Working on Saturdays...

So, one of the agreements that I made with my boss was to work every other Saturday. Now, I really like my Saturday's free and when I worked before had them off unless something came up and I helped to cover once in a while... but the new schedule is that I work every other Saturday.... let me say... he is great at letting me have most Mondays off so I still get a 2 day weekend... it works out fine. And the other thing is that I mostly only have to work a half day on my Saturdays to work... usually because if I work any longer I'll rack up some big overtime..LOL. So its not all bad. And.. on the Saturdays that I work... since there really are no extra workers to cover lunches well, most everyone takes only a half hour lunch.... with me leaving at 1.....so to help with lunches we usually plan and bring something to put a meal together... tacos, soups, etc....

And today its Lasagna. I'm making the bread, Emily is bringing the lasagna, Brandy is bringing salad... and Kim is bringing dessert. Not at all bad... and the boss man.... lets just say.. Rick eats good on my Saturdays...lol

Friday's Fixin's ~ Cooking with no Refrigerator

Two days after Eric filed our taxes he called me at work to let me know that the refrigerator when out.... we unplugged it let it "thaw" the rest of the way...cleaned the coils and such...and plugged it back in hoping that it would reset.... no such luck. Well, we are looking at it as a blessing that it went out before we could use our refund for something else and that we can put money aside for a new one before we had spent the refund on something else (such as paying off the Suburban). Let me just tell you that going with only a dorm sized refrigerator for the last couple of weeks has been difficult (we are having the new one delivered tomorrow)...we have never had a brand new refrigerator so we bought one and paid for an extended warranty...... So our menus for the last couple of weeks have been drastically different than they would have been had we been able to cook and keep left overs as normal..... Mia has done great about cooking and judging the fewest remaining leftovers possible so we would not have much to store. We also have had to do without some things like relish, or salad dressings because everything is either up at Granny's house in her refrige.... or it went bad and we have not replaced it.

The Latest Family Picures

These are pictures from just a couple of weeks before Travis and Mia left for Russia.



All of us together.... these were taken at the Natchez Trace park.


This one is taken outside the Grinder House at the Meriwether Lewis Monument.




I love this one of Travis and Jed....



The girls .... these were taken at the Monument itself.



We had planned to go out for these pictures and the morning of we woke to much colder temps than what had been during the week.... we just about froze taking these pics!!
We kept the Suburban going .... got out took a few pictures ... got back in to warm up and then back out to take a few more. It was funny!


I am planning on taking more in a few more weeks..... just before the weather warms enough for snakes and such to start creeping out..... I will post them when we get them made.

Date Night

A few weeks ago Eric received an email about an upcoming movie from David Nixon (one of the Producers of Facing the Giants and Fireproof) and was invited to a pre-view screening of the movie.... we talked about it and thought it would be something we would like to see and so Eric responded that yes, we would be there and we would like 4 seats.... we immediately thought of our good friends David and Heather to go with us!

So yesterday was our double date.... we left around 3:30 and had a great time. Dinner was great. And when we got to the theater and before the movie started we found out that the director (David Nixon) was there along with the family that inspired the movie. There were also music artists there that had written a song for the movie and sound track... way cool! The movie was heart touching and I encourage everyone to go see it when it comes out. ...... Letters to God in theaters April 9th.

Thanks again to David and Heather for going with us.... we had so much fun!

Monday Musings...

Ah, the weekend was busy but fun.... we had the Bible Bowl written test for Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes on Saturday morning and then Saturday evening we honored (and jested) our wonderful older generations with the 60+ Banquet... everyone had a blast! Sunday we had LLL Practice for song leading and regular services too..... Blessed weekend!

Friday's Fixin's

Okay, I say I'm gonna post more and then I miss several days... sorry... this week has been a very busy week not only at the pharmacy but with preparations for LLL Bible Bowl and our 60 + Banquet for our "Golden Aged" members. We have both events tomorrow morning with the written exam for Bible Bowl and tomorrow night the banquet.... and we are part of the entertainment. So... busy... busy... busy...lol.

For my Friday's Fixn's post I wanted to tell all about a system here at the house that we are working on... since I now work until 6 (sometimes after) I'm not much for cooking dinner after a long day... Eric and Mia have been the main cooks the last year ... with occasional help from Travis and Amaris... but we are using the Google Calendar to set up a menu plan that we can use to help .... Eric and Mia are good cooks but often have a problem deciding what to fix so this way they can have it planned out. First I asked everyone to list some of their favorite dinners (both favorite to eat and to fix because everyone is going to be helping more) and I am trying to get the recipes/tips for the meal in the description area of the calendar event. They may not always use it but they will have something that they can fall back on if they cannot think of anything to fix. This should also help Eric out with the grocery shopping as well since he now does most of that too! We can set the menu to repeat monthly so I only really had to come up with 31 meals to begin with but on some days there are 2 meals listed so that they can take their pick. This is still in the works for us but I thought it might be a good tip.

Goodness....It really has been a while!

Well, a lot has gone on in the last few months since my last post. To tell the truth I have been avoiding the blog... I guess I just really needed the break! (not to mention all the overtime I have been working at the pharmacy the last few months) So now to play catch up with news....

My last post was pretty much about Travis and Mia getting ready to head off to Russia... well they have been and are back! I believe the trip was a success in many ways (I know it really had a profound effect on them and on their faith) and they are already talking about going back! (During a warmer part of the year! LOL!!!)Thank You, Erik and Adrianne for opening up not only your home, but your lives to them for this opportunity! They have had so many stories to tell and so much to share about their trip it has been wonderful to hear about it all...

They also have been invited to join another missionary family in American Samoa. My children, the world travelers for Christ!


Our lives around here have gotten in pretty much a routine after me being a work for nearly a year now... I tend to come home exhausted after a long day and I have to thank my husband and children for taking such great care of me! Eric is now in charge of the house and I have to say that he does a pretty good job! I really have not had to worry about much at all since I've gone back to work. I miss being able to be at home .... coming up with menus, daily tasks to be done, and being with the kids ..... but it all has worked out and I have found contentment in being outside the home too! I have to say that I have been blessed in that area... working in a field that I love... I have a good boss... I'm a ten minute walk to work......need I say more?

The new year has come and gone and we are looking forward to what God has in store for us this year. We are getting ready for the Youth Rally at Lomax in just a few weeks and are getting prepared for the Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes Convention coming up on Easter weekend. This year we know God's blessings are just raining down on our family!

Well, I know this is not that detailed or long, but I must get back to making lunch (we are celebrating my mother's birthday today).

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

(I do plan on being back here more often now!)