New Design

So after 2+ long, boring, post-less years my daughter was tortured by the lack of attention given to this dilapidated old family blog and decided to give it a magnificent, glorious face lift. How do you like it? She updated the self portraits, the ages, and the basic design on the blog. I am hoping to start posting more on here but I'm just not sure if that will work. My little boys are super busy and crazy in love with playing cars, swords, love the mama games... :-)

New Opportunities

I just have a little something in my brain that is not allowing me to sleep, so, I thought I would share it here.

Today at church we got to hear from an awesome missionary couple. You may or may not have ever been inspired by one of these folks, but let me just tell you that my husband and I would LOVE to be able to just hang out and listen to them for a good long while. Such passion, determination, and vision. It is refreshing to hear someone speak like them. The man with such open respect for women and encouragement to men to be men, to know what they believe and why and to be able to recite it chapter and verse so that if the time ever were to arise that you need it, you got it. Just awesome!

The missionaries we heard from were with www.IndigenousMinistries.org and www.BeautifulInternational.org


After church, I was speaking with a friend. She mentioned that her family was planning on going to an orphanage in Mexico and needed to get their passports. A family missions trip where the children play with the children, the women cook and feed them, and the men put together bunk beds and the like.

Serving. Missions. Something that I have only heard of in my life in recent years (at least that I have understood it). Mr. Cookie and I are both hopeful to join this trip to serve with our children. I am excited to think of what each of us will learn and draw from the experience. Excited. A real opportunity, a fit for a family like mine, not huge and scary, but exciting and hopeful.

I have thought only a little about things like these in the past, mostly I just volunteer locally as it fit into my schedule or as I heard of the need. The idea of missions has always sounded like something that I myself am not noble enough for, faithful enough for... the list goes on. Right now I feel like God is bringing an opportunity to our family. Another taste of something we didn't know before.

Sometimes I think I get so wrapped up in 'my life' that I forget or don't even notice that there is a whole lot more going on in our world. And that we can make an impact on it if we want to. Perhaps it will help myself and each individual in my family be grateful and thankful. Not just for who we are but to know what it is like to be that person that helps others and acts like 'the hands and feet of Jesus' instead of wondering what that would be like. I have been thinking that we all leave here having made an impact here big or small, good or bad, our own little ripple in time to be remembered by many, like the missionaries I listened to today, or by a few, like me, but that the ripple is important.

I am going back to bed now. I know that my path is altered today from where it was yesterday and that is the real reason I am awake.


Full of thankfulness and praise,
Mrs. Cookie

Happy Birthdays...

Nate and I got to celebrate our birthdays together at Benihana! We have not celebrated our birthdays together in person since we were kids.

 One of the VERY GREATEST things about being in Arizona is getting to know him again after all these years :-)

 He's a great guy!

He stopped over later to test his scuba gear in our pool...

... AND taught the girls and Jim!!!!

 WOW!!

 Very Exciting! But first he and I had this idea crazy idea! The pool was really warm, like 95 degrees warm, so we thought that putting some ice in it would maybe cool it off...

... we put 20 giant ice blocks in the pool! TeeHee!! LOL!!!
It didn't cool the pool off any, but it sure cooled the kids off! They stood on them, hugged them, swam around and licked them! HeeHee!! Very fun!

Christina's Cacklings

I have much on my brain today and thought I would type it instead of write it and create a post and organize my thoughts at the same time. :-)

Cactus in bloom.

My family is a very snacky family.

I aim to change that!

Mommy's Little Helper.
Organizing books by topic on the shelves.

This morning I woke up and decided to make some of the changes I have been thinking, talking, and dreaming about a reality.

Hiking while on our camping trip June 24, 2011.

For starters, I made hard boiled eggs and celery/carrot sticks for the refridgerator, and washed some grapes for the counter. I know, you are thinking that this is encouraging snacking... TRUST me! We are already snacky and fast foody thanks to our recent Minnesota trip. My idea is to take the junk out of our snacking first and make our meals more nutritional and filling which in my mind will automatically reduce the snackiness of our lives.

Time will tell.

Hiking while on our camping trip June 24, 2011.

Then, I have this crazy idea that my family needs to love beans... must be something southern... or something. In Minnesota, we called them legumes. YUCK!! I do NOT want my family to love legumes! I want them to love beans. Beans are so nutritional and filling and just good for you.

I also have this idea in my head to make chili flavored pinto beans. I can find no recipe for them, so, I made it up. I'll let you know if it works out. Anyways, these yummy and filling beans can also be in the fridge for quick meals in tortillas, cheese topped, or whatever.

Hiking while on our camping trip June 24, 2011.

Today, I definitely need to get more school planning done. The trip back home was not very good timing for school planning type things. It was very good for other things, just not for school planning. Which reminds me, please be praying for my Dad, I do not want to explain it right now, but he is not in good health and has started chemotherapy last week.

I purchased a new curriculum, Tapestry of Grace. I like to make my own curriculum/schedule but this is such wonderful curriculum and so flexible and covers so many levels and... I think it will help me to not stress out about covering everything. Also, I LOVE that all of my children study the same thing, at their own level, and that their writing, reading, etc. is all based on history. Last year it seemed that history and science were the first to go if something else came up, which was often. This year, they are in a science co-op with some members of our AWESOME homeschool group and the rest of their studies center around history.

I love the exciting feeling of a fresh new year!

Oh, the potential!!

:-)

Anyway, I also purchased the teacher training cds for Tapestry of Grace. That is what I am trying to get through yesterday and today. Then, I will finish planning the first 3 weeks of school so we can go school shopping and get started on the 15th. It feels very rushed, probably because it is, and like not enough planning, but by only doing the first three weeks, I won't throw away any planning if I decide to change things up... learning curve :-)

Hiking and shooting while on our camping trip June 24, 2011.

Also, decluttering needs to happen this week. Closets and dressers are overflowing! This frustrates me and needs to be remedied. We usually do this kind of continually, but it has really backed up around here. It frustrates me because everything takes longer to accomplish if there is excess clutter. Laundry, room tidying, and there is not a home for everything. Even the games and books are crazy.

One thing that is harder for me is that my wonderful husband has asked us to not have garage sales and to just donate everything instead. He feels that with being new to homeschooling 3 kids, new to Arizona, and a new baby boy it makes more sense. I do agree with him, not that I have to, it is just hard for my brain to adjust to the idea.

Sweet little monkey boy
Camping June 24, 2011

Okay, I feel the need to DO something now, so, wish me luck! :-

 I think this is going to be a new heading for me to simply ramble about whatever... I am thinking that in this case, less boundaries will mean less stress.

{{HUGS}}

Christina :-)

It's been a while!

HELLO!!

 Oh my, has it been a while!

 I took a break from posting on my blog because I was really feeling quite stressed about making sure that I "reported" on everything and that all of the appropriate photos were included.

Perfectionism SUCKS!!

There must be a better way!

So, I am going to really try to be different from my "all or nothing" self and try and find the middle ground of posting more often, as often as possible even, but not necessarily posting on everything (maybe I will even get to a point of letting a type-o go through!)

:-)

 And if the computer is giving me a hard time about pics, I will simply say so, post my words, and move on, rather than not posting at all.

I am pretty sure I can do this, but if I don't post for a while, feel free to keep poking me! :-)

Freeze Drying Party

A couple friends and I had an idea to make a home freeze-dryer and preserve our own food that way.

So, we had a freeze drying party, of course!!

It was really fun!! We chopped so much fruits and veggies that day!! I did a little of everything from sweet potatoes to onions to strawberries to asparagus. Put it in a cooler with dry ice and ... we got the recipe from the internet. And, well, it did not work :-( So, not to be deterred so easily, we spent the remainder of the week trying this and that, and in the end... no go. :-(

We put the food into the freezer and it is still usable but it is most definitely NOT freeze dried.

We had such a blast doing it though, it was well worth the time, effort, etc. And now I feel like I know a couple awesome ladies better! :-) I am a blessed woman!

Right now...

Right now I am hearing...

my girls and Grandpa giggling while playing Uno on the patio! :-)

Right now I am thinking...

of my Mother-in-law Cookie wearing Oreo's beautiful hat! :-)

Right now I am listening...

to my husband and baby boy laugh! :-)

Right now I am feeling...

SOOO very blessed!!!

 :-)  ;-)  :-)

Thanks God!!

Christina

Maggie... the doggie?

Well, she seems to sure think she is lately!

She picks pieces of her food up and drops them in her water dish!

Just look at the mess this kitty makes!

She also hangs out in the kitchen while I am cooking waiting for things to drop for her to sample.

Goofy cat!

She thinks she is a little guardian mama watching over the baby while he plays or sleeps. She is NEVER too far away!

She watches over and snuggles her sick kid and helps her to feel better:

And she plays and acts like a kitty still too, jumping, sliding, and hiding.

We love our kitty-catdog!

:-)

Arizona State Fair - Post Created 11/7/10 (but not published)

I have some old drafts of posts in the computer, I am going to just review them and finish anything that needs to be finished and post them. This is the first of many to come:

We tried a new church today. It was really fun with upbeat music. We sat near the front where I like (forces me to pay better attention) and we ran into Jennifer, she's the nice lady that told us about this church. The sermon was on recovery and forgiveness and moving beyond past mistakes. It was good, emotional, and informative. I have some teaching, training, and explaining to do with the kids now that they have been exposed to some new things... hmmm. We literally wrote our sins on a sheet of paper and walked up front to shred them. A number of different ideas have floated through my brain on how to make the most of this very literal "teaching tool". I believe that every experience is worth while and something can be gained from it whether it is expected or not...

 Then, we went to the Arizona State Fair! It was sooo fun! Nate and Lloyd chaperoned us girls and Mini Chip. Those two are so great! They were very patient and helpful and just plain wonderful!

Piggy-back rides... 

 Monster trucks...

 Oh, what a day!!

 Lucky for the girls, Uncle Nate is much more brave than I am!

Fried zucchini , french fries, onion rings...

Mmmmm! Ketchup... on a fork! LOL!

 Passed out baby... my view!

 Him's is sooo cute!

 After a meal of ketchup on a fork, one must compliment the meal with cotton candy ala fingers!

 Finger lickin' good!

Yummmm-o!!

Do I look brave?

I'm scared out of my wits at the top of the ferris wheel! Grrr!

What an awesome day!