Snow before spring break??

Yep, another snow day here in Davisdon Co.

I feel like it may be a record but I could be in shock mode and have just forgotten all the other winters. 

It rained all day yesterday making it impossible to salt any of the roads and in the mist of the rain the temps dropped making it a mess. So we got a couple inches of rain with a couple of inches of sleet and then topped off with about 3 inches of snow. 

I think I heard on wkrn this morning that interstates coming into Tn were closed off. I would imagine that made for a pain in the butt situation for drivers who felt they could drive it. 

We knew it was going to be a snow day yesterday afternoon so the kids decided to have a camp out - inside the house. All five of them made pallets to sleep on. Gabi and the two youngest got to use the tent bc it is Gabis and well, they are the babies. When I say babies it is really only a birth thing, they are 8 and 6 but they are the tiniest so got the tent. 

It is fun to havet them all be a bit older because sibling slumber parties are almost every weekend here and there are no really tiny ones to worry about waking up. 

We did make it outside for a small moment today but it wasn't as fun as the last ice/snow storm. Our feet and hands got very cold making the playing just short of torturous. Here are some pictures of the 30 min play time ( give or take 20 mins) 

The stairs were covered and was fun to clear off 

Those of us brave enough to venture out can at least mark it off our snow day list ( the non-existing one) and say we played in it. 

Caden was exploring new territory 

And Caleb was threatened to not throw that on me. His father's suggestion was to throw it on a big kid....like Gabi. She ran. 

We found a really gross icicle hanging from our tree 

And we were done. One child was for sure they had frost bite and another could not feel those nose so we made hot chocolate and added some homemade whipped cream to top it off. The day is full and it's not even lunch time yet. 

Healing for your pain. (Poem)

Healing for your pain. 

I am drowning in hurt with gulps of relief just to survive. 

Getting help and healing is hard and I have no desire to be alive. 

What IS THE POINT to keep moving if each step causes pain?

And I am lost in a crowd where no one remembers my name. 

"I am fine" is the answer we all give, as we pass by,

But I need someone to take that extra step past just saying hi. 

I have no visible scars and the rejection you cannot see,

But I am dying inside because the infection is deep. 

This friend keeps inviting me to their small group again and again,

But I don't know how to say yes for fear they will see deep within. 

I finally say "I'll go" to something that won't expose my heart. 

Who knew that at a game night my healing would start. 

Conversations were passed around and testimonies I heard. 

I saw joy and freedom being traced back to the Word. 

What was in this book and Who is the man? 

I learned of a gift where death was part of the plan. 

It tells me God's son is Jesus and his blood was shed,

And by accepting this Truth, our old ways are dead. 

We can be New and Holy and Clean in His eyes  

Our sins are forgiven and salvation is the prize! 

I am not determined by the actions done in my past. 

I have been created for more and no longer an outcast. 

He is the Truth and the Light and His ways are Just. 

And I now have someone who has taught me how to trust. 

By Charlene Turney. March 4, 2015. 

A dinner everyone ate.

I. am. on. a. roll. Two dinners that, everyone ate, two nights in a row. Monday night it was the bread bowl soup and Tuesday night was a jumbo pasta filled with a meat and cheese mixture. You can use any ground meat you have on hand. I used a combination of grass fed beef, turkey meat, and sausage. I sautéed onions and garlic in a herb infused oil

and then added a combination of herbs ( I had a lot of meat this time so lots of herbs but about 1/4 Tbs of each herb you have on hand would be good for about a pound of meat) and then added all the ground meat to finish cooking. 

I also added some salt to taste 

I cooked some jumbo pasta until almost done ( the rest will cook when you heat up in the stove) 

For the cheese mixture I took a mixture of a few cheeses and shredded them. 

I took the cooled off meat ( we don't want to melt the cheese) and added them together. I then scooped a spoonful of the mixer into the pasta and set it inside a 13x9 baking dish. 

I finished it with some pasta sauce on top. You can added as you like but not everyone in my family loves tomato sauce. Place pan in heated oven covered with aluminum foil for about 20 mins at 350* 

Serve with a yummy salad or just gobble up by its self. The also makes the best leftovers. It was kid approved! 

What's for dinner?

I love cooking and I love making up new meals or tweaking ones I read about in rented books from the library. 

Monday afternoon I had some wonderful Vandy girls overnand tried a meal out with them and then used the rest for dinner that night with the family. 

This is the start of my version of a bread bowl soup. I made biscuit dough and put it in the bottom of oven safe bowls after I sprayed them with an oil. I cooked it at 425* for about 15 mins. I choose that temp only bc I was roasting veggies at that temp and just popped these in at the same time. I also just eyeballed the doneness ( made up word) of it. So check yours to see what works without burning it. 

I then took sweet potatoes and white potatoes and cooked them then added them to the blender with some milk. I roasted the butternut squash for about 20 mins at 425* I had some left over homemade chicken broth and added the now creamed potatoes to the base. It made an amazing creamy broth and then I added the butternut squash. I also had some left over chicken and cooked up a tiny bit of spicy sausage with onions and garlic and threw it all in the soup base. I seasoned it with whatever herbs I had and salt and pepper to taste and used a ladle to scoop some of the soup into each of the (now cooked) biscuits bowls. It was so yummy and a hit with all the girls and all 7 people in my family. Other then the biscuit base it was all healthy! 

 

The forced snowcation

Like so many friends, this has been almost a full week for us. I could be wrong but it seems like it is the longest we have had this type of weather. I have lived here since 1994 and I don't remember an ice storm after ice storm on top of snow ending with freezing weather and more snow and ice. The amazing thing about the ice was you could get out and be dressed warm enough and survive. There was no thick snow to step in or even play in so there was no cold feet or hands. We got to just walk around and enjoy the really pretty ice trees and sled down the hills. This was my first time ever sledding and I LOVED it so much. 

Even our littlest one went sledding for her first time. Everyone survived and there were no ER visit. So all in all it was an amazing "snowcation". What did you all do on your time off? Do you go bonkers held up in the house or did you get out and enjoy this time? 

Simple blogging.

I like writing. I like sharing ideas I have learned. Blogging seems to be the easiest way, right? Well up until now it hasn't worked out for me. Some kid always had my lap top or even if I did have it the speed that it worked was -paint drying- slow. So it just didn't happen. So today is sort of a practice run....from my iPad. My- only I can touch it, no kids games, with a normal fast speed- iPad. I am starting up a cooking, date night bible study and would love to post things on here. Here is hoping this is easy because easy is my only level I can do right now.

Sacrificing their life to save others...

12 yrs ago today...the moment is etched in my mind for ever. It is for anyone who was old enough to comprehend what was happening. My first son was just 6 mths old, he sister was 3.5. My husband and I set there in shock and watched the scenes playing over and over. We were filled with sorrow and yet also with pride as we watched America come together to help one another. There were so many stories of heros that sacrificed their own life to save another.
 
  Tonight at church we talked about some of those stories. We talked about how we honor those that were lost in the tragic event and that got me thinking. Those people are heros and everyone rightfully agrees that they should be honored and remember.

But what about the man that died for all of mankind? Do we honor him? Do we remember him? He was and is a hero, he gave up his life so we could live. Everyone agrees about honoring the 911 heros, so why is it so hard to honor the Hero for all the world? I will tell you what I think is the difference. For September 11, 2001 there was an actual event, a real war going on that people could see with their eyes. Real stories of people that were in the fire and saved b/c a real person pulled them out. The big difference is that most people do not see that they are in a falling world, you could see the falling building, but many can't see this falling world. We are all in need of being pulled from the fire and Jesus did just that. He came to our tragic situation, he came to our trapped, cant get out, no where to go, situation and he pulled us out and took all the weight upon himself and died...for us...for me...for you. How about instead of just the first picture where we never forget the amazing men and women who gave their lives so we could live,we also do this, remember Jesus, who gave up his life so we could live- eternally. (all images saved from Internet, no personal ownership to them)