Wordless Wednesday: 20 years ago today

Groom's Vows:
I, T, take you, A
To be my wedded wife
You are the one that I love,
A very special gift from God above.

Today I leave Father and Mother and
I cleave to you alone.
With God’s help I will live with you
As friend, lover, and provider,
In sickness and in health,
In poverty and in wealth,
Till death do us part.

I will take your hand through the years
and walk with you,
learn with you,
grow in the love of Christ with you,
and worship God our Father with you.

I will take care of you
As we walk through the months and years that lie ahead,
Trusting in God’s guidance and provision.

Today we will build a home and family
That’s founded on the solid foundation of our
Faith in Jesus Christ.

I will never leave you,
For you are my special one
And I love you.

With this ring and before God I pledge to you my vow.

Bride's Vows:
I, A, take you , T
To be my wedded husband.
You are the one that I love,
A very special gift from God above.

Today I give my love to you unselfishly
And willingly place myself under you
As the God-ordained head of our family.

With God’s help I will live with you
As friend, lover and helper
In sickness and in health,
In poverty and in wealth,
Till death do us part.

I will take your hand through the years
and walk with you,
learn with you,
grow in the love of Christ with you,
and worship God our Father with you.

I will work with you and strive to be a helper meet for your needs,
Trusting in God to provide guidance, strength,
And the foundation of faith upon which we will build our home

I will never leave you,
For you are my beloved
And you are my friend.

With this ring I pledge to you my vow.

Tackle it Tuesday: Princess room redo part 2

Last week's tackle was to get started on the changes in my daughter's room. I got the walls prepped and was going to just start the paint job on Friday but when my husband came home from work he said, "just let me get changed and I'll help you paint the room." What a sweetie! We worked on it up till dinner and some after dinner and got the whole room done .... three coats of white paint. I hadn't primed the walls and it took three coats to cover the tan/beige color that was there and to make it so that you can't see the line from the color change where the wallpaper border used to be up by the ceiling. I think Princess is a bit sad that I chickened out and didn't put any pink on the walls. I found a fuschia color in the store the other day that matches the bedspread and I may try my hand at sponge-painting around the bottom third but I don't have time to do that this week. At least the room is clean and bright now and almost ready to become a guest room in 3 weeks when we have visitors coming.
The pink flower lamp has a light bulb and is ready to be hung (project for tonight) and I am still hoping to finish sewing the curtains and pillow cover this week. If I get that done there will be more pictures next week.
To see what others are tackling today head on over to 5 Minutes For Mom.

Menu Plan Monday: June 25 - July 1

This week is a busy week at our home. I am needing to get clothes and suitcases packed for all 6 of us. Next Monday two are heading to camp, the oldest is going to spend the week with some family friends and the youngest is also heading to another family's house to spend the week. Hubby and I are hitting the road as soon as we drop the boys at camp for a little get away (here) to celebrate 20 years of marriage. The time away will be great, it's just the preparation that is hard. Add to that, we have 2 guests arriving the day after we all get home from our various travels(our missions pastor from our sending church and another close friend from the church). So this week is the week to get the house in shape too. We have doctor's visits on Thursday evening and Hubby has to spend extra hours at work to cover for his coworkers vacations. The kids and I are doing a modified version of Fly Lady's Summer Camp to try and whip the house into shape and also have some planned summer fun. They sat down with me today and we planned some fun, mostly low-prep, kid friendly meals for the week. The 2 middle boys celebrate their birthdays this Sunday and they will be choosing the menu for their birthday meal so Saturday and Sunday are open until they give me the details of what they are wanting to eat.
Here is the plan so far:

Monday
Brunch (we really slept in today) fried eggs or omelettes, toast, juice
Supper (I got home late from Dr's appt) sandwiches (cold cuts), chips, pears

Tuesday
Breakfast: Oatmeal with brown sugar
Lunch: BLTs, chips, cucumber slices
Dinner: broccoli egg casserole, green salad, fried fish filets
After dinner S'mores over the gas stove and game night

Wednesday
Breakfast: 90 minute cinnamon rolls
Lunch: Cheeseburgers
Dinner: fried rice
After dinner -- skit night

Thursday
Breakfast: french toast
Lunch: homemade macaroni and cheese, hotdogs
Dinner: (will be after doctor's appts.) cold cuts, cheese and crackers, devilled eggs
After dinner -- To be determined later

Friday
Breakfast: zuchini bread, fresh fruit, yogurt
Lunch: Tunafish sandwiches
Dinner: BBQ Cola meatballs in crockpot, rice
After dinner: video night with the babysitter

Saturday
????? maybe we can talk son #3 into having his "birthday dinner" a day early

Sunday
Dinner chosen by the birthday boy (son #2). I believe he has chosen breaded chicken filets, broccoli or cauliflower (fresh broccoli is hard to find this time of year) and I'm not sure what else.

Head on over to Laura's for more great menu plans.

Wordless Wednesday: Who needs Sominex when you have Star Wars videos?

Don't worry, Princess. I also fell asleep the first time I had to sit through Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back.

Works For Me Wednesday: Curtains

I haven't posted what Works for Me in a few Wednesdays but I had time to do so today and thought I'd share my tip for dealing with unsightly clutter areas, specifically open shelving. I look with envy at magazine pictures of homes with glass front cabinet doors or open shelving in kitchens, baths, etc. I know myself (and my family) too well .... we are just not there and may never get there. So what is one to do when there's a shortage of cabinet space in the kitchen and bath? Well, we created extra storage space using shelving. Actually in the kitchen pictures we took the nook that was designed for the fridge to go in (but it was designed for a Spanish fridge which is small and we have a big old Whirlpool that is too big for that opening) and put an old bookcase in there to give us some pantry space. The problem was that it was never a very pretty sight and it was the first thing you saw when you entered the apartment.


When I finally had enough, I invested in a set of sheets and cut them up to make curtains for the kitchen window and another to cover the pantry opening. They are hung on a tension rod and can easily be pushed to one side to get what I need.


The bathroom only has a pedestal sink so there was nowhere to store anything, except a small shelf above the sink just large enough for the toothbrushes. A friend helped my husband install 3 shelves in the space above the unused bidet. Again it was a losing battle to keep the shelves looking neat.


I recently purchased another tension rod and hung a set of curtains that came with the shower curtain that I bought. I have no window in my bathroom but the curtains were almost the perfect size to cover the shelves. It is a couple of inches short but I can live with that.

So, hanging curtains to cover unsightly shelves works for me. Head over to Shannon's for more great solutions to life's everyday challenges.

Tuesday Tackle: Princess Room Redo (Part 1)

I've been promising Princess that I will paint her bedroom for... oh, well .... way too long. The original goal was to do it for her birthday (which was in February) but I obviously didn't reach that goal. I did get the new comforter cover sewn but still haven't hit the material pile to do the curtains or the pillow covers. I finally bought paint, roller, brush, etc and I think I have the supplies I will need once I am ready to paint. Today's tackle is to begin the process of prepping for the paint. I worked over the weekend to clear out her closet, removing an odd shaped shelving unit that wasn't working in there. I needed to make room to store her books and toys in there while we paint. Today I cleared out everything from the room except the bed, dresser and table. I cleared off the shelving that I never really liked in there and hubby took it apart and moved it out to the balcony to be used to store the things that were out there. Then I attacked the removal of the wallpaper border that the previous tenants had put up. It took some doing and quite a few sprays of my homemade wallpaper remover (fabric softener and hot water) but I finally got it all off, the floor swept up and the bed cleared off so she can sleep there tonight. Next step is to patch the holes in the wall and prep for paint. Do I need to wash down the walls? Is soapy water enough?
Check back here to see more progress on the room makeover.
To see what others are tackling today head on over to 5 Minutes For Mom.

Overheard from the Princess carseat

Today was supposed to be a super special afternoon for the kids at school. The plan was to have a "water day" from recess till the end of school (11:45 -1:00). The boys went to school with bathing suits, water shoes, towels, etc and their empty 2 liter bottles with a hole punched in the cap to use as heavy duty waterguns. I had plans to head over to the school at 11:30 to rescue the #1 son (whose arm is in a cast)from the mayhem. Well, as Murphy's Law would have it, today was an overcast, chilly day. The principal cancelled the water festivities for today and the school will try again next Wednesday. OK, we'll discuss the joys and challenges of public school in another post. This one is to share the hilarious thing that Princess came out with. Good thing I wasn't eating something at the time.
My first grade son came out of school a bit disappointed that they hadn't played in the water (he was all prepared having worn the bathing suit and water shoes to school so he didn't have to change into them) but anxious to share how those silly girls in his class had been showing off the fact that they had their bathing suits under their clothes. We made a little comment about the immodesty of it all and got in the car. A couple of blocks down the street and he was telling me again how so&so was lifting her shirt and showing off her bikini to everyone. Without missing a beat ,Princess pipes up ...
"That's not good! You shouldn't be showing your zuchini bottoms to anyone!"
I don't think I'll ever look at a zuchini the same way again.

Wordless Wednesday: BUSTED!

The other day I was reading a friend's blog and saw the cutest picture of her son and what had been a brand new box of Kleenex. She used the phrase "busted!" and it reminded me of a series of pictures I took of Princess when she was just 1 and we were in the process of moving. I named them BUSTED! and mailed them out to family but since it was before I started blogging, they haven't been shared with others. Enjoy! Oh, and Christina, too soon these days will be gone. Enjoy them and take lots of pictures!



BUSTED! in the tissues

BUSTED! in the off limits kitchen drawer

BUSTED! in the video/dvd cabinet


BUSTED! but what a cute smile. Think it will get her mercy?

Menu Plan Monday: June 11-17

Although I am posting this way too late for any MPM readers to care, I decided to go ahead and post it so I have a record of the plan in case I decide to repeat menus a few weeks or months down the road. Because I do plan to pitch the cute little paper lists I post on the fridge each week. I must kill the clutter monster ... it WILL happen .... one piece (bite?) of junk paper at a time.

Monday
lunch: cheeseburgers & chips
Dinner: Rosca (store bought -- a large wreath shaped loaf of bread with ham and cheese inside, heat in the oven and serve. I was feeling lousy so this was an easy thing for hubby to do. However he said the fillings were pretty lean so he added some more ham and turkey from our fridge.)

Tuesday
Lunch: leftover BBQ pork from last week, buttered egg noodles, corn
Dinner: late "snack" stuff -- crackers and peanut butter, sliced apples, babybel cheese bites

Wednesday
Lunch: Meatball subs (meatballs in crockpot)
Dinner: spinach salad with leftover cut up chicken from last week. I basically use this recipe for the dressing. Normally I leave off the water chestnuts and add strawberries in season or canned mandarin oranges in the winter. This time I left out the fruit in the salad and added red pepper, cukes, cherry tomatoes. Love the dressing but it makes tons. I cut the recipe in half and have enough in my tupperware container for another day as well, since some in the family would rather have just oil and vinegar (that would be son #2 and sometimes the hubster).

Thursday
Lunch: tuna salad
Dinner: lasagna

Friday
Lunch at the school after 6th grade graduation
Dinner: Left-overs of lasagna or pizza

Saturday
Lunch: homemade macaroni and cheese with cut up ham (ham from the freezer-- needs to be used up), broccoli
Dinner: breakfast for supper -- pancakes or waffles

Sunday
Brunch after church: sausage and egg casserole, fresh fruit salad, biscuits? (depending on how I feel and if the weather is super hot or not)
Dinner: no clue. Probably everyone fend for themselves, or clean out the fridge.

Wordless Wednesday: My Saturday Excursion

Here's a little bit of what I saw as I did some sightseeing with two of my boys this past Saturday.

Tackle it Tuesday: Closets

There is a spanish saying that translates literally "Don't take off your smock/hat until the 40th of May" (It rhymes in Spanish and sounds much better Ü) Well, we're four days away from "May 40th" and even did have a little bit of chilly weather last week, but judging from the temps of the last few days we won't be seeing sweater weather again for a long time. Yesterday I decided to do the final season switch of clothing in my husband and my closet. I had changed over the clothes in my dresser but our hanging clothes hadn't been changed yet. Fortunately we have a large closet in our office so all I have to do is rotate the clothes, hangers and all. I know there are several items that I probably should get rid of but I'm not sure which. I read somewhere a trick for seeing what items you haven't worn in a month/ 3 months/ year. It said to hang the hangers facing the wrong way and then once you wear an item when you hang it back up turn the hanger around to "normal". Then periodically you can check and see at a glance the items that have not been worn by the direction of the hangers. My plan is to check the closet in August or early September and get rid of any items that are still on "backwards" hangers unless I can figure out a really good reason why they haven't been worn but should still be kept.
I didn't do the hanger thing with hubby's clothing. I'll see if it works for me first before suggesting it to him.
My other tackle is taking place all this month. See what it is in this post. For a look at what others are accomplishing check out 5 minutes for Mom.

The 30 day challenge

I recently came across a blog that I am enjoying. I haven't explored it as much as I would like to. I'm sure I will in the next few days and weeks. Sarah has given an invitation to join her in a 30 day challenge to encourage our husbands. The challenge was actually written by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, an author that I just discovered last fall while on furlough. I am being challenged by her book Surrender right now. I may not blog about how my challenge is going every day but I will try to post updates, especially if something noteworthy happens. I have tried to be encouraging in my words and it really hasn't been too hard to refrain from complaints or negative talk about my husband so far. But, we're only on day 4. Hopefully I can really let him know this month how much he means to me. I thought it was appropriate to join in the challenge since we will be celebrating 20 years of marriage on the 27th of this month. I figure a month of encouragement can only make the celebration that much better, right?
Today he asked me so nicely if I would do him a favor and touch up his shirt that he wanted to wear to work while he was in the shower. I realized that putting a little extra time into doing some ironing for him was a tangible way to encourage him. He's working long hours this week and at least I can help him in this way. I've also started planning menus and trying to have his serving set aside and ready to be heated up when he gets home at night.

Menu Plan Monday: June 4-10

We did well with last week's menu. I had a "date" downtown with two of my sons and we ate out so my hubby had the other two children with him for Saturday night. Sunday I asked if he had cooked what was on the menu for Sat. night and he looked at me like I was from outer space. What menu??? Hmmm, I guess I forgot to tell him I am actually planning menus right now and posting them on the fridge.

My kids are all home from school by 1pm and eat both midday meal and evening meal at home. I am thinking I need to start planning both meals. Some days we'll do the bigger meal mid-day, some in the evening but I need two options planned for each day so I don't have to keep running to the store so many times a week for ingredients.

This is the plan for this week. Check out Laura's blog to see what others have planned for this week.

Monday: BLT sandwiches
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left over spaghetti from yesterday (I made WAY too much!)
garlic bread
salad

Tuesday: Beef and rice medley (new recipe to try)
baby carrots
--------------------------------
omelettes and toast

Wednesday: Chicken escalope
broccoli or cauliflower
mashed potatoes
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grilled cheese sandwiches
chips
pickles

Thursday: BBQ pork (crock pot)
buttered noodles
corn
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hotdogs and buns
chips
raw veggies

Friday: Leftovers
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spanish tortilla
mediterranean salad

Saturday: soft tacos
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breakfast for dinner-- french toast
fresh fruit salad

Sunday: crockpot roast
potatoes, carrots