so do you want to know how the rest of my Friday went? well...it was smooth sailing..until I spilled Welch's grape juice (and not the white grape kind) and ketchup simultaneously on the light beige carpet. Yes. I am very coordinated like that. I was trying to put away 64 oz  of juice bottle in the fridge along with a small ketchup container...the lid on the juice bottle was open...and the ketchup somehow got busted...Yes.  I sighed. Very loudly. But I reminded myself of a promise I made to myself not to freak out...plus my kids were watching me..watching my every move....Yes, my old self would flip the biscuit! Scream. Blame. Oh yes. Blame. Everyone. And everything including the dumb juice bottle cap. Yes. I raised my voice today, but only to remind my children to observe my disaster on the sidelines and not to step onto my newly colored purple and red carpet. I cleaned it. The husband came in just in time to wisk away the little princess. He also helped clean. The carpet looks like nothing ever happened, same old dirty light beige carpet. How do I find miracle in such moments? I dont know...but for now I thought.."Hey, this is not the end of the world. Its just juice and ketchup. I have carpet. I have a beautiful home. I have wonderful kids. I have amazing husband. Who cares about the stupid carpet?!"

I am kind of woozy right now...I have major teeth pain...long overdue rootcanals are kicking in...so I am on some medication..and I am still trying to be thankful...heard on the news that 6 people in California were killed in a shooting spree today....Sad...so very sad...so I am enduring pain and trying to be thankful in the midst of it ..thankful that my Heavenly Loving Father gave me another day to live...to see, to be, to smile, to watch my babies grow, laugh, cry, play, run, mess up this place, to feel my husband's embrace, to hear his voice...Thank you God...Here it is...Miracle. Life. Life is a miracle.

And to round up the post. Here is what we had for a side to our fajitas tonight....

Easy-peasy Hummus ( I know hummus and fajitas dont go together. But who came up with that rule? :) )
Yes. I love lots of olive oil on mine.

and homemade pita chips. Ok. Semi-homemade. Whole wheat pita bread cut in 8 pieces each, drizzled with EVOO and baked at 375 F 4 minutes on each side. Delicious!
I used to just mash up the hummus, add chopped garlic and olive oil and call it hummus  :) Not so much anymore.
1 can of chickpeas
2-5 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 clove of garlice (half of the whole clove!)
1/4 cup tahini sauce  - this is what makes the hummus AMAZING! Seriously.
salt
cumin - pinch
I dont have a food processor, so I still mash all the ingredients with a potato masher. I used garlic masher for my garlic. The hummus comes out much more coarse than the store bought kind. But we are used to it, so no biggie for us but by all means use food processor. At the end I did use as I call it "stand up" blender I used to make baby food to kind of make it smoother.
Its good! Try it.

Meds are kicking in. Better go catch some zzzzzzzs...

Its Friday..

Dishes are piled up high. Toys are everywhere. Shoes are scattered in the hallway - a mud room to have would be a dream..but for me more like a "dirt" room. Beds are to be made, bathrooms cleaned, laundry folded, dinner started, emails answered, children fed, books read, little bumbums wiped..oh I forgot...a shower for me is in order...but that will come hopefully after the dishes washed and lunches served...My promise to myself today is to count it all joy...to find blessings in each given task/chore/conversation....Thats my goal..and thats my promise to myself...Its 11:16am..i took the time to bike 18 miles in one hour this morning...i feel good, I feel I accomplished a goal, I pushed myself to the limit, I sweat, I worked hard...and now i record it here on my blog to remind myself to work hard to count my blessings all day...to see the miracles in the everyday living...to feel good about my "housewife" life and receive it with thanksgiving..
May your Friday be blessed..May you see the God of Heaven and Earth and His abundant love for you in small things..may you take the time to notice the miracles...

The weather has been wonderful, so I am trying to discipline myself and take kiddos to the park/playground at least three times a week. After all the toys have been played with for the thousand time,and scattered in every room, (I found trains in my bathroom drawer this morning), cartoons watched, books read, puzzles put together, coloring pages (and walls!) colored - they go crazy and I go crazy watching them going crazy. I put on my brave mama face, dress them, pack snacks, and off we go to explore. And I am learning patience...and to be thankful ...to be truly grateful for a chance to watch them grow, jump, run, be silly, swing and laugh..I try to breathe in every moment afraid it will end so soon..they will grow up, go on, leave the nest...but for I now I bottle in these moments....I try to remember not to grumble at them when they are cranky, tired, hot, loud, annoying.....when I am tired, cranky, hot, selfish...because in the end I must realize I am not perfect, I am selfish, and I cant expect my children to be perfect to satisfy my selfish self..I have to figure out how to put aside "me," "my needs", "my wants," "my problems," "my anxieties," and serve God and obey God by serving my children..who are not mine, but are given to me by God for some time...
Wowsa! How did I get here? :)

So I try to capture the moments. I grab my point and shoot gadget, and I click away...and now I post so I can remember...so I can learn to be thankful...to be present in this moment..in this season of life...

Sassy girl with so much sweetness

Beautiful lake with pretty cool looking turtles (I dont know who taught him to pose like that :), but husband said to stop the posing. Oops. )

 watching bugs with new friends ...oh the wonder..the excitement of watching tiny creepy-crawly creatures....When was the last time I stopped to breathe in and appreciate God's creation? Like a child.

:))

We met a wonderful Mama yesterday with two little ones. They are from Moscow, Russia! So fun to hang out and just chat with another Russian speaker. 

Vroom- vroom! 

 munchkins in action

 oh my heart...so full...so aching from abundant love...

this smile...

 ha! had to post this one..I was invited to a picnic by my son to a child size house..Fun times! My knees were hitting my chin, but, hey, the little ones fed me :) 

 determined to play with big kids. Forget the baby playground. 

weeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

God, I thank you for the life you have so graciously given me...

Southern Summer Love

I grew up watching fruit and vegetables grow. My grandpa and grandma had a huge garden, where they grew apples, plums, peaches, pears, cherries, potatoes, onions, currant berries, raspberries and, of course, strawberries! Every summer I ate so much strawberries - my stomach hurt. Grandma, my mama, grandpa and my dad labored day and night to wash it, rinse it, dry it, saturate'em in sugar and make strawberry jam with whole berries in it. Oh if memories in our brains could bring smells back! So come winter, every morning and evening we had tea with strawberry jam on bread.
And now that I am a mom, I would love for my children to experience some of what I saw and enjoyed so much - seeing the berry flowers bloom, grow, turning into berries. I want them to experience the pure delight of picking them and eating them right of the bush. I googled "strawberry farms" in our area and tada!...4 of them! Bingo. Off we went.

yummy goodness :)

Lucas was so excited! he was so loud about the strawberries he found and the whole farm new - my kid loves some strawberries

Sofia figured out that she can simply sit down and eat right off the bush..Daddy let her too

 for every berry he picked he ate one..or more..but hey, who's counting?! :D

"I dont understand. Why do we have to go? Can I stay?" 

 Happy, happy boy!

 we are coming back

It was an amazing afternoon; so fun to remember my own childhood, to remember the smells..but what I am mostly thankful for is the joy in my children's eyes, the delight at God's creation, the loud screams of excitement, the sweet juice running down their faces, the "look, Mom, look, Mom, look I found another red one." Thank you God. Thank you for my own memories. Thank you for my grandparents. Thank you for strawberries. Thank you for the smells...

2 words: Garbage Pizza.
Hello weekend.
First New York style pizza after 10 years. In 2003 Everette came to visit me in New Jersey where I did my internship; we ventured out to NYC, had a blast being tourists and, of course, discovered mutual love for pizza! NEW YORK Pizza, baby!
So tonight's treat from a local pizza joint, J&S New York Pizza, was pretty darn close to the pizza we have in our memories. We ordered "Garbage Pizza" - pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions, and peppers (I substituted my side for black olives instead of pepperoni). It was huge, it was tasty, loaded with ooey-gooey goodness, it was awesome. Our pizza-loving offspring pretty much summed it up rather beautifully, "This is super-duper, yummy, mmmmmm good, awesome (didn't know he knew that word!) pizza. Don't eat it all, leave me another piece."

Have a safe and 'mmmmmm good' weekend  :)

P.S. come to  find out...as my husband devoured his pizza  he shared that NYC was the place he fell in love...with me :)

1st Blog!

So, I lay here at night(well, I did the last couple nights) and keep thinking about how to start my blog, i have so many thoughts, so many ideas, and really not many adults to talk to - being a momma takes up my whole day every day. And dont take me wrong, I love it. But i also like to talk and there is only so much I can say to my 4 and 1 year old :) Posting my thoughts and ideas on Facebook seems... well, stupid...Blogging is almost like writing a journal to me...well, sorta...plus, whoever wants to know my thoughts, my life, my ideas can check me out here vs. facebook :) Anyway! SO. I do stuff at home like laundry, clean, wipe, cook, clean, wipe, sweep, pick up, put away, wash..sometimes in that order and sometimes who knows what comes first. But besides being a wife and mom, I am first of all, a daughter of THE KING!... I am learning lately so much about His LOVE. His Character. His GRACE. His LOVE for me, for undeservable me. He thinks I deserve Christ. He thought of me when He sent His beloved child to spill blood on that Cross, blood that saturated the ground under  Him to save me, to love me, to bless me, to invite me in His eternity. WOW. The love of the Father.
This blog will be about: Jesus, Love, my family - my kids, The Husband, myself, my crazy-daze dayz, the daily stuff - even the gross, so read at your own discretion (!).  I love to cook, so it will have some recipes, may be even pictures attached to 'em :),  some book reviews/ideas - when I actually find time to read, and I do love to read me a good book with a cup of coffee at my side. It will be about struggles; struggles of the soul and struggles of our life here on this earth. It will be about learning to Love God, learning to Love people, learning to give thanks in all things and always, learning to forgive and extend grace. It will be about counting blessings, seeing God in the daily routine and accepting His blessings.
This blog will be about my heart and I pray God will continue to mold it and shape it. Because, goodness, I need it - I am a rotten sinner trying to somehow teach my children to love THE Savior.
Stay tuned.
Oh. I said I love to cook, but even more I like to eat. Good food. Im not saying everything I make or eat out is non processed, freezer-isle free. I might add my 2 cents about some good eats around the area. I try Pinterest recipes at times, so watch out for some yummy pictures.
I also like make up. So you might see some posts on that subject too :)

Catch yall soon :)