Brought to you by the letter J

I'm playing along with my bloggy friend, Jamie, in a meme she posted. It looked like fun, so I decided to join in. Here's how it works:

If you want to play, leave a comment on this post letting me know, and I’ll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it at your place. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on...

Jamie assigned me the letter "J". Here goes, in no particular order, ten "J" things I enjoy...

Jamie - I enjoy Jamie! Jamie is a great mom and wife and I always enjoy spending time with her. She is a very wise woman for her age...she is so young! Her sister Beth has so much respect for her and that speaks volumes to me ;o)

Jello- I like jell-o. It is a guilt free treat

Jelly-Belly jelly beans - Especially the pop corn flavor or the toasted marshmallow.

Juice -Cranberry and 7-up

Jess, Joseph, Joelle, Jillian and Joy - My kiddos middle names.

Jeremy Camp - love him! Thinking about going to see him at WSU in the near future with Mercy Me.

JESUS- Of course! I am really enjoying this new study I started last week. Boy, do I have a lot to learn. But it is so exciting to me to see that God has not lost patience with me and still loves me.

Just for fun- So much of what we do (I am sure your family is the same) has some sort of end goal in mind. I love doing just about anything 'just for fun'.

Jumpers- Although jumpers are not attractive on just about anyone, I would love it if they were fashionable. Would it not be great to just throw on a frock, not suck in your tummy...I know they would still be ugly...but if everyone wore them...I'm just sayin'.

**OK, I have been working on this post all week and can only come up with 9 things! I guess the letter J is limited in enjoyment.

Friday Fave 5

I am having a bit of 'Blog Block' so I thought I would try my hand at something other than a status report...

1.International Coffees French Vanilla. It is like Starbucks on the cheap. I like to add a little milk so it is creamier. Mmmm. Great especially on cold wintery days.

2.CO Bigelow Mentha Lip lip gloss. Love it!

3. Costco.
Rotisserie Chicken, Romain Lettuce, tomatoes, toilet paper, laundry soap, pajamas, copier paper, gum. I love Costco!

4. Our Best Bites is a new favorite blog spot for me. They have fab-u-lous recipes. At Christmas I made their peppermint popcorn that was so, so yummy!!

5. Facebook. So fun. I love seeing old pictures of high school fun. And every new friend request makes me go 'yea' inside. I know it is shallow, but hey...somedays need a little somethin-somethin.

I love Kim's idea of updating on how the theme thing is going. Wouldn't you know it, God gave me opportunity to work on the 'LOVE THEME' right away. My sis-in-law asked me out to coffee. This was completely out of the blue. Although we do not have a strained relationship, I would never describe it as close, so this invitation caught me off guard. it was a great opportunity to catch up on how she is doing and what is going on in her life, as well as update her on mine. God truly blessed the time together and I am so glad He did. I am looking forward to coffee tomorrow morning with some great friends that I don't get to see nearly often enough.

He has continued to confirm this week that LOVE is my theme for the year. I am also glad that Lori has also picked the same theme. It will be great to travel this LOVE road together and share what the Lord is teaching us.

On a little side note...this is my favorite song of the moment. It not only speaks of marriage but anywhere we find ourselves waiting on the Lord. I wish I knew this song while we were waiting on Ella. I was so excited to find I already had the John Waller CD at home with this song on it. BLESSING!!

Love is the theme

For the past week I have been thinking about a theme for 2009 thanks to this post. Kim pointed readers there last week. My first thoughts were rather corny. I started to think of the old hymn

Love is the theme, Love is supreme
Sweeter it grows, glory bestows
Bright as the sun, ever it glows
Love is the theme, eternal theme

As I look at last year God was preparing me for the next level or theme. Last year it was hospitality and being willing to open our home. I struggled in the begining and had lots of excuses. House was not clean enough, big enough, and too many unfinished spaces. I didn't know what to serve. Who would we invite over? Blah, blah, blah. But reading this book really opened my heart to hospitality. Now I really don't fret much about having people in my home, clean or not.

This past week the "LOVE THEME" has come up continually. Truly loving others. Investing in people. My hubby, my kids, my friends, my neighbors, my friends children, etc. Taking and making time to invest and care for other people that God has placed in my life. Over the past few weeks through many conversations I have been told over and over about someone's deep need for friendship. To really connect with someone else. As I look at the past 10 years I have been not so good at this. Again with the excuses. I am busy. I have a lot of kids. Our weeks are already full. Blah, blah, blah. If realationships and loving others is as important to God as "love others as yourself" then I think I need to give this my full attention.

So what is my plan of attack?

As it would be God has coordinated with our pastor to start the year off with the Love Dare. So starting today for the next 40 days I will be working through this book with the purpose of loving my husband better. I am sure it will also be good for all my other relationships too.

I have just about finished The Power of a Praying Parent and I may go on to either Power of a Praying Wife or the Power of a Praying Woman after that. I will have to see what the Lord leads me in.

I also want to make a purposeful effort to have more fun with people. Playing games, having dinner, going bowling, etc. Building relationships so when things get hard a real relationship is already in place. I do have some good friends, don't get me wrong, but we need to continue building. And we need to strengthen our bonds.

So there you have it. Love is the theme.

Early Monday Menus

Since I have a little extra time this morning I am going to be early on the menus.

Monday: Fall Harvest Chowder (didn't get to this last week)
Tuesday: Potato Soup
Wednesday: Dinner at Church
Thursday: French Toast Casserole (didn't get to this last week either)
Friday: Mac & Cheese
Saturday: Chili

Because you asked for it...here is the Taco Soup Recipe. So easy, so yummy! Serve with a little cornbread and/or salad and there you go!
1lb ground beef
1 onion chopped
3C water
2 - 16oz cans of stewed tomatos
1 can chili beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 - 16oz can tomato sauce
1 envelope taco seasoning (or 1/4 cup if you buy at Costco)
Brown beef with onion, drain and rinse, add all the other ingredients and simmer. Or leave in your crock pot all day on low. I usually double this recipe so we can have soup all week for lunch.
Crumble tortilla chips in the bottom of each bowl, add soup and then top with sour cream, cheese, and any other taco topping you like.

Icy fun

This is Emma (15)snowboarding this past weekend. She has icicles on her eyelashes!! Brrr!

Back to work Monday. So to start the week off right I am posting my menus. I know you have all been waiting impatiently to see what I will cook this week ;o)

Monday: Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday: Taco Soup
Wednesday: Dinner at Church (Chili)
Thursday: Breakfast for dinner (French toast casserole)
Friday: Spaghetti
Saturday: Fall Harvest Chowder

Saturday Status Report

Sitting...in front of the computer, too much lately

Drinking...Vanilla Coffee

Enjoying...Watching Eden (10) and her friend enjoy the last bits of the snow

Wanting...to do something creative; paint, sew, knit, something. Maybe I will settle for coloring with Ella (2)

Reading...Still working on 'The Uncommon Woman' I have so enjoyed this book,every time I pick it up God speaks.

Looking forward to...my hubby and the two older kids coming home from the winter retreat

Obsessed...with watching Jon & Kate Plus Eight. It makes my life seems so do-able.

Thinking...I should be preparing for starting school again this week.

Happy...I did the grocery shopping last night