Loving This Mantle...

In the spirit of LOVE Day I decorated our mantle... And in my opinion it's super cute!

A View of The Whole Thing

Close-Ups

1. I tied ribbon, in various fashion around dollar store candles

2. Red Picture Frame w/ picture of Manny and I in front of the LOVE sign in New York City [already had it :)]

3. X O X O - cardboard letters from Hobby Lobby w/ TONs of glitter & ModPodge

4. Black Picture Frame w/ pink paper & {suppose to have cute v-day word art, but never got it.... maybe next year}

5. Banner - Pink & Red Ribbon with Book Paper Hearts & handmade paper and felt flowers at the tops Well, Happy Love Day!!!

Now I'll just be super sad when I have to take it down - tomorrow. Manny says so.

Day Off : Hanging with the Ferni's

We had "Lego Time," played with the lightsabers, did a sports game on the Kinect, ate fish sticks for lunch, & only had one pee accident! What a great way to spend the day! Hanging out with some of my very favorite kids!

My favorite quote of the day- While I was changing Lindley's diaper:
Noah: "Lindley's just the cutest baby in the world isn't she?"
me: "Yes, she is the cutest baby"
Noah: "But what about Baby God?"
me: "Well, I bet he was pretty cute too."
Noah: "Well, maybe Lindley and Baby God had equal cuteness..."
me: "That sounds about right"

:)
ps. No picture of Drew since he was at school most of the day, and Lindley just sleeps a lot!

Tuesday Thoughts

Well, I think my blood has finally stopped boiling... It is snowing, cold, and extremely windy here. I knew my commute to work wouldn't be too fun. What I didn't know is that I wouldn't make it out of the driveway. One snow drift just pulled me over off the driveway into another 4 ft. snow drift. I was seriously stuck and knew there was no way in heck I was gunna be able to get myself out [the car was practically tipping over- my neck hurts from sitting in the car so long trying to not fall over] So, I call my boss... Her idea- come pick me up! Really??? I can't make it down my driveway and you're gunna drive the *whatever* miles to the road so I can walk up the driveway in the -30 windchill snow and through 4 ft drifts??? Really??? Yes, really. Because that's exactly what happened. Now I'm at work. Yahoo.

Praying for Mandy today. She left last night to go back to Richland. One of her small group girls' dad passed away Sunday morning. Goodness, I can't even imagine. Praying that Mandy has just the right words and God uses her to bring some kind of understanding and peace to Dez... So hard.

Since she left yesterday, I sat at their house so Michael could go play basketball with Manny and the guys. SUCH a relaxing time. Listening to Joshua Radin w/ A Fine Frenzy Pandora Radio. Perfectly quiet house. Great book. Dreaming of the amazing road trip Manny and I will hopefully take this summer before school/student teaching start. Couldn't ask for a better hour and a half. LOVE this song-


Jackson threw the BIGGEST tantrum yesterday. Seriously he was freaking out so bad he lost his voice and has bruises on his legs from throwing himself on the floor, against furniture, etc. UGH.

BIG NEWS: I GOT 1st AT LASER TAG!!!! FIRST PLACE!!!! KIM POLLARD!!!! Seriously, like so exciting.

I'm cold.

That's all for today. Bleh.

Superbowl Chili

For Superbowl we watched the game with a ton of friends at a Sam & Amber's House. It was super great. Enjoyed the food, game, and time spent with one another. On the menu: Chili! Amber made the Red & I made the White. Both were completely consumed! Many people asked for my recipe so I thought I would post it here. Seriously, was so good! It was the first time I had tried it and I was quite impressed. Recipe found here.


Crock Pot White Chicken Chili
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
1 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken
2 (15 ounce) cans great northern beans or 2 (15 ounce) cans navy beans
1 (15 ounce) can hominy or 1 (15 ounce) can white corn
1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope taco seasoning
1 (4 1/2 ounce) can of chopped green chilies
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
chopped green onion (optional)
Monterrey jack cheese (optional)
Change Measurements: US Metric

Directions:
Prep Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 1/2 day
1 Place chicken in a 4 quart slow cooker.
2 Top with beans and corn.
3 In a medium bowl, combine taco seasoning, chiles, condensed soup, and chicken broth. Pour over top of ingredients in the crock pot.
4 Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.
5 Before serving, stir gently to break up chicken, then stir in the sour cream.
6 Serve topped with green onions and jack cheese, if desired

YUM!

Finally!!! All the Crafty Goodness

Ok, so as I promised here are all the fun crafts I've been doing lately...
Mostly just an assortment of fabric and paper flowers. But it's still fun!

Here are those flowers: Fabric, paper, and felt!



A big flower to be added to a pillow for the living room:

Awesome book marks {Love These}

Made this fun flower to add to a pillow on the guest bed:

Yea! So fun!

Tuesday Thoughts

First of all,
I have successfully completed Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
30 days, 30 workouts. Done. 9.8 lbs lost!
Seriously, so excited about this one!!!!!

Secondly, pretty perturbed... So I started reading The Hunger Games Trilogy. I finished the first book in 1 day. Yes, 1 day. I really liked the book. Super interesting. When I was trying to determine what book came next in the trilogy I was confused and my brother very confidently informed me it was Mockingjay so I willingly began reading that book. Got about 75% of the way done and realized on the front cover of Mockingjay it says "The Final Book of The Hunger Games." REALLY?!?!?! SERIOUSLY???? No wonder I was so freaking confused!!!! So I put that book down and have started reading "The Second Book of The Hunger Games," Catching Fire. And it's good, but not near as good as it would have been if I hadn't read the majority of the last book before it. UGH.

In other news, I'm absolutely freezing. Seriously, the windchill today is -45. seriously. And yea, I know I live in Colorado blah blah blah but this is just plain RIDICULOUS.

I can't wait to go grocery shopping tonight. Yes, I love grocery shopping.

If you want a really amazing story of a really amazing four year old, please read this. Filled my heart this morning.

"And my prayer is this: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and in depth of insight." Philippians 1:9. memorized Scripture as part of our 11 series. heck yes.

Alright, now I'm going to read more the book. when I already know what happens. jimmy.

Radical

So like thousands of other Christians I've just finished reading the book Radical by David Platt. I was interested to see how I would feel about the book considering two of my closest friends gave two very opposite reviews. One was challenged, changed, and questioning while the other didn't even finish the book because he thought it just offered up more of the same as far as inspirational Christian literature. But I will have to agree with my dear friend Dani, for I was challenged, changed, and left questioning a lot.

If you don't know what this book is about it is about "Taking back your faith from the American Dream." An interesting concept. One I honestly struggle with daily; how to live a life devoted to God and ministry while surrounded by a money-, power-, and material- possessed society.

In the end, much of my life was confirmed: that Manny and I are doing exactly what God wants us to be doing by working full-time and being full-time committed to Alethia Church, the life we live is radical for Christ every day, Alethia Church is 100% Biblical- exactly what we want to be, God desires for "good" in our lives, etc.
But I was also convicted... To give more: I don't know what this means but I think it might have to do with my new crafty side and some charity {I don't know which one or how}... To be more devoted: Recently I feel like I am more desperate, hungry, and dedicated to the Word of God than ever before, but this must continue, even stronger... To know more: Platt asks the question What is the purpose of Christianity? And to be honest I didn't know... He explains it as "Enjoy His Grace, Extend His Glory." So simple, so poignant, how I want to live my life... Also, To Suffer More: a concept that has been very heavy on my heart in recent months...

Radical explored these claims:
"Real success is found in radical sacrifice. Ultimate satisfaction is found not in making much of ourselves but in making much of God. The purposes of our lives transcends the country and culture in which we live. Meaning is found in community, no individualism; joy is found in generosity, no materialism; and truth is found in Christ, no universalism. Ultimately, Jesus is a reward worth risking everything to know, experience, and enjoy." pg. 183
Such poignant truths of the Bible, many Christians often ignore...

In the end, he offers a "Radical Experiment"
1. pray for the entire world
2. read through the entire Word
3. sacrifice your money fro a specific purpose
4. spend your time in another concept
5. commit your life to a multiplying community

I don't really know how to end this post, except to say that this book truly challenged me and I highly recommend it if you are into knowing Christ more, being more like Christ, enjoying His grace, extending His glory, and living radically for Him...