Saturday Update: Florida Trip and Weekly Menu Plan

I hadn't meant to stay away for so long, but life happens, yes? =)

Last Thursday Mark and I decided to take a trip to Florida.  to see some of my students, from the school I formerly worked at, graduate.



 It was a special class to me because they were my first students, the ones who saw me cry the most, the ones who walked through a teacher's toughest year with me, the ones who helped make me into the teacher I am today.

So, when one of them asked to me to be there, I couldn't say no =)

It was a good trip for both Mark and me. Mark's dad is dealing with a blood clot in one of his legs, and for the last week or so he had been unable to maintain the lawns he took over when Mark and I moved to GA. We love being able to help his parents out whenever we get the opportunity, but the truth is, they're the ones that end up helping us out more often than not.

I'm so blessed by the in-laws that I have. When I was praying for my husband {I started 6 years before I even met Mark}, praying for his strength and growth in godliness, someone suggested that I pray for my in-laws too. I thought it was a brilliant idea. Because the truth is, when you get married to another person, you marry their family too, and that can either be the best blessing in your life, or the source of great and painful discord. 

...I get side tracked easily =) back to FL. Mark found a little friend in his parents' pool when he jumped in to cool off after mowing Friday morning. We released it back into the lake behind the house {most likely where it came from in the first place}.

 After spending 4 days which disappeared faster than I could have imagined, we headed back to FL early Tuesday morning.

 
Since we were planning on returning to Florida in the near future, we decided to bring one of my sisters {Emily} to GA with us to spend some of her summer =) I haven't lived with her for almost 6 years now, so it's been wonderful to get to know her better and be more like a sister with her. She makes me laugh a lot. She's just a couple inches shorter than me {that won't last long... she's still growing}.

Yesterday we both happened to wear sage green shirts to the mall, and some sweet lady asked if we were twins. My face must have been priceless because she quickly retracted. We explained to the poor soul that we were just sisters.

I happen to be twice Emily's age... twice. I blame my braces. Entirely. =)

Since this post is already really long, I will just end with the menu plan for this week.


Happy Cooking Y'all

Thursday:            Pizza w/ Garden Salad

Friday:                Southwest Salad

Saturday:            PotatoSoup and Homemade Croutons w/Ranch Salad

Sunday:               Jambalaya

Monday:             Chicken Piccata w/Mashed Potatoes and Salad

Tuesday:             Sheppard’s Pie

Wednesday:        Chipotle-Style Burrito Bowls

Thursday:           Lasagna w/ Garlic Toast (and Pesto)

Recipe Highlight

 Potato Soup

What's For Dinner?

It's Thursday, which means weekly menu planning. =)

Nothing brings a family together like meal times. It's a great place to wind down and enjoy the company of the people you care about most. As a kid growing up, meal time was most often a time of laughter. The food wasn't always gourmet {after all, there were 8 of us kids to feed}, but it was a place to remember the provision of our Lord and the kindness and love of others.

Recipe Highlight: Southwest Salad

I've posted my plan for this week to let others reap the rewards of my labor =D

Just as an FYI: We eat a lot of chicken. Feel free to substitute the proteins with your own preferences.

The only recipes that I have linked are the ones that I've tested several times and found to be excellent. If it doesn't have a link, it means I'm experimenting =)

Experimenting. That word has lost its power to terrify my husband as he now trusts me {mostly} in the kitchen after feeding him good food for a few years. However, that all changes if I start calling out "oops" in a specific tone of voice ;-)

Happy Cooking

Menu Plan

5/15/14 — 5/22/14

Thursday:            Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

Friday:                Asian Salad w/Grilled Chicken

Saturday:            BLT with Avocado (Lunch) Baked Lemon/Herb Chicken w/ Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes and Sautéed Green Beans w/Tomatoes (Dinner)

Sunday:               Leftovers (Lunch) Indian Chicken Curry (Dinner)

Monday:              Baked Teriyaki Chicken w/Sautéed Veg

Tuesday:              Chicken Casserole

Wednesday:        Clean out Fridge/Leftover Day

Thursday:           Mushroom Risotto and Pan-Seared Chicken

Can you tell that we like the Food Network around here? =D

Mother's Day and the Importance of Choices

Happy late Mother's Day!

It was a delightfully serene Sunday here in North Georgia. Below are some pictures of the hydrangea Mark bought me to celebrate {no, this is not a baby announcement, Mark just likes any excuse to buy me little tokens to show his love}.

Aren't they beautiful? I cannot wait to plant them at my new house when we move in June!

For the last few days I've been thinking about the importance of choices. I've been recently reminded about the dangers of making foolish decisions. The Bible is full of examples of people choosing wisely or foolishly as the case may be, and in the book of Judges {where I'm currently reading} entire nations were affected by the choices and decisions of one man or woman.

To go along with my scripture reading, I've also been reading Beyond the Shadowlands by Wayne Martindale. It is all about C.S. Lewis' philosophy on Heaven and Hell. I don't know of anyone who can draw a better illustration or encourage the soul toward imagining and desiring Heaven more than Lewis.

Wayne writes about C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce "it [The Great Divorce] makes us grasp the truth that 'there is no neutral ground in the universe.' It points up the further truth that we bring into our earthly experience intimations of either Heaven or Hell by our choices. We are becoming every moment souls suited for one or the other" [79 emphasis, mine].

The unfortunate soul who chooses his/her own pleasure and desires (loves his/herself) over sacrifice and whole-hearted, abandoned service and love to God at the end of his/her life finds their soul more suited for Hell than Heaven. These choices that move our soul in one direction or the other are not the big ones with flashing neon lights that blindingly blink "Life Changing Choice." They are the small choices, the little word, the kind thought, the gentle response, that we make and face almost every moment of every day.  

As a teacher, I am constantly reminded that my little words can make a big difference in a young students' day/life. A word thoughtlessly uttered has the power to crumple the dreams and hopes of a human being, and a word spoken with kindness and love has the ability to save a life. Words have power. With the last day of school for the year coming to a close, I can only pray that the choices I made with my words built up the young lives in my charge, and the choices and words uttered thoughtlessly will be forgotten or negated by the love of my Savior.

Where are you choosing to go by your small actions? Is your soul becoming more suited for Heaven or Hell?

Landon and Halal's Wedding

As promised, here are some pictures from the wedding. This is what I worked on for most of the day today {that and a trip to Costco and Fry's Electronics with my handsome man}.

Typical of Florida weather, it was opposite of what was forecasted, which turned out great for the happy couple. It was beautiful, not a drop of rain in sight.

I've never seen Landon smile so much for so long... 

I think he was happy 

Landon & Halal

May 3, 2014

{the Groom}

{the Groom and his men}

 

{the ladies}

{the beautiful Bride's 1st look at the Groom}

-she closed her eyes... too much awesomeness to handle- 

{sunlight} 

 {the groom's awesome hair...}

-his best feature according to the Bride's younger brother-

{the stunning Bride}

{I think he was showing off his muscles...}

{the Bride's awesome mother made these dresses}

-many of the wedding items were made by the Bride and her family- 

{the ladies' handmade lanterns set the mood with the setting sun}

{the barefoot wedding party}

{the Bride and one of her sisters} 

{so creative and very beautiful}

{the Groom waiting to receive his Bride}

{they worked with the natural setting instead of overwhelming it}

{introducing Mr. and Mrs. Landon Splitter}

 {the couple's first dance}

{they are very talented dancers, and it showed}

{cake}

 May God bless this marriage and bring much good and joy through the union of these two families!

To Landon and Halal, 

I love you!

 &

Enjoy your honeymoon!

Spiritual Housework

Welcome,

My goal for this blog is to record our {Mark's and my} journey for the family and friends we left behind in Florida almost a year ago....

a year ago. wow.

It's cliché, but time really does fly...

July 15th, 2013, Mark and I moved to the beautiful area of North Georgia because of a job promotion. Yay! But we left behind all our beloved family and friends =( 

We miss them terribly, but we know that we are where God intends for us to be, and we are enjoying the perks of being north enough to enjoy the seasons!

Last week I learned something new about my husband of 5 1/2 years...

{I look forward to learning more things about him as we get older, as I'm sure I will}

We were on our way to see my brother, Landon, get married to Halal Allen. It was a beautiful wedding! Perhaps more on that later...

My parents with my brother and new sister-in-love

Something you should know about Mark, he's a little OCD when it comes to cleanliness. His OCD is no secret; our families often tease him about it, and he takes a strange pride in it. Last Friday, I found out why.

Mark went through a dark, god-less period in his late teens, early twenties. Providentially, he had a jolting wake-up call and decided to recommit his life to God. This also included a change in environment. Before his wake-up call, Mark's room was a dark place of filth. Often his only light was a black light mounted in his room, and he rarely ever cleaned. Mark knew that his environment encouraged the darkness (literally and metaphorically), so he changed it, obsessively so.

That Friday, driving down to Florida and talking to Mark about the years before I met him, I realized that my assistance in keeping our home clean and in good order helped my husband on a spiritual level. This was so profound to me. No longer was housework a chore to be completed; it was a way to care for my husband's soul. While I do not cherish scrubbing toilets or doing the dishes, I do cherish the thought of encouraging Mark's soul toward God. 

Sadly, I cannot say that there was a significant change in my behavior or actions regarding housework, but I know something changed in how I viewed it. Right thoughts prompt right actions. So here's to a Re-Envisioned Home!