33 things

i'm 22 33 today.
thirrrrty threeeee, friends!
in honor of this very special event, i thought it might be fun to share 33 total random things about me.
maybe, maybe not.

either way, i stole the idea from heather.  i hope she doesn't mind. :)


1.  i am a Bible believing, mercy needing, Christ indwelling, blood bought sinner, saved by the grace of Jesus Christ, and Him alone.

2.  my favorite shoes in the whole world are TOMS.  teal corduroy, please.

3.  if i could  hire an interior decorator, it would most definitely be Nancy Fishelson.

4.  i grew up being teased and tormented about my red frizzy hair, coke bottle glasses, and freckles.
i'm over it, i think.

5.  green mountain coffee {vanilla} is my favorite.

6.  i teach a pre-k/kindergarten sunday school class.  LOVE my kids.

7.  i used to be really 'on top' of the laundry, but now i have to re-'fluff' the clothes in the dryer every.single.load.
sometimes i even have to rewash a load, like yesterday.

8.  i don't like loud chewing or the sound of  fingernail clippers{especially in church!}.

9.  i sleep in sweatpants with socks{preferably tube socks} pulled over the top, and a sweatshirt with the hood up{and tied} in the colder months.  caauuuuutie patootie!

10.  i believe that the Bible is the revealed, inspired, and preserved  Word of God.
 the Word is alive!

11.  i love to decorate with early american antiques and french grain sacks.

12.  i love, love, love white and neutrals.  i want to paint my whole house white inside, and layer white and neutral accessories all over.  soooo calming.
i love color, too, though.  :/

13.  i sleep with a fan on every.single.night.

14.  we don't normally start home school until 9:30 a.m.  that's just the way it is.

15.  my heart breaks a little when i think about unborn babies who never see the light of day.

16.  whenever i am sad or sick, i put on my favorite movie, Pride and Prejudice, snuggle in, and fall asleep.

17.  cadbury mini eggs.  country living magazine.  $2.00 bag sales.

18.  my husband and i have a home based business.

19. i totally freak out when driving over bridges.  scary!

20.  my husband lost his very good job a few years ago, and we lost everything{financially}.
we had to start from scratch, but i wouldn't trade that time in the valley for anything.

21.  my husband is currently a car salesman, but desires to preach the gospel of Jesus full time.
we are waiting on direction from God.
oh! and he is the best husband and daddy EVER.

22.  i used to always wear black, because {i thought}  it was slimming and classy, but now i wear anything but.
now it's color color color!

>>>--->are you bored yet?<---<<<

23. kombucha is my favorite drink of all time.

24.  i am fiercely protective of my kids{who isn't?}.  when they get hurt, momma bear claws come out, but i decided to let God fight for them, so i don't have to.   much better.

25.  i love to craft and create!

26.  cleaning and organizing is like therapy for me.  i love the sense of accomplishment when everything is tidy and just where it should be.  weird, i know.

27.  i could live without meat, because i really love veggies!

28.  lavender is my favorite essential oil scent, ever.

29.  i yell more than i like to admit.  i have a short temper and need grace on a minute by minute basis.
no joke.

30.  i have always had acne, and it got worse when i was an adult.  what i learned about nutrition, whole food supplementation, and diet is totally changing my face and it's clearer today than it has been for years.  i still have the scars, though.   they keep me humble.  i am also a chronic nail biter.  :/
hey! that was a two-fur!

31.  i am not a good hostess.  i desire to be more hospitable, and to show Christ's love in that way.

32.  i recently removed my follower button, because my happiness should not hinge on those numbers, but it did.  i pray that God will bring those whom He will my way, and that i can be a blessing to others through this outlet.

33.  i love old gospel hymns the bestest!

well, there you go.  

33 things about me. 

are you still awake? 

can we still be friends? 

ok, good.  :)

i'm off to spend the day with my husband!
he's been torturing me with his surprise all week.
for real.  torturing.
:)

xo, 

the birthday girl

feed my family friday:::i'm branching out asian style edition:::and what you might see at my house right now

good morning, lovelies.

how is your day going? 

why don't you grab a  cup of coffee or tea and chat for a minute?

i'd really love to have you at my house so that i could actually meet you, and hug you, and tell you all about my week. 

 i would love to hear about yours, too.

if you came to my house, you might see some pretty interesting things, though.

like maybe  for sure you would see this...

why? oh, why?

or this...

finally!  clean socks!  i might make you help. ;) 

definitely this...

hill of calvary

you would trip over this...

jack and henry's landing pad.

i would quickly hide this...

yes, that's out nativity set, laying on the floor in the living room.  gahhh!

we could discuss this...

what's your decorating style?

i would tell you all about these...

my favorite cleaners  in the world .  changed.my.life!

and i would share this recipe with you...

i might even make you some. ;) 

:::here's the recipe:::

1 1/3 lbs chicken breasts

{or one container extra firm tofu, if you're meatless}

1/2 lb cherry tomatoes

2/3 cup canned pineapple chunks

2 stalks lemongrass{i didn't have this}

1 TBS oil

1-2 TBS red curry paste{i used TWO}

1 2/3 canned coconut milk

1 TBS brown sugar

1 1/2 TBS fish sauce

2 TBS fresh lime juice{i used reconstituted}

cilantro leaves

1. cut chicken into half inch cubes

{i used crock-potted dark meat because i'm a rebel{not really}, that's just what i had...it worked great!}

rinse cherry tomatoes. drain pineapple.  rinse and trim lemongrass, chop it up!

2. heat oil in wok or pan, stir in curry paste and saute briefly.

add coconut oil and bring to a gentle boil.

add lemon grass, sugar, fish sauce and lime juice.

add chicken and pineapple and simmer uncovered for five minutes.

make sure chicken is cooked through.

3. now stir in tomatoes until they are heated through. sprinkle on cilantro and VOILA!

yummy in your tummy authentic asian food!

i served ours on rice noodles and it was delish.  the recipe suggested to serve it with rice.

oh! and if you are using tofu, i fried ours in a little in coconut oil and then added it towards the end.

{i'm not a fan of rubbery tofu, though. :/}

sandi, you.were.right!!!  :)

i hope you try this...it was super easy and really yummy!

so what do you think? 

wanna come over?

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

Psalm 118:24

xo, 

mary

linkin' up here

a mini break and more happy

i'm not gonna lie, girlfriends.

running uphill against the wind was challenging this morning.

the thermometer read a brisk 37 degrees, so i surely didn't repeat my mistake from the other day.

hello, sweatpants and sweatshirt!
if only i could clothe our perennials who are hanging on by the skin of their little teeth to survive this cold front.

my husband wasn't able to go with me this morning, so it was a little boring until i got to this...

it seems quite fitting that the town we live in is named hillsboro.

can you just imagine the Artist as He stretched forth His mighty hand, 

and painted this beautiful canvas for us to live in and enjoy?

breathtaking.

so yesterday the kids and i took a mini break and decided to skip school.

everyone else is doing it, right?

that's actually one of the things i love about home school.

you can take those little breaks, and just make up for them later.

since we aren't taking an official 'spring break', we decided to head for the hills and enjoy the beautiful day.

henry was blessing me with flowers. :)

we headed to the co-op in the town where my man works and enjoyed some yummy food.

i indulged in white bean, potato and kale soup, a hummus wrap, and some tea.  it was delicious!

they took a sun dried tomato wrap and loaded with hummus, cukes, carrots, red pepper, kalamata olives, feta cheese and spinach.

you should make it!

i definitely plan on it. :)

we also went to good will and hunted around for a while.

i sort of wanted to buy this plaque because of the message, but i wasn't in love, so it stayed.

i do love me some good will, but it seems like the prices just aren't as good as they used to be.

maybe i'm a serious cheapskate, but $4.00 for a used shirt is high to me. 

i'm all about the $2.00 bag sales at our local thrift, though.

now THAT'S a deal!  :)

do you remember last week, when i posted about our easter garden?

my friend, alicia, has a little happy project series going, and the first challenge was to visit a nursery and buy a plant.

the next week's challenge was to drop it, and do it!

we were supposed to drop something that we were doing and do something for someone else.

this is really hard for me, i have to admit.  the dropping it part, that is.

i don't like leaving messes, or having my schedule interrupted.

i know that sounds terrible, but i'm working on it!

God wants me to be available for Him at any given moment, so this was good for me to reflect upon all week.

when i saw this recipe that carissa had pinned, i knew i wanted to try it.

the girls and i got busy making a double batch and we baked one of the batches that day for supper dessert,

reserving the other for another time.

the next day, we were headed out to hunt for a rock for our garden, and i thought about this giving plate that someone had given me several weeks ago, that had been sitting on my stove, waiting to bless someone else with it's message.  then i thought it might be nice to bake up that extra batch of dough, and pass the plate along to a friend up the road who is such a sweetie.  {that was the whole point of the plate anyway, to refill it with goodies and pass it on.}  i was just waaay behind in the process!  so, while the kids were waiting for me outside, i baked up the batch of cookies and we deviated from the plan {a little} to bless my friend that day. 

i want this whole, drop it and do it philosophy to stick, so i'm going to keep practicing, 

because i need it. :)

it truly is more blessed to give than to receive.

don't you agree?  :)

have a wonderful, happy day!

xo,

mary

linking up with alicia

where did they go?

does anyone know where the weekend went?

wait....no...where did spring go?  that is the REAL question here.

has anyone seen either one?

because i blinked and it was monday, and according to the crazy lady who was running this morning, 

35 degrees is too cold to be wearing shorts.  now it's raining little ice balls out there!

my poor honeysuckle, hydrangeas, and flowering crab tree.

i hope they make it.  :/

 random fact about me:

i have a devout love for tube socks, no matter what the season.

apparently, i'm cold blooded.
 you can find me sleeping in them in the winter, and wearing them all summer long.

just don't make fun of the chickens{my legs, that is}.  

hey! check out what i'm doing today...

hopefully the red won't be needed much except for smiley faces and 100% marks!

 

lately, it seems like every weekend is jam packed full.

last saturday, we went to  a birthday party at chuck e cheese for my two year old nephew.

it was nuts, but the kids loved it!

i, on the other hand, saw millions of little green germs waiting to infest my family.  germ-o-riffic!

here's the birthday boy, blake.  isn't he a doll?

 

henry with stewart.

cousins!

 

on last saturday night, we had a guest speaker at our church from Bible Tracts Inc.

it was so awesome! Mark Smith is the director there, and his desire to spread the gospel through tracts is totally inspiring.

he definitely sparked a flame in our hearts to be more active in telling others about the gospel.

oh! and you should have seen jack and maddie yesterday!

they were handing out tracts to all of our closest neighbors and when jack came back in, he was beaming from ear to ear.

he said, "my heart just feels so happy, mom!"

they definitely  challenge and inspire me to be more bold in my faith.

>>>---->childlike faith<----<<<

if we tell them{the kids} that the Bible commands us to tell everyone about Jesus  they say, "well, let's tell them then!"
they don't ask questions.
not like me, anyway....

"what will they think of me?" or "will i offend them?"

guess what? the Bible says people will be offended, but God will take care of that.  

we plant and give the message, but He gives the increase.

so, yes, by all means, let's tell them!

this saturday, we went to a baby shower for my nephew and his beautiful wife. 

they are having a little boy in may, so we got to 'shower' them with gifts.

they are the cutest couple ever.  :)

so then on saturday night, we had a group of men at our church from Pacific Garden Mission.

it.was.amazing!

they sang and gave their testimonies of how the Lord swooped down and picked them out of  lives of abuse, drugs, and addictions, and gave them new life and hope in Him through Jesus! 

they sang old gospel hymns{my fave], and brought a little chicago to our country church.

we're planning to take a trip down to chicago to tour the Old Lighthouse{the mission}.  

you can go have dinner there, tour the facilities and even hear an unshackled taping.

have you ever heard of unshackled? if not, you must check it out!

in other random news, we were reunited with kit cat after his weekend stay at the vet.

i never EVER thought i would say this, but.....i love this cat!

i was practically wiping tears leaving him.  uhhhh, when did that happen?

it all starts out so innocent and 'just for the kids', but soon you find yourself buying scratching posts, little bird and mouse toys, and chewy treats.  ay yiyi!

 i am usually totally against indoor animals{for us} because of my clean 'issues', 

but he is so sweet and has slowly crept into our hearts with his crazy motormouth and snuggly self.

the kids adore him, too, if you couldn't tell.  :)

my morning coffee station...it's called survival, people.

while shopping at walmart{ACK!} the other day, i found myself being drug over to the lego section...again.

i tried and tried to fight it, but there's no stopping it now.

lego mania has officially begun.

another random fact about me:

i like to change things in my house a lot.  just little things, but change, nevertheless.

it makes me happy!

i  managed to squeeze in a quick curtain change in the bathroom on saturday.

light and wispy it is!  i picked up a pair of curtains from ikea about 8 months ago, so they were due to be hung.  

$4.99 makes my bathroom a whole lot brighter!

{not that you can tell from this grainy pic} 

 

last but not least, the biggest news of all..........

our hill of Calvary is growing!

i cannot wait to post more pics of this soon.

what's better than a free, fun, teachable project?

 

 

what's random in your life lately?

did you notice my new weird profile picture?

i want you to know that i really, really am glad to have you here!  :)

you make me smile, encourage me daily, and i love ya!

 i'm off to sample the pretzels that my girls just made.  literally...they just made them.

they even took {lots of} pictures all by themselves.  future bloggers?   i think so!

"train up a child in the way he should go..."  just kidding!

 btw, this whole sharing the kitchen thing is killing me!

and so is the constant obsession with baking breadish type foods.

 

blessings to you all.
:)

xo,

mary

 

hello, february!

hello, february!

{a day late}

last week i didn't get as much done as i wanted to because of the kids being sick, 

but we are slowly catching up.

i have a huge pile of laundry staring at me in the living room.

i'm avoiding it quite well!

do any of you avoid laundry, too?

i totally used to be the queen of laundry.

i never had any dirty laundry sitting around.

it was always washed, folded, and put away e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y.

ahhhhh....those were the days.

now i'm lucky if i don't have more than 4 loads backed up at any given time.

my family has been known to request socks, t-shirts, and more.

ahem.

february is a big month for us.

you know how after Christmas everything is supposed to slow down for a bit?

yeah, well, not so much over here.

we have been blessed with lots of wonderful family,

and so we get to celebrate...a LOT!

in january, it was my mother-in-law's birthday, 

our anniversary,

henry's birthday, 

a niece and a nephew's birthday, 

my mom's birthday and my parent's anniversary{same day}, 

and my in-law's anniversary.

got that?  i can hardly keep up either.

and if you think february is going to slow down...
....well, it's not.  :)

january was just the warm-up.

february brings us more birthdays....

my niece,

my sister-in-law,

another niece,

my second born,

my first born,

and my third born.

all within two weeks of each other!

then of course there is valentines day in the middle of all that, too.

can you say party animals?

i might just go a little crazy town, so if you think of me, it isn't a mistake.

just start praying! :)

in order to accomplish all of this sanely, i started planning for madelyn's birthday about a month ago.

she loves everything cupcake, sparkles, and pink with polka dots, so we will be having a cupcake themed party for her.

i raided the target dollar section{do you really save money???}, 

and i am making a cupcake banner for her, too.

we will make cupcakes{of course!} and color the house with sparkles, pink, and fun.  :)

                                       now that you know what we'll be doing this month, how about you?

do you have any big plans?

life is always so full and i usually feel like i didn't get enough done each day, 

but there's always tomorrow, late nights, laundry piles sitting for days.
grace.

the Lord always works it out, especially if i ask for His help.

why don't i ask more often?

He is so good at filling in my gaps and strengthening my {many}weaknesses.

do you struggle to get everything done, too?

can you even imagine someone giving up this pie?

my angel mother-in-law left it in our car for us after church on sunday night.

she left heavy whipping cream, too.

it. was. delicious.

we managed to make it out of the house for the first time in WEEKS since the chillins were sick.

we had eye appointments and it was sooo nice to get some fresh air.

goodbye, hermit phase.

and since we were on a roll, we headed to our new and improved library.

our little town just upgraded and it is soooo nice.

what a blessing!

i received another etsy treasure, too.

i am loving all of this home made goodness!

there is something so special about hand made treasures, that people pour their heart into, that i love.

stay tuned for more on that.

jack had the cuuutest little 'run in' with it today at lunch.

it involves him not wanting to finish his food....again.

well, it's about that time.

back to the laundry, supper, and my personal favorite, vacuuming!

no, really, i mean it.

i {heart} vacuuming.

i could write a whole post about it.

someday i think i will.

until then,

please pray for nathan.

he got the bug.

and  i landed a big. fat. cold sore.

it's the size of texas, friends.

and i mean that.

favorite banner from {here}

have a wonderful week!

xo,

mary