Good Reads!

Recently, I treated myself to a Kindle E-reader.  You can find thousands of ebooks online for free. I downloaded about 20 free ebooks from Amazon and began my reading. I read "The Island of Dr. Moreou" by H.G. Wells and loved it! It was a little on the crazy side, but it was a good read! My next 3 books on my list I did pay $9.99 for, because I did want to read them so badly. They were all written by Josh Kilmer-Purcell. The first one was "The Bucolic Plague. How two Manhattanies became gentleman farmers." This book is based on the reality tv show on Channel Green called "The Fabulous Beekman Boys." You can find information about the book HERE.  This is a great book! I laughed through the entire thing! It is real and honest and you can relate to the the characters in the story. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a great book to read!  The next book, I actually just begun reading. Also by Kilmer-Purcell, is called, "I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir". I am enjoying what I've read so far, and if interested, you can see if this book is for you HERE. The third book I ought written by Kilmer- Purcell, and have not begun reading yet, is, "Candy Everybody Wants". More of a fictional read, rather than a memoir like the other two books, I anticipate a good read as well. Kilmer-Purcell has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I hope he continues to publish books, not sure how many memoirs one person can write, but I like the real life stories opposed to fictional stories. If you would like to see what this book is about, follow think LINK.
Also on my "paid for" reading list LOL, is "Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back."  Written by Todd Burpo. This is waiting to be read as well, but I saw this family on tv and was interested in the book.  It is a real life account of things that happened in the life of their son. Information can be found HERE.
And one final book adventure, this is a future buy, once I am caught up on all these reads, it is called, "Soul Survivor: The Reincarnation of a World War II Fighter Pilot." Written by Bruce Leininger,  Andrea Leininger & Ken Gross. Again, I saw this family on a tv news show and my interest was peaked about the story of their son who had memories of a WWII pilot killed in action. This book can be found HERE. 
I'm so glad that my Kindle purchase wasn't a waste. I was so afraid that I wouldn't have time to use it.  So tell me, what books have you read lately? Are there books you are looking forward to reading? What type of writing do you prefer when you look for interesting books? (Fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, sci-fi, etc...)

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All in a Day: Quick Family Recipes

We all have days that seem to get away from us.  Whether it's due to time change, a busy schedule or an unexpected emergency, sometimes dinner time is here before we know it and you have to make something fast. In our house, we would probably do the good ole stand by - spaghetti.  But if I had a little time to work my magic, I would probably make Taco Soup (which I adopted from the Duggar family) the recipe for that is as follows:

TACO SOUP

2 lbs ground turkey
1 med. onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. ranch or 1 c. liquid ranch dressing
1 cans hominy, undrained
1 (14 1/2 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (15oz.) cans kidney beans, undrained
1 (15oz.) cans pinto beans, undrained
4 c. water

Brown ground turkey w/ onion. stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to boil. Simmer 30 min. Serve w/ Tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese & sour cream. Serves 6-8

 One of my family and friends favorite recipe, that also takes a short time to cook, is my Mexican Meatloaf:

MEXICAN MEATLOAF

2 lbs. ground beef

1 can Salsa

1 bag shredded taco flavored cheese

1 egg

1 - 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

In a bowl, mix meat, 3/4 can of salsa, 3/4 bag of cheese, egg and bread crumbs.  After mixing thoroughly, make into a meatloaf shape (or any other shape you like!) and cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 mins. Pull meatloaf out of over, baste the top with the remaining salsa and top with cheese. Put back in over for 5 mins. Until cheese is melted.

One last recipe that is very delicious as well as quick and easy, is my turkey stroganoff recipe. 

TURKEY STROGANOFF

2 lbs. ground turkey

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 packet of dry onion soup mix

4 oz. sour cream

1 bag egg noodles

Simply boil the noodles and set them aside in a large bowl. Cook up the ground turnkey in a pan and when cooked through, add it to the noodles - set bowl aside. In a separate mixing bowl, blend together all remaining ingredients. When thoroughly blended, add it to the noodle and turkey combination in the other bowl. Stir until well mixed. Enjoy!

Post a comment below and tell me all about your families favorite quick and easy recipes!! And remember, "follow" my page so you don't miss a post!!

Check out the other All in a Day Bloggers...

Carrie @ Our Full House

Christi @ Where the Creek Meets the Lake

Elizabeth @ Yes They’re All Ours

Kathy @ Kathy Mom of Many 

Kristy @ Homemaker's Cottage 

Lori @ Happy Busy Mama

Monica @ Natural Mama

Renee @ Bakers Dozen

Quality time when your spouse works a lot.

There you are again. 6 pm, foods on the table, kids are seated and eating, you sit down and look to your left and there it is - the empty chair that once was occupied by your spouse. Eating dinner like this has become commonplace recently and even though there are already 6+ people at the table, you're wishing for one more. This ever happen to you?? 
My husband recently begun a new job.  Its a higher position than he's held previously and with that comes more hours. It's like he's never home anymore. So what do you do to make the time you have with your spouse wonderful?  Typically on my husbands days off, we're engrossed in remodeling our house, planning and prepping for our garden, out of the house either grocery shopping or buying home improvement items to complete a job. So his days off are filled up with "must-dos" because he can't work on them during the week. Last night, eating a 1 parent dinner again, I decided I would make today wonderful for him.
He will be home in time for dinner tonight, so the house will be immaculately clean (well, as clean as you can have with 5 kids) and I've planned a full course turkey dinner for him. Complete with homemade bread that he loves so much!
I want him to be able to come home and have a delicious dinner and relax in a clean house and just be with us.  Tonight should be a great night!  I'm hoping to find a quick and easy recipe for bread pudding (his favorite dessert) to make for him today as well!

Tell me the things you do to spend quality time with your spouse when your time with them is limited!

Gardening - Heirloom Style!

This year we are growing an heirloom collection of veggies. What heirloom vegetables? Heirloom vegetables are old, open-pollinated cultivators. In addition, these varieties also have a reputation for being high quality and easy to grow. The veggies we'll be growing, along with a small description  is listed below.

LONG GREEN CUCUMBER - A direct descendant of the extinct "Green Turkey," dating back to the 18th century.
YELLOW PEAR TOMATOES - Small, sweet, pear-shaped variety dating back to the 1600's.
PURPLE TOPPED TURNIP - Purple above ground, and cream below. One of America's first garden staples.
BLOOMSDALE SPINACH - A Landreth introduction in 1826, it's still the most popular non-hybrid spinach sold today.
BULLNOSE or BELL PEPPER - Introduced to the US in 1759, peppers were originally used mostly for pickling.
NANTES SCARLET HALF-LONG CARROT - A French variety introduced to America in the second half of the 19 century.
GOLDEN BANTAM CORN - Sweet flavor and longer ears made this a mainstay of late 19 century American gardens.
DWARF GREY SUGAR SNAP PEAS - Very early producer, thought extinct until the late 1970's.
FRENCH BREAKFAST RADISH - Introduced in 1879, rosy red with a bright white tip.
GREEN HUBBARD WINTER SQUASH - Originally from the West Indies or South America, distinctive Hubbard flavor.
BUSH BEAN BOUNTIFUL - Introduced by D. G. Burlingame, Genesee, New York at the turn of the 20th century.
EARLY JERSEY WAKEFIELD CABBAGE - While introduced in the 19th this cabbage has been popular right through modern times.
SMALL SUGAR PUMPKIN - Also known as 'New England Pie' this variety is still a favorite among heirloom growers and chefs.
BRANDYWINE TOMATO - The 'original' heirloom tomato that sparked the heirloom craze. From an original strain.
CRISPHEAD ICEBERG LETTUCE - What the supermarket lettuce wishes it could be. From the early 20th century.

We are very excited to begin planting this year! Do you garden? What type of things do you include in your garden?? I'd love to hear all about it!

Saw this and had to re-post!

You Know You Have a Large Family When . . .

* People ask you if you have two sets of twins. Or about your triplets. You don't have either.

* You get in line for a tour at a museum and they give you your own tour guide.

* You hear "You've got your hands full" at least three times every time you're out in public with your children.

* You start reading a story to one child and end up reading stories to three or four.

* You buy a family pass at a museum but have to pay extra to add all of your children.

* You DO have two sets of twins. And/or triplets.

* You don't fit into a normal minivan.

* You read the fine print on the "Kids Eat Free" offers.

* Everyone you know has less children than you do.

* You go to the grocery store and buy 36 bags of cereal at a time.

* Four pounds of bananas only lasts a day

* You make four dozen cookies and they're all gone the next day.

Anyone got some to add?

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All in a Day: The Sunday Morning Rush

We don't have the "typical" Sunday church events, like many other families.  I have begun doing home church with the kids.  This came about for many reasons.  The first being, we have 1 car and my husbands days off each week vary.  If I get the kids involved in church, I want it to be a routine, not something sporadic.  Second, we really work hard at keeping Kayleigh illness-free so she doesn't relapse.  Kids+winter+confined spaces = potential, if not certain, illness.  So with that being said, here is our "Sunday Morning Rush."
Between 7 and 9, the kids wake up.  They eat, bathe, dress and between 10 and 11 we begin our home church session.  Some days I'll have them gather around the kitchen table, other days we may sit in a circle on the floor.  I begin by telling them what we will learn about that day.  Why it is important and I'll give examples they can understand, so they "get" what I teach that day.
During the lesson, they can freely ask questions if they need to and after the lesson, I ask each child and age appropriate question in regard to the teaching.  We then do a hands-on activity.  Some weeks, depending on the lesson, we may color pictures, draw pictures as they relate to that days teaching, cook something that corresponds, etc... All of this takes about an hour to an hour and a half.  If the kids want to do something more afterward, we continue on.  If not, we are done for that week.  But I hear them teaching one another and talking to one another about what they just learned.
I find that this form of "church" fits our family the best.  Taking into account our situation and circumstances, it's a way I've found to make sure the kids learn to sit and listen, and also to make sure they have the teachings of the Bible taught to them, as they would if they were at an organized church school!

Tell me about your Sunday Morning Rush!!!

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Check out the other All in a Day Bloggers...
Carrie @ Our Full House
Christi @ Where the Creek Meets the Lake
Elizabeth @ Yes They’re All Ours
Kathy @ Kathy Mom of Many 
Kristy @ Homemaker's Cottage 
Lori @ Happy Busy Mama
Monica @ Natural Mama
Renee @ Bakers Dozen

If you have a blog, see below on how to link to us! If you don't have a blog, leave us a comment telling us about your Sunday  Morning Rush.
We would love to have you link your blog with us, at All in a Day.
Here's how it works:
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2. Copy and paste the list of the "All in a Day Bloggers" into your post.
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Crazy people acting in the name of "Christianity."

I think everyone has seen something in the news about those insane Westboro Baptist Church members picketing military funerals. With this weeks Supreme Court ruling in their favor, it's like handing a loaded gun to a killer. I "understand" their stand on why they picket. Doesn't make it right. Doesn't make it moral and it surly doesn't make it Christian in any form.
But now these people have decided to picket the funeral of 7 Mennonite children who died in a house fire this week. WHY??? I'll tell you why. Because the Supreme Court has now given them the "You can't touch me" syndrome. They now think they are above the law. If, by any chance, they stumble upon my small blog here in cyber-space.I would like to stand on my soap box for a minute and say, Westboro Baptist Church, you are doing the work of the Devil. Forming and carrying out evil, hatred-filled actions towards other of God's children. He has said, "Love one another as I have loved you." The Bible tells us, He sent His only son to die for us. Thats how much he loves us. Protesting and carrying signs that indicate God "hates" anyone is not the work of our Lord, but the work of a dark dark evil. And you promote this evil.
Part of being a Christian, to me anyway, to bring people TO God. To minister to them and help them find their way to Him. Your words and actions are doing the opposite. No one wants to hear anything you have to say. No One wants anything to do with you or your "church" (and I used that term very loosely). All because you outright refuse to bring people to the Lord. You are pushing them away from God and from the path of Christianity. And you really need to stop and think, "Is that what God would want from me?" Let me answer that for you.... NO!! No, it is not. You have a voice. But you would do much better in the job God has assigned to you, if you brought people TO Him. Not drive them away from Him. Your group is doing some heinous damage to the Christian religion. And let's face it, you're group isn't Christian. Lets look up the meaning of Christianity.
Christianity ; following the teachings or manifesting the qualities or spirit of Jesus Christ. The last part is the most important. Because I don't even remember Jesus Christ behaving in such an embarrassing and hateful way towards people. He loved and embraced everyone. He brought them to God through his gentleness. He wasn't protesting at funerals of those who spoke out against him. He wasn't defiling the life of beloved children by spewing hate filled messages.
So WBC, get over yourself. Members, realize your "leader" is brainwashing you and leading you down a very bad road away from God and His rewards. And when your day of judgment comes, and  God asks you, "What have you done for your fellow man?" Your answer will be, "I turned them away from you Lord." And then, do you think you're getting in????
Stop doing the work of the Devil and start now doing the REAL work of the Lord. It's not too late to save yourself.
Ok, now that I've gotten that off my chest, here are links to a few important articles about WBC and their anticipated protest and what is being done about it.
Original Story
http://www.fox43.com/news/wpmt-westboro-protest-perry-fire-funeral,0,5116994.story

Whats being done.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=170816896302956

Cancer-Free and Loving It!

A brief history.... in late 2004/early 2005 I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. At the time, I pregnant with my daughter and obviously, went through the range of emotions that come with that type of diagnosis.  I had the areas surgically removed over the next few months. Some areas had progressed farther than others, so multiple surgeries were needed. Needless to say, all the melanoma was removed.
I was monitored every 6 months for the next few years and never had it reoccur.  Recently, I developed a very painful mole on my back. This was the same way it started before. I had a difficult time getting into the dermatologist, but finally got in this past Monday and had it removed. Honestly, I come to terms with having melanoma again. I was preparing myself for the process and had faith it would be resolved like the last time. I was slightly scared, but when that feeling crept up, I gave it to God. Although, some may feel differently, I felt that this may have been a test.
I felt that this was my time to follow through with my "agreement" with God. When I begged him to cure my daughter and give an illness to me. Save my daughter and I'll give you my life instead. So when this came about, I just knew it would not be fatal. I stood up and faced my "offer" to God with as much courage and grace I could find and knew it's what I signed on for when I put it out there. And not for one moment did I regret doing it. If this was my time to follow through, I'd do it again to save her. Her for me, that was what I offered.
To my surprise today, the doctor called and said the cancer biopsy came back negative. I was blown away! I had so prepared for this trial. I actually had to sit and regroup. And I guess I could brush it off as, it was nothing and I over reacted. But I like to find the true message in things. And I made sense of this by believing that since the test was put before me and I followed through like I had offered, I passed the test. I didn't have to endure the journey again. I proved that I would put my life in His hands and believe He will take care of business.
I believe that as His faithful follower, I was rewarded.......AGAIN!


"People break down into two groups. When they experience something lucky, group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. But there's a whole lot of people in group number one that deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope. So what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?"


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The Princesses and the Pinata.

What a great day! On Sunday we had a Princess party with a house full of princesses (and 1 prince.)

A princess party isn't complete without making our own crowns!!

And the best part of all, the PINATA!!!

Everyone had such a good time! We'll have to do it again!!

My 3 princesses!!!

My Weight Loss Journey

I've been putting off starting my weight loss journey but have decided, now is the time. I have to stop buying all the cookies and snacks when I go shopping. Honestly, the hardest part id going to be the exercise aspect. Not because I'm not driven, but because I'm always just so sluggish and fatigued. I think it's because I have been so sleep deprived for 6 years, I know I am deficient in many vitamins and need to get back on the stick with taking my vitamins each day, and every little bit of energy I do have, I put towards the kids and the house. I have to cook, clean, teach, play with, etc... and these things are not only energy draining, but necessary. My kids are first and so I have to give them the only bit of energy I have. I know it does no one any good if I physically break down. But I seriously have no energy. It really is gone.
I tried a energy drink today, and it had no effect on me at all. In fact, I was wanting a nap a few hours after drinking it. I am hoping that if I continue to take them, they'll start working.
So beginning Monday, I'll start a mini-workout, drink more water and I also got a good suggestion on how to deal with the sweet cravings. So I'll apply that as well, when shopping in the store. I'll begin updating once I start. I'll start a daily diary on here so I keep track of my progress and if you would like to follow along, please feel free to do so!


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All in a Day: A Typical Large Family Day

There really isn't anything typical about days around here. In a nutshell, here is how our days usually go. Gabe is up at 6:30-6:45. I change him and get the news on. Within 30 mins, Bella is awake. By 8 am, all the little kids are up and looking to eat. I feed Gabe first and then take orders for what the girls would like to have for breakfast. After they eat, I straighten up a bit and at 9:00 I wake Dylan up. He eats and at 10 am we begin school work. Dylan's is mostly online, and he has a planner which tells him what is to be done each day. On Fridays I created a 25 question test for him to take on the lessons he learned during the week.
I typically get Gabe down for a nap around this time. I them sit down with the girls and do their school work with them - letter/number recognition, handwriting, and all their other studies online. around 12:00-12:30 we break for lunch. After lunch we continue with school work or if the little ones are done, we do a craft. Around 3:00, Dylan should be done his schoolwork and does the household chores he needs to do. The girls pick up their toys and if the weather is nice all the kids (minus Gabe) spend sometime outside. After all the cleaning is done, I get dinner started around 5-5:30.
The rest of the night is pretty relaxing. Gabe and the girls go to bed at 8:00 and we start all over the next morning. Again, this is a guide for our daily routine. If someone is sick, we have appointments, are expecting guests, need to run errands or go shopping, etc.. it impacts the way our day goes. But this is us in a nutshell!

How do you run your schedule each day??

**Please take the time to click the "follow" button so you don't miss out on any great deals, articles and more!!** 

Check out the other All in a Day Bloggers...
Carrie @ Our Full House
Christi @ Where the Creek Meets the Lake
Elizabeth @ Yes They’re All Ours
Kathy @ Kathy Mom of Many 
Kristy @ Homemaker's Cottage 
Lori @ Happy Busy Mama
Monica @ Natural Mama
Renee @ Bakers Dozen