Wines of the Week May 31

Oliver Winery has a nice portfolio of wines to meet the needs of connoisseurs at every stage. Why not keep your money in state and support the local economy first. One out of every eight bottles that scans thru the register at the local grocery store is Oliver's Soft Red wine.

Last summer Oliver introduced the Harvest wines: Strawberry, Mango, and Black Cherry! Stacey likes mixing harvest wines with 7up for a light and refreshing summertime cocktail. When you look for a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz (rated 90 points- Dine magazine), White Zinfandel, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, or Gewurztraminer, try Oliver Wines first.

The Perfect Running Partner

I LOVE to go running in the early morning. I don't get to do it often, but when our schedules allow (i.e. Tommy is home to watch the kids) I love to go. This morning I was about to reach for my iPod when I felt God say "Leave the iPod, let's talk instead". There is something about the stillness of the early morning, birds singing, the breeze blowing the trees, a freshness that today is a new day. We had bad storms last night, but this morning everything was calm. I am so thankful for God's promise, "If you draw near to me, I will draw near to you." He is never late, never judgemental, always encouraging. The PERFECT running partner.

Big Bed

For those of you who may not have seen this before, the above picture is Logan's crib with a crib tent. It zips up and prevents him from crawling out. Both Olivia and Logan crawled out of their beds at 19 months old. When Olivia did it, I ran to Babies R Us almost in tears, unsure if there was such a thing as a crib tent. I rushed to the nearest clerk and burst into a plea "My son is 7 weeks old and my 19 month old monkey, I mean daughter, climbed out of her bed! help!" They led me to the Crib Tent which seriously saved our lives! After a night of adjusting, Olivia loved it, and I knew Logan would too when his day came. Olivia happened to crawl out of her bed at nap time, thus giving me time to get the crib tent before bedtime, Logan, not so much. One night, I was startled awake as he stomped into our room at 2am. I took him back to his bed and returned to mine, praying that it was just a fluke. It wasn't! We did this, back and forth game, for 2 hours!!!! Guess where I was when Babies R Us opened? Olivia's tent had broken, so we invested another $70 into another tent. This is truly the BEST investment we have made as parents. So back to the poll. Most of you said you moved your child between 2 and 3. We moved Olivia right before she turned 3 and she did great. Right now we plan to move Logan when he is 12.

Mud Table

Our new sand and water table is now a mud table. The kids are having a ball, but I should have taken Kerri's advice. After all the sand is gone, it will be a good water-only table. (Smile). The kids in the store ad, for this table, were playing so well, one on the sand side and one on the water side. As soon as Logan got outside he took a big handful of sand and plopped it into the water side! It was funny, but now so messy! But they love it and it makes them so happy! It sure is nice to be playing outside everyday!!!! I am so thankful it is summer!

Creative Parenting

It was rainy and cool earlier this week and we all have colds. We know God's healing hand is on us, but apparently He has two hands on the kids, because they have just as much energy with a cold as without. However, the mom and dad do not. I brought our extra queen mattress set into the living room so the kids could "bounce" out all of that energy. They loved it and cried today when it was put away. It served its purpose, they slept great last night, ours colds are almost gone and the sun is shining today!

Patience

Every night as Tommy and I pray together, we ask for wisdom and patience as we raise our children. I am always amazed at Tommy's patience with the kids. We all have colds and he is STILL patient! He spent 20 minutes at the kitchen table with Olivia teaching her tic-tac-toe. Even when he doesn't feel his best, he takes time to really play with the kids. I watched him receive the patience we pray for this morning while making a memory with Olivia. Our kids are so blessed to him as their daddy!

God's Beauty (Even in the City)

There is a creek behind our neighborhood that is so secluded and peaceful I can't go there without thanking God for all of the beauty He made for us to enjoy. This little slice of heaven is so secluded, you can't see any homes, businesses or traffic. This is a new place for our family to go walk in the water, throw rocks (over and over and over again, Logan could do this for hours!) and just enjoy God's beauty together as a family.

Peaceful Sunday Afternoons

I love peaceful Sunday afternoons. After church, Tommy and the kids are napping, and I steal a few minutes on the sofa with a cup of coffee and a good book!

Happy Birthday Kathy!

Happy Birthday Kathy!
Enjoy your day!
Love, Tommy, Stacey, Olivia and Logan!

A Prayer for our Children

I found this prayer and I love it!

"God, this is your child. I give him/her to you in a new way today. Give me love, patience, understanding and wisdom, Lord. You lead them. You work in their little hearts to lead them into bright futures full of promises and right choices. Help me not to confine them into the people I think they should be, but give You the freedom to work in their lives.
Amen"

Train Table

From Logan: Thank you Gigi, Aunt Nancy, Uncle Dan, Great Grandma Mounce, Grandpa and Grandma Kathy, Grandma and Apu for my new train table. I have only chewed on a few to the wooden pieces. I only get a little mad at Olivia for taking over and making new rules. I like to take it all apart and watch my mom and dad put it all back together. Please come see me play with it soon! I love you!

I love Target!

Let me preface this post by saying that the kids and I have been trying to stay home more, goal 3 days/week to save gas. So this morning when Tommy came out to breakfast and said "We are out of lotion and mousse" I said calmly "Ok babe, maybe we will run out today". Inside I was saying "Yippee! A legitimate reason for running to Target!" What is it about the Target shopping experience that is so much better than shopping at other stores? (starts with a "W" and ends with a "t"). Maybe it is the aroma of Starbucks when you walk in, or maybe it is the Target cafe that sells popcorn and a coke for $1. That alone justifies the trip for me. The kids are occupied with the popcorn while I walk up and down every aisle to look at everything. I honestly pray for supernatural restraint when we pull up to Target and today we we did well. We got the mousse and lotion (coupons for both), batteries (coupon), appliance light bulb for over the stove (coupon) and the popcorn and coke. So I got my Target fix, got what we needed and got to see civilization! I am trying to make my shopping trips more efficient but living where we do in Indianapolis everything we need is within 7 miles: downtown Indianapolis, the Children's Museum, the mall, every store and restaurant, our church, the library, etc. So although we don't drive far, it still takes gas to go to these places. I am able to justify my trip to Target this am because I saved $5.50 in coupons which hopefully covered the gas for the trip. (smile)

Wanted: New cooler

Does anyone have a cooler they really like (durable, portable, etc)? If so where did you get it? Tommy is in his car all day long (he is a wine rep) and takes a cooler with him to keep lunch/drinks. Ours is getting so old and starting to leak. We are willing to invest some money in a nice one since this helps reduce the cost of lunches out etc. Let me know if anyone has any ideas.... If you are unsure how to leave a comment, click on the 'comment' icon at the end of this post. Write your comment in and then type in the letters shown to reduce spam. You can click anonymous if you don't have a blog account. Thanks!

Gevalia Coffee

I have seen the Gevalia coffee maker offers in magazines over the years but just now got around to ordering this deal (http://www.gevalia.com/)! I got the above coffee maker and 2 8oz bags of ground coffee (flavor of my choice) for $14.95. I LOVE the programmable coffee maker and in my opinion, the coffee is Starbucks quality. There is no obligation, they will auto-ship coffee or tea to your home as frequently as you like or you can cancel anytime and keep the coffee maker. Right now I am on the 10-week shipment schedule (2 8oz bags), that way I can mix it with the Market Pantry French Vanilla Coffee (Target) I love, and it's not so hard on the pocketbook. Anyway, just had to share, this is such a great deal!!!

Update: It truly is the little things...

Here is our bed at 4:15, AND we were gone most of the day! I think people come in our house and wear our clothes there is so much laundry! HA! Notice the hide-and-seekers...

It truly is the little things....

As a mom, and homemaker, there are certain parts of my daily routine that bring my heart such peace, if even for a split second, in that moment, while doing something so seemingly mundane, I am able to stop, and see even more of God's goodness (acknowledging that my home is a gift from Him) in my life and reflect on a personally peaceful moment and let it fill me. When my bed is made I feel a wonderful peace, I keep walking in our room to see it. I know it won't be long before it is covered again with laundry to fold, and no doubt a child crawling under the covers during a game of hide-and-seek. But for this moment I can enjoy the pillows all lined up and the covers smoothed out. Mom, I can now really appreciate the wonderful home you kept while Brad was messing everything up.

Summer Dinners!

I am so excited that summer is just around the corner! That means summer dinners. We haven't visited our local fresh produce stand yet, but I am anxious to do so. Last night we had one of our first real summer dinners, although the turkey burgers were made on the stove (note the Tommy: please clean the grill, it is gross) and the veggies (sweet corn and sautee'd zucchini and squash) were from Aldi's, it felt like a summer dinner! Watching Logan eat corn on the cob is a riot, all the while Olivia is cheering him on "Good boy Logan! Eating by yourself!" (He has been doing this for a long while now but it still excites Olivia to see how well he does it, since SHE taught him to do it, (smile)). Since I am in the mood to grill, what does everyone make on the grill? I would like to try some new things this summer!!! Please leave a comment and let me know. Also, does anyone participate in a farm fresh delivery service? Kerri, I know you do... we are considering joining this one http://www.farmfreshdelivery.com/. Everyone have a great day!

The Joy of the Lord is my Strength... Nehemiah 8:10

I love this verse! I truly believe we can find joy everywhere and anywhere, in our days, if we are willing to look. The past few days have been a struggle between a "wonderfully expressive" 3-year-old and her "I just want to have well-behaved children" mother. Yesterday during time-out Olivia said "I don't like this game, it is NOT fun!" I laughed right outloud and suddenly my day was put back into perspective. Parenting is not always easy, but God provides SOOOO many opportunities for joy and laughter in our days, are we looking for them? A few opportunites for joy I have already been blessed with today...

1. All 4 of us snuggled in our bed watching cartoons this morning.

2. Olivia's good report, "I was so good this morning for grandma, and so was Logan!"

3. A wonderful hug from Logan, while he ran his fingers through my hair and smiled.

4. Olivia saying "I love you" in sign language.

5. Olivia saying "Logan is the best Logan we have ever had"

6. Having a wonderful mother-in-law who loves to sit with the kids while I run out for a couple hours.

7. Fountain Diet Coke (need I say more?)

8. Tommy told me I looked pretty today, (Ok, I actually showered and got dressed before he left so he was probably confused, but I loved the compliment anyway!)

9. Olivia needed dry clothes in the middle of the night last night and when I was done tucking her back into bed she said "Thanks, mom".

10. God made the sun shine today.



Dear God,

Thank you for all of the joy you bring into my days. I promise to do better at recognizing it and thanking You for it.

Amen!

Happy Birthday Logan!

Logan is 2!

Play-doh Playdate!

Maggie and Olivia had fun creating this morning with playdough! Cute girls!!!

Welcome Race Fans!

I know the plans...

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

This verse has been in my mind all week. I just love the promise it gives us! I know the little worries that we allow to take up space in our thoughts (gas prices, money, etc.) can easily be given over to God in faith when we claim promises like this one. I am so glad we don't have to carry the weight of this world on our shoulders. God is ready to take any burden from us and never give it back!

Prayer

Olivia says some great prayers, they are so simple.

"Thank you God for all of the children who don't have enough to eat. It is very sad. You must hurry. It is important."

So sweet and innocent, quickly followed by:

"Thank you for Aerial (and then a list off all of the princesses)"

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Happy Mother's Day Mom! Thank you for all that you do for us and most of all for your prayers for our family. We love you so much! Miss you bunches today! Love, Stacey

Wine of the week May 9th

The name, " Two Vines" describes the trellis system that separates the vines which allows for more sunlight to the actual grapes. This wine comes from Washington state's Columbia Valley. This area is on the same latitude as Bordeaux in France and each produce fabulous wine.

This cabernet is very smooth and polished with slight cherry and blueberry flavors throughout. The fantastic finish reveals hints of cocoa, yummy! This is truly one of the easiest drinking bottles I have had. The retail is between $6.99 and $7.99.

Survivor!

Survivor was so good last night! I can't wait until the season finale on Sunday. There have been so many twists and turns this season. Makes me wonder, if I was on a show like that, with the chance to win $1 million, would I be able to keep my integrity and not get caught up in the deception and back-stabbing that would be going on around me? A game like that is a true test of character.

My Boys

Logan turns 2 in 2 weeks! How is that possible? It is fun watching him grow into a little boy. He not only looks like his daddy, he is CRAZY about his daddy! In the middle of the night if he wakes, it is "DAAAADDDDYYY" he wants. So cute!

The Little Things...

I am so glad that Olivia and Logan truly get excited over little things. Going to the swings by our house has become a daily event for us. They both get so excited and almost run the 1/2 mile it takes to get there!

Olivia: "Mommy, I need to go high like a butterfly and higher than Logan."

Logan: "Swiiiinnngggg"

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

I found this recipe on the Food Network, I altered it just a little to make it a little less spicy... It was great served with warm tortilla chips and a Mojito!

Black and Red Fiesta Beans with Rice

2 c instant brown rice
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 c salsa
1 1/2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Thyme (I used ground thyme)
1/2 t Garlic powder ( I omitted salt and used garlic salt instead)
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 11 oz can corn drained
Salt and Pepper to taste


Cook rice - meanwhile combined remaining ingredients and simmer until rice is cooked. Fold in rice. Top with sour cream and scoop up with chips! Yum!

*Side note: I figured the cost per serving to be $.65

Happy Birthday Brad and Jill!

Happy Birthday to all of us! It was fun getting together for dinner friday night! You two have a great day! Love you guys!

Tommy's Wine of the Week

Chateau Ste Michelle

Sauvignon Blanc

Chateau Ste Michelle, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, clean and refreshing style of sauvignon blanc from Washington State. It shows aromas and flavors of sweet citrus and dried herbs. This wine pairs perfectly with Stacey's chicken and zucchini sauteed in olive oil and Ste Michelle Sauv Blanc. Its delicious and light, just in time for summer! Chill and enjoy a glass with dinner!

Happy Anniversary Brad and Kerri!

Have a great day celebrating your marriage!
We love you guys!

Wine of the week

Stay tuned for Tommy's wine and food pairing recommendation for this week....