Thankfuls

It's Friday. How was your week?

In the midst of the craziness what are you thankful for?

bitter apple anti-chew spray keeps George from beating up Abigail

Abigail's dear sweet heart caring for those around her

Valentine's gifts that allow children to buy their own toys and plan for others

Grandparents who invite child and her dog to spend the night

rain boots and rain coats

working sound stuff in the computer

the promise of a night with my hubby without interruption

Dr. Kevin Leman's Have a New Kid by Friday

.."oops" Moment

hello everyone!

want to first apologize for the mix up you see!! haha. Riley and I attended the MOPS day out today...bowling at manor lanes. haha. i know, it is really tomorrow. well, i know that now! it was a total "oops!" moment...but not until I was already home a while! we had a lot of fun though! i work tomorrow or i would join everyone then as well. (i must have made a mistake writting down the date originally.) i hope that tomorrow is a great turn out and that you all have a wonderful time!! i am attatching some pictures of today's adventure!

~ Julia

ps...can't wait to see everyone on thursday night at applebees for MOMS night out!

Five Minute Tasks

One day in my fervor to get things accomplished, I decided to use the time it took to make tea to be productive. Instead of say reading a few blogs and getting so distracted, I forgot about the steeping tea till it was cold and bitter and found half an hour wasted for which I beat myself up the rest of the day.

Anyway, I have been thinking about time, probably too much, lately and I was wondering what kinds of things can be accomplished in a 5 minute time period. Or other short period of time often written off as too short to accomplish something.

In the time it takes to make old-fashioned oatmeal. These are ors.
Make my bed and straighten our room
Clear out the dishwasher, all but the silverware
Reload the dishwasher
Get dressed and wash face (I haven't tried the toothbrushing at this time because brushing your teeth before breakfast just defeats the purpose)

In the time it takes to make a cup of tea (waiting for the right amount of water to boil, not the amount necessary for pasta to cook). These are ands.
Put away the adults' underwear (who wants tea when the children are awake?)
Fold the blanket from my nap
Design a fabulous housekeeping series for a blog
Review my memory verses from the Mega Memory Month (I didn't make it. Currently blaming the child developing in my womb for stealing my brain cells.)
Get the mail and toss it in the mail area.

In 10 minutes. These are ors.
Pick up Abigail's room and the living room
Dress myself and do those little personal hygiene tasks to prepare for the day
Wash the dishes that don't make it into the dishwasher and wipe the table and counters
Write a post.

What can you do in a few minutes? And do you?

Honestly, I squander a large amount of my spare minutes. If you visit, you can tell.

The Simple Things

Abigail calls them our thankfuls. The time we spend as a family giving one thing we are thankful for during the day in preparation for prayer. We can't skip them. Actually I don't think we would even for serious infractions. Today I will share my thankfuls.

• A quiet house
• Coffee and a donut
• Genuine kindness
• (not the grit your teeth because God wants kindness from His people kind)
• Walking at the mall
• Good naps for mom
• Planned overnight babysitting
• Bin of picked up toys
• Meat thawed for dinner

What are your thankfuls?

No Excuse

Alright Ladies,

For those of you who claimed more than one love language, there is a handy-dandy little quiz right here.
The 30 Second Assessment. Incidentally, there is a quiz there about your apology language here.

The 5 Love Languages Quiz

and just for good measure, in case they are in conflict,
GreaterQuest-5 Love Languages Quiz.

Check it out and I expect reports :).

Revisiting Resolutions

In my thoughts throughout the first part of the year, I wanted to develop some rhythm. I didn't want simply routine. I wanted something more than a schedule.

I fumbled throughout January. Trying to find that thing called rhythm without routine and schedule. I fumbled.

Toward the end of the month Rachel Anne at Home Sanctuary had me start thinking about that schedule and perhaps the wisdom of routine.

What about you do you have a housekeeping schedule? Do you keep time with you schedule or just have a general to-do list for the day?

Baked Pork Chops

Baked Pork Chops
SUBMITTED BY: Neely Bender

PREP TIME
30 Min
COOK TIME
1 Hr 30 Min
READY IN
2 Hrs

6 pork chops
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp seasoning salt
2 egg, beaten
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
4 tblsps olive oil
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup chicken broth or stock

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste. Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl. Dredge the pork chops lightly in flour, dip in the egg, and coat liberally with bread crumbs.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side, or until the breading appears well browned. Transfer the chops to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and cover with foil.
Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. While baking, combine the cream of mushroom soup, milk and chicken broth in a medium bowl. After the pork chops have baked for an hour, cover them with the soup mixture. Replace foil, and bake for another 30 minutes.