Eucharisteo Moment

Eucharisteo - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember as thanks to the Lord.

Tuesday Day book

Outside my window...

I'm waiting for this heat to go away. I couldn't be happier or more grateful for my AC!

I am thankful...

For the Lord's continual and faithful provisions. He gave us these five wonderful children and He's always providing for them!

I am thinking about...

all the projects I want to start doing to get ready for fall and winter. If I start now, Christmas will be awesome!

Learning all the time...

to shut my mouth and listen twice as much as I speak.

From the Kitchen...

I'm making Mushroom pancakes for dinner. An all time favorite in our house, topped with some sour cream. They are highly addictive.

I am creating...

let's see, I'm in the middle of six different projects, but I want to drop it all and make Christmas ornaments. Scrapbooking still, card making, knitting, mending to do, painting I want to get done. Good thing I have lots to keep me busy!

I am working on...

the Laundry. Blah!

I am going...

out tonight for a little bit by myself. Mama needs a break and I'm grateful for a husband who is there for me and understands.

I am reading...

"for a Glory and a Covering: a practical theology on Marriage" by Douglas Wilson. Once again, his awesome advice hits home. Good book!

I am praying...

for a possible change in our home. Maybe another border to live with us. Hoping it works out.

I am hearing...

Saint Saens

Around the house...

We moved Soeren out of his room and into the boys room. The boys love being together!

One of my favorite things...

homemade guacamole!

a few pictures to share...

Abigail and I at In and Out for lunch. Yum!

 She takes after her Mama

 The boys getting in some practice at the Musical Instrument Museum

"Where's my burger?"

Eucharisteo Moment:singing the doxology

Eucharisteo - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember as thanks to the Lord.

the love of peas...

My mother can attest to the fact that for my entire life I have had a deeply rooted hatred for peas. It was one of those foods that took hours of sitting at the table when everyone else had left, and I sat there, hiding them in  my napkin, finding ways to get rid of them, just not eat them. As an adult, I have learned to "tolerate" them and I am humored at the fact that my children LOVE peas. My kids eat them as if they were as delicious as M&M's. I know, it's weird, but there you have it.  Then I discovered these beautiful babies at Sprouts. The sign said "English Garden Peas" which conjured up the idea of Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, and I felt that if I didn't buy them, I was betraying Beatrix Potter herself. Now, I am a very tactile person. I have to feel things, it's just who I am. I will say that shelling these peas was pretty near perfection for a tactile person. It was romantic! Opening the shells, popping out each pea.... amazing! And then the taste!!!! Oh my, never have I tasted such a pea. Baby definitely got in on the action and I was amused to watch my little guy eating raw peas and relishing them, even crying because he wanted more. I obliged...

I cooked the peas along with some fresh zucchini, red bell peppers and some really good sausage I found at Costco (spinach and bell pepper-Yum!)

Then I added, feta cheese, a little parmesean cheese, some sundried tomatoes and tossed it with couscous. 

A nice healthy dinner and the peas were delicious!!!

converted silver tray

I was so inspired by this blog and loved how it looked and then I remembered... wait... I found a tray a couple years ago in a box that someone was giving away (junky books etc) Here is the tray as it looked.

and after being inspired to make it a magnetic board, this is how mine turned out!

I made some magnets using old magnets and double stick tape and some pretty papers I stamped awhile back as well as some tiny clothespins a friend gave me (hi friend! I miss you!)

I love how it turned out. I love that it was completely free for me as I had all the necessary materials. I love how it greets us as we come in and out of our home. Maybe you have an old metal plate or platter. This is such a rewarding project!

Projects finished today...

I had a lot of fun with this one (also making something else I will show you tommorow when everything dries!) I like this vase, it's a good size, it's looks like it's nice, but in reality, it's plastic. Here it is...

It's nice the way it is, but why not add some charm to it, why not paint it? Yes, I just simply gave it a couple coats of white paint and I think somewhere along the way, it turned magical. I love, love, love how basic and easy and rewarding this project is. I'm thinking mason jars, wine bottles, the possibilities are endless!

I also finished a rather easy project for a wee little one about to be born. Something handstitched is always nice. I just cut out clouds from another fabric I had lying around and embroidered around them. It has velcrot attachments on the ends, I'm hoping it will be stained with pees and carrots, maybe some peaches and accompany many smiles and giggles!

July's Eucharisteo List

So I finally finished reading the book. It is a fabulous book in so many ways, something I should have read years ago. You can find Ann's blog here . An inspiring blog. I started printing out her Eucharisteo list (or thanks to the Lord) and we all found things to be thankful for during the month. I will continue doing this. It's wonderful seeing the whole family putting things on the list of what they're thankful for. Cultivating a life of thanks is something that needs to begin early. Here are tidbits of thanks for the month of July.

*Children snuggling with Daddy(watching funny video's on his phone)

*babies playing with bowls and spoons on the kitchen floor

*Eddrick is thankful for being healthy

*Abigail is thankful for really good food

*Daddy is thankful for his boys and girls and their differences

*blackberry pancakes

*handmade stationary from Grandma, drawn by her

*four year olds that color Renoir, but making the colors like a Lautrec

*the morning light coming through the kitchen window

*exciting school project

*the Lord's faithful provisions

*Planetariums

*the city of Phoenix

*our local church, the body of Christ

*Lox and bagels

*Booming Thunder

*the morning after a rainstorm: everything is clean and sparkly

*a grey, stormy sky

*toothless grins

*caring dentists

*mother and son dates

*the sound of rain on the windows

*baby fingers with mushy bananas between them

*bouquets of lavender

*wine on sale

*the feel of bread dough in your hands

*a three year old's need for Snoopy, the cute way he pleads for it before bedtime

*summer vegetables

*grapefruits

*basil plants

*watching stock car races with my son

*the gentle hum of a ceiling fan and it's lullabye effect

Eucharisteo Moment

Eucharisteo - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember as thanks to the Lord.

Wednesday weekly menu

This weeks menu is up (I do Wednesday to Wednesday because that's how I shop and it's just easier for me that way)

Trying to have more fruits and veggies. Got great stuff at Sprouts today, everything had a great price.Lots of lucious tomatoes, pineapples, avocados, 77 cent blueberries. Yum!

I had all five of my little ones with me and an elderly Italian woman stopped me and we spoke for quite awhile. She told me of the days of Mussolini, of the blue eyed marines who rescued her. She said my boys looked just like those handsome blue eyed marines. She thanked me for raising the next generation, she was beautiful and I could have stood there in between the pineapples and the mangoes for hours talking to her. What a jewel! Yet one more reason I love going to Sprouts! We mothers are so encouraged when someone spurs us on with good words. I thrive on those words.. likewise the reverse can also be true. When a mother of lots of little ones hears "you have your hands full" "you must be crazy" or "wow, I certainly couldn't do that!"... it can dash my day to bits. So if you, reader, are out and about in your day and you see a Mama, trying her best in the store with her children, encourage her! She needs it!

Tuesday Day book

Outside my window...

I am watching the breeze flow through the Jacaranda trees, it's amazing that we are having a breeze at all in this Phoenix heat, but it is lovely nonetheless!

I am thankful...

for my hardworking husband who never ceases to amaze me with how hard he works for us! He came home late last night with a black face, black hands, black arms, burns on his arms from welding. He never complains.

I am thinking about...

how nice my speed walk on the treadmill was during naptime for the kiddos. I listened to my Pandora radio station:Ella Fitzgerald. So nice!

Learning all the time...

Bought a book from the thrift store yesterday on Caligraphy. Can't wait to get two seconds together to delve in!

From the Kitchen...

Tonight's dinner is my Mother's Oven fried Lemon Chicken recipe. I tweaked it a little bit, a dash of garlic powder here, a tiny bit of jamacain jerk mix for a kick, marinating in fresh lemons. Going to bake some fresh french bread to go with it. The smell of fresh bread from the oven is on the list of top favorite smells!

I am creating...

a scrapbook for my husband's boss, Kevin right now(he gave me the pictures and the supplies).Seeing someone else's memories keeps me accountable to take time for my precious ones and make our own special memories. I also feel a little convicted that I have two kids who don't have their own scrapbooks.(someday!)

I am working on...

being extra affectionate with my children these days. Being a family of five kids, I know there are times when they are really missing out. So I'm pouring it on just to be on the safe side. Couldn't hurt!

I am going...

to hang out this evening in our backyard and let the kids play. Hopefully it will be a bit cooler by then.

I am reading...

Yikes... still in the same book. But I'm loving it, and I guess slowly digesting it. "A thousand gifts" by Ann Voskamp. Probably one of the best books I've ever read. It's beautiful, it's painfully convicting at times, it's what I need.

I am praying...

for a certain brother who works in Washington DC, that God will prove Himself faithful and that justice, TRUTH and peace reign in the White House.

I am hearing...

Fernando Ortega. I love how he sings the hymns. So lovely.

Around the house...

a few kids still napping, a few doing school, a few playing.

One of my favorite things...

this week, it has to be sea salt Chocolate.

a few pictures to share...

we set up our miniature planetarium. It was magical!