Traveling in my shoes

By Cindy walker.  This is our song today!

A Few Favorites Right Now

The Green River Ordinance Band-Love the Songs, "Resting Hour" & "Dancing Shoes".

This Cheese from Trader Joe's-deliciously sharp and yet smooth at the same time.

This phone service from Republic Wireless.

If you don't know about them, you SHOULD check them out.  I've been beyond pleased with my monthly service and phone.

For those of you that believe in preventive medicine, add a medical message to your list of must do's.  

I am getting these for my headaches and have been amazed at the benefits. Though a regular spa message is good, a medical message will offer more help and try to get to the base of your struggles.

Seven Generations Medical Message in Cary with Donna has been great for me!

Three of Justin's favorite right now are:
These Lounge pants from Land's End.

And this Cardigan from Brooks Brothers

And this Magazine

Katie's Favorite Activity-

I believe she would sleep in the tire swing at school if she could.  :)

Favorite food?  Salami or Charcuterie Board

Owen's Favorite Activity-

Playing with his cars or outside.

Favorite food? Coconut Milk Greek Style Yogurt

Happy Easter - Made Alive in Christ

Because the resurrection changed everything; we rejoice in the finished work of Christ and celebrate the promise and hope of a love that reconciles forever! Rejoicing...

journaling-Broken World

We have some friends/family, who we love, that are grasping onto faith, that are living by hope, that are seeking joy in our broken world, but it is a daily struggle.  

It's all around us, brokenness that is...

But our God is a living God.  He is here.  He is present.  He is good!  He is writing His story. He is love and to put it the way that Katie said it to me today, "Love is good even when we make mistakes."  And if God is good then He is love and we can trust Him as He holds our lives in His hands.

Tell yourself the truth.  Tell it to sing to Jesus.  Tell it trust Jesus.  Tell it to think on whatever is lovely, right, true and lasting...

Praise Him. "We are waiting here for you, with our hands lifted high in praise".  And to praise means to speak out loud and in public, to actively say what the Lord has done, how he has been faithful, praise Him for his mighty power and His grace, His works and for His attributes  

(parts from disciplers Bible Study)

So dear friends and family, raise your hands in praise.  Grasp onto the hands on the Lord who is walking every step of our lives with us, tell yourself what is true and let me also tell you.

Come On My Soul-Rend Collective Experiment

Waiting Here For You-Christy Nockles

*And know that as much as I would love to be a great writer, I am not.  I have thoughts that tumble around my head and I want to put them on here for me, for others, for my family.
So peeps that read my blog, thanks of the grace when reading.  :)

Owen: It Is Finished

Our handsome boy belts out "It Is Finished" by Matt Papa.  Oh, how sweet the sound!

A Few Favorites Right Now

A Few Favorites Right Now!

Snofrisk Cheese-bought this at Whole Foods and it is light and creamy. yummmo!

I have never thought to oven cooked bacon, but it is another thing I am loving right now.

Our Oreck Vacuum.  It. Is. Worth. It.  

My favorite part is that I can 'sweep' our wooden floors and carpets all at one time!

This blanket we got for Christmas from Pottery Barn. Warm, cozy and perfect for reading a good book!

I received this from Justin for Christmas-love it!  Euphoria by Calvin Klein

So, we don't live in the Northwest, but we do have lots of kids consignment sales. I am going through the kids clothes to sell the ones they have outgrown.  And my favorite part?  Getting the clothes out of the house!  :)

I have been pondering this verse in our study of Philippians.  

2:5

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men."

I am really enjoying this music.  Listen to at least the first 1.5 minutes.  Give it a try! :)

How about you, any favorites??

For Your splender

For Your Splender by Christy Nockles

Dancing

Our kids danced and danced and danced and danced the night away.  

They finally fell into bed at 11pm.

But every step they took was worth it.  They had practiced at home numerous hours and now it was time to boogie.

We are still talking about the music, new dance steps and the tons and tons and tons of fun they had.

They even thought that Aunt Brandi had one song, two hours long, played for them. (little did they know that the DJ blended one song into another.  :)

To K and O it is 'their' song.

So imagine this song playing for two hours....they. did. not. stop.

Party Rock Anthem.

And yes, this post is all about our two littles and their moves!

 Raise that leg and jump, O!

 Hi cutie Pie...you did some great dance crawling!

 You spin, Princess!

 Breakdancing...

 Move those hands and feet!

Friday Night

Stadium lights.  Friday night football. ADPI dances parties. Swimming in the pond. Driving with the windows down with the music blaring loudly...

Just one memory to share with our kids this raining Friday night.

:)

A few things I love right now

(all photos from google images)

My toaster oven.  Even though we have a microwave we don't use it really at all.  I love that the toaster oven can cook my eggs for smashables in the morning.  It can reheat our left overs making them toasty and not turn into rubber.  I can toast 4 pieces of bread at once.  And I can even cook some other tasty treats leaving my kitchen much cooler then if I had turned on the regular oven!

Friends and pools.  Thankful for these things as the last 7 out of 8 days have been over 100!

Still a staple in our house...ice cream for dinner anyone??  :)

Plus, if we have leftovers they make great milk shakes with a little almond milk and pb.  OH YUM!

LLBean tote bags.  They last forever.  I bought our this spring with a gift card.  I have the medium and a large.  I love both, but for a family the large bag with a zipper and handles is wonderful!  Works great as a library bag, pool bag, overnight bag, you name it, it works for anything!

(the second from the left is the large)

Cold Brewed Coffee.  Even though I am limiting my caffeine because of being sensitive to it...I LOVE some decaf coffee made this way!  It lasts in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks, is super smooth not bitter and easy to make.  All those are a winning combo for us!

Any music by Sara Grove.  

Summer Flowers bring such color and joy to our home.  I love sunflowers, hydrangeas, dahlias, daisies,   purple cone flowers, baby breath, lilies...the colors are bold and beautiful!

This amazing photo was taken in CO from google images. Breathtaking!

And Granola.  

I have finally made a good batch!  I tried a few times throughout our marriage, since Justin LOVES granola and it has always be unsuccessful.  

Here is the recipe that has worked. YAY!  I now feel a bit more confident and might try another version soon!

PB Granola Recipe.

Makes a lot!

I normally make a whole recipe then bake 1/2, saving the other 1/2 (in the frig.) for the following week to bake.   

Make sense?

1.Mix:

12 cups rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

optional-1 cup walnuts or 1 cup pecans or 1 cup sunflower seeds

2. Melt in a pan on the stove:

1 1/2 cups coconut oil, raw

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 T vanilla

2 T cinnamon

3. pour melted mixture over dry mix and blend until completely mixed and wet.

4. Bake at 320 for 20+ minutes-I usually do mine closer to 25 minutes, stirring it 1/2 way through

5. Remember when you pull the granola out of the oven it won't be crunchy yet.  After it cools it will be delicious and crispy!

6. Store in air tight container!

Thanks Beth for this wonderful recipe!!

A Masterpiece

I LOVE classical pops music.  I can remember distinctly my Gramma playing great pieces in her house while we visited.  She was a concert violinist and extremely knowledgable of composers like Tchaikovsky.  I also have vivid memories of sitting in the concert halls listening to the orchestra and day dreaming of where those pieces took me.  Not all classical music stirs my soul, but a lot of it does.  I hope someday our kids grow up and have similar memories like these.  

Enjoy this piece.  It was a breath of fresh air a few mornings ago.  It blows me away that a mere man, using his God given talent, can create such a beautiful masterpiece.  

Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
Originally: Hymn to Joy (by Beethoven)

I Smile

A great way to start a Saturday morning!

I Smile-Kirk Franklin

Journaling-Dear Hope

Jesus Paid It All

four things

1. This song has really hit my heart these last few weeks and I wanted to share.

Steady my heart by Kari Jobe


2. We still love Kale Chips!

3. I love my husband and kids to the moon and back!

4. Katie said she loves Palm Sunday...it is a great day...yes, a great day that the King of the Universe continued to follow the Fathers plan to stand on our place, taking our judgement and extending mercy by it-making a way to have fellowship with Him, standing forgiven and excepted.  We pray for you kiddos that the Gospel, the good new, takes hold of each your hearts.  Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Happy Valentines Day!

What a day.... :)

I was reminded of this song tonight as I was singing to Katie.

Journaling-something about a song

I've been singing through songs that 'spoke' to me at certain times in my life.  A few are below from college.  I am amazed at how strongly these songs take me back to those fun or challenging times.  I can tell you many minute details about where/when/how long I listened to each music.  I am thankful to the Lord of Heaven and Earth that HE chose to give us the gift of sound and music.

Do any of these songs bring back memories for you?

This one is one that even Justin says reminds him of me.  I listened to this countless times while I lived in CA nannying for two little kiddos (my cousins).  It was a growing time to be sure.  I still love this song and I am praying daily to fall in live with Jesus.

Love Song for a Savior-Jars of Clay



I can remember driving down to Virgil KS with the windows down, my friend Tiffany in the seat next to me singing this song at the top of my lungs.  I didn't really car of Rick Mullins, but when Tiffany because a Christian it played nonstop in our ADPI room.  The countryside out there in KS was wide open spaces and warm sunshine.  I can remember thinking....hold on to this song.  The words are life-giving.

Creed-Rich Mullens


Again when I lived in CA I struggled with not knowing what to do next in my life.  These words gave me the hope that things would continue to change and that yes, a bright shiny day will come after the rain. It may be a long stretch of sunshine or a brief glimpse through the clouds, but God WILL be faithful to lead me through. (and yes, I know this rap :)

After the Rain -K2S


ADPI.  Running.  Rafiki.  English accents.  Dr. Pepper.  Sunshine.  Windows rolled down.  100 degree days.  Playing and replaying this song until we knew every word by heart.  Katie, this time was precious to me, the fact that you wanted to hang out with me and run together until the souls of our shoes practically fell off after our 1/2 marathon!

Down by the Riverside-Kirk Franklin


I chose to rush at KSU so that I could somehow get in with the 'cool' fashionable girls.  It changed my life.  The LORD used that time in so many ways. He challenged me to live out my faith, to have fun no matter what others think of you, to be comfortable in a house full of girls... I can remember my freshman year and wanting to quite about every week, but Amy, you stayed by me and hang out listening to my every thought encouraging me to stay at it.  And then having some of the best roomies like Libby to create late night memories-always up late at night.  Or getting up to study the Bible/pray with Kristen, but falling asleep on the couches downstairs.  Or crazy date night costumes. Or Jae trying to teach me to sing.  Or smiling for days on end through rush again.  Or my classes freshman retreat and driving through a blizzard, almost killing ourselves.  Or being able to welcome in a new class of freshman by the time I was a senior and say, I love being in a sorority.  Or being sung to at my wedding surrounded by girls, or, or, or...I could go on and on and on.  I still LOVE my 'sisters'. Seriously.

Love Can Build A Bridge


Then there were songs by Will Smith, Mariah, Christina A, Destiny's Child, Boyz II Men, Celine D...  :)  Oh so many memories!

A guest post...Melissa Clift

ALO EBRYONE!

I am simply stopping by this spectacular blog of Gi's to give a shout out for NEEDTOBREATHE.

(aside) And at this precise moment Katie Grace tripped over my big feet and flipped forward hitting her head into my knee. We laughed. She said "Type it up, type it up." And I obeyed.

Check out NEEDTOBREATHE. They are epic and Christians. Christian Epicracy....I made that word up.

Tchau.

MC

to the Cross I cling

I have needed this song a lot lately. It has focused my eyes back on my hope. Dear girls...cling to the cross.

just marching

The music was set to military marches and off the kids went...marching around and around our house. Each found a 'drum' and the music didn't end for some time.

Owen joined in and had fun too...he smiled most of this marching until I pulled out the camera. *notice his flip flops? He found them in the basket and yes, he is obsessed with shoes much to large for his feet. :)

What fun creative kids! And for the record...I did put a stop to the metal pots and pans march...whew...much MUCH to loud.
But I did have one second thought that-it couldn't be that loud-right?...I am sure I used a large pan and spoon to march when I was little. Mom-how did you listen to that?

Morning Dance Songs

These three songs have been Justin's songs to dance to with the kids. Since Daddy had a workshop to teach this morning and left early...we decided to dance to his songs to start our day. What a great way to start the day~!

Highest and The Greatest by Tim Hughes


No Not One by Christy Nockels


It is Finished by Matt Papa