1,000 Gifts {Apr 5th-Apr 14th}

First of all thank you to those of you who commented on my last post about being in a 'funk'. I SO appreciate your kind words and responses! The funny thing is, it's not hard to pinpoint the reason for my funk - I KNOW these things happen when I'm feeling far from the Lord. Which is certainly not HIS fault, as HE loves me deeply and NEVER strays from my side - indeed it's always ME who falls away and selfishly spends my time pursuing what I want while leaving HIM out of things. Anyhow, ironically that day I had a few minutes of quiet and I sat and read Ann Voskamp's post for the day and was blown away at how perfectly timed it was. You can read it by clicking the link above, but basically she is talking about how to raise grateful kids - funny thing was that I felt *I* needed the message more than my KIDS did! Funny how God always knows what we need to hear when we need it, right? He knows me so well. I noticed too that my list of 1,000 gifts had been pushed to the wayside and I hadn't counted gifts in a few days. Her post also reminded me the importance of giving daily thanks and “Participants who kept gratitude lists were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals (academic, interpersonal and health-based) over a two-month period compared to subjects in the other experimental conditions.” So on I go ... pressing forward, ever grateful ... * a nice visit from my Canadian relatives that I hardly ever get to see * seeing them made me miss my Dad since my Uncle is his brother and reminds me a lot of my Dad * a fun day consignment shopping with my girls for summer stuff * carpet cleaner, rubber gloves, a bandana for my nose and disinfectant ;) * field trips with friends * sunny days * the girls playing outside more

* a great {new to me} desk for FREE

* getting my seeds in the mail

* garden planning

* making pudding with Joy * playing basketball with my family * dinner together around the table * playing Qwirkle together * seeing the first signs of spring * forsythia FINALLY starting to bloom * neighbors coming out to work in their yards * chalk drawings on the driveway * a nice, big, paved drive which is great for the kids to play on * blowing bubbles * a 2 yr old's squeals of excitement over seeing the bubbles and trying to catch them * pink Converse on a 2 yr old - so cute! {and yes, with chalk on the pants!}

* going outside to do my run without having to wear 5 billion layers

* the grass getting greener by the day

* the warmth of the sunshine - it's like a balm to my soul - kinda like the SONshine is, ya know?

* flip flop weather

*finding healthier recipes for things I like

* springy stuff on the driveway

* learning to love fish

* fragrant daffodils

* new growth every where I look

* our Made to Crave Bible study group - it's wonderful to meet with people facing similar struggles and gain encouragement from one another!

* inventive little girls creating their own rope swing

* and the mud cakes and other such things they create as well ... =)

* that "our children are learning more than academic subjects in the home. They are learning at a young age that their brothers and sisters are their best best friends." ~~Tom Eldredge

{One Thousand Gifts #536-570}

Funk

I'm feeling like I'm in a big funk lately. Don't know what it is exactly. As someone who normally takes joy in many little things, instead I'm just finding myself dwelling on the things that aren't bringing me joy right now. I'm doing the Made To Crave Bible study by Lysa TerKeurst right now. I'm trying really hard. I have made some good changes and am seeing my heart change over this food issue. But this week - I hit a wall. Funk came in and whopped me upside the head big time. I lost my 'want to', lost my desire to exercise and felt myself wanting to splurge more and then feeling guilty when I did. Plus, I've been 'trying' to get rid of some extra pounds since January {of 2010!!} and am still seeing little to no progress. It's like it's all or nothing for me. I do it completely full force with NO treats, NO exceptions, NOTHING and I do OK - or I allow myself tiny treats and make NO progress. I know it's not an easy fix, but would like to see SOME results from my good efforts. And I know this sounds horrible - but when I see others have success after only changing small things like cutting out soda it just depresses me. I should be happy for their success but instead I feel cheated that I can't find that same success. I'm feeling in a funk with homeschooling. The girls drag their feet with school work lately. I can't find it in me to liven things up and find new ways to make things fun and interesting again. I'm feeling in a funk with my quiet time. I skip it too many days. I can't get excited about it many times. I'm feeling in a funk about spring. If you'd call it that! Even though the temps have been in the 50's lately it's still been very cold and windy. The girls have been outside A LOT lately but whenever they ask me to come out I go out and am chilled to the bone almost immediately. It makes me not want to be out there. I am tired of wearing layers upon layers just to go out to play or even to run or do outdoor workouts. I want to step outside and feel warm. I'm in a funk creatively. I love scrapbooking but haven't made time for it in ages. I tried to the other day. I ordered pictures, I had time on my hands one day, I sat down and felt so blah and had no inspiration to even do it. So there you have it. I'm in a funk. I'm sorry to unleash this venting on all of you - sometimes it's just nice to get it all out. I'm sure I'll get over things and move on soon enough. I know I'm blessed beyond words and that I have no reason or right to complain so forgive me for sounding like a whiny baby. I appreciate you taking the time to 'listen'. ****edited to add --- UGH, and I'm so sick of blogger messing up the spacing of my paragraphs! Seriously, this is so annoying. ***

Sites Around the State Series

I've decided to begin a new chapter in my blogging adventure. It's going to be called Sites Around the State Series and I plan to share some great places to see and things to do around our great state of Connecticut!


Hopefully if you live nearby, or plan to visit sometime in the future, these posts will offer some helpful information and insight into some of the great places to see.


Living in New England we are blessed to be surrounded by hundreds of years of fantastic living history. I want to be sure I'm taking advantage of that and exposing my girls of all the great things about CT.


Some posts will be about hikes or outdoor adventures, some will be museums and such and others will be just good 'ol family fun to be found around these parts.


So here's to a new adventure! I hope you will enjoy the ride and even if you DON'T live nearby I hope you will enjoy seeing a good glimpse into our little 'ol corner of the USA!


MYSTIC SEAPORT - The Museum of America and the Sea


The girls and I and some homeschooling friends went to Mystic Seaport yesterday. It's located in Mystic, CT on the Mystic River. We have been there a couple other times, but the girls had been quite a bit younger and we just never made it very far before they were either bored or tired. This time, they were older and wiser and ready for adventure! haha ... more like it's always more fun with friends! {And never underestimate wearing good walking shoes!} At the seaport you will literally feel as though you are walking around an old whaling village. There are several large ships / sailboats on the water and many different buildings which represent the way the shops and buildings would have been many years ago. One of the kids favorite things to do was board a couple of the ships and check out what it would have been like to live onboard one.

One of MY favorite things was seeing this HUUUUGE model of the town of Mystic and the river which depicted the way the town looked about a hundred or more years ago. The details were incredible with tiny little people, lights in the houses, tiny ponies & carts, sawdust where they were building something, etc. I could have spent HOURS just looking at every little detail and picturing myself travelling the little dirt roads of Mystic many years ago ...

Another favorite part of mine was this lighthouse. Stepping inside of it we watched a short film about American lighthouses, when they came to be, how they were used, and how they function now. It was super interesting to me and I LOVED seeing all the unique lighthouses that we have across the US. {We have several great ones in our area.}

One of the large ships we went on, the men were working on repairing some of the rigging {I think that's what it's called!} I'm pretty sure our kids would have loved to climb those nets had they been given permission! hahaha

One thing that REALLY impressed me was that every building or ship we went in had extremely knowledgeable staff. Not like when you go in a shoe store and the associates have no idea about the product they're selling ... Not at Mystic Seaport! Every employee we interacted with knew their stuff and could easily explain what things were, what they were used for, and how they did things way back then. I was very impressed. This guy below was working in the silversmith shop and took a long time showing us how he made things and answering questions from the kids.

Here is the inside of the meetinghouse ... the kids wanted to know where was the nursery and Sunday school classrooms - hahaha.

And one of my fave buildings, the school house! I sorta wished I had a little school house of my own that was just like this! Best thing in the school house was the large woodstove right in the center of the room --- keeping everyone nice and toasty during school time.

This is the store where people would have bought dry goods and fabric and other wares ... the lady 'working' in this shop was VERY talkative and "wished us well in our endeavors" when she found out that we were homeschoolers. :)

Another very friendly and knowledgeable staff member teaching the kids about life on a boat ...

How would you like to sleep in one of those tiny bunks?

The Seaport also has a full sized Planetarium which was FABULOUS! We paid the extra $2.50 pp to go in and view a guided show that was about 30-40 minutes. Our guide 'Max' was great and interacted with the kids as he showed them things in the night sky. Since the girls and I are studying Astronomy this year it was really neat to see it sort of played out through the planetarium and I was impressed with how many answers they were able to give because of what we've been learning this year.

All in all the Mystic Seaport was a great place to visit. Truly a living museum of American history. This is a link to the website for the Seaport. And if you're interested, you can check out a pass at the local libraries which will allow you to tour the Seaport FOR FREE! {all we paid for was the Planetarium.}

FOUR ... count 'em ... FOUR Healthy Recipes!

Hey friends! As I've stated in the past I'm working towards healthier eating and also trying to eat more WHOLE foods, less processed. It's definitely a work in progress and probably always will be. But I thought I'd share a few recipes I've made recently in case any of you are interested in healthy/whole eating too.


PS. My friend Jessica is AWESOME at this, she has made homemade NutriGrain bars, homemade POPTARTS!, and even homemade Graham Crackers. She has done a lot of research about what is IN many of our convenience foods - and since most come up with HUGE lists of unknown items she finds ways or recipes to make them with whole foods. She inspires me! If you click on her name above you can check out her blog where she shares some great recipes.


In fact, this first recipe I'm going to share is one from Jessica! She calls it her Breakfast Cookie, so I've adopted that name as well. After all, who wouldn't want a cookie for breakfast??!!

BREAKFAST COOKIE

1/2 cup old fashioned oats {not cooked} 4g fiber, 140 calories, 2.5g protein
2 TBSP whipped Peanut butter or Natural PB {I have done both depending on what's in my pantry} 2g fiber, 150 calories, 6g prot
1 tsp cinnamon
1 TBSP ground flax seed 2g fib, 30 cal, 1.5g prot
drizzle of honey {didn't look up nutritional info - I think it's about 70 cal per TBSP - sometimes I leave this out}

Mix it all together in a bowl - it won't totally come together like a 'cookie' so I just eat it with a spoon. I LOVE peanut butter so this is yummy for me. It is a bit on the dry side, so I had a half cup of skim milk with it {4g prot, 0g fib, 45 cal}.

Makes this breakfast 265 calories, 8g fiber, 14g of protein You could add a piece of fruit to this and still be under 400 calories for the morning. And with all that fiber and protein you are sure to stay full for awhile!

Next we have one of my FAVE lunch recipes ...

CHICKEN SALAD WRAPS

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts {which I cut into small strips and boil in a pot of water to cook} then dice them up into bite size pieces. (0grams fiber 220calories)
1/4 cup craisins (3grams fiber 130 calories)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (2grams fiber 190 calories)
1 cup chick peas (14grams fiber 220 calories)
1 red delish apple chopped up (3grams fiber 91 calories)
Mayo - 2 TBSP (0fiber 200 calories)
Some times I add a little diced up onion just for added flavor.
And of course you can add salt/pepper or whatever seasoning you like.
Chop the chicken and apples and onion and then mix everything together.

I spoon some into large pieces of lettuce, then wrap them up and eat it like a taco! Makes 4 servings - make it on Monday and have lunch ready for the next 4 days. 262 calories per serving and 5.5 grams of fiber per serving. {Sorry, when I figured out my nutritional info on this one I forgot to do the protein count - but trust me it's high with the chicken and the chick peas!}

And now, how about a yummy dessert?

CHOCOLATE/PEANUT BUTTER RICOTTA SHAKE

{before you cringe just TRY it!}
1/2 cup fat free ricotta cheese {120 cal. 20!! grams protein 0 fiber}
1/2 cup Almond milk {30cal. .5g prot. .5 fiber}
1 TBSP peanut butter {90cal. 6g prot. 0 fib}
1 truvia packet
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup of ice
Blend all together and serve in a large 16 oz glass.

THIS TASTES YUMMY AND CREAMY, JUST LIKE AN ICE CREAM SHAKE! It's got a total of 240 calories, 26.5g protein and .5g fiber. You will feel FULL after drinking this!

I did a little comparison with Stewart's Choc. Peanut Butter Ice Cream - for 1/2 cup there is 200 calories, 14g fat, 0 fiber and only 4g protein. And it's ONLY a half cup! Which isn't much if you ask me! The shake has SO much protein that it's sure to make you feel full!

Lastly I have a homemade granola bar recipe that I just made this week ...

HOMEMADE CHEWY NO BAKE GRANOLA BARS {from the blog New Nostalgia}

■4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter {I used reg. butter}
■1/2 cup packed light brown sugar {I didn't even 'pack' it, just loosely filled the cup}
■1/4 cup honey
■2-1/2 cups oats or leftover granola {I used all oats}
■1/2 cup total of the following ingredients: wheat germ {about 1/4 cup}, ground flax seeds {about 2 tablespoons} and whole flax seeds {about 2 tablespoons}. Or substitute with more oatmeal, rice cereal, or nuts. {I did the whole amount of ground flax seed}
■1/2 cup Craisins
■1/2 cup chopped almonds (you could sub any nut or seed)
■1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I did 5 TBSP DARK choc chips)
■*I added 2 Tbls Chia seeds (I did not use)
I also added about a TBSP of cinnamon.

1.In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar with the honey and butter. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
2.Add the remaining ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, to the saucepan and fold the ingredients to evenly coat with the sauce. Transfer the granola mixture to a 9-by-13-inch ungreased baking pan and press firmly to evenly fill. Gently press the chocolate chips onto the top of the granola. Let the granola mixture set in the fridge until firm, about 15 minutes, then cut into 2-1/4-by 3-inch bars. (I didn't measure, but cut mine into 12 'bars')
3.Store in the fridge.

I figured out the nutritional info on these and they came out to 242 calories per bar if you cut them into 12 pieces. Not a bad snack. If that seems like too many calories for a snack you could cut them in smaller pieces or you could adapt your ingredients.

So there you go friends ... a breakfast, a lunch, a snack and a dessert. Now I just need to work on building my healthy dinner options! If you have any you'd like to share I'd love to hear from you!

1,000 Gifts {Mar. 21st- Apr. 4th}

I missed a week of recording my blessings and boy can I feel it. Things have been real busy here lately and I haven't devoted enough of my time to quiet time with the Lord or reading books I should be reading or counting and recording all the many ways I am blessed. I hate when that happens and know it needs to change big time. So here is the continuation of my counting my blessings one by one ... * watching these two little cuties {and a 4 mo old baby too} - can I just say that 2 year olds have SO. MUCH. ENERGY! And also that I know why the Lord didn't give me 5 children! ha! * seeing the amazing hawks that have been all around our area lately

*fantastic friends for our girls

* having so much fun playing with this silly puppy!

* a fun nature hike with my family

* Making it to the top and being up above the tree line

* enjoying nature, being outdoors and being with my family after having a rough school day

* this silly puppy who makes me smile every day

* inspiration on the wall

* working towards a common goal

* air popped corn

* the girls learning so many new tricks with their jump ropes

* making lists and then feeling the satisfaction of crossing items off of them

* making progress with my craft show items

* afternoons full of crafting

* my girls asking if they can help

I'm counting One Thousand gifts along with Ann from A Holy Experience - if you'd like to join in click over and check out her blog.

#519-535

2011 Ultimate Blog Party

Can I get a woot woot?! It's that time of year again! Time for 5 Minutes for Mom.com to host their annual Ultimate Blog Party! wooohooo!

Grab a cuppa joe and pull up a chair and let's chat! Welcome to my little corner of bloggy land .... here in my happy little home I feel like I'm living 'Just Another Day in Paradise'. No, every day isn't perfect and life isn't always rosy - but I am blessed beyond words to live the life that I have, so to me, it IS paradise.

I am Kathy, a 34 year old Christian, wife and Mother. I grew up in Ontario but have been in Connecticut since I got married 14 years ago. I have grown to love New England {even the snow} and feel blessed to live in an area where we have the best of everything - not too far from big cities, but still sort of 'in the country', close to the ocean, but still not far from the mountains, changing seasons and tons of awesome history to experience firsthand. It really is a fantastic place to live!

This is my beautiful family! Bob is my husband and best friend. We met in Bible college and I have known him for half of my life. He really is my soul mate. My daughters are nicknamed Hope and Joy here on the blog. They are 9 and 8 years old. They can be the best of friends and the worst of enemies at times.

My family and I spend A LOT of time together. We homeschool our daughters and we just LOVE doing things together. We love to be outdoors - hiking, biking, letterboxing, playing ball, going to the beach, etc. Basically we just love to have fun!

We also have 2 girl dogs {yes, my hubby is SUPER outnumbered in our house!} ... Casey is our 12 yr old Yellow Lab and Gracie is our 1 yr old Brittany Spaniel mix. Aren't they cute?!

We have a small house, but over the past several years the Lord has really been working on my heart in the area of contentment. I have learned to love my home and have stopped wishing and wanting to move to a bigger house. BUT, I do love to decorate and change things often. I love the way a can of paint and some new fabrics can change the whole look of a room for very little money. I love to move furniture around and have changed the wall colors in most of my rooms at least 2-3 times since we moved here!

I have always loved being crafty. I have scrapbooked for years, began sewing as a teen and love to create new things. This year my goal is to open an etsy shop and sell things in a craft fair {or two!}. I have been accepted for my first craft fair and am getting my etsy shop ready to open. I have lots of fun things I'm busy making - below you'll see some fabric Bible covers I made for my daughters for Christmas.

I'm an avid reader ... just a couple of my fave authors are: Karen Kingsbury and Lisa Welchel. I sort of stalk Lisa Welchel a little ... I love all her books and when we went to Women of Faith last fall I was so awestruck to really see her in person! haha {I know, I'm such a dork!}

A few other random thoughts:

* I have the BEST friends ever. The totally rock. They make me laugh and encourage me when I need it.

* We go to an awesome church and have the most amazing community of believers there. I help serve on the MOMS ministry team and just love being a part of it!

* I'm trying to move towards healthy and clean eating. It's certainly a long, difficult process, but I'm getting there little by little.

hmmmm, I guess I could go on forever but I'll stop there! Hope to 'meet' lots of new friends through the Blog Party! If you want to link up and join the party just click on the Ultimate Blog Party button at the top of this post. =)

Have a blessed day! Happy Partying!