Repeat

I posted this too late last time so I'm gonna use it again for this week. Enjoy!!
Just scroll down to June 14th.

We're Back

Wow. It seems that we look forward to summer break for some R & R but we seem busier than ever!! No rest here. We've been to NJ, PA, & SC all in one week and have seen and done so many things that I hope our kids will remember. We have parties, celebrations, pool time, neighbors and friends coming and going and I love every minute of it!! The book reading is going well and I'm looking forward to our next visit.
We have Matthew's 8th birthday party to shop for so excuse the short note. I'll be writing more later. Have a great day!!

Chicken Caccatorie

Thanks to Annie for the wonderful 40 garlic chicken...so good and BBQ chicken-yum! This recipe is simple and can be adjusted based on taste preferences, amount, etc. If you have extra, it works great on pizza crust or stuffed bread too!

2lbs. chicken breast (or any parts depending on taste)
2 sweet onions sliced in rings and halved
2 red (or green) peppers sliced thinly
5 cloves of chopped garlic
2 large cans of Crushed tomatos (I think the sixe is 28 oz can)
2 large cans of tomato paste (makes the sauce thicker)
oregano, parsley, salt, pepper and basil to taste

Combine all and slow cook low 6-8 hours. When done, use a fork to shred the chicken. We serve this on pasta but you can use the left-overs for pizzas, french bread, etc. Enjoy!!

It's Here!!

It's officially Summer Break for the family-yoo-hoo!!! After getting a pedicure (Mother's Day gift from DH) and doing some shopping, the kids and I visited our County Library. We are living in a rural area that is quickly growing, however, for now, our nearest library is about a 40 minute drive away. After reading some blog-sites I was prepared with authors' names and book titles. Out of my list of 6 I was able to get 2 of the books I wanted. Let me tell you, James Patterson's book "Suzanne's Diary to Nicholas" is a great read!! I haven't been able to put it down and I'm halfway through in only one afternoon of reading. I highly recommend it!

So this is how the first day of break is going and it's a terrific start. Today I have laundry, packing, and getting ready for our 7 hour ride to NJ tomorrow and Philly on Sunday. Have a great day everyone!!

All is Well

The kids are done with school and today should be my last day barring any last minute IEP meetings or unexpected parent calls. We have plans to leave for NJ on Friday to attend a graduation party for my 17 year old cousin who somehow was only 8 yesterday! How does that happen? After a day or two there, we leave for Philadelphia where my son will have follow-up treatment with the Specialists in Wills Eye Hospital. He had his (L) eye removed last Christmas and we need to ensure the health of his socket and also have his prosthetic eye adjusted since he's growing like a weed.

As a therapist, I've always been the one to encourage and work with families dealing with cancer, head-trauma, stroke, spinal cord injuries, etc and it was a real blow when all of sudden I became the Patent's family and was on the other side of the fence. That's the way it was when my son was 2 and we were told he had cancer and tumors of the eye. The docs were wrong. The specialists in PA told us that his tumors were non-malignant but did all the damage of the malignant one and that he was blind in that eye and would probably have to have his eye removed in time. Well, he's about to turn 8 and he's done great with his "new eye" and even uses it for "show and tell" in school! He's a great kid and such a blessing from the Lord!! We know how merciful God has been to us throught all this and we meet the most incredible folks when we go to PA. We try to stay at Ronald McDonald House and the other families there bond with each other in a way that can't be described. Please keep us and these families in pray as we all do our best for our kids and pray for good reports too! Thanks! Love having the company!!

WFMW

Sidewalk Paint! This is the next generation to our beloved sidewalk chaulk. Your kiddos can create their beautiful masterpieces on the driveway, sidewalks, patio, basically any hard outdoor surface just as they can with the chaulk. Unfortunately, as with the chaulk, when the rain comes, so goes the artwork. But that's part of the beauty and wonder. The kids can then go back and have even more fun creating and letting their artistic juices flow over and over again. This is a great help in decreasing the boredrums and it's a no muss/fuss sort of thing. All washes away easily with no staining of clothing, furniture, carpets, etc since it's all done outside. This is what works for me this Wednesday!!

Addendum: The paint can be found in the same places where chaulk is located. I've seen this in our local Target stores. Enjoy!!

Decisions, decisions

My husband and I are in need a new vehicle and finances being what they are, we are in need of divine guidance...a sign would be great and not a subtle one either. I usually need to be hit on the back of the head pretty hard to get the hint so I'm hoping God will bestow his wisdom and in seeking his counsel I'll know what his will for us will be. We are also now looking at higher insurance rates and our whole budget now needs to be revised and revamped. Please keep us in your prayers that God will reveal which direction we should take and that we be open to stay within His plans for us. Thanks!

Countdown!

This is the last week of school for my kids and I have 1 week after that before we all are officially on summer break!! We look so forward to this all year and I always want to make sure we fill in this time wisely. It's the only time I can be the stay-home Mom to my children that I long to be. We will visit family, travel out of state, see more of our local library, read books together and try to be lazy at times. This year we have the addition of an above-ground pool so we won't be going on any official "vacations" but we will make this summer our vacation to home.

I am hoping to get in some Mom/dtr time to help us see more eye-to-eye. Even though my dtr is 9, I feel she will be an early bloomer and I can already see those hormones and mood-swings taking place and I need for us to be on the same playing field and not so much opposed to each other before puberity comes in full swing.

We picked up a cute book from Christianbooks.com called "Understanding Mom" and it's written for the tween population (8-12). I'm hoping we can both get some insight and laughs and lovin' from this. I need to establish a schedule where we can have this reading time together and build upon our relationship as well. I'm looking forward to it!!

Well, each day is it's own countdown and soon I'll be telling of our daily adventures. Love to all!!