Busy Weekend!

Friday Aiden and I went on a field trip to Essex steam train and river boat with our co-op. We spent 3 hours there for a train ride to the boat, at our take-along lunch on the boat ride, saw Gillette castle among other sites, and then enjoyed the train ride back while hearing some history from the conductor. Steven Spielberg shot an Indiana Jones film there, and the Big Y commercial in our area was filmed there as well. After the ride back, we rushed out of there and got home around 2:45. That left me two hours to prepare for the cookout I hosted at 5pm for a few friends and their families whom I haven't seen in quite some time. Such a whirlwind day!!




Gillette Castle


the car we rode in
On Saturday, we celebrated Ryan's 8th birthday. It was the smallest birthday party we've had in quite some time, just ourselves, my dad, and Mike's brother with his son. Ryan opened his gifts and got things like science kits for making geysers with mentos and diet coke. There is even a rocket that can be shot up with the soda geyser....so fun! He got quite a few different kits for making boats etc,...The kids played games like crazy. Things like Green light, Red light. Then the customary cake and ice cream followed. Cousin Tyler slept over that night with the boys and came to church with us Sunday and spent the afternoon playing Wii. I was feeling restless on Sunday like I wanted to go out and do something but we couldn't, so that was a not so nice feeling.











On Monday, we went to a friend's house for a small cookout; we had not seen them for awhile either. We stayed a few hours and caught up before returning home to putter around our yard, read, and yes cookout again! for dinner. HA!! I so love not messing up my kitchen. ;-) It sure was a busy weekend, a lot of times we don't do much just hang around the house together, so it was quite nice. Hope you enjoyed the long Memorial Day weekend as well. I so appreciate all those who fought, fight, and laid down their lives for our freedom. I also keep in mind all those around the world who are not afforded those same freedoms.

It's been awhile......AGAIN

I am such a slacker blogger lately! I have been feeling like time is getting away from me. There just have been so many appointments, part of the territory with children in general, never mind when there are special needs involved. I have a standing play date once a week with an old-time friend of mine, and preschool co-op once per week with Aiden, let's not forget one swimming lesson per week for all four boys (getting the most out of one stone there!!), and AWANA on Wednesdays, and we have some type of get together once per week. I have also been babysitting two full days per week for the last 6 months.

It doesn't sound like too much for a family of 8, but the next thing I know it is afternoon, time to pick little boys up, and the snowball is rolling faster right up till bedtime. I feel like I can barely keep up, and the house is never quite the way I would like it to be running. WHEW...blogging has fallen to the wayside. I don't know how those "supermoms" do it. I just want to be at home with nothing extra to do for a solid week (grin), putter around our house, arranging things, messing with the garden and not fearing having enough time, get to all those little things that really make a difference, and that I have been really missing lately.

Today is a mental health day. I cancelled a dentist appointment, and I am not sorry. We will be home all day doing what needs doing, and every other day this week we are busy. I'm going to get lots of laundry put away, counters cleaned, rooms freshened up, read some of The Pursuit Of God by A.W. Tozer, breathe. Tonight I'm going to take my time and cook something with joy and hope Mike will be home to partake with us. Maybe we'll even break out a game, though I enjoy a game without little pieces to worry about, say charades. hmmmmmmm......
I hope to have some pictures of *something* to share next time.
Have a beautiful week~

*update 6:27pm*
Just realized that we missed the swim lesson today. I am not one bit sorry. Dh reminded me a few minutes ago, and I honestly forgot all about it. I SO needed this day at home to do what needed to get done, to refresh myself with reading etc,... and to be able to make a really nice dinner with my love put into it and family time rather than the usual (lately) irritation while trying to cook something mediocre and eat it fast enough to get out of the house and to wherever on time, and then to arrive back with no time or energy for homework. I wish I could have more days like this. Weird thing is all winter long we didn't do much, but I was lonely and bored to tears. I need some balance and some down time more often.



I came up with this version of chicken parm tonight, plugged into a nutritional calculator and it came up to 454 calories per serving, so I am quite pleased with myself. It was actually delicious as well, and the info input is saved for easy tracking next time I make it. =)

Here's the recipe:

trim chicken parmesan



Ingredients

1 lb. of whole wheat pasta

3 pieces of chicken breasts

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup romano cheese

1/4 cup shredded parm cheese

1 Tbsp granulated garlic

1 TBSP basil

1 tsp dried parsley



Nutritional Info


Fat: 9.8g
Carbohydrates: 48.4g
Calories:453.4
Protein: 42.9g



Set a pot of water with a pinch of salt over medium high heat to boil for the pasta. Add the pasta once boiling, and cook according to package instructions. When done, top with 1 cup of the sauce and divide up between six plates with a piece of the done chicken.

Take 3 pieces of chicken breast and butterfly cut them so you have six thin pieces. You may also use mallet to flatten if you have very thick pieces.

Next, mix 1 cup plain panko bread crumbs with 1/2 cup romano cheese. Add 1 tsp dried parsley, 1 Tbsp basil and 1 Tbsp granulated garlic. Take chicken and coat in this bread crumb mixture.

Line 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper. Add the coated chicken so they are not over lapping.

Top each with an equal amount of the half cup of sauce, then equally top each piece of meat with the 1/4 parm cheese.

Place in 375 degree oven 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Number of Servings: 6

Spiritual Gifts Asessments

Our church completed some spiritual gift/personality asessments back in December, which took an hour to complete. I was excited because we had never done one before, and it seemed pretty extensive. We just received our results today. Next, we will meet with someone on Saturday to go over them which should be interesting.

My results are:

For spiritual gift-
1- missionary: The gift of missionary is the distinctive ability to minister effectively in cultures beyond your own.
Acts 8:4
Acts 13:2-3
Acts 22:21
Romans 10:15

2-helps: The gift of helps is the distinctive ability to work with and support other Christian's ministry efforts.
Mark 15:40-41
Acts 936
Romans 16:1-2
1 cor 12:28

and then a four way tie for the following:
-giving, mercy, exhortation and intercession.

giving: The gift of giving is the distinctive ability to cheerfully and generously contribute personal resources to God's work.

mercy: The gift of mercy is the distinctive ability to feel sincere empathy and compassion in a way that results in practical relief for people's hurts, pain and suffering.

For the personality section, though this section is secular it helped to find what position of a ministry would be good for a particular individual:
1-perfect melancholy-
The depth to see into the heart and soul of life
The artistic nature to see the beauty of the world
The talent to create a masterpiece where nothing existed before
The ability to analyze and arrive at the proper solution
The eye for detail while others do shoddy work.
The pledge, "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right."
The desire to "do all things decently and in order."

2-Peaceful Phlegmatic-
The stability to stay straight on course.
The patience to put up with provokers.
The ability to listen, while others have their say.
The gift of mediation, uniting opposing forces.
The purpose of peace at almost any price.
The compassion to comfort those hurting.
The determination to keep your head, while all around you are losing theirs.
The will to live in such a way that even your enemies can't find anything bad to say about you.


Funny thing is shortly after taking this asessment, I was suddenly sparked with the idea of missions. I got so fired up about it that my husband got fired up. Interesting that it's my primary gift. My husbands gift was not missions though, his primary was administration.

update 5/26/09-
I have come to realize that though it is very useful for me to have this information, and be excited about my work, my primary mission is as a helper to my husband, and a teacher to my children. I should use my talents to assist him in what the Lord has set before him. I realize that a lot of my issue is that he doesn't know what that is as of yet and we don't have a family vision/mission and we are just kind of day-to-day getting by. I have been a dreamer for a long time, steeping in imagination, while our family does not have a clear goal that we are working toward, that we can all see. He has been busy working 13 hour days (before paperwork)since we had our first child, and he doesn't have time to contemplate a whole ton on what he would like to do, or feels called to do. I know it is a struggle for him, and for the rest of us. I know what I will be praying about...

When you thought I wasn't looking

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you hang my first picture on the refrigerator,
and I wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you feed a stray cat, and I thought
it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you make my favorite cake for me,
and I knew that little things are special things.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I heard you say a prayer,
and I believed there was a God that I
could always talk to.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I felt you kiss me good night,
and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw tears come from your eyes and I learned
that sometimes things hurt,
but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw that you cared and I wanted to be
everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I looked....and now I want to say thanks
for all the things I saw,
when you thought I wasn't looking.

~Author unknown~

Swine Flu Prevention Instructions...important info for all mothers and grandmothers!!!

For Swine Flu Prevention,
Do NOT do this: