Excess......

I just finished reading the most amazing book.  It is called 7 an experimental mutiny against excess by Jen Hatmker.

This book is challenging me to look at my life and to see if I am really living as Jesus would.  Of course none of us can be perfect like Him, but can my heart and actions be more like His?  I think I can do better.  I want my life to be more about enjoying my blessings and more about sharing my blessings.  I want my heart to be drawn to do better, do more, love more, serve more, care more. I want it to be more natural for me to give, sacrifice, and love.  I want to not only think of my own wants and desires, but to look at those around me that could meet Jesus through my acts of love and service.  I am asking God to show me the areas I can be a blessing. To send the people my way that I can help, love, and serve.  I'm not gonna lie, its a little scary cause I'm not sure what that might require me to sacrifice, but I don't want to live a life that only focuses on myself and want I desire any longer.

6 Minute Solavei Video!

Here is a 6 minute video that explains what Solavei is. Definitely worth 6 minutes of your time. If you are interested or want more info please let me know. I would be happy to share this with you!

http://vimeo.com/48049267

Clean Eating Caramel Popcorn! Delish!

Can you say delicious and healthy?! 

So let me say first of all that I got this recipe from www.thegraciouspantry.com.  So super easy. Me and my kiddos loved it!

Ingredients:

8 Cups popcorn

1/2 Cup Raw honey

1/4 Cup Raw almond butter   

 I air popped some corn in my microwave popcorn bowl, about 8 cups popped.  Then you take 1/2 Cup of raw honey and cook in a small pot till it boils up about an inch.  Then take it off the heat and stir in 1/4 Cup almond butter.  Poor over the popcorn and stir with a large spoon.  Let it cool a little and enjoy!

Day 1 Success!

We started our first day of homeschooling today and it went really well.  Hooray! Bailey was so excited to get started she got up early, was dressed, and had a plate of fruit out on the table ready for breakfast.  It was awesome.  We got started early and since today was mostly an introduction to the subjects it only took us an hour and half.  

Brody even did school work too.  I bought some block activities, puzzles, and made some activity bags for him to work on while Bailey did school.  He was so funny.  He kept saying, "I'm doing my homework." Overall a great first day.  

Where's the beef? Here it is!

I have been trying really hard to have my family not only eat really healthy, but to buy better quality ingredients as local as possible.  A friend told me of a local coop that goes in together to buy several things in bulk that are direct from the farmer/rancher.  I checked it out and am so glad I did.  Below is a picture of my recent order of 1/12th of a cow!  I got lots of variety and it is all from 100% grass fed and finished pasture raised cows.  I got lots of ground beef, different cuts of steaks, roasts, ribs, stew meat, etc.  I am so excited!  I cooked one of the roasts last night and it was wonderful.  If you live in the vegas area check out www.vegasfoodcoop.com.  If you don't live in the area I recommend looking locally as much as possible and buying in bulk.  I also went in with this group and bought a gallon of raw honey that is amazing!  We love honey around our house and it is way cheaper to buy it in bulk than in smaller portions from my local farmers markets. So much better than the stuff you buy in the stores too.  

Watch out Picasso!

We decided to try a little art project that I got from pinterest.  The kids had lots of fun, but I made a few mistakes.  I meant to do four signs all for their bathroom.  They would say wash, brush, flush, and hang.  When I bought the letters and the canvases I only planned for the words having 4 letters.  Whoops 2 of them have 5!  Then when I started to put the letters on I realized I only had two of the letter H. Boo!  So we only made two signs for now.  They turned out alright though and most of all the kdis had a blast painting. : )

Brody is hard at work

Finished Project

Bailey loves pink

                 

Homeschooling

This will be my first year to homeschool so organization will be key! After reading lots of reviews and previewing several planners, I went with The Well Planned Day! I have to say I am loving this so far. It really encompasses a homeschool moms whole day/week/month. It has grocery list tear outs, meal planning sections, budgetting, and all the things needed for planning your school day!

No bake energy balls

No bake energy balls!

                                     

I make these tastey treats for my family constantly. We keep them in the freezer so they last longer, but we actualy go through them fast enough the refrigerator would probably be fine. They are loaded with protein and healthy stuff, but taste like a no bake cookie. There are lots of variations, but my go to recipe is as follows:

2 Cups rolled oats
1 cup Peanut Butter (I use oganic pb that is only peanuts in the ingredient list)
2/3 cup raw honey
1/2 Cup high Cacoa chocolate chips
1/4 Cup walnuts
1/8 cup ground flax seeds
2 Tblsp chia seeds

Mix it all together in a large bowl and let in chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then roll into balls. Thats all there is to it. You can store them in the freezer or the refrigerator. :)
Other addins: coconut, almonds butter instead of PB, change up nuts, could use raisins or other dried fruit as well. Play around with it and find what you like best.

Who wouldn't want a cheaper phone bill?

Okay all, I am excited to tell you about a new company that is launching in September that is going to not only save me money, but give me the oportunity to make a little extra as well.  The company is called Solavei.  They are offering unlimited talk, text, and data on a nation wide 4G network with no contract!  I love that.  Another really neat part is that they are operating on a social commerce network.  This means that they will not spend the billions of dollars in advertising like AT&T did last year.  They will instead be paying their customers for sharing the service with others!  I am attaching the links to a company overview webinar and a compensation webinar that you can watch and learn more.  If you are interested let me know.  I would love to tell you how you, too can be part of the prelaunch of this awesome company!

http://vimeopro.com/solaveitv/solavei-vision/video/46408300

password: solavei

http://vimeopro.com/solaveitv/solaveicompensation/video/46410988

password: solavei

Wow....Time sure does fly!

I can't believe it has been nearly a year since I have posted on my blog.  I started it last year as a way to cope/manage with my husbands deployment and now I find myself a little over a month into the very same situation.  I had my first little meltdown tonight.  Actually, in front of my small group Bible study friends.  My 6 year old daughter always seems to act out while my hubby is gone and I think it all weighs extra heavy on me while he is gone as well.  The combination has been hard on me.  I know so many other moms have the same struggles as me where they don't seem to be doing the right things or feel like failures.  Unfortunately for me right now there is no one to help pick up the slack.  I am going to get all my whining out on this post so that the rest can be much more uplifting! : )  I love my children, but man I sure wish I knew how to enjoy my 6 year old more.  She has such a good heart, but also knows exactly how to push every button I have.  Isn't it sad that I let her?  I know that God can use this time to strengthen us as a family, I just hope that I don't waste this opportunity because I can't get my attitude right. : (

Somethings Missing......

Or Someone!

Military families know all too well that the holidays are either extra special, because your loved one is home with you, or a little lonely, because they have to be away.  We are facing the latter this year.  As I look at the picture above I can see the joy on my children's faces and I can think of some many things we have to be thankful for, but at the same time it is hard to miss the fact that someone very special is missing. 

I am not going to complain or feel sorry for myself, because I know that there are many military families that are celebrating this time of year not only away from their loved one, but mourning the loss of their loved one.  Please don't forget as you celebrate with your family this year that there are many that are coping with loss and separation.  Please say a little prayer for them.

On a different note: I have to say that so many people have really went out of their way to try and fill in some of the void that my family feels at this time of the year.  I have been invited over to multiple homes for Christmas (I actually had to turn one friend down because I already had plans), have received goodies (thanks Carma, Diana, Laura!), notes, texts, packages, emails, calls, etc. from people just checking in on us and wanting to let us know that they are thinking of us.  I really have some great people in my life and I am so thankful.  God always provides just what we need. 

Merry Christmas!

Sorry Ladies.....He's Taken!

Okay, so for those that know me well, you know that I am convinced that I have the best husband out there.  Not only is he remarkably handsome, but he is pretty loving and thoughtful as well. : )  So he plotted behind my back (until I snooped and began to figure things out) to have my sister Jessica fly out to spend some of the holidays with me as an early graduation present for her.  He thought that it would be fun for her and that it would help me to enjoy the holidays more!  So stinking sweet!  I love my sweetpea!  So, I am sorry ladies, but the best man is already taken.  I am sure there are some runners up out there and there is nothing wrong with second best. : )  J/K! 

Last Minute Christmas Cards/Gift ideas from Shutterfly

Okay, so if you haven't gotten your Christmas cards sent out yet, take a moment and check out Shutterfly.  I know there are lots of online photo sharing sites, but shutterfly really is amazing.  They have the cutest cards to choose from, it's super easy to use, and the prices are great.  I even saw on their site that if you are a new member you get 50 free 4X6 prints.  Grab a few picture frames and this makes for a really inexpensive gift as well as one that is close to your heart.  Check out the thank you card that I made at Shutterfly, it literally took me 2 minutes to make and I think it is adorable!  Click this link to check it out.
Shutterfly Stationery Card
I have shared pictures with family and friends through this site and the nice thing about it from a military families standpoint is that you can send the pictures to your family directly to their house, you can send them to a local store for them to pick up, or they can select the pictures they want and order them for themselves.  I love that option.  I get to share pictures of my kiddos with family and it doesn't have to cost me a thing if I don't want it to.  I love using shutterfly to make personalized gifts for family as well.  The photo books are a great way for me to send pictures that are easy for my grandma to carry in her purse and show to all her girlfriends at her monthly luncheons. 
Check out some of these links:
Christmas Cards
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards
Photo gifts
http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts
Moving Announcements (Great for us militray families that are always moving)
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/announcements/moving-announcements 
So check out shutterfly for all your photo needs!

Absence Does Make the Heart Grow Fonder!

 Okay, so I don't want this blog to be a place that only states the negative of being a military spouse and having your husband leave, cause there really are so many great things that come with this "job".  For one, absence does really make you realize how much you love and appreciate your spouse on a much deeper level.  It also allows for sweet and thoughtful things to occur that don't normally happen daily around our house.  For example, ever since my husband has been gone we have been finding these little notes tucked in all around the house in our clothes, drawers, towels, etc.  Here are a few of them:

I mean imagine putting on a pair of pants on a day that maybe hasn't gone exactly how you have planned so far.  Maybe the kids are crying, fighting, not listening, etc., but then you reach into your pocket and find a note that says;

That will change your mood for sure!

And my five year old has really been missing her daddy alot and will act out because of it at times and you can only imagine how special she feels when she finds notes that say things like "have fun at swim lessons", "have a great day at school" or this one;

What special memories we have!  You can take these times of separation and be down and frustrated (we all have those moments) or we can try and climb out of our self pity and see the special things that can arise from time apart. 

I just want to tell my husband that I love you and really appreciate your thoughtfulness!  You are the best!

When the Cats Away.....Everything Goes Wrong!

So not the way you thought that title was going to go, but for my military wife friends out there you know exactly what this means.  I mean, if it is going to go wrong, break, get sick, act up, get lost, cost more it is going to happen while the husband is gone.  Just in the month or so that my husband has been gone my dog had diarrhea all over the living room carpeted floor (this was actually the day he left), the whole family has gotten sick, the computer got a virus, my ring needed repair, and the last adventure was my car broke down.  None of these things are that huge of a deal, but they all are out of the norm and all required money and/or lots of extra effort on my part.  I am now the proud owner of a Bissel steam cleaner though!  Bring on the messes, okay I am only joking, don't really. 

Let's Get It Started In Here!

I am starting this blog as a way of expressing my daily joys, challenges, fears, and accomplishments of being a military spouse.  For those of you that are military spouses yourself you will probably find yourself relating to my blog alot and maybe we can find comfort in our similarities.  For those of you that are not familiar with military life (other than watching army wives) this may be a way for you to learn about how the families sacrifice and serve as well and maybe it will make you appreciate your life a little more.  So come along on my life's journey with me, it will be interesting that is for sure!