Blessings from Above!!!!

VBS was a blast... We had 4 give their lives to Christ..

On our last night is family night and that is an opportunity for the parents to come and see what the kids have experienced.  We baptized two Thursday night. The other two were going to be baptized later.

However, out of those four my Bro was one of them. He gave his life to Christ and Today he was washed of all his sins. I am so proud of him. I love you son!!!

Praise the Lord..

I was in tears.. I tell ya, in tears. The Lord answers prayers.. I pray that he lives a life honoring to God.

 

 

Amen..Amen..Amen Hallelujah!!!!!

Then, Friday we celebrated Syd's 12 birthday.. The Lord once again has blessed us beyond measure.

Happy Birthday to sweet Kit-kat!!  I love you!!

 

4 down 1to go.. Ya'll pray with me as the Lord works in Ty's life.. May he step forward soon!!!

 

Again with the Coffee!!!!

This may come as a surprise to most of you but, I just love my coffee.. I won't say that I am addicted to it but, I need it!!!

All through out my young and tender teen years I had been introduced to coffee from time to time and it was always the same for me.. I had to drowned it in sugar and creamer and milk before I would even take my first sip. And, if it wasn't right I would pour the entire cup out. That would drive my mother crazy.

So, I guess it was about 7 years ago when I really started drinking coffee. I had gotten a job that required me to work long hours and coffee seemed to really be my friend. Coffee Creamers are my best friends. I just love the idea for all these wonderful different flavors for your coffee.

As most of you know I have been on this journey to live and eat healthier.. Well coffee creamer was not something I was am looking forward to change. I will read the label of every other thing in the grocery store, but the creamer. I say ignorance is bliss, but it can be harmful..

I have also been using coconut oil for many different things and coffee was not one of them until, I read a blog, talked to a friend and I thought about it.

I wasn't sure about it. I talked with another friend of mine who said she tried it but could hardly get it down.

So, I decided I would give it a try.. A small spoon full in the coffee, couldn't be all that bad.. However, I am having so much trouble getting it to dissolve.

 I just keep stirring and stirring.. I am not sure I am going to do the coconut oil thing in my coffee.. Back to the creamer...

We are flying through

Yep that's right we have taken flight and have not landed one time since then.VBS started  Monday and it started off with out a hitch.. But, to my surprise we are already half way through it, over halfway through June. Where has the time gone.

Here it is a Wednesday morning at 8:00 and we about to head out to see friends, then rush back home to see more friends. Isn't that was summer is all about.

Friday we celebrate my sweet Syd's 12th birthday...(Gosh she is growing up so fast. Tear, snort)

Excuse me for a moment while I whine!!!!!!!

Okay, I am back.. it is hard to let them grow, make their own decisions, to send them to middle school... Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I am so proud of her. She has excepted our Lords grace and is saved. I pray as a mother that she will continue to seek God's will in her life, especially now that she is going to middle school... I almost chocked on those words..literally

I have made new recipes this week that I will be sharing quite soon. I am so excited that they all turned out.

A dear and precious friend blessed me with a gift that I would have, could have never purchased.. I thank them so much for that.

I know that was a lot to cover but, stay tuned.....

See-ya soon!!!!!

My menu for this weeks..and some of next!!

I am a little late with getting the menu you out there but, the funny thing is I made it Saturday morning..

Today we begin out VBS..I am so looking forward to a great week!!!

Monday: Pancakes and fruit

Chicken Alfredo, fruit cubes

VBS

Tuesday: Grits, Eggs, and Bacon

Hamburgers, Scalloped Potatoes, Orange coolers

VBS

Wednesday: Bagels and Fruit

Pizza

VBS

Thursday: Cereal and Toast

Chicken Pot Pie

VBS

Friday: Breakfast casserole ( Start Preparing snacks for Camp)

Eat out

Taco Night

Syd's Birthday party

Saturday: Cream Cheese Pastry

Snack food- Beef Salsa, Fruit, Cupcakes, Crackers n Cheese

Leftovers

Sunday: Muffins

Nana's

Grilled Cheese and fruit

Monday: Eggs, Toast, and fruit

We leave for camp for a WEEK!!!!

Cooking with Cast Iron

Those words alone could be intimidating. I saw my grandmother using those heavy skillets day after day. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why.
I was your modern cook. I wanted the non-stick pans, well, because they were the BEST.... Right?

And, non-stick is what I got, except after a year or so of constant use, it no longer was non-stick. The scariest thing about that is we ATE the stuff that made it non-stick... YIKES!!!

I used to have a cast iron skillet long ago, but it ended up in the yard for the kids to play with. I loved watching them trying to carry it from one place to another. At, one time I believe I saw Syd and Bro carrying it together..TEAM WORK GUY!!!


But, not long ago, I decide I wanted to try to cook with it again. I had been seeing different blogs and recipes where it suggested using a cast iron pan of some sorts. However, I didn't know there were all these different kinds.

I trucked on to a place where I knew I could find a cast iron to try out and bought me a brand stinking new one. Oh, did you notice I had one in the yard. But, that on was dirty and I was NEVER going to use it again... NEVER, NEVER, EVER!!!!!  I had put my foot down.

That is why I bought the new one!!  When I got it home I knew I would need to know how to use it, and by use it I mean season it, which I didn't know that needed to be done. Now my journey began. I read this blog and this website and they all pretty much said the same thing. I followed the instructions to a T, making sure to cross every one and dot every I. I found that I absolutely love cooking with it. The heat is spread more evenly and every thing cooks at the same time. You know how some pans, one side of the pan may cook better than the other side and you are constantly shifting your food all around in the pan. Just for your info. I can't stand to do that. It drives me crazy. I ain't got time to stand there and move food around.

When my hubby found out that I had bought a new one he gently asked about the one in the yard, the one I secretly wish had been thrown away, that is just laying there getting all rusty. Precisely I said it is all rusty and I don't think you would want me to cook our food in that old nasty thing.

Until, I found out you can RESTORE old cast iron pans. What??? You can!!! And, my NEVER turned into bring that nasty thang to me and let me see if I can get it back to where it needs to be.. USEABLE!!

I took me a while but, I finally did it. I have two now that I use all the time.

The how to, to Cast Iron

coat the skillet with cooking oil and baking it in a 350° F oven for an hour or two.

And after every use wipe out with a coarse salt and coat in oil again.

You won't get a nice and shiny one right off the bat, but the more you use it the more it will start to look pristine.

Menu June 10-16

The rest of this month is going to be BUSY!! And, I mean busy...

This week,  I will be working at the church to prepare decorations for VBS..Yes it is that time again.. And, yes I will be swamped.. but, truthfully I love it. This will also be Bro's last week of school.

Next week is well, I bet you can guess, it VBS.

The following week we have youth camp. This is something new to me. I was so glad when I was asked if I would go.. The next best this is that my hubby and all of my kids are going with us. This is going to be like a mini vacation. I am so looking forward to it, and so are the kiddos.

Even though summer is in we may not find a whole lotta rest.

Back to the Menu..

Monday: Pancakes

Tacos

leftovers

Tuesday: Grits, Eggs, and Bacon

Sandwiches, Fruit

Steak, Potatoes, Garlic Bread

Wednesday: Cereal, Toast

Cheese Burger Mac, Broccoli

Leftovers

Thursday: Bagels

Cube steak, Rice and Gravy

leftover

Friday: Breakfast casserole

Shopping with Avis-eat out

Pizza

Saturday: Eggs, Fruit and toast

Philly steak and cheese-crock-pot

Chicken Wings and Chips

Sunday: Muffins

Nana's

Soup and Grilled Cheese

Changing things up

I have always been one who likes loves change.. I love it, I love it, I love it!!!  Do you get.. I just love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So when my hubby and I first got our new home (almost 3 years ago) I wasn't thinking how can I rearrange furniture to suit my every desire. Nope not until we got it home and moved in and 6 months later I was looking for a CHANGE!!

I can't really say where it came from but, I know I have had this desire for ever since I can remember. I would do it to my bedroom as a child and if things got real bad I would do it to the living room and the kitchen at night when the family was sleeping. It would drive my mother crazy to go to bed and the house look one way and wake up the next morning and it look nothing like it did when she closed her eyes.

So, as you can see I have been infected for quit sometime. It is hard to control. I find myself constantly thing how can I change this and change that.. Sometimes, I just have to walk away!!

WALK AWAY ARICA!!!!!

But, I didn't this time.. I believe this change came to me in a vision. As, I lay in bed the night before last. I had this strange urge to get up and rearrange the living room (again). Mind you it has been almost a year since my list rearrange. Difficult!!!

I got up early that morning made a huge breakfast because I knew me and my kiddos were going to need the energy.. However, They DIDN'T!!!

Mooohhaaaaaaa!!   (note evil laugh)

Eat up my precious babies, Mommy has something she NEEDS ya'll to do..

Moooooohhaaaaaa  snort!!!  (note another evil laugh)

It started off really simply, see you have to ease children into rearrange, you can't just pop something like that off first thing in the morning. It took careful planning on my part, but once we got started there was no stopping me.. I mean us.. yeah us!!!

Another thing, I almost failed to mention. I love sunlight.. It is one thing I can't seem to get enough of.. I feel refreshed when the sun shines in through my windows. It just seems to make the house feel HAPPY!!!

And tell my who doesn't love happy?

What I am bout so show is not pictures of just the home.. There will be other activities going on in the photo.. But, I would like for you to pay attention to the furniture arrangements.

Look at the entertainment center.. See it has all that junk. And, it is on the wall without the windows. Notice also in the left hand corner the well I don't know what you would call it...

Clearly this was taken at Christmas time. And, this is how the house looked when we moved in..

Then, the change got me.. I had to flip flop the recliners with the T.V. stand.

This photo was taken after my hubby hung my free mirror I got from my dear friend Joli.



This is the NEW AND IMPOVED LIVING QUATERS!!!!

 

 

See here in this photo. I had my hubby take the sides of the entertainment center off. As, to let the sunlight come shining back in.. Because I just love the sunlight..

Okay. I don't know about you but, to me this whole living space looks larger to me..

I am just saying!!

The desire to change has calmed down for now!!!

The Garden!!

About a month and half ago or so.. I decided that I wanted to plant a garden to have fresh veggies and fruit whenever I wanted, plus it would be healthier Right???  I mean that is my middle name

Arica Healthy Griner!!!

The kids and I we all got out there and were working our little hinnies off. Planting this and that and this and a.

I believe I mentioned in a earlier post about my little garden area. It no longer looks as it did in that post. God has really blessed it. I am going to need to transplant some maters to another row. They have really taken off.. Well, pretty much ever thing too off except my corn (which the chickens ate), my peas (which the chickens ate that too), and the bell peppers (I don't really know what happened there), but as for everything else we are rockin' and a rollin'.

Okay to prevent my chickens from eating my garden I had my hubby put me up a fence. Not only does this keep out the chicken, but rabbits, deer as well I mean ain't nuttin getting in our garden.

 It may be a little hard to see but there it is my FENCE!!!

 

He even made a little gate for it.. Also, we can tell nothing is really growing right at this moment.

 

But, hold on to your hats ladies and gents because I am bout to show what is going on inside those fence walls.

 

DADADA!!!!

 

 

Oh yeah!!  looky looky.. Please ignore the grass... When I water the garden the grass also get watered hence forth it shall grow as well.

This side is the front half... closest to the yard.

 

This is the back half.... farthest away from the yard!! (as if you couldn't figure that out all on your own)

This is also where the chickens had their smorgasbord of corn and peas... But, I am slowly getting them replanted... SLOWLY!!!

Watermelon

 

Cantaloupe

Cucumbers

 

Tomatoes

 

Onions

Peas.

 

 

So there you have a garden full of potential...  

 

 





My menu for June 3-9

Last weeks was so busy for me and my hubby. I spent most of the week with Joli helping her paint her old home.. My hubby spent most of his time working and mowing and breaking down a pool.

Saturday was our Rec. day with Patterson. Trophies were handed out and food was served..

But, anyway on with the menu.

Monday: Cereal and Toast

Cheese burger mac, Broccoli, Fruit

leftover

Tuesday: Grits, Eggs, and Bacon

Sandwiches, Fruits and nuts

Salmon, Cheese Grits, Cut tomatoes

Wednesday: Cream Cheese Pastry

Pizza, Fruit

Eating at Church-African Custer, Cheese potatoes,

Thursday: Giant Breakfast cookies

Wong’s Palace ????????

Hamburgers, French Fries, Broccoli

Friday: Pancakes

Crock-pot Chicken and Rice

Leftovers

Saturday: Eggs, Sausage and Toast

Shrimp, Butter Noodles, Garlic Drop cheese Biscuits

Grilled cheese, salad and fruit

Sunday: Muffins

Nana's

Leftovers