Eating...kid-style!

One night last week-ish, I decided to let the kids make dinner.  Yup...you read that right....the kids made their own dinner.  Years ago in college we went on a retreat where we made these foil dinners over the fire.  So I decided to re-create that with the kids one night for something different.  I made the ground beef into balls; cut up some onions, carrots and potatoes; and set out all different kinds of seasonings.  I gave each kid a piece of foil and let them put all their stuff on their foil and then season it!  I kinda forgot to get some pictures of them actually making their dinner...I guess the combination of a 7, 5, and 4 year old with raw ground beef made me a little cautious.  But here's a few right after...

 They said it was the best dinner they've ever eaten....they're kinda conceited if you ask me ;). The ground meat was actually deer meat and on top of that it cooked too long so it was actually not even close to the best meal we've ever made.  It's amazing what having kids help does to their overall dining experience.

I also thought I'd randomly share our breakfast experience the other day.  We dropped Jason off at work one morning and ran some errands after that.  We didn't have much at home to eat for breakfast, and I had to run by Kroger anyway, so we decided to grab some breakfast in there...

 The minute we started to step out from under the awning it started pouring rain.  I mean pouring.  I can handle some rain, but I in no way, was about to attempt to get 4 kids in the car in that.  So we plopped ourselves down right in front of Kroger and enjoyed our breakfast while waiting for the rain to let up.  Perfection. :)

 (side note: no, I did not feed my 8 month old baby a hard, crunchy cereal bar). :)

The kids enjoyed it and it saved us from the rain!  So there we go!  Who says you can't have fun running errands and making dinner with 4 kids? :)

Homeschooling

Yes...you read it right...I am HOMESCHOOLING!  It was kind of a quick decision when we moved here.  I mean, I had pretty much decided to start it in the fall, but I originally planned on letting them finish the year in school.  But when we got here, the process of getting them enrolled was so complicated that we just decided to go ahead and start now.  Beginning the process was very hard because I had to figure out where to start them.  I had an idea of where they were, but I didn't know exactly.  Plus I have a different curriculum than what they had in school so it goes in a different order and...well you get the picture.  It was challenging.  But, now...it's awesome!  It's nothing like I thought it'd be and I am really loving it!  We still aren't done for the summer just yet, because we took quite a break waiting for our workbooks to come in...but we shouldn't have too much longer to go!

 Sometimes when Daddy is home while we're doing school he'll come in and help.  Usually I have been trying to explain something for 20 minutes and he will come in and say it slightly different and then the light turns on.  Gotta love that.

I really love homeschooling.  There is nothing like watching their wheels turning and watching the light turn on when they learn something new.  I never thought I'd enjoy it as much as I do.  :)

Dayton

Before we arrived in Memphis, me and the kids made a week-long visit to Dayton to see Jason's mom and grandparents.  While we were there we also got to see a few of our friends that live there too!  It was a great week!  The only thing missing was daddy.  He had to go on to Memphis for some job interviews.  But we were so glad and thankful to have gotten to spend a week with Grandmaw!  I am SO thankful for the relationship I have with my mother-in-law and I can't wait til we can go visit again!  Here are a few pics of the kids from our stay...

Sporting their new outfits from Grandmaw...

One day the kids pretended each room of the house was a different fast food restaurant. Lily made signs for all the doors.  Can you guess which fast food place this is?  :)

One day we went and had lunch at my friend Jill's house.  Jill is actually the person who introduced Jason and I in college!  The kiddos had a blast playing at Jill's with her little boy Anthony.  And of course the trampoline was a hit!

My boys...

I got to eat at my most favorite restaurant...Jacob Myers.  They have THE best kettle cooked chips you'll ever eat.  Ever.

The first summer we lived in Dayton (about 3 years ago) we purchased some land there at an auction.  Several months ago we decided to sell that land.  It was a beautiful lot, but we just don't really have use for it anymore.  When I went to visit it was a little hard seeing this adorable new house sitting on our land!! 





So...the stay was great!  And now, being that it's been almost 2 months since we've been, I'm ready to go back!  We are having a ball here in Memphis, but I am always missing our Dayton family as well!  Even though I grew up here, I can't get over how much Dayton feels like home to me too! 

We Moved!

Sooooo, we moved! 

 

After many months of prayer, Jason and I felt the Lord leading us to church planting.  We aren't exactly sure what that will look like yet.  Maybe we will start a church, maybe Jason will pastor a church and plant other churches through that church.  We don't know yet, we just know that God said "Go!" So we went!  We are currently back in Tennessee...whoop whoop!  We are living with my parents right now, just outside of Memphis, while we pray through what our next ministry looks like!  Jason is currently working at Chick-fil-A and eating it up...no pun intended..(ok so there was totally a pun intended). :)  And we are hoping to get our own little place here in Memphis as soon as we are able!

 I have always heard over the years of God telling people to just "GO" without the confirmation of another job and have often wondered what that looked like.  Now I know.  It does take a lot of prayer and confirmation through His Word.  We were also very blessed to have had a lot of christian counsel and people praying for us.  And through all that, you just know!  And God has been so faithful through this whole process for us!  My favorite example of His provision for us was this...April 1st was our first official day without a job.  We were on the road, with a U-Haul, and had over 500 miles to get to our destination.  We weren't super loaded with cash by any means.  God chose that day to be the day that our income tax would be deposited into our account.  That gave us money to sustain us while Jason found a job.  I am so thankful for the way God works in our lives.  I am thankful for both our parents who offered to take us in, rent-free, during this time of transition for our family.  And I am so thankful for the peace God has given Jason and I during this time.  It has truly been..."the peace of God that transcends all understanding." (Phil. 4:8).  I am thankful for these little blessings below who are so trusting of us and never worry about anything (except who touched them, or who isn't their best friend anymore). :)

And I am so thankful for the man God has put in my life to lead me and our family.  A man I can trust and follow...knowing that He is seeking our Lord Jesus and His perfect will for our lives.  All you single ladies out there reading....WAIT for that man!  He is WELL worth the wait!!  I know many other women with godly husbands who will give a hearty "amen" to that! 
So...that's a summary of our story!  I hope to be updating the blog regularly from here on out....(but those of you who read regularly know that I go in spurts).  I have lots to catch up on ranging from homeschooling our children, to our baby boy being 8 MONTHS OLD!  I cannot believe it!  Well..until next time! :)

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:8-9