Have To - OR - Able To

Do you ever have those days where you're bemoaning your to-do list before you ever set foot out of bed? You know the kind - "I have to do this" or "I have to do that." If you don't, then I applaud you because you are definitely a better person than I am.

Today wasn't necessarily one of those days, but it was cleaning day. And as I began gathering my supplies...

and occupying Mia with clutter-free activities (i.e., a TV show - I know, I know, shame on me), I remembered something I heard at a women's conference a few weeks ago.

What if, instead of focusing on the "I have to's," we focused on the "I am able to's?" (Lots of weird punctuation there - not sure if it's correct, but anyway.) So "I have to clean my house" turns into "I am able to clean my house because I am healthy and physically able." Or "I am able to clean my house because I have a house to clean which shouldn't be taken for granted these days."

As I dusted, vacuumed dog hair, cleaned toilets, vacuumed dog hair, mopped the floors, vacuumed dog hair, I kept mulling this thought over and over in my mind and began to apply it to other situations that frequently come about during my typical day.

I have to eat leftovers for dinner. ----> I am able to eat leftovers for dinner because I have good (not scrounged from a dumpster) food in the fridge to eat.

I have to take the boys to practice for the millionth time this week. ----> I am able to take the boys to practice because they are healthy and God has blessed them with athletic abilities. Or I am able to take the boys to practice because my minivan still runs and allows me to drive them where they need to go. (For those of you that know anything about my minivan this is a miracle in and of itself.)

Now I realize all of my examples are seemingly mundane tasks, but the sum of them makes up a lot of what I do (and what I feel God has called me to do) at this season of my life. So you can see how just changing a few simple words can make a huge impact on my daily outlook.

And just because my house only looks this clean for about an hour every two weeks, I thought I'd document it.

Colossians 3:23 - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for man.

Summer List Recap

Remember the 'Summer List'? Wasn't it just yesterday when we came up with it?

Now that summer is theoretically over I thought it might be fun to recap what we accomplished. Remember, this was a no-limitations brainstorming session so some things didn't quite happen this summer. But hey, there's always next year!

1) Bowling...let me just say that there are no pro-bowlers among us.

2) Tie-dye t-shirts...exploring our crafty side.

3 & 4) Block party and homemade ice cream...we killed two birds with one stone on this one. Had our 'last hurrah' neighborhood gathering on Labor Day and made homemade Cheerwine ice cream - not so good in my book, but it got eaten by others.

5) Fishing...technically this was from Memorial Day. But that's the beginning of summer, right?

6) Shaving cream fight...cheap entertainment, but they LOOOOVVVEEDD it.

7) Water balloon fight...OK, I'm seeing a theme here. But we're really not violent people.

8) Baseball game...Sorry no pics here. Mia and I bailed on this one because it was 100 degrees outside. But the boys and Tim caught a Durham Bulls game.

9) Beach...one of my favs.

10) Washington, D.C...this one was really good too. Although I missed my baby terribly while we were gone.

11) 5K...we picked the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. A very moving experience. Just look at all those people.

12) Gym...No pics on this one for sure. But I did manage to get several workouts in thanks to my WONDERFUL baby sitters.

13) Blog...This one was another one of my items, obviously. But we see how well that turned out. But hey, it's fall and I'm determined to make a new start!

14) IronKids Triathlon...not for the faint of heart. My very athletic and physically fit boys hurt BAD after this one.

15) Pool...of course we did this one. It's a summer staple around here (but with 3 kids, well OK, with one toddler, it was difficult to get photos.)

16) Asheville...We spent some good quality time with the grandparents.

17) Krispy Kreme...thank goodness it's a long way from our house.

Not bad for us first timers. We had a great summer filled with lots of wonderful memories. I will definitely try this again next year - let's just hope the boys don't outgrow it too soon! (The thought of them actually outgrowing it ever makes me very sad - so let's just not think about that.)

Since we seem to be fairly successful with lists, maybe it's time for me to make a Fall Project To Do List. Better get started - the holidays will be here before we know it.

Here's to creating many more wonderful memories - no matter what time of year!

Re: New You

As I write this, more than 320 women are preparing to descend upon Apex United Methodist Church for its first ever women's conference...Re: New You 2010, featuring Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministries. And let me just tell you I am SO excited because I know God is going to do an awesome work in the lives of these women.

Over the last few months I have had the privilege to work with an amazing group of ladies in preparation and planning for this event. And even if I don't get to hear one word of Lysa's message, I will have already been blessed beyond measure by the women on our team.

God truly handcrafted this team. There are women from all walks of life - young, younger; children, no children; married, single; long-time members, newcomers - and with all types of gifts (e.g., hospitality, creativity, project management). Whatever we had a need for, you name it and someone stepped forward to do it. Now how awesome is that? But we all had one common desire - to show the love of Christ to the women in our community and beyond.

With that said, I just want to lift up a special prayer for these women - both attendees and organizers - that they will experience the full measure of Christ's love and then feel compelled to share it with others.

Now it's off to take care of the last few details (including hair, make-up and cute shoes) - but remember...

...for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:22 - 23

Mr. Tim and the Family Go to Washington

Since summer seems to be sneaking on by with little regard to my need for keeping my blog updated,  I guess I'll just jump back in with both feet by highlighting some of the items that we have checked off on our Summer Fun List. (By the way, this list has been great for reminding us on some of our slower days that we have actually done lots of fun things this summer - and we're not finished yet.)

One of our more major items on our to-do list was a trip to D.C. This trip has been a long time in the making. We were supposed to go 2 summers ago - but I got pregnant with Mia and the thought of July in D.C. pregnant made me want to poke my eyeballs out. Then last year Mia was too young to leave and again the thought of taking a baby to D.C. made me want to poke my eyeballs out. So this year was it. Mia was old enough to leave with the grandparents - so off the rest of us went to explore the nation's capital.
 
Day 1:

Smile for the camera boys! (Even though you're cramped in the tiny back seat of our rental car.)

D.C. is only about 4 1/2 hours from where we live, so we drove. It wasn't too bad since we weren't traveling with a toddler. I mean two tween/teen boys - they popped in the ear buds and we never heard from them. Probably the only peace and quiet we had the whole trip.

First stop - Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum at Dulles - Airplanes, airplanes and more airplanes.

Just a little excited to be here. Although I think the big boy (not pictured) was the most excited about this stop.

The Concord - very big, very fast, very nice.

Joshua's fav - the SR 71-Blackbird

Space Shuttle - Enterprise. One word: HUGE.

Future astronauts?

Enola Gay

After Udvar-Hazy, we went and checked in at our hotel. We stayed in Arlington just across the bridge from Georgetown. We could not have picked a better location. Right near a Metro stop, great view of the Potomac - just generally great.

So we dropped our bags and ventured out. Remember I mentioned we were close to a Metro stop - yeah well, we decided not to take advantage of it our first night there. Let's just say the key on our little guide map was a bit deceiving - so after having driven 4 - 5 hours, toured a museum that is in a gigantic airplane hangar, and having temps close to the 100 degree mark, we took off on foot to visit the monuments. (Just thought I'd give you that background so when we all look wilted in the next few photos you'll know why.)

We started with the Iwo Jima Memorial. It was on our side of the river. But notice how you can see the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. Doesn't look to far you say? So off we go.

And go, and go, and go we went. Perception is a funny thing.

We made it. And what do you know - there's the Leaning Tower of...wait, I mean, the Washington Monument. We tried for 10 minutes to get that thing straight in the photo, but it just wasn't cooperating.

The Lincoln Memorial - how come when you see this in movies there's no one on the steps?

After hanging out a few minutes with Abe, we hobbled to the nearest Metro stop and quickly found out what we had been missing. Thank goodness for public transportation (never thought I'd say that being from the suburbs).

Our vacation was off to a good start - despite having bunions on our feet. More to come - stay tuned!

Gourmet Granola Bars

WARNING! These granola bars aren't just for kids! This is definitely a snack that grown-ups (or at least those that like to think they are grown-ups) and kids alike will LOVE.

Several months ago I began purging our pantry of most processed foods - particularly those containing high fructose corn syrup. But I do have kids that like to snack, including two that are very active adolescent boys who are growing by leaps and bounds. Yes, they do like fresh fruits and yogurt, but I still needed some healthier alternatives for items that were quick and easy to take on the go - like granola bars.

I found several recipes online but none that I was 100% thrilled with, so I took the parts I liked from each of them and this is what I came up with.

A Little Disclaimer: This is a very healthy, natural snack - and quite yummy, but by no means is it a low-fat or low calorie food. However, it is full of lots of protein and fiber and great for an energy boost before soccer or lacrosse practice (or when you get so busy you forget to eat lunch).

Gourmet Granola Bars

Ingredients:

2 cups oats (I use 1 cup of regular rolled oats and 1 cup of steel cut oats - I like the consistency that gives)

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup wheat germ (I use untoasted)

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup or so chopped dark chocolate baking chips (I use Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips)

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup honey

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 10 x 15 baking sheet.

In a large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, whole wheat flour, chopped dark chocolate chips and salt.

You can use one of these mini food processors to chop your dark chocolate chips or you can do it by hand (personally, I thought it was easier by hand).

As you can see here, there are some normal size chocolate chips in the bowl. Occasionally, I'll get a whim and throw in a few regular semi-sweet chocolate chips (especially if I don't happen to have quite enough dark chocolate chips in the pantry).

Next, form a well in the center of your dry ingredients and add the honey (Tip: spray your measuring cup with cooking spray and the honey will pour out very nicely), beaten egg, vegetable oil and vanilla.

Now is the fun part - get those hands in there and mix well. (Yes, I know the picture shows a spoon - but I couldn't have taken the photo had I not used it. Believe me, your hands work much better.)

Spread evenly onto baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. (Do not over bake or you may find yourself visiting the dentist.)

Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes.

Cut into bars and continue cooling for a few more minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack. (Do not wait too long to cut them or it will be impossible as these set up very quickly.) Store in an air tight container.

These make great on-the-go snacks, but they are also really good heated in the microwave for a few seconds then washed down with a big glass of milk.

Enjoy!!!

Back At It - Blogging, Blankets and Bets

For some crazy reason, I thought that with summer break upon us I would have more time for blogging. I have recently come to the realization that was a silly thought. Between traveling, checking off items on our summer fun list (we're making a dent in it) and keeping up with the necessary household tasks (which is a bit more challenging with everyone under foot), I've found that I have lots to blog about but no time to blog.

It's very easy as a newbie blogger to come up with a thousand excuses not to make time to blog (at least for me anyway). But since I really want to become a real blogger, I need to put those excuses out of my head and...just do it!

So for my first entry after my brief hiatus (not that I was the queen of consistency before), I'm going to be a little random just to get back in the game.

1) Princess Mia and her blankie
Princess Mia and her blankie are inseparable. They go everywhere together - I mean everywhere. She loves her blankie - which is good since she needs a big, thick, fleece blankie with satin edges to keep her warm since it has only hit 100 degrees for a few days so far this summer (no sarcasm here at all). Well, because she and her blanking go everywhere together, blankie tends to get a wee bit dirty (did I happen to mention what a great Swiffer blankie makes). So the other day as I was doing laundry, I suggested to the Princess that we wash blankie. She was all for it - even carried it to the washing machine and put it in herself. All was well until...I shut the washing machine door and turned it on. Suddenly the only sound heard throughout the house was Princess Mia shouting and sobbing, "BLANKIE, MY BLANKIE" over and over again.

It was awful and my heart really did break for her, but Blankie.had.to.be.washed! For the next hour and a half we sat on the couch and snuggled until blankie was back where it belonged - in Princess Mia's arms. Alas, all was right with the world again.

2) Toy Story 3 - A Very Important Lesson
While we were visiting family for the 4th, we went to see Toy Story 3. If you've seen it, you know it's quite sentimental and makes you realize (even more than I already do) that your children will grow up. At least that's what I took away from it. Here's what Brandon and Joshua took away from it: See-N-Say Roulette.

A few days after returning home, I told them they needed to find something productive to do. And I guess (in their minds anyway) they did. I came downstairs to find them with Princess Mia's See-N-Say placing bets on which animal the arrow would land on. And they weren't messing around - they were betting with quarters. I guess they'll be heading to Vegas next!

Well that's enough for now - a summer fun list update will be coming soon.

Quiet No More - Thank Goodness

This last week was too quiet for my liking. Some might say that there's no such thing as too quiet, but if you know me, you know that I don't do quiet very well.

Both boys were off having their own adventures (one was in Florida with a friend, the other was visiting grandparents) while Tim, Mia and I stayed home. After the first 12 hours or so, Princess Mia and I decided that it was just way too quiet. She'd wake up from her nap calling for her "brudders, Bandon and Joshie." It was very cute, but also very sad. It made me fast forward in my head 6 or 7 years and realize that one day, they won't just be gone for a week but for a whole semester or longer. I won't hear the sound of cleats (baseball, lacrosse, soccer or football) clicking across the hardwoods. I won't hear the sound of some kind of ball bouncing repetitively off the back of the house. I won't hear the yells and grunts of brothers wrestling each other (whether for fun or not). No, it will be too quiet. Mia and I will have to figure out some way to make our own noise. But we'll think about that later, much later.

Everyone is back now and so is the noise. And I'm happy!