A Letter to HannahKate

Dear HannahKate,
I just want you to know how proud I am of you and your accomplishments.
I want you to know that your hard work and cheerful disposition do not go unnoticed.
I want you to know that your fierce loyalty to your friends is appreciated.
I want you to know that I pray you'll keep refusing to allow other people to dictate your self-worth.
I want you to know that the firm stand you take is a testimony of your faith.
And I want you to know that sometimes, even when you do everything right, life's just not fair.  But your family will always love you and be proud of you.

Like Grammy said~remember who you are and whose name you bear.

And like Bart says~

You're beautiful...

You were made for so much more than all of this.

You're beautiful...

You are treasured.  You are sacred.  You are His.

And like the Bible says~

After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun. So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose?  Romans 8:30-31 (MSG)

Remember who you are and Whose name you bear.

I love you,
Mom

Whoopsie-Daisy...

...now that's an odd expression. I have no idea what it means, but I needed a catchy title for this picture I took of a Gerber daisy. Whoopsie-daisy...it's also fun to say.

Plenty of Moxie

Our dog, Moxie. She's a strange one...

This Is Why I Love Fall

Just me and Hal tonight, but we had our dinner outside on the deck. Beautiful weather!

Friday Night Lights

Be careful what you ask for, Troy.

Weekly Pic--Stained Glass

I've always loved stained glass windows.  I guess I inherited that from my dad, who has actually made some stained-glass pieces.  I took this picture yesterday when we met up with a friend from college for dinner at an amazing restaurant in Big D called "Breadwinners."

A Plan for Success

Recently, I was lamenting via Facebook status that I had spent an entire Sunday afternoon "trying to plan healthy meals on a budget for family that is never home."  

The truth is:

• We are trying to eat better.  
• Dave Ramsey's voice now lives inside my head since we've been debt-free since January and are doing our best to keep it that way.  
• These factors, combined with busy schedules and a traveling husband, make meal planning more difficult.  
• Add to that two girls with very different (from each other) food preferences and a mom who really doesn't like to cook that much anyway, and you have a recipe for disaster...

...Well, maybe not disaster, but at the very least, you have a family with clogged arteries and high blood pressure who goes broke eating out every meal.

I have said it before~Facebook and the internets are wonderful things--A friend saw my status and sent me a link to a menu subscription site called e-mealz.com.  I was skeptical at first, but oh. my. word.  now I cannot stop talking about this site.  It offers weekly menus tailored to fit a variety of needs:  2 person families, 4+ person families, gluten-free, low carb, low fat and even one based on the Weight Watcher's point system.  Once you know what kind of menu you need, then you decide where you're going to do your shopping: any store, Kroger, Publix and even Wal-Mart.  

The more I read about these plans, the more excited I became.  The catch is, it is not free.  But the good news is, it only costs $5 per month (three months at a time).  Heck, the site even has a banner across the top with Dave Ramsey's picture and some quote about "Dave says, at $1.25 per week, this investment is a no-brainer."  Well, if Dave says it's good...what more confirmation do I need?

One of the things I love about these plans, is they give you recipes for 7 meals each week.  The recipes are so easy to prepare, so quick and sooooooo good!  I just cannot get over how tasty the meals are, PLUS the fact that everyone in my family (read:  my two finicky children who have total opposite food tastes) has loved every recipe I've tried so far.  This is a modern miracle of epic proportions.

So I promise you...it is worth your time to click on over to e-mealz and look around.  

And even if you don't believe me, you can't argue with Dave...