out of the mouths of babes...

Earlier today Allie was asking me questions about Jesus. She asked how we were going to get up in Heaven with him. I told her that when it was time, he would return to get us and "zoom us up in the sky." Her reply? "Can you ride me on your back, mom?"

Allie at the HLSR this year.

Italian Mini Meat Pies

We had baseball practice for Landon tonight so I threw something together before hand, then just reheated it when we got home. It actually turned out pretty good (3/4 of the family that had it liked it!) So here goes:

Italian Mini Meat Pies
one pound ground turkey (mine already had Italian seasoning in it, if you can't find that, add about a tablespoon of Italian seasoning)
1/2 onion, chopped
butter
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce- your favorite kind
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper (I only added this to about 1/2 of the mix so the kids' wouldn't be spicy. In their words, they don't do spicy.)
a handful of chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup Italian blend cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350.
Saute the onions in about a tablespoon of butter until clear. Turn off heat. Add sauce, meat (raw), 1/2 cup bread crumbs, basil, and red pepper, if using. Scoop mixture evenly into muffin pans. (Mine made about 15)

Sprinkle additional bread crumbs on top, and add mushrooms on top as well. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, then check. You want the breadcrumbs to be nice and toasted. Give them a little more time as needed. Once they look nice and crunchy on top, sprinkle with cheese, and pop back in for a few minutes to melt. I also added more fresh basil on mine after cooking.
Enjoy!

Delicious baby!

This child has stolen my heart. I didn't know it would be possible to love a third child like this, but there is apparently a God-given place in a mother's heart for each of her children! Who knew???
I am soaking in every second with her just *in case* this is our last.

Oh and thanks to my friend Ashley for the wonderful pictures!

The Beautiful, Terrible Cross

This song beautifully sums up Good Friday. Please take a moment to listen. (Pause the music at the bottom to be able to hear it, or go directly to YouTube to listen.)

Doing Well

As a stay-at-home mom, I have struggled with feelings of "failing" and being overwhelmed a great deal of the time.

I have really had a hard time putting this into words. As my sweet husband always tells me, I am the one putting the pressure on myself! I recently read a blog post (which I could remember which one) about homeschooling. The author brought to light a thought-provoking fact to me: that as long as there are little children at home all day long, my house will never be perfect! Sounds strange that a stranger made it clear to me.

However, early one morning I had a thought finally come to me concerning WHY I feel this pressure to cook more, clean more, fuss less, teach more, discipline in a better way, have laundry caught up, ..... you get the drift. When I worked OUT of the home, I finished my job at the end of the day and went home. (except when teaching, of course.) But having results there was attainable and noticeable and lasted for at least a few minutes- and right now- I feel as though I am in a constant cycle of re-doing everything I did the last 24 hours! And I know this thought is nothing new... it has been haunting stay-at-home moms forever... But it helped to have it finally formulate in my own mind. I do consider myself somewhat intelliget and probably could have done well in the "outside world" but since I have chosen to walk this path of staying at home with these three (for now!) precious gifts... I need to know that I am doing it well. Because if not, that means my whole parenting life has not been done well.

So what does it mean to "stay-at-home" and do a good job at it? I would love to hear others' thoughts...