| Home Making // Lunch Kits |

I was out for a friends birthday last night and as most ladies events go we talk about parenting, disciplining, kids being home vs. being at school, the crazy things our kids say, packing lunches....the list goes on.

 

One of the common denominators between my friends is that none of us really like to pack our kids lunches {we hear angels sing when we see the reminder that today is "fun lunch day" at school!}.  It's not that it's hard to do, but it does take time and well I don't know about you but I'd rather spend my extra time not packing lunches!  

I choose to pre-pack my kids lunches, this usually happens from 5-6pm the night before school...usually when I'm in the kitchen already preparing dinner.  This helps it so I'm not grumpy with one more thing to do before we leave the house in the am. 

In our discussion last night we spoke about kids not eating their food and about the discipline that follows.  This brought me to the boys lunches, if they don't eat what is given to them then they have to eat it before they eat their afternoon snack once home from school.  Fair right!?!

They get choices in their lunch, they can choose to eat their veggies first or last, doesn't matter to me but the rules are: you don't eat all the "good stuff" and not the veggies and you NEVER throw out food.  

My friends thought I was a little crazy when I told them my kids never throw anything out; now let me say now that our school has a strict recycling program so if perfectly-not-eaten food is thrown out it's obvious and the teacher will hold the class responsible until the person that threw it out admits to this.  

In two years of school only one of my kids tried to throw something away and it was a homemade date square.  He was full. 

Someone commented to me and said that she gives her child only what she knows he will eat at school.  I do too but I also expect that if they will have cucumbers at my table on Saturday for lunch that they will do the same at school.  I'm my kids parent, not grandparent.  My job is to prepare them so that when I'm not looking {like at school or with said grandparent} that they will still make a balanced choice. 

So I thought I would share how I take the "blech" out of making lunches and actually having the kids eat their lunch!

1. Pack their fave's // My boys don't love sandwiches so a wrap or pepperoni & crackers will do

2. They get 1 treat in their lunch // today it's fruit snacks {this changes seasonally}

3. There is always veggies and a fruit...I even raisins count as a fruit to save time and not cut up fresh fruit

4. In Kinder at our school the kids are only aloud to bring water, but JJ is able to bring juice boxes in Gr. 1 but I still just send a water bottle and just put a touch {2 Tablespoons} of ice tea in with the rest water so he'll drink the whole bottle // Each day I do this his water bottle comes home empty!
5. They get to choose at least 2 items for their lunch kit 

 And most days I send a little note personalized to each of them // I just use a recipe card that I get from the dollar store along with a sharpie that I keep in my junk drawer in the kitchen, again it is easy and adds a little sunshine to their day!

 Well That's all for today!  Let me know if any of you lovelies have any tricks up your sleeves for packing great school lunches...I'd love to know some of your tricks too!  

I'm off to go for my walk on this beautiful day then I'll be up to my eyeballs in alligators trying to make a cake for my nephew and prepare for Mother's Day. 

Hope you lovelies have a beautiful weekend and feel celebrated for the amazing job you do raising and loving on your littles! 

{XoXo}

| Purpose \\ In Motherhood |

In life we all have purpose.  As a Mom that is a constantly changing thing.

Some days my purpose is to do laundry, clean toilets, fill the tummy of my hungry family.

Some days my purpose is to hug & cuddle my littles, some days it's less about the "stuff" that makes up life but more about the people.

Some days my purpose is to dream; to be a visionary..for my family, for my God, for me... 

Most days I wear all three types of hats...some days {ok, who am I kidding..most days!} I don't look pretty wearing all these hats!  That's a fact!  It's a tough tough gig people!

I do find that this is one of the most difficult things as a Mom, to constantly be changing hats taking one off to put another one on.  I like consistency, I like there to be a pattern...the same isn't boring, it's dependable!  I like dependable and I function much better when things are steady and normal.

*Disclaimer!!  If you're reading this and you're not yet a Mom and you think you would like to be a Mom but also love your own schedule without having to constantly be dealing with changing tides....I would highly recommend you reconsider becoming a parent.  It's the most self-less role you will ever play; I'm just sayin'!*

Changing tides, when you're swimming in the ocean you have be watching for the next wave and for the pull or push that it may have on you.  This is what being a Mom is like.  You can be sure that there is going to be a push or pull for something other than what you're doing right now.  The kids like the tide will push or pull you in one way or another...this is good, this is what being a Mom is all about.

Being a Mom is like swimming in the ocean, it's lovely and great until you get caught in the rip tide and it can surely rip you a new one if you're not ready for it!  

All this being said, being a Mom is worth every frustrating & exhilarating moment and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Today I've sat down and taken a deep breath and let the laundry pile sit at the end of the bed while I took time for myself...I'll get the laundry done, I'll get dinner made and I'll get my hugs in with all my boys but today when I had an hour that I could have been catching up wearing my "home-maker hat" I took time for myself and refreshed my heart and set my mind on my purpose.

Here is my day in photos 

1. Me wearing a new necklace a gift from my neighbor 

2. My freshly updated flower pots

3. Alphabet cookies, fresh cut flowers and a sweet little hand ready to do home reading

4. My feet taking time to rest and refresh

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty"

Psalm 91

Hope y'all have had a great day and had time to rest in His shelter.  Take a moment out of the race to rest in Him! 

{XoXo}

| Lately // A catch up post |

Good Morning All {all of those who may or may not be still reading this - HA!} either way I'm still here, I'm trying to get caught up on some things around my home and this blog is on that list. 

At any rate we all gots to start somewhere so here I am! 

We've been home from our trip to Maui for one week today and since then life has taken over and we've been going non-stop.

I love life and all that it contains, but sometimes I just want to stop and smell the lilacs {especially since they are in season here}.

Here are some snipits of what we have been up to since we came home...

1. Cherry blossoms in full bloom

2. Cole & I on our way to a field trip

3. Veggie prep for the week

4. Unpacking // ugh, need I say more!?!

5. Beautiful lilacs

6. She Loves conference 

7. Play date and walk through Fort Langley

8. Bloomin' 

9. Summer is almost here and the boys are wearing hats and shorts to school! 

I've started working on a re-cap of our trip to Hawaii but I'm trying to get them in scrapbook order so I can do it all at one time...I'm still working on my project life project which between everything else is so much work!  But I'm going to get it done sooner than later so I can be caught up for 2014. 

Hope you all are well and enjoying this season...I've got a few things blooming in my heart that I'm gonna share, just need to collect my thoughts ;-) 

{XoXo}

| Chaos |

This is what my kitchen looks like after school {post tornado children!} I know it doesn't look like chaos but to me in the rush of homecoming, homework, reading & dinner prep it feels terribly out of control! 

 Just in case you can't see what I'm talking about here is a run down of what I see/feel in this photo: 

1. Bags yet to be unpacked from school

2. Dishes to be put away 

3. Middle of deep cleaning the stove top 

4. Chicken that has to miraculously be made into dinner

5. My semi-warm semi-cold coffee 

6. Laundry in mid fold

7. My clothes that have yet to make it to my room

8. Laundry basket filled with hangers & clothes that need fixing {my children walk on their knees dontchaknow!}

  I know it could be much worse, but in my mind & the way it makes me feel is that it's chaos!

I don't know why I'm sharing this, my home is to be lived in and is a working home I just want to be real with all of you lovely ones...it's not always the photo of perfection, there are things that make me feel like a rotten housewife and mama.  But that condemnation doesn't come from the Lord! 

So I'm thankful for time to get everything re-set and the endurance to sort/fold/clean/organize all of my nagging jobs that as a "home executive" get pushed onto my plate. 

I've been watching bits and pieces of American Idol this season and I watched Angela Miller's performance the other night and it brought me to tears {hope the link works!} It just reminds me that I'm not alone in this race we call life and that He gives me courage, strengthens me and gives me a life set apart...isn't that a great reminder!?!?!

: Here are the lyrics :

You find me here alone
I hear a voice that’s so unknown  
It strikes courage up my backbone  
Strengthen my heart  
A life set apart  
I see that’s what you are  
You come, you come with open arms  
And you say “I love you for who you are”  
When I was haunted and alone  
With this baggage on my back dragging me down  
You set me free  
You set me free  
You set me free

Here's to a great weekend ahead and getting lots of time in as a family! 

{XoXo}

: Love Day 2013 :

 

I can't believe how fast these past few weeks have gone!  We start off the week full and as the week goes on nights & days fill up and boom!  It's Thursday and we're almost done another week! 

Well last week we celebrated Thursday in a special way because it was "Love Day" :: Here are my two littlest love bugs just before school

 DECOR : Love day style 

The boys had a few rough days at school through the first weeks of February, so we were not even sure if they were going to get a "Love Day Feast" {as we call it} unless they got their butts in gear at school.  So two nights before love day I brought out a few decor items as their behavior had changed and they deserved Love Day Feast. 

:: Our kitchen chalkboard ::

:: Computer Nook ::
 

:: Counter top details ::

 

 : I spent a few hours making these little lolli pops I had seen on Pinterest.  We gave these away to Cole's class and I made sugar cookies {I have an awesome recipe from my Aunti Pam} for JJ's class, no photo of the sugar cookies as it was well into the night on the 13th when I finally finished them! :

 
 

: Love Day Feast :

On Valentines day we do a meal that we call a "Love Day Feast of Roast Beast" :: We have a full roast beef dinner with all the trimmings, this year I made a strawberry {because it's pink of course!} cake with cream cheese icing as our dessert.

: Here's the table all decorated :

 : Our cake on the table :

: I picked up three balloons for the boys and to use as centerpieces, since I had the polka dot wrapping paper {thanks Ikea!} left over from Christmas it really looked quite coordinated without me putting too much effort into it! :

 : Jacob's place setting :

 : My Mr. came home with a growers bunch {20 stems} of white casablanca lillies.  He had thrown me off the night before saying that roses were the true love flower especially red roses, I however disagree in a major way and don't LOVE roses and especially RED ones, white yes...but not RED! So he did good with the growers bunch and he also got them at cost so that also made me VERY happy ;-) :

 That's it for today, I hope you all had a wonderful LOVE DAY and if this one wasn't that great I pray that next year you can celebrate LOVE in a special way.  We have had our share of not so lovely "Love Days" and I truly consider myself blessed to be able to celebrate our love as a family. 

{XoXo}

: Dinner :: Recipe Coconut Curry Shrimp :

Hey Lovelies!  

Sorry I've been away from here, didn't have much to post about and I am preparing a book post that hopefully I will have up next week. 

But for now I will share a little recipe that we love around these parts. 

Last night I posted this photo on instagram.  When I went back to it there were multiple comments asking how to make it, so here you go! 

Coconut Curry Shrimp  

{a la Mr. L}

Quinoa {1 cup makes ample servings for 4 adults}

2 cups frozen small/medium shrimp

1 can coconut milk {we use Trader Joes lite coconut milk} 

1 cup thinly sliced peppers {yellow/red/orange} 

1 medium white onion 

Currey mix 

Butter/Pam/Olive Oil to coat the pan

1. Place 1 Tbsp of butter/pam/evoo in a large skillet, add curry spices {we have a pre-mixed spice selection from our local ethnic spice isle} 

2. Heat up the mixture of butter & spices, be careful not to burn it.  Apparently {via the chef} this is a very important part..."it wakes the spices up" :: Okay then! 

3. Add onion & peppers and cook till translucent on medium heat

4. Rinse in cold water the shrimp to defrost them and remove the tails. 

5. Once onions & peppers are cooked hike the heat up to 7 {between medium & high} and add the shrimp.  Let it heat away for 2 minutes, don't do more or your shrimp will be rubbery and that's never good! 

6. Add a full can of coconut milk and let simmer on low for 5 minutes until incorporated. 

7. Pour over your scoop of quinoa and voila you have dinner in aprox. 15 minutes.  I make my quinoa ahead on Sunday so we have it for the week, if you do this in advance it will save you from having to wait for the quinoa to cook as the curried shrimp is quicker than the quinoa!

Enjoy! 

* * * 

There you go Lovelies!  Hope you have a great weekend!  We are looking forward to a few fun events and spending time with friends, if you want to see what I'm up to you can find me on instagram...Lord only knows, I'm just a little in love with it!  But as for Sunday it will be social media free so I can spend time with my little family. 

{XoXo}

: Hospitality :

I have friends who are amazing at hospitality; who invite people over and say come as you are and accept us as we are.  I don't feel overwhelmed by these types this is their gift, they are people filled with the gift of hospitality. 

I love that gift, I try and hone my gift of hospitality...but to be truthful sometimes I'm too uptight to let my guard down and invite people in. 

This is where Edie comes in, she has this hospitality thing down pat.  Well not really; she just lets her guard down and welcomes people in. 

"Hospitality isn’t about inviting people into our perfect homes, it’s about inviting them into our imperfect hearts."

She continues to say: 

"It’s about learning to live from that vulnerable place where we open ourselves to love.

And ultimately, it’s about Him—The perfect Host who provides for everything we sinners need, right down to the best wine for the wedding feast.

This ebook is for anyone who has felt his own poverty and known the redemption of being loved anyway.

This is hospitality, on purpose."

I encourage you to purchase her ebook, if it's anything close to her blog on 31 days of hospitality it's bound to be amazing! I just wish I could actually hold it in my hands.  Books like that I don't just want them on my kindle I want them on my nightstand too! 

Hope this encourages you {and me} to open yourself up, be vulnerable and have someone in.  You never know how it will bless you! 

Have a great evening lovelies! 

{XoXo} 

   

: Comparison :

 We have all  read this quote "Comparison is the thief of Joy" ~Theodore Roosevelt

As well as this quote "Jealousy comes from counting others' blessings instead of your own" ~unkown

Theodore wasn't the first one to say don't compare, Jesus asked us to look to Him first.  To call on the Holy Spirit for guidance, not Facebook, not Instagram {no matter how much I love it!}, not Twitter & not blogs. 

Go to Him.  

Be found in Him. 

We live in a world filled with social media, filled with conversations without an actual voice, just words, essentially without any commitment, we can do it all...make dinner, text with a friend, do homework with my child, listen to the Mr. and his day.  

I love social media just as the next person, but when I saw this sign on Sunday posted by Aedriel {Hello Lovely!  Find her blog here or on IG under Aedriel} morning it challenged me to be more in tune with my family and to put the social media down for the day. 

And let me tell you it was hard! I found myself going to it time and time again and had to say "no Shawna, you can't".  Then I found myself accomplishing A LOT! Since we were out all day Saturday it most definitely could be defined as our day of rest/fun.  

So on Sunday while I found myself with SO much time {I allowed myself to respond to texts & log in on MFP} I was able to vacuum the whole house, practice reading with Jacob for an hour, clean all the washrooms {3}, load & empty the dishwasher, do 5 loads of laundry and put 4 of them away {the last one is still in the dryer}, make dinner, dust the main floor, bake cookies, prepare lunches for Monday, watch a show with Paul {we are so sucked into Downton it's not even funny!} read a magazine, clean out the pantry & fridge, play trains with the boys...and menial other tasks between all that!  And this was all after going to church in the morning, stopping into the grocery store for a few necessities and making brunch for my little family.

Lovelies, that is ALOT of stuff to accomplish and all because I put my phone down, well probably not but I can say I spent much more quality time actually living.  I was more aware {every time I reached for my little black device} how much time I've wasted by staring at that little screen.

I try to not compare when I see a photo posted on FB or IG and think "Gee I wish I was invited" or "hmmm, wish I could do that" instead of living my life to the fullest, watering the grass that is on my side of the fence and taking time to sprinkle a little love on my neighbors grass while I'm at it...

How different would the world be if we stopped comparing and rushing on about how great someone did something or looked but actually blessed them with affirmation that comes from Christ. 

I know that FB & IG & Twitter can be an encouragement, I too have been encouraged by what people have posted and sometimes it is a fantastic tool...that is as long as our hearts are turned towards Christ and we are lifting Him up by our actions {even the actions of posting a photo}.  I'm not saying you have to be a holy roller about posting a simple photo on IG but I'm talking about not posting it to make others feel jealous or envious.

“Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” Galations 5:26

It's interesting to me that a book {zee Bible} written thousands of years before any of this technology can still speak directly to the heart of the matter & the mess that the world has created out of all of these outlets. 

 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” Romans 12:2

This post really went on much further than I thought it would.  It all came from just taking one day to remove myself from the distractions of this world to realize how much I miss out on because I'm allowing the distractions to come in.

Happy Monday Lovelies!  I encourage you to choose a day that you will renew your mind and spirit by putting down the social media that crams our minds, it's amazing how refreshing it feels!  

Much Much Love! 

{XoXo}

: Friday Favorites! :

 WOW I can't believe how fast this past week went and now we're onto another fun filled weekend! We've got dinner plans, supper club, birthday parties & church to look forward to...So much for January being a "catch up month" :: It's great, I'm not complaining, we love being busy with life! 

I wanted to share a few of my "fave's" this week with you :: Click on photo for the link to find some for yourself! 

"Olive Authentique" products 

{specifically show is the essential oil//I use it before going to bed on my neck}

 My collection of white jugs, this has been vastly improved due to inheriting a portion of a collection. I'm so grateful for them!  Love the simplicity of them.  

{they are currently featured on my white shelves in our kitchen}

 "The Message" this is my go to book when I want to get into the word :: The Mr. got this as a gift from his church when he graduated and it has been in our coffee table ever since we married, I would say it gets opened almost daily.  I love being able to dig into the word with the simplicity of our English.

 Vase of fresh grocery store tulips.  Sometimes we all deserve a little pick me up and this one is my go-to product!  $4 later for a sweet little arrangement of tulips does the heart good!

 Ahhhhh "VOLUSPA" I got two of these candles for Christmas from my boys and I'm in LOVE!  I would never buy one for myself but as a gift they are just amazing!  This one literally smells like Hawaii!

 Well that's it for today Lovelies!  I'm off to pick up my little luvs from school :: Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday! Muahhhahaha! 

{XoXO}

: Word of the Year | 2013 :

 The past 24 hours has been quite aggravating, I attended a women's event at church and walked away not feeling welcomed and loved instead just criticized & belittled and left feeling like less of who I know myself to be.

At any rate, I was planning on writing about my "word of the year" here today but last night with the way I was feeling deflated & disheartened I had thought I wouldn't blog at all today. 

But as I was scanning through Facebook this morning I came across this verse that my friend had posted 

{this is directly from her post}

Romans 12:17-21 (NLT)
Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”[a]
says the Lord.
Instead,
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Now, I know with the above situation I have chosen to do good, to not harbor anger and animosity but to be level about it ~ I know God will make good on the situation and I'm trusting Him for it.  This verse was just God using a friend to remind me of HIS plan, not mine.  And friends, I want to be in the backseat as Jesus drives...He really is the best chauffeur! 

Anyway, back to my word of the year...it's actually two words..

 Glory&Honor

from the passage in Psalms 8 :: Over the holidays I was reading my devotional and this Psalm was in it. It speaks of all the works that God did, all that He created and all the care that He took in his creation.  We are to crown him with Glory&Honor.   

That particular part stood out to me and as I searched my heart and talked to God about my word of the year, this kept on resounding to me that I am to give in all that I do/say/accomplish Him the Glory&Honor

    Do I know what this means or looks like; not nessisarily.  But I will trust in Him, in His timing and in His plan, for His plan is better & bigger than I can even imagine! 

 Last years word was "FLOURISH" :: I don't know if I flourished per say, I know I grew in great ways and learned more of what God wants me to be.  I know that you can't flourish without planting seeds and I KNOW that God planted seeds so I just need to carry on and keep watering those seeds to see them come to full fruition and flourish! 

Here's to another year! 

Love & blessings on this beautiful {at least in Vancouver} 

sunshiny day! 

{ XoXo }