One Sweet Life

September 4, 2013

Oh Hey There!

Oh my its been awhile! Well how how you been? I have been doing well. Things here in our house are as busy as any normal mom to 4 and a wife to 1. This summer went by pretty fast and I would like to apologize for lack of posting. Pretty much our summer went like so- lots of outside time in the yard., planting and taking care of our garden and a few small backyard bonfires. Nothing extravagant or exciting. Nothing wrong with that especially since we moved into this house and are just enjoying the space.

One space we really love is the veggie garden we planted this spring. I am praying it will provide us with plenty of yummy goodies come this winter! I have never canned anything and I don't think I will this year. I really enjoy freezing things! So I have been working on sauces from tomatoes and pesto from basil and arugula, freezing broccoli, snow peas and green beans. Tonight I am freezing beets :)
Blessing to you all! Produce much fruit in keeping with repentance!

Our baby garden :)

Our much bigger grown up garden :)

March 28, 2013

Bible study thoughts...

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:9-12 NIV)

Last night at church we talked about persecution. At some point when a person chooses to give their life to Christ there will be people in their life who say "what?" And they may say other {hurtful} things or treat them differently. Or just stop interacting with them all together. It's just a given. Christ never said the life we have will be easy. He did say that He will give us peace if we are willing to accept it.

Ok back to my point about last night...
Persecution will come your way most likely because the enemy likes to strike us down. What better way than in the form of friends or family or other Christians? Say what? Other Christians? Yup. That's right. I have heard the gossip that some spew and took part of it before i knew better. You know what though? Not every person is in the same season. So that means we are all in different areas of our walk with Christ. So we are called to lift each other up in love!
Not tear others down. If you find yourself a part of being persecuted by other Christians I would say this: 1. find a friend in whom you can confide. A friend makes all the difference in the world. 2. Pray and seek him daily with reading your bible. 3. Keep moving forward. Don't let the enemy get to you. That is what he's trying to do. Don't allow satan to work thru others and steal your joy! Hold tight to Jesus! Keep going to bible study and church!
MOST importantly! It's none of your business what others think of you! ;) and don't be a victim! Finish the race strong!
I was really blessed by the study we did last night! I hope that if your in a place of persecution that this blesses you as well!
Happy Thursday, Love & Blessings friends!

March 12, 2013

French Onion Soup

I have always loved French onion soup but never knew how to make it. It's really so easy!

You need:
5-6 big sweet onions
8 cups beef broth (or half beef and half veggie)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar or cooking wine. Any will do-red or white.
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3tbsp butter
1/4 cup Cornstarch

Take you onions and slice them thinly and set aside. Take a pan that can soften and caramelize your onions and can also hold your soup. Start in med heat and add your olive oil and butter. When its warm (not hot so you don't burn your butter!) add your onions. Let them cook for just a few minutes at this temp and salt lightly and turn down to med-low heat. Cook for about 30 to 45 minutes. The key here is low and slow till they are soft,sweet and looking good!! It's all about presentation right!? Taste your onions to make sure they good!! Then add your vinegar/cooking wine now and let it reduce a little. There is no rule here so if you think it needs a little more you can add it. If not then let it go. Then after about 5-7 min add your broth. I prefer the loose bouillon that you make with water. It's easier to make it weaker or stronger than pre-made broth. If you have some homemade broth on hand that would work too. At this point being it to a boil and I like to make mine a bit thicker with non-GMO cornstarch. There is one brand I love and its Hodgson Mills. I use about 1/4 cup in 1/2 cold water and add while boiling to slightly thicken.
I also take a baguette and slice it and make mini cheese toasts. Slice bread and place on a cookie sheet and top with your fav kind of cheese. Bake in oven till cheesed is melted and bread is crispy.350 for 5 or 10 minutes. When you put the soup in the bowl place a slice of baguette on top and voila! French Onion Soup. So simple and since its not smothered in globs of cheese, pretty good for you! Onions are good for fighting of colds and flus. :) plus they taste so good! ;) I hope you try the classic at home sometime!

February 26, 2013

Keep Going

Life isn't easy. No one ever said it would be. Some days are so hard that I just pray minute by minute to make it to the next hour. Some days it's all I can do just to make it to bed time. I have no idea what the future holds. I'm clueless. I do know one thing: that God has this. He has my future in His best interest. What does that mean?!? It means that I don't need to worry about it. It's that simple. Does it mean that I don't worry? Nope. When I do do I read my Bible and pray. It's real simple. Yet hard all at the same time. His mercies are new everyday! Isn't that something? If I mess up today(like I do) I can ask for forgiveness and help and start over tomorrow! What an awesome thing! I
No longer have to beat myself up over mistakes I make about my marriage or kids or ANYTHING! I'm not perfect. So I need a fresh start. I get angry or impatient or snappy with those I love the most. I am getting better (Thank you Jesus!) but still not where I need to be. Maybe I will never be there but I keep trying! And that's important! So don't give up the good fight! God wants us to keep fighting for the right way! The good way! The Truth! The Light!
Beloved, remember that if you keep going, you will get through whatever you are going thru a stronger better person! It doesn't seem like it now but trust me. Been there and it is better to keep going. Love peace and hugs! Xoxo!!!

February 21, 2013

Oh hey there!

Hello. I know I haven't blogged in awhile and I miss it :( But you know....with 4 kids it kinda is on the back burner unless I find time. Like now. Laying here with my little boy. I just thought I would go and see blog but for some reason it looks all weird. I don't know what is up with it. Maybe because I'm on my phone? I need to go and look on my laptop and see what's up.

What's new? Not much. My kids are growing fast and all my time is spent with them. I lam learning so much. About them and myself. About how God wants me to raise them. Let me tell you that it's not always "black & white". That's whole other post.(maybe!)

Well it's late and this momma is tired so I am off to bed! Till next time :) peace and blessings! Xoxo

November 9, 2012

Moving

Moving is a lot of work! All the sorting to see if you need this or that. Is good in itself but sometimes you go through something that makes you realize how you *should* have done things. Thats good too,though, because you learn from it. Store it away for another similar experience to be recalled at a later time. Life is a learning experience. So try not to take it too seriously!! Even when the pressures of life try to get to ya just remember this-laughter is the best medicine!!! That and a healthy dose of Jesus time! :)

So the house we are moving to has a separate laundry/office room(our current laundry is in our downstairs bath) one extra bedroom, and an upstairs open room that will become the playroom! I am so excited to let my oldest daughter have her own room and get the 2 babies in one room. Did I mention the amount of closet space? There is so much! Yay!!!
Our previous landlords have been so gracious to us and that is all we could ask for. We have simply out grown this house and need more room. Praise God we have it now! Plus a BIG back yard, big garage and a planting shed! So ready for this change!!! Keep your eye out for the post where I share the house with y'all!! Happy Friday everyone! May God bless you!!!

November 1, 2012

Dear November,

Hello November!
You greet us with mid 50s temps and I am loving it.
We are moving this month and I hope that the warm temps and agreeable weather sticks around till we can get settled in. Please?
I am also happy it is the month for Thanksgiving! I will miss my family while everyone I know will be dining with theirs. I do know just how blessed and happy we really are. We have the joy of The Lord and that is a powerful thing!
I love how thanksgiving comes before Christmas to remind us of what is really important. So that is why I love you November.
Luv,
Me

October 25, 2012

Memories & a Horseradish Cream Sauce

My girl loves looking at cookbooks. I remember spending hours pouring over my moms cookbooks. I have great memories talking with my mom about cooking. She was a great cook and taught me many things. I hope to be able to teach my kids some things about cooking. That's the stuff memories are made of.

I also have an easy sauce for you too!
You will need
1/2 cup olive oil mayo
1/2 cup nonfat yogurt
1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon- 1 tablespoon horseradish (depending if you would like it mild or strong)
S & P to taste
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar

Whisk everything together in a bowl ad dip chips in it or serve with a roast or just about anything you can come up with! Seriously I dislike strong horseradish but this sauce is perfect! So great with many things! Enjoy!!

Beautiful People

Don't ya just love to look a beautiful person? I know that the world pushes everyone to be beautiful. Sometimes though the most beautiful people I have ever met are so much MORE beautiful in the inside. Especially when I take the time to get to really know them. You know every person in this world has hurts. If I were to look at them and say well that person's hurts are ugly so maybe I don't wanna spend time with them or reach out. I guess all I am saying is this: take the time to reach out to people and over look their past and their hurts. You might be surprised! It seems like in this world people only like you if you look or dress a certain way. Take the time to get to know someone :) reach out and spread the love! :)
Have a blessed day!

October 24, 2012

October-I love you!

October is a special month for me. Let me explain. It is the month I first came to the Midwest. I moved half way across the country to relocate my family. You might ask if I just did that out of the blue. No I didn't. Well kinda but it was pressed upon my heart. By The Lord. I was doing things with people I shouldn't have hung out with. (I had an addiction) I couldn't stop myself from indulging in things most people don't do. People who loved me told me to get it together. I knew something had to change. I had battled this monster within me for years and I mean like 10 years. It was time to do something different. I had some family in the Midwest and decided to go and live with them for awhile. I left my home state and my life has never been the same and in a good way! God has been with me thru thick & thin. Like the time my mom got breast cancer and was sick and eventually passed away. I am so thankful that I asked Him to help me. I knew I was sinning. I was letting
God, my kids, & my family down. They all still loved me so much! I just didn't see it. Until I left. So I have much love for October and for the Midwest! 8 years baby!!! Feels good too!

Another reason I love October is that that was going to be my last born sons birth month! I instantly made the connection when I found out his due date! God had other plans for baby J. He was born in September. :) now I love September too!!!

If your going thru something you never thought you would just remember that The God who lives in Heaven knows what he is doing! Have patience and take heart! He doesn't ignore your cries-He hears YOU! He will answer
YOU! It may not be in your timing. His
Timing is perfect! His grace sufficient!
Until next time-many blessings to you and yours!!!❤❤❤

Also here are a few photos from my cell :) hope you enjoy!

October 23, 2012

Taking a break

Ahh it's been awhile since I blogged. Life is busy. Kids are growing and so is our family. Kids grow fast! With that in mind I have decided to take a break from social media (twitter•Facebook•Instagram) so that I can focus more. My relationships with my husband & my kids, relationships with friends. I wanna be an aware parent and in this ever socially open society we live in, I feel like real conversations are almost a lost art form. I don't spend a lot of time on those social sites but sometimes I find my self not really paying attention to what's going on around me.
I don't like it when I do that.
And we are moving to another rental in the next few weeks. Yay! There is an extra bedroom and a huge yard!!! It is a little more per month but if we need the room (and a we need a yard) then we can prioritize our finances to make it work. I think it's good when people are stretched beyond their comfort zone in any little way. It helps you focus on what is truly important. In this case a better home for our kids is our focus. We have been in a house that is extremely inefficient as far as heating and cooling goes. Plus a list of other issues that we have discussed with the owners and they seem unwilling to fix them as of now. We understand that that is their choice and are ever so thankful that we had the opportunity to live in this house in this area. Houses to rent are far and few between here. People don't move all to often here and it's a nice area. So we are happy to have found a house here that's a little bigger, more solid and cleaner. So thankful!!! Thank you Jesus!!! So kids & family & moving & my walk with God are reasons for my break away! I will embrace this season with joy and a thankful heart and rock this out with the grace of God.
Blessings to you friends!

September 26, 2012

new design

HELLO! How have all you lovely ladies and gents been? good i hope! you know i love meeting new friends and i have been blessed to meet many new friends thru instagram! The smart phone app-it amazes me that thru a small way so many people can get together and get to know each other thru pictures! it really does! Anywho...one day i was on and a girl named Natalie over at her blog was posting some stuff about her blog. I am WAY fascinated with what she does because she is always changing up her design on her blog-literally every time i read her blog it looks different and i love it! so I was trying to change up my blog one day and bad went to worse(come to find out there was a widget and I couldn't find it) and Natalie helped me with it and added some features to my blog! Thanks girl!!! Love ya! So you should head on over and check her out. If you need some designing contact her and i know she can put something together for ya! She is very talented and so sweet :) Happy Wensday everyone!!! PS what do YOU think of my new design???