Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Gratituesday: Sister Symposium

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I grew up without any sisters. Matt’s sister grew up without any sisters. Matt’s brother’s wife grew up without any sisters. Now that we are all married and a part of the same family? We all have each other.  As much as we love our brothers, having sisters in our adult lives has been such a special blessing.

Perhaps the biggest blessing of all is that we all love being together. Not all sisters-in-law are able to enjoy this, and the three of us don’t take it for granted.

This is a picture of us two years ago when we got together for our bi-yearly “Sister Symposium.”

Since they both live in California, I’m the only one who has to travel far. Therefore, they are kind enough to share my airplane ticket expense to make this get-together possible. We save more expense by staying in one of their homes so we don’t have to pay lodging.

What do we do during the 2-3 days we’re together? We talk, and talk, and talk. We shop (oh yeah!). We eat out. We go to the beach (this Nebraska girl’s favorite place to visit!). And we pray together: for our husbands, for our children, for our parents, for each other.

With our lives all so full and busy with working and raising families, it keeps getting harder and harder to get away and find time to spend together like this. But never once have we regretted the effort it has taken. Our time together as sisters is always rich. This week is no different.

I’m so grateful to be spending time with my sisters this week. What are you thankful for?

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Gratituesday: My One Defense

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Hello from camp, again. :)  This week, Matt and I are teaching Bible classes each day to senior high campers. We love these kids!

My internet time is limited, so for Gratituesday today I wanted to share one of my favorite songs. I love worshiping along with this song:

I’d love to hear what you’re thankful for this week. Leave a comment and share!

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Gratituesday: Everything But Raspberries

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You know how I mentioned that we’d been traveling and that my body is craving fruits and vegetables? And you know how I mentioned that I was really, really hungry for raspberries? Try as I might, I can’t find one decent raspberry in all of York, Nebraska.

Correction:  I can find a decent raspberry. But they are either in a package that also contains moldy raspberries, or they are in a teeny-tiny container that costs $3.48. As much as I’m craving raspberries – for that price, I just can’t do it.

Elias (our 12 year old) and I drove to our two grocery stores today, after striking out at Wal-Mart last night, on a mission to find raspberries. I guess it just isn’t meant to be. Maybe in a few days, after stores re-stock and sale prices re-set???

In the meantime, as the boys and I were unloading our other groceries and talking about all the goodies I bought yesterday on our way back into town, it occurred to me that while I don’t have any raspberries, I do have pretty much everything else delicious under the sun. I shall whine no more. We’ve found great deals on tons of summer produce, loaded up our kitchen once again with wonderful fruits and vegetables – and we are enjoying all kinds of deliciousness. Everything but raspberries? Well, I am just all kinds of blessed.

You can see all the yummy food I picked up last night in this post. Now take a look at what Elias and I found this morning at a local grocery store:

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Grapes were on sale, plums were on sale, there were organic tomatoes and mushrooms to be had – and look at all those bags of frozen veggies! Those babies were on sale for just 80¢ each! We filled the cart…as you can see. :)  100% juice was on sale, so we stocked up so that we can make fun popsicles the rest of the summer. We grabbed sweet peppers and splurged on a loaf of bread so we could have an easy meal of sandwiches for lunch. Everything but raspberries? Blessed, blessed, blessed.

We got home from the store and set out this wonderful spread of food. After traveling and eating fast food, I can’t begin to tell you how delicious this all tasted.

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Oh beautiful, colorful, delicious plate. God is so good.

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What’s more? For breakfast we had big bowls of berries with Chocolate Whipped Cream. It was a perfect way to begin our day.

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Well, I actually started my day with an awesome cup of coffee, too. :)  Asa brought back a bag of coffee for me from Ecuador. Oh my goodness: best coffee EVER.

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This afternoon, Matt went to the garden and brought in a plate full of awesome lettuce. Remember how I shared that a big hail storm took out our garden a few weeks ago? Many of you suggested that it might perk back up. You were right! Much of our garden has bounced back. We are so thankful!

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This afternoon, I enjoyed a generous serving of Chocolate Whipped Cream in a cup of coffee. Happiness in a mug, I tell ya.

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Before dinner, we were “too hungry to wait.” Therefore, we sliced up a couple of peaches before I cooked dinner. These were the first peaches of the season we’ve had. Ahhhhmazing. Obviously, two was not enough so I had to slice up more. :)

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We thoroughly enjoyed the lettuce from our garden with our dinner of Pasta Alfredo with steamed veggies tonight.

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So what’s all this about wanting raspberries? We are so blessed with an abundance of delicious foods that I have absolutely nothing to complain about and absolutely everything to be thankful for. I’m sure I’ll find a nice package of raspberries for a decent price eventually. Maybe I’ll even find some fresh berries at the farmer’s market this week. But no matter. Today, my table is overflowing with goodness. I have everything I need and then some.

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment to let us know something God has done for you recently!

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Gratituesday: World Cup 2014

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With the exception of the fact that watching soccer games was a perfect Father’s Day gift for Matt, clearly, this week is not a good time for our family to enjoy the World Cup. After all, we’re leaving on a long trip tomorrow. As it turns out, we’ll miss several games while we’re on the road, plus we have a million things to do before we leave. We have to finish packaging up container after container of vanilla to ship out…

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The older boys were at Soul Quest last week, which means there are several loads of laundry to finish up so we can pack. Indeed, we have a huge, long to-do list. World Cup soccer games???

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Yeah. We’re making time.  It’s ridiculous really, how much our family loves soccer. :)  We don’t have cable, so we’re having to go elsewhere to catch games. (The college apartment lobby has been working quite well for us.)  It’s been a fun break in between all the work. When possible, I’ve been throwing together quick meals like fruit and tuna salad to take with us and eat while we watch.

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Ah, family and futbol. It’s too much fun. Laundry, packing, cleaning, vanilla packaging, mowing, gardening, and all the rest? Eh, we’ll get it done. ;)

What would you like to share about this Gratituesday? What are you thankful for?

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Gratituesday: Fun Picture Memories!

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With Facebook, email, and other quick forms of communication, none of us spend much time anymore writing cards and sending them through the mail. It’s kind of sad, and yet I’m super thankful for the ability to quickly text someone when they are on my heart. I can check up on loved ones through Facebook, seeing pictures of their kids, praying for their needs. I can sit down and send a thoughtful email to someone, and they can receive it within seconds. I am always encouraged when I received these types of online or phone correspondence.

Still, handwritten cards from a dear one are always wonderful. My aunt and uncle (my mom’s sister) came all the way from Arkansas to visit us this weekend. Look what my aunt brought me:

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Know who that is? My kids couldn’t figure it out at first. 

Those are two Christmas cards my mom had sent out when my brother and I were little. Yep, that’s my brother and me, back in the 70’s.

Fun as those were to see again, the real treasure is found on the back of those cards. From top to bottom, she filled the space giving an update on our family at the time – all hand written in my mom’s lovely handwriting.

I love these. I’m supposed to share them with my brother. Hopefully I will “remember” to take them down to Kansas sometime when we visit. ;)

What are you thankful for? It’s Gratituesday….please share what God is doing in your life!

 

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Gratituesday: Another Soccer Season Ends

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March, April, and May are the spring months we eat, drink, breathe, and sleep soccer. Matt coaches (2 teams this season); Justus, Elias, and Malachi play on teams – both city league and traveling teams; Asa, Justus, and Elias referee loads of games. Most of our games are right here in town, but a few are an hour or two away.

We love this time of year, but it is full and busy! Game schedules and referee commitment lists cover one entire side of our refrigerator. I don’t even try to keep up – I just look at the fridge each morning to see what the plan is for the day. Then I check the weather.  Which will I need: tank top or winter coat? Ah….spring.

I’m grateful to share that we have once again survived another soccer season. It’s been great (except for the freezing cold and windy games, the games Matt had to coach while on crutches, and the amount of phone calls we’ve had to make because of re-schedules due to bad weather). Indeed, there’s always a lot of crazy going on for us this time of year. But we love our boys and we all love soccer. So bring it on! (Sunshiny game days are preferred though…what can I say?)

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Here’s Elias’ traveling team after their final game this weekend. Great kids!

This year, I’m particularly grateful for the relationships I’ve formed with other parents on the side-lines. We’ve traveled, sweated, frozen, screamed, cheered, and encouraged our sons together for weeks. We’ve shared stories, popcorn, recipes, and life experiences. Through bloody noses, twisted knees, disappointing losses, and exciting victories – it’s been a great season to build relationships with parents of these players.

I look forward to doing this all over again in the fall. I look forward to the break in the meantime. I’m pretty sure our family will celebrate the end of this season with a pick-up game of soccer. Or basketball. We just can’t help it. :)

By the way, I’m happy to share that Matt’s foot is much, much better. His injury is healing very nicely and I’m pretty sure it won’t be long until he can join back in our family soccer games. :)

So what are you thankful for? It’s Gratituesday….please share what God is doing in your life!

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Gratituesday: Stepping it Up

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We try to keep our kids busy helping with our businesses, with their own projects, with extra chores and home improvement needs, and of course, with regular jobs that need to be done around the house. In fact, I’m realizing now that I wrote about this very thing, just last Gratituesday. Funny that I would write about that, then need to rely on the boys triple time beginning that very night.

Yep, that’s the night Matt put nails through his foot. With Matt laid up, the boys had to step it up even more than usual.

It was a blessing in disguise as suddenly the boys were thrown into learning to do Matt had planned to do. Asa (our 16 year old) got to do some of the more difficult jobs since he is a licensed driver. Matt sent him over to our rental properties with instructions to do some work he’d never experienced before. Asa passed with flying colors, and was then put on a job in our bathroom at home. He rocked it, and how about that, he now knows new skills!

In the meantime, our other boys were kept busy running around the house helping take care of Matt’s foot, and in general, being Matt’s feet.

All that to say, we’re so thankful for how the boys stepped it up last week to make up for Matt’s lack of ability to walk and work. It was especially helpful that Asa is a driver. I’m not sure what I would have done without him. (Poor Matt. It’s hard to drive with nail holes in your right foot.)

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Malachi was given the job of arranging the fruit in a bowl.
This is actually one of the regular jobs I give him when we get home from shopping.
But this week, he decided to make the fruit bowl look extra special.

God can make good come from anything. Our week was challenging last week, for sure. But what a blessing that our boys learned more about responsibility and hard work. Way to go, Boys! And praise God for His blessings at all times.

Now your turn. Share what you’re thankful for!  Leave a comment on this post letting us know how God is working in your life. If you’ve written a blog post about what you’re thankful for, leave the link in the comments so we can visit your blog to read about it. We love sharing and reading about God’s blessings!

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Gratituesday: Spring Formal, Spring Fever, Spring is Here!

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This time of year is super full and super fun. The older the boys get, the busier our days are – especially in the spring (and also in the fall, winter and summer, so really, don’t listen to a thing I’m saying about this time of year being busier).

Speaking of the boys getting older, Asa (16.5 – a junior in high school) went to Spring Formal last weekend. We are so thankful the homeschoolers in this area put together such a wonderful event for our youth. Asa headed off for the evening with some of the greatest kids on this planet. What a blessing it is to have such good friends! Several of them came by afterward to hang out, eat pizza, and watch a movie. After all, why end the evening at midnight when you can stay up until 4 in the morning? We loved it!

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Asa is back left, just in case you weren’t sure.  :)

There is a lot of excitement at our house this week because we’re hoping to officially wrap up our school year by Wednesday. We still have some books to read, and we’ll tackle some special projects we haven’t had time for, but THIS is the reason we begin our school year the first week of August. Just about the time we all have spring fever, we complete our math and English assignments! It’s been a great year, and the boys are excited to have almost all their subjects completed. Now they are doubling and tripling up on assignments in order to be completely finished in a few days. Can’t wait!

So what have you been up to? When will your school year be finished? Are you planting a garden this spring? We haven’t even started yet, although we do have asparagus and spinach coming up on its own. Awesomeness. :)

Now your turn. Share what you’re thankful for!  Leave a comment on this post letting us know how God is working in your life. If you’ve written a blog post about what you’re thankful for, leave the link in the comments so we can visit your blog to read about it. We love sharing and reading about God’s blessings!

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Gratituesday: Special Choir

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Every year since our oldest was a 3rd grader, we’ve headed to Kansas City each spring for a big event called Leadership Training for Christ (LTC) that our church participates in with other churches in the area. Our kids work super hard ahead of time preparing for Bible bowl, skits, puppet shows, choirs, sculptures, paintings, stories, poetries, speeches…and the list goes on. It is a lot of work for parents and kids alike, but the fun we have at LTC is so worth it!

This year, our family and some friends of ours decided to team up and put together a special choir. Why? Well, let me give you a little background:

Matt and Tim played soccer at York College together for four years. At the time, Tonya and I sat in the stands together during every game – so proud of our boyfriends. :)  Those boyfriends became our fiancés, then in 1994, those fiancés became our husbands. Yep, we got married the same summer.

The years went by, and babies were born. They had a girl, we had a boy. They had a girl, we had a boy. We had a boy, they had a girl. And then, last but not least, we had a boy…and they had a girl. Yep, every time one couple had a baby, somehow the other couple had a baby. We began to wonder if we were drinking too much of the same water. However, they seemed to have all the girl-flavored water, while we had all the boy-flavored water.

We’ve loved raising our kids together, going to the same church together, and of course, playing soccer together. This year, we realized that this would be the first and last year that all eight of our kids would be in LTC together. Our youngest kids are finally eligible, as 3rd graders, and their oldest is a senior. This is it.  That’s why we signed our kids up for a small choir together.

For several weeks our families have gotten together to practice the songs. Tonight was our final practice. This weekend is the real deal.

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Here’s a picture I snapped on my phone tonight while the kids were practicing.
I have got to remember to turn the volume down on my phone as the “snap” was completely distracting. Sheesh.

I’m so grateful for friendship and the joy these kids bring to us. Can’t wait for the fun this weekend!

Now your turn. Share what you’re thankful for!  Leave a comment on this post letting us know how God is working in your life. If you’ve written a blog post about what you’re thankful for, leave the link in the comments so we can visit your blog to read about it. We love sharing and reading about God’s blessings!

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Gratituesday: Winter Jam 2014

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Winter Jam, a huge concert which features several popular Christian artists, was coming to Nebraska. We were able to go to Winter Jam last year, so this year, we didn’t really even look into it. What were we thinking?

Thankfully, our friend Gage had big ideas. He’d never been to a concert, and decided he would do what he could to make it to see some of his favorite Christian bands. Gage has special needs and isn’t able to get around by himself. But he knew our family would surely enjoy the concert. Maybe we could head there together?

Great plan! It was a night filled with praise and excitement. I don’t think Gage stopped smiling the entire six hours we were there. Who am I kidding? I don’t think any of us stopped smiling the entire six hours. What an amazing night!

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Here’s Gage and three of our boys in line waiting for the doors to open.

It was a packed house – thousands of Christians gathered together for this concert!

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One of the highlights for all of us was jamming with the Newsboys…

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We’re so thankful our boys have such fun and talented artists to listen to which fill their minds with a Godly message. We are already making plans for Winter Jam 2015. :)

Now your turn. Share what you’re thankful for!  Leave a comment on this post letting us know how God is working in your life. If you’ve written a blog post about what you’re thankful for, leave the link in the comments so we can visit your blog to read about it. We love sharing and reading about God’s blessings!

 

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