today and we made a quill pen and some ink from berries. The boys really enjoyed this activity. It's quite simple if you'd like to try it yourself, simply cut the end of a feather at an angle and cut a slit in the point. Squeeze berries to get juice out into a small dish and add a little salt and white vinegar and stir well. Enjoy!

Give me butter!

Even before we started eliminating more and more processed foods, one thing we never ate (well at least for several years now) is margarine. We use BUTTER! It may have more fat but it is real! One of our lessons this week after learning bout the pilgrims was to make our own butter! I used a recipe from Fresh Eggs Daily (great blog, you should check it out.) as well as her buttermilk biscuit recipe because of course, when you make butter you also get fresh and delicious buttermilk! The boys made their own portions by shaking the cream and a bit of salt in baby food jars, they had a blast and really enjoyed eating something they made all on their own. I of course used my kitchenaid :)

If you have never made your own butter I suggest you give it a whirl at least once, there is nothing like it! And I shamefully have never made buttermilk biscuits from scratch and must say it will be the only way I will make them from now on!

Summer Break

I always do this, I always let my blogs fall into the black hole of the internet. Life gets busy though and my priorities are my children, not my social media. But I would like to take some time to revive this project so that I have something that even if only for a few minutes or a few times a week, is something I call mine. My life revolves around my husband and my sons; I am a homemaker after all and that IS my job. I take pride in it though and I love what I do, I however often forget to take time for myself. I usually do something mindless like watch a movie or play a computer game; I need that to change. I need to do more reading, and more writing! :) Here are a few goodies from this week, we toured the local cider mill yesterday and the boys were fascinated!

I hope you all had a great summer, we sure did! Ended it with a spontaneous trip to Mass for my birthday, toured Boston, Salem and caught a Red Sox game at Fenway! :) I will devote some posts to that separately. We also went camping and enjoyed the outdoors plenty. We are now back into homeschool full swing since Mid-August and all our fall activities are about to begin. I look forward to sharing more of our adventures with you!
Have a great day and God Bless!

So What Wednesdays

This week I am saying SO WHAT if...
I did nothing but enjoy this day with my children.
I have been doing so well this week that today I just said the heck with it and we went out for dinner, I did order of the Weight Watcher's menu!
I still can't stop thinking about Arizona!
My efforts with certain people are going unappreciated, at least I feel good about what I am doing and at the end of the day if you don't see the good in it then it sounds like a personal problem. Some people need to learn to stop living in the past!

And that's all I've got this week! hehe What are you saying SO WHAT to?

Fire Station - The ultimate boys' field trip!

So we met with a different homeschool group yesterday to attend a field trip at the fire station. First we met for a picnic and some playtime at the playground and then we proceeded to tour the fire station, complete with a round in the simulator trailer. My youngest wasn't entirely impressed but my 7 year old was absolutely loving it! The firefighters were very friendly and helpful, they talked to the kids about fire safety and when and when not to use 911; they showed them the different trucks and described the tools with them and answered questions. The children got a chance to hop onto the trucks and the ladder as well (when it was on the ground of course.) I was very pleased with the afternoon, my boys learned a lot and really enjoyed themselves. At the end each child received a goody back with stickers and information as well as the traditional plastic firefighter hat. Before we joined everyone for the field trip we made our weekly stop at the library where both boys picked out some books about firefighters and fire trucks, and when we got home my 7 year old suited up in his hat and the badge he was given and read the books they picked out. They really made an impression on him and that makes me smile!

Accent - Blog Prompt

Do you have an accent?

I do not have an accent, nothing strong or "exotic." However when I first moved to the U.S, yes to Americans I did have a Canadian accent, eh? But now that I have been here for almost twenty years I have an American accent to everyone back home! I of course don't think I sound any different but I think that's what happens when you live somewhere for so long. I've heard plenty of people moving to Europe and picking up accents there. I must say I'm partial to British and southern accents! ;)

Pizza Cups, Yum-o!

So I tried another of Emily's recipes tonight and once again we all LOVED it! It is listed under her appetizers but with a light leafy salad it was a perfect light dinner on a hot day. Everyone had enough to eat with a couple pizza cups and the salad. I absolutely love her website and her recipes, and the fact that she has all the WW points plus values on her recipes makes my life so much easier!

Pizza Cups
Source: Emily Bites Original

Ingredients:
2.5 oz fresh white mushrooms, diced
20 slices turkey pepperoni, chopped
½ cup pizza sauce (I used Classico Traditional Pizza Sauce and it was awesome)
1 (11 oz) can Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf refrigerated dough
1/3 c shredded 2% reduced fat Mozzarella cheese
¼ - 1/3 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly mist 8 cups in a standard muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. Lightly mist a small skillet with cooking spray and bring over medium heat. Add diced mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until wilted/browned. Place the mushrooms in a medium bowl and add the chopped pepperoni slices and pizza sauce. Stir to combine and set aside.
3. Open the package of French bread dough and lay the log of dough on a clean, dry surface. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 equal rounds. Using your hands or a rolling pin, press the dough pieces into 3-4” flat rounds. Press each round into a prepared cup in the muffin tin, forming the dough into a bowl shape and pressing it up the sides.
4. Evenly distribute the pepperoni/mushroom mixture into each dough cup with a spoon. Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese over the top of each cup and follow with a pinch of Italian seasoning on each cup to taste.
5. Bake for 16-18 minutes until bread cups start to brown on the edges and are crusty to the touch. Let cool 3-5 minutes before serving.

Yields 8 cups. Weight Watchers Points Plus: 3 per cup (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com) Nutrition Information per bread bowl from myfitnesspal.com: 124 calories, 20 g carbs, 3 g fat, 6 g protein, 1 g fiber

What's in a name? - Blog Prompt

Do you like your name? Do you feel like it suits you? If you could change it, would you - and to what?

When I was younger I used to always say I'd change my name, I think for some reason I didn't like it. I can't really recall though nor can I recall what name I would have chosen. But today I am happy with my name, I do think it suits me. I mean then again just thinking of myself with any other name is just a little weird to me. I do have a pet peeve though of people calling me Mel, I only appreciate close friends and family calling me Mel. If I don't know you or we aren't exactly friends so to speak, do not call me Mel.

So What Wednesdays

This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

I worked my boys up for the farmer's market and then we didn't go even after the rain stopped. I was told there were no fruit yet and honestly my boys do not NEED whoopie pies.

I have no desire to mend certain things. Everything happens for a reason, some things are blessings in disguise!

I am having a hard time living in the now, I am really excited for our move next year! So many big changes! I am trying to cherish every day but I am definitely dreaming about that Arizona sun!

I have been getting iced latte's a little more than I should lately, I'm staying within my WW points! hehe

I still let my boys come to our bed when they have a bad dream or just need snuggles, they are going to grow up way too quickly! We have a king-sized bed, there is definitely enough room for my loves!

So what are you saying SO WHAT to this week?

Mission - Blog Prompt

Write about a mission you have accomplished.

The biggest mission I have accomplished recently is losing 35lbs in the past four and a half months! I am pretty darn proud of myself and while I still have just a little less than that to lose before I reach my first goal weight, I am confident that this time next year I will be at my final goal weight. I am following Weight Watchers and am trying very hard to discipline myself into exercising more and more, I have always had a hard time with that but I've done alright with it this time around. I attend WW meetings which is a great deal of support and my husband has been incredibly supportive as well; he's even changed his eating habits as has our whole family! I feel pretty good about myself for the first time in a long time.

I didn't time myself this time because I really wanted to write down everything I wanted to say, I'm pretty proud of my accomplishment and love sharing it with others. What have you accomplished recently?

Right Place, Right Time

I am so excited y'all! So we took the boys into the city today for lunch, some shopping and the science museum. And here we are on our way out when it was closing and a magazine caught my attention (they have all kinds of magazines, newspapers and flyers for people to grab on the way out) and right next to the magazine was a little postcard announcing a Knufflebunny Musical at one of the colleges here, starting this weekend and every weekend for the next month! *Squeel* We LOVE Mo Willems and my boys adore the Knufflebunny stories, so naturally I grabbed a card and of course my youngest wanted to hold onto it right away ;) and once I got into the car I got on their website to check ticket prices and lucky us they were not ridiculous! I told him I was going to buy tickets so the whole way home (over an hour) he was asking if we were going to buy the tickets now? lol I did order them once I got home and have printed them already. I cannot wait to take them! I get really excited when there is any type of event like this for my children (I've also taken them to two Max & Ruby plays.) There just aren't always many events for young children.

If you have never read the Knufflebunny books (or any Mo Willems for that matter) I encourage you to pick some up! He's a great author! :)

So What Wednesdays

This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

I am still not 100% back into my workout routine, I'm getting there.

I have been buying myself clothes here and there, I deserve those cute smaller sizes.

I just bought two antique Bibles, I LOVE antiques and who doesn't love a beautiful Bible?

I am kind of relieved by certain recent events. I feel liberated!

My son still has a few more sets of test prep to work on, he's got this stuff and once again the school district still doesn't let out for over a month!

I already ordered his curriculum for the fall, I am so excited to flip through all that good stuff!


What are YOU saying SO WHAT to this week?

Continuing what I was saying yesterday...

Someone posted this video today and I had actually seen the music video before but not this one, and it just goes right along with what I blogged about yesterday! PLEASE do not hold grudges, do not take anyone or anything for granted! Life is too precious and too short! I could not imagine losing a child! God bless his family!

Video here

Praise God

I'd just like to take some time to publicly praise our Lord! Life is pretty much as good as it can get right now; we had some major prayers answered last week, God is putting the right people in my life right now, and as I am learning and reading and praying - I am growing closer to Christ. We have so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to in the months and year to come! I just pray that God is blessing you in the same way, and if he is not perhaps you need to seek him! Talk to him, he is always listening. If things are tough, pray! If things are good, praise! My heart aches so much for people around the world, shootings, stabbings, bombings, massive tornadoes! If you are alive and healthy right now, THANK GOD! If you have clothes, food, and a home; thank God! If you have a family that loves and supports you, thank God! Your life can never be that bad if you have breath in your lungs and loved ones around you! We all take so much for granted and that just makes us spoiled! Be thankful for what you do have and pray for those who have less than you, if you are in need of something, God will provide! We have recently changed our diets, and our activity level and we feel so much better, and know we are extending our lives for the sake of each other and our children. We are working on changing our surroundings inside our home, simplifying and minimizing... we are going to hold a fundraising yard sale for my husband's race and in the process blessing pancreatic cancer patients with the money we raise, and blessing our home with less clutter, which in turn makes our lives less cluttered! It is time to unplug from all these things and connect to each other in meaningful ways! More and more are we realizing that money and things are not important at all! My husband is getting out of the Army just short of retirement because that is how little it means to us, it is far more important to have him home with us than to send him off to war yet again and get all that extra money.

Please, don't take anything or anyone for granted. Life is way too short. If you have hurt someone, make it right; if someone has hurt you, forgive them. And if you can bless someone else in any way, do it! You could make their whole day or even their month, or perhaps even turn their life around!

Hospitals - Blog Prompt

What kinds of experiences have you had in hospitals, either good or bad?

When I think of hospitals, the first thoughts that come to mind are the births of my sons. So I actually have pretty good memories of hospitals. Two of the most amazing days of my life! I had great nurses, doctors and of course great visitors! Both my boys were born in different hospitals, in different states.

How I Spent My Summer - Blog Prompt

So yesterday was a super busy day for our family; we had a scavenger hunt, art class, and went to the drive-in. So I did not have time to blog, I hope you all had as beautiful a day as we did! Today we were all so exhausted that we even missed church so I am not going to blog about what I had hoped to, I'm going to respond to another one minute blog prompt.


It's a beautiful summer day, and you are twelve years old.

How do you spend the day?

When I was young, I didn't spend my days playing video games or surfing the net (of course we didn't have the net back then.) I spent my days outside; playing with my friends, swimming, going to the playground. We did so many things together, lemonade stands, crafts, went on adventures! Kids today are too reliant on electronics and I think it is very important for parents to step in and make sure it is not ruling their lives.

I went over by a few seconds so I could finish my last thought. I'd love to hear how you spent your summer days as a child!