How Green Are We, Really?

Cory and I take turns doing the bills in our house. About every 6 months we switch from which one of us are doing them. This is to alleviate stress and to stay in the loop of how the finances are flowing.

So two weeks ago it was "switch time". It's my turn.

At the end of paying the bills I was in shock. And surprisingly it has nothing to do with money. I looked at the pile of mail/bills/inserts/slicks/ads that I DID NOT need. It made me question just how "green" we really are in America.

You see, we recieve our bills and statements through email with any company that we can. So, this is all the OTHER companies that do not offer e-statements.

The first picture is the only things we actually needed out of 1 weeks mail. The second picture is one weeks worth of mail - a pile of mess is all the mail that was chunked into my garbage can.

Makes me wonder why so much other unecessary mail is being circulated.

How "green" are we, really?

Foto Friday 07.24.09 Deep Conversation

I saw this outside my living room door.

Normally Easton is NOT allowed to touch the water unless Cory or I are in the pool. But, before I got onto him .... I grabbed the camera!

I cracked the door like a sniper and took the picture. When Autumn heard the snap, she said "mom were you listening to what we were talking about"? I assured her I wasn't.

I still don't know what they were deep in conversation about. I am just thankful that I have children who cherish spending time with one another. I pray they always have the close bond that they have now.

(... then he got a spanking for sitting with his feet in the water.)

Question of the Day 07.20.09

Last night I ordered pizza from Papa Johns. I told them I needed it delivered. My total was given to me and it was $28.84.

We realized we needed to run to town to get Corys truck from Wal-Mart. So, I called Papa Johns & asked if we could change it to a "pick up" order. The young girl said of course! Then right before she hung up she said "your new total will be $31.26".

I hung up a little confused.

I walked into Papa Johns and the nice assistant manager greeted me nicely and asked my name. While he was finding my order I simply (and politely) asked if it cost more to pick up your pizza now, rather than having it delivered! He smiled and asked if we'd made changes to our order.

I explained what happened .... changed from delivery to pick-up. He apologized. When the young girl changed my order, she didn't re-instate the coupon code. So, he nicely gave me my coupon cost ... and an additionl 10% off.

So, I walked out of Papa Johns with a total of $26.64.

A simple question and 2 minutes saved me $5.

My question of the day:

How do you react when you are overcharged?

Foto Friday 07.17.09 Daniel Fast

Whew. We made it through the Daniel Fast.

We ended the fast with a prayer service and communion as a church body. It ended on a great note .... light, peaceful, prayerful and accomplished.

Then ... we high tailed it to Olive Garden.

Foto Friday:

We had the privilege of breaking the fast as a family.

Our dinner also doubled as Autumns birthday dinner.

Cold Stone was on the agenda for dessert.

Cory & Autumn saved room for it ... I didn't!

Side Note: None of us were able to finish our meals. Not sure if we weren't used to the rich food, or if our bodies got slightly adjusted to rabbit food. Either way, we have leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Dirty Laundry

I bet you thought I was gonna tell some dirty little secrets, didn't you!? No luck.

I am seriously stressing over the state of my laundry.

The hamper has shirts and pants hanging all out the top.

I only pray no-one walks in to see our unmentionables peeping through the holes in the hamper.

Easton loves to empty our dirty hamper and replace it with shoes (?? I know ??), so you never know what he's gonna walk in the living room holding.

When we need a towel after showering, the best bet is gonna be to look in the dryer not the linen closet.

Then there is the problem of the clean laundry that has creeped upon our dresser.

I cannot STAND to have anything on my dresser. We try to be minimalist.

So to have piles of clean laundry all over is just as bad (to me) and having dirty laundry everywhere.

My mom suggest washing & drying one load of laundry a day.

Seems a simple task, right?

Not so ... with an 8 year old; a 21 month old; full time youth ministry; part time office administrator; playdates; keeping friendships alive; marriage; birthday parties; shall I go on?

So, I am honestly pondering having someone come in and relieve me of this burden.

Even if it is just this one time ;-)

Daniel Fast - Day 3

Congrats to those who have joined us on the Daniel Fast.
Callaway Assembly has embarked on our 2nd Daniel Fast for 2009.
We do Sunday night - Friday night and meet each night @ 6:00 for a prayer service.
It might seem like a lot, but it really keeps you focused on why you are fasting and it also encourages you to know you're not alone in this!

I wanted to share a recipe that Cory and I eat every time we do the Daniel Fast. We've acually eaten in outside of the fast (we just added some venison sausage!)

Mushroom Mania Recipe
Ingredients:

Olive Oil - 1 - 2 tbsp
Oregano - 1-2 tsp
Crushed Red Pepper - to taste
Sea Salt & Pepepr - to taste
Mushrooms - Fresh - Sliced (we use an enitre small package)
Cherry Tomateos - Sliced in 1/4's (I use about 6-7 of these)
Green Bell Pepper - roughly chopped (I use half of one)
Red Bell Pepper - roughly chopped (I use half of one)
Yellow/Orange Bell pepper - roughly chopped (I use 1/4 of one)
Brown Rice - 1 family size bag

Directions:
Cook brown rice according to package.
In a medium skillet, put a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Mix in oregano, crushed red pepper (when the red pepper cooks it get really hot), sea salt, and pepper. Put on medium heat for a few minutes.Slice muchrooms and add to mixture in skillet. Let the mushrooms cook for about 3 - 4 minutes on medium heat until it soaks up most of the oil. Add cherry tomatoes and cook another 3 - 4 minutes. Add peppers and cook for about 5 minutes or until the veggies start to get a little brown. Serve over brown rice

Foto Friday 07.10.09 Blue Team

Excuse my tardiness of Foto Friday for July 10th, 2009.

I didn't forget to post my Foto Friday.

I just ran out of time!

Autumns party was Saturday and we didn't return from camp til late Friday night!

So, at last here it is!

07.10.09 Foto Details

I had the privilege to go to camp with some of the most amazing students on the planet.

I had 36 students, and 3 other leaders with me!
I was honored to be the BLUE TEAM captain!

Our "foto" is the moment we found out that out of 6 teams at the entire camp, we won (inclusive of athletic events, room inspections, chants, bible quiz, etc)

AROO, AROO, AROO BLUE TEAM!!!

Foto Friday 07.03.09 Sharing is Caring

I've heard of Foto Friday, Snapshot Saturday ... I even have a friend (Georgia) who does a "picture of the day" ... seriously ... she does 365 days of pictures!

Since Friday is our family day, I am opting to do the "Foto Friday".

I hope you enjoy the memories as much as we do :-)

THIS FRIDAY:
Tonight I was doing laundry and walked in on Autumn teaching Easton to play the Hannah Montana game on her DS. They didn't even know I took the picture until the camera flashed! I love catching them in the act of loving each other!

My Girl

My baby girl will be 8 years old in a few weeks. I remember this time of year in 2001. Mid summer. Scorching heat. 9 months pregnant. But loving every minute that we awaited the arrival of our first child. Sitting at my Nannys house on July 14th, no-one knew that once we finished dinner, Autumn was ready to make her arrival. Cory and I lived about 2 minutes from my Nanny. So, we anxiously, nervously, excitedly and carefully drove to our house and got the hospital bags ... just in case it was time. I'll never forget the white tank top and khaki capris I had on as we walked into Sacred Heart Hospital. We had been there many times before during this pregnancy; Autumn had made herself known! This time it wasn't a complication, it was labor! We went to the OB nurses floor and they hooked me up to the monitor. They did an ultrasound. Autumn was fine. Dr. Sontag came in about 10:30 that night. He said if he sent us home that we'd be back before midnight. About 11:00 pm he broke my water and we were on our way. No turning back now! We called our parents to let them know this was it. They all came over, of course. And the wait began. Labor intensified and intensified. I had a small pitocin drip to keep labor going. Around 6:30 am on July 15th I had gone as far as I could pain wise. I asked for an epidural. At this time at SHH no-one was allowed in the room besides the anesthisiologist and the nurse. Cory had to leave. I was shaking so violently sitting on the edge of that bed. I wanted him in there so bad. But 15 minutes later I was a new woman. Once my body relaxed from the epidural, Autumn made her arrival at 8:32 am on July 15th. There's no feeling to describe the first moment you lay eyes on your baby; your first born. It was like the world stood still for a moment. Like God has just kissed my forehead, but paused for a moment to let me know He was there. I remember looking at Cory with tears in his eyes. Another lady had forever stolen his heart; and she'd only been in this world for seconds. I knew in that moment that life would never be the same again. Good, bad, or in between. Life had been created. A life we had created. As the nurses laid Autumn on me, I felt love in such a new way. A mothers love. I knew she'd always be "my girl". I realized in those few moments that God knew every detail when He made us. He fashioned us for purposes beyond ourselves.

She girds herself with strength, and strengthens herself daily. She perceives that her provision for her family is good: she does not retire early but works diligently to see to the needs of her family, she is not an idle woman. Proverbs 31:17, 18, 27

I pray I can always be a mom that my children are proud of. I pray I am a mother that my husband can hold with great esteem. I pray God holds his head high when he thinks of me as a daughter He chose to grant the title of mom.