Who Knew!

Mark and I are very overweight.  We are done having babies and  are ready to move on to the next phase of life.  We both need more energy and to be healthier.  So, one of our new adventure is eating healthier.

We first decided what dinners we eat already that are pretty healthy.  Some of those include tacos/burritos, potato bar, grilled chicken with rice/potatoes & veggies, stir fry and fajitas.  Not to bad but, not enough meals to keep us in the eating healthy category.

Last week we introduced some new recipes (the pictures link to the recipes)

 

Click here for recipe

These Crispy black bean & rice Burritos  were really good and pretty easy.  I just need a bigger griddle.

click here for recipe

This Power Turkey meatloaf we all loved.  It was easy and full of good veggies.  I was amazed at how much the kids liked it.

We also have done what I call Chicken Bake.  You bake the Chicken, veggies and potatoes all in one pan and sprinkle italian dressing mix on top and  pore butter or olive oil over top of that.  It is delicious.  We have had it 3 times.  We have done crab cakes.  This was pretty yummy but, I think I need to find a better recipe or else chop up my crab better.

Our most recent try and success (at least for Mark, DeeDee & Me) was crustless Quiche.

click here for recipe

This was delicious and easy (I used the whole egg and not just the whites.)

Who knew that eating healthy could be so easy and yummy.  Mark is doing excellent and has lost at least 10 pounds through eating healthier and regular exercise.  I have lost 4 pounds and the kids are learning better eating habits.

Journaling

As part of our Homeschooling we do journaling assignments twice a week.  When I decided to do this I wanted to give them something to write about.  This is were Pinterest comes in handy.  I wanted to find some great Journal Prompts to help my children in their writing.  The one I found and decided to use is this one.



The Teachers pay Teachers is a great collaborative website.  You don't need to start anything from scratch.  Most prices are reasonable and they have gobs of free stuff.

This week we only did one journaling assignment because of the Holiday.  The prompt went as follows: "Pretend you live in a brand new country and you have been selected to design your nation's flag.  Describe how the flag looks and what each symbol stands for."

I am always amazed at the creativity of children.  These are the flags my girls created.

I was so proud of them and wanted to share this with everyone this week.

Pioneer Day

This year I wanted to do something special for Pioneer Day.  I really want to work on making the Holidays special by doing something related to that Holiday.

This year we spent the day with my friend Rose and her two girls.  We went to the splash pad and park in the morning.  It was wind and warm.  The kids all loved it.  We went to lunch and then we all went to the Pioneer Memorial Museum.

We ran into the Days of  '47 Queen and her 1st Attendant and got a picture.  The museum was busy because of the Holiday but, the kids had a lot of fun doing the little scavenger hunt worksheet that was given to them at the museum.  They made necklaces and learned about making silk.

That evening we went swimming at the Grandparents house.  It was a busy, exhausting day.

Sift you as wheat

When I was 14 years old I recieved what is called, in the LDS church, a Patriarchal Blessing.  This blessing is given by a man who is set apart and given Priesthood Keys to give these special individual blessings.  This blessing is given to an individual and is specific to them.  I talks of blessings that can be recieved through living righteous things, it may talk of talents we should develop, perhaps, even an idea that we will get married and have children.  It is always filled with counsel from the Lord that will help us with our struggles in this life.

This blessing is personal and private and it is up to the individual who has been given the blessing to choose, wisely, with whom they will share their blessing.

In my blessing there were two parts that always stood out to me.  The first part I just loved and the second part I just wasn't sure what it meant.  So, today I was thinking mostly about the second part and thought I would share both on my blog.

The first is my favorite, it says "Trust in the simplicity of the Gospel".  I love this because there are times in my life when I feel like I need to do everything to be perfect and when I do this I lose track of the basics.  The basics for me include: saying my personal prayers, reading my scriptures, finding joy in my calling, and looking for ways to better serve others around me.  It is a good reminder for me.

The second part is a little more complex and very symbolic.  It says, "Satan desires you that he might sift you as wheat".  This particular phrase sat in my mind for years until one General Conference season I prayed that I might learn what this phrase means.  I must not have had very much faith that this prayer would have been answered especially because I prayed about just a few days before the conference but, miracle of miracles Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a talk that answered my question specifically.

Dallin H. Oaks

Here is the excerpt from the talk he gave that defined this for me.

"Unfortunately, some Latter-day Saints seem to forego unselfish service to others, choosing instead to fix their priorities on the standards and values of the world. Jesus cautioned that Satan desires to sift us like wheat (seeLuke 22:31; 3 Nephi 18:18), which means to make us common like all those around us. But Jesus taught that we who follow Him should be precious and unique, “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13) and “the light of the world,” to shine forth to all men (Matthew 5:14, 16; see also 3 Nephi 18:24)."

I was amazed and so grateful for the answer to my prayer.  The world would have us be like everyone else but, God has made us each an individual with unique talents and gifts given to us by a loving Heavenly Father.  I am not common or the same as all around me and I thank God for that.

The Jumpin' Jack

When Mark was born, almost 44 years ago now,  his Grandmother, Norma June Simon, gave his Mom this jumper.  We have now used it will all 5 of our children and it is wonderful.  I had to fix the straps on it this year they were nearly worn through.  The fix seems to have worked fine and MaeMae loves it just as much as any of the other kids.  She is almost 4 months old now.  How time flies.

This is a great video of My boy at 3 months old jumping in the Jumpin' Jack.

One week down.

We did it!  We survived our first week of homeschool and you know what?  It wasn't so bad.  There were times we were tired and frustrated, but the most amazing thing to me is that we all have learned to communicate a little better and I feel like we are growing together.  I am going to change a few things just a little.  I am feeling more comfortable and in a few weeks we will start adding our outings and playdates.  I am tired.

I am a happy Mama.

Day One of Homeschool

We did it we have started Homeschooling our two oldest children.

They have been just as excited as I have.  We started our day with morning devotional which consists of a song, a prayer and studying a few scripture verses.  I found some really nice scripture study pages at theredheadedhostess.com.  We said the Pledge of Allegiance and started on our school work.  Actually, today was more of an instructional day, but it all worked out really good and I think the girls had fun.

Today's school work included a Reading lessons, free reading, spelling, math, copy work, coloring a state map and for DeeDee we did Piano practice and an english lesson.  MiMi's work also included a penmanship worksheet.  We are going to do P.E. this evening and we will also work on memorizing a scripture.

It seems like a lot.  The girls did great and finished all they could by 2:30 pm.  I was planning on 3 pm.  Now I need to look through their Monday folders and check over their completed work and see if there is somewhere we can adjust and/or improve.

Our little class room.

I was able to get our little school room ready for our first day of school.  I think I must be a teacher down deep or I just love office supplies because I had so much stuff already.  We have been so excited and I think we will do alright.

My sister Sarah came and watched the 2 & 3 year old so I could focus on Homeschool today.  I am so grateful to her.
I love this window because it has a really great view into our back yard.  It gives some great natural light.  I need to make a roman shade for it.

The Last Week Before Homeschool Starts

I am ready for this.  I have everything ready to get started.  I need to make up my own instruction book.  I think if I can have my own instruction book everything will run smoothly because I will have the procedures I went through written down.  Wish us all luck and fun.

Little Miracles (and some Big ones, too)

Over the past year Mark and I have seen miracles in our life.  Many Big miracles and even more Little ones.

In the Summer of 2013 we were blessed with the opportunity to be able to move out of my wonderful In-Law's basement and into a home. My wonderful parents purchased a home that we are now renting from them.  The day we moved in I was nauseous and thought it was just stress from the move.  It didn't go away and even though I had a procedure to prevent me getting pregnant, I felt that I might possibly be pregnant.  A pregnancy test confirmed that I was pregnant.  I was very excited because I had always wanted 5 children.

We are in our new home and as we settle in I become increasingly amazed at how perfect the house is for our family at this time.  Everyone fits in just right we have plenty of space.  I love having light come in my windows.  The bunk bed we made for the girls fits wonderfully in their room.  The rooms are big and have so much storage space.  We have our own yard.  It's not to big and not to small.  We may outgrow it but for right now it is perfect.

Mark's work was able to get decent insurance despite OBAMACARE.  Mark received a raise and recently received a second raise.  We have saved some money on diapers by going to cloth diapers and on laundry soap by making our own.  It is amazing how some of these little things popped up just at the right time and what a huge miracle Mark's raises have been.

There are so many things that have happened and I feel bad because I can't remember them all.  The biggest miracle was having our little MaeMae.

Blessing Day

 It truly has been a year of miracles and we have truly seen the fruits of the promises of  God given to us in the scriptures. In Malachi 3:10 it talks about paying tithes and having the windows of Heaven open.  Our family has truly felt that blessing.  I am thankful to my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ for their love and blessings.

Eating Healthy

Our family know that we need more vegetables in our diet.  So, this weeks challenge is to plan a menu of healthy inexpensive meals that have veggies in them or as a side.

Doesn't that look yummy.  My kids are just going to have to learn to eat veggies more. You can click on the picture for the recipe.

This one I am definitely going to try.  I think this looks really yummy.  Once again, click on the picture to get the recipe.

I am interested in your healthy recipes.  If you have one please leave it in the comments.  Thanks.